Am I Audible?

17. Encryption

The weekend was here before you could even notice. With the software running smoothly, your confidence in taking online classes somehow shot up which meant you had a pretty good night's sleep the previous night and woke refreshed for the weekend's happenings. The day of the memorial fell on a Saturday and you couldn't be more than relieved to be able to join the boys. Jungkook was pacing around the home and gathering things while looking through his phone.

"Kook, what's got you all worked up?" You asked startling the boy. "Are you worried about your birthday party? We are all here and it is gonna be amazing. You have nothing to worry about." You added to assure the boy.

"Oh, I wasn't worried about that. I was just cross-checking the stuff we need for Eomma's ceremony. I can't make any mistakes, it has to be perfect." The boy said looking back at his list. You looked at the boy with forlorn eyes. Why would anyone take away his mom from him?

"Come on here, I will help you too." You called out to the boy and helped him out with the things and their preparations.

"Where's Tae?" You asked after a while. The clock had struck 12 and you would need to leave soon so that you could reach back in time for a late lunch and then get the party prep started.

"He said he had a meeting and will be with us. He will come right? He won't disagree at the last moment right? Right, Gomo?" Jungkook asked nervously.

"Yes Kook, why wouldn't he?" You asked while mentally praying that Taehyung wouldn't pull the asshole card at the last moment. Your brother tended to get carried away by work and sometimes needed a lesson or two on how to prioritise things. You just hoped today wouldn't be such a day.

"I will go see what he's upto, okay? You should get ready by then." Saying that you headed towards Tae's home office surprisingly finding it empty. You were about to knock on his door when he came outside dressed in a black suit and looking dapper as ever.

"How do I look? Do I look good?...Why do you look so surprised?" He asked when he noticed that there was no immediate response from you.

"You thought I would stay locked in my room or worse buried in work, right? Well, I can't blame you for thinking that. But I told you, I'm gonna be a changed man. That's my promise to her and Jungkook...That reminds me I had gotten a matching suit for him. Is he wearing that? There's a matching tie too. Does he know how to wear a tie?" He rambled while you looked at him with a fond smile.

"Why don't you go and check on him Tae?" You prompted the man to head to his son's room.

"I can do that? Yeah, I should...Okay. You go get ready now. We have to be back in time for lunch and the party. Come on now, we can't be late because of you."

"Hey! I'm always on time. You guys are the ones always late."

"Yeah, right. Says the lady who changed three outfits because she couldn't decide what would be suitable to go out for getting grocery." Taehyung said as he walked towards the end of the corridor.

"That was one time!" You yelled even though you knew you were at fault. You smiled at the thought of Taehyung helping Jungkook with his tie and you had this urge to get it on camera and so that's exactly what you did.

***

"Great, we are stuck in traffic." Tae huffed while bringing the car to neutral.

"Gomo made us late by clicking all those photos."

"Young man, you are going to thank me for all the pictures when you grow up." You retorted.

"Yes I would have if the pictures weren't shaky or looked like they were clicked while running a marathon or something."

"Hey! I am still learning. The more I concentrate on holding the phone steady, the more shaky it gets. Not my fault!"

"Here we go again. Gomo, why don't you be a dear and leave clicking pictures to steady handed people?" The boy said with a serious face and you gave him a nasty scowl and turned away to look at the traffic jam you were in. The ceremony went pretty well. Tae and Kook somehow had crazy coordination and the duo had managed to breeze through the rituals leaving you surprised. You also gathered courage to pass by Joon's memorial. One step at a time, you told yourself as you approached where his urn was placed. You had barely managed to stand in front of it all the times you offered his memorial service. The memorabilia you had left alongside the urn made you a crying mess.

"Why don't we go a little more closer?" Tae spoke softly by your side.

"I-I don't think I can do it."

"Come on, we are with you." Saying that both Taehyung and Jungkook held your hands taking you as close as you could get. Tears lined your eyes but something felt different. You were happy that you could make this far. You even went as far as asking him how he was in your mind. This went a lot better than you had thought. You were brought out of your thoughts when you heard the squeals of Jungkook.

"Hi Maria, you are early! And you look so pretty! Your hair looks great too. Nice pairing the footwear with this dress." He said excitedly as he approached the girl who had been shyly standing by the gate with a small gift bag in her hands. 

"You look good too."

"I know right, Appa helped me with the tie see. Maybe you could help me too some day."

You and Taehyung looked at each in surprise as you saw the boy fluster the girl right in front of you with his compliments and flirting. You both muttered a 'kids these days' under your breath and led the kids inside.

*~*