Evenstar

1. Prologue

It was almost 10 PM on a Friday night. Kim Taehyung and the Bulletproof members were about to head home after a whole day and night of discussion on their first album under their new name and label. Taehyung passed by Jungkook's office before leaving.

"Hey, time to call it a day," he said at the doorway, but Jungkook had settled down before his laptop and was about to continue working.

"I can't," he told his hyung. "You go ahead, I still have a few things to finish."

"Sure?" Taehyung regretted that Jungkook had gotten so busy now that he no longer had time to be as carefree as before. Maybe they shouldn't have placed this responsibility on his shoulders.

"Hey Jungkook-ah, let's go." Jimin called from behind Taehyung.

"CEO duties," Jungkook replied, shaking his head. He continued typing away, sending his instructions to staff via e-mail. "It's okay, hyungs, I'll leave in an hour or two." He looked up and blew them both a kiss.

They laughed and turned back to the hallway toward the glass doors of the main entrance. It was a busy time for everyone. They had begun the grind again and were working harder than usual. This time around they were directly involved in their own management.

Taehyung and Jimin parted at the parking lot as each boarded his own SUV, accompanied by his manager, driver, and a security detail. They felt it was unnecessary but Jungkook had insisted that each of them have at least one security staff, especially when they were on official functions.

"Where to, Taehyung-ssi?" Taehyung's driver-hyung asked.

"Let's go home now, hyung, so that you can all rest, too." It had been a long day.

Taehyung settled at the back seat. He was tired and sleepy but he looked at the scenes outside. People were going about for their Friday night dinners and drinking sessions with friends. He wished they could all do that too, but their free time was always scheduled and there was no such schedule on the horizon for now. They had been working hard like this since they were in their teens and were somewhat thankful that they had a seven-year break before picking up where they left off.

It was July 2033 and he would be turning 38 in a few months.  A long time ago he had dreamed that by age 40 he would already be married and would have his own child, or even children. He was nowhere near that dream, none of them were, and at the rate they were going they may never reach it. It was one of those dreams that was pushed to the wayside since other goals were more important, and because it might also complicate things with their fans. Still, he wished that, like all their other dreams, this would come true too. He couldn't see the point of all their successes if, at the end of the day, he would have no family of his own to share it with.

They entered the driveway of his residence in Seoul, and his hyungs accompanied him to his apartment before taking their leave. They would be back by tomorrow afternoon to bring him to his next schedule.

"Eomma," he called as he entered his home which occupied the whole floor of the building. The view from this height was the Olympic Park and the Han River.

"We're in the kitchen, Taetae." Taehyung found his mom and dad having a midnight snack. They usually prepared food for him at this hour so that he could have a warm meal when he got home. His mom began setting his dinner at the table.

Taehyung decided to grab the bull by the horns. "Eomma, please find me a wife. I want to get married next year."

Both his parents choked on their food. They looked at him to see if he was kidding. Taehyung's dad asked if he was serious.

"Yes, Appa." Taehyung had decided it in his heart. He wanted this and it was time he pursued it.

Mr and Mrs Kim looked at each other. They too had wanted their son to settle down and start a family, especially after they almost lost him. They had hoped he could live a normal life and know the joy and fulfilment of being a husband and a father. They desperately wanted to see their grandchildren too, while they were still young and strong enough to enjoy them.

"And what kind of wife would you like?" Mrs Kim was amused. It was as though Taetae was just asking her to cook up a viand or buy him something.

Taehyung thought about it for a few seconds and looked back at his happiest moments before he became a trainee at BigHit, moments of his childhood, when life was simpler and its joys pure.

"I want a farmer's daughter, Eomma."

Mr and Mrs Kim choked again, and Taehyung patted both their backs before heading to his room to change.