[ two ]

After an hour of travel, Taehyung finally inhales the scent of Seoul again. They step out of the train and wait for Jimin to come pick them up since the older kept on insisting about that.

Hands swinging gleefully, Taehyung and Seolmi walk towards the exit and place their belongings on the ground.

"Dada, carry," Seolmi complains as Taehyung stretches his arms. He immediately scoops  the little girl up and cradles her into his arms. Seolmi snuggles into the warmth and her eyes start to get droopy.

"Is my little Seolmi still sleepy?" Taehyung can feel Seolmi's nod against his shoulders. After that, a small smile creeps up his face as he starts rocking the little girl's body back and forth for her to sleep soundly. She grew up with a habit same to Taehyung's. That is whenever she's sleepy, she needs to have someone to cuddle with before she can even shut her eyes close.

After 10 minutes of waiting, Jimin shows up in front of Taehyung with a very big smile plastered on his face.

"Taetae!" He whispers, trying to hide his excitement because Seolmi is fast asleep and he doesn't want the little girl to wake up and cry.

"Chim! We're here again, at last," Taehyung whispers back to his best friend. Jimin helps Taehyung carry their suitcase since Taehyung can not get a grip of it anymore because both of his arms are supporting his baby.

"All of them are waiting for you, you know," Jimin starts the conversation inside the car. Taehyung pats Seolmi's back as he stares at Jimin.

"Is he-"

"No, he's not but I think he's coming over. That's why Jin wants you to come quickly so that you can hide Seolmi in case he arrives," Jimin gives Taehyung an awkward smile which makes the younger sigh in relief even though a part of him is still worried about the fact that both of them are now in Seoul and it's getting difficult to keep everything a secret now that Seolmi's been asking him about her father.

"Is Seolmi giving you a hard time?"

"Kind of, Chim. She keeps on asking me about him and I don't even know what to answer. I'm also not sure if she saw him in the pictures I kept or she's just curious because all kids her age at pre-school have complete families," Taehyung frowns as he remembers the day Seolmi went home from pre-school with tears in her eyes because she was envious of how the other kids get to have their daddy.

"We can't blame her, Tae. And no matter what we do, the truth's gonna come out," Jimin replies, his eyes focusing on the road but he did not miss to hear the sigh that escapes from Taehyung's mouth. Instead of saying something again, his hand makes its way to rest on Taehyung's thigh, giving it a squeeze of assurance, reminding Taehyung that he'll always be there for him.

"I know, Chim. Thank you."

❄️

Once Taehyung steps inside the house of Jin and Namjoon, Jin is almost ready to shout his name in delight, but gets taken aback when he sees the sleeping baby girl snuggled up in Taehyung's embrace. He zips his mouth and hugs Taehyung lightly instead.

"Hyung, I missed you so much!" Taehyung blurts out before earning another hug from the older. After that, Jin directs Taehyung to their room and leaves them alone so that they can unpack and arrange their things. They will be staying in Seoul until the year ends and God knows how scared Taehyung is for he does not know what might happen within the months that he'll be there. Like for example, Jeon Jeongguk.

Sighing, he places Seolmi gently on the bed, tucking her inside a pink fluffy blanket. The child stirs in her sleep but does not open her eyes. After putting out their things, Taehyung changes into something comfortable before heading outside the bedroom. When he climbs down the stairs, he sees Jin, Namjoon, Jimin and Yoongi talking and settled down at the living room.

"Taetae!" Jin and Jimin squeals together which make the other two roll their eyes. Taehyung laughs at their remark and proceeds to sit down in between his hyungs.

"How's life in Daegu, Tae?" Namjoon starts the conversation.

"It's okay, hyung. It's far from danger and Seolmi is happy with her friends at pre-school," Taehyung answers which makes Namjoom smile.

"That's good to hear. I thought she was getting bullied because of the fact that she doesn't have a daddy," Yoongi retorts. Taehyung sighs at his statement.

"Indeed she was bullied several times before, hyung. Kids her age picked on her for not having a complete family. That's when my misery started. There was not a single day that she wouldn't ask me about Jeongguk. She doesn't know his name, and I'm not quite sure if she saw him in some of the old photographs I've kept, but other than that, she knows nothing about his identity. She just calls him daddy," Taehyung explains. The three looks at each other, worry etched on their faces.

"Tae, like I said before, you can't keep Seolmi away from Jeongguk forever."

"But... what if he disowns her? What if he doesn't want her because his life is happier when I'm not involved? I don't want to pop up in his life just to say that he has a child with me. I don't want to ruin Jeongguk's happiness."

"But why did you let him ruin yours?" Yoongi spats. Taehyung feels a pang in his heart- it's suddenly too hard to breathe. The question Yoongi asked is enough to suffocate him and remember everything that happened in the past.

"I... I was blinded by too much love, hyung. To the point that I let him take away my happiness and myself."

The others can do nothing but just to observe in silence, thinking about how they can avoid the encounter of Seolmi and Jeongguk to happen. Not because they don't want Jeongguk to know, but because they respect Taehyung's decision. They will wait once he's ready to reveal Seolmi to Jeongguk and support him whenever he needs it most.

❄️