Loving The Wrong Man (SD) ➸ Taekook ✓

- Twentieth -

When Taehyung came home about an hour and a half later, he came face to face with Soyoon and her sumptuous red satin dress. It fit her perfectly, sculpting her waspish waist, then widening over her hips. It reached down to her feet, but was half-open all the way, revealing a long, sensual pair of legs. No, she was honestly gorgeous. Any man would have been charmed by her incredible beauty, and she was perfectly aware of that. She knew that Taehyung would be no exception.

And yet, he found it hard to hide his unease at seeing her dressed like that. It was clearly a beautiful outfit, one that was only worn on special occasions. Was there anything special about this evening? Not in his memory, no. So he suspected she was up to something.

"You're back rather early today." he remarked as he put his jacket on the coat rack.

"Yes, I really wanted to see you..."

She approached with a feline gait, a provocative little smile plastered on her lips. Taehyung swallowed, he wasn't really in the mood to try to understand what she had in mind. Just as she was about to pin him against the front door, he nervously sidestepped her.

"Y-You hungry? I'm going to make something to eat, it's getting late. And knowing Jungkook, he must be starving..."

The woman's smile deepened, increasing the thirty-year-old's discomfort tenfold.

"I've already cooked us a nice little meal. All you have to do is sit down and enjoy this dinner with me." she replied.

Taehyung frowned.

"With you? Like... Just the two of us? Why isn't Jungkook here?"

There was a flash of annoyance in Soyoon's eyes, but she quickly dispelled it.

"N-No, he's out with friends..."

"He went out with friends? At this time, on a weekday? Why would he do that?"

"I don't know, it's none of my business, he's buddy-buddy with whoever he wants!"

Now it was Taehyung's turn to be slightly irritated.

"What do you mean it's none of your business? He goes out at this time during the week when he's got school tomorrow, with who-knows-who on top of that, and you're not even worried?! You're his mother, aren't you?! Why do I look more concerned than you?!"

Soyoon gritted her teeth.

"Oh it's all right, he's a big boy, he can look after himself, he doesn't need me to look after him!"

Taehyung already suspected that they didn't have a very good mother/son relationship, but now he was beginning to wonder if it even existed. Had he overreacted? But here, he knew Jungkook better than anyone, he knew very well what he did when he went out in the evening, since he had been one of his conquests. And that was what worried him the most. Was he going to end up in the arms of another man? Would one of them touch him, let their dirty hands run over his little body, penetrate his intimacy? He was worried sick, disgusted and furious just imagining it.

But what worried him even more was that he knew Jungkook had no intention of going out tonight. That morning he'd begged him to come home early so they could make dinner and eat together. When Taehyung had said he'd do his best to free himself, he'd seen the teenager's eyes light up. So why had he finally decided to go out at the last minute? It wasn't like him, and he knew that Soyoon had something to do with it. If she had kicked him out, as he feared she would, they would have to have a serious talk. Because as long as they lived under his roof, no one would throw a child out, and certainly not Jungkook.

He was about to retort, feeling the anger rising inside him, but his phone rang, cutting him off. He pulled it out and immediately picked up when he saw the contact.

"Hello, Jungkook?" he asked, worry evident in his voice.

"H-Hello? Are you Taehyung? Is that you?"

Taehyung's eyes widened. He didn't know that voice. Who was it, why wasn't it Jungkook on the other end of the line?

"Yes. Who are you?"

"Ah, thank God! I'm Jimin, Jungkook's best friend. I... I need your help, please... Jungkook's completely drunk, he needs to come home, but I can't get him to move..."

"Where are you? "

"Faust Tanz Bar..."

"I'll be there in a minute. Don't let him drink anymore."

"OK, thanks."

Taehyung hung up and ran to his keys and coat.

"Where are you going?!" Soyoon shouted.

The man turned and gave her an accusing look.

"Find Jungkook. We'll talk about this later, because I've got a lot to tell you. And you're not going to like it."

He didn't give her time to reply and left the house, slamming the door violently behind him.

***

Jungkook smashed his glass against the counter after draining it in one go. He tried to order another, but Jimin immediately stopped him, giving the barman an understanding look, who nodded and walked away. He turned his attention back to his best friend, thinking he'd give him a hard time for stopping his drinking. But he was astonished, and also terrified, to see that the teenager's anger had been replaced by warm tears dripping down his cheeks.

"I-It's not fair, Chim... Why does it always end like this? Why is it that every time I expect just a little bit of love from someone, they end up breaking my heart?"

Jimin didn't answer, and Jungkook's tears redoubled.

"I'm fed up, all I wanted was to be loved... All I want is a family..."

He suddenly turned to the blond boy, plunging his big doe eyes, reddened by his tears, into his own.

"Why does she always win in the end? She always acts like a scumbag with everyone, but people gather around her. I've worked hard, I've tried hard to get people to like me, but I never get a quarter of the affection she gets. Why?"

Jimin opened his mouth, ready to answer him. He wanted to say that it wasn't true, that lots of people loved him: his uncle loved him like a son, he himself loved him like a brother, and even Yoongi, you could easily see the affection he had for his employee. But he knew that his words would have no effect. Jungkook wanted more than that. He'd wanted a mother's love, but he'd never received it. Now he wanted the love of a man, he wanted to find his other half, someone who would love him unconditionally, someone who wouldn't abandon him.

He bent down to wipe away his tears and took out a small handkerchief which he held out to him. Jungkook sighed but grabbed it and immediately blew his nose.

"Let's go home, Jungkook." Jimin told him in a gentle voice.

The teenager pouted at first, then nodded feverishly. They were about to get up, but an arm suddenly blocked their path. They both turned round to find a bunch of three drunken teenagers grinning provocatively at them.

"Hey gorgeous, would you like to join us for a drink?"

Jimin frowned.

"Nope. Get lost." he rejected him coldly.

They didn't seem to like it, as the leader of the group came forward to grab him roughly. But Jungkook got in his way and pushed him away with a wave of his hand.

"Leave us alone, we're not interested." The boy spat back, still sniffling from his sobs.

"Hey, who do you think you are, talking like that?!"

Jungkook didn't even have time to see him coming: he was grabbed by the throat and violently slammed against the counter.

"Jungkook!" Jimin shouted in panic.

He wanted to go and help him, but the other two blocked him.

"What's up? Can't fight back?" Mocked the man, seeing Jungkook trying to free himself.

The brute tightened his grip on his throat, and Jungkook began to run out of air. He was about to lose consciousness when a powerful hand grabbed the man's arm and pulled it away ferociously.

"Don't touch him, you bastard."