Loving The Wrong Man (SD) ➸ Taekook ✓

- Third -

Jungkook blinked several times, dumbfounded. He couldn't believe his ears. Had he really heard her right? Had she really just been talking about...

"Marriage? You... You're getting married...?" he stammered.

The woman's frown deepened, the annoyance growing on her face.

"Yes, to a young CEO. One of your grandfather's business partners. I was against it, but the old man insisted on inviting you."

Jungkook swallowed. He had already suspected it, but she was inviting him reluctantly. He felt his chest tighten.

"If you don't want me to come, I can always..."

"Don't argue." She cut him off. "You're coming, and that's it."

She handed him the envelope again, without looking him in the eyes, and he grabbed it feverishly.

"Don't make any mistakes. Keep quiet and everything will be fine."

She didn't wait for his answer and left the place without looking back, leaving the teenager in this house too big and too empty for him. When he heard the front door slam, he turned his attention back to the invitation he held in his hands. They were shaking, and without him realizing it, he started to cry.

"She's really making a new life without me..." he murmured between his sobs.

He threw the envelope on the kitchen table, and wiped his eyes, unsuccessfully as the tears would not stop flowing. His eyes burned, and he felt nothing but this great emptiness in his heart. Was it too much to ask to someone to love him? For his mother to show even a little affection for him? He wasn't asking for the moon, just a family. The only one who seemed to love him was his uncle, but Jungkook felt that it was certainly not his place to take care of his sister's child, so he had left his home when he was sixteen, not wanting to be a burden to him anymore...

He finally managed to dry his tears, and as soon as he was more or less calmed down, he grabbed his phone from his back pocket and called his best friend. After a few seconds of waiting, the young man finally picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Jimin? Are you... doing anything tonight?" he asked in a small voice.

"No. Why? Kook, you don't sound good, are you okay?"

Jungkook bit his lip. He didn't like lying to him, but he knew he'd be subjected to an endless interrogation if he told him the truth.

"Yeah, don't worry... I just... I just want to go out now."

He heard a long sigh on the other end of the line. Apparently, Jimin had understood his little trick perfectly.

"This is not a good idea at all, Kook, but I know I can't change your mind..."

Jungkook shook his head.

"I want to drink until I forget who I am." he confessed.

"Aaahhh, Kook... Well, suit yourself. I'll see you tonight then."

"Mm, perfect."

***

Taehyung swirled his glass for a long time, watching the ice cube swirl endlessly in the alcohol. The music in the club was assaulting his ears, but right now he didn't care. He wanted to enjoy this night, because it would be one of his last as a single man. In a few days he would be a married man. Wow, it had all happened so fast.

He had agreed to meet Mr. Jeon's daughter, Soyoon. It had gone well. It wasn't true love – at least not on his side, because she had been very excited – but he had nothing against her either. So they'd made another date, then another, and one thing led to another and he'd ended up approving the old man's proposal. You had to understand Taehyung: he was really lonely, and having someone by his side wouldn't be too bad. It wouldn't necessarily be a very close relationship, but at least there would be someone at home when he came home at night, someone to eat with, someone to talk to, someone to watch a movie with. Someone to bring a little warmth to his home.

He finished his drink in one gulp, then ordered another from the barman. When the bartender brought him his drink, he paid him and turned to look at the place he had landed. It wasn't a nightclub – he didn't really like those places – but it looked dangerously like one. Dozens of young people were dancing and drinking under the glow of the neon lights, one pressed to the other. He took a sip of his drink, without taking his eyes off the crowd. Suddenly, something caught his eye.

A young man, no more than twenty years old, was trying to get out of the grip of a brute twice his size. The teenager was yelling at him and pulling with all his might, but nothing was happening, especially as the music was largely drowning out his screams. No one seemed to notice his distress, no one except Taehyung. Taehyung sighed and then, after finishing his drink, walked over to the duo, massaging the back of his neck.

"Is there a problem?" he asked, grabbing the attacker's arm firmly, applying enough pressure to make him wince.

"What's your problem, asshole?" the man shouted, quickly pulling his arm away.

Taehyung didn't bother to answer him and turned to the teenager, who was looking at him with wide, doe eyes.

So cute. Taehyung thought.

"Is he annoying you?" he asked softly, getting as close to his ear as possible so he could hear him.

The teenager didn't answer, just nodded frantically. That was all Taehyung needed. He swivelled to look into the bully's eyes, whose jaw had tightened.

"All right, get out of here and everything will be fine." Taehyung warned him, shooing him away with a wave of his hand.

"What are you doing? Who do you think you are, asshole?" the man shouted. "I'm going to beat the shit out of you!"

Taehyung sighed, running his hand through his hair. He would have liked to avoid using it, but well...

Without him seeing it coming, Taehyung grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close, whispering a few words in his ear. The bully's face fell and he wriggled out of Taehyung's grip. When Taehyung decided to let go of him, the man ran off.

"He won't bother you again, you can rest easy." Taehyung assured the teenager as he prepared to leave.

However, he felt two small hands grab his arm, and he turned to meet the teenager's bewitching doe eyes.

"No, don't go, Daddy."