But Beautiful

part 54

It was Christmas morning and the very first thing Jungkook heard was a banging on his front door. Similarly, Taehyung woke with a start, eyes wide as he glanced to where the sound came from.

“Just wait here, my love,” Jungkook said, Taehyung nodding and pulling the covers over himself tighter. When Jungkook reached the front door, he peered through the peephole to see who was there. Sighing, he closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, unlocking his door and opening it.

“Merry Christmas!” his mother exclaimed, throwing her arms around her son after dropping a few gift bags on the floor inside the door.

“What are you doing here?” Jungkook asked, allowing himself to be hugged but making no effort to return the gesture.

“Is that how you greet me on Christmas?” she asked, frowning.

“No, that’s how I greet you anytime because I will always wonder what you’re doing here.”

The woman shook her head, rubbing a palm up and down Jungkook’s arm. “Why can’t we get along? Isn’t it tiring to be so upset all of the time?”

Jungkook slapped a hand over his face, taking another deep breath. “Isn’t it tiring to have these mood swings?” he asked, looking at her with arched eyebrows. “You come over to apologize, then end up leaving while telling me dad would be disappointed. Then you show up here now, and I feel like I can sadly almost guarantee you’re going to feed me the same stuff I don’t want to hear. So before you ask why we can’t get along and why I’m upset all the time, ask yourself why. Ask yourself why I distance myself from you, and ask yourself why I’m upset when you’re around. Maybe you’ll come to the conclusion that it’s not me, it’s you. Because I’m actually very infrequently upset in my day-to-day life, and I get along with practically everyone. We used to get along. You were my best friend,” Jungkook spoke, eyes not breaking contact with his mother’s. “And now, because of who I love, you think every single other thing about me is disappointing. So make that make sense.”

His mother looked at him, her eyes eventually softening. With a nod, she said, “I understand where you’re coming from. I haven’t been supportive of your love life. That being said, it’s not like I have a problem with you being in love with a man. I have a problem when the man you’re in love with could cause a huge detriment to your future. But I’ve thought about it a lot, and your father and I did our best raising you, and I have to trust that you’re doing what’s right for you whether or not I agree. And I don’t need to tell you again that I don’t. Jungkook, I’m not trying to be cruel, I’m not trying to cause problems between us. It’s my right to worry about you, because no matter how old you are, you’re my child and I want to protect you. So I’m listening, okay? I want to sit down and hear you, tell me everything about what’s going on in your life. Tell me about this boy you love. How is work? Please, don’t shut me out. I call you often but you never answer. I’m here now, so please just let me in.”

Jungkook stood there, hesitant as he considered whether or not he should. “I’ve got my boyfriend over,” he said. “Taehyung is in the bedroom. So I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not.”

“Ah, so you two are dating now,” she stated. “If you don’t mind, and he doesn’t mind, I’d like to meet him.”

“I don’t feel comfortable with that yet. So how about this, after work on Tuesday I go over to your place and we can talk things through.”

Her shoulders fell, defeat written on her pout. “Alright,” she agreed, gesturing to the bags. “I did get you some gifts, so I’d appreciate if you opened them. I put thought into it. And please, don’t stand me up on Tuesday. I’ll order dinner for us.”