Tae's mother had gone home and Tae was sleeping , not the scary deathly sleep of coma but a gentle doze. Jk had refused to leave even for a moment and was back in the same position he'd been in for the last few days.
One hand holding Taes , the other crooked on the bed supporting his head as he too dozed .
Bang took in the scene through the little portal like window to the room and sighed. He knew he had to make big decisions and they were weighing heavily on his mind.
He watched as the two boys ' yes sometimes he forgot they were grown up and still thought of them as boys ' slept. He recalled countless other times when they'd fallen asleep together , shared a bed , he honestly hadn't thought anything about it, brothers shared a bed often , but now he wondered at his own blindness. Wondered also if he wasn't partly to blame, when he'd seen them form a close friendship as young teens he had encouraged to boy love image for the fans and for on the stage.
Korea was a strange country , so old yet so new , a mixture of old world ways and new technologies. Music was now a mix of traditional and western , everything about his Korea was now fusion. The food , the culture, ... was he now expected to accept same sex marriage?!
He turned and sat on one of the little chairs in the corridor and put his head in his hands.
He had always thought he'd do anything for these boys. He was so greatful to them , they'd all taken a risk coming to him back when he was barely anybody. And together , they had literally conquered the world of music...now they wanted him to help them take on a world of potential haters .
It wasn't just about them or him now either , he had hundreds of staff relying on his business doing well , boardmembers and shareholders .
He was starting to get a headache and rummaged in his pocket for some pain relief.
He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket but barely glanced at it . Everyone wanted to talk to him , everyone had questions for him. Questions he didn't have answers to yet.
He looked up as the door to Taes room opened to see JK walking towards him .
Bang stood up as JK gave a low bow in greeting.
This was the first time they'd seen each other properly since Tae had been rescued.
" how is he ?" Asked Bang softly. Noticing that JKs skin looked dry and sallow. He seemed to have aged overnight and had puffy eyes.
Jk gave a half hearted smile and said " better, thank you, he managed a little abalone porridge earlier that his mother had brought in , which the doctors said was a good sign. His head wound seems to be healing well on its own and they're not overly worried about his shoulder or wrist. It was the dehydration and shock that's making him sleepy but once off the drip they reckon he can come home "
Bang physically seemed to relax , took a moment and then invited JK to come sit next to him.
Oh oh , thought JK , but squared up his shoulders and sat down. He knew what was coming, but honestly after nearly losing Tae nothing else compared. He waited ...
" I've spoken to RM , " started Bang " I know everything " he paused and deliberately looked at JKs wedding ring and then up to what he assumed was Taes hanging on a silver chain around JKs neck.
Every part of JK wanted to hang his head , apologise, make excuses , but he didn't, his love for Tae just wasn't something he wanted to apologise for . Instead he nodded and waited .
" I have to admit , I guess I was nieve when I thought telling you to break up would work. I am going to have to call a board meeting and actually discuss this with them and my lawyer as well. There's no covering this up now and I'm still on the fence as to what to do to move forward from this.
RM would have me announce to the world exactly what you two are and see where that takes us ..is that what you want ? "
Jk had had a lot of time to think over the last few days , just sitting with Tae , could he speak for Tae? He thought he probably could knowing his husband better than anyone so he decided to speak up " Bang sir, as I said before I won't apologise for loving Tae , but I will apologise for putting you in this position . " He paused to gather his words " I honestly don't know if Korea is ready to accept us ,but Korea is a small country compared to the world , the rest of Asia I am pretty confident about , America and Europe. I am aware your company , our brand will suffer initially but I truly believe that with Army's help we will come out better for it. You will be seen as a pioneer ! "
"Are you not worried about Sasaengs?" Bang asked. Jk shook his head " Sasaeng are there any way. There will always be people that don't like us being with some one else , it's not just Tae and I that were shipped together , every one of my brothers has had their share of edited photos, hate comments and death threats . Look at Tae ," he choked at the memory" that was before all this came out , that was because you put me with Dahee and some one agreed , we can't control others nor can we live our life being controlled. I understand at the beginning, idols are meant to be put on a pedestal and reveered but we've been at this ten years now, regardless of who did you think we would stay single forever.? "
JK knew he was going off subject but all the stress ,all the anger , pain and frustration suddenly seemed to explode out of him , he could see Bangs face was shocked but continued.." We are all grown men now , we will all have to do our national service soon , most men our age have had girlfriends or boyfriends and none of us until me and Tae had even kissed anyone. ! Do you know how lonely that made us ?, how hard its been at times. I honestly don't think that clause should be in our contract any more and I think Army would be just as accepting ,or hating if J-Hope or Suga married a women as they will be over me and Tae "
He scrubbed at the tears that had started to fall , weariness was hitting him and he felt breathless from the speech.
Bang was silent , to JK it was the loudest silence he'd ever heard .
He watched at Bangs face changed from white to red to white again as emotions crossed his face. He braced himself as Bang opened his mouth to speak but instead of Bangs voice JK heard his name screamed ,loudly and full of terror ' Tae! he thought and ran back into the room to find Tae thrashing in the bed calling for him. He sat in the edge of the bed and pulled Tae to him as quickly as his dared , minding his injured arm ," I got you ,I'm right here ," Tae opened his eyes , bright with tears " JK ? " He said ,JK nodded and held him like he'd never let him go .
Bang witness everything before turning to leave the building.
