Chapter 5

Over the next three weeks, the plan worked surprisingly well. Their mothers called often, both families invited them over the weekend but every time they politely declined. Taehyung blamed university work and Jungkook blamed the gym.

Sometimes those excuses were even true. Life gradually returned to normal or as normal as it could be after accidentally becoming fake boyfriends. The disastrous family dinner passed far more quickly than Taehyung expected.

Perhaps it was because work kept him busy or perhaps it was because both he and Jungkook were actively avoiding their families.

Either way, the weeks disappeared before either of them had time to think too deeply about the situation they had created.

By the end of the semester, Taehyung was buried beneath grading, final evaluations, administrative meetings, and enough student emails to make him question every career choice he’d ever made.

Most evenings were spent at his dining table surrounded by papers while a cup of coffee slowly grew cold beside him. The workload gave him a convenient excuse whenever his family called.

An excuse he used repeatedly.

Sometimes his mother invited him to dinner. Sometimes his grandmother wanted him to visit. Occasionally his father simply wanted to check in. Every single invitation received the same response.

University work.
Student assignments.
Department responsibilities.
Research.
Meetings.
Anything that sounded believable.

To be fair, none of it was technically a lie. He genuinely had work. He simply exaggerated how much of it existed.

Jungkook was doing exactly the same thing.

Whenever his mother called asking him to bring Taehyung over for dinner, he suddenly became the busiest gym owner in the country.

New members.
New equipment.
New schedules.
New instructors.

Anything to avoid another family gathering.

At least, that was what Taehyung and Jungkook thought. Unfortunately, their mothers had begun noticing a pattern.

Taehyung being busy was understandable. He was a university professor after all. It was the end of the semester, which meant assignments, exam preparations, faculty meetings, and endless paperwork. Nobody questioned his schedule because everyone knew how demanding his job could be.

Jungkook, however, was a completely different story.
One evening, Jungkook was sitting in his office at the gym when his mother suddenly called him.

At first, the conversation was normal. She asked whether he had eaten, reminded him to sleep properly, and then casually dropped a question that immediately made him suspicious.

“Jungkook, are you really that busy?”

Jungkook blinked while looking at his computer screen. “What do you mean?”

His mother sounded genuinely confused. “I mean, Taehyung being busy makes sense. He’s a professor. But you own the gym.”

Jungkook frowned.

“So?”

“So…” she paused dramatically. “Are you the owner or an employee?”

Jungkook nearly laughed. “I’m obviously the owner.”

“Then why are you acting like an employee?”

Jungkook opened his mouth, then closed it again because honestly… she had a point.

His mother continued talking before he could respond. “I’m not saying you can’t be busy. I know you’re hardworking, and I know running three gyms isn’t easy. But are you seriously telling me that in three whole weeks you couldn’t even spare one hour to visit with Taehyung?”

Jungkook leaned back in his chair.

Uh oh.

That sounded dangerous.

His mother sighed dramatically on the other end. “Your schedules make less sense the more I think about them.”

Jungkook immediately sat up straighter. “We really are busy.”

“I’m sure you are.”

“Mom.”

“I’m serious. Taehyung’s excuse is believable. Yours is suspicious.”

Jungkook couldn’t help but laugh.

His mother, however, wasn’t joking. “You own the place, Jungkook. If you wanted a day off, you could simply take one.”

That was true.

Which unfortunately made defending himself much harder. Jungkook rubbed his forehead and sighed. “Mom don’t worry we’re spending time together, anyway I’m busy I’ll hangup now” he cut the call and stared at his phone in disbelief.

—

Summer vacation had officially arrived which meant one thing.

Kim Taehyung was finally free.

After months of grading assignments, attending meetings, preparing examinations, and dealing with the chaos that came with being a university professor, he had finally reached that magical period every educator desperately waited for.

No classes.
No assignments.
Just freedom.

Unfortunately, that freedom lasted exactly one day.

The next morning, while Taehyung was peacefully eating lunch on his couch, his phone suddenly started vibrating.

Then it vibrated again.
And again.
And again.

Taehyung frowned and reached for his phone, thirty-two unread messages, his eyebrows immediately furrowed.

“Who on earth was that active during lunchtime?”

The answer arrived the moment he opened the application. A newly created family group chat.

His mother.
His father.
Jungkook’s parents.
His grandmother.
Seokjin.
Namjoon.
Jungkook.
Even Aunt Mina.

At the center of the chaos sat a single message from Jungkook’s mother.

“Since both of you have been ignoring us for weeks, we’ve decided we’re tired of it. If you’re spending so much time together, prove it 🙂”

Taehyung just stared because that emoji looked threatening,then another message immediately appeared.

“Every day.”

Then another.

“One date every day for a week.”

Then another.

“And send us pictures.”

Taehyung nearly dropped his phone. Three dots appeared almost instantly, Jungkook was typing.

“Mom, that’s weird.”

Jungkook’s mother responded immediately.

“No, it’s not.”

His own mother joined seconds later.

“A newly dating couple should want to spend time together.”

Then Aunt Mina added fuel to the fire.

“Exactly. We haven’t seen either of you in weeks. Did you already fight?”

Taehyung’s eyes widened and before he could answer, his phone rang immediately afterward.

[Jungkook]

Taehyung answered instantly. The first thing he heard was Jungkook sighing.

A very long sigh.

“I’m exhausted already.”

Taehyung buried his face in a cushion. “I just opened the group chat.”

“Tell me you’re seeing this too.”

“I’m seeing it.”

“They’re serious.”

“They’re terrifying.”

Another sigh came from Jungkook. Then he said something that made Taehyung laugh. “I’d honestly rather run ten extra kilometers.”

Taehyung snorted, unfortunately neither of them could think of a way out.

Because technically…

This wasn’t even difficult the irony wasn’t lost on either of them. Spending time together had never been the issue. The issue was documenting it because for years, seeing each other had always been effortless.

High school had been simple.

University has been even simpler.

Libraries.
Study sessions.
Movie nights.
Coffee shops.
Random walks.
Late-night convenience store trips.

They had practically grown up together, then adulthood arrived. Work schedules replaced free afternoons, responsibilities replaced spontaneous plans. They still talked every day, but seeing each other required planning now and somehow, one giant lie was fixing that.

The very next day, they started.

Their first official “date” was simply lunch at a small café near Taehyung’s apartment.

Nothing romantic.

Nothing special.

Just two best friends eating pasta and laughing over old stories. At one point Jungkook nearly spit out his drink when Taehyung reminded him about his disastrous high school haircut.

They took a selfie before leaving.

Within ten seconds of uploading it, both mothers exploded with heart emojis.

The second day, they watched a movie.

On the third day, they visited an amusement park.

On the fourth day, they attended a local festival.

On the fifth day, they spent three hours sitting inside a bookstore.

On the sixth day, they had dinner together.

On the seventh day, they simply walked around the city after sunset and ended up buying snacks from a convenience store.

Every single day ended the same way.

A picture.

Then immediate reactions from the family group chat. His mother sent heart emojis. Jungkook’s mother demanded more pictures. Seokjin constantly teased them. Namjoon occasionally participated.

At one point, Seokjin even wrote, Jungkook smiles differently around Taehyung. Taehyung almost threw his phone. Jungkook, meanwhile, simply replied with a thumbs down.

Looking back, Taehyung wasn’t entirely sure when it stopped feeling like an obligation.

Maybe around the fourth day.

Maybe the fifth.

He wasn’t sure.

But somewhere along the way, something changed.

Not between them.

Just within their routine.

He’d missed this.

Being with Jungkook without constantly checking the time, without work interrupting them, without rushing home afterward. It felt strangely nostalgic.

Like university again.

Like being twenty years old.

Jungkook had also unknowingly reached the same conclusion, because despite all the ridiculous circumstances surrounding them, he genuinely enjoyed spending time with Taehyung again.

The connection itself had never changed.

Never.

Taehyung was still the first person he called when something happened. Taehyung was still the person who knew his habits better than anyone else. The person who could tell when he was stressed without asking. The person who could identify his mood simply by hearing him say hello.

That had never changed.

Only their schedules had.

Which made this entire situation ironic. A giant lie had somehow given them back a small piece of their friendship.

Then, on the evening of the seventh day, disaster arrived again.

Taehyung was sitting inside Jungkook’s apartment while eating snacks. Jungkook was beside him on the couch, scrolling through his phone.

The apartment felt comfortable.

Peaceful.

The television played quietly in the background.

Then suddenly…

Both their phones vibrated simultaneously.

They looked down.

The family group chat.

His mother’s message sat at the top.

Attention everyone.

Taehyung immediately felt nervous because whenever adults started messages with “attention everyone,” it never ended well.

Then another message appeared.

“Tomorrow morning we’re all leaving for vacation.”

Both men froze.

The next message arrived.

“Everything is already booked, Aunt Mina is busy so except her nobody is allowed to cancel.”

Taehyung slowly lowered his phone, then looked at Jungkook. Jungkook was already staring at him.

Neither spoke.

Then another message appeared.

Grandma:
“Pack your things. We leave at 8 a.m. 😊”

Taehyung looked horrified. Jungkook looked equally horrified. For several seconds, neither of them moved.

Then Taehyung blinked.

“Did they… plan an entire vacation behind our backs?”

Jungkook slowly nodded. “I think they did.”

Taehyung stared at his phone again. “An entire vacation?”

“Apparently.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Apparently.”

Taehyung dropped his head backward onto the couch. “This is getting out of hand.”

Jungkook nodded immediately. “Very out of hand.”

Then another message appeared.

Seokjin:
“By the way, couples will be sharing rooms.”

Both men sat upright instantly, then another message appeared.

“I’m kidding 😂”

But neither of them relaxed, because with Seokjin nobody could ever be entirely sure and somehow, both of them had a terrifying feeling that this upcoming family vacation was about to become their biggest challenge yet.

TO BE CONTINUED
WORDS: 1750