Happy 200k :) ♡

•°³⁵°•Goodbye ✵─────────

"D-dad?"

Jeongguk pushed Taehyung off the counter the moment he heard his daughter's voice. His heart beat erratically in his chest. And he wondered if he was dreaming; if he was trapped in a nightmare but no. his daughter stood at the entrance of the kitchen, eyes big and expression horrified. Her face reflected pure horror and disbelief. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Sweetie-"Jeongguk began. He didn't know what to say. His throat had closed up on its own and he felt like he was suffocating. There were no thoughts coming into his mind. His daughter had just walked in on him kissing another person who's not her mother. Aria knows now. This cannot be happening.

"Are you cheating on mom?"

Aria knows.

Aria sounded so broken that Jeongguk felt his heart break a million times. Tears had filled up his own eyes. His worst nightmare has come true. Jeongguk couldn't believe that this would happen now...

"It's not what you're thinking..." Jeongguk started, his own voice breaking from time to time. He himself was half-naked. And it so, so obvious that he was about to fuck a guy.

"W-was that Taehyung?" Aria was sobbing at this point.

Jeongguk was trying to approach her but she started taking steps back as he started walking towards her.

"No Aria listen"

"You're cheating on mom!" Aria screamed. "With my boyfriend!"

"No I didn't mean to....please Aria..."

"You're cheating on mom!" Aria screamed again. Jeongguk had never seen her sob so much.

"Please baby listen. I'm sorry" Jeongguk didn't know what to say at this point. He started to walk towards her.

"No don't come close to me! You're disgusting! I hate you!" Aria screamed at Jeongguk. Without looking back, she ran out of the house.

"Aria!" Jeongguk ran after her. "Wait!"

"Don't come after me!" Aria screamed as she ran.

Jeongguk halted on the doorstep, contemplating whether he should follow her. He watched Aria run through the streets and take a turn, probably heading towards the park nearby.

Jeongguk sank into his knees at the doorstep.

"I'm sorry" Jeongguk heard a whisper behind him.

"It's not your fault. It's mine" Jeongguk whispered. "I..." Jeongguk couldn't form up words. Soon he was shaking, loud sobs leaving him.

There were a million emotions swarming in his mind. Disbelief and shock clouded his mind. Fear sat on him like a pillow over his mouth and nose, making it hard for him to breathe. His insides felt like they were dying and he felt nauseous. He fisted his raven curls with his hands, pulling at them as uncontrollable sobs left him.

"Jeongguk" Taehyung whispered and wrapped his arms around him.

"I should follow her" Jeongguk said. "It's getting dark"

"I think you should leave her alone for now. She might need some time alone" Taehyung said.

Jeongguk stayed silent. The neighborhood was safe. She would be fine, right?

"It'll be okay" Taehyung said.

"No it won't. This is what I feared. The last thing I wanted. To fuck up Aria's life" he knew this would happen. He knew his truth would be out one day. He didn't think it would be this way. He was going to make things right. He was going to let Taehyung go and focus on his children. He was going to-

"You didn't fuck up her life, Gguk"

"Yes I did. How is she supposed to live with what she saw?" Jeongguk let out, another sob shaking his whole body. "She saw me cheating on her mother. That's enough to fuck up her life, Taehyung"

Taehyung sighed.

"I'm such a bad father. I was so selfish, Taehyung. I didn't care about my daughter when I started cheating on Jieun. I didn't even care about you. I only cared about me. I'm so selfish"

"It's okay to be selfish sometimes" Taehyung sounded like he wasn't sure about what he was talking. "You're not a bad father. If you were, you wouldn't be worrying so much about what happened right now. And you were selfish in a way because you wanted to keep your family tact while you were trying to get back what you missed. I think it's okay"

Jeongguk shook his head. "I didn't want to divorce Jieun because it would affect the children's lives. Especially Aria's life. Divorce always affects children more than the parents. Because they're in the middle of it all. But this...this is worse than a divorce, Taehyung"

Taehyung tightened his embrace around Jeongguk.

For once, Taehyung's touch didn't bring him comfort. Instead, it burned. He wanted Taehyung to be away from him. All of this started because he couldn't control himself. Aria wouldn't ever have found out if Jeongguk was able to control himself.

It wasn't like he blamed Taehyung. He could never do that because Jeongguk was the only one at wrong here.

"I think you should go" Jeongguk said finally.

Taehyung stilled. "Oh" he unwrapped his arms from Jeongguk's body. "Yeah I should leave"

"I'm not mad at you. You did nothing wrong" Jeongguk said.

A suffocating silence stretched between them. Then Taehyung hurried to put his clothes on and came back to the doorstep, where Jeongguk still knelt.

"I'm sorry" Taehyung said as he stepped out of the house.

"Not your fault" Jeongguk said. Taehyung looked hurt but Jeongguk didn't know what to tell him at that moment.

"I...um..." Taehyung stepped out of the house and paused, looking back at Jeongguk who now sat on the doorstep, head hung low as tears rolled down his cheeks. "She'll be fine. She'll cool off and come back"

Jeongguk nodded, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. Another silence stretched between them.

"Um...yeah I'll get going" Taehyung said awkwardly. "Goodbye, Jeongguk"

Jeongguk raised his head to look at Taehyung. He looked so sad. And it must've hurt to see Jeongguk like this. And it hurt to treat him like this but he just wanted to be alone. Jeongguk gulped down the bile in his throat.

It was then it suddenly dawned on him. Taehyung was right. He does treat Taehyung like a second priority. He always had. He just never realized it. And now the truth is crystal clear. Jeongguk's truth that he himself didn't know. When his family life is at stake, he would always choose his family over him. The family he had sacrificed his teenage years and twenties to build up.

It was the truth. Even though he loved Taehyung. Even though he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Taehyung. When Aria is involved, Taehyung would always come second.

Why it wasn't like that when he hooked up with Taehyung even after knowing he was Aria's boyfriend? Because he was greedy. He wanted Taehyung for himself. And also because they weren't supposed to be together because of obvious reasons. The fact only encouraged Jeongguk to think that he was doing the right thing. The right thing to himself, at least; to go after his desires because the sin has already been committed. Why not exercise the sin further, right?

However when it was Aria's, his daughter's, future that is at stake, Taehyung came second. And he hated that it was like an automated reflex to a dangerous situation.

He loved Taehyung. But it was just that his daughter and the man he was in love with was two different dimensions in his life and he couldn't help but prioritize the more vulnerable one over the other.

He looked at Taehyung now, watching him with his big chocolate orbs, almond eyes filled with unshed tears. Jeongguk never intended to fall in love with the person he satisfied deepest desires with. Now, as the consequences of his actions fell on him like a thousand bricks, crushing him beyond repair, he realized that being mournful and repentant about him hurting Taehyung is futile. It won't help him out of the pit he had fallen into.

So he let him go. Even though his heart screamed at him not to, that Taehyung was the only thing he had. But his mind screamed that Aria is the only thing he actually has. He was choking on his sorrow. But he had no choice. He had to save himself from falling deeper into the dark pit.

"Goodbye, Taehyung"

Cheating never brought anyone any good anyway.

-

Darkness had started to fall upon the streets by the time Taehyung reached Jimin's dorm. The sky was starless; empty just like the way Taehyung felt. He felt numb. But he could also cry a river. The pain was too much that it numbed his whole body.

However, taehyung had this coming. Jeongguk had this coming. They were bound to be caught sooner or later. He just worried for Jeongguk. Taehyung couldn't imagine what he could be going through right now. He just hoped Jeongguk would find a way out of this mess. And it would be harder for him, since Taehyung will no longer be there to support him

Taehyung had just been dumped. But hell, he wasn't even in a relationship. Taehyung had to make up his heart.

In fact, his brain had already started organizing things for him, no matter how much his heart wept. Taehyung had called the number of the address Jieun had send him on his way back from Jeongguk's place. He was going to do it anyway. An old lady had picked up and told him he could visit to take a look anytime. Realizing he has to move out of Jimin's room sooner rather than later, he had told the old woman that he would visit in around an hour.

Taehyung knocked on Jimin's room now. He heard ruffling from inside and footsteps approaching the door. Soon, the door opened and Jimin's doll-like face popped up behind it. Upon seeing Taehyung, Jimin sighed and opened the door wider.

"Taehyung!" Jimin said, wrapping his arms around Taehyung tightly. "I've been worried about you!"

"I'm sorry" Taehyung said, resting his head on his best friend's shoulder. "I was sick"

"Did you take meds?"

"Yeah. Jeongguk took care of me"

Jimin dragged taehyung inside and made him sit on his bed. "What happened?"

"It's over" Taehyung forced a smile.

"Oh my baby bear" Jimin said and wrapped his arms around him and Taehyung told him the whole thing as tears rolled down his cheeks. Taehyung sobbed uncontrollably afterwards and Jimin cold only offer him comfort by whispering sweet nothings to him and caressing his back.

After almost thirty minutes of spending time with his best friend, Taehyung gulped down some left over Chinese food of Jimin and set out on his journey to see the room Jieun had told him about. Jimin agreed to it because they had no other choice. It was only a matter of time until the landlady comes back and Taehyung would get kicked out again. Even though he currently had sufficient money to pay his rent for about two months, it would be easier if he could find a cheaper place.

Taehyung arrived at the said destination in around thirty more minutes. He had taken the bus there. The place was about twenty minute taxi drive away from the campus like Jieun had told him. It was a couple of miles away from the town, where the roads were busier. Here, the roads were rather peaceful. Just like the area Jeongguk lived. It looked like a friendly neighborhood, with their two story houses.

Taehyung walked down the narrow road, trying to find the number of the house. When he finally did, he saw a small house with a couple of plants in the front yard and porch and a carpet that said Welcome right in front of the door.

Taehyung pushed the doorbell and after a few seconds, a short, old woman with a friendly face opened the door.

"Oh Hello!" She chirped the moment she saw Taehyung. "You must be Taehyung"

"Yes ma'am" Taehyung said, offering her a smile.

"Well come on in!" She said and took slow steps in to the house. Taehyung quietly followed her as he looked around the house. The woman stopped in the living room.

"Take a seat, will you?" She said, smile lighting up her greying eyes. "Would you like some tea? Did you have dinner, my child? Oh look how thin you are!"

"I did, ma'am" Taehyung said, grinning. "Thank you"

"I'll get you some tea, then. I just baked some cookies this evening!" she said and headed further into the house.

Taehyung sat on a sofa in the brightly lit living room. There were knitted rugs all over the place. Even on the sofas. There was an old-looking TV and some more plants here and there. The house smelled like cookies and something about the place made Taehyung feel really warm and welcoming.

After a few minutes, the woman came into the room with some biscuits and tea. "Here you go. Eat as much as you want"

Taehyung took a cookie and started munching on it. "This is delicious!" Taehyung said

The woman grinned in delight. "My grandson used to love them. He's in California right now I think he's around your age. He comes by for a visit every now and then. Oh, I almost forgot! I'm Mrs. Hooper"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Hooper" Taehyung said, the woman, who turned out to be a real friendly person and reminded Taehyung much of his late grandmother. She told him how she has been providing vacancies to students for almost a decade now. She also told him that she was so used to it that having no one over made her sad.

When they finally went upstairs to see the rooms, Taehyung found out that it was an ordinary room. Much smaller that the room he stayed at Jeongguk's. But there was a bed, a cupboard and a desk, which was more than enough. Taehyung was actually pleased.

The rent was cheaper. And taehyung was glad for that.

"I can give you breakfast. No need to pay" Mrs. Hooper said as they came downstairs.

"There's really no need, Mrs. Hooper. I can manage" Taehyung said.

"Listen here, kid. I have more and enough money and I really would love it if I can make breakfast for two people in the morning, hmm? So don't be so stubborn. All of you are just like my grandson" She muttered the last part.

"Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate it" Taehyung said.

"So you'll move in?" She asked.

"Yes. When can I move in?"

"Well if you want you can even move in right now!"

Taehyung grinned. "I'll move in tomorrow. Thank you"

"You're welcome. I'll be home anytime so you can come here anytime. And do tell me of you're running late"

"Sure ma'am" Taehyung said. "I'll see you tomorrow"

-

Jeongguk laid sprawled on the sofa. It was almost nine o' clock at night and Aria still hadn't come back. After taehyung left, he had just laid on the sofa, feeling like shit as tears rolled down his cheeks.

He never cried. He doesn't remember crying, like actually sobbing after he got married to Jieun. It was only when Taehyung came onto his life on a few occasions that he actually cried. And Jeongguk felt like he had become softer at heart after meeting Taehyung. He had become a better version of himself. Even though Taehyung managed to bring out the worst of him. But he also had the best and happiest days when he spent time with Taehyung.

There were dried tears all over his face but he had no motivation to go wash his face. Aria's words kept playing in his mind like a broken record. Pain shot through his chest every time he heard them.

You cheated on mom? You're disgusting! I hate you!

Jeongguk sniffled as he unlocked his phone. He checked to see if Aria had texted him. He had checked every minute, for the last two hours. But no avail. Not a single notification. Not a single call.

He wanted to tell Jieun about Aria but how would he explain it to her? What is he supposed to say? Oh I was having sex with my student and our daughter walked in on us? And newsflash! I'm cheating on you!

That's not going to work. The truth is out now and he had to tell Jieun about it. But he just didn't want to do it over the phone.

Aria is old enough to return home, right? This neighborhood was safe and friendly after all.

Jeongguk sighed and closed his eyes. His eyes burned. He let out a sigh out of dread. He was finally about to get up from the sofa when his phone started ringing.

Jeongguk sat up with a jolt and looked at his screen, fully expecting to see Aria's contact to pop up. But disappointment washed over him as he saw that it was an unknown number.

Jeongguk let out a disappointed sigh and slid his thumb over the call icon. "Hello?"

"Hello? Is this Jeon Jeongguk speaking?" a man's voice spoke.

"Yes?"

"Sir I'm a police officer speaking. Your daughter, Aria is on the way to the hospital right now"

"W-what? What..." Jeongguk's heart hammered in his chest. Confusion flooded his mind.

"Aria was hit by a car"

》♡《

Thoughts?
Thank you for being here
Love,
Sara💗