An Extra Beat of Love

20. New neighbours

Moving into Jeongguk's house took longer than they thought it would take, what with Hana trying to help by trampling on everything that Taehyung had out of excitement. 

Other than that and Taehyung popping an Aspirin in once every two hours, the weekend went by as peacefully as possible with someone new moving into the villa next to them. 

Jeongguk didn't feel as horrible as he normally felt every Monday morning when he had to leave for his work, knowing he was going to return home to his daughter and his boyfriend that evening. 

As he walked towards his car that morning, he noticed a pregnant lady standing in the garden of the house next to them. 

'Must be the new people,' he thought and opened the door of his car before turning around to peck Taehyungs lips and Hana's forehead. 

However, when he turned back to get into his car, he caught the eyes of the pregnant neighbour. He gave her a polite bow, which she returned right away. 

"Hello. We moved in here yesterday," she said, jabbing her thumb behind her, towards their house.  

"Oh, nice to meet you. I hope we get along well," Jeongguk said with a polite smile. 

"I hope so too. Have a good day," she said and smiled largely, stealing both Taehyung and Jeongguk's hearts right away. 

"Thank you. You too, ma'am. My name is Jeongguk. This is my boyfriend, Taehyung, and this is my daughter, Hana," Jeongguk introduced all of them. 

"Oh, nice, nice. My name is Jeongyeon," the lady said, "my husband's at work, so I'll send him to your house in the evening so that you can get to know each other better." 

"Sure, please," Jeongguk said and gave her another bow before getting into his car. "Bye, lovelies. See you in the evening," he said and waved at Taehyung and Hana before pulling his car out of his driveway. 

Work went on for a really long time without a second to breathe. If not for Seokjin, who had made it a rule for him, his husband, Yoongi and Jeongguk to eat lunch together in Jeongguk's room every day, he would have even forgotten that something called food existed.

By the end of the day, he was beyond exhausted and almost considered sleeping in the office like he did most of the weekdays, but he remembered that he wasn't living alone anymore. 

His boyfriend and his daughter were waiting for him to get back home. With that thought fueling his exhausted body, he dragged himself towards his car and turned the engine on.

Coming home to the smell of cooked food after a long day at work was something Jeongguk had always dreamt of. But unfortunately, he could never experience it except for the Fridays when he went to his parents' house. 

As he walked into the house that night with the smell of cooked food hitting his nose, he almost felt like crying. God bless Taehyung for cooking food for him before he reached home. 

He took his shoes off tiredly, wondering why in the hell were Taehyung and Hana not coming to greet him, when he first heard the voice that he hadn't heard in four long years. A voice that he could recognize even in his dreams. 

The voice of Park Jimin, the best friend that he had deliberately erased from his mind and heart.

Jeongguk threw his bag right there and strode into the living room with huge steps. Jimin, who was sitting on the couch with his back facing Jeongguk, turned around after seeing Taehyung light up and look at something behind him, and froze once his eyes landed on Jeongguk.