Healing (KTH, featuring KNJ)

Chapter 13

Taehyung was ecstatic. For the first time he'd found a girl he wanted to be serious about and she had agreed to be his. All the boys were happy for him too. Each of them knew how hard it was to find someone who genuinely liked them for who they were rather than their fame and money. Taehyung really had gotten lucky, to be honest a few of them were even jealous. Not that they wanted to steal Clara away, but they were reminded how much they hoped they might find their own special someone.

Seeing them together was too cute. Taehyung was constantly following her around like a puppy, always sneaking to hold her hand, give quick pecks, hug her tight, or even just brush against her whenever he thought no one was looking. But even in the euphoria of new love he was very cautious about how they interacted in public, even at the company. While all the staff signed NDA agreements, he didn't really trust the staff to truly keep relationships private. And he definitely didn't want to have to share Clara with the world or subject her to any negative media feedback.

Spending time together at the company was made much easier because she was nearly Namjoon's sister. Her regular presence was not unexpected, and the staff that worked closely with the band were excessively kind and accommodating to her. They all knew how much Namjoon had been affected by his brother's untimely death and how much he brightened when Clara was around. She had become a fixture with Namjoon, and that was what she would remain.

While Taehyung wanted to keep their relationship a relative secret, he did want to introduce her to his parents. They were his closest confidants and had supported him 100% over his difficult early years as a trainee, when he was embroiled in scandals, and when the exhaustion of his life made him simply want to quit. They really were his rock and had sacrificed endlessly for his dream. He felt he owed them much more than he could ever pay and desperately hoped they would love Clara and embrace her in the same way that Namjoon's parents did. With a busy schedule and sometimes months of grueling travel, he knew he would be absent frequently. When he allowed himself to truly dream, he wanted Clara to spend that time tucked into his own family with his parents, being cared for and nurtured.

However, he knew it wouldn't be that easy. His parents were very traditional and expected him to marry a nice Korean girl who would devote her life to her in-laws. To be honest, before meeting Clara that was what he thought he wanted too. But Clara wasn't Korean. She was still figuring out the social norms of the culture. And while she was making progress on her Korean she was far from fluent.

He knew they would eventually come to love her, they had to. She was lovely and she made him happy. Their few months together as a couple had been some of the best in memory. However, he accepted that it might take time.  At this point he needed to take the first step in introducing them.

He had planned to introduce her during the upcoming holiday but worried that might be too much pressure, especially if she hadn't celebrated the Korean holiday before. It would only serve to highlight her foreignness. So with that in mind, he found an evening the following week when calendars aligned, telling his mother he would come for dinner and that he wanted to introduce them to a girl he had been seeing.

His mother was elated. She loved to spoil her son so she quickly began to plan for a huge feast of all of Taehyung's favorites. And she was interested to meet the girl who had found her way into his affections. She'd met previous girls, but they only seemed to like him for the wrong reasons. She wanted to see if this new girl would simply be more of the same. Perhaps she could save her son some heartache by sending the girl on her way before she broke his heart.

When the day came, Taehyung picked Clara for what he hoped would be the first of many family dinners. She held a small bouquet of flowers which she fidgeted with the entire ride. To be honest Taehyung was a little nervous too, but he tried to project a solid and confident facade, for Clara if nothing else.

Arriving at his parents' apartment Taehyung let himself in, ushered Clara in behind him, and shouted, "Mom, dad, I'm home!" Clara heard rushing footsteps along with a woman's voice calling out "Taehyung-ah, I'm so glad you are here!" She stopped in front of him grasping him in a bone crushing hug while Clara stood nervously in the background with her small bouquet.

Eventually letting go, she glanced at Clara and then paused, "I thought you were bringing a girl you were dating. Who is this?"

"Mom, this is Clara, she is my girlfriend. Clara, this is my mom."

With a nervous bow, Clara said hello, then stretched out her arm to offer the flowers. "Thank you for inviting me, it is wonderful to meet you. I've heard so many things about you."

Taehyung's mother simply looked at the flowers and sighed. "Koreans would bring something more practical, but thank you anyway."

Clara's embarrassment was painfully obvious, but Taehyung's hand on her lower back gave her the courage to continue into the living room where his father waited for them.

"Dad, this is Clara. Clara, meet my father".

Clara quickly bowed again, mumbled out hello, and kept her eyes averted, afraid of making another mistake.

"Hello Clara, welcome to our home."

At least his father seemed more welcoming.

"Why don't you see if you can help Taehyung's mother in the kitchen while Taehyung and I chat?"

Time to head back into the lion's den.