The Lovegen App / kth x jjk

34. Wintersweets

"I missed you hyung" Taehyung replied taking off the hood of his jacket again, letting his blonde hair free and wild, messily and effortlessly gorgeous.

"Well excuse me, young man, how dare you look more handsome than me?" Jin playfully said putting his hands on his hips with a half scowl on his face making Taehyung giggle.

"I've always been more handsome than you hyung" Taehyung teased making the older gasp loudly, this time not faking the scowl on his face.

"You did not just- Ugh come here you brat," Jin said hugging his Taehyung one more time. And the younger was adoring the warmness and the familiar scent of peaches and cream coming from his brother. Wishing to have returned a long time ago, something that seemed to be impossible at that moment. "I missed you too... a lot," Jin said not wanting to let go of Taehyung anytime soon.

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"I can't get over the fact that you grew so much, bug," Taehyung said smiling fondly at his niece while she was sniffing after breaking into happy tears at seeing her uncle after all this time. "You're getting prettier and prettier"

"Yeah, Namjoon has the shotgun ready" Jin joked making the seventeen years old girl roll her eyes covering her face, hiding her blushing cheeks.

"I'm still the ugly duck among you two" Haerim replied pouting.

"Shut up, you're gorgeous" Jin tapped her head earning a whine from his daughter.

"By the way Uncle Tae you grew your hair and it looks so pretty!" the teenager said smiling widely at the blonde omega. "Can I touch it? Oh! Maybe I can do a bun for you" she asked, and Taehyung backed away from her in an instant.

"Bug, you know I hate people touching my hair" Taehyung replied raising his hands in defense.

"Haerim stop annoying your uncle, he's tired" Jin scolded her pushing a plate of pastries toward Taehyung's direction. "Eat some more, Tae. You lost too much weight in Japan... I can't even see your adorable bread cheeks anymore"

Taehyung opened his mouth to reply and defend himself but Haerim was quick to interrupt. "But dad I missed him too" she whined taking a butter cookie and handing it to Taehyung. "There... hey Uncle Tae do you want to see my room? I have a new collection of plushies" she asked with a big smile on her chubby face. "I'm Instagram famous too! Oh please do a little live with me. My followers will be so jealous of me if I show them my gorgeous uncle!"

"Kim Haerim! Let him finish his hot chocolate first!" Jin scolded her again. "Besides, I'm the only one who your followers want to see" he teased with a loud laugh earning an annoyed grunt from the girl.

Meanwhile, Taehyung was just watching them with affection in his grey eyes. But even when he was with his family again, surrounded by people who cares for him, he still felt the emptiness inside. Taehyung never cried again after the events of three years and months ago. And for the people who met him back in college in Japan, he was always calm and collected, offering polite smiles at everyone and not mending too much with other people. And now he was acting the same with his family because time never healed his pain. It never got better for him.

But he could pretend with the mask he put on himself.

Taehyung's pretty blue eyes lost their twinkle in them, now they were dull and grey. And he guessed people were right when they say eyes are the window to the soul because that's how he felt inside, dull and grey. In his head, he welcomes the pain because that meant he was constantly punishing himself for being a coward years ago. For not fighting over his love. And he thought if his heart let go of that pain, allowing it to heal, would mean forgetting about Jeongguk.