Prince Pauper || KTH

2. Prince to Pauper

His head turned to the left to see rows of small poorly-made houses aligning down the road. Each home had little to no style, almost carbon copies with dirtied cream painted exterior and unflattering brown roof. There weren't many streets to this town, possibly only eight streets where the Imuwaians resided.

"Gross," Taehyung mumbled before he and his mother went towards the old lady he called Halmeoni.

"Tae Tae, you remember your Halmeoni Kim?" Sooyeon spoke.

It's been a while since he saw his grandmother, almost seven years? She never bothered visiting as much and obviously he never came to her. When she did visit, he'd always be gone, partying with his Hyungs and potentially doing some illegal shit that his dad would help him out of.

The boy took a good look at her. There was no doubt in Taehyung's mind that she was old, slowly decaying by the year. The wrinkles on her face were more prominent, the raven-colored box dye on her locks with outgrown silver roots to cover up her senior citizen status.

She held a gentle smile, ecstatic to see her grandson after many years, but also hiding the fact that she needed to work him up. He was completely spoiled, childish, ungrateful, the list goes on, which made her irises twitch at the very thought.

"Yes, how could I forget the wrinkled lady who would always yell at me?" Taehyung rhetorically asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Ah, yes. That's me." Halmeoni chuckled. "Always glad to see my irresponsible arrogant mongoose of a grandson."

Oh, God. Two of them living under the same roof?? A total nightmare. Let's read more.

Sooyeon could sense the tension. The volume was astronomical, especially in the tranquility of the Imuwa air.

"Okay, that was a nice reunion." Sooyeon laughed. "Well, Taehyung has to get settled in and I must get going."

"Oh, leaving already? I wanted you to stay a little longer before you ran away from me like last time." Halmeoni acted upset with her mouth parted.

"Mom, you need to stop bringing that up." Sooyeon rolled her eyes before hugging her mother again.

Halmeoni snickered as she returned the hug before planting a peck on her daughter's cheek, "Always teasing, Yeonie. I love you, see you soon. Maybe when Tae Tae messes up within two weeks?"

Taehyung scoffed, feeling insulted, as he crossed his arms over his chest. He disbelieved that he was gonna mess up. Maybe crack but not mess up.

"Good night and I love you too." Sooyeon grinned before pulling her mom so that she could secretly say something. "Break him." She pulled back when her orbs widened and slowly nodded.

"Yeonie, you didn't even need to say it," Halmeoni smirked before letting her go.

Sooyeon shifted her body towards her distant-looking son. The frown that will probably stay glued on his face for a while is leaving her to pity him. She understood him, she was like him. She didn't want to be here and she knows he doesn't want to be here too. Taehyung was exactly like her apart from her craziness and love for spice.

Oh, how she just wanted to bring him back home but she knew he needed this for the sake of his life and his relationship with her and his father.

"Taehyungie, it'll be okay." Sooyeon could only reassure him with words. "You'll be fine, I can promise you that."

"Sounds fake, but okay." He bluntly said.

Sooyeon sighed before cupping her son's cheeks so that his pupils focused on her. "Kim Taehyung, this will be good for you. Your father and I do not want a spoiled brat for a son." She explained the truth. "Especially if you're going into the family business, you must learn how to be responsible and independent for yourself."