Please... Love Me

7

"Dad, how's Mom?" Seokjin rushed to his father as he came out of the room at the hospital.

His father just glared at him before walking away.

"Dad?—" Seokjin pleaded, and Namjoon stopped, turning around. After a deep sigh, Seokjin could see that his father had been crying; his eyes were red and slightly swollen.

"Your mom... had a mild stroke. She can’t talk… she’s not responding, no matter how much I try." Namjoon walked back to the bench and sat down weakly. Seokjin had never seen his father so vulnerable.

"I don’t know how this will end up, Jin," Namjoon said, his voice trembling. He leaned his head against the wall, staring up at the ceiling, his eyes filling with tears.

“D-dad…” It was the most heartbreaking scene Seokjin had ever witnessed with his father. He slowly turned his head towards the door of his mother's room.

"If I had agreed… if I had agreed to that marriage… would it be okay? Would everything be fine?" He looked back at his father.

Namjoon shook his head before standing up. "I don’t know, Jin. Would it really solve everything? The Jeons could help us with the financial issues; they have strong marketing strategies. But… Jia—your mom’s health… I don’t know if they can do anything about that. All I know is she really likes their heir. She’s been talking about this from the beginning."

"Then, I guess I have no choice. Tell Mom, I'm agreeing to whatever you want."

Namjoon stared at him. "Son..."

"It’s okay, Dad. Can you stay here? I just need to go somewhere." When his father nodded, Jin bowed and left.

---

"Jin, what's happening?" Hoseok asked, watching him down drink after drink.

"My life… it’s ruined!" Jin slumped back against the couch.

"Bro, what do you mean?" Yoongi frowned, his brows furrowing in concern.

Jin had called them out for a drink, but by the time they arrived, he was already wasted, his face flushed as he kept running his hands through his hair.

"Imagine marrying someone you don’t even know! How can I even… Tae—he doesn’t know anything about this—he has no clue! How can I tell him?"

"So, you're getting married? And you’ve never even met the guy?" Yoongi asked, looking at his best friend with sadness.

"I don’t even know his name! Some Jeon guy, or whatever! Bro, I swear—I’ll make him regret this marriage."

Jin took another swig of beer, and Hoseok glared at him. "Make him regret it? But what if he was also forced into this marriage? You said you don’t know him, right? That gives me the impression he probably doesn’t know you, either."

Seokjin smirked at him. "Is that so?"

"Did you agree to the marriage?" Yoongi asked, and Seokjin nodded silently.

"I have to. My mom… my family and our company are at stake. This is what I get for being the eldest son."

"It wouldn’t hurt to give the marriage a chance. Besides, your family and your company stand to benefit," Yoongi reasoned, trying to gauge Seokjin’s thoughts.

Seokjin didn’t respond. Yoongi and Hoseok both knew about his secret relationship with Taehyung. Because of Taehyung’s career and his company’s rules, they couldn’t even go on real dates. They’d been stuck in this hidden relationship for years, with Seokjin’s devotion as the only thing holding them together. Taehyung often canceled their meetups due to his tight schedule, and with all the rumors linking him to other idols and actors, Seokjin ended up spending nights drowning his sorrows in bars.

His friends tried to convince him to move on from Taehyung, but Seokjin held on, unable to let go.

Hoseok eventually steered the conversation to other topics, like their busy schedules, his upcoming date, and Yoongi’s new composition.

As the two continued chatting, Seokjin noticed someone familiar dancing at the center of the stage—someone who was clearly…

drunk?