TASTE | KTH

family syllable

"Hi. I'm Yura." Yura speaks up, gently nudging the petrified Taehyung aside to hold out her hand in greeting. "I'm so happy to meet you." Taehyung's mother stares blankly at her hand for a moment, before snapping out of it. She takes her hand, and rather than shaking it, pulls Yura into a crushing embrace. Yura chuckles softly and allows Tae's mother to hug her tightly, though her skin is still raw and sensitive from the heat boiling beneath her flesh.

"I think I'm much happier to meet you, my dear." She says, rubbing Yura's back fervently. She connects eyes with Taehyung over Yura's shoulder. Taehyung, who is shocked at the joyous reaction of his mother to Yura, manages a sheepish smile. "Is she the one?" She mouths soundlessly.

And Taehyung feels a flood of pure happiness in his heart, a genuine smile spreading across his face. He has imagined this moment for years. As happy as it makes him, he knows his mother must be happy, as well. She's the one who watched Taehyung's struggle with his soulmate ever since he was young, the one who always comforted and consoled him. As a mother, she knows this means an end to Taehyung's pain. And that's more important to her than her anger at him for showing up without much notice.

"Well, this is quite a surprise!" She exclaims, pulling back to get a better look at Yura. Her gleeful smile is infectious. "You're absolutely stunning, honey. You and my Taehyungie's children are destined for perfect genes—"

"Eomma—" Taehyung interjects, eyes wide and half choking on his own sudden gasp at her words. Yura looks on like a deer in the headlights, and Taeho excuses himself to his room with a shake of his head. "Eomma, aren't we jumping the gun just a tad?" He says through gritted teeth, draping an arm over his mother's shoulders and gearing her towards the kitchen, Yura trailing awkwardly behind.

"Well, excuse me for wanting grandchildren, Taehyung—"

"Eomma, let's reeeally not get ahead of ourselves." He insists, shooting her a pleading glance. "Yura and I actually were just dropping our bags off. We have an, um...prior commitment in the city." He says, and his mom narrows her eyes at him as he leads her to sit down on the couch.

"You're telling me you have something more important to do than properly introduce me to your soulmate?" Taehyung's mother asks in disbelief. Taehyung opens his mouth to answer, but pauses, because there's no way he'll be able to tell his mother about he and Yura's situation without her losing her mind.

"Yes. I'm taking her on a date. Showing her the city. We have reservations at Soku." He lies, and his mom frowns, but her eyes show that she's not as disappointed in him as she lets on.

"Hm. So you're a gentleman to everyone but your own mother." She scolds him for the principle of it, but they all know she doesn't mean it.

"I'll make it up to you, Eomma. But we've really got to go." He promises, before turning to Yura and taking her hand in his own again.

"Lovely meeting you!" Yura calls over her shoulder as Taehyung hustles her out the door. As soon as the front door is shut behind them, Taehyung catches his breath. The second his espresso colored eyes come in contact with Yura's, though, she bursts into giggles.

"What's so funny, huh?" He teases her, bumping her with his hip.

"Nothing, nothing. Sorry. The uncomfortable laughter I was holding in inside had to come out." She explains, wiping her eyes of the tears of laughter. "Uncomfy laugher, remember?" Taehyung chuckles, pressing a sweet kiss to her temple.

"Right." He says. Every time he thinks he has reached peak fondness for her, he outdoes himself. "Let's go fix this shit, once and for all. How does that sound?"

"I can't wait." She replies. It's the truth: the sense of normalcy brought on by being around Taehyung's family only excites her more for what their future holds. "I really can't wait for a life with you." She blurts.

"My mom didn't pressure you into thinking about that stuff, did she?" He asks, and Yura chuckles as she and Taehyung begin to walk down the dirt path once more.

"She gave me the idea, but I like it. If it were up to her, we'd be picking out baby names for our hypothetical children. Though, if we were picking hypothetical baby names, it would probably be Taeyong. You've got to pass down the family syllable, right?" Yura says, and Taehyung cringes.

"Maybe not. We named a chicken that." He deadpans. Snickering to themselves, they continue their talk of the future and all of the empty hypotheticals the whole way to the city. It's nice to talk about things that are happy and light and optimistic, nice to get away from their circumstances that are comparatively bleak.

They can't ignore the dark cloud that hangs over their heads as soon as they arrive at the door of the penthouse apartment. The specialist's penthouse apartment. The smiles fall from each of their faces as they let the solemnity of the situation wash over them again. "Hey." Taehyung speaks up, looking over at her. "No matter what happens in there...I'm holding you to a future. One with pain, overheating, hypothermia, my crazy family, naming our kids after chickens—whatever. As long as you're in it, I'm for it."

"Me, too." Yura whispers. He has such a way with words, a way to make her innerworkings melt into an incoherent ball of affection. With that promise intact, Yura raises her hand to the door, and knocks firmly a couple times. They hear muffled footsteps, before the door swings open.

A tall, handsome man looks them over with a tight lipped smile. He's well dressed, his aura commanding attention and revere. With a sigh, a rake of his fingers through his striking pink hair, and the jamming of his hands into his pockets, he speaks.

"Well. You're rather late. But, I suppose that's beyond our control, isn't it?" He says, opening the door a little further for them. "I'm just relieved to see you arrive at all. Those couples with intense polar bond reactions such as yourselves don't tend to fare very well." The man only then notices the wide eyed and petrified expressions of the two soulmates. "Oop, sorry. I'm not one to beat around the bush." Silence answers him. He gives them a raised eyebrow. "Well, are you just going to gawk at me, or are you going to come in? I know, I'm easy on the eyes, I'm Kim Seokjin, for crying out loud! But, you can stare all you like inside. The decor is much nicer in there!"

Taehyung and Yura share one last knowing glance. Here goes nothing.

Like that, they follow the pink haired man into his home, praying that when they come back out, they'll come out fixed.

yay you met jin!!! sorry y'all rlly thought it was yoongi bc i said daegu but i rlly just wanted an excuse for them to meet tae's family oops

yoongi is actually in this story! he becomes a bigger part later on, but he was briefly mentioned in the first chapter!!!

hope you enjoyed this update!

xoxo, r