CHAPTER 22

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After almost three weeks of being away for their honeymoon, Jaehyun and Taeyong finally came back. Winwin and Haechan hugged their brother so tight like he was away for years. Taeyong was also happy to come back and he was glad to find out that both of them were safe, thanks to Taeil.

Jaehyun contentedly stood at the back and watched the teary reunion of the brothers. His husband asked if he could see his brothers’ new home and Jaehyun gladly agreed and took their luggage in their own home. Winwin and Haechan excitedly toured Taeyong in their new house and he was happy that his brothers were happy about the new house.

“Are you sure you want to stay here? Jaehyun said that it’s okay if you live with us. I’ll be more at peace to know that you are with us.” Taeyong said as he checked on his brothers.

“Nah,” Haechan smiled and buried his face into his brother’s chest. “We rather stay here so you can have your privacy with your new husband.”

“He’s your Jaehyun hyung now and I’m sure he won’t mind.”

Haechan chose not to respond to that.

“Is he treating you nicely?” Winwin looked at him straight in the eye.

“Huh?”

“Jung Jaehyun, is he treating you nicely?”

Taeyong smiled and ruffled Winwin’s hair. “Of course, he treats me nicely. He took care of me the entire trip.”

Like Haechan, Winwin opted not to comment anymore after his first question. For the first time, the brothers sat beside each other awkwardly.

“Ah, I didn’t have the chance to say goodbye to you after the wedding. Let me make it up to you, okay. I will cook dinner.” Taeyong tried to liven up the atmosphere.

“Will he eat with us?” Haechan looked up from his brother’s chest.

“Chanie, he has a name.”

Again, he got no response from the youngest. Taeyong tried to understand where the two were coming from. He tried to understand that they were still coping with their new life and he knew it was not easy for the two to open up to Jaehyun. He too was still getting used to the fact that he’s already married.

Taeyong stood up to go to the kitchen to check out the ingredients for their dinner. Before he could take five steps, he heard Winwin say, “You walk weird.”

Taeyong turned beet red and continued his way to the kitchen without looking back. He didn’t want to see his brother’s face and he was totally aware of what Winwin was talking about.

***

The silence was deafening. Taeyong could hear every clink and clank of the chopsticks as they ate their dinner. Jaehyun sat on his right while his brothers sat in front of them. Winwin and Haechan were looking down at their bowls while they eat and didn’t even spare the couple a single glance. Taeyong cooked his brothers’ favorite dishes and made them extra special because he missed them so much. It was their first dinner with Jaehyun, too.

Taeyong looked at his brothers worriedly. It was unusual for the two to be so quiet during a meal. They usually bicker on who gets the most rice or side dishes.

Jaehyun noticed so he took his husband’s fidgeting hand under the table and gave him an assuring smile.  He then grabbed his chopsticks and put food into Taeyong’s bowl for him to stop staring at his brothers so he could start eating.

“You should eat. You haven’t eaten anything since we arrived,” he said.

Taeyong just nodded and forced himself to eat the food he cooked.

“You can sleep here with your brothers if you want. I know you want to be with them since we’ve been away for so long.”

Taeyong’s eyes lit up and so was Haechan but Winwin had other plans.

“We have a group study for the coming exams. I won’t be home tonight.” Winwin nonchalantly said.

Taeyong wanted to protest. He wanted to tell Winwin to just stay home and be with him for that night. He had a lot of stories to tell and he wanted to spend every possible time with them. But Taeyong had no right. It wasn’t Winwin’s fault that he had a group study to attend. Winwin was just being responsible since he was under a scholarship. But that moment, Taeyong wanted to be selfish and tell his brother not to go anywhere. For sure, Winwin was going to ace every test because he was smart. Taeyong just wanted to be with them.

Jaehyun saw the disappointment on Taeyong’s face with what Winwin had said. Taeyong was really looking forward to going home and see his brothers whom he had not seen for almost three weeks. The guy was restless since they stepped into their last flight to Korea. Thanks to Haechan, Taeyong was able to cheer up even just for a bit.

“Don’t worry hyung, I’m not going anywhere tonight. We can talk about your trip.”

Jaehyun wondered why Mark hated the kid.

If only Taeyong knew that there was no study group to attend.

***

The next morning, Taeyong woke up earlier than the usual to cook breakfast for his brothers. He then immediately went out to cook breakfast for his husband next door. 

It was the first time he got to see the interior of their home and the modern design that showed the taste of Jung Jaehyun. It was bigger than his brothers’ and everything inside was expensive. The living room was very simple and without any clutter in which Taeyong approved.

He went into the bedroom and saw his husband still sleeping in the king size bed, half- and his lower half covered by a gray duvet. It looked so warm and comfortable that Taeyong was tempted to join Jaehyun in bed. He changed his mind when he remembered that Jaehyun still had to go to work. He liked the overall look of the room and he saw himself spending more time in there.

 Taeyong’s eyes sparkled at the state of the art kitchen with modern appliances and kitchen wares he thought he could only have in his dreams. He particularly fell in love with the coffee maker. It was more modern than the one they have in the café. He expertly started the machine to make coffee for his still sleeping husband. He made breakfast excitedly and he was humming a soft tone when Jaehyun hugged him from behind. The sudden contact made him jump.

Taeyong's nose was filled with the masculine scent of Jaehyun. He just got out from the bathroom and his freshly washed hair was still dripping wet. Taeyong turned around only to see his husband with only a towel covering his lower half. The sight made him turn around once again and tried to regain his concentration back to cooking.

“Good morning, love.”

“M-Morning.”

Taeyong reaction amused Jaehyun. The older chuckled as he teased his husband by rubbing his chin against Taeyong’s neck. It made Taeyong squirm.

“I don’t get why you’re still shy after everything we’ve done.”

“Stop it,” Taeyong said without facing his husband.

“I think I’ll skip coming to the office today. I’m the boss anyway and my employees will surely be happy about it.”

This made Taeyong faced his husband.

“No you won’t, get dressed. Breakfast will be ready soon.”

Jaehyun smiled, he didn’t know that his husband was this domesticated and he loved it.

“I hope you like the kitchen. It was renovated when we left. It's now yours since I rarely eat here. Taeil hyung asked your brother how would you like it. I hope they got it right.”

“I like it. T-Thanks.”

“It’s our home now and you can do whatever you want. Just tell me about it so we could get it fixed.”

Taeyong just nodded and Jaehyun left to get dressed. He came back clad in a suit and Taeyong thought a model was standing in front of him. Jaehyun looked so fine in a black suit with a matching tie.

“I hope you like what you see.” Jaehyun teased when Taeyong’s stare at him lingered for a while. His words pulled Taeyong out of his trance, red and embarrassed.

The couple ate their breakfast together for the first time in their home and Jaehyun was unusually happy about eating breakfast at home. He usually ate at the office or not at all. 

He didn’t want to leave so he could spend more time with his husband. It was the life he always dreamt of. He still couldn’t believe it was really happening.

He silently prayed for Taeyong to fall in love with him soon so everything would be perfect.

Jaehyun left Taeyong with a kiss, which startled the latter.

***

“Well hello to the not so Taeyong. How was your first time? Did he go all the way? Did he use lube? How many times did you do it? You walk like a duck in heat. I bet you had it rough, huh?”

Taeyong wanted the ground to swallow him alive because of Ten’s scandalous questions. He just arrived at the café and he was greeted by an excited Ten and an equally happy Doyoung. He sat at the corner of the café and Ten came to fire him with questions. Good thing, it wasn’t rush hour so there were only a few customers inside.

“Will you shut up, you monkey" Doyoung gave Ten’s shoulder a hard slap after he placed a cup of yogurt smoothie, Taeyong’s favorite, on the table.  The two then joined him at the table and both excitedly waited for his stories. Doyoung’s questions were more acceptable so Taeyong chose to answer them.

“How was the Maldives? Ten told me you also went to Santorini. I love to visit that place someday with Kun. How was it? Did you have a great time?”

Before Taeyong could answer, Ten beat him to it.

“Of course he had a great time. He lost his ity there and I’m sure they didn’t stop that’s why our poor little duck’s is still on fire.”

Taeyong turned red and sipped his smoothie nervously and eventually choked on it. Ten earned another slap on his shoulder because of it.

“It was fine. I had a great time.” Taeyong tried to act excited and happy. He hoped the two will get the image he was trying to show and the emotions he was trying to convey.

With his two friends, Doyoung can read him the most and he immediately got what Taeyong didn’t want them to feel.

“Ten, we have a customer. Please man the cashier. Mina is still having a hard time.” Doyoung said, referring to the new cashier. Ten followed with a promise from Taeyong that he was going to tell him about Maldives and Greece.

“Tell me what happened,” Doyoung asked when Ten was out of earshot.

“Doyoung-ah. Nothing happened. We had a great time.”

“Don’t give me that reason. I know you Tae, you at hiding it from me, so confess.”

Taeyong took a deep breath. It was the first time he felt that he came back to his old self, without restrictions. He let his true feelings flowed and words went out smoothly. Both of them were in tears and Doyoung was holding his hand tight when he finished telling him everything that happened before the wedding.

“Why did you do it?”

“I don’t want Haechan to go to jail. It was my only option. All evidence was erased and I don’t have the amount he was asking.”

“So that’s why you were so desperate that day and then suddenly you told us you're getting married," Doyoung whispered to himself. "Taeyong, I hope you really understood what you decided to enter. There’s no turning back now. You just practically married a devil.

“That’s the confusing part, Doyoung. During our honeymoon, he was very nice to me and he took care of him like a true husband would do. I was hoping for the worst. I did everything he wanted so he won’t be pissed at me. I was waiting for him to burst out in anger anytime, but it never came. He was so gentle with me Doyoung. He was so sweet… and… patient and gentle and he made me believe that he really loves me.”

“So, now you’re confused about his feelings for you.”

“Who wouldn’t? Everything is so cliché, he is perfect. He’s a CEO and unbelievable rich and he married me just because I couldn’t pay his brother’s hospital bill. He should be mad and send both me and Haechan to jail and not ask me to marry him. That is absurd. These things only happen in a drama on TV, Doyoung-ah. Everything about us is just a setup and my life is not a drama. There’s no way he’s going to fall in love with me,” Taeyong tearfully said.  

“How about your feelings for him?” Doyoung suddenly asked and Taeyong’s tears immediately stopped and stared at his friend like he just said the weirdest thing ever.

“You seem frustrated that your life is not a drama on TV. Are you confused about his true feelings or are you confused with your own?”

Taeyong gaped like a fish out of the water as no words came out of his mouth.

***

“You didn’t answer any of my calls today.” Ten pouted at Johnny. The former decided to wait for him at his home when the latter didn’t answer any of his messages and calls, he had his spare key after all. He knew that Johnny was mad at him, but he didn’t expect that he was going to avoid him for a long time. It’s been three days already and the big guy was still at it.

“I’ve been busy.” Johnny sighed as he took off his jacket. Ten helped to remove it. He allowed him. He then went to his kitchen to look for something to drink in the fridge and found a can of beer.

“With what?” Ten crossed his arms on his chest and looked at Johnny like he was cheating.

“Really, Ten? I know you know that Jaehyun and Taeyong just arrived from their honeymoon and the boss decided to make our lives miserable by making us work extra hard today. It’s not like I’d been busy with something or someone else.” Johnny put emphasis on the last part. His voice was cold and devoid of any emotion.

The absence of endearment left Ten unhappy. Johnny never called him by his name. It was the first time, so Ten didn’t know how to react.

“You could’ve at least messaged me about it. I was so worried.”

“Noted,” Just replied and walked away from his pouting lover and went to the living room to watch whatever it was on the TV while he drank his beer. Ten sat beside him and laid his head on his chest.

“Are you still mad that I refused to meet your parents?”

Johnny didn’t answer so Ten grew frustrated. He wasn’t used to the cold shoulders, Johnny was giving him instead of peppering him with cuddles and kisses like he used to.

“I told you I wasn’t ready, but if you want, we can meet them now.”

“They won’t be coming anymore. I told them to go straight to China and cancel their trip to Korea.” Johnny said without looking at Ten.

Ten looked at Johnny with guilt. He knew that the guy hasn’t seen his parent for a long time and it was his chance to meet them again. But it annoyed Ten that he had to meet them, too. He wasn’t ready. He knew his reaction when Johnny told him about it was over the top and he felt guilty about it. So he swore to do everything to make it up to his lover.

 Whenever Ten was annoyed about something or even the tiniest thing that Johnny did, even if the big guy wasn’t aware of it, he was always the first one to apologize. Ten was such a diva and Johnny knew it, so he pampered him so much. But Johnny’s parents were a sensitive topic and Ten just crossed the red light so he had to make up for it.

“Then what do you want me to do for you to stop avoiding me.”

“I’m not avoiding you.”

“You are.”

“I’m not.”

“No.”

“Ten, I’m tired. I don’t have time for any argument today, so please let me enjoy my rest.” Johnny wiped his whole face with his hand, clearly annoyed at the person in front of him.

Ten was stubborn and when he decided on something, he was going to push it. He won’t let the other sleep without talking to him.

“I’m not going to stop until you talk to me.”

“I’m talking to you already.”

“Not like before. I want you to treat me like before.”

“How can you demand something when you can’t even grant my simple request?” Johnny stood up and Ten followed.

“See, you’re still mad at me. I don’t like it when you’re mad at me.” Ten started to tear up.

Johnny discovered that a teary and sad Ten was his weakness.

Of course, he didn’t feel good when Ten blatantly refused his invitation to meet his parent. He knew that the latter wasn’t ready, but his reaction seemed like he was forcing him to do something outrageous. His parents were truly excited about that trip and about meeting Ten. So, it saddened him when he heard the disappointment in their voices when he told them that Ten couldn’t make it because he had to go to Thailand to meet his own parents. He had to lie to his parents so that their impression of Ten will remain good and untarnished.

Seeing Ten’s tears melt the big guy’s heart completely. He sighed and took the crying guy in his arms and kissed his temple. Ten hugged his waist tightly and cried on Johnny’s chest.

“I’m not mad, babe. I’m just disappointed that you don’t want to meet my parents.”

“I want to.” Ten hiccupped in between words. “I’m just not ready.”

“If you say so. Stop crying, babe. You don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“I’m sorry. I know you want to see them, too.”

“I’m okay. You’re here, so I’m okay.”

Ten was glad to hear it.

But of course, Ten had a deeper reason.

aejae22

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Hi, I'm still editing this and the previosu chapters so please excuse the mistakes.

Couple's back. Real drama coming up.

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