Healing (KTH, featuring KNJ)

Chapter 22

Taehyung took the elevator down the five floors with Clara, fingers intertwined on the short trip. She was shaking a bit, but Taehyung had already confirmed Namjoon's mom Minjee was at the apartment waiting for her. She would be Clara's support while he returned to his apartment upstairs.

Each of the three women that would be there had very different priorities for their day together. Minjee wanted to provide comfort to Clara and help serve as a bridge with Taehyung's mother, Aecha. Aecha wanted to get to know Clara a little better, mostly because she had made the promise to her son to at least try. And in the meantime if she could teach her some of the basic skills she should know in order to make her son happy, that would be an added bonus. And for Clara's part, she was hoping to just survive the afternoon without crying or having an anxiety attack. That alone would feel like success for her.

Taehyung let himself into his parent's apartment, giving a shout that he was there to drop off Clara. With a gentle kiss and final nuzzle he gave her a few last words of assurance. "I hope you have a good time this afternoon. I'll be back in three hours to pick you up and then it's just the two of us for the rest of the day, right?"

Clara hesitantly nodded and then slowly turned to head toward the kitchen where she heard the two mothers talking. She could already feel her nerves beginning to creep up, but Minjee was quick to come over and wrap her in a big hug, "Clara, you look beautiful as always. I'm so glad we can spend the afternoon together. Today we thought we'd make side dishes together, does that sound good?"

Clara nervously agreed, but her eyes remained fixed on the ground, frightened of what Taehyung's mother might say to her.

Minjee grabbed her arm and leaned in to whisper quietly, "It's going to be fine, I'm right here. I promise that everything will work out. Taehyung-ah's mother wants this to work, trust me."

"Ok" Clara squeaked out. She slowly shuffled over to Taehyung's mother and bowing low with her eyes glued to the ground, she greeted her. "Mrs. Kim, thank you for having me over today. I look forward to learning from you."

"Welcome to our home Clara. I apologize that our first meeting was a bit...difficult." Quickly changing the subject Aecha pointed to the counters. "I thought I'd show you how to make some of Taehyung-ah's favorite side dishes, how does that sound?"

"I would like that a lot. Thank you so much for taking the time to teach me."

As they began making the side dishes Clara became a bit less stiff, and began to feel a bit more at ease. Asking questions, and learning from the mothers careful instructions offered natural opportunities to interact. Clara did enjoy learning about the new ingredients and cooking style. Adding to her relief, Taehyung did not like particularly spicy food, so she was able to taste test the food without worrying about the heat bringing tears to her eyes. And while Taehyung's mother was very formal, she wasn't unkind to Clara which was an overwhelming relief.

By the time the three hours was wrapping up, she had a small pile of containers to take with her, along with strict instructions to not eat the Kimchi for at least two weeks.

Clara heard the door open and finally started to truly relax when she heard Taehyung shout that he was there as he came toward the kitchen. Seeing all his favorite side dishes on the counter his eyes grew wide and he immediately descended on the containers, using his fingers to grab a few bites of each.

His mother gave him a slap on the arm, admonishing him for his bad manners while assuring him that she was going to send him home with a full set that he could enjoy later. With a big smile Taehyung smacked his lips, "Clara did you make these? They are delicious! Just one more way I'm incredibly lucky to be with you." With that he grabbed her and gave her a kiss right in front of both mothers. While Clara was withering in embarrassment Taehyung was smirking, wanting to make sure his mother understood that he was real in his affection for Clara. And while he could see his mother roll her eyes, he was glad that she bit her tongue instead of saying anything that might make Clara uncomfortable.

Taehyung began scooping up the containers on the counter while nodding to Clara. "Well baby girl, should we take these and be on our way? Maybe we can order in some fried chicken and enjoy it with all of these sides?"

Already embarrassed from the kiss, Clara went an even deeper shade of red at the nickname. She quickly bid the mothers goodbye in the hopes of getting Taehyung out of there before she could be even more mortified.

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It only took a few minutes to get up the elevator to Taehyung's front door, and only a few seconds after he got inside before he dropped the food and had Clara pinned against the wall with his hips, leaning in to whisper, "I missed you baby girl." His lips immediately sought hers with strong and passionate kisses. Clara responded at first but quickly moved to hide her face in his neck.

"Is my princess tired? Let me take you to the living room so we can relax." And with a tap of her thigh he instructed her to jump. As she began to hop Taehyung grabbed under her thighs, wrapping her legs around his waist. For her part Clara buried her face into his shoulder, completely exhausted from the events of the day.

Settling into the couch, still tangled together, Taehyung invited her to rest, promising he would wake her later for dinner. But as the night wore on he just didn't have the heart to wake her, knowing how hard she had worked and how emotionally taxing her day must have been. His heart was full, knowing how much effort she had put in to try to get closer to his mother for his sake. She truly was his perfect angel and he really didn't deserve her.

Feeling her body melt against him, he struggled to figure out why his parents hadn't immediately seen how good she was for him. She accepted every part of his career, she didn't care for fame or money, she took care of him in ways he didn't even know he needed. He knew that she endlessly sacrificed for him without complaint and he could never even hope to make it up to her.

But even in his happiness Taehyung had his own anxieties. Namjoon's father was right about one thing, she was too innocent, kind, and shy to ever be in the spotlight. And Taehyung endlessly worried about how to ensure that didn't happen. He'd never forgive himself if she was hurt because of it, but he knew as their relationship developed it would become increasingly difficult to keep her close without raising suspicion. That was why only the parents, his members, and one very trustworthy manager knew about his affection for Clara. He was desperate to continue to be a peaceful refuge for his girl which felt like the least he could do in exchange for everything she had done for him.