Taehyung gave him a look—half annoyed, half tired—and exhaled slowly. "Are you coming with me or not?" Jungkook paused for a beat, then nodded reluctantly. "...Yeah. I'm coming." Because no matter how much Taehyung hated him, he wasn't going to let him go anywhere alone.

— It was Thursday morning, and Taehyung was getting ready to meet his family before their trip to Busan the next day. As he walked toward the main door, dressed casually in a sweater and jeans, he didn't expect to be stopped. Jungkook, who had been lounging on the sofa,

looked up from his phone, his gaze narrowing as he noticed Taehyung. "Where are you going?" he asked, his voice sharp—though it held no real concern, only curiosity. Taehyung paused in the middle of the room and turned back to face Jungkook, "Did I ask you where you were

going yesterday?" he shot back, voice level but with an edge. Jungkook raised an eyebrow and stood up from the sofa, crossing his arms. "You didn't need to ask," he said plainly. "I told you myself that I was going to meet one of my friends."

Taehyung glanced at him, his gaze hard but not angry, more like he was trying to decide if it was worth continuing this conversation. "And you think that's enough reason to question me every time I leave?" Jungkook tilted his head, his expression shifting to one of mild

amusement. "Not questioning—just curious. I thought we were getting used to each other's schedules." "I'm not telling you my every move," Taehyung said sharply. "But just so you don't come looking for me, I'm going to see my family." Jungkook gave a small chuckle,

though it didn't reach his eyes completely. "Fine. But I still don't get why you're going without telling me first." Taehyung didn't answer right away—he just gave Jungkook a pointed look before turning toward the door. "I don't need to tell you. Just—I'll be back later."

But Jungkook's voice called out quickly, "No—wait. Just stop for a moment. I'll be right back. Don't leave before I come down, okay?" Before Taehyung could respond, Jungkook was already heading up the stairs two steps at a time. Taehyung sighed heavily, clearly unamused,

but despite himself… he waited. Arms crossed, foot tapping, gaze locked on the clock above the hallway. A few minutes later, Jungkook came down the stairs again—this time in a clean button-up and proper jeans, having ditched his usual oversized shirt and joggers.

He was adjusting his sleeves, acting all casual, but Taehyung caught it immediately. "You are not coming with me," Taehyung blurted out, eyes narrowing as he took in Jungkook's suspiciously improved appearance. Jungkook blinked, pausing on the last step. "Why not?"

"Because I know how much of an asshole you can be," Taehyung said, arms still folded. "You want to come just to loom around and scare my family off." Jungkook immediately said, his voice smooth and sincere, "I promise, I'll be on my best behavior. I'll be respectful."

Taehyung shot him a dry look. "You'll throw that respect out the window the minute my father says something you don't like." Jungkook, acting like the perfect gentleman, replied, "I'll let him say whatever he wants. I won't say a word. I'll be the perfect son-in-law."

Taehyung's gaze hardened. "Jungkook,you don't know the meaning of respect. You'll snap the second my father says anything insulting." Jungkook paused, as if actually considering it, before murmuring, "That's fair." Then,with a grin, he added louder, "Still. I'm coming with you."

— Taehyung swore, right then and there, that he had just made two of the worst decisions of his life. First: agreeing to marry Jungkook. Second: letting Jungkook come with him to visit his parents today. He hadn't wanted to bring him along,

but Jungkook had hidden the apartment keys, and unless Taehyung wanted to waste time tearing the place apart to find them, he had no choice but to drag Jungkook with him. Now, standing outside his parent's front door, Taehyung shot him a warning look.

"Don't make me regret this. Please behave." Jungkook immediately straightened up like a soldier, his expression dead serious as he nodded. "Don't worry, Hyung. I'll be on my best behavior." He even used the honorific properly, which made Taehyung narrow his eyes in suspicion.

Without a word, Taehyung sighed and lifted his hand to ring the doorbell— —only for Jungkook to beat him to it, smirking. "You're so slow," Jungkook said, shrugging. "And you're too fast," Taehyung muttered, shooting him a side glance as they waited.

Inside, they heard muffled voices and hurried footsteps—then the door swung open to reveal Taehyung's mother, her face lighting up. "My baby!" she cried, pulling Taehyung into a tight hug. She kissed his temple and held him even closer. "I missed you so much, my love."

Taehyung softened in her arms, smiling— —only for the moment to be killed by a sharp voice behind her. "What's he doing here?" Taehyung leaned back slightly and, sure enough, there was his dad, arms crossed, eyes locked on the person standing behind him. Right. Jungkook.

Before Taehyung could even open his mouth to explain, Jungkook stepped forward without hesitation. He moved past both Taehyung and Hana, walked right up to Daehyun, and bowed deeply. "Good morning, sir. I just came to drop Taehyung off," Jungkook said politely,

his voice calm and respectful. "I didn't want him traveling alone by bus in this heat." Taehyung shot him a 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦 look over his shoulder, but Jungkook acted like he didn't notice, already turning to Hana to give her a polite bow too.

"Good morning to you too, ma'am." Hana blinked at him, a little surprised at the sudden formal behavior, but after a second, she smiled back gently. Daehyun, though? Daehyun was still glaring at Jungkook like he wanted to set him on fire with just his eyes.

Sensing the thick tension filling the air, Hana quickly stepped in. "Come inside, come inside," she said brightly, giving Daehyun a little push backward into the house before looking at Jungkook and adding kindly, "You too, Jungkook." Taehyung and Jungkook followed them inside,

trailing a few steps behind. As soon as they were through the door, Taehyung leaned in toward Jungkook and muttered under his breath, "I told you to behave, not to lie and act like some perfect gentleman." Jungkook flashed him an innocent smile and whispered back,

"When did I lie? I was worried about you traveling on the bus. I don't want you feeling uncomfortable." Taehyung rolled his eyes. "You're the biggest discomfort in my life." Jungkook opened his mouth, already halfway into a protest. "Will you stop saying things like that—"

—but Taehyung had already turned away, walking off in long, eager strides toward his brother, who had just called out, "Tae!" Jin pulled him into a tight hug, laughing warmly as he ruffled Taehyung's hair. Meanwhile, Jungkook sighed heavily and went to sit stiffly on the sofa—

the one right across from Daehyun, who was still watching him like he might throw him out at any second. After hugging and chatting with Taehyung for a minute, Jin walked over and casually dropped onto the sofa beside his father, throwing Jungkook a narrowed, suspicious glance.

Now under two sets of piercing eyes, Jungkook quickly scanned the living room for any sign of backup. hoping to find Taehyung—or better yet, Taehyung's mother, Hana—the only person in this house who had smiled at him today. But no such luck.

Both Hana and Taehyung had disappeared into the kitchen. Left with no backup, Jungkook turned back toward Jin, cleared his throat, and pulled out the best, most charming smile he had—one he reserved for important people like in-laws. "So, how are you, Hyung?"

— In the kitchen, Hana and Taehyung moved easily around each other, working side by side. Hana was at the cupboard, pulling down five glasses and setting them on the counter. As she began filling each one with cold chocolate milkshake, she spoke up with a faint

note of amusement in her voice. "He seemed like a whole new person earlier," she said, pouring carefully. "Bowing, calling Daehyun sir… definitely a different Jungkook." Taehyung snorted as he grabbed a handful of napkins. "He's the same, Mom. Just wait. The second something

doesn't go his way,you'll see him snap right back to normal." Hana only chuckled, lifting the tray carefully. "Well,I like him like this." Taehyung groaned softly under his breath. "Please don't say that in front of him. He'll get cocky and start acting like he owns the place."

But Hana just smiled, completely ignoring him, and headed out toward the living room where the others were waiting. Taehyung followed behind her, carrying the napkins. "I made chocolate milkshakes for everyone!" Hana said brightly as she entered the room. She smiled warmly at

Jungkook and added, "I hope you like it, Jungkook." Jungkook, who was sitting on the sofa trying way too hard to impress both Daehyun and Jin, immediately straightened up. "Oh, I love chocolate milkshake, ma'am! But you really didn't have to go through the trouble for me."

Hana's smile softened, touched by how her son-in-law was being so good. "It's no trouble at all," she replied gently. She was about to hand out the drinks when Jungkook suddenly stood up, moving quickly to take the tray from her hands. "You should sit down, ma'am.

You look tired. We can serve ourselves," Jungkook said, his voice dripping with so much sincerity it made Hana blink in surprise. She cast a quick glance at Taehyung, her expression practically glowing with 𝘚𝘦𝘦? 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵!

But Taehyung just stood there, arms crossed, glaring holes into Jungkook. And he wasn't alone. Daehyun and Jin also had their eyes narrowed suspiciously at the alpha, clearly not buying the act Jungkook was putting on.

"Are you sure you're not faking a little too much, Jungkook-ssi?" Daehyun asked dryly. Jungkook kept his polite smile firmly in place. "I'm not faking, sir. I'm being sincere," he said smoothly. "You're my in-laws now. I just want to show the proper respect."

He even flashed a bright smile — a little too bright — and it made Daehyun and Jin exchange a long, skeptical glance. "And really," Jungkook went on, placing the tray carefully on the coffee table, "no need to be formal with me. Just call me Jungkook."

Then, with a perfectly softened tone, he turned to Hana and Daehyun. "And… if it's okay with you… maybe I could call you 'Mom' and 'Dad'?" Hana practically lit up. "Of course, dear! I'd love that!" she said, beaming.