Wheels Have Each Other

39. The Mid-April day

Italics - Past Jeongguk's POV

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Taehyung's leg bounced up and down in apprehension. It had been five minutes since the three of them were sent back to the interrogation room, but the detective was still not there and it was making his anxiety shoot up the roof. 

He wondered where he got his earlier courage from. Maybe it was the fact that his father was accusing Jeongguk unnecessarily that made him yell. 

Now that they were back in the interrogation room, the courage left him with no address to contact. 

He hesitantly looked at his husband and then at Jeongyeon. Both cousins were staring at the table in front of them with guilt swimming in their eyes. 

Deciding to make use of their time, Taehyung cleared his throat, but before he could say anything, Jeongyeon blurted out an apology, God knows to whom. 

"Huh?"

She cleared her throat and repeated her words. "I'm sorry. I-I didn't know he threatened everyone else and took Dohyeon away as well. Can you tell me wh-what happened?" she hesitantly looked up at Jeongguk, talking directly to him for the first time in ages. 

Jeongguk glanced at her as well, but he couldn't hold her gaze for long. He looked back down at the table and took a deep breath to revisit one of his least favourite memories. 

The evening of a mid-April day, two months after he asked Taehyung's father for Taehyung's hand in marriage.

April 19, 2019.....

"Hey," Jeongguk opened his door wider for Yugyeom, who had come home without any prior notice. "Hey," Yugyeom ran a hand through his hair, pushing them back with his fingers as he walked up the stairs to Jeongguk's room. 

"Why did you come?" Jeongguk asked, walking behind Yugyeom. 

"Just like that. I was feeling bored and had nothing to do. Thought we'd go out or something," Yugyeom fell back on Jeongguk's bed with a grunt and left his legs dangling on the side, "you busy?" 

"Umm....kinda? I have to do some research on this company I'm going to have a meeting with tomorrow," Jeongguk said, pointing to a file that he had been reading until then. 

"Oh? Do it later. Let's go now," Yugyeom said and of course, Jeongguk could never say no to him. With a sigh, he pulled his table drawer out and pocketed his wallet, thinking they would just roam around.

"Where are we going, by the way?" he still asked, just in case his unpredictable best friend wanted to go to a mall. He couldn't exactly turn up at a mall in shorts, after all. 

"The mall," Yugyeom said and Jeongguk rolled his eyes. Of course, he should have known. 

"I was thinking we could maybe buy something nice for Taetae and post it to him. It'd be romantic, you know? Your old school style won't work. You should also try to make him fall for you instead of just asking his father for him. God knows what gutter I picked you from," Yugyeom mumbled the last part, but Jeongguk heard him just fine. 

"Shut up. I'm doing no such thing. What if he gets creeped out by it? Also, I don't want to, I told you already. I don't wanna try anything romantic. Anyway, Ajeossi said Taehyung would accept for sure. Ajeossi is getting ready for the company transfer as well. I know Taehyung is a nice enough man to not crush his father's hopes when he doesn't even have a boyfriend."

"Right. Okay, great-grandpa. Let's just go and roam for some time, then. I know you've been stressed for a while now," Yugyeom said and sat up just in time to see Jeongguk put his wallet back into the drawer and walk towards his closet for something more mall-appropriate.