"So what's going on with all of this?" Taehyung asked, waving his hand all around me in a vague gesture which I supposed was an attempt to capture the essence of my being.
I sat across from Taehyung over our brunch and coffee at a small downtown café, the snow falling gently in lilting patterns from the grey sky. Jennie and I hadn't explicitly discussed what we would tell everyone or how: in fact, the conversation never crossed our minds yesterday as we sat together cuddled up on the couch and enjoyed the simplicity of each other's company, so when Taehyung texted me on Saturday evening after I'd dropped Taehyung off at home and asked to go to brunch, I texted her asking what I should tell her brother.
She responded simply, blunt and unhelpful as ever: Tell him whatever you want.
When I demanded to know what she told him, what she had been telling him all along, she told me to talk to her brother unencumbered by any expectations or ideas I may have had.
"What's going on with what? My outfit? I like this shirt." I said, playing dumb until Taehyung clarified exactly what he meant. I wouldn't walk headlong into another Kim trap.
"Nice try. What is going on with you and my sister?"
"What do you mean?"
"Mhm. Mhm." Taehyung hummed, nodding his head, exasperated. "You know exactly what I mean. Going on a date, cuddling on the couch the other night, Jennie not coming home Friday night and staying at your apartment all day Saturday. What happened Friday night? Did you sleep with my sister?"
"First of all it wasn't a date."
"Mhm," Taehyung hummed, his face arranged in such a way that told me he wasn't buying anything I said.
"Second of all you lay your head on my shoulder all the time!"
"And yet, Jennie does not. Never. Not with anyone. Not even with that scumbag Jongin. Why did she do that with you? What's going on?"
"Third of all, I did not have sex with your sister, so calm down."
Taehyung narrowed his eyes.
"Interesting, I like that you casually avoided my question about what happened on Friday night."
"What did she tell you."
"Nothing."
"Really? Jennie said nothing?" I asked.
"She said to talk to you."
I chewed on the side of my lip contemplating how I would play my cards.
"No," I said much too quickly.
"Mhm." Taehyung hummed again. "Okay so you like my sister."
"I never said-"
"What are your intentions with her?" Taehyung asked, crossing his arms across his chest. I felt like I was on the other side of the interrogation table.
"My intentions?"
Taehyung shook his head, polished off his drink and took a deep breath. "I don't know what's going on between you two since you won't tell me anything." I opened my mouth to speak, but Taehyung put his hand up. "Just let me say this before our conversation goes any further, because I know something happened Friday." I closed my mouth and listened to Taehyung's monologue.
"I don't know what you're doing, but I've never seen my sister this carefree and happy since our parents passed away. Like, she's actually happy. She's actually enjoying her life and working much less and is much, much less stressed out. All of this seems to correspond to when you and her made your little deal and began hanging out quite literally daily. I know you've been trying to befriend her for three years and you've been so patient with her for so long and it seems like your patience has finally paid off.
"I know Jennie is rough around the edges, but she cares a lot about the important people in our lives. When our parents died, Jennie fought and fought and fought for custody over me. What business did a nineteen-year-old have adopting a sixteen-year-old? But she did and she won. Through all of those battles in court, she decided to be a lawyer, because she found something she was good at. It was rough; there were long nights for her, going through school and working to support us. We had no one. No one helped us. No one helped Jennie. Jennie helped me, but no one was there for Jennie.
"It was tough for a very, very long time, but she did it. Jennie is unbreakable. She's like no other person I know.
"So when she doesn't let herself be helped; when she's weary of every nice gesture you do for her, she's always thinking 'what's the catch?' because she can't help it. Hardening herself like that is what got us through. I wouldn't be here without her. She's not going to open up so easily to you or to anyone. She was with Jongin to close to a year and he didn't know the first thing about her. You've patiently spent three years getting to know her, showing her that you've paid attention, that you care and I've seen her slowly open up to you like she has with no one else but me.
"You are the only person who hasn't flinched against her jagged edges or turned away. You've learned to move with her so that you're not cut; you know when to step away and let her rage and you know when to step in and be that immovable object that even Jennie can't knock down."
Taehyung took a breath and studied my face, looking for hints as to what I was thinking. I remained silent.
"All I want to say is that it's been no easy feat to get Jennie to let her guard down, to be herself, and if there's anyone that I've seen her with that I think can do it it's you. It's been a slow, three year process, but you've stripped away every defense Jennie has without her even knowing. Even if she can't see it or even if it scares her, you're the best thing that's happened to her."
I sat in stunned silence. Taehyung exhaled the smiled at me. "That's it, that's all I wanted to say."
I chewed on my lip. Taehyung flagged down the waitress and ordered us mimosas.
"She kissed me at the party," I confessed.
"And?"
"Has she told you anything else?"
"She's shared almost every thought she's had about you the last two weeks but she hasn't said a peep about Friday."
"Well, she kissed me under the mistletoe," I began and gave Taehyung and abridged version of the party. "I invited her to stay the night with me. Literally just to sleep, nothing happened. I wanted her to stay with me Saturday. I just want to be around her. I ..."
Taehyung looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to divulge my heart to him. It felt weird pouring out myself like this, gushing about a girl. Of course we'd always been best friends and told each other details about our love life, but it felt odd to share these details with now that we were discussing his sister.
"I really care about her, Taehyung."
Taehyung grinned. "So you do like her?"
"Obviously," I snapped. "Have you seen your sister? She's gorgeous."
Taehyung laughed. "I knew it; she's totally your type."
"My type? What exactly is my type?"
"My sister, apparently."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."
"So I'm thinking that after the new year you can bring me Starbucks every day for two weeks."
"Why on earth would I do that?"
"To receive my blessing."
"Your blessing?"
"Yes, to date my sister."
"I didn't realize I needed your blessing to date her."
"You'll need it both to date her and to ask her hand in marriage."
"I didn't realize we were living in the seventeenth century."
"Jongin did not receive my blessing and look how that turned out."
"Jongin was an ass."
Taehyung waited, his eyebrows raised high, unimpressed.
"No."
"I will be the one walking her down the aisle; you need my blessing."
"Then I'll ask for it if I propose!"
"So you're planning on proposing?"
"I've literally been dating her for one day."
"Then what are your intentions with my sister?"
"To... date her?"
"Mhm and what else."
"Oh my God. I'm leaving."
"I really only have one condition."
I sighed. "Fine. What?"
"Under no circumstances are you allowed to have sex in our apartment, because I swear to God if I hear either one of you I will kill myself."
"Oh my God," I breathed, covering my face with my hands. "I would literally rather be anywhere else right now."
"I know you think I'm joking but I am not. I will be having this same conversation with her."
"Please don't."
"Then don't have sex in our apartment!"
"Oh my God, fine! Can we please stop talking about this?"
Taehyung grinned. "Of course!" He sipped on his mimosa. "Remember when I said it would be so cute if you two actually fell in love?"
"Who said anything about love?"
"Oh honey, it's written all over your face."