Y/ns POV
"Baby breathe. You got this. If it doesn't go well, you can come back and we will be here ready to comfort you and Tae." Chan comforts me, running his fingers through my hair. I don't say anything, instead I wrap my arms around him and hug him tightly. He lets out a small chuckle and he kissed the top of my head.
"C'mon, you need to get dressed so we can drop you both off" He says, trying to pry me off of him I tighten my grip on him and he struggles for a few seconds trying to get me to let go of him,
I don't have any need to hold onto him but watching him struggle and be a bit irritated is fun to me so I try to do it sometimes. Plus he can't be mad at me because of what's happening today.
Eventually he does get my arms from around him and he is shaking his head at me. "Go get dressed." He orders before walking out to check on Tae.
Everything with the guys is still kind of.. Weird I guess. Don't get me wrong I love having them around and I couldn't be luckier to have them but I'm used to being alone and not used to having to worry about if something I do will hurt someone else.
They treat me so well and I love it, all of it. Every small detail about them is obsessive, I want to know everything I possibly can about them. But sometimes I realize that I could have had this sooner and it makes me feel like shit. I could have had them sooner and I chose to stay away, even if it was for the better and it kinda hurts.
Tae loves them. Like he is probably our biggest supporter. The guys treat Tae amazing and take him out to hang out often even though they don't have to. I'm happy in my life, I'm happy with how everything is. I'm just scared and I'm sure that Tae is too. but I have to be strong for both of us.
All of the guys are currently piled around the apartment. Like I'm pretty sure they are here because my tv is bigger than theirs but they all say that they are here to support us. I don't 100% Believe them but it's fine.
I looked up the restaurant they made reservations at and its way more than slightly fancy. It's super nice and pristine which me and Tae have never been so we had to go shoppin. Not a fan but it's fine.
I change into dress pants, with a turtleneck and a nice,overly expensive, jacket. This is probably the most expensive outfit I've ever worn and while it looks nice I'm not so sure if I'm a fan of it.
I even bought dress shoes.
I don't know why I'm taking this so seriously. It's a dinner with people I'll probably never talk to again but I am. Tae and I both promised to go in with a open mind so this is where its going.
I walk out of my room and peak my head into Tae's room and he isn't in there so he is probably in the living room.
The closer I get to the living room the louder the laughter gets. Tae has a loud laugh. It's probably one of my favorite sounds and I can recognize it from a mile away.
I walk into the living room and it takes them a second to notice I'm standing here, Hyunjin is the first to notice me. He stares at me for a few seconds before walking over to me and wrapping an arm around my waist.
"You look.. really good" He whispers to me and then kisses my cheek. I smile and whisper a thank you in response.
The guys are all staring at me now. Some of them are smiling at me and others are simply staring. Hyunjin's fingers are gripping tightly onto my hip and his chin on my shoulder. I can feel him breathing on my neck and for a second I think he is going to say something but he closes his mouth.
I can feel the all eyeing me. If it was anyone else I would be uncomfortable but because it's them, I don't.
Felix has a grin that is nothing less than attractive and he starts walking up to me. The closer he gets the more nervous I get. He stops in front of me and I think he can sense my nervousness because his grin turns into a smirk and he kisses my nose.
Tae gags, dramatically may I add. "Stop being gross. Come on we have to go or we will be late" He grumbles pulling me away from both of my soulmates. Hyunjin makes a dramatic noise and Felix is just smiling as usual.
Chan, Jisung and Changbin are coming to drop us off because my car is in the shop and they were the first ones to say they were coming. I don't mind because I could use all the comfort I could get right now.
—-
We are sitting in front of the restaurant and I can't seem to get myself to get out of the car and go inside. This is a huge thing. I keep trying to downplay it to calm myself but I can't. I'm terrified. I have to walk in there and be kind to the family my father left me for.
I'm scared. They might be the perfect little family and I don't think I can handle that. I have siblings and I don't know how to be kind to them. I can't be mean to children but I can't be a brother to them. I don't know how to do this.
Chan's hand squeezes my thing and when I look over at him, he is frowning. He is worried. I smile at him and kiss his cheek.
I look back at Tae who looks just as nervous as me, if not more. He is staring blankly off at space and I'm scared this is too much for him. I don't want this to mess with him too badly and I'm ready to leave as soon as he says so. I reach out my hand and put it on his knee. His eyes snap to me.
"Whenever you want to leave just tap my leg and we will leave. If you need a break just tell me and we can take a break. I'm here"
He nods and smiles at me. I don't know if he is ready for this and that scares me. I have to be ready to pick up the prices if he breaks. I can. I will. But I need to be 100% ready for that.
I get out of the car and he quickly follows. I say goodbye to the three left in the car and they all smile at me like they have no doubt that everything will be okay. I'm not so sure.
The closer we get to the door the closer Tae gets to me. When we get to the door Tae grabs my hand tightly. I don't say anything, I sit and squeeze his hand and keep us walking.
We walk up to the reception desk and the lady standing there is smiling at me. "Hi, we are supposed to be joining a table, First name Meredith." I say smiling at her.
The lady looks at a book and nods."Y/n and Taehyun?" She questions. I nod and she tells us to follow her to the table.
She takes us to a private room and tells us to go in whoever we are ready. Tae looks at me like he wants me to open it and I really don't want to. This would be easier if the lady opened the door because we would be forced to walk in.
We stand there for a minute before Tae nudges at me to open the door. I nudge back at him. And then I open the door to see a group of 7 sitting there.
Maverick being one of them. Maverick is my father if you hadn't guessed.
Meredith is has asian features but doesn't look completely asian. I'm assuming she is mixed, White and asian.
There are five other people who look like a mixture of the two, mostly like our father. One looks the same age as Tae, is he the same age as Tae?
All of them stand up to greet us and I swear the one who is similar aged to Tae looks almost identical. It's freaking me out.
"I'm glad you guys made it! I know this is awkward but we all are truly happy that you guys are here"Meredith says, bowing at me. I bow back and smile at her.
She tells us to sit so we do. There were only two seats so there is a kid, around 10 or 11 next to me , next to Tae is a kid who looks around 7.
Tae already looks uncomfortable and honestly so am I. He had 5 children with someone else, leaving 2 with a psycho. It kind of pisses me off. Actually it really pisses me off but I don't say anything.
Meredith hands us an iPad and explains that its used to order the food, a new system that the restaurant is trying.
We both take time to order, tae says nothing but he points at what he wants. He chose exactly like I would expect him to, when he sees that they have very little soda options he looks up at me with a frown but nevertheless chooses sprite.
the kid next to me suddenly gasps which makes me jump and look over at him. "You have multiple soulmates too?!" He questions, looking at my arm. I look down at my arm and nod at him.
He pulls his sleeve and shows me his mark. It has multiple sections but all are intertwined.
"How many do you have?" The boy who look like Tae asks.
"I have Eight actually. Tae here has Seven"
"Me too! We look the same and we both have seven" The kid says, Looking directly at Tae.
Tae sits still for a second before nodding. I don't know about any of their names and Tae is already getting more anxious. I look at him and he looks at me, I give him a look asking if he is okay and he shrugs. I put my hand under the table and he quickly grabs it.
Comfort is the most I can do for him right now.
"I'm sorry, I never introduced everyone! Y/n, taehyun. This is Doyun and he is 4, this is Haneul and he is 15, this is Boram and she is 11, this is Jaesung and he is 7, and this is Eunji and she is 13" Meredith introduces her kids one by one and I was right. He has another son the same age as Tae.
Eunji looks over at her mother confused and slightly glares at her mother. "You forgot about Kyungsoo," She reminds Meredith.
That makes both Maverick and Meredith tense up. Meredith's smile falls right off her face and she looks over at Maverick. He doesn't even look back at her, instead he stares down at the table.
Neither of them say anything so Eunji takes it into her own hands to explain it to me. "We have one more brother, his name is Kyungsoo and he is 20. You both look almost identical actually" She explains, tilting her head at me.
uhm.
pardon?
I was told that Maverick didn't meet Meredith until after Tae was born? Wait I'm confused, he had another son when I was 2 and then stayed with our mother until I was 11?
I look over at Tae who looks just as confused. He blinks up at me and tilts his head in question, I squeeze his hand telling him that I don't know and he shrugs.
I don't really know how to feel. I don't know what I'm allowed to feel in front of all these people, my siblings and step mother that I don't know.
I have a brother who is 2 years younger than me, Tae has a brother who is the same age as me, I have 6 siblings who might expect a relationship with me and I'm confused.
I don't know if I'm allowed to be angry or upset. I don't know if i'm allowed to feel whatever I want to feel because I allowed myself to be in this situation. I put myself in the situation to feel like this.
I clear my throat and nod. "It's.. nice to meet all of you"
The waitresses come in and start setting down the plates. Mine is the last to be sat down and everyone starts eating without saying anything. That's fine..
After twenty minutes of everyone eating maverick talks for the first time. "How is your mother?" He asks in a monotone voice.
"I'm not sure, she is in prison"I say, shrugging.
Meredith stops mid bite and looks up from her plate. "Wait, where is Taehyun living then?"
I look at her confused. "With me? He has been for months.
She looks shocked and looks over at maverick who still looks neutral. Apparently the dickhead doesn't know how to show emotions today.
"Uhm.. Is that.. okay?" Meredith questions, setting down her chopsticks.
"Pardon?"
"I mean you've never raised a child and a kid should be raised by parents, I'm just wondering if that's good for him" She explains kind of rambling.
'If that is good for him'? What am I going to do, get him drunk? I take care of my brother like he should be taken care of and for her to even say that is baffling.
I set down my chopsticks and straighten in my seat a bit. "Can you explain what you mean by that?" I request, frowning at her.
She pauses a bit and blinks at me, at first she looks at Tae then back at me. "Well children need stricter and proper parenting. They need to be told to do basic tasks most times and they need people who will love them, give them advice. I've raised six children and I'm still learning. I'm not sure if it's okay for a kid to raise a kid" She explains in some weird sympathetic voice that is weirdly aggravating.
I unwillingly let out a scoff which seems to offend her because her eyes widen and she has a look on her face. "There is no reason to be rude. It is simply how I feel. You're a kid who has no clue about children and you could lead him down the wrong path. You aren't a parent so you wouldn't understand what it feels like" she says shrugging at me.
Everyone else at the table looks awkward or shocked and I realize that this was a mistake, coming here and doing this.I should have denied and just left this alone. I'm a smart person and I know that I'm young but Tae is safe and okay with me.
"I agreed to come because it's what Tae wanted. Everything I have and will do is for my brother, I will not sit here explaining or defending myself to a woman who doesn't know me. Tae is happy and healthy that's all that matters''
I turn to Tae and ask if he is ready to go. He nods and I smile at him. I pull out my wallet and pull out enough for our food. I set it down and stand up.
"It was nice meeting you guys"
We walk out and as soon as I close the door it looks like Tae is breaking. He has tears swelling in his eyes and he is holding onto me like he is scared to let go.
I text Chan and ask for someone to pick us up, quickly if possible. Tae doesn't want to be here and neither do I. I knew this was a bad decision, I shouldn't have told him about the phone call and forgot it ever happened.
When we get outside of the building Tae hugs me and doesn't say anything. He won't speak for a bit, he needs to take a minute to think about how he is feeling and he can't while he is talking.
I hear the restaurant's door open and I look over to see Eunji and Haneul walking towards us. Tae must hear them because he lets go of me and looks at both of them.
When they get to directly in front of me they both have uneasy looks. Tae doesn't say anything to them, he walks over to the wall behind us leaving me with them.
"Our parents are... I'm sorry about what she said. It wasn't okay." She apologizes to me and bows her head.
Haneul sticks his hands in his pockets and looks up at me. "She is a bitch but she has her moments. we came out because we were going that what happened with our mom doesn't affect our potential relationship" He grumbles, looking at the ground.
"We aren't expecting to be super close or anything. Just holidays and stuff. Occasionally hang out."
I stare at both of them and then I look back at tae who is pretending not to listen. We make eye contact and he knows I'm asking if he is okay with this. He stares right back at me and then shrugs.
I turn back to them and nod. Eunji smiles and hands me a paper with phone numbers on them. She explains whose number is whos and that she didn't have time to write the name on the paper.
I smile and thank her. She smiles back at me and I realize that her smile is the same as Tae and I's. We have a lot of features from Maverick and they probably have the same features. I know thats how biology and genetics work but still.
A car pulls in right next to us and it's Chan who looks worried.
I quickly turn back to the two who look a bit confused. "My soulmate is here. We will call or text or something like that" I explain, nodding my head in the car's direction.
They both nod and quickly say goodbye to me before they go inside.
I walk over to Tae and reach out my hand for him to grab and he does. We walk to the car and he goes to the back seat while I get in the front.
Chan rests his hand on my thigh and smiles at me. "You guys okay?" He asks, looking at me.
Tae grunts and I nod.
I'm seriously ready to go to bed.
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Word count: 3175
A/N: this is a longer character, I hope you guys like it 😭. It was kinda stressful to write but I tried to write it well but idk how I feel.
I hope you enjoyed!