Body And Soul

29. Trust Fund Parents

Standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom dressed to the nines, Jungkook felt as if he were dressed for his own funeral instead of a dinner. This - of course - wasn't his first time wearing a suit, but this was the first time he'd worn it to something where he felt as if the tie was a noose that was making the ability to breathe difficult, and the entire suit jacket was a straitjacket keeping him trapped and compliant.

"Are you done in there?" came a voice from the bedroom.

"Yeah," he said as he opened the door.

Jimin stood on the other side dressed in a similar outfit; Hobi a little ways behind him. Jimin tsked and shook his head.

"You can't look like that or they will notice something is off. You need to try to act indifferent. They aren't going to kill you."

"What if they..."

"They won't notice anything," assured Jimin, cutting in before Jungkook could start a laundry list of doubts. "You have the best wingmen on this Earth I'll have you know. We can rehearse what to say and do on the ride over to the restaurant. Though...do you have those index cards Taehyung wrote for you before he left?"

Jungkook nodded, palming his breast pocket to dig them out and reveal them to Jimin. There were only a few index cards, but Taehyung had written them incase Jungkook got nervous during the dinner and went blank. Taehyung had assured Jungkook that his parents didn't really expect him to respond all that much; that he would be able to make it through the dinner if he was just a yes man. He could do that.

After tucking the index cards back into his breast pocket, Jungkook moved to follow Jimin and Hobi out of the house and to the waiting vehicle. Clambering into the backseat, he felt the nerves threatening to take over again. He dug the index cards back out and looked through them again.

"If they ask you about the album, we have the track list. We just need to record it," said Jimin as Jungkook nodded, still flicking through the index cards.

"If they ask you how you are, you're doing fine," said Hobi.

"And if they ask about the accident?" asked Jungkook hesitantly.

Even though it was dark - as Jungkook looked up from the index cards - he could see both Jimin and Hobi smirk at the same time.

"Don't worry. They won't," said Hobi.

- - -

Jungkook had never been at a restaurant before where one meal cost him the equivalent of a week's grocery bill. He kept thinking about familiar things to keep his eyes from bugging out at the prices next to the dishes. Hobi - who sat off to Jungkook's right - pretended to point out a special to Jungkook on the menu when Jungkook knew that he was pointing out a dish that Taehyung would normally order.

Jungkook was thankful that he and Taehyung had similar tastes.

Jungkook had managed to make it through the first fifteen minutes at the restaurant with only making eye contact with Taehyung's parents once. They sat across from the three of them with a cold impassive looks painted upon both of their faces. They gave off a rich vibe without even saying anything. The amount of makeup and wealth that they wore on their person was enough to inform anyone in the vicinity that they were high class and only expected the best. Even though this was a high end restaurant, they seemed extremely put out that they were eating there as if everyone in the restaurant was beneath them.

"You've always been so good about keeping to the deadlines set by the label, Taehyung," said Taehyung's mother finally once the waiter had taken their order. "I'm disappointed that you're slacking."