TIME ─ JAEYONG

043⸰

americans walked around speaking the foreign language taeyong knew nothing of. he was lost in this new 'world'. he turned to jaehyun who was beaming at everything as if he was reminiscing about his first time ever arriving.

"it's different right?" jae caught taeyong's eye. the older male seemed very anxious and out of place which wasn't bad, more so expected. "don't worry. i can translate for you."

"does the family we're staying with know korean?"

"a little but it'll be fine. you'll have me the entire time." jaehyun gave taeyong's hand a reassuring squeeze. the latter took a deep breath and allowed jaehyun to guide him towards the airports' exit where the family of three would be waiting.

there, with a warm and welcoming smile was an elderly woman accompanied by two younger girls that seemed no older than 17. the slightly taller child had eyes as blue as the ocean with lengthy raven black hair while the one shorter than the both of them had piercing hazel eyes, her dark brown hair cut shoulder length.

taeyong saw their eyes sparkle to life when jaehyun approached them, enveloping each in a tight hug. he watched in silence as his boyfriend spoke the foreign language with his dimpled smile. the two girls giggled at whatever was said while the elder nodded.

jaehyun turned, motioning for taeyong to approach the awaiting family. out of instinct, he bowed when introducing himself. "it's nice to meet you taeyong. i'm miju and these are my grandchildren." her korean was near perfect. she took a step forward and leaned forward to reach taeyong's ear. "thank you for giving my dear jaehyun a chance."

when she pulled back he smiled genuinely. "i would have regretted everything if i didn't." jaehyun couldn't hide his admiration. the loving look he gave taeyong had the two girls squealing.

"you two are so cute!" blue eyes cooed.

"i ship so hard!" hazel eyes added.

"ship?" taeyong asked with genuine confusion, which had the girls squealing louder than before.

"he's so innocent oh my gosh. we have to protect! oh i'm jaehee," hazel eyes pointed to herself and then to the latter, "and this is kya by the way. now come! tell us everything you like about our jaejae!"

while they escorted, more like tugged, him away towards their van jaehyun laughed as taeyong turned to him, mouthing 'help' with such a scared expression.

"those girls i swear."

"they've surely grown."

"come on jae." she patted his lower back. "let's get you out of this cold."

✿

the small house was located in a secluded area of town where the nearest neighbor was five minutes away. the iron gate that surrounded the front perimeter of the house creaked constantly as the wind pushed up against it.

with the rain ceasing to a light drizzle the sun began to peak out, casting an almost welcoming heavenly glow upon the old house. the inside made it seem like a completely different house from its cracking exterior.

the inside was warm and welcoming; the fireplace lit and crackling. the walls were all painted beige and covered by what seemed to be endless mounted picture frames. the spacing of the house seemed to be a bit cramped but it felt like home.

it reminded taeyong much of what he grew up in, give or take a few of the luxuries like a flat screen television and operating air system. "your room is still the same. show taeyong while i prepare some food."

jaehyun entwined their hands and began to walk towards the hallway. there were three bedrooms in total and one main bathroom that taeyong had seen so far. their room was the last door on the right.

"it feels so good to be back." the room was occupied by a queen sized bed with all black bedding, a desk, dressers and a floral chair that didn't seem to belong. the window was wide and had a banner saying 'welcome' draping from it.

taeyong chuckled at the horribly drawn korean characters on the banner. "they tried. it's what matters." jaehyun reminded as he shut the door behind them. "so what do you think so far?" he sat on the edge of the bed. "it's not much but it's something and very special to me."

taeyong set both hands on either side of jaehyun's face. "we could be staying under a rock and i wouldn't care. as long as we're together and safe i could care less. besides, it reminds me of my house before my parents passed."

"that's good to know." he spoke in almost a whisper. what happened next felt overdue. taeyong tilted his head to the side and kissed jaehyun, his lips soft and slow. jaehyun felt a burning heat deep within him as tae slanted his head further, deepening the kiss.

two knocks reached their ears, followed by giggles. once separated jaehyun allowed the twins entry. "food is ready." kya announced as she made eye contact with taeyong whose ears instantly flushed pink. "after eating we'll go to a store to get you both some clothes seeing as you brought none."

"clearly." jaehee huffed, earning a side glare from her sister.

"thanks. we'll be out soon." the two smiled brightly and returned back to the kitchen. jaehyun turned to taeyong and crossed his arms. "stop getting so flustered. relax around them. they're really sweet."

"allow me some time jae. you know i'm bad with these things."

"fine but by the end of the week you better act normal."

"yes sir." jaehyun looked satisfied which caused taeyong to roll his eyes. "let's not keep them waiting."

"wait! before we go, what did you tell the girls you liked about me?" taeyong scratched his forehead and pulled a face.

"honestly their korean was so bad i didn't understand anything they asked so i talked about rubber ducks and they seemed to like it so..." jae snorted.

suddenly, he deemed watching taeyong interact with the girls would be the funnest part of his upcoming days.

✿

i'm so sorry i've been gone. college is taking all my motivation away but after this month i have my month long break so do expect updates to be regular again. and, special shoutout to -yutakoyaki for being the new guest jaehee. tysm for sticking through with me. 💞