peace | taekook

chapter eleven

"well he's more underground." tae felt nervous, rarely asked questions about anything of this nature, "but i met him through my own connections."

silence settled in the family room after that, namjoon the first to break it "we have to remember that lane is gluten free when we request lunch next week." namjoon always seemed to have gears grinding for any topic but what his brother had going on.

"oh shoot, and ty is allergic to peanuts."

"i better email my assistant right now." he quickly typed a message in, a reminder for him. the other two men could tell he was already through things that had come in after he left the office.

"i'll be right back." tae stood, knowing that his presence wouldn't be missed.

it seemed like everyone wanted to talk about anything but each other. he knew that namjoon had other interests, he was a master at crafting meticulous botanical gardens, had an endearing collection of sculptures and loved to hunt down rare ones, yet he rarely spoke of any of that.

maybe he was nervous that nobody would see him as worthy for his other accomplishments. tae certainly felt that way, tonight just being another notch of times his personal goals were overshadowed by company goals.

he crept up the stairs, past his father's room and the two that him and namjoon once resided. the beach themed bathroom remained, shells collecting dust from trips they took a million years ago.

the guest room sat with the door propped open, the television blasting one of those shows where people
go to a pretend court and a woman yells at them. his grandma loved them.

tae knocked quietly on the door, watching as she craned herself neck towards the door, "well, well..." her almond orbs with mismatched lids like his own looked so warm and cozy, "nice of you to visit me finally!"

"well maybe if you weren't always traveling the world." his figure slid in beside her, head resting on her shoulder as she helped him beneath the tiny throw blanket she was using to keep warm.

she smelled like warm vanilla and oatmeal with a dash of a blooming garden in spring. she smelled like home.

"how was korea?"

"it was good." she gripped his hand; he noted the shining wedding ring, a gift from her late husband, tae's grandfather, "would have been better if my stubborn son had opted to go with me instead of working."

"you should have called me."

"didn't want you to get in trouble with your daddy." she winked, "you can come with when i go to japan next month, how's that sound? a girlfriend of mine is coming too and lord knows her grandsons don't call her near enough."

"well, they're missing out then." he pointed to the show still on in the background, "what's the bickering about this time?"

"well tammy is on the right and her dog shit in the yard of ornery gayle who needs to get a hobby!"  gram was notorious for providing rude commentary regarding the guests, it was part of her charm.

"gayle probably just likes things meticulous."

"too perfect is no good!" his grandmother reminded him, her painted fingernail bopping his nose sweetly, "now tell me what you've been up too. boys? girls? both?"

taehyung could feel the tips of his ears turning red at the comment, "a boy."

"you're a smitten kitten for him, huh?"

"a bit. he's a tattoo artist!" the brunette rolled his sleeves up to reveal the new addition.

his grandmother gasped in delight, "your mother would adore it! adore! your father doesn't know, right?"

"i hope not." tae huffed, "he is never excited about anything that i do, i swear."

"care to elaborate?"

"well i had this huge opportunity to model for my friend hobi and jungkook was the photographer. it was the most fun shoot of my life, they see potential, and yet when i told dad and joon they just changed the subject and pretended like it wasn't happening." his disappointment was evident, "i just wish they'd except me for accomplishments outside of the stupid business."

"me too sweets. and they will!" she patted his head, coursing her fingers through his hair, "you know that i'm proud of what you do. your mom is too, even though she isn't physically here. and your dad is too, so don't worry about him! he's been like that since he was a kid, tunnel vision on the tongue, but he's listening. and watching. and he's proud."

"you think?"

"i know." her words were reassuring, "but next time you come home you better be bringing this boy so i can give him the full judgement, okay?"

"okay, i will."

they laid in silence for a moment longer, "do i have to pretend i'm still resting or is dinner finally ready?"

"you were pretending?" tae helped her up.

"when your dad and joon bug get going, they're insufferable!" she grabbed a cardigan from the door and slipped it over her figure, graciously taking her grandsons arms as he led them down the stairs to the dining room.

they shared a knowing glance while settling in, the two eldest men at the table barely uttering a word about work in her presence. grandma always had that effect on a room, to demand it and control it.

she could manipulate conversation and leave people thinking they had a final say even if they never did.

tae loved that about her. he loved everything about her. she was his living angel, one he feared to lose. his pseudo mom after her passing-

he couldn't imagine a world without her.

"tae and i are going to japan next month!" she piped up, a fork hitting the table as her son stared over.

"mom! maybe rest a bit longer. it's a long flight! and the jet lag-,"

"dying in the midst of a flight would be the best way to go!" she said is so matter-of-factly, "you should use some of that hard earned money to truly see the world."

tae watched her lay down comments and jabs to the family and all he could think was how much jungkook would love her-

how much she'd love him.