Bad At Love . KTH [Completed]

XXX

Seoyoung's POV 

The next morning, I woke up before the sun did, for it was a special day. It was Taehyung's birthday, December 30th. It was a cold day, but the sun would be shining on the freshly laden snow soon, casting that brilliant white glow to reach the top of the penthouse. Seoul was gorgeous in winter, especially when you could see it from such heights. I had plans for today, and with the help of the others, we were gonna throw Taehyung a huge party. He was no short of loving extravagance, so I would throw a party with his entire gang. Plus, I hadn't properly met any of them yet, so it would be cool to get to know Taehyung's other associates. Plus, I've heard there were some females working within the family so I was excited to finally have some feminine company again. 

Quietly, I slipped out of bed and changed into some comfortable clothes. As I was, I caught a glimpse of the fancy dress I had planned for the party, and I couldn't wait to give him his gift after... Once dressed, I crept out of the room and hurried down the elevator to the third floor. When proposing my idea to Jin, (I knew he would be a great party planner having experienced one of his for myself) he had suggested we use the third floor, a hall specifically built for banquets and large events. It would be perfect. We spent a few days thinking about layouts, food and activities with input from the others here and there. Jimin seemed to know a ton about Taehyung's preferences, and we actually got along quite well for that. 

It was finally the day and when the elevator doors opened, I was faced with a black wall, draped with black curtains. A pair of red curtains were in the middle, acting as the door. Walking through the drapes, I was astounded by how beautiful the hall had been transformed. I wanted it to resemble the happiest day of Taehyung's life, and he had told me that that was when we got married. So, I tried to restyle the hall to reflect the decor of our wedding. Seeing it brought tears to my eyes as I thought about the memory, especially the after party where I really connected with everyone and realized who they truly were. 

The hall had, yet again, floor to ceiling windows, except they made up nearly the entire wall except for the bit where the stage was. Right now, with the sun and snow, no lights were needed as the light cascaded inside, illuminating the entire hall. It was heavenly. Real vines hung on nails, allowing them to snake up the pillars and onto the ceiling. Fairy lights were strung aesthetically across the entire ceiling, scrapping the overly boisterous chandeliers. For a touch of nature, (Jimin explained Taehyung loved taking pictures of it) I had suggested that we have a moat full of water, fish and lily pads to circle the hall, making sure to install lights underwater to create that enchanted feel. The tables were laden with white table cloths, each having a scented candle that would be lit later this evening. 

Some men were already in the room, helping to set up some last-minute things. I decided this was a good chance to socialize. I probably wouldn't get too much time this evening. 

"Hey," I started, walking over and giving them a small bow. Immediately, they stopped what they were doing and bowed deeply. 

"Hello, Mrs. Kim!" they said simultaneously. However, they did not get up and continued to face the ground. 

"Ah, hello," I said awkwardly. At my greeting, they straightened their backs but still didn't meet my eyes. 

"What can we do for you, Mrs. Kim?" Starting to get a sense that they were tense and somewhat nervous to make a possible mistake, I considered that Taehyung had scared them into keeping in line, although I thought that line was a little too tight.  

"Ah, well," I started, realizing that I actually didn't have anything to say. This was not how I planned this to go. "Um, could you tell me your names?"

"Yes! I am Jang Geunsoo, at your service!" 

"Han Geunwon, at your service!" 

"I am Toni, at your service Mrs. Kim!" I noticed that these boys nearly shouted all their answers, startling me every time. 

"Ah, please, you don't need to be so formal with me," I said, opting them to stand up and speak casually. "Can I know how old you are?" 

"Yes ma'am! I'm eighteen," Geunsoo said. 

Geunwon continued to say, "I'm nineteen, ma'am."

And little Toni answered, "I'm seventeen, ma'am." I was surprised to hear how old they were. They were basically children, high schoolers. What on earth were they doing in a gang?

"Ah, I see. You can just call me noona, really," I said, feeling self-conscious that such young children were like this. They hadn't even gone to the military yet, they were already so disciplined. 

"P-pardon ma'am?" the one called Toni questioned carefully, slightly bewildered by my request. 

"You guys are so young, please, just call me noona, or else I will feel uncomfortable," I said, trying to ease them more to speaking less formally and more like kids. That's how they're supposed to be like anyway. Just foolish kids. 

"Yes n-noona," they said, much softer now. 

"Right, well, let's have a seat, hm?" For the rest of the afternoon, I talked to the three boys and were amazed by their stories. All of them had attended the same high school until one of the boys' father, a gang leader, was caught and sent to jail. Toni, who's father was the gang leader, was written as an accomplice and was sentenced to life in prison for something he had nothing to do with. The other two boys, Geunwon and Geunsoo were basically adopted into the family as their own families were radically none existent. They too were sentenced to crimes they never did. That's why they sought out Taehyung for help. They had heard of him on the streets and begged him to aid them. Ever since then, Taehyung offered them protection from the law and in return, they had to do some errands here and there and an interesting condition, stay in school. 

That's when I realized how important Taehyung's work was, and why he couldn't stop it, not for me at least. I couldn't leave these kids to fend for themselves, they had done nothing wrong. That's why Taehyung has to continue, and I wouldn't let myself get in the way. I would take it, whatever is thrown at me. 

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