Unlawfully His

Chapter 41 - Was it inevitable?

Instead of getting angry, Jeongguk just took his husband's hand and flattened it out, placing it on his heart.

"Tae I didn't tell anyone, I swear by it. I would never let you down like that. I know what is at stake here," Jeongguk said, emotions running thick in his voice.

His eyes had turned sad at the thought of having to stop their marriage. Not being around Taehyung on a daily basis seemed to hurt more than it should have.

"Well it wasn't me and it sure as hell wasn't Jimin," Taehyung seethed, knowing that by process of elimination that it had to be Jeongguk.

"But i-"

"Even if you didn't, this man is demanding money in return for keeping our stupid secret and I have no idea what to do," Taehyung shouted, his voice turning into a whisper at the end of his outburst.

"Whoever it was, was here, watching me and they probably still are. This man is a fucking psychopath and you used to be friends with him- or still might be I don't even know at this point," Taehyung yelled, not caring that the caller was probably getting the reaction he wanted from all this.

"Taehyung I really don't know how all this could happen. Just calm down-" Jeongguk began as he stepped towards Taehyung and stroked his arms, letting his thumbs glide over the smooth expanse of tanned skin.

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down. This is a gigantic fucking mess that we sure as hell can't afford to get out of. Jeongguk what are we going to do? Paying this guy is admitting our guilt but not paying gets us exposed," Taehyung ranted as he pushed himself away from his husband's embrace, flinching away as if someone had burned him.

Choosing to believe his husband was something Taehyung desperately wanted to do.

But it had to be him.

Getting wrapped up in the heat of the moment is easy and the caller managed to play Taehyung to his own tune. However, it just felt impossible to simply calm down.

The consequence was incarceration here.

Being locked away for years because a secret was not kept.

The caller would be back and that scared Taehyung shitless. If they didn't come up with the large sum of money in such a short time frame then the act was up.

They would get arrested.

Jeongguk was lost for words as he figured out how to reply. A mumble of staggered words was all that came out as the male furrowed his eyebrows.

"Kook?" Taehyung whispered, stepping back once more as if being close to his husband was physically painful to deal with.

"Tae what I'm going to tell you right now isn't something I'm proud of," Jeongguk began, shaking his head slightly at the sheer stupidity of his past actions.

Taehyung's eyes shone with slight disappointment and worry when he saw the seriousness in his husband's expression.

Then he began. . .

"Jeongguk!" Jimin shouted. "You have a letter from Tae," The call echoed through the camp where they were staying as Jimin ferociously waved the letter in his hand.

Jimin came charging into the tent where a group of Marines slept. Jeongguk was laying on his bed casually, one arm behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

At the call, Jeongguk's ears perked up slightly. It was surprising how much reading and replying to the letters gave so much happiness to the Marine. But it wasn't something Jeongguk put much thought into, considering he hasn't had emotional or physical contact for some time now.

Being in a state of loneliness and being starved for affection isn't a good place to assess relationships with people- no matter how tempting.

In a way, it was shunned to show feelings in the military. Keeping emotions hidden were simply the norm, although there were no rules around it.

So really, these letters were the highlight of Jeongguk's weeks in the Marines.

He always looked forward to them since they shed some light onto the vast expanse of darkness that shrouded life in the military.

Immediately, Jeongguk thanked Jimin and took the letter from him, ripping it open hastily.

Jeongguk took in every word and every syllable, imagining Taehyung reading this to him as if it were a bedtime story.

Jimin peered over Jeongguk's shoulder when the man adjusted on the bed, getting all giddy as he too read through the letter.

"I know it's all fake but it sure as hell feels real Jimin," Jeongguk voiced out quietly.

"I know kooks," Jimin replied, a light smile spreading on his face when he saw how happy his friend was.

Over the other side of the wide tent, a Marine looked up from where he was checking through items in his bag.

A smirk spread onto his lips as he made eye contact with Jeongguk. But the expression was gone in a flash and replaced by a neutral one.

Although it was quick, Jeongguk couldn't help but feel that the Marine had heard a little too much.

"It had to be him," Jeongguk grunted, his eyes hardening at the memory.

"Do you know his name?" Taehyung asked, trying not to get frustrated with the slip up.

"It's Jaesung." Jeongguk said angrily, his tone spouting venom.

"It has to be. Tae I'm so sorry, I know this means we could be exposed and you will have to-" The Marine seethed.

"Please. Just- I don't even want to think about this right now. I need some space while I think about things," Taehyung stated, his anger fading into more of a disappointed expression. The brunet's eyes were teary and Jeongguk couldn't help but think about how Taehyung would feel so disillusioned towards Jeongguk.

Towards him.

The man that stood in front of Taehyung now seemed so foreign and unknown.

Like all respect had been lost.

Taehyung sucked in a shaky breath as he began to turn around, picking up Mushu from by his rock. "If you need me then I'll be at my mum's,"

"Tae-"

The brunet just shook his head as he motioned for Jeongguk to stop talking. Without looking up Taehyung whispered, "I don't want to hear it."

Then he left as Jeongguk stared on, guilty about what he had done.