n i n e t e e n

"It's been two months already." My mother says from the doorway. I pull the covers over my head.

"Don't be like that, sweetheart." She says as she approaches my place on the bed. The mattress dips with her weight. She doesn't say anything.

"Has he signed the papers?" I croak softly, rolling over to face her. The shaking of her head illicts a deep churning in my stomach.

"No one has been able to get a hold of him." She adds gently, scanning my face for any possible reactions.

What she says doesn't surprise me. The constant voicemails and text messages from him eventually stopped. After ghosting him, it seems like he's ghosting me back. "Oh, Yura-ah." My mother sighs and caresses my unkempt hair. She runs her nails over a large knot that has formed due to all the weeks of me laying in bed and refusing to move.

No matter how hard my mother tries to untangle it, it won't budge and the worst part; it appears to be getting bigger each day. 

I hear a slam from the opposite side of the wall and I deduce that my father has come home from work due to his habits of shutting the door too loudly. My mother glances in the direction of the noise and sighs. She slowly shifts her gaze back to me and says, "You should talk to him."

I roll away from her, physically turning away from her idea. "I'm not talking to dad."

"Why not, sweetie? He's actually worried about you."

"No, he's not." I shoot back, shutting my eyes.

"How do you know that?" She questions me.

"He's just waiting for me to admit that he was right 4 years ago and that marrying Taehyung would end badly." I whisper, all my strength leaving me.

"Well," She pauses for a moment. "Is he right?"

"I don't know." I say quietly, beginning to cry.

+ + +

"Get up." A familiar voice commands.

"No."

The covers are yanked from my body. "Are you going to lay there until you die?"

I roll my eyes. My lack of reply spites him.

He roughly takes a hold of my wrist and pulls me up so I am staring at his face that looks so much like mine.

"Your mother says you aren't eating." He says, staring at my petruding cheekbones.

"I am eating." I argue back like a child.

"Not enough." My dad shoots back. His behaviors are so similar to mine that it hurts.  It's painful to remember that the only reason that drove us apart was Taehyung. "I made gamjatang." He announces, knowing that it's my favourite food. He folds the blankets in his arms and tosses it on my bed. "Wash up and come eat."

He looks at me for a moment and walks away, shutting the door behind him.

I sigh heavily and drag my body into the bathroom to shower.

+ + +

"Mommy!" Taekwon screams as he sees me, jumping out his chair to hug me. "Halabeoji and halmeoni say you sick!"

A warmth fills my heart, as I kneel down to return his hug. "Do you feel better, mommy?" He asks so innocently that I nod. "Thank you baby." I coo and kiss him on his forehead. "Is daddy sick too? Is that why he isn't here!?" Taekwon says, and it feels like all the air from the room is stolen. The clanging of utensils stop. No one is sure what to say.

My mother speaks first.

"Yes, dear." She says sweetly as I look down at the hardwood. "Your father is sick."

"Awwwwwww." Taekwon cries, "Is he in hospital?"

I swallow the lump in my throat. "Yes, Taekwon. He is. That's why you and Taeguk won't be seeing him for a while."

Taekwon's lower lip tremble, tears welling in his eyes. "Is he going to die...?"

I shake my head frantically. "No, no, no! He's not going to die."

"Really?" Taekwon sniffles.

"Absolutely not!" I force a smile and lift him into his booster seat. He rubs his eyes and I kiss him on the cheeks. "You'll see your father soon." I lie to him, my voice cracking at the end.

I sit down at the dinner table and the mood is so uncomfortable that I feel like I can barely breathe.

Mom picks a nice and large piece of pork up and places it into my bowl. "Eat up."

I bow my head. "Thank you."

As soon as I start eating, I'm filled with warmth. I don't remember the last time I've eaten anything so flavourful.

I only eat one of the pork pieces but I take multiple servings of the soup. I help scrape the meat of the bones so I can give it to Taekwon.

"Thank you, appa." I say quietly after I'm finished eating.

"No problem, Yura-ah." He replies gently and goes to put the dirty dishes away.

Mom turns to me and pokes at the large, problematic knot. "I don't think we'll ever comb this out."

I shrug.

"Tsk. Tsk. This won't do. I'll have to take you to my salon to get this cut." She continues to talk. "Maybe we could do a dye. Your roots could use a touch up."

I don't say anything because I don't know what to say.

"We should get you some new clothes too. Your old ones don't fit you anymore." She notes, and places a hand on my slimmed waist. "We should go to the mall tonight." She proposes. "It'll be good for you to get some fresh air too."

I bite my lip.

"How does that sound, huh, sweetheart?" She asks.

"I..." I pause. "I-I'll go."

My mother's eyes widen slightly, but she smiles nonetheless. "Wonderful."

+ + +

I sit in front of the mirror as the hairdresser professionally snips away at my hair. 10 inches is what she decided. The damaged tips fall soundly on the tile floors and will be swept away by some apprentice after my appointment. Our appointment is a bit awkward because my stylist is not a talker. I don't mind. I wasn't in the mood for talking anyway.

The final result is gorgeous. It is a short bob styled in waves. My hair looks shinier and healthier. This haircut has transformed my entire face. I barely recongnize myself. I don't remember having this short of hair. I reach up, gingerly petting the ends.

"Thank you very much." I smile at the hair stylist through the mirror. She bows lightly, "My pleasure."

We pay for the haircut at the counter and my mother buys some hair masks for us to use. She walks out, giddy.

"What?" I laugh at her. She's like a beaming child.

"You look so good, baby." She giggles, adjusting the designer purse I bought for her last Christmas.

I look down, smiling. "Thanks."

"Let's go in here." My mother says, nodding her head at a designer store. We are immediately greeted by the workers. Despite her age, she has a sharp fashion sense and loves to dress up. She chats up a storm with the female employees working there as they take my measurements.

She picks out multiple outfits for me to try. I'll admit that it felt really nice to be pampered again. I am especially enamored by some of the blouses and dresses she chose.

I do a twirl in the mirror while wearing a silky dress that is tastefully short.

"Yura?" My mother calls from outside of the changing room.

I step out and gesture with my palms. "Well? What do you think?"

She grins, holding two thumbs up. "I have something perfect to go with that!" One of the workers pipe up and scurries away.

While the attendant is away, my mother showers me with compliments and I blush in embarassment. 

The worker soon comes back with a coat that paired amazingly with the dress. She helps me put it on and steps away to see the outfit from afar. I do a small spin for my mom who lounges comfortably in one of the chairs. "My darling looks so beautiful!"

She gushes again.

"Ohmigosh, mom!" I hear myself whining. "You're embarassing me!" Mom and the surrounding employees share a chrous of laughter. Soon after, my mom pulls out her credit card and says something I can't hear and leaves with the attendant.

One of the employees approaches me and snips off the tags from my clothes. Another comes and gives me a bag with a wrapped box inside that contains the clothes I was wearing originally.

I sling my purse over my shoulder and slide into my heels. In this outfit, I feel like a whole new person. I remind myself to thank my mother greatly later.

As I leave the changing area, I see no sign of my mother and decide to look around until she comes find me. I stroll carefreely for a bit until I near the men's section. I remember that my father's birthday is coming up soon and enter the section with the intent of looking for a suitable present. 

My fingers gently glide over the satin designs of the ties until a navy blue one catches my eye. I pick it up and hold it in front of the long mirrors fixed on the walls. I hold it in front of me and try to imagine my father wearing it. Now that I think about it, material doesn't suit my father at all, rather, the overall appearance tie suited Taehyung instead.

The thought of him brings a sharp pain in my chest so I quickly bend to put away the tie. As I rise again, my eyes dart to the reflection of a figure behind me who was looking through jackets.

The moment the figure looked up, I feel a deep pain in my chest. His face is too familiar.

I recognize it in a heartbeat.

It's Taehyung.

He seems to recognize me immediately despite the haircut. His eyes widen and he begins to run around the rack to meet me.

As he ran, I take off in the opposite direction.

My mind screams for my mom. I hear his loud footsteps behind me and tears begin to roll out of my eyes.

"Yura!" He calls, sounding breathless.

My hands flies up to my mouth to silence my loud sob. I see my mother standing with one of the employees, holding a large bag.  A wave of relief comes over me.

"Umma!" I shout. Her eyes widen at the sight of glistening tears on my cheeks. However, her concern is quickly replaced by anger. She drops the bags and swings her palm behind me.

Her hand meets Taehyung's cheek with a loud crack, shocking all the patrons in the store.

"Don't you dare touch my daughter!" She roars at him. He stumbles back but regains his balance. He doesn't say anything but stares at me from underneath his hair.

She smacks him again. Again, he doesn't respond.

"You shameful piece of filth!" She screams, her veins bulging. "Are you unsatisfied with your ? Don't bother her anymore! You've caused her to suffer enough! Sign those papers and don't you dare show your face again!"

For a while he doesn't respond. He breathes heavily. "She's gotten skinnier."

My mother is trembling with anger. Her hand raises again to deliver a blow.

At that moment, I can no longer watch this scene unfold before me. I turn my heels and I do what I do best. I run.

"KIM TAEHYUNG!" I hear my mother screech. Taehyung's footsteps follow closely behind mine.

I run faster.

a/n:

whats gooodddd! hahaha so like this fic is kinda dead xD but oohh yura x taehyung encounter!!! lol i was imagining gucci as the designer store, cuz v and his gucci . anyway, thanks for all the new subs and comments!! i try my best to read em all so comments are def loved to piecess <3 <3  and dang 22 upvotes. it isnt alot but ILYYYYY. hope you all enjoyed this chapter and try not to die too much from reading. till next time ;PP

~m

SUP HUMANS! hi. It's been a while! Uh...like six months? As per usual, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter even though it took forever to post ;A;  Btw, I was doing some planning with Minyoung and TMLOKM is going to end pretty soon. Don't know when, but it's getting close! So I hope you all enjoyed reading TMLOKT so far! Thank you all for leaving comments and graciously giving us upvotes! I love you all! I promise we'll be back with more stories too. Also, side note, is anyone interested in Wanna One? I'm into them recently and had some ideas for some shortfics. I have one out right now with Baejin but was considering a different concept with Ong? Lowkey a lil self promo but <3

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