Chapter 1
Kim Taehyung had spent most of his life being stared at.
It wasn’t something he took pride in, nor was it something he actively noticed anymore. It was simply a fact of his existence, as ordinary to him as breathing. People looked. They always had. Teachers remembered his face before learning his name. Cashiers smiled a little brighter when he approached their counters.
Strangers occasionally mistook him for an actor, a model, or some celebrity they couldn’t quite place. Even now, at twenty-five years old, some of his university students still seemed surprised whenever he walked into a lecture hall carrying a stack of books and began discussing sociological theories instead of posing for a magazine cover.
Taehyung found the entire thing deeply inconvenient.
Standing in front of the mirror near the entrance of his apartment, he adjusted the sleeves of his cream-colored sweater and examined his reflection with mild dissatisfaction. His dark hair fell neatly across his forehead after being styled that morning, and despite spending the entire day teaching, he still looked annoyingly presentable.
A few hours earlier, one of his students had informed him that he looked “unfairly pretty for a professor.”
If it was any other day he won’t even care about this type of comment because it was a daily thing but unfortunately, comments like that only made tonight worse, because if there was one thing his family loved more than reminding him how pretty he was, it was asking why someone as pretty as him was still single.
His phone vibrated against the kitchen counter.
The caller ID displayed exactly who he expected.
[Mom]
Taehyung stared at the screen for a moment before accepting the call.
“Please tell me everyone canceled.”
His mother’s laughter immediately answered the question.
“Nice try. Where are you?”
“Thinking about moving to another country.”
“Taehyung.”
“I’m serious. Maybe somewhere remote. Somewhere with no internet connection and no family dinners.”
“You said that last month.”
“And I meant it.”
His mother laughed again, clearly unbothered by his suffering.
“Stop being dramatic and come eat dinner.”
“Dramatic? Last time Aunt Mina brought printed photographs.”
There was a brief pause.
“Well…”
The fact that his mother sounded guilty made Taehyung narrow his eyes.
“What did she do this time?”
“Nothing.”
“Mom.”
“Nothing important.”
That was not reassuring.
At all.
After ending the call, Taehyung grabbed his car keys and headed toward the door. A sense of dread settled over him the moment he stepped outside.
The problem wasn’t that he disliked his family.
Quite the opposite.
He loved them.
His parents were wonderful. His grandmother adored him. His cousins were genuinely fun to be around. The issue was that for the past three years, every family gathering had somehow transformed into a discussion about his relationship status.
Or rather, the complete lack of one.
At first, nobody cared. After university graduation, everyone had assumed he wanted time to focus on his career. Becoming a professor at such a young age required dedication, and his family had been proud of him.
Then one year passed.
Then two.
Then three.
And suddenly everyone seemed convinced that Taehyung was either secretly heartbroken, impossibly picky, or hiding a mysterious lover from the family. The reality was far less interesting.
He had dated before.
Quite a few times, actually.
In High school.
In University.
Even shortly after graduation.
The relationships had never ended dramatically. Nobody cheated. Nobody betrayed anyone. There had been no grand heartbreaks or tearful confessions, things simply never felt right.
Every relationship eventually reached a point where Taehyung realized his feelings weren’t growing deeper. They remained pleasant, comfortable, and frustratingly stagnant until both people quietly agreed they were better off apart.
Three years ago, after his last relationship ended in exactly that fashion, he stopped looking.
He focused on work instead.
Apparently, his family considered that unacceptable. By the time Taehyung arrived at his parents’ house, his headache had already begun. The driveway was packed with cars.
A terrible sign.
The moment he stepped through the front door, he was greeted by the familiar sounds of laughter, overlapping conversations, and the unmistakable smell of home-cooked food.
His mother spotted him first.
“There he is.”
Before Taehyung could escape, she pulled him into a hug. Several relatives immediately turned toward him.
And there it was.
The staring.
His aunt clasped both hands dramatically against her chest.
“Oh, look at him.”
Taehyung sighed.
His cousin Seokjin, lounging comfortably on the couch, burst out laughing. “He’s already suffering and he just got here.”
“I am,” Taehyung agreed.
“You’ve gotten even prettier,” Aunt Mina declared.
“See?” Taehyung pointed at her before looking at Seokjin. “This is what I’m talking about.”
“You should be grateful.”
“I’m being bullied.”
“Nobody is bullying you.”
“You called me pretty before saying hello.”
“Because it’s true.”
The room erupted into laughter. Taehyung seriously considered turning around and leaving. Unfortunately, his mother caught his arm before he could attempt it. Dinner began shortly afterward, and for the first fifteen minutes, everything seemed surprisingly peaceful.
People discussed work. His younger cousins talked about university. His uncle complained about traffic. For one brief, glorious moment, Taehyung thought he might survive the evening.
Then Aunt Mina placed her fork down and looked directly at him. His stomach dropped immediately.
“So,” she began.
There it was.
Across the table, Seokjin visibly winced.
“How’s work?”
“Good.”
“And your students?”
“Good.”
“And your love life?”
Taehyung closed his eyes. The room erupted into knowing laughter.
“Also good,” he replied.
“You don’t have one.”
“Then it’s peacefully good.”
His grandmother laughed into her tea. Unfortunately, Aunt Mina wasn’t finished.
“You know, my friend’s daughter recently graduated from medical school.”
Taehyung immediately pointed his spoon at her.
“No.”
“I haven’t even finished speaking.”
“You didn’t need to.”
“She’s beautiful.”
“I’m sure she is.”
“Very successful.”
“Wonderful.”
“And single.”
“Of course she is.”
A few relatives chuckled. Aunt Mina ignored them.
“At least meet her once.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re single.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“It absolutely is.”
The conversation should have ended there. Instead, somehow, every relative joined in. One suggested a coworker. Another suggested a family friend. Someone else suggested a neighbor.
At one point, Taehyung became convinced they had all secretly organized a meeting beforehand. The discussion escalated so quickly that he barely had a chance to defend himself.
“You’ve been single for three years.”
“I’m aware.”
“Don’t you get lonely?”
“No.”
“Never?”
“I have friends.”
His aunt looked horrified.
“Friends are not the same thing.”
“They seem fine to me.”
His grandmother smiled.
“I like this answer.”
Taehyung immediately pointed at her.
“Thank you.”
Unfortunately, nobody else agreed. Questions continued arriving from every direction.
Has he met anyone recently?
Was there someone he liked?
Was he secretly dating?
Was he too focused on work?
Was his standard too high?
The attention became suffocating. Taehyung stared down at his untouched dessert and wondered whether climbing out the nearest window would be socially acceptable. Then Aunt Mina suddenly narrowed her eyes, a dangerous expression. One Taehyung knew all too well.
“Wait.”
The room quieted.
“What?” he asked cautiously.
Her gaze sharpened.
“You’re hiding someone.”
Taehyung nearly choked on air.
“What?”
“You are.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“No.”
“Then why won’t you date anyone?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
The answer felt obvious. Unfortunately, nobody accepted it. Several relatives were nodding thoughtfully now. His mother looked suspicious. Even his father had lowered his newspaper.
The entire table was watching him.
Waiting.
Expecting.
Pressuring.
Something inside him finally snapped. Maybe it was three years of identical conversations. Maybe it was exhaustion. Maybe it was the stack of photographs currently sitting beside Aunt Mina’s purse.
Whatever the reason, the words escaped before his brain could stop them.
“Okay fine, I have a boyfriend.”
Silence.
Complete, absolute silence.
The kind of silence that only happened when someone accidentally detonated a bomb in the middle of dinner.
Taehyung froze.
His soul immediately left his body. Across the table, Aunt Mina’s jaw dropped, then she smirked, an expression showing ‘I knew it’. His mother blinked. Seokjin looked seconds away from dying from excitement.
“You have a what?” His mom whispered.
A horrible realization settled over Taehyung. He had made a mistake., a catastrophic mistake.
“A boyfriend,” he repeated weakly.
The room exploded.
Questions came from every direction.
How long?
Who was he?
Why hadn’t they met him?
When did this happen?
What was his job?
Did Grandma know?
Nobody gave him enough time to think. His brain scrambled desperately for answers. Most importantly, it needed a name.
Any name.
Literally any name.
Unfortunately, the only person who came to mind was the same person who had texted him that afternoon asking if he wanted fried chicken after work. The same person who had been his best friend since high school.
The same person who had absolutely no idea what was happening right now.
“Jungkook,” Taehyung heard himself say.
The room became silent again. Then Aunt Mina gasped so loudly that three people jumped.
“JEON JUNGKOOK?”
Too late.
Far, far too late.
“Yes.”
“Oh my God.”
His mother looked stunned but most of all genuinely happy.
“You’re dating Jungkook?”
Another relative pointed dramatically.
“That explains everything.”
“What does that explain?” Taehyung asked.
“You’re always together.”
“You spend every holiday together.”
“He comes here all the time.”
“Your father likes him.”
“Grandma likes him.”
“Everybody likes him.”
Taehyung wanted the ground to swallow him whole. Instead, he found himself digging the hole deeper.
Then another round of questions started, now asking how long they have been boyfriend, who proposed first, and Taehyung answered everyone apparently.
Months, apparently.
Yes, things were serious.
No, they hadn’t told anyone yet.
Yes, Jungkook is wonderful.
No, there were no problems.
The lies piled up one after another until even Taehyung could barely keep track. By the end of dinner, his family was delighted. But there was only one problem. They wanted to meet him.
Soon.
Very soon.
Taehyung somehow escaped forty minutes later. The moment he reached his car, he dropped his forehead against the steering wheel.
“What have I done?”
The question echoed through the empty vehicle. As if the universe had been waiting for that exact moment, his phone suddenly vibrated. Taehyung glanced down. The name displayed on the screen nearly made him scream.
[Jeon Jungkook]
His best friend.
The fake boyfriend he had accidentally created.
Taehyung stared at the incoming call in horror, wondering how exactly he was supposed to explain that his entire family now believed they were dating.
Something told him this disaster was only getting started.
TO BE CONTINUED
WORDS: 1776