Idol's Wife

Chapter : 22

Next day, when he came from home,he was greeted by his parents but jayti was nowhere to be found. He sighed heavily, both with frustration and worry. He hoped that she might leave the work but he was too lame to even have such thought. He quickly went got without informing his parents.

Taehyung parked his car a few streets away from the café, his heart pounding in his chest as he approached the small, dimly lit shop. The soft glow from inside spilled onto the pavement, and through the windows, he could see Jayti behind the counter, moving gracefully as she served customers.

“Taehyung?” she asked, her voice laced with confusion. “What are you doing here?”

He swallowed, trying to find the right words. “You weren’t home yet. I got worried,” he admitted, his voice softer than he intended. “I didn’t know you were still working.”

Jayti looked down, suddenly feeling awkward. "You don’t need to worry about it.”

Taehyung frowned, his chest tightening. “It does matter,” he said, surprising even himself with the conviction in his voice. “You’re my... my wife, even if it’s just for show. I should know these things.”

Jayti glanced up at him, her expression softening. “Why does it matter now? You’ve never cared before.”

Taehyung didn’t have an answer for that. He didn’t know why he was feeling so protective, why he was standing here in the middle of her shift, his heart racing just from seeing her. He should be angry, like he’d planned, but all he could feel was relief and something else—something he wasn’t ready to confront.

“I don’t know,” he finally said, his voice quieter now, almost defeated. “I don’t know why it matters, but it does.”

Jayti studied his face, her confusion deepening. She could see something had shifted in him, but she didn’t know what. The tension between them hung in the air, thick and unspoken, as if they were both on the edge of realizing something neither of them was ready to face.

“You should go home,” Jayti said softly, trying to break the tension. “I’ll be done in a couple of hours.”

Taehyung hesitated, not wanting to leave her here alone. “I’ll wait, and don't even think to say no.....remember what we agreed yesterday in the car? ” he said firmly, taking a seat in the corner of the café.

Jayti blinked, surprised by his insistence, but didn’t argue. As she returned to her work, she could feel his presence behind her, watching, waiting. And for reasons she didn’t quite understand, it made her feel a strange comfort.

As the night wore on and the café emptied out, Taehyung remained. His thoughts were a whirlwind of emotions—jealousy, confusion, worry—but amidst it all, he realized something undeniable.

For the first time in a long while, Taehyung wasn’t thinking about Jennie. All he could focus on was Jayti, and how, in the chaos of their fake marriage, she had somehow found her way into his thoughts and into a part of his heart he didn’t even know was open.

As days turned into weeks, the tension that had once filled the house began to ease. Taehyung and Jayti found themselves slipping into a comfortable routine, the cold distance between them replaced by a bond that neither of them had anticipated. They began sharing small moments......little conversations over breakfast, brief exchanges when they passed each other in the hallway, and the occasional shared joke that lightened the atmosphere.

Taehyung, who used to find any reason to leave the house, now spent more of his free time at home. Officially, it was because his parents were still visiting and he wanted to keep up appearances, but deep down, he knew it was more than that. He enjoyed Jayti’s presence in a way he hadn’t expected. Their fake marriage no longer felt like a burden but rather an odd sort of comfort.