Kingdom Come

Chapter Twenty

(Not Edited)

It was agonizingly quiet. Jennie didn't quite know what to do as she stared between Taeyong and his sister who were sitting calmly, drinking their respective beverages. They met in a restaurant, in a private room in the back. The bustling of the restaurant behind the door gave Jennie a bit of reprieve from the silence that fell around them after their greetings. "So," Jisoo began later than she expected, setting her cup down.

"Yes?" Jennie answered, eager to rid the atmosphere of the pest known as quiet.

"Do you know?"

"Jisoo-"

"Quiet, Taeyong," Jisoo scolded, glaring at him before turning back to Jennie, "Do you know?"

Jennie swallowed, looking between Taeyong and his sister once again, intimidated and confused. " Know... know what?"

Jisoo sat back, fixing her stare at Taeyong, "So you don't." She reached for her cup, bringing the porcelain delicately to her lips. "It's not my place to tell you, but it's imperative that you know before you start any sort of relationship with my brother."

"I'm sorry? What are you talking about?" She looked towards Taeyong who sat blank and motionless. "Yong?"

"I-"

There was a sudden commotion outside their room, footsteps and a distinctly female voice. "Stop! You don't want to do this."

"Oh, but I do." And then the door opened. Seulgi stared at them wide eyed as she held on to the arm of a man who leaned on the door with as much swagger as he could put out. "Hey, guys." he smiled.

Jennie was the first to react, standing up to face them, "Jongin," she said almost breathlessly.

His face softened as he watched her, "Jennie."

Seulgi's face filled with shock. Eros (or Jongin, she surmised) knew Jennie. Of course he did. "What is the meaning of this?" Jisoo inquired, staring Jongin down. "Seulgi, take Jennie outside for a minute."

"Yes, ma'am." Seulgi grabbed onto her arm as the girl stared wide-eyed at Jongin, almost as if she couldn't believe he was standing in front of her. He watched her too, eyes following her figure as she's led out of the room.

"Eros, what the hell was that?" Taeyong is suddenly in his face, sputtering in anger.

"Well, well, well if it isn't Zeus' favorite. How are you, you're majesty?"

"Answer the damn question. How.... How do you know Jennie?"

The smugness of Jongin's tone disappears as he glares at Taeyong. "She was mine before she became yours."

"W-what?"

"Are you deaf? We were in love." Taeyong backed away. "And to this day, I still love her."

Taeyong fixed a glare that could kill. "Watch your mouth."

"You don't know half of it, Apollo. I wanted exactly what you wanted just as much, if not more. The only difference is that you can do what you want while I was forced to leave the love of my life by threat from my mother." His calm voice was a facade as his eyes burned with searing anger. "I left her without a word and you expect me to sit still while you can do whatever you want? Try again."

"You're her past, Eros. We're happy; she's happy. Leave us alone."

Jongin snickered, moving past Taeyong to lean on the table. "See, that's the thing. Your dear old dad gave me the task to keep you away from her."

This got Jisoo's attention. "He what?"

"Oh, you haven't heard? You were taking so long, he sent one of his trusted messengers down here. Once he received word that Taeyong, the heir to his throne, was in love with a human, he sent me down here."

"Shit," She whispered under her breathe, falling onto her chair.

"When I found out Apollo was in love with my..." he paused to glare at Taeyong, "Jennie, I decided to make a deal with Zeus." He straightened, walking languidly towards Taeyong. "In exchange for you," he poked at his chest, "I only asked that I take your place by Jennie's side and that he'll stop my mother from hurting us."

"Like hell I'd let you do that."

Jongin smirked, "no need to bring your uncle into this, Taeyong." He walked towards the door, opening it to reveal Jennie and Seulgi on the other side, waiting patiently for them to finish their discussion.

"Jongin," she repeated.

"Hello, Dear," he responded softly.

She stared up at him, examining his face. "It really is you..." tears began to well in her eyes. "I thought you died, you jerk!" With an outstanding amount of strength, she shoved him. Everyone jerked when she suddenly  raised her voice. "You left without a word and all of a sudden you're back." Jongin let her berate him, as if he was fully expecting her angry outburst. "You gave me no explanation and left me alone! I waited for you for months, damn it!"

Her tears streamed steadily down her face, her cheeks and nose red, "I... I thought you loved me, but you broke my heart," her voice was softer that time as she used her wrist to wipe her tears away. Before Jongin could speak, she looked towards Taeyong, walking towards him. She wrapped her arms around him and hid her face, "can we go?" she whispered, tightening her hold on him.

He held her, moving his hand over her head in a comforting way. "Of course, love." He moved her under his arm, stopping by Jongin before leaving. "Stay away from us."

"Go, Taeyong." Jisoo stepped between them. "I'll deal with this."

He nodded at his sister, briefly waving at Seulgi on the way out. He glanced down at Jennie who hid her face with his arm, sniffling as she clung on to him. For the first time in his life, Taeyong is scared. He's made up his mind to be with this girl, and up until now he hadn't considered the possibility of losing her. It terrified him more than he'd care to admit.

That night, he made up his mind. He is going to get that book and he's going to do the ritual as soon as he possibly could. He isn't taking anymore risks when it came to Jennie. He can't.

He held on to her tighter, feeling a sense of foreboding deep in his bones. Everything was about to change.

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What? Another update? This is a positive outcome of quarantine lol.

Also, I'm trying to finish the Harry Potter Jenyong short story but it's way longer than expected. Expect it soon!

- Jaya