The feeling of something sloppy gliding against Youngjae's nose, woke him up. He lifted his hand to his face to remove the feeling only to be greeted with a ball of fur -- aka Nora. He giggled and brought her up to his chest, nuzzling their noses together.
The cat became a little too excited and accidentally nibbled on the boy's nose, making him yelp in surprise. Jaebum woke up to the sudden noise. He sat right up and asked what was wrong.
"It's fine, I'm alright.", Youngjae chuckled, wiping away Nora's drool from his face. He gave the elder a quick peck before getting up.
"Uh, Jae?", he heard a voice call and realized he was still bare. He quickly covered himself with the nearest piece of blanket, making the elder chuckle.
He got up as well but without care of how unclothed he was. A bright shade of red visible on the younger's cheeks.
Jaebum pulled his sweats on before facing Youngjae.
"Breakfast?", he asked.
"Well let me get dressed first."
~
Youngjae checked his phone for the time. It flashed with loads of messages from the boys but even more from his mom. He'd have to explain later but for now he'd cherish his time with JB.
The scent of bacon and coffee distracted him from the screen. He walked downstairs to the sound of food sizzling on a pan. Seeing the elder so focused on something as homely as cooking made Youngjae happy, as if he was almost husband - like.
"Well, have a seat.", Jaebum broke Youngjae's train of thought when he noticed he just stood in front of him.
The younger obeyed and quietly pulled a chair out for himself.
The two are their breakfast in silence at first before the smaller boy mustered up the confidence to hold onto Jaebum's pinkie finger. He glanced at their hands and interlocked their fingers, not letting go as they both finished their meals.
"Uh, eomma must be really worried about me.", Youngjae brought up.
"Yea, your phone kept going off throughout the night.", Jaebum smiled.
Youngjae gave him a confused look.
"Why didn't you wake me?"
"And waste the precious time we had together?", Jaebum said in a slightly sarcastic tone, making Youngjae blush anyway.
"But," Jaebum started.
"Don't you think it's time to be upfront with her? I mean especially with what's happened last night?", he suggested.
Youngjae blushed at how blunt Jaebum was. However, he was right. No matter how many times he ran away from his mother, he'd always be pulled back to her. Question was, how would he be able to convince her when all else had already failed?
Jaebum noticed how quiet the younger had gotten. He tightened his grip on his hand, pulling him out of his daydream.
"Want me to speak to her?", he asked.
Youngjae quickly shook his head.
"She'll send you away right when she sees you. It's no use.", he responded.
Jaebum was somewhat hurt by the remark but he knew Youngjae's mother wouldn't approve of him. More importantly, it was up to Youngjae on how he wanted to tell his mom about it. However, JB would do anything to get eomma to open her eyes. He's not bad at all, and one day she was going to have to learn to accept him. Just like how her son did.
~
"You're not staying?", Youngjae asked Jaebum when he dropped him off at Jinyoung's. The two had decided to drop by for a visit until Jaebum excused himself, leaving Youngjae alone with Jinyoung and Mark.
"Uh no. I have something I needa do. I'll see ya later?", the elder said.
Youngjae nodded hesitantly but decided not to go against it. Once the front door was fully closed and locked, Jaebum made his way to the one place he dreaded all because of a certain woman.
He knew he had to respect Youngjae's decision, but hopefully by doing this he can straighten out what needed to be.
He rang the bell once and turned his back to the door, waiting for the soft creaking of the wood when it had finally opened.
Mrs. Choi's expression was blank with a slight hint of shocked and surprised. Jaebum held his hands in his pockets and pursed his lips. There was a long silence before eomma spoke up.
"Mr. Im. May I help you?"
Jaebum sighed softly and nodded.
"And what is that?", she asked quietly. Almost -- nicely.
"Just get to know me.", Jaebum said confidently.
~
Luckily, today was one of eomma's good days. She allowed Jaebum to enter and even brewed him coffee.
"Is my son with you? He only responded to my texts this morning.", she said to him.
"Uh he's not with me right now, but I can assure you he's alright. He'll probably stop by later.", he said.
"Does he know you're here?", Mrs. Choi asked as she placed the coffee mugs in front of him. Jaebum slightly bowed his head.
"He doesn't. I'd like to keep it that way.", he responded.
She grinned ever so slightly.
"You must be very bold to come down here without even telling him."
"He would've stopped me if he knew.", Jaebum chuckled softly.
"Anyway. I came here because I need to set things straight.", he started.
Eomma was surprisingly attentive and even bothered to listen to what he had to say.
"I know about you and your son's past with you husband. And all I can say is, I'm sorry. However, I do hope you can somehow see me as me.", he became slightly nervous as he described himself.
"I will tell you everything you want to know, if it means that you'll be accepting of me for your son."
Eomma twiddled her fingers as Jaebum stared into her brown doe eyes. It was obvious that he was sincere about his words and feelings.
"Just ask, Mrs. Choi."
She looked him in the eye and took a deep breath.
"Do you love my son?"
Jaebum became quiet. As if he even had to think of the answer. He leaned back slightly in his seat and inhaled deeply.
"I love your son very much.", he said humbly.
"He's the -- the best thing that has ever happened to me. I've suddenly forgotten my rebellious past when I met him. I won't ever hurt him in anyway, and if I do I'll never forgive myself. He makes me happier than I've ever thought I could be.", his voice became shaky and he chocked up as slight tears of sincerity brimmed his eyes. Of course, he didn't let them fall.
"And if you let me.", he continued.
"I'll do whatever I can to make sure he doesn't regret meeting me."
There was a long pause before Youngjae's mother smiled widely.
"I want to hear that again when you ask for his hand in marriage.", she said brightly.
Jaebum sighed and chuckled. He sniffled his nose and wiped his eyes. Eomma reached over for his hands and held them tight.
"I'm sorry.", she whispered before sniffling and pulling him into a seated hug.
~
Youngjae felt a little left out as the three watched a movie. He was still at Jinyoung's and at the moment, the MarkJin couple was currently cuddling on the couch. He sighed in relief when he saw his phone screen light up.
eomma, it read.
Im Jaebum is a good man. I'm sorry I didn't see it before.
Youngjae looked up from his screen and smiled widely. He was confused, but he felt somewhat happy. His mom and JB would have to do a ton of explaining later.
--
this book is coming to an end !!
it's so crappy but I'm grateful you all read it and vote 💕