The Arrangement | Taejin ✔️

Twenty-Nine

"No one has to convince me to divorce you-"

"Quit doing that. Don't utter another word, okay? There is no way that we will ever divorce! Don't even let yourself think about it or dream about it. Where in the heck do you think you would be going if you were to leave me and go elsewhere with five kids?" With his eyes fixed on Jin's, Taehyung blurted out in a whisper.

"I know that, but you asked if Hoseok was convincing me, and I explained that he didn't need to; you do it enough yourself."

While maintaining his grip on Jin's hand, Taehyung drew him toward the bathroom. As soon as they were inside, he locked the door behind them and turned to face Jin, asking, "How am I capable of convincing you to divorce me?"

"Are you asking a serious question?" Jin glanced at Taehyung strangely after hearing the question.

"Yeah, I am. I get the impression that you are going to try to use the fact that something occurred in the past against me at every opportunity. Still, you ignore that we were not in a commitment between us back then as we are now. Such things will never happen again now that I have made it clear to you how devoted I am to our relationship."

"So you choose when our commitment to each other in marriage is in effect and when it is not?" The more he listened to his husband, the more aggravated Jin became by him.

Taehyung ran his fingers through his hair and leaned against the bathroom door as he said to Seokjin, "that's not it. At the beginning of our marriage, I didn't give it my full attention or respect. I didn't want anything to do with you or Jimin. When you became pregnant with Jungkook, and at that point, I realized that I was in a bind. After that, I finally had answers to several questions I'd been asking myself for a while. Although my anger increased, it wasn't directed at you, but at the guilt I felt for having caused the situation.

I suppose at the time that I should try to make things work out between us, but you are such, you never communicate, and you never express emotion. I have no idea what thoughts are racing through that crazy mind of yours. I didn't feel fulfilled in our marriage, and possibilities outside the relationship were coming my way, so I decided to pursue them."

When Taehyung noticed the look on Jin's face, he immediately came to a halt in the middle of sharing his thoughts. It took him a little while to conclude that he would go on speaking his mind.

"Even though I was engaged in those acts and returning home to be with you, my emotions for you were, for some reason, developing more. Even with this, your care has never been present, and it still isn't. And knowing all of this, I have resolved to give my undivided attention to you, and I will do so regardless of whether or not you feel the same way about this endeavor. I still crave you, and regardless of whether or not you want me to let go, I will not do so. I am excellent at being selfish. I want to work on our marriage, Seokjin."

Jin remained silent for a short period as he placed both hands on his stomach. Listening to Taehyung speak had started to make him feel overloaded with a multitude of emotions, the most dominant of which was anger. He began to feel as if he was about to explode. The more he fought to hold it back, the more tears came out of his eyes, and he had to swallow very hard because he felt like he was being suffocated.

"Seokjin-"

"You can't be self-centered and have a happy marriage at the same time!" Taehyung was caught off guard by Jin's outburst.

"I was dragged into your life. I never once expressed interest in becoming a part of it. At the age of 21, when I was still attending school, my whole life was upended as a direct result of your acts. Despite this, I have never shown you disrespect, I have never resented you, and I have never treated Jimin in an irresponsible way. I stuffed all of my emotions deep inside of me and focused on surviving the new existence thrust upon me.