A Way To Your Heart - Chapter 42: Chapter 42

"We knew about it all this way, dear."
"Huh? Wait, what?" Taehyung almost drop his jaw as he look at his parents who were smiling at him.
They knew?
But how?
Since when?
What exactly is going on?
This is something he never expected, no, this is beyond his expectation.
If they knew about it already, then--
"Jungkook?" Taehyung quickly turned towards Jungkook who was just sitting there silently, looking at him with finger over his lips, slightly biting the nail.
"Why aren't you saying anything? They're saying they knew about it? Jungkook, say something, please?"
Wait, Jungkook, he doesn't look surprised?
Why? What's going on?
Are they pulling some jokes on him?
He kept staring at Jungkook, waiting for his reply but--
"Tae, I'm sorry but... I knew they know about it."
What? He knew?
So? It means, their parents already knew about their deal and now Jungkook knew everything and still stayed quiet all this time?
What kind of joke is this?
So he's the only one who's clueless about everything? Till now?
And how did Jungkook knew they their parents knew?
Jungkook panicked when he notice Taehyung glaring at him. Scared thinking Taehyung might get it wrong and hate him before he could explain, he got up to explain but before he could utter a word, he got a smack on his arm from Taehyung.
"You! How dare you betray me?"
Jungkook flinched when Taehyung yelled all of a sudden, "Tae, let me expl--" and he got another smack on his arm, it wasn't hard enough to feel pain but he still jolted in surprise.
"You betrayer! Cheater! I'll beat you up today."
"What? Hey? What are you doing?!" Jungkook quickly got up when Taehyung grab the cushion beside him and start hitting him.
"Where are you running?! Don't move and stay there!" Taehyung yelled as he run after Jungkook who ran away.
"Taehyung, let me explain first, please?"
"How dare you say my name? Are you older than me? Call me hyung!"
"Fine. Hyung, let me explain!"
"You traitor!"
"Taehyung, please?"
"What?"
"Ok. Hyung, please?"
Their parents watched them chasing each other around the living room like kids with wide eyes, sometimes flinching and bending down when Jungkook tried to hide behind them while Taehyung tried to throw the cushion in his hand.
They didn't try to stop them fighting because it didn't look serious at all, it didn't even look like a couple fight either, but instead, it looked like how kids chase each other to fight for chocolate. And they were sure it won't take long for the two to make up soon.
"Is this how they're always like in their house too?" Mr. Kim turned to his wife when his son ran after Jungkook who ran out of the living room.
He was worried if the in-laws will think their son is childish and impolite, but to it's contrary, Mr. and Mrs. Jeon just sat there, watching the two with smile and constantly saying how cute Taehyung looks.
Taehyung was sure he ran after Jungkook but he couldn't see him anywhere. He was already in upstairs but didn't even know which side of the house he is in right now, it's his first time to be there anyway.
He didn't realized before but the house wasn't big like his parent's house but quite bigger than he expected, the walls, the lights, the transparent glass windows giving a view of the beautiful flower pots with different colourful orchids hanging down outside, the house looked quiet and cozy.
He just walked around looking for Jungkook until a hand grabbed his wrist suddenly from the back, he flinched and turned back to see Jungkook smiling.
"Jungkook? Where were you--"
"Shush! Come with me."
"Where?" Taehyung was dragged towards a room by his left, and he gasped when Jungkook open the door.
The room was dark, he couldn't see anything clearly when Jungkook dragged him inside.
"Jungkook? Where are we?" He turned when Jungkook let go of his hand and turned on the lights only for Taehyung to gasp at what was in front of his eyes.
The room was filled with computers and gaming equipments, the dim purple lights making the room looked more elegantly cool.
Taehyung's feet froze at the spot, looking around the room, his amazed eyes shining purple from the reflection of the light. While he was busy gasping, Jungkook wrapped his arms around him from the back.
"This is my gaming room," Jungkook whispered, resting his chin on the other's shoulder.
"Are you serious?" Taehyung turned back with wide eyes when the younger hummed as a yes with a nod.
"Woah! This. Is. So. Cool?"
Jungkook laughed as he walked forward, "you were worried if I stopped playing games before. Now you see? I never stopped playing. It's something I never want to stop doing anyway." He smiled as he trace his finger through the keyboard.
"This room is like the only place where I can be myself doing what I love. And I wanted to bring you here and let you see all these things. And I thought I'll tell you about me, that I'm not just a game animator in JJ Company but the CEO."
Taehyung looked around, his eyes exploring the room, "so... was this supposed to be your dramatic revelation?"
Jungkook chuckled, "well, yeah. I wanted to surprise you. But I ruined that too, didn't I?"
"No. You still surprised me. This room is really cool."
They chuckled, and they didn't say anything further, just staring at each other's eyes. He gently took Taehyung's hand to pull him a little closer, and with a deep breath, "Tae, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hide it from you. Please don't get mad at me."
Taehyung sighed, "I'm not mad at you. I'm just... I felt... kinda betrayed? That you hide it from me. There's so many things that I don't know about you, yet it never bothered me before about what you do or who you really are. All I did was just loving you for what you are to me. But I'm just sad because there's so much you're hiding from me. I know you love me but I just wanted you to be honest with me."
Jungkook hung his head down, the guilt engulfing him with Taehyung's silence after saying that.
"I'm sorry," that was the only word he could utter, tightening his grip on the other's hand.
"Jungkook," Taehyung leaned closer, cupping the younger's face, "I'm not mad at you, okay? I'm glad we're talking about this now at least."
"Really?" Jungkook's lips curled up into a smile when Taehyung nodded with his arms sliding around the other's neck.
"But will you tell me how did they know about it? I mean about the deal."
Jungkook took in a deep breath, since it came to this, there's no need to hide it anymore, and they need to talk and clear everything anyway.
"I'll admit I did tell my mom about our deal I'll admit I was the one who told my mom about our deal, but I promise I did it because I had no choice."
Taehyung frowned, and it was enough for Jungkook to continue before the other misunderstand him again.
"Remember that day when we decided to tell your parents about our marriage but found my parents in your house instead? That day on our way back, they kept asking me if we're really dating or not, because they couldn't believe I'm dating someone when I barely hang out with people. So I had to tell them about the deal, I was even surprised when they were totally okay with it and agreed to help you right away."
Taehyung bit his lip while listening to Jungkook, he get that Jungkook had no choice. "Hmm, ok. And what about my parents? When did you know my parents know about it?
"I think my mom told them. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but your mom asked me for a favor not to tell you that they know about it."
"My mom asked you not to tell me? When?"
"Remember when she came to our house to stay when your dad went for a business trip? I met her by the stairs when I was about to go for jog in the morning, we talked for a bit and that's when she told me that she knows about our deal."
"So it's.. really been quite a long time ago," Taehyung let out a sigh, "they really did know about it all the way? And I'm the only one in this who is clueless?"
"I'm sorry."
Taehyung looked at the younger pouting, he could clearly see the guilt in those pleading eyes.
Damn, he really can't get mad at him with that kind of look, can he?
So he smiled, his fingers running through the younger's hair, "so, what else my mom said? I mean on that morning when you guys talked."
"Nothing much." Jungkook slid his arms around the other's waist, pulling him more closer, "but she said I'm a good boy."
Taehyung rolled his eyes with a chuckle, "and?"
"Umm... And... she said I would be able to take care of her son."
"That's it?" Taehyung paused for a second and then asked, "so, she wasn't mad at me?"
"Mad? Why would she be mad at you?"
Taehyung sighed, "because I literally lied to them? They arranged my marriage and I brought you to them as my fake boyfriend just to avoid the marriage. It's just fate that we ended up together. And they came to know their son lied to them after trusting him and doing everything for him. Shouldn't they be mad at me at this point?"
Jungkook smiled and caressed Taehyung's face, "no Tae, trust me, she isn't mad at you."
But Taehyung was still frowning, so with a sigh, he leaned a bit closer, "in fact, she said she doesn't mind me being your real husband who can love you for real and take care of you instead of faking our relationship."
Taehyung finally laughed at that, and Jungkook could never feel relieved than hearing his laughter again.
"Is that why you were trying to make me fall for you?"
"When did I try?"
"You did."
"No way I did. You fell for me by yourself. Because I'm quite handsome and charming. I remember you drooled and couldn't even take your eyes off me when we tried our wedding suits."
"No. I wasn't."
"You were."
"That's... that may be because you looked different with a suit."
"That's where you started falling for me, by yourself."
"I wasn't--"
Jungkook shut him up with a peck on his lips, and smiled seeing the blushing cheeks of the elder. "I don't know about you, but when I first saw you, I thought your messy hair was cute, your annoyed expression when I won the game was interesting, the sound of your laugh was addicting, and I did think you look gorgeous in that wedding suit, but I think I may've already fell for you even before I see you in a suit. And I'm not afraid to admit it, because... I remember there was a moment where I wanted to see you once again, there was a moment where I wished your marry me was real."
Taehyung just stood there in silence, remembering the day when they went to try on their wedding suits, and he would be lying if he say he didn't feel the strange feeling churning up in his chest the moment he saw Jungkook, but he never thought there would come a day when he would admit what he felt at that moment. And now, he couldn't take the emotions that rushed into him and Jungkook's words weren't helping his heart from having trouble with the butterflies in his chest.
Each and every day, Jungkook never fail to make him realize how beautiful love can be and how it feels to be loved by someone so dearly.
And he can never imagine what Jungkook has in his sleeve for the next day to show him how much he is loved.
He tried to imagine the way Jungkook might have felt when he asked him to fake a marriage, but after knowing Jungkook wished it was real, it hurt yet felt happy.
He felt so cruel of himself for feeling happy when Jungkook was hurting but he was happy thinking Jungkook wanted it to happen for real and it happened for real, happy that they're together now.
Jungkook's doe eyes staring at him with so much love, the warm arms around his waist, the dim purple lights, the silence, everything around him was helping his flooding emotions to overflow from his heart and he couldn't stop himself from leaning more till his lips feel the others, without a word.
Jungkook paused for a bit since it was so sudden and unexpected, but he didn't take long to lean further to feel more of the other's lips.
It was soft, slow, and passionate yet a gentle longing kiss, none of them was ready to miss each other's lips, neither their hearts that start dancing with the butterflies to the rythm of their heartbeats.
Taehyung almost drowned in the feeling until Jungkook leave his lip, he whined a bit at the emptiness but ended up giggling when the younger's lip trailed to his neck, nuzzling his nose by the crook of his neck to land butterfly kisses all over.
"Enough. Let's go. Our parents are still here."
Jungkook chuckled when Taehyung remind him about their parents, they almost forgot about them.
"Oh there you are. We were waiting for you," Mrs. Jeon stood up just when she saw the two came back. She smiled looking at their hands holding each other, "so, have you guys... made up now?"
Taehyung and Jungkook looked at each other and smiled, "Yeah," they said together.
"I knew it. Yes!" Mr. Jeon jumped up from his seat with excitement.
"We... we're really sorry for acting that way earlier. Please forgive us if we were being disrespectful," Taehyung bowed at them with Jungkook following, apologizing for acting childish by chasing each other in front of them. That was one kind of an embarrassing thing to do in front of your parents and in-laws.
"You don't need to apologize just for that. It's alright, we don't mind it at all, dear. We're happy that you guys made up so quickly," Mrs. Jeon smiled.
"But next time, don't chase each other in the house and fight," Mr. Kim added and they all bursted into laughter, while Jungkook and Taehyung mouthing "it's because of you" to each other silently.
It was already late when Taehyung's parents went back with Jungkook insisting to drive them back.
And now Taehyung was left with Jungkook's parents.
Taehyung can feel how much they adore him when they tried to have small talks with him.
"Dear, do you want to see Jungkook's room?"
Taehyung grinned when Mrs. Jeon suggested it, he was curious of how Jungkook used to live before.
"Really?" He asked with excitement.
"Of course you can. Come with me," she said and lead him upstairs.
Taehyung paused a bit when they stood in front of the door, "will it be alright to just go inside when he's not here?"
"He's not here, that's why we're going. We're sneaking inside."
"Huh?" He just looked at her with wide eyes but she just burst out laughing after looking at his expression for a few seconds.
"I'm just kidding. Of course it's alright to see your husband's room. Come."
Taehyung finally chuckled as he followed her, their behavior and personalities seem somehow similar, it's mother and son after all.
"This is his room," Mrs. Jeon opened the door and Taehyung gasped just when he entered the room.
It was a big room yet looked so cozy, the black painted walls matched perfectly with the white ceiling, the bed in the middle of the room was bigger enough for one person yet it looked comfy, the furnishings in the room placed so neatly, the big glass window wall has the perfect sky view.
Simply, the room was perfect, perfect for a person like Jungkook, perfect just like Jungkook.
The vibe of the room was quite different from what the gaming room he went before looked. The colour of the wall paint, the lighting, almost everything about the two rooms was so different yet felt so similar.
Maybe because he started to understand the younger more, he could feel Jungkook's personality from both the rooms. The vibe of the two rooms are the same vibe Jungkook himself exude.
One is darker yet very carefully systematic and gentle, just like how Jungkook's external aura looks like.
While another one has that lighter and refreshing vibe, just like how Jungkook is when he's himself, a bit cheeky in an amusing way, sometimes funny, sometimes a little flirty (only towards Taehyung).
"Do you want to see his old pictures?" Mrs. Jeon took out a big photo album from the base of the cupboard.
"I'd love to," Taehyung grinned as he sat on the couch beside her.
"This is when he was three years old," Mrs. Jeon showed him a picture with a crying baby and Taehyung chuckled looking at it. "It was raining that day, and he insisted on playing in the rain."
"He looks so cute here," Taehyung giggled. Three years old Jungkook looked so cute, and he realize Jungkook still has those big innocent doe eyes and his bunny smile.
She flipped the pages, and Jungkook became bigger with each pages. But as the same kid in the picture become older with each page, there was sadness in his smiles, loneliness visible in those eyes, yet seemed so matured, ambitious and confident.
"Jungkook was a shy child, he hardly made friends when he was in school."
Taehyung lifted his head up when Mrs. Jeon start speaking with her eyes still on Jungkook's teenage picture, a faint smile curling up on her lips as she continued.
"During his middle school, he came back to me after school to say he got some new friends, he looked so happy, but it turned out they just wanted to take advantage of him because he was good in studies, they betrayed him for not being wealthy like them. After that, he became so quiet and he stopped interacting with other people, in school, even with us, he just shut himself in his room alone most of the time."
Taehyung stared at the picture on his lap, his heart hurt just by imagining a teenager innocent boy who just trusted people might've felt at that time.
"But he likes playing games since he was a kid," Mrs. Jeon continued, her voice almost breaking, "a year after, his dad got a job and he bought a game console for him with his first salary. And we got to see his smile once again after a while," she chuckled weakly.
"We never stopped him from doing what he want, instead, we just let him choose what he want and supported him in whatever he do, maybe that's how he came this far, owning a gaming company now."
She turned towards Taehyung who was listening to her quietly, "Oh yeah, about his company too, he never wanted to reveal any information about himself to public, even to you. We understand him, so we didn't say anything about it. Thankfully, his identity is safe from public till now. I know the media and public is curious about him too, and I know it's impossible to keep it hidden for too long, but I also know no one can force him either. I just hope he get the enough time to gain his confidence and prepare himself to overcome his fear and be ready to show himself to the world."
Taehyung just stared at her, he felt so happy for Jungkook to have such understanding mother by his side, to care for him, to give the love he deserves.
"Taehyung-ah," she gently took his hand, "I'll be honest today, because I think you need to know this at least. I knew you both weren't dating, I knew about your deal for the marriage, but I never tried to stop the wedding. I'm really sorry for that, but I did it for my son. I feel so selfish for thinking only about my son but what to do, I was so drown by my happiness to finally see my son smiling after a long time."
Taehyung didn't know what to say, it's strange sometimes you just can't find the word to respond. He could only wait for her to continue speaking.
"He has a secretary, Jung Hoseok," she continued and Taehyung almost choked at the name remembering all those silly things he said and did because of him.
"He is someone whom we can have our full trust to look after my son, because he's the only person Jungkook open up to, he'll always tell him what he couldn't tell us. He's like his elder brother who's always there to help him, and us too, sometimes."
Taehyung grinned awkwardly at that, he felt so bad for cursing the Hoseok guy before knowing about him. But you can't blame him, he was just jealous.
"Since Jungkook never really say what's in his mind to us, we always ask Hoseok about his daily life, he knows almost everything about him. And that's how we came to know about you."
Taehyung paused, confused with how did they come to know about him from that Hoseok guy.
Mrs. Jeon smiled looking at his expression, she seemed to understand what he was thinking so she continued,
"Well, I still remember that day, I suppose that's the day he met you for the first time."
Taehyung tilted his head curiously.
The day they met for the first time?
Is she talking about the night at PC room where they met?
"That night, when he came back home, I don't know how to say it but he looked different, like... his face looked brighter than usual. I was curious if something good happened at his company, so I called his secretary. But he said he doesn't know what's happening but Jungkook asked him to look into some random guy he met at a PC room."
Taehyung almost creeped out.
Did Jungkook tried to stalk him?
Come to think of it, he remember how he literally found Jungkook in his home and Jungkook never really gave an actual answer when he asked.
He just stared at Mrs. Jeon with wide eyes until she continued speaking.
"It turned out he wanted to know only your name and your residential address. I don't know what happened after that, but I was more curious about what he was going to do with some random person's information because he was actually acting strange after that day. He would suddenly smile while eating with us, I even noticed him smiling even while playing games in his room. It surprised us because that's something we really never see him do."
Taehyung kept quiet. What he just heard reminded him of what Jungkook said just a few moments ago, that he wished to see him again.
Would it be really true that Jungkook actually fell for him the first time they met?
"I was so curious that I couldn't help but to ask Hoseok about what was going on, and that's when he told me about you and about him going to your house instead of going for work."
So Jungkook came to his house to act as his fake boyfriend instead of going to his company? That's something Taehyung never imagined.
"I was so surprised, I couldn't believe Jungkook would actually go to someone's house without any reason by ditching his work, so I tried to observe him more without letting him know, because I know he wouldn't like it. When I saw him rushing out of the house one night, I followed him. And do you know what I saw? My son, who never really smiles, who never really talk to people, he was smiling looking at a boy sitting in front of a cafe. I saw him talking to the boy, and I swear I've never seen him that happy in my whole life being his mother. The boy made a mother see her son's lost smile after a long time, the boy brought back my son's smile, the boy made my son happy, and that boy was you. You made him happy, Taehyung-ah."
Taehyung's eyes teared up. He thought meeting Jungkook was something unplanned, something unexpected, but he never imagined there would be so much more hidden behind that unexpected meeting, he never thought their unexpected meeting would to have such impact enough to give them a happiness that could change their lives.
"I was so overwhelmed by my happiness to see my son happy that I asked Hoseok to look into more about you. I knew it was wrong to do it without your consent, and I'm really sorry, but I really wanted to know who you are. After knowing your mother is my old friend, I told my husband about everything, he was as happy as I was, because we all were waiting for this moment. So we purposefully went to meet your mom, to thank her and you, for finally bringing him out from his shell, for befriending his lonely heart, for making him happy. But when I told her I want to meet you, your mother told me you have a boyfriend name Jungkook before I could tell her about my son. To be honest, I was surprised and couldn't believe at first because I thought you were just friends, but I was more happy than surprised to think he's finally opening his heart for someone. I didn't care about the gender whom he fell for, be it a woman or a man, all I cared for was his happiness and the person who could make him happy."
Taehyung didn't know what to say, he's not good with words but sure he saw the happiness in her eyes, he could feel her love for her son in her words.
"When you both came together, holding hands, I was so excited to know the person who made my son happy is my friend's son and looking at how your mother also seemed to have no problem with your relationship, I proposed the marriage for you and my son right away. I didn't try to stop the wedding eventhough my son already told about your deal that day after we were back. But when I saw his eyes, I felt he didn't want it to be just for three months. So I chose to agree with the deal, hoping he would be happy for the next three months with you. I could only wish you to feel what's in his heart, to see what his eyes were trying to tell you. So I tried my best to make you spend more time with him, I wanted you understand him more, that's why I even planned for your honeymoon. I didn't care about anything, I just didn't want you to leave him, I just wanted you to be my son's happiness forever, by being his side, by loving him."
Taehyung couldn't hold his tear anymore, it escaped from his eyes.
The way Jungkook agreed to silly deals without any complaint, the way he did everything he wanted, the way he took care of him from the start, the way he comforted him when he was down, his touches, his words, his smiles, every memories about him were playing in the back of his mind.
All he could only think of was, what would've happened if he failed to realize his feelings for him in three months? What would've happened if he asked him for a divorce after the deal?
He could've snatched his precious smile from him, he could've break him.
He cried, because he couldn't imagine him being the reason of Jungkook's tears.
"I was so happy when you guys fell in love with each other for real. My wish for you to be my son's happiness is finally fulfilled. But I'm really sorry Taehyung-ah, for hiding everything from you, and for what I did."
Taehyung shook his head as he smiled at her in between in his sobs, holding her hand. "No Mom. Please don't say sorry. You did everything you could do for your son's happiness, I understand. Instead, I think I should thank you for understanding him so well, even his silence. Thank you so much for being his mom, thank you for everything."
Mrs. Jeon smiled as she spread her arms and Taehyung let her give him a warm hug.
"Thank you, Taehyung-ah. Thank you for loving my son," she smiled as a drop of tear rolled down her cheeks.
She wiped her tears after letting go of him. "I was so afraid you wouldn't want to be with my son after the three months. We didn't know how to convince you not to leave him if you wanted to get a divorce. You also have your life, you might want to do so many things in your life, and we didn't want to hold you back either. But I'm so glad you decided to be with him. You don't know how much it meant to us, and I couldn't thank you enough for this."
"I won't leave him Mom. I don't think I can even dare to, because I think my love for him keeps increasing with each day. I don't want him to feel lonely anymore, and I don't think I can live without him either. So don't worry Mom, I'll stay by side and be with him, forever." Taehyung smiled, and Mrs. Jeon land a soft peck on his forehead, thanking him again as they hug each other again.
Her hug was warm, it made him feel like a mother's hug, comforting and soothing. He was so glad he got to know such great and sweet people in his life. It felt like he just got two mothers for this life.
But Taehyung never got to see the person standing behind the door with tears in his eyes, his mind filling with only the words Taehyung just said...
That he won't leave him.
That he don't want him to feel lonely.
That he can't live without him.
That he'll stay by side and be with him.
Forever.