Chp 32- Operation Save Hobi From Taehyung
Minho was busy handling the remaining work in Taehyung's cabin when his phone suddenly rang. Seeing his mother's name on the screen, he quickly answered the call.
"Beta..." Mrs. Jeon's worried voice came from the other side. "
"I heard something happened at the Kim mansion. Someone said the police took son-in-law's brother away. Go there and check what's going on, dear. After all, we're related to them now."
Minho immediately straightened in his seat.
"Yes, Maa, I'll go right away. Please don't worry too much, maybe it's just a misunderstanding. I'll check everything and call you back" he reassured her calmly.
"Alright, son. Just look at the situation carefully and inform me afterward."
"I will, Maa" Minho replied softly before ending the call.
. . .
A little while later, Minho arrived at the Kim mansion.
After respectfully greeting dadi and the elders downstairs, he headed upstairs in search of Jungkook. The atmosphere in the mansion already felt strange, heavy, tense and suffocating.
And then-
Someone suddenly crashed into him.
Before Minho could even react, the girl instantly grabbed onto him tightly and broke down crying against his chest.
Minho froze in complete shock.
"H-Hello?! Excuse me-" he stammered awkwardly. "Why are you crying? And... who are you?"
But the girl didn't answer.She simply clung to him tighter, her shoulders trembling as quiet sobs escaped her lips.
It was as if she had completely fallen apart and was desperately searching for something, anything that felt safe.
Minho's expression slowly softened.
Carefully, he placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pulled her back just enough to see her face.
The moment she looked up at him with her beautiful tear-filled eyes,His breath caught.
'...It's her.'
The same girl he had accidentally bumped into at Kim Enterprises.
The same girl who had unknowingly stolen his heart at first sight.
And now she was standing in front of him again... broken, crying, shattered.
But what truly made Minho's chest tighten were the red finger marks visible on her cheeks.
Someone had slapped her.His jaw clenched instantly.
"Who did this to her?" he thought, anger flashing through his mind.
Meanwhile, Tzuyu quickly realized what she was doing and immediately stepped away from him, embarrassed and defensive. She hurriedly wiped her tears.
"W-Who are you?" she asked shakily.
"And what are you doing here?"
Minho frowned slightly, concern evident in his voice.
"Why are you crying? And those marks on your cheeks... did someone hit you?"
His tone held a strange mix of worry and possessiveness that even he himself didn't understand yet.
Tzuyu instantly grew defensive.
"What's it to you?!" she snapped angrily. "Mind your own business! First tell me what you're doing in my house. And who even are you?"
Minho slipped one hand casually into his pocket, trying to lighten the tension with his usual confident attitude.
"Well, madam," he said dramatically, "I happen to be the elder brother of this house's eldest daughter-in-law... which means I'm Jungkook's elder brother. Jeon Minho."
Tzuyu let out a humorless laugh.
"And what am I supposed to do with that information?" she said bitterly.
"Both brother and sister entered my life only to turn it into hell. And from now on, don't even try to cross paths with me again."
"Ooooo, hello hello, madam," Minho said, raising both hands slightly. "First of all calm down. Why are you firing bullets at me?"
Tzuyu glared at him silently.
"I understand you're upset" Minho continued more gently this time. "You're angry, hurt, emotionally exhausted I get that. But that doesn't mean you start insulting every random person you bump into."
Then his expression softened slightly as he added,
"And at least don't say things like that about my sister. Jungkook genuinely cares about people."
Tzuyu's eyes flicker for a second at his words.For the first time since the argument with her parents... someone wasn't yelling at her.Someone wasn't defending Woojin either.But her pride refuses to let her soften so easily. She quickly wipes the remaining tears from her cheeks and looks away.
"Whatever" she mutters coldly. "You don't know anything about this family. And honestly it's none of your business"
Minho studies her quietly for a moment.The redness around her eyes.The trembling in her fingers.The slap marks still visible on her cheeks.
And beneath all that anger... pain.
A lot of pain.
Minho exhales slowly, trying to control his irritation.
"You know" he says, leaning slightly against the wall beside her, "for someone telling me to mind my own business, you're standing here crying in my arms five minutes after meeting me."
Tzuyu's eyes widen instantly.
"I-I was not-!"
"Yes,You were" Minho interrupts shamelessly. "You practically attacked me emotionally."
Despite herself, Tzuyu lets out a tiny offended scoff.And Minho notices it immediately.
"There" he says, pointing at her dramatically. "That. You almost smiled."
"I did not."
"You did."
"I didn't."
"You're doing it again."
Tzuyu glares at him, but the anger from before isn't as sharp anymore.For some reason... talking to him feels strangely easy.And that terrifies her.
Minho notices her expression soften for a brief second before she quickly hardens again.
"So" he says carefully, "do you want to tell me what happened?"
Tzuyu looks down.The memories from a few minutes ago flash in her mind.
Her mother's slap.
Her father's anger.
Their blind defense of Woojin.
Her chest tightens painfully again, as tears again gathered in her eyes ready to fall.
Minho's expression changes instantly seeing her face.His playful demeanor disappears for the first time. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a clean handkerchief, and offers it to her.
Tzuyu stares at it silently.
"You'll catch a cold if you keep crying like this" he says casually, as if they aren't standing in the middle of an emotional disaster.
Tzuyu hesitates for a second before slowly taking it from him.
"...Thank you."
The words come out so quietly that Minho almost doesn't hear them.
But he does.
And somehow, that tiny broken "thank you" feels more precious than anything else.
"Are you single?" Minho suddenly asks making tzuyu hiccup, she glared at him as she immediately forget his earlier caring act and glared at him like he's going to eat the entire world.
"Have you gone mad?!!, who even asks such type of questions?!" She said angrily, stomping her feet and walked away angrily but she turned back when Minho whistle mischievously.
She turned back and glared asking with slight anger.
"What is it?!!"
"By the way, At least tell me your name beautiful" he said smirking mischievously.
She rolled her eyes as she said.
"Never,Go to hell!" She turned away, taking a step when she again heard his voice.
"If you are there then I will definitely go" he said,grinning with mischief
She ignored him walking towards her room, feeling her heart less heavy then earlier.
.
.
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Taehyung slowly parked his car outside the Kim mansion. The place that had once been crowded and chaotic now stood eerily quiet; the mansion guards had already forced everyone to leave, leaving only silence lingering in the cold air.
Taehyung tightened his grip around the gift resting carefully in his hands before stepping out of the car.
This time, he held it close to himself as if it were something precious.
He didn't want to repeat the same mistake again, he couldn't let the present he had chosen so lovingly for his wife disappear the way it had last time.
As soon as taehyung stepped inside the mansion, Jihyo hurried toward him with visible worry on her face. She gently cupped his face and brushed his hair back anxiously.
"Taehyung! Beta! Are you alright? How are you feeling now? Are you comfortable? Should I ask your wife to make something for you again?"Jihyo rambled in panic, her words tumbling out one after another.
Taehyung stared at his mother in complete confusion before softly holding her hand.
"Mom... what are you talking about? What happened to me? I'm perfectly fine. Nothing's wrong with my health" he said, utterly bewildered.
Before Jihyo could answer, dadi also walked over and immediately began asking him the same questions. Taehyung patiently repeated the same answer again, but dadi refused to listen. Instead, she firmly told him to go upstairs and change his clothes.
Realizing there was no point arguing, Taehyung finally gave up and silently started walking toward his room. But midway, his eyes landed on J-Hope crouching suspiciously behind a flower pot.
"Hobi... why are you hiding there like that?" Taehyung asked with a confused frown.
Jhope, who had been muttering nonsense to the plant leaves like a guilty criminal preparing for execution, nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Taehyung staring at him.
"B-Bhai!!" he squeaked before suddenly dropping to the floor and grabbing Taehyung's leg dramatically.
"Bhai please don't hit me! Whatever I said and did just slipped out by mistake! Please don't take away my credit card! I swear I'll never say anything like that again, mommy promise!" he begged pitifully, resting his forehead against Taehyung's leg as if his life depended on it.
Taehyung looked down at him with complete disbelief.
Nothing happening inside this house was making sense anymore.
First his mother and dadi had nearly attacked him with concern over his health, and now his younger brother was clinging to his feet and apologizing for something Taehyung didn't even know about.
"Okay, forget all that for a second," Taehyung said, trying to pull his leg away. "Can someone first explain what actually happened? Why are you apologizing like this? What exactly did you do?"
Jhope slowly looked up at him, stunned.
"You... don't know, bhai?"
"Know what? How am I supposed to know anything if nobody tells me what happened?" Taehyung snapped, now growing irritated.
For a moment, Jhope simply stared at him. Then suddenly, a relieved smile spread across his face. He quickly stood up and dusted off his clothes.
"Nothing, bhai. We'll talk later!"
Before Taehyung could stop him, Jhope sprinted away at lightning speed like his soul had returned to his body.
"Hobi! Oye!" Taehyung called after him, but the younger man disappeared before he could even finish speaking.
Taehyung let out a tired sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.
"What is wrong with everyone in this house today...?" he muttered under his breath. Then another thought crossed his mind, instantly softening his expression.
"Wait... where's my biwi? I haven't even seen her yet."
Without wasting another second, Taehyung turned and walked straight toward their room.
Taehyung pushed open the bedroom door quietly, expecting to find his wife inside waiting for him like always.
But the moment he stepped into the room, he realized it was completely empty.
The curtains swayed softly with the evening breeze, and the faint smell of fresh flowers lingered in the air, but there was no sign of her anywhere.
Taehyung frowned slightly.
"Jungkook?" he called out instinctively, his voice softer than before.
No response.
He placed the gift carefully on the bed before loosening the buttons of his coat and hanging it in the corner, he walked towards the mirror removing his watch and keeping it safely in the drawer.
That's when the door clicked open and Jungkook entered inside holding a glass of ginger and honey water, her eyes widened seeing him standing infront of the mirror now watching her, she walked inside and softly clicked the door shut behind her, walking towards him.
"H-here, drink this" she said looking down silently offering him the drink, taehyung confusedly looked at her and then at the glass which is in her hand.
"What is it for?" Taehyung asked with a confused frown.
Jungkook slowly lifted her gaze toward taehyung, but the moment their eyes met, she shyly looked away again. Her fingers tightened nervously around the warm glass in her hands.
"I-I thought you already knew..." Jungkook mumbled softly. "H-Hobi brother told me that you were... that you..." She bit her lip, unable to finish the sentence out of embarrassment.
"T-That's why I made this for you. It'll help you feel better." She carefully held the glass out toward Taehyung with both hands, her cheeks burning red from how awkward the situation felt.
But instead of understanding, Taehyung only became more confused and slightly irritated.
Without warning, he took the glass from Jungkook's hands, placed it aside, and suddenly grabbed her wrist, trapping her gently yet firmly between his arms and the mirror behind her.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Taehyung asked, his brows furrowed in frustration.
"Will someone finally tell me what supposedly happened to me? Ever since I entered this house, everyone has been asking about my health like I'm dying. Don't you think I deserve to know too?"
He pointed toward the drink beside them.
"And why did you make ginger-honey water for me in the first place?"
Taehyung spoke so seriously and dramatically that even Jungkook became more nervous trying to explain it.
She lowered her eyes again, avoiding Taehyung's intense stare.
"H-Hobi brother said that you..."
She tried to continue, but the words simply refused to leave her mouth. The embarrassment alone was enough to make her want to disappear.
Taehyung sighed impatiently before gently grabbing Jungkook's chin and making her look directly into his eyes.
"Look at me when you talk," he said firmly. "And why are you hesitating so much? Are you going to tell me or not?"
Jungkook's face instantly turned bright red. Her body trembled slightly from nervousness as she finally forced herself to speak while looking away again.
"Hobi brother said that... that you've had... l-loose motions since morning..."
For two whole seconds, silence filled the room.
Then-
"What?!" Taehyung nearly exploded.
"Who said that nonsense?! That's a complete lie! I do not have loose motions!"
Jungkook flinched in shock at his sudden outburst.
Meanwhile, Taehyung dragged a frustrated hand through his hair, finally connecting all the dots.
"That brat..." he muttered darkly. "So that's why he was holding my legs and begging for forgiveness earlier."
His eyes narrowed dangerously.
"At first I didn't understand anything, but now everything makes sense. Kim Hoseok is dead today."
Taehyung kept ranting angrily under his breath, and honestly, it was starting to scare Jungkook a little.
"P-Please don't scold him too much," Jungkook said timidly. "H-He was just-"
"Quiet."
Taehyung turned toward her sharply, making Jungkook freeze immediately.
"Don't defend him at all" he snapped.
"He's not a child anymore. He's twenty-eight years old,he should at least know what he should and shouldn't say."
He started walking toward the door angrily.
"I'm going to deal with him right now."
But before he could leave, Jungkook quickly grabbed his hand to stop him.
"Please ji..." Jungkook whispered nervously, gathering all her courage. "Let it go. He was only joking... don't get this angry."
But Taehyung shook her hand free stubbornly.
"No. He needs to learn his lesson. And even you can't stop me"
And with that, he stormed out of the room in anger.
The moment the door shut behind him, Jungkook's eyes filled with tears from the harshness of his words. Still, she silently wiped them away without complaining.
Trying to distract herself, Jungkook picked up Taehyung's coat and carefully hung it properly. But while doing so, she noticed a small gift bag tucked beside it.
She blinked curiously.
"He must've brought this home..."
Jungkook murmured softly to herself.
Thinking it belonged to Taehyung, she gently picked up the small bag and placed it neatly on the bedside table beside Taehyung's side of the bed, completely unaware of what was actually inside it.
Meanwhile
Jhope ran towards the store room and hid behind the mount of sack of rice, he took his earphone out and plugged it into his phone
Jhope clasped his hands together dramatically as if he were moments away from his final goodbye.
"I barely escaped death just now"he muttered miserably while looking up at the ceiling.
"Hey bhagwan, please save me from my elder brother. I don't even want to imagine what he'll do to me once he finds out everything. My entire life is in your hands now."
Hobi sniffled dramatically and pressed his palms together tighter, looking less like a grown man and more like a criminal waiting for divine protection before execution.
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To be continued