Taehyung just got home from a two-day training workshop. He was completely exhausted from the activities that they did all through the workshop. When he got inside his room, he fell in deep sleep right away.
He woke up when he heard a sound coming from his cabinet. He was alarmed when it was left open. He quietly got off his bed and crawled towards the cabinet. Then the cabinet door suddenly closed and his father appeared before him.
He was utterly shocked that he froze up. His father smiled as he offered a hand to help Taehyung up. He reluctantly accepted his father's hand. He was trembling as he stood up. When he came face to face with his father, Taehyung cried heavy tears. His father hugged him tight and Taehyung hugged him back. Then his father motioned for them to sit on the bed.
His father placed his hand on Taehyung's shoulder as he said, "Tae, I'm sorry. I know how much responsibility I left you with. And I know you are struggling to keep up. But I am so proud of what you have been doing so far. You are doing great, son.
You are doing well in looking after your mother and your younger siblings. I cannot promise you a safe road ahead. You will always be faced with obstacles whichever road you take. What's important is for you to know when you must stand by your choices or be gracious when you make mistakes. So don't be so hard on yourself and live a little."
Taehyung cried even more, "Dad, I'm afraid I can never fill your shoes. I am not good enough to be like you."
Taehyung's father answered wholeheartedly, "Remember this, you can't. No one's expecting you to be like me. We are different persons Tae. I am the father and you are just my son. We were born with different roles to carry out in our family.
When I left, you did not need to replace me. You can only do the same things that I've been doing for our family. But you can never be me. You have your own way of doing things. And I believe in you. So don't be anxious. Just do your best in everything that you do."
When Taehyung was about to hug his father, he was instead brought back to waking up from his sleep the second time. This time, he woke up for real. He realized that everything was a dream. But when he touched his face, he felt fresh tears on it.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Oppa! Taehyung-oppa!" Dawn called out from outside his room.
He got up his bed and opened the door.
"What have you been doing there? I've been knocking here for awhile."
"I fell asleep. Sorry."
"Oh! We were about to eat dinner. So come down after you wash up."
"Alright!"
When Taehyung reached the dining room, his mother, Aleck and Dawn were already seated around the table. They were just waiting for him so they can start eating together.
"Wow! Mom, you cooked my favorite dish." Taehyung exclaimed.
Taehyung's mother said, "I cooked it since you've been away for two days. I knew you'd miss my cooking, right?"
"I certainly did. Thank you Mom! I will eat a lot." Taehyung answered.
"That's good. Go ahead and eat up." Taehyung's mother said
"So . . . how's your school?" Taehyung asked, referring to Aleck and Dawn.
"It's our pre-final exams next week," Dawn answered.
Taehyung asked, "Then why did I not see you studying?"
"I still have a lot of time. I will start studying this weekend." Aleck promised.
"If you studied as much as you dated, you would not have struggled with your grades." Dawn scoffed.
Aleck asked, "How did you know?"
"Why are you even surprised? You are dating a nursing student. And I saw you two dating around our building." Dawn said. "Have you forgotten that we, pharmacy majors, share the same building with the nursing students?"
"I know that. But I have not seen you around for all the times I've been to your building. Are you sure you're attending your classes?" Aleck retorted.
Dawn hit Aleck before saying, "Of course! I was diligently attending my classes. In fact, the first time I saw you at our building was that time when you accompanied your girlfriend to her class. Our class happened to be the room next to hers."
"Then why didn't you greet me? You're such a snob." Aleck said.
"Why should I? When my friends asked me to introduce my twin to them, I've always made excuses because you did not want to. At that time, my last excuse was that you were too busy with your studies.
I told them how tough it was for you since you're an engineering student. So when I saw you flirting with that girl on the corridor, I was only trying to save face by ignoring you. Imagine how embarrassed I would have been if I acknowledged you." Dawn said.
"You've got a handsome twin, why should you be embarrassed at all?" Aleck teased.
"That's enough!" Their mother interjected. "Aleck, focus on your studies instead of dating. You're still a sophomore, you still have a long way to go. Taehyung and I already had enough on our plates, the least the two of you can do is to do well in your studies. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, Mom." Aleck answered while Dawn just nodded her head in agreement.
Then Aleck added, "I know that Mom. Don't worry, I never really neglected my studies. But I promise to do even better."
"Then what are you going to do with your girlfriend?" Taehyung asked.
"Hyung, our relationship is really not that serious. In fact, she was also focused in her studies. Aside from Dawn's big mouth, there's nothing for you to worry about." Aleck said. And before Dawn could say anything, he covered her mouth with his hand.
Dawn tried to pull Aleck's hand off but she cannot match his strength. However Aleck grossly pulled his hand away when his twin sister spit on his hand. Dawn just grinned at him. While their mother and Taehyung only chuckled at their bickering.
... ... ... ... ...
Ring! Ring! Ring!
"Good morning babe! Happy Valentine's!"
Taehyung was surprised. He paid no attention to the significance of the present date. He actually did not care that much about Valentine's. Chaeyoung was the one who was more enthusiastic about these kind of things, including monthsary and anniversary. For him, what mattered most was the way they feel about each other. He found these things trivial if not for Chaeyoung.
"Taehyung? Are you there? Hello!"
"Yes babe. Happy Valentine's!"
"You forgot, didn't you?"
"Huh?! It's not like that. Of course I . . . I did not notice the date. I've been really busy this week I forgot today is Valentine's Day. Sorry babe."
"It's okay, it's not like I did not already know how you don't care about these kind of things."
Taehyung gulped hard before saying, "So what time shall I pick you up today?"
"You have free time today?"
"Of course! I just cancelled all my appointments for the prettiest, smartest girlfriend in the universe."
"Pfft! Pick me up after lunch. Okay?"
"Okay!"
After Chaeyoung put down the phone, Taehyung called a florist to order flowers and a box of chocolates to be delivered at Chaeyoung's house. Then he spent the rest of the morning preparing for their date.
When Taehyung came to Chaeyoung's house, the delivery boy was just leaving. So Chaeyoung was still standing by the gate to receive the delivery. He slowly approached Chaeyoung with a grin on his face.
"Did you like it?" Taehyung asked.
"I have not seen it yet. Come in." Chaeyoung said.
"Let me see it too."
They sat on the bench in the front porch. Chaeyoung excitedly opened the box. It was filled with full bloom red roses and pink hydrangea. The red roses were arranged in a heart shape and the pink hydrangea were placed around the roses. While the box of assorted chocolate made Chaeyoung's mouth water. She ate one and picked another for Taehyung.
"I like it. Thank you!" Chaeyoung said before kissing Taehyung's cheek. "I will just put these inside and grab my bag. Then we'll be set to go. Mom and Dad had a date of their own. While Alice also went out with Bryan. They left a few minutes ago. Um, just in case you were wondering where everybody went."
"Yeah, I was about to ask for them. Hurry up! So we can proceed to our own date."
Chaeyoung gave Taehyung a wink and a flying kiss as she went inside.
Taehyung did not wait long because Chaeyoung went right back outside. They held hands as they went out. When they reached his car, he opened the door for her.
"Babe, did you know what the pink hydrangea meant?" Chaeyoung asked.
"Yep! I researched it in advance. Ever since I learned how much you love flowers and studied their meanings, I made sure to give you the right kind of flowers since then. Did you not notice?"
"You don't give me flowers very often so I failed to notice." Chaeyoung answered honestly.
Taehyung asked, "Oh! Did I have to?"
"N-no. It's not really necessary."
They stayed silent as they headed to the church. They attended a mass and then went to a spa afterwards.
"Babe, are you sure you don't mind if we go to a spa for our date?" Chaeyoung asked.
"Yeah, it's okay. What's important is that we're doing something together, right?" Taehyung said.
Chaeyoung looked bothered at his answer. But he chose to ignore it as he continued, "Why did you want to go to a spa anyway?"
Chaeyoung hesitated before answering, "I uh, I thought you will need some time to relax. You have been really busy lately so I thought it would be best if we went to a spa together. I assure you, it will be refreshing. Plus, they're giving discounts to couples since today's a special day for couples like us."
"Really? That sounds wonderful." Taehyung exclaimed.
"Never thought you were this enthusiastic about discounts." Chaeyoung commented.
He paused, he wanted to deny her claim but she was right. Ever since his father died, he became particularly thrifty. Sending Aleck and Dawn through college together was a bit tough now that his father's income was taken out of the equation. He belatedly realized the necessity to save up.
He answered, "Yeah, never thought I'd care so much about discounts."
She looked at him with a questioning look. But he did not say anything. Instead, he stayed focused with his driving.
When they reached the spa, Chaeyoung and Taehyung hardly talked to each other. Even though they shared adjacent rooms while they were given various treatments, they acted as though they were not together at all. After some time, they both fell asleep so they did not get a chance to talk at all.
They went to dinner afterward. She was still feeling upset specially that he was not speaking that much. While he was oblivious to her current mood. The dinner went smoothly where they only talked about trivial things. However, as they were walking back to the car, she stopped snappishly.
She irritably swat his hand that was holding her arm. Then she flounced off, leaving him astonished. She was waiting for him beside the car when he caught up with her. After he unlocked the car, she opened the passenger door by herself before going inside. He waited for her to say anything when he got inside the car. But when it seemed that she was not talking, he silently drove off.
When they reached her house, she also let herself out instead of waiting for him to open the door for her.
He got off the car and ran after her.
He said, "If you really don't feel like talking to me now, it is fine. I'll just wait till you're feeling better."
Then he kissed her on the forehead before driving away. He did not even look back nor waited for her to respond. He only prayed that she will cool down soon enough.
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I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And please vote if you do. I'd appreciate it. Thanks! 😊