Author's POV
When Taehyung calmed down, they stayed in that position until he was fully recovered. After that, Taehyung went out and opened the door for Seoyeon. She stood in front of him and sighed.
"Are you sure you feel better now? Hm?" Seoyeon asked as she scans Taehyung's face worriedly, while he just nods with a small smile.
"Thank you, Seoyeon. Thank you for letting me love you and for appreciating me." He sighed and held her hand as he said, "I hope for your genuine happiness with the man you love, and for him to treat you with so much affection and understanding. Oh, and just so you know, if hyung hurts you or even dares to make you cry, I wouldn't think twice of punching him." He chuckled lowly while she just smiled at him.
"I doubt that would happen, but I really am glad to have someone like you. You are such an amazing friend, Taehyung. I just know that someday will come and you will find the perfect one for you, at the perfect time." She assured and gently squeezed Taehyung's hand that is holding hers.
"You think so?" He asked.
"Why, of course! There are so many ladies gushing over you. Don't you know that?" She jokingly nudged his shoulder, making him grin with slight bitterness.
"But none of them was the one I wished was gushing over me." He shrugged, "Oh well, maybe I will find that someone among those ladies." He said in agreement with what Seoyeon said, not wanting to make her feel guilty in some way.
"I'm a hundred percent sure you will. A thousand percent if it may." She cheered and received a hum from him as he nods.
"I'll hold onto that." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Can I kiss you on the forehead? Just for one last time." He asked so Seoyeon approved of it.
Taehyung cupped her face and leaned forward as he let his lips land on her forehead. He could feel his tears welling again, but he tried to supress it. When he pulled away, he caressed her cheeks and stared at her for a moment before exhaling sharply while letting go of her.
"I love you, Seoyeon." He mumbled and saw her smile. "I'll get going now. Hwayoung might be waiting for me, since I promised her that I will read her storybooks for her."
"Thank you for being my date tonight, Taehyung. Please drive safely, okay?" She reminded.
"Of course, Seoyeon. Thank you for tonight as well. I'll message you once I get home."
She nods her head and then watched him as he goes to enter his car. She waved her hand while Taehyung gave her a sweet smile. After beeping, he finally drove away. She just watched his car until it was fully out of her sight.
"Was that Taehyung?" Ara's voice disrupted the silence of the night, startling Seoyeon and making her turn around to see her cousin standing by the staircase.
"Goodness, Ara...." She exhaled shortly as she holds her chest. "Yes, that was Taehyung. He became my date at the gala, that's why he's the one who drove me home." She answered, while Ara hums.
"Let's go inside, Yeonie. You might catch a cold while wearing that dress outside." Ara invited, so Seoyeon followed her as they went upstairs.
When she entered the apartment, she immediately smelled the delicious aroma of her favorite spicy ramen. She then spotted Eunhye in the kitchen, cooking ramen as their late night meal.
"How was the gala, Yeonie?" Eunhye asked as she glance at her while cracking some eggs.
"It was nice, just the usual celebration of the company's anniversary. The only difference was that I became one of the guests and not the one accommodating the guests." Seoyeon uttered while she sits down on the sofa, feeling exhausted both physically and mentally.
"We went to cook your favorite ramen when we saw a car parked outside." Ara said as she sits beside her cousin. "You look so tired and deep in thought, Yeonie. Did something happened?" She asked, elbowing the backrest of the sofa as she face her body to Seoyeon, ready to listen to her.
"A lot of things happened and to be honest, I don't know what to feel about those things." Seoyeon sighed, hand brushing through her hair.
She then felt a blanket around her shoulder and when she looked up, it was Eunhye. Before she sat with the two, she first placed the bowl of ramen for Seoyeon and two plates of samyang for her and Ara, on the table. They actually notice how Seoyeon became a little bit anxious recently. They're worried that it has something to do with her relationship with Namjoon.
"Have some ramen first." Eunhye gestured, while Seoyeon thanked her. "We don't want to be nosy, but we are just worried for your health. You always look so tired, more than the usual." She added.
"I'm fine, don't worry." Seoyeon assured to them.
"Yeonie, something is definitely bothering you." Ara commented, "But we respect it if you don't want to talk about it. Anyway, let's just talk about you and your lover boy. So, how's your lovelife?" Ara asked to shift the atmosphere, which effectively did because they saw her smile while stirring the noodles of her ramen.
"It feels weird to have a boyfriend." She chuckled bashfully, "I don't know the standard of most women, but I feel that he raised the bar high. He's very affectionate and arduous in expressing his love. He knows when I'm not well and gives me the comfort and care I need. I just hope it doesn't only happen in the beginning of our relationship." She said before eating some of her ramen.
"Well, it is true that things are extremely exciting at first when it comes to relationships. The important thing is that both of you will always choose each other even though you two feel tired of one another." Ara advised while Seoyeon nods as she took note of it in her head.
"One thing I realized is that you don't love each other everyday. There will be a time where you get tired of each other and think that you don't love that person already. But what Ara said is true. Especially once you get a husband, it's not always 'I love you'. There will be those 'I will always choose you'." Eunhye elaborated in agreement with what Ara said.
"There's a higher chance you will always choose him, because when you two weren't still dating, you still chose to stay and be his secretary although he is being a jerk to you. Just my opinion, base on what Eunhye-eonnie said, okay?" Ara shrugged, but before Seoyeon coudl answer, they heard a knock on the door.
Eunhye stood up and checked first who that person is. She was confused to see a delivery man outside.
"Did someone ordered something?" She asked first, but they were clueless, so she opened the door.
"Pizza delivery for Ms. Park Seoyeon." The delivery guy said as he hands the boxes of pizza. "Those are already paid by Mr. Kim Namjoon." He added, which cleared the confusion
"Oh, thank you." Eunhye said as she accepts it.
"Have a good evening, ma'am." The delivery guy bowed and left.
After that, Eunhye locked the doors and when she was heading back to the living room, she heard Seoyeon talking to the phone. She then placed the boxes of pizza and sat down on her spot as she gestures to Ara on who Seoyeon is talking to. When Ara mouthed Namjoon's name, Eunhye just nodded and gave a thumbs-up.
"Oh, so it's from you! Yeah, it just arrived now. I didn't know you took it seriously when I said I was craving for pizza. Thank you for the pizza, love." She replied lovingly and the two females covered their mouth to hide their mischievous grin upon hearing her. "Hey, It's fine, I understand that. Just get some rest, okay? We can go together next time.... Goodnight and sleep well, Namjoon. I love you, too." She bid and the call ended, at the same time the two squealed on a pillow.
"Ahh! That was too sweet." Eunhye teased as she fans herself with her hand, giddy at someone else's lovelife. "He bought you pizza because you were craving for it. Goodness, when will I have a man like that."
"He said he ordered one box each for you two." Seoyeon smiled, which made them gasp.
"Wait. You mean he bought us pizza, too?" Ara asked as she points at the four boxes of pizza, while Seoyeon just chuckled as she nods.
"That's just so thoughtful of him. Now why don't we have a movie date while we eat the pizza." Eunhye initiated and the two agreed.
"I'll get the beer!" Ara cheered as she stands up and went to the kitchen.
"I'll just change my clothes into something comfortable." Seoyeon uttered and excused herself.
She went to her bedroom and quickly took her pajamas. After changing her clothes, she went to her vanity table to removed her make-up and free her hair. While she was doing so, she remembered what Namjoon said on the phone. He won't be able to come with her tomorrow, to visit her parents, because he's not feeling well and he couldn't leave since Taehyung is with them.
On the other hand, Namjoon is currently inside his room while treating the cut on his lips. It so happened that he was welcomed with a punch from Taehyung and it resulted for his lips to bleed after being punched.
- FLASHBACK -
Namjoon was first to arrive home although Taehyung and Seoyeon left the venue before him. When he got home, Hwayoung was already asleep, so he went to the kitchen and got himself a shot of whiskey. After taking a sip, he let it linger in his mouth that tingled his taste buds, for it has been a while since he drank whiskey. Ever since that night, when Seoyeon took care of his sick body, he eventually stopped drinking. As he was enjoying the serenity of the house, he heard the door opened with footsteps. Taehyung is home, he concluded, so he put down the glass and went to approach his brother.
"Taehyu-" But Namjoon wasn't able to continue when Taehyung suddenly punched him on the face.
The impact made Namjoon to stumble back and almost fell down, only if he wasn't fast enough to hold onto something. Namjoon touched his lips and saw some blood on his fingers. Taehyung was heaving from too much anger while glaring at his brother. That punch wasn't enough for him, but he doesn't want to hurt Namjoon any further.
"You better make sure you really love her, because I wouldn't think twice of turning you into a punching bag if you dare to hurt her." He spat out, while Namjoon just stayed quiet.
Taehyung then looked away and decided to leave Namjoon as he headed upstairs, to the guestroom. When he was at the last step, he looked down at Namjoon, who was still standing to where he left him.
"Just so you know, I don't have any regrets after punching you. You deserve that, you broke our bro code." Taehyung stated before finally walking away.
Namjoon just sighed as he tries to supress the pain of Taehyung's punch. That was the first time Taehyung laid a finger on him and based from what he said, Namjoon concluded that Taehyung already knew about him and Seoyeon. Although Namjoon wanted to speak with his brother, he just decided to let him cool down and talk to him tomorrow. Namjoon then went to his room upstairs and headed to the bathroom to get the medicine kit. While he was cleaning his cut, he thought of Seoyeon and their trip tomorrow to her parents. He can't show up with a cut on his lips, she will be worried and it won't be a good impression to her parents to see him that way. So, he reached for his phone on his pocket and while he was scrolling, he received a notification that the pizza he ordered for her was successfully delivered. When he saw her name on his contacts, he pressed the call button and waited for her to answer.
(Hello? You called, love?)
Hearing her voice could already make him feel better. He wished she's here right now beside him, hugging him and helping him with his cut.
"I just miss your voice. Have you received the pizzas? You said you were craving for it, so I ordered it for delivery."
(Oh, so it's from you! Yeah, it just arrived now. I didn't know you took it seriously when I said I was craving for pizza. Thank you for the pizza, love.)
It made him smile as he says, "You're welcome, my love. I ordered one box of pizza for each of your friends. The other two are for you." After hearing her hum in response, he cleared his throat. "By the way, I have to tell you something. I don't think I could come with you tomorrow. I'm feeling under the weather and I can't leave since Taehyung is here with us."
(Hey, it's fine, I understand that. Just get some rest, okay? We can go together next time.)
"Thank you for understanding, love. I will rest now. Goodnight and I love you, Seoyeon." He uttered dearly.
(Goodnight and sleep well, Namjoon. I love you, too.)
- END OF FLASHBACK -
Namjoon then stared at his reflection on the mirror. He planned to fix his relationship with his brother and talk to him first thing in the morning. So after cleaning up the mess on ths sink, he changed into his pajamas and went to lay down in his bed. While staring at his ceiling, his phone beeped. He reached for it on the side table and Seoyeon's name was on the screen. He immediately checked his inbox to read her message.
[Ms. Park:
Drink your meds if you must. I wish I could go there and take care of you, but it would be rude since Taehyung is there. Plus, I cannot cancel my trip to my parents. Please eat your food on time, love. You get stubborn sometimes and would just drink coffee. Don't do that, okay? I love you so much, my handsome devil. Sweet dreams!]
It made him smile giddily as he re-read her message. He even looked like a teenager with how he acts. And he ended up falling asleep with a smile after reading her messages over and over again.
[A/N: I sometimes hate that I don't have a fixed pattern when writing a new chapter. I always end up writing anything that pops in my head, that aligns with the previous chapter. Anyway, I hope your Sunday is good! Please stay safe, everyone. Lovelots!]