The Kim Family Tetralogy

9

"We're here." Minho said, "Don't worry, they're just people."
"Who've been doing this for years, and here I come..."
"Just listen to them and well, maybe we'll at least get some input on how to avoid the pitfalls. But," Minho turned to him, "they probably will want to tell you how to do this," he nodded, "but again, this is your life, you get to decide how you want to move forward with this. Keep that in mind."
"I'm glad you're with me." Taehyung said, "I mean, Jin's gonna be there too, but having someone there who's not directly affected by this and maybe can keep his cool a bit better? And see the things I might miss? Priceless."
"It's my privilege, Taehyung." Minho thanked him, "But, you know, I too have and interest in this... gay man that I am, but let's pretend I'm not, today, sometimes that can give away more truth from LGTBQ+ people than you know." he winked, conspiratorial.
"Snake." Tae said, affectionately.
"Tss, tss, tss." Minho joked.
Jin and Bikram were waiting in the garage and Tae went straight for his brother's arms, demanding a hug.
"You ready?" Jin asked, being comforted by Tae as well as giving it.
"Yeah." Tae nodded, "Squirt and Earnie take on the world!"
"That sounds like a bad YA Novel." Jin snorted, "We should have a secret handshake or something."

"Welcome!" a thin wafer of a woman, at least in her sixties, possibly older, probably older, come to think of it, with stark blue glasses on her nose, a brightly coulored dress and a hairstyle G-Dragon himself couldn't pull off, greeted them in the hallway as they got off the elevator.
"Alright." Tae heard Minho mumble and had to blank out his face not to lose it.
"Call me Tits," she asked as she ushered them into a large conference room where a group of people were already seated.
"Tits?" Jin said, dumbfounded.
"Yes, Toots, Tits." she laughed, "'Cause I have none!" she smiled so wide her eyes were gone.
"Oh, ok?" Jin said, clearly out of his depth.
"Nice to meet you Tits, I'm Tae." Taehyung said and shook her hand, "This is my older brother Jin, our Lawyer, Saviour, and all together great guy, Mr Lee Minho, and our bodyguard," Tae was suddenly uncertain, "whom I don't know if I should name?" he asked Bikram who shook his head, "Our bodyguard." he settled the introductions.
"Oh, you poor souls," Tits held a hand over her heart, "you already need bodyguards?"
"Yes." Minho answered in their stead, "There's been several death treats, that's why we needed to meet you a bit under the radar." he shrugged.
"Of course, of course!" she nodded and had them sit down with the others, "I can't imagine how it must be like for you, having everyone's eyes on you, like this, but please know that you are safe here and that everything that gets said, stays in this room. We have all had to keep secrets to stay alive at some point, so we know how to do that, at least!"
Tae looked around the table and was greeted with friendly smiles and nods of reassurement.
"I just want to say, before we get started," Tae looked at everyone, "that both Jung Hoseok and Jeon Jungkook are very sorry they couldn't be here today, they really wanted to meet you, but they're still trying to recuperate from the Olympics and need to do boring things, like stretch, and run on the treadmill and lay down and drink a lot of fluids, and pee!" he winked, "Also their doctor wouldn't let them." he tried to soften the blow.
"Mon Dieu!" a huge guy with muscles like you wouldn't believe, said, "You tend to forget when you watch them on tv, that they're actually human!"
"Yes." Jin nodded, "Although, I must say, I sometimes doubt that myself, when they still have so much energy after a full day of practise they could power a small village..." he joked, making everyone laugh, "But they're really pitiful righ now, I feel safe to say, since you said nothing leaves this room. They'd kill me if they heard me!"
"They did such an excellent job with everything!" a young woman said, "I mean, I was deadly afraid when I came out, and I didn't do it calmly, without making any excuses, on national tv!"

They heard a lot of stories that day.
Some of them unbearably sad.
The worst one to listen to, was how that nice, funny, warm and tender old woman, she still saw herself that way, had cut her own brests off of her because she couldn't stand them when they started to develop, almost killing herself in the process.
And was kept in an mental institution for years after, the better part of her youth.
How she'd eventually, come to embrace what she was.
Neither.
But more woman than man, if she had to choose. Like society demanded she did.
Also, kaftans were bloody comfy, as she said.
There been a lot of laughter too, of course, and both Jin and Taehyung felt like they'd made some lifelong friends.
A bombardment of agedas, advice, warnings and rookie mistakes to avoid was offered up as well and Tae felt it would take him years to digest it all.
He secretly counted on Minho to wade through it all, discard things that wouldn't help them and come up with a clear idea that would work for them.
The man was brilliant.
No question about it, and could keep focused today in a way that was hard for both Jin and Tae since they got so emotionally invested in what was being said.

Tae had to leave with Minho a lot earlier than he would've wanted but they had some lawyers to meet as well.
"Remember," Tits said when she hugged him goodbye, "your safety and wellbeing is what's important! Don't be foolishly brave, no one will thank you. And believe me, The Cause will further itself, with or without you. It does not rest solely on your shoulders, though it may feel like it sometimes. And call me! Any time. I mean it!" she patted his cheek, turned him around and shooed him out the door with a grandmotherly tap on his butt.
At least he hoped it was grandmotherly.
She might have just wanted to feel him up.
Tits had a wild streak to her that Tae recognised as his own.
"I hope I'll be as cool as Tits when I'm old." Tae sighed making Minho completely lose it.
Luckily there was just the two of them in the elevator, Bikram had made sure and was waiting for them in the garage, "I'm gonna need a t-shirt with ' As cool as Tits' written on it," Minho squeeled, tears running down his cheeks, "Sequined!"
"What is it with you gay guys and sequined t-shirts?" Tae wondered, "Hobi's always on about how he's going to make t-shirts with 'Team Dick' on the back and 'All about the dick' in the front?".
"All about the dick?" Minho was wheeze-shouting, blind from laughing so hard.
"Yeah. Something Jungkook said when he laid down the law infront of the loathsome, years ago. You should have Hobi show you, he filmed the whole thing on his phone. It's glorious."
"Oh, ho, ho, I will'" Minho promised, wiping his eyes, trying to calm down.
Minho was still chuckling to himself as they arrived at the office. Tae was hidden in the backseat, just in case.
The press seemed to have left, but, they probably had a lookout somewhere in the vicinity.

"Yoongles!" Tae couldn't believe his eyes, "Friend! What are you doing here?"
"Helping my friends." he smiled, "Everybody ok, at the 'undisclosed location'?" he wondered.
"We're hanging in there. Hobi's pretty out of it, though." Tae confessed, "Jin had to put him on an IV and he had a migraine and, yeah, he's seen better days. But, you know, they're always ninety when a big event is through." he shrugged. Yoongi had been around the block before. He knew.

Turned out Yoongi had paired up with a couple of privacy law activists and were trying to invent some sort of tag that you could, stick on film clips like theirs and, yeah, Tae didn't quite get it, his head was spinning from information overload, but he trusted Yoongi, so.
Tae was asked to speak at some sort of gathering concering all this, which he was a bit reluctant to do at first, since, well, he didn't get it.
But Minho said he had an vague idea as how to make it work, and Yoongi begged, so finally he agreed.
Now he just wanted to go home, or not home, he wanted his Jungkook-home. And to immerse himself in there and not think about anything for a while.
Other than how much he fucking loved his man.

Minho gave him a ride to a shopping mall with an underground garage where he parked next to Jin and Bikram that'd had the ungrateful task of shopping for everyone, while they waited.
Tae was in the backseat, covered, and Minho opened the door for him and he sneaked into the van, hopefully unnoticed.
It was all very cloak and dagger.
Borderline hysterical, but who was counting?
"See you in a couple of days." Minho said, very quietly, as he closed the door to the van.
"Take care." Tae answered, feeling a little bit envious of Minho for being able to go back to his life like that.
Eventhough he wasn't envious of the workload that most certainly awaited him, being away from the office like this.

Jin was there, lending his broad shoulder for Taehyung to lean on.
In every sense of the word.
"I love you." Tae said.
"I love you too." Jin answered, softly, "Have I ever told you how much it ment to me that was the first thing you said to me, when I came out to you?"
Tae shook his head.
"It was such a relief, you made it feel like it wasn't a big deal at all, like I'd just told you I didn't like frogs, or something."
"It shouldn't be a big deal." Tae sighed.
"No. You're right."
"We've had it easy, considering. Even with all that's happened, we've had it easy." Tae acknowledged.
"Mm."
"Do you ever wonder how mom and dad would've thought about us, if they known?" Tae wondered.
"I don't know Tae." Jin confessed, "I want to think they would've just accepted it and loved us no matter what, but, I don't know."
"Were you disappointed when I wasn't straight?"
"God! No!" Jin held him out so he could look at him, "I was worried, since you know, hardships, but no! Definitely not disappointed. I just want you to be happy Squirt! And Jungkook makes you happy. Simple as that." he shrugged.
"Guess we know what mom and dad would've thought..." Tae winked and resumed his resting position on Jin's shoulder.
"Huh. I guess you're right." Jin realised.
They did, after all, raise him.
"I love you, Squirt." Jin laughed, when it dawned on him Tae had set him up, maybe without even realising.
"I love you too, Earnie." Tae answered, falling asleep.