Kismet

Chapter 32- Hoodwink

The next several days pass in a blur, a mixture of happiness and stress in tandem.

The rest of the pack was more than delighted to see my new marks, officially linking me not only to JK but to them as a whole. They threw me a “Welcome to Bangtan” dinner the next night, which was one of the silliest and most fun evenings I’ve had. Jin made all of his best dishes, and we drank soju late into the night, playing silly drinking games and enjoying each other’s company. I was hungover the next day at work, but honestly, it was worth it. Having fun like that with friends was something I had missed.

Bran was served his divorce papers. I guess that’s a plus of living in a small town. It wasn’t delayed at all. I don’t know if it was Jungkook’s threats or the fact that I don’t think he really wanted to stay married either, but he signed them quickly, and now we’re just waiting on the courts to finalize everything. No mediation was needed. I told Bran he could have whatever he wanted. All I needed were my clothes, my car, and a few family heirlooms.

There’s a part of me that’s sad still, but it’s a very small part. A large part of my life was coming to a close, so of course, there were some tears shed. That being said, I had been mourning the death of our relationship for years. Each fight, every time he demeaned me, and each unmet expectation slowly killed anything Bran and I had. His affair was just the final straw. It was easy to let go because I had been doing the hard work of losing our love for a long time before it was ever over.

It was also easy to let go because I had a new love, a stronger and more mutual love, to look forward to every day. Getting into a routine at the Bangtan estate was smooth and easy. The guys were super easy to get along with, and having 8 of us under one roof meant that chores were really light after being split among everyone.

I enjoyed helping Jin with the cooking every day. He taught me a few of his family recipes, and I taught him a few of my own. We really bonded in the kitchen, and next to Jimin, he was the brother I was closest to. It was also great to have people enjoy my cooking again. I show my love through cooking for people and having them appreciate it brought me so much joy.

Jimin was quickly becoming my partner in crime. If I wasn’t with JK or in the kitchen with Jin, I was probably with Jimin getting into trouble. He made me feel young and carefree, whereas, for so many years, all I had felt was the weight of the responsibilities that fell on my shoulders. Pranking Tae was our go-to, but sometimes we would just sit and talk. Jimin was the one I told all my secrets. Having him around made life a little brighter.

I also had to take some time to finally deal with my family, which I put off longer than I should have. They were all super understanding, especially after they learned the details of Bran’s affair, though they were a little wary of me staying with my “friends” that they had never heard of. It was something that I thought would just take time. Eventually, they would all meet the guys and get to know them. I’m sure once that happens, their hesitancy will ease, but there isn’t much they can do. I’m an adult and can stay wherever I want. I know I’m safe with my new family.

The other stress that’s been looming over everyone is the trespassers that have been on Bangtan land. I’ve been kind of out of the loop with that, so I leave it more to the wolves. I know everyone is feeling wary of it, though, especially once they learned that the trespasser was the second in command in the neighboring Steppe Pack. I don’t think they know why they’ve been scoping out Bangtan land, but they don’t want to do anything rash that might cause a pack war. Steppe is apparently large in size, so they want to be careful how they deal with the situation and not accuse them of anything before they know the full picture of what’s going on. Namjoon has been talking to Bangtan’s allied packs in the meantime, trying to get their ducks in a row in case Steppe makes a move.