Jeongguk sighs as he loosens his tie, flicking on the lights as he drops his keys on the couch. The house was quiet, which wasn't new. It was always quiet in this house unless the twins were here to distract him from the silence.

"I was starting to think you wouldn't show."

Jeongguk is startled by the sound of Jihyuk's voice, following it to the entrance of the kitchen. Where he leans against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

"What the fuck are you doing in my house?" He asks, his forehead creasing in immediate aggravation. He hasn't seen his brother in months, he's been purposely avoiding him and his mother.

    "It's been, what, four months since I've seen you last?" Jihyuk asks tilting his head as he thought about it for a moment. "Consider this a welfare check."

    "Like you give a shit about my welfare." Jeongguk says leaning against the back of his couch and crossing his arms. "How'd you get my address?"

    "It wasn't hard. Mom's been keeping tabs on you since you left." The older says. "She's the only reason I'm here, actually."

    "What does she want?" Jeongguk asks. "Whatever it is I don't want anything to do with her."

    "You know I wouldn't come all the way here if something wasn't wrong. Especially when it comes to mom~"

    "She's your mom, Jihyuk~"

    "That's bullshit, Jeongguk." Jihyuk says shaking his head, rolling his eyes in frustration. "I can't believe you're still bitching about this."

    "Are you finished?" Jeongguk asks, not phased at all by Jihyuk's words.

    "She's still your mom. And we're still your family~"

    "You aren't my family!" Jeongguk snaps. "I'm not even supposed to be talking to you right now."

    "You can't escape who you are, Jeongguk. No matter how far you run." Jihyuk continues. "You can work your stupid high paying job and  live in your fancy ass house. You can make new friends and associate yourself with all the right people, you'll always be a Jeon."

    "I'm nothing like you, Jihyuk. Or that family." Jeongguk says firmly.

    "Your charges may have been dropped, Jeongguk, but you aren't so innocent, are you?" Jihyuk asks stepping towards him. "If I'm remembering correctly, it was you who helped me get rid of our cousin's body. And you who assisted me in the murder of those guards outside of our uncle's house. Or am I getting you confused with someone else?"

    "I never killed anybody, Jihyuk. That was you." Jeongguk says stepping towards him. "You're the murderer, and you know that."

    "Of course I do." His brother says with an indolent shrug. A smirk playing on his lips as if he was proud of himself. "All I'm saying is that your hands aren't exactly spotless, brother."

    "Get out." Jeongguk says tugging his tie off as he heads to the kitchen. "I don't have anything to say to you."

    "Well this isn't about me, it's about mom." Jihyuk says stopping him. "You can act like you don't give a shit, but I know you do?"

    "What? Is she drinking again? Or is she popping pills?" Jeongguk asks sarcastically. "Because either fucking way, I'm not surprised."

    "You were the main one always talking about dad, but now you're killing her." The older says with an angry crease between his brows. "Why are you being like this?"

    "Don't make her problems mine. She did that already, for over twenty years." Jeongguk says walking into the kitchen. Throwing his tie down on the counter before searching the fridge for something he could eat before going to bed. He was exhausted and Jihyuk was pissing him off.

    "She's real depressed lately, Jeongguk. She's going downhill fast~"

    "She always does that."

    "It only happens when she doesn't see you."

Jeongguk rolls his eyes, he knew Jihyuk was right but he didn't want to see his mother. He didn't want to be reminded of the fact that he wasn't her son.

    "I get that you're upset. And I know it's probably tough finding out that she ain't your mom after all these years. But she still loves you." Jihyuk says. "She loves you more than she loves me, you know that."

    "Why don't you call her actual son?" Jeongguk asks looking over at his brother.

    "You are her actual son, Jeongguk. I know it's killing you not seeing her. You can't go from being attached to her by the hip to just ignoring her existence. I know you miss her."

    "I don't think you understand my perspective in all of this." Jeongguk says closing the refrigerator. "I lost my actual family because of the family she brought me into. I lost my boyfriend and I only see my kids two days a week."

    "What do you want? An apology?" Jihyuk asks. "We can't go back in time and make things any different, Jeongguk. This was always going to happen, you can't change that."

Jeongguk shakes his head as he sits down at the kitchen table. "I just want to move on from her and from you and everything else that's associated with that family."

    "I'm worried she'll hurt herself if she doesn't see you or hear from you soon." Jihyuk says turning to leave. "Do what you want with that information."

Jeongguk watches him walk towards the front door. "Don't come back here, Jihyuk."

    "Don't give me a reason to." Jihyuk says before the front door slams shut.

Jeongguk sighs, pressing his fingers against his temple as his head throbs. Of course he was worried about his mom. Even if she wasn't his biological mother she still raised him. She was all he knew and losing her—permanently—would hurt.

His phone rings as he's contemplating calling his mom. Taehyung's number showing up on the screen. He checks the time before answering the unexpected call.

    "Hey, Taehyung. What's wrong?"

   "Hey, sorry for calling so late. I wasn't sure what time you got off tonight."

    "It's fine, I was just getting in." Jeongguk says. "Is something wrong?"

   "No...well, yes. But it's nothing that can be fixed right now." Taehyung says on the other line. A sigh escaping his lips as he falls silent for a moment. "Can you talk? It's fine if you can't."

    "I can talk." Jeongguk says. "What's up?"

    "So...Seokjin and I got into it earlier about the custody agreement."

    "Yeah?"

    "Yes. And he made some valid points in your defense. So I thought I'd call."

Jeongguk sighs softly, he was exhausted and the last thing he wanted to do was listen to Taehyung's list of reasons why he'd be a shitty dad. "Okay."

    "I'm not angry...well, I am. But I'm not calling to tell you that. I think you know that already." Taehyung says. "I'm calling to ask if you'd consider, maybe, going to therapy with me? It's fine if you don't want to but I think it'd help us communicate better. With someone who isn't in the middle of all of this."

Jeongguk frowns slightly at the idea of therapy. His mother forced him into therapy once as a child, and it was a horrible experience. "What's a therapist going to tell us that we don't already know? You're pissed at me, I'm pissed at you. So what? We have an agreement, and if it needs to be modified we'll just go court."

    "There's a lot more to be said, Jeongguk. And it's not about us, it's about the boys."  Taehyung says, aggravation already laced through his words. "Be mature about this."

    "Mature?"

    "I didn't call to argue. If you didn't want to do it all you had to do was say so."

    "It's not that I don't want to. I just don't want it to mess up what we already have going for us." Jeongguk says. "We're co-parenting just fine."

    "No we aren't, Jeongguk. It only seems like it because the boys are still little. The older they get the more they'll start to realize how shitty we are as co-parents." Taehyung says. "Going to therapy isn't just going to help us communicate, it's going to make us both better parents for them."

Jeongguk sighs, all therapy did was dig up skeletons, and he'd much rather keep all his hidden away in the closet. But if going meant making him a better father and a better co-parent, then maybe it was for the best. "I'll do it."

    "I don't want to force you~"

    "You aren't. I'll do it for the twins." The ravenette clarifies. "Do you want me to set it up or will you?"

    "I'll do it. We can do it on one of my days so you don't have to miss any time with the boys."

    "Fine." Jeongguk sighs. "Is that all you wanted?"

    "Yeah, it's just...Seokjin tells me you aren't doing so well." Taehyung says, his voice reluctant. As if he didn't truly want to say anything. "I know it's weird to ask, but are you okay?"

Jeongguk falls silent as he thinks over his response to the question. He could easily dismiss Taehyung by telling him he was fine. Or he could genuinely tell him that his life was a living hell whenever he was alone. He could be honest and tell him that his thoughts keep him up at night, and that the only time he wasn't lonely was when he was working.

He could tell him that he sets goals and never feels accomplished when he meets them. And that he's happy when Jimin or Seokjin stop by but immediately comes crashing down to reality when they leave. He could tell him that he feels guilty for missing his mother and that he's lost and has no idea who he is anymore. Or who he could've been had he'd been left at that orphanage all those years ago.

But he fears the outcome more than he fears actually opening up. So he just shakes the thoughts, forcing them away like he always does.

    "I'm fine." He says swallowing his tears. Even if he wanted to he couldn't cry. "I'm just...I'm just tired, really. From working all the time."

    "Are you sure?" Taehyung asks. For a moment Jeongguk actually hears a sliver of empathy in his tone. Something he hadn't received from the brunette since that night in the hospital. "I don't want you doing anything stupid because you won't tell me how you feel."

    "I won't do anything stupid." Jeongguk promises. "I should go, Taehyung. I'm tired."

    "Okay. I'll text you the time and place for therapy next week."

    "Sounds good." Jeongguk says. "I'll see you then."

    "See you then."