t w e l v e

BTS - Coffee:

I collaspe onto the couch as Taekwon tries to glomp Taeguk but Umma has set a protective barrier around her crib.

"DON'T WORRY DONGSAENGIEEE! You big bwother will save you from big grandma dwagon!" He runs around, waving his nerf guns. I unlock my phone and open up a new text to Taehyung. 

+++

'Yah, Taehyung. Your kid got in trouble today.'

'Which one?'

'Maybe you would know if you checked your inbox more often.'

'Are you still mad about last night?'

'Your lack response indicates that you still are...'

'So what if I am still upset?'

'Look, I'm sorry. What about having date night today to make it up to you? Mom can watch over the kids.'

'Mom's already over. By the way, it was Taekwon.

Some kid was picking on him because the twins both had a crush on Taekwon instead.'

'Nice. Takes after me.'

'I'm not going to bother responding to that. Where are we going? Should I make reservations or you?'

'It's cool. I already got reservations, and it's a secret ;P'

+++

I click off the phone with a small smile lingering on my lips. Umma looks at me and smirks in response. "Date night?"

I giggle, "Yep." The older woman rolls her eyes, "I can read you like an open book."

"Well, since you can read me like an open book, you know what that means, right?" I prompt. "I get to play with my favourite grandchildren for tonight." She chuckles and pours herself a glass of water. Taekwon waves his nerf gun in Umma's face. "I'm your favourite, right?"

"I have no favourites, sweetheart." Umma sighs, and pats his head gently. "Hmph!" Taekwon pouts angrily, he sharply turns his head towards my direction. "Sorry, little man." I smile wryly with a shrug. "Gotta love you and Taeguk the same."

He angrily storms off, but I roll off the couch and chase him into his room. I tickle him until he laughs again. "Stop, umma!" He wheezes, taking short breaths to laugh. I chuckle cheekily and steal a peck from his cheek. "Go practice your revision from this week's lesson. It doesn't mean that since you're suspended you can fool around."

"Okay..." He sighs disappointedly and drops his nerf gun onto his bed. "After you finish, you can watch TV or take a bath. Be nice to your grandma when I'm gone, arraseo?" I pat his head. "Have a nice time with appa. I want a baby bwother this time!" He flashes a toothy grin as I stimultaneously become beet red, choke on my own air, and my pupils dialate. "W-what!?"

"I said I want a baby bwother, mommy! Are you going deaf, mom? Do you need heawing aids like grandpa?" Taekwon asks innocently. "Hey, now. Do mommy a favour and don't say this to anyone, please." I stammer and try and hide the carmine blooming against my skin. "Okay!" He cheers. "Have a good night, sweetie." I sigh tiredly.

I decide to change out of my mom clothes and dress in my favourite deep turqoise dress, fitted raven blazer and my glossy black pumps for tonight's date with Taehyung. It feels nice to spend some time on me again. My makeup is done, my hair is styled to perfection, I have an adequate balance of jewelery to look elegant but not flaunting or boasting. As I stare at myself in the mirror, I wonder why I am so dressed up. Maybe deep down I'm hopeful that this date is a sign of happiness and prosperity in our family.

+ + +

"This place is beautiful, Tae." I breathe in awe. "I've been wanting to go here with you for a while." He chuckles nervously, scratching his nape. "Cute." I giggle, and kiss him on his cheek. "Yeah." He says, and pulls out my chair. "Thanks..."

"Hmm, what should I order?" I think aloud, flipping through the elegantly bound menu. "We can order a couple's set." Taehyung offers. I smirk, "And be a super cliche couple?"

"When were we not?" Taehyung chuckles, and signals a waiter. "What can I get for you?" The waiter asks, "We'll have the steak dinner set A, and can we get extra potato wedges?" Taehyung decides. I hand back the menus. 

The waiter disappears behind the kitchen, and there's a small silence. "So, how are you lately...?" I ask, twisting the stacked ring on my finger. "Uh, okay...I guess. Kinda stressed at work..." Taehyung sighs, tapping his finger against the wooden table top. "So, what happened with Taekwon today...?"

I glance up at the overhead lighting and purse my lips. "He got into a fight with another peer...Madame Yong suspended him for a week." Taehyung winces, "Aish, I hope you talked to him about it. I don't want it becoming a habit."

"Of course!" I say, scrunching a cloth napkin that was formerly a beautiful oragami swan. "Just because I love the kids doesn't mean that I'll go easy on them."

"I didn't say that." Taehyung exclaims, "You don't need to get so defensive." I shake my head, "I wasn't, so stop saying that." Taehyung rolls his eyes but doesn't dare to say anything more. I lay the sable napkin against the table cloth and smooth out the creases. The food arrives and that luckily clears the silence.

"This looks amazing." Taehyung states, and I grab my fork. "Wait!" He says abruptly, and pulls out his phone. "Let me take a pic of it."

"Uh, okay...?" I say, my eyes darting around as he takes a picture. He draws his phone back and begins to swipe and tap at the screen. "Can I eat now?" I ask, a little annoyed. He nods absentmindedly and I dig in without him.

It's hard to enjoy the meal with Taehyung so distracted. Especially since he begins smiling at the screen so strangely. "What's so funny?" I ask as I bring another piece of the potato wedge into my mouth. He snorts, and glances at me. Taehyung's face falls. "Nothing." He assures quickly and places his phone down, face first. I quirk my eyebrow up and he notices so his phone disappears into his pocket.

"Who you texting?" I ask casually as I continue to eat. But Taehyung seems caught off guard, "W-what?"

My brows furrow, "What's with that reaction? I only asked who you're texting, not for your liver."

His shoulders drop a little, and he sighs in defeat. "It was supposed to be a gift for our anniversary." I can't help to make a face. "Our anniversary is in November. You were never the type to plan ahead though."

"I just felt like I had to...I guess." He explains a little ruefully then takes a long drink of his water. "Strange." I answer with a thoughtful nod. His phone buzzes again, and Taehyung reaches into his coat pocket. At the sight of the caller ID, his eyes widen. "Sorry. I gotta take this." Taehyung frowns and walks off to find a more secluded place.

I drop my fork down. The eloquent silverware produces a thump against the expensive tablecloth. Sighing, I lower my head into my palms. This is hardly a date. Taehyung had more interaction with his damn smartphone than me.

Taehyung comes back with a sad smile on his face. "Sorry, babe. We have an urgent meeting at the company, but the boss allowed me some leverage so I can get the cheque and drive you home."

"Yeah. I understand." I force a small smile and straighten out the silverware.

The waiter comes at Taehyung's signal, and our dinner is placed into a takeout box. Taehyung pays and we leave. The ride home is again, silent as a brick. As we pull into the street of our building, I am surprised that I don't feel disappointed that Taehyung always cuts things short. I've grown accustomed to Taehyung's busy worklife.

The car goes into park, and I unbuckle my seatbelt. "'Night, Yura." He says, quietly.

I just close the door.

A/N: 

Kwon_Minyoung: HERRO WONDERFUL PEEPS OF AFF! It's Spring break so yay for updates! i hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. Haha, i like keeping you guise posted in my lifeyy, so my friend group (including my crush) were hanging out Friday night but I had to leave early with a couple of friends, and he walked up to me and offered me a ride. mind you i get rides from him pretty regularly as he drives his friend home too...Im pretty sure I was blushing T^T fackkk...but I had to decline because my friends had curfew and all of us wouldn't fit in his car. Then as he was passing by me , I said, 'see you next week' to him and he was all like, 'what?' and I was all, 'nm ;A; >//<' i looked in the mirror before we left and I WAS SO RED AT LEAST I THINK...I HAVE to ASK MY FRIENDS...good sign or bad sign? my weird self made him uncomfortable didn't i? *sobs* 

325270: thsup...I'm afraid I don't have an interesting story to share unlike Minyoung, all I can really say is good luck, girl XD Well for me, sports seasons are coming up! We have track on April 1st...I don't know if I should participate again because track really burned me out hard last year because I had frisbee at the same time T^T so many laps...ughhh OTL...I'm listening to unravel acoustic currrenly (forever favourite) and I was reading the comments of the video, one comment I really wanna share with all the Tokyo Ghoul fans out there is that everything and anything Tokyo Ghoul (manga,anime, light novels) should be sponsored by Kleenex. I agree with this so much...lol Well, thank you all for the unending support of our fic and see you in our next update!

-Kwon_Minyoung & 325270