"Of the thousand titles out there, that was your best recommendation?" Taehyung sighed as he messaged his nose bridge, "How do you expect me to apply any of those cringy scenes in real life?"

"Why don't you just base things off your own love lives if you want to be realistic?" Jimin spoke from the other line, voice painted with frustration and offence, "As I already warned you, mind you, real life doesn't work the same as in dramas. People are different, so I told you to watch just to get the chemistry of the characters. I watch them not because they are history documentaries or whatever, I watch them because they fill my fantasies-"

"Freak." Taehyung hung up before his friend could finish his sentence. He received a text seconds later from the same said friend, but he couldn't bother to read as he knew it would be an insult.

Exiting off the website that was displaying the last episode of the drama that Jimin recommended to him, he took the coat laying on his bed that was formerly Minah's. He fast-forwarded scenes that didn't involve the main pairing, but it still took him the whole morning to finish. There was nothing worthy to take notes of to help Minah and Seungyoon get together. He figured he would approach Seungyoon and study the guy later.

But for now, to Mr. Bang.

"Oh, you've come." Mr. Bang said, his face and tone both trying to appear cheerful even though they were both drained of energy. He had looked a lot paler than the first time Taehyung saw him.

"Good afternoon, sir." Taehyung greeted him, closing the door to his patient room and followed Minah to his bed. Mr. Bang gave him the familiar smile of his, acknowledging his presence.

"Dad, how was today?" Minah placed the food container that she had cooked for Mr. Bang on the little shelf beside his bed, unpacking them out to put in the fridge.

"Good. Ms. Nurse was kind enough to walk me outside in the morning, as usual." Mr. Bang replied, turning his attention back to the food that Minah prepared, feigning disappointment. "Porridge again? I thought I asked you to cook some rice."

"You can't eat too much rice. Maybe once a week, I'll consult with the doctor about this too then." Minah stated matter-of-factly, not affected by her father's pretense. "Taehyung-ssi, I'll leave you with my dad now if that's alright?"

"Sure." Taehyung nodded at her. Minah returned the same gesture and strided her way out of the room.

"How's living with Minah?" Mr. Bang asked right after Taehyung sat himself down the chair Minah did moments ago. "Do you feel used to it yet? Any uncomfortable moments?"

"No, sir. The house is great to live in. I am getting used to it quickly." Taehyung quickly reassured the man, genuinely smiling at him and hoping he got the message the right way.

"Good, good." Mr. Bang blinked slowly. "You seem like a nice child. It's a regret we never met. Your father and I always hung out together, but we barely mentioned family affairs with each other until recently."

"That's understandable, sir. I never really talk about my parents with my friends." Taehyung followed.

"Right." Mr. Bang nodded. "I asked you to come today to ask for one big favor. I've entrusted you to watch my daughter closely. Hence the marriage was bound to happen. Though I know it's a bold request from this old man."

Taehyung scratched his head and forced a smile. He didn't know what to say, because it was indeed a questionable resolve to whatever situation he and his daughter were in.

"Minah-ssi is a dependable adult, that I can assure you." Taehyung managed to reply. "I personally think I won't be able to help much. But I'll try my best, sir."

Mr. Bang's face relaxed immensely. "I know she is. But hearing that from someone else is a huge relief."

Mr. Bang turned his head towards the drawers beside his bed, his hand reaching the very bottom drawer. Taehyung caught his intentions right away, he opened it for Mr. Bang and asked what he wanted to take out.

"The watch box, please." Taehyung caught sight of a black box among mounds of papers and took it out. He got a signal from Mr. Bang to open it and he followed suit. He was caught off guard when the object inside was a USB.

"I do believe in Minah, but there might be an unavoidable incidence, that if a marriage is not held, will likely happen."

"And this USB...?" Taehyung trailed off, trying to piece things together but he couldn't quite grasp a clue.

"It can explain the whole thing." Mr. Bang confirmed. "But I'd prefer to keep the whole story to me and your father only. All I want you to know is, if by any slim chance she wants to marry a son of a CEO, former or not, please hand the USB to her. The password is my favorite dish. Speaking off, if you know of anyone of such description, please try to break off their connection. It's better to cut off the root before it can grow."

Taehyung took a long moment to let the information sink in. Was there a potential arranged marriage happening? Why would a CEO be tied with the Bangs? Why was Mr. Bang so opposed to it? Why couldn't Minah know of it?

"It's really the last resolution and I would rather not let her know of any of this secret. So, Taehyung, I hope you will be able to throw it away when Minah finds herself a good man." Mr. Bang continued, eyes searching Taehyung's for a definitive confirmation.

"Yes, sir. I got it." Taehyung retrieved the USB to his coat's pocket, putting the then empty box back inside the drawer.

"What did you say to him?" Minah entered the room a few minutes after Taehyung got out, her eyebrow raised up slightly. "He looks perplexed out there."

"I don't remember saying anything. Oh, maybe he's scared I'm really gonna cut his arm off if he touches my daughter?" Mr. Bang pondered, eyes lacking seriousness.

"You better not tell him that." Minah scanned his eyes, squinting her eyes in all seriousness. "Seriously, I can never tell your lies apart, dad. The doctor told me you felt nauseous this morning. Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"I told him to keep quiet." Mr. Bang sighed, shaking his head.

"Don't keep all the secrets to yourself. Your daughter is right here. Alright, dad?" Minah sat on the edge of his bed, reaching for her dad's hand, and held it gently.

"It wasn't too serious, don't worry." Mr. Bang smiled. "Worry about Taehyung, instead."

"What?"

"The brat is handsome." He lowered his voice, as if telling a secret. "You know handsome brats are no good."

"What?" Minah repeated, this time even louder. She continued while still laughing, "It doesn't have anything to do with his personality."

"I mean, you have to be careful. Your mother told me she almost dumped me for a handsome brat at work." Mr. Bang deadpanned, "Good looks can do more than you think. Who knows, that face might be able to lure you some day."

"What?" Minah held her tummy and bent down, trying to suppress another fit of laughter. "Mom obviously joked. And most importantly, she was still with you, wasn't she?"

"I guess." Mr. Bang clicked his tongue. "I guess your dad is just jealous of handsome faces."

"Yes, he is. But that's really silly." Minah tapped his hand. "He has the biggest heart in the world. And yet he's still obsessed with appearance."

Mr. Bang chuckled, putting his other hand on top of Minah's.

"But still, you gotta be careful."

"What's this? You sound like I was the one bringing him in. But yeah, don't worry. Ever since he moved in, I always lock myself in your room whenever he's around and I do house chores only when he's outside."

Mr. Bang was content to hear how Minah listened to his words. He ended up talking again about how much he was concerned with the fact that his daughter would be looked down upon by the next man she would be with if by any chance he found out about her former marriage. But Minah reassured her dad that her records were clean as white paper because they never signed a marriage license in the first place, and that Taehyung agreed to identify himself as her distant cousin from the countryside to avoid housing fees by living with her.

Minah brought up again about why a fake wedding was needed in the first place if the ultimate reason was just to let Taehyung live in their house, but Mr. Bang dismissed it quickly, saying she could use that wedding to tell guys she wanted to avoid that she was married, and he wanted to see his daughter in a wedding dress before it was too late. Minah was still in doubt about his reasoning, but she didn't delve into the thought for long. Their conversation wrapped up in a rather hurried manner, so that Taehyung wouldn't have to wait too long.

"I've waited for so long." Minah exclaimed, not hiding the excitement from the little box in Taehyung's hands as he read aloud who sent it. He mimicked her happy expression unconsciously as he handed it to her.

"Why, would you want a large frame of our wedding photo next to your parents'?" Taehyung teased, not getting what Minah was so excited for, but at the same time he knew it did not have anything to do with them being a "couple".

"I should have rephrased that. My dad has waited for so long! He hand-picked my wedding dress. He has been waiting to see photos of me on that day."

Taehyung hummed. It had only been one week since, but he figured the time perspective would be much more different to someone like Minah and her dad. He sat down next to Minah as she opened the box and pulled out a stack of freshly printed photos. Minah excused herself out to get their family photo album, saying she should keep a few in for memories. He shuffled the photos around to look for any photos of his acquaintances he could make fun out of. His eyes stopped their track at a photo of Minah and Seungyoon standing together.

"Oh, that's Seungyoon." Minah chimed in, already settled down next to him again, this time with a thick photo album.

"Say... Do you know if he's a child of a rich family?" Taehyung carefully asked, scanning Minah's face for any non-verbal hints.

"Hm..." Minah's eyes drifted to a non-definitive point in front, obviously taken aback by Taehyung's question, "He told me his parents are regular workers for a company I think. So, I don't think he is. He doesn't seem like a wealthy person judging from his simple outfits that I see him every time either, in my opinion. Is there anything you are concerned about?"

"Not in particular." Taehyung quickly brushed it off, "I just noticed the attire he chose that day is of a well-known brand."

"Is that so?" Minah picked up the photo taken with Seungyoon. She observed his suit (that Taehyung could confirm that it was of much higher quality than his own that wedding day) for a few seconds but shrugged off and put it back. "I'm a fashion noob. I can't really tell."

Taehyung chuckled and proceeded to let her know how much it may cost. Minah seemed to be impressed but she quickly changed the topic when she spotted a photo of them both with Taehyung's group of guy friends.

"What's his name? I remember him singing that day. I really like his voice. Is he pursuing music?" Minah pointed her finger at the seemingly only person she could remember, eyes bright.

"Jungkook, and he's majoring in Criminal Justice. He's even younger than me, mind you." Taehyung side-eyed Minah, finding himself laughing along as Minah did get his joke.

"So he didn't drink because he couldn't?" Taehyung blinked his eyes to confirm Minah's question as she stuck out her tongue, "But all your friends look like fun people to be around, not just Jungkook."

"You don't have a good eye for men then." Taehyung shook his head, clicking his tongue. "There's no one in this photo I would recommend you date with to be honest."

"You are dissing your own friends?" Minah asked, facing Taehyung completely, full of doubts and amusement in her face.

"Who said they were my friends?" Taehyung faked a look of disgust in his face, earning himself a slap on the arm from Minah. "Anyways, which photos are you putting in that album?"

Minah held up the photo of them both together and told him she was looking for another photo that had everyone in it. Taehyung asked her to let him see her family photo album while she was shuffling around the wedding photos. She handed it to him after he promised not to make fun of any of her past photos. As he flipped through the album, he noticed there were mostly only photos of Minah and her father.

"Don't you have a photo with your mother?" Taehyung asked, still flipping through the pages with pleasure at the photos full of warm memories.

"You aren't going to find any." Minah replied, "My mom passed away when I was two. My dad told me he felt sorry that we never took any photos together. He said that's why he took a lot of photos with me later."

Taehyung wanted to say he was sorry, but he could not bring himself as he did not want to make the mood heavier. He only nodded and closed the album, turning back to the wedding photos and asked her if she had found the ones she wanted. Minah picked out two photos of which she could find that captured everyone, but one was when he was yawning and Minah because of the contagious effect from it, hiding her own behind her palm. They made fun of each other about it but at the end, finding themselves picking it for the photo album as opposed to the remaining perfect-looking one.

A/N: I was a bit worried because I only gained two new subscribers from chapter 1 but nonetheless, seeing those 2 notifs gave me the thrills just fine and I'm really thankful to you few people for actually bothering to give this fic a chance! Returning to this site has been nostalgic and exciting at the same time as I miss writing more than anything!

Finally, as a first and last reminder, to whoever ended up reading this story, just know that any constructive criticsms or comments would be highly appreciated!