turned his head toward Taehyung, shaking his head with that calm, almost too-calm look. "Tae, don't worry about it. I'm here, alright?" Taehyung opened his mouth to protest, but before he could get a word out, Han started. "Mr. Kim, let me be clear—I'm not in the business of

forcing anyone into anything. I wasn’t okay with this either. When Jungkook first told us he wanted to marry your son, I was totally against it. Up until yesterday, I—" "You what?" Daehyun snapped, his frustration growing. "You changed your mind? Suddenly, your son's feelings

are more important than mine? Now you're trying to guilt us into this?" His voice was full of venom. "I never thought I'd see you go this far—" "Mr. Kim," Somi cut in with a warning tone. "Just because my husband is being polite doesn't mean you can disrespect him."

Hana started to say something, but Somi held up a hand. "Let me finish first, then you can say whatever you want." She turned back to Daehyun. "I don't think Taehyung's told you everything yet." She glanced at Taehyung, who swallowed nervously.

"But he—your son," she said, making sure Daehyun heard every word, "agreed. Right here. To marry my son." The words hit like a heavy blow, making the room feel impossibly still, as if the air had been sucked out. Taehyung's heart raced, his pulse pounding so loudly in his ears

it almost drowned out everything else. His gaze flicked nervously between his parents,unable to tear his eyes away as he waited for their reactions. The silence stretched on until his mother finally spoke. "That's impossible," she said,her eyes narrowing as she glared at Somi.

"Going this far?" She shook her head slowly, her expression twisted with anger. "Your son is lying. He's just trying to manipulate you, wanting you to pressure us into agreeing." Taehyung winced at his mother's words. It wasn't a lie—he had agreed—but the fact that his parents

refused to believe it made his stomach twist. They trusted him so much, and now, he was terrified of losing that trust. He didn't want to break their expectations, didn't want to be the reason for the hurt in their eyes. But the truth couldn't stay buried forever.

He had to tell them—he had to explain before things got even worse. Taking a shaky breath, he opened his mouth, ready to speak— But before he could say a word, Jungkook's mother cut in again.

"Why don't you ask your son the truth?" she said, her voice sharper than before, frustration creeping in. "Somi, let's not talk like this," her husband tried to intervene, but Somi cut him off. "I'm being polite enough, so please let me talk. I don't want to hear anything."

She was clearly upset, and it wasn't hard to see why. The way Taehyung's parents were speaking—doubting her husband—it was starting to test her patience. "Ask him if we're lying," she continued, her gaze flicking between Daehyun and Hana. "Go ahead. Let him tell you himself."

Daehyun, who had been listening to Somi, let out a scoff at her words, his expression hardening. "If that's how you want to prove that your son is a shameless liar, then fine," he said, his voice cold. Without looking back, he called for Taehyung. "Taehyung, come up here."

Taehyung, who had been standing behind the sofa the entire time, felt his stomach drop. His father still thought Jungkook was lying, but telling him that he was wrong this time—that he really had agreed to marry Jungkook—made Taehyung feel so... torn.

"Taehyung!" He flinched at his father's voice and hurried forward without thinking. His heart was pounding,and his palms felt clammy. Stopping in front of them, he swallowed hard. No one said a word. The silence was unbearable, stretching on and making it even harder to breathe.

Taehyung hesitated, glancing at his father, but Daehyun wasn't even looking at him—he was too busy glaring at Jungkook's dad. "Tell them, Tae. Tell them you don't know anything about this," he said, his voice firm, still not looking his way.

Taehyung's mind went blank. He didn't know what to say. His chest felt tight, and his eyes felt heavy like they wanted to close on their own. He blinked a few times, trying to pull himself together. Jungkook's father noticed how tense he was and gave him a small,

reassuring smile. "It's okay," he said softly. "You don't have to be scared." Taehyung glanced at him, and for some reason, it helped. Jungkook's dad reminded him of his own father—strong, welcoming. If this was really happening, at least he’d have a decent father-in-law.

That thought made it a little easier to breathe. And finally, he took a deep breath and forced himself to meet his parent's eyes. "Mom, Dad…" He swallowed hard before slowly continuing, "I was going to tell you, but—" "Taehyung, just say it's not true!" Daehyun snapped.

Taehyung flinched,his stomach twisting. "Mr. Kim, please, let's talk calmly," Han said,trying to ease the tension. But he wasn't listening. His eyes were locked on Taehyung,and in that moment, Taehyung knew—his dad was starting to put the pieces together. Doubt was creeping in.

Hana looked shaken, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. "Taehyung, you didn't agree, right?" Her voice wavered. "Please tell me you didn't—" "I'm really sorry," Taehyung started, and Hana's face paled. She let out a shaky breath, calling his name. "Taehyung—"

But Taehyung didn't stop there. He took a shaky breath, his voice barely a whisper, full of fear. "They're... they're telling the truth... I... I agreed to ma—marry Jungkook." The words hung heavy in the air, and for a moment, there was silence. Daehyun's face tightened,

his expression unreadable. Hana's eyes widened in shock, and Taehyung felt like he was going to sink right into the floor. Daehyun blinked, his lips pressed into a thin line. "You—what?" Taehyung's hands clenched together, his palms sweating. "I... I didn't know how to tell

you,but...it's true. I agreed. I agreed to marry him." Daehyun's face hardened,his hands gripping the armrests so tightly his knuckles went white. "So,you just went ahead and agreed to marry him without even talking to us first?" His voice was sharp now, rising with frustration.

Taehyung stiffened, his hands trembling. "I didn't mean for it to be like this. I just—I didn't know how to tell you." "Didn't know how to tell us?" Daehyun's voice rose, his frustration spilling over. "You're my son, Taehyung! You can't just make a huge decision like this

and not even say a word! And now I have to find out from them?" He shot a sharp glance at Jungkook's parents, his face tight with anger. Through it all, Jungkook's parents stayed silent, sitting stiffly as if afraid to make things worse. On the other side, Hana just stared at

Taehyung, eyes wide with shock written all over her face. "Why didn't you trust us enough to talk to us about it? Why didn't you come to us first?" Taehyung bit his lip, his head lowering. "I was just… scared." Daehyun's patience shattered. "Scared? Scared?" He stood up,

now facing Taehyung fully, his voice shaking with anger. "I can't believe this, Taehyung. You've completely blindsided us. We trusted you to come to us if something happened! But instead, you just—just agreed to something like this without even thinking twice?"

His voice kept rising, and Taehyung couldn't bring himself to look up. His hands clenched at his sides, his body trembled slightly. It was too much. His father had never yelled at him like this before, and that was why it hurt so much.

Hana quickly stood, reaching for her husband's shoulder. "Daehyun, please. calm down." "Calm down?" Daehyun let out a sharp laugh, his chest heaving. "You want me to stay calm after this?" His sharp gaze returned to Taehyung, eyes filled with something worse than anger—doubt.

"Now I'm questioning everything from the start," he said, his voice going lower. Taehyung's stomach dropped. He slowly looked up, his eyes slightly red from holding back tears. "Dad—" Daehyun didn't let him finish. "Did you know their son from the start?"

Hana tightened her grip on his shoulder. "Daehyun, stop! You're making it sound like—" "I'm asking my son a question," Daehyun interrupted, his eyes never leaving Taehyung's. Taehyung felt like the walls were closing in. His heart pounded, his throat dry. "It's not like that,"

he whispered, barely able to get the words out. "Please, just believe me. I'd never do anything to disappoint you." Daehyun let out a sharp breath, shaking his head. "I don't even know what to believe anymore." Then, without another word to Taehyung, he turned to the Jeons,

who were now standing, their eyes filled with concern as they looked at Taehyung. "Mr. Jeon," Daehyun began, his tone calmer this time. "I'm sorry about earlier—" "Dad, you don't have to—" Taehyung cut in quickly, his voice tight with emotion, but Daehyun simply raised a hand,

stopping him without even looking back. He then turned to Somi. "Mrs. Jeon, please forgive me for how I spoke before." Somi, still watching Taehyung carefully, gave a small nod. "It's okay, Mr. Kim. You were only thinking about your son. I understand."

Taehyung stood there, his heart racing, feeling like everything was happening around him without his control. Every word his father said felt heavier than the last, weighing down on him. His hands were shaking, and he couldn't even bring himself to look up—

his eyes stayed glued to the floor. He didn't know what to do with himself. His dad was right—he'd made this huge decision without even talking to them first, and now everything felt out of his hands. He felt so small, like he was a kid again,

wishing he could just rewind everything and fix it. His face was burning, and his chest felt tight. He was terrified of how his parents saw him now. Had he let them down so much that they couldn't even look at him the same way? His thoughts were racing,

spinning out of control, when his father's voice broke through. "Now that my son's agreed to marry and mate, I'm not going to stop it." Taehyung's heart sank at those words, feeling like a ton of bricks had just been dropped on him. His father wasn't yelling anymore,

but the disappointment in his voice was worse, it cut deeper than anything. Hana opened her mouth, probably to say something, but Daehyun raised his hand, silencing her. And Taehyung couldn't bring himself to look at either of them. He kept his eyes glued to the floor,

wishing it would swallow him up, take him away from all this. "We'll do everything we can from our side," Daehyun continued. "But let me be clear, Mr. Jeon—we are not a wealthy family. We can't afford an extravagant wedding, so please understand—"