The Measure of a Man { BTS Taehyung Series }

Chapter 6

Jin stood at the kitchen counter, chopping onions for the jjajangmyoen. Namjoon was scooping some kimchi into a bowl while Suga measured ingredients for the black bean sauce. Taehyung walked into the kitchen with Mari on his arm.

"Guys, what can I do to help?" he asked.

"Nothing!" they yelled in unison.

"Mari, watch out for this one," cautioned Jin. "His cooking is infamous."

Mari giggled and stroked Tae's arm. "It's OK, baby. You can't be good at everything."

Tae protested, "How would you guys know if my cooking is bad? You refuse to try it!"

Suga let out a weary sigh. "Are we doing this again? Tae, nobody will try your food because it looks unappetizing. There you have it. Leave it alone."

Tae shrugged and replied, "You guys are just trying to clown me because Mari's here."

Jungkook invited Tae and Mari to sit on the living room floor in front of a short table with soju and beer. Jimin and Jungkook were already working on their first beer. As Jimin poured beers for Mari and Tae, he winked and said, "Are you sure you want to be with a guy like Tae? He can't hold his alcohol. He gets drunk on beer. It's sad, really."

Mari laughed and fluffed Tae's hair. "Do they always give you this hard of a time, baby?" she asked Tae.

"Yeah, this is pretty much what it is to live in the same dorm with these guys. It's just constant. Living with these assholes is kind of like being pecked to death by a chicken," said Tae, laughing good-naturedly.

"Well, Tae knows a little something about chickens," noted Namjoon. "Did you know that when he's done being a K-pop star, he's considering going back to farming? Can you picture Tae out there with his Gucci on, just pulling weeds? If you stick with this guy, you're going to be washing your clothes by hand and cooking over an open fire." Namjoon's grin was infectious. "I mean, you have to think if you want to live out your days in obscurity in the countryside," joked Namjoon.

"Well, that's what money's for, Joonie. I can pay someone else to wash the clothes and cook. She can just be princess," retorted Tae.

"Hell, no!" said Mari, startling the boys. Her outburst even drew Jin from the kitchen, still holding a pair of tongs.

"Who the hell wants to be a princess?" Mari questioned. "I'm not looking for a man to take care of me. I can take care of my own damn self!" she concluded.

Namjoon broke out into applause. "Well said, Mari. Who would want to be a princess when Parliament has all the real power?" he reasoned.

"Exactly!" Mari concurred.

"Well, on that note, the food is ready," Jin proclaimed, carrying the large pot of jjajangmyeon to the table which was already loaded with side dishes. Jin set the pot on the table and the boys immediately descended on it like vultures.

"Aren't we supposed to wait for Jin, our elder, to take the first bite," Mari questioned.

"God, no!" said Jungkook. "He went back to the kitchen for his special chopsticks. You snooze, you lose," he concluded.

"Jin's so fussy. He has to have his luxurious wooden chopsticks," observed Tae, glad that the boys had finally found a new victim for their clowning.

Jin walked to the table with two sets of wooden chopsticks and gave one set to Mari.

"Hey, how come she gets to use your special chopsticks?" protested Tae.

"Well, maybe I like her face better than I like yours," retorted Jin.

"Hey, my face was voted the most attractive male face in the world," defended Tae.

"Like you'll ever let us forget it," observed Suga dryly.

Just then, J-Hope came to the table with a towel around his neck. "Hey, guys! You didn't wait for me," he accused them playfully.

"We waited," said Mari. "Like one pigs waits for another."

The whole table broke out in uproarious laughter. Mari blushed slightly. "I guess I should have warned you guys that I come from the countryside too. Just to give you an idea of where I come from, my Uncle Tim has a giant moose head on his wall."

"You're a great match for Tae, then," said J-Hope. "He was voted the most likely among us to have a farmer's tan."

"J-Hope, we've been over all this," said Tae. "Get up to speed, buddy. They've already made fun of me for being from the countryside, for not being able to cook, for getting drunk on beer. We've played all the biggest hits already."

"Man, you take a shower, and you miss so much," lamented J-Hope. "Did they warn you that he wants 10 kids?"

"Ten!" Mari exclaimed through a big bite of noodles.

"I would be fine with five," Tae amended.

"Even five seems excessive. I'm not sure I even want to have one," Mari clarified as the table fell silent.

"Are you done eating?" Tae asked Mari. She nodded. "Let's go to my room," Tae said, taking her hand to lift her up.

"You'd better be good in there," warned Jin. "As the hyung, I feel it necessary to keep you in line."

"Don't get your panties in a bunch," said Tae, closing the bedroom door behind them.

"I'm sorry about them," said Tae. "They're like brothers to me --- like really annoying brothers," he added.

"Naw, they're fine," said Mari, scanning Tae's room. It was her first time being in there. She found it small, but tidy. She was glad he finally had a room to himself after all these years.

"Did you mean what you said about not wanting kids?" asked Tae.

"Correction --- I didn't say I don't want kids. I said am not sure if I want kids. Those are two different things," said Mari, taking a seat on Tae's blue and white striped duvet.

"Because having kids is a really big deal to me," Tae said, taking a seat beside her and wrapping his arm around her waist. "Like, I would hate to get serious about you and then find out you don't want kids."

"So, what you're saying is that it's a deal-breaker for you," Mari said in a soft tone, but Tae could feel her frustration. "So, if I won't give you kids, there's no reason to have me around," continued Mari.

"I never said that," protested a bewildered Tae. "Where did you get that from what I said?"

"Well, it was implied, for sure," responded Mari, pulling out of his embrace. "Listen, I'll give you an out right now. If you don't want me, just say it, and we'll stop here --- no harm, no foul."

"Wait, how did we get from me wanting kids to us breaking up?" asked Tae, his face wearing a strained expression. "I don't want to break up," he whispered, pulling her down to lie next to him. He swung his leg over her body and held her close from behind. "Let's not worry about it now," reasoned Tae. "Let's just enjoy what we have in this moment."

"You're right," Mari replied, pulling his arm tighter around her. They lay there in the stillness until Mari heard Tae snoring softly. She closed her eyes and tried to picture herself in the countryside with a group of young children playing around her and one on her hip. The picture seemed a little chaotic, but not altogether objectionable.