Sugar (A Taekook/Vkook Love Story)

Chapter 14

After putting on a brave front once finally hearing MinWoo's voice for the first time in three years, Taehyung broke down into tears once the call ended, finally calming down once he was in Jungkook's arms and the younger was peppering light and fluttery kisses on his hands. 

But it was no time to be crying now. And even if he wanted to, Taehyung probably couldn't as the angry haze towards the woman had taken over his body. 

"Let's go." Taehyung growled, promptly ignoring the startled gasp from Jin-Hyung and the worried sigh from Jungkook.

His shoes felt heavy, he wore black boots two sizes too big with large insoles to mask the size of his feet and make his height taller. He wore a black mask, black cap, and thick black clothes to hide his physique. Jungkook and Taehyung made their way to the dark alley  that MinWoo told Taehyung the four always had to go through. It was the only place where there were no security cameras around. 

The two waited for roughly 10 minutes before they could make out the shadow of what was unmistakably four kids, one much taller than the other three. 

Once the four were in front of Taehyung, his cold face faltered as his heart began to thaw just at the sight of finally seeing them in front of him, but he kept strong. If he broke now, he would jeopardize the entire plan.

MinWoo had already briefed the other three on what to do. They were to scream and kick and yell, but never get scared because the two men dressed in black were really the good guys. 

And scream and kick and yell the four did. Once in the car, Jin-Hyung raced off and Taehyung's façade crumbled as he immediately ripped off the cap and mask and attacked the four children in a large hug as the five began to cry. 

"Hyung, Hyung, you came for us!" SeoJun, the second oldest at 12-years old and Taehyung's brother wailed, clutching at his Hyung whom he hadn't seen for three years. 

"Taehyungie-Oppa...Oppa..." MinJi, Taehyung's younger sister at 10 years old, cried out, unable to say anything but his name. 

MinWoo and YeRan couldn't say anything at all as they were sobbing too heavily. 

And Taehyung. Taehyung was a complete and utter mess as he barely managed to choke out weak "I'm sorrys" in between his sobs. 

For a whole hour the five were unable to stop crying and clutching at each other, so relieved at finally being together, at finally having hope. Only when Taehyung finally calmed down did he realize that Jungkook was softly caressing his hair, trying to soothe him further. 

After thirty more minutes, SeoJun, MinJi, and YeRan fell asleep, exhausted. But MinWoo stayed awake, solemnly thinking quietly before turning to Taehyung.

"Hyung, I- I kept my promise, you know?" MinWoo sniffed, gripping Taehyung's shirt tightly.

"I knew you would." Taehyung smiled tearily.

"I-I didn't cry in front of SeoJun or MinJi or YeRan, and I tried to protect them as best I could, Hyung. I promise I did. I acted like the oldest since you weren't here and I didn't cry like you didn't and I tried to block the punishments for SeoJun and MinJi and YeRan like you did for us when you were here."

"Such a brave boy," Taehyung grinned mussing up MinWoo's hair affectionately.

"But Hyung, it was so hard. Even though her attacks were less frequent since we tried to avoid her as much as possible and she's busy spending money, it still hurts. Hyung, I don't know how you did it when you were my age and she didn't have money to distract her. How you still silently took every blow and protected us from her. Hyung, thank you so much for that."

Taehyung's eyes softened as he gently wiped the tear away from the brave boy, the look in his eyes conveying the extreme proudness he felt for MinWoo.

"Hyung, SeoJun and MinJi kept their promises too, they're the top of their classes now, and they act really confidently so they have lots of friends. And we always remind YeRan about you so she hasn't forgotten you even if she was five when you left. We always told her stories about how you made us laugh even when your eyes were always sad. But even if we didn't tell her she'd probably remember, she has really good memory."

Taehyung continued to listen intently, tearing up every now and then as MinWoo continued to talk about their life during the three years they were apart until he fell asleep, snuggled up to SeoJun.

Taehyung really couldn't help the second wave of emotion that hit him as it finally settled that the four kids were by his side, safe and his body trembled as he fought back the tears.

Turning to his side, he finally acknowledged Jungkook who was gazing at him with a soft smile, arms open. Taehyung gladly fell into the younger's embrace, breathing in deeply once he was settled in Jungkook's arms.

"Thank you, Jungkookie," he murmured, tightening his hold on his guardian angel.

"Of course, angel. And thank you, for staying strong for all those years." Jungkook replied pressing a kiss to Taehyung's forehead.

Taehyung smiled. Gosh, he loved this man.