"So, tea, Taehyung?"
Taehyung looked up nervously from his hands, only to see Jisoo's mom staring at her, already ready to pour him a cup of freshly brewed tea. Taehyung never liked tea, but looking at Jisoo's mom, again, it seemed more like a command rather than a question.
"Oh-" Taehyung forced a smile, picking up a teacup and holding it out with two hands. "Thank you, auntie."
In her living room, her mom sat opposite Taehyung on each side of the table. Her dad and her sat in between them, facing the television. The atmosphere in the living room was awkward, and tense, and Jisoo knew that Taehyung felt the same, but she didn't know how she could help him out of the situation. She didn't even have the guts to talk back to her parents for herself, what's more for Taehyung.
"So..." Jisoo's mom put down the teapot after pouring tea for Taehyung, leaning back in her chair and scanning Taehyung carefully. "You're Jisoo's... classmate?"
"Hm-" Taehyung pulled away from his cup, trying hard not to wince from the bitterness of the tea. "Yes, I'm Jisoo's classmate, we've been classmates for two years, haven't we?" Taehyung glanced at Jisoo for help.
"Haha, yeah," Jisoo grinned, or rather, winced. "Yeah, we've known each other for about two years now? But we've gotten closer lately-"
"And so, you know Jisoo's boyfriend, Seokjin, as well?" Jisoo's dad intercepted, and Taehyung realised that all this while he had been quietly sitting there, observing his every move.
"Seokjin?" Taehyung tensed up, glancing in Jisoo's direction, but Jisoo looked away uncomfortably. "Oh, Seokjin. Um, yeah. Of course I do."
"Well, we still haven't," Mr Kim sat up from his seat, picking an apple from the fruit basket Taehyung had brought. "They dated for three months and he hasn't been here once."
"He hasn't?" Taehyung frowned. "I thought he sent Jisoo home a couple of-"
Jisoo gave him "shut up" look.
"Wow," Mrs Kim scanned Taehyung once more. Taehyung instantly realised that she had already done that about five times in the past ten minutes, and that that was what made him feel extremely uncomfortable. "You must be close to Seokjin too, then."
"Um-" Taehyung swallowed hard. Was Jisoo okay with him revealing his identity? Probably not. Taehyung looked over at Jisoo. She was simply sitting there, her hands on her lap, her head down, not uttering a single word. "Um, well, yeah- I guess you could kind of say that-"
"Then could you tell us what kind of person he is? My daughter refuses to tell me," Mr Kim said authoritatively, and Taehyung felt the same vibe he got from Mrs Kim - this was a command, not a question. "What's his family background? How's his grades like? Does he treat my daughter well?"
"Um..." Taehyung really felt uncomfortable.
"Dad..." Jisoo croaked.
"I just want to know what he's like," Mr Kim brushed Jisoo off. "You refuse to tell me, he refuses to even come visit us, how do I even know if he's real?"
"Well, Mr Kim, I don't think-"
"Dad-" Jisoo raised her tone slightly. "Please stop asking-"
"He must not be a great person then," Mrs Kim barged in, sipping on her cup of tea. "Didn't even bother fetching my daughter home during the prom, nor coming in when he did during other times, I wonder whether he even deserves my daughter-"
"Mom!" Jisoo exclaimed, looking up, and Taehyung finally noticed that there were tears in her eyes.
Why wouldn't there not be, he'd be annoyed too. They literally just broke up last night, the wound must still be fresh, and yet her parents still... Well, they couldn't be blamed too, they knew nothing. They could be authoritative, and really pretty scary in his opinion, but they still wanted the best for their child, their only daughter.
"Um, Mr Kim, Mrs Kim," Taehyung stood up, grabbing Jisoo by her arm and supporting her up to her feet as well. Her parents stared up at both of them, still completely shocked about what was going on. "I'll take Jisoo out for a breather, I think she must be pretty tired, considering yesterday we went to this party at a friend's house and..."
"She went to a party?" Jisoo's dad exclaimed.
~~~
"Yoojung-ah," Jimin finally said after hesitating an entire afternoon.
The couple had just finished their lunch and were just walking around with no aim in mind. With their fingers intertwined, they walked around the streets of Myeongdong, just doing some casual window-shopping.
"Hm?" Yoojung spoke absentmindedly, her eyes not leaving the rack of dresses she was browsing through.
"I wanted to talk to you about something," Jimin hesitated again. "It's... kinda important."
"Right now?" Yoojung turned around, raising her eyebrows at Jimin. "We're on a date right now."
"It's really... kind of important to me," Jimin bit his lower lip. "I've been thinking about this all afternoon."
"Hm," Yoojung frowned. "You did seem pretty distracted since lunch earlier. Is everything alright?"
"It's just-" Jimin sighed, momentarily letting go of Yoojung's hand. "My mom called last night."
"All the way from Busan?" Yoojung furrowed her eyebrows.
"All the way from Busan," Jimin repeated after her. "What she said last night has been really bothering me."
"Let me guess what this is about," Yoojung frowned. "Is this... about us?"
Jimin paused, then nodded slowly.
Yoojung chuckled. "I knew it."
"You knew it?" Jimin glanced up at Yoojung, watching her carefully. "What's that supposed to mean."
"She doesn't want you to date till you're in university, huh," Yoojung said nonchalantly, her attention drifting back to the rack of clothes. "Shems been saying this since day one, but over the years, I had expected her to change her mind. I guess nothing has changed."
Jimin was surprised by Yoojung's unfazed reaction. "That's it? That's all you've gotta say?"
"Jimin-ah," Yoojung looked up at Jimin seriously. "Are you gonna break up with me?"
A short silence ensued.
"No!" Jimin laughed. "Wait- what?"
Yoojung frowned. "You hesitated."
"No, I was just surprised by your question," Jimin chuckled, pretending to browse through the same rack of clothes to get Yoojung's attention. "Of course my answer's no. We literally just got together. Plus, I've planned ahead for my future... and you're in there."
Yoojung scoffed. "Okay, honestly, that was sweet."
Jimin wrapped his arm around Yoojung's neck, pulling her gently into a headlock such that her head rested against his chest. He leaned down, whispering softly into her ear with a smirk. "Of course."
"Then it's solved then," Yoojung turned around, looking up at Jimin. "What's there to worry about?"
"Hm?" Jimin cocked his head to a side. "What do you mean?"
"You're not gonna break up with me," Yoojung reasoned. "And neither can you disobey your mom, can you?"
Jimin nodded slowly. "So?"
"There's only one solution then," Yoojung grinned. "Next week, we head to Busan and I'll show your mom how impossible it is to resist my charms."
~~~
Uh oh.
Taehyung could feel Jisoo tensing up under his grip. "Um, well-"
"You went to a party?" Jisoo's mom piped in. "Who said you could go?"
Jisoo bit her lower lip, but didn't say a single word.
"Mrs Kim, let me explain, our friend invited a few of us to his house yesterday, since exams are over and-"
"Kim Jisoo!" Mrs Kim totally ignored Taehyung, as she glared at her daughter. Her shock had long turned into anger by now. "I'm talking to you. Did you ask for permission?"
"No," Jisoo said quietly, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "I'm sorry, mom."
"I'm in complete shock right now," her dad added in. "Does the end of exams mean no more studying? I thought you were disciplined, Jisoo. What happened to you? Your grades have plummeted since last year and now you're doing whatever you want?"
"I'm sorry, dad," Jisoo swallowed hard, and Taehyung placed a hand on her shoulder. She really wasn't looking good. He could almost feel her trembling.
Why were her parents this hard on her? He had kind of heard stories from Seokjin here and there... but he never expected it to be this bad. Being under this kind of pressure everyday... it seemed like torture. How was Jisoo even able to deal with it?
"Do you even know what you're doing with your life?" Mr Kim went on. "I work so hard to make money for our family, is this how you repay me? Kim Jisoo, if this is all a result of getting a boyfriend, I expect you to-"
"Yeah, Jisoo," Mrs Kim piped in. It seemed like this was never ending. "Your father works so hard to provide you with money to buy nice clothes, nice shoes, we just want you to focus on your studies. That time when we found out you were dating, we were so mad at first but we still gave in. Can't you just give us what we want?"
"Yeah," Mr Kim exclaimed. "I should have known that getting into a relationship at such a young age definitely isn't beneficial, but I chose to trust you, because you're my daughter, I thought you would be different, but it turns out you're just like the others, you have no self-control, no idea how to make good decisions, still immature, still-"
"Shut up!" Jisoo finally exploded, her hands balled into fists and her face flushed with anger. "Will y'all just shut up for once in your life?!"
Silence fell over the room, as Mr and Mrs Kim finally stopped talking due to shock from their daughter's sudden outburst. Taehyung, too, had never seen Jisoo this upset. He had only seen her sad side a couple of times, but never this angry side of her.
"I've had enough," Jisoo swallowed hard, with tears streaming down both her cheeks like waterfalls. "I've had way more than enough. All these years, I've tolerated all your nagging, your strict rules, your guidelines, your crazy expectations, everything! I've followed everything to the T, without a single complaint. Yet what do I get? Just more nagging, greater expectations, not a single compliment."
"Jisoo!" Mrs Kim frowned. "I don't think we-"
"Do you even know why I wanted a boyfriend?" Jisoo closed her eyes, inhaling sharply. "I needed someone I could rely on, someone I could talk to, someone whom I could trust outside this home. I wanted an escape, because neither of you gave me what I needed. Since young, you both showered me with gifts, gifts and nothing but gifts. Sure, other people may say that I'm lucky, but have you guys ever asked me what I wanted? Did I say I wanted gifts? Did I ask for all those bags and clothes in my room? Did I fricking ask for money?! All I wanted was your time! A listening ear, a shoulder I could cry on, I just wanted a mom and dad!"
"Oh my god," Mr Kim blinked rapidly. "Jisoo-"
"Did you know I never made a single friend in school, all because of you two?" Jisoo was sobbing so hard she was choking on her tears every sentence or two. "'Jisoo, come home once you're done with school', 'Jisoo, you better study hard, those clothes you bought had a price', 'Jisoo, if you do well on this exam I'll buy you a new laptop'. What could I do? Everything that I was told led me to think that I needed to do well, I needed to spend all the time I could just to do well, so I could please you both, so I could get gifts from you two - even though those gifts never really made me happy."
Jisoo paused, trying to catch her breath.
"And you know what?! I've broken up with him, my boyfriend, Kim Seokjin. This is Kim Taehyung, Seokjin's brother, who's here to lend me a listening ear. You guys probably don't understand, because you guys never ever were there for me. I'm sick and tired of everything, mom. I give up on being the perfect daughter to please you, dad. I need a break from both of you, goodbye."
And with that, Jisoo ran out of the door, leaving Taehyung staring at her disappearing silouhette, then back to her parents, then back at the door once again. Taehyung was put in a really, really awkward position.
"Um, hi. Yeah, I'm Kim Taehyung, Kim Seokjin's brother. I'll come back and greet you both properly another time, Mr and Mrs Kim. But right now, I need to go chase after her."
~~~
a/n: shameless promo over here but if you like sope please check out my new sope fic on my profile called "inevitably, inexplicably, undeniably"! it will really mean so much to me and if you like bts or ship sope i'm sure you'll enjoy it :)