Indebted...

Part - 4

Jungkook's pov

Lifting her mug of coffee from the round patio table, eomma ( Ma-ri) blinked at me. "You're dating Taehyung ? Kim Taehyung as in your boss Taehyung ?"

I squirmed a little in my seat. "Yes." I usually found it relaxing to sit in my foster parents' backyard and listen to the sound of wood snapping in the firepit. Today? Not so much. Because I had to lie to them.

As if the dog sensed my tension, Ranger padded over to me. I stroked his short, coarse fur, becoming more and more uncomfortable as the silence dragged on. I looked at eomma just in time to see her shoot appa (Whan) a smug grin.

"Told you," she taunted him.

I felt my brow crease. "What?"

Appa shrugged. "We're not stupid, sweetheart. We worked out for ourselves that you two are interested in each other. I mean, you made it clear that he can be hell to work for at times, but you never once told us you were thinking of quitting."

Eomma nodded. "When you first got the job, you told us not to get too excited; that he'd probably fire you after a week or so. Weeks went by, and you were still there. Those weeks turned into months, and those months turned into years. Unless there's something I don't know, he's never threatened to fire you."

"I'm good at my job," I said.

"We don't doubt that," appa assured me. "But we know our boy. We know you lose all tact if someone pushes your buttons hard enough. You can't tell us there were times when you didn't show him a little attitude."

Okay, so I'd occasionally flipped him off or called him a rude asshole. But I'd come to learn that Taehyung wanted to have at least a few people who'd be honest with him; who'd see past the CEO title and not pussyfoot around him. Of course, if I'd ever showed him attitude in the presence of others, he'd have probably fired me on the spot.

"Whan said that you and Taehyung wouldn't cross the platonic line," added eomma. "But I said it would happen eventually. So, who made the first move, you or him?"

I shook my head. "Oh no, I'm not giving you the ins and outs of how it all went down." I'd tell them as few lies as possible. "But I will say that it's serious."

"Serious to you or to both of you?" she asked.

"To both of us. I know you must be thinking it's too soon for me to be sure of that-"

"No, sweetie, I'm not," said eomma. "You two have spent pretty much every day in each other's company for the past four years. You might not have been sleeping together, but your relationship probably hasn't been emotionally platonic for a while now. You've had a sort of work place partnership for a long time. If you care for each other, I can imagine it feels almost effortless for you to switch to a real partnership." She squeezed my hand. "I'm happy for you, and I hope it works out."

And now I felt awful. They were being so understanding and supportive, and I was being a big fat liar.

Standing, appa grabbed some firewood from the pile and tossed it into the pit. "Have you told your dad yet?"

I sighed. "No. I will. I just ... I worry he won't take it well. He doesn't like change."

"Your happiness is important to him, though."

"Yes, but if some part of papa feels threatened or off-balance by my having a man in my life, I might find myself dealing with Dal."

"I've never come face to face with Dal-he doesn't seem interested in talking with me or Mari. But from the things you've told me about him, I don't believe he would hurt you."