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When Taehyung and Yoongi first started dating, the older of the two knew that something was... off.
For starters, Taehyung’s closet was littered with Gucci and Prada, designer handbags and belts, bedazzled shoes and berets clipped with rings and fancy diamonds that looked like they were anything but fake. And when Yoongi asked him about it, all Taehyung could do was shrug and say:
"What can I say? I have a taste for highend fashion."
The first time they met in fact, was in passing and not in the most romantic or exorbitant of ways. Yoongi had just accepted the offer to become a professor at a small university for the arts in Seoul. Taehyung had been hired to paint one of the murals in the dance studios at the time. Lets's just say, when the music professor saw this gorgeous, tan, ridiculously fit young man with shoulder length brown hair, looking utterly sexy in a pair of coveralls drenched with paint, he was fucked.
When Yoongi finally gathered the courage to ask Taehyung out (of course after stalking his Facebook profile to find that he had dated men before), the young man gleefully accepted, his eyes sparkling with a gleam of joy that Yoongi hoped would never diminish. However, Yoongi had been scared shitless when Taehyung asked if he could pick the place, the professor pulling up to a five star gourmet French restaurant that had valet at the cost of 20,000 ₩.
Thankfully, Taehyung had offered to pay without a second thought (Yoongi wished he had picked something more delectable rather than just an appetizer, in fear for the life of his precious wallet)
But that's the thing. Taehyung never let's Yoongi pay. Even if their date consists of a simple brunch with mimosas and tostus, Taehyung was quick to snatch up the bill when he saw that Yoongi was going for it first. In fact, when they got together and Yoongi realized that Taehyung was never able to maintain a stable job, he asked where all of this money was coming from. At this, Taehyung would just giggle and kiss his cheek.
"Hyung, I may not have one job but, the few jobs I do get, pay me well."
It was a... vague and yet, earnest answer. Yoongi found that he didn't have the foundation to argue such a thing. For a moment there, he was worried that Taehyung was a hitman or casually robbing banks in his free time so, despite still being on edge, he was happy to find that his boyfriend wasn't a criminal. You never know in this day and age.
But then, Yoongi started, finding things.
Bottles of 7,000,000 ₩ wine, jewelry embedded with Swarovski crystals, fulfilled car payments with so many zeros that Yoongi had to shield his eyes.
Black credit cards.
Yoongi was in dire need to know where the hell all of this money was coming from, and why after all of this extravagant spending, how his boyfriend wasn't in financial ruin.
Either that or, his boyfriend was good at hiding it.
Yoongi had chalked it up to his boyfriend having generous and wealthy parents but, in the two years that they had been together, Taehyung had never called his parents once. He never mentioned them, he never spoke of them or to them, and when Yoongi asked why, Taehyung just held him tight and said:
"My parents are... very particular people. They don't agree with my lifestyle so, I left and never looked back. I wish them no ill will but, I would rather not bother with them unless I have to."
And Yoongi never questioned Taehyung after that. The answer was reasonable and well, Yoongi could relate. Being a gay man in conservative South Korea wasn't necessarily rare but, it for damn sure wasn't encouraged or looked highly upon.
He couldn't relate to having a never ending supply of money either but, that was neither here nor there.
However despite only being together for two years, Yoongi firmly believed that Taehyung could be the one.
His one.
When he dreamed of the future, he saw him and Taehyung, huddled in the living room drinking wine (of the expensive variety because they had nothing less in their cabinets all thanks to Taehyung), cuddled up with their two dogs Holly and Yeontan. Perhaps a kid or, two, running around the childproof home that both he and his husband had created together. (Taehyung loved the idea of being a father and Yoongi had always entertained the thought)
And what made Yoongi realize that Taehyung could be the one even more, was the fact that none of these visions of the future had a long string of dread, or fear attached to them. When he thought of a future with Taehyung, he could only see the two of them smiling and laughing, kissing and holding each other close.
Kim Taehyung was changing Min Yoongi for the better and, the older man wasn't opposed to it, by any means.
But nothing comes free in this corrupt and amoral world.
When Taehyung sent his boyfriend a brief text saying we need to talk, Yoongi couldn't swallow down the bile of terror in his throat. As sad as it seems, Yoongi couldn't say this was a foreign thing. He was used to the world-shattering breakups, infidelities and the sudden but understandable it's just not working out 's. Yoongi was a burden, a joke. He was boring and old. Grumpy and never satisfied. It was about time that someone as bubbly as Taehyung would get tired of his careful semantics. Yoongi hated that it always seemed to happen to him, however, he had accepted his fate long ago.
Min Yoongi would always be destined for a life of misery.
Yoongi is in the middle of a lecture about Kyungsun Suh's contributions to classical composition when his eyes find the door, his gaze falling on the most beautiful man, his hair tied messily into a bun, one that reminded Yoongi of a cute little cinnamon roll. The man's eyes are hooded lovingly, and his lips? Curved into a beautiful smirk.
Taehyung is wearing an olive green turtle neck, the viridescent shade making his fair skin glow in the most alluring way. A strand of hair has freed itself from the hair band, the thread of gold falling limply and delicately against Taehyung's gorgeous, almond shaped eye. His hands are in the pockets of his slacks, his suit jacket purposefully oversized and stylish without a doubt.
Yoongi's heart swoons.
(Curse these damn teenage feelings)
"Alright class, that's it for today. Keep working on your final pieces. You know my office hours. Feel free to drop by any time."
The rustling of book bags and the flipping notebooks resonates throughout the classroom, incessant, giddy chatter and cheerful goodbyes to the professor keeping Yoongi's smile bright. He waves them goodbye as they pass through, his nods curt and polite. The class clown and, arguably one of Yoongi's favorite students (he knows teachers shouldn't have favorites but fuck it), Yeonjun, approaches his desk with a goofy grin.
"Hey Professor Min, how do you like your coffee?" He asks, hopeful. Yoongi lets out an amused chuckle.
"Black with two sugars, but bribery gets you no where Yeonjun-ssi. If you need any pointers, come see me, okay?"
The boy groans playfully with the roll of his eyes, bidding his teacher goodbye.
A gritted giggle breaks Yoongi from his solitude.
"I don't know if I like the idea of anyone else knowing how you like your coffee but me."
Yoongi's cheeks flush drastically.
"No one makes it like you." He says with a smile, not looking up from his desk as he stuffs some of his lesson plans and notes into his bag. He knows that if he makes eye contact, he's a goner.
But when is Yoongi not a goner in the presence of Kim Taehyung.
A warm, slender hand grips his own, the fingers of another pressed lightly beneath his chin, tilting his head up. Yoongi is met with the mesmorizing sight of his boyfriend's chocolate eyes before he feels a pair of sweet, supple lips upon his own. Yoongi's lashes flutter closed, relenting everything he has to the kiss.
Taehyung kisses like it's his last.
Their lips click as they pull apart, Taehyung's stare fond before he pecks Yoongi once more. The professor giggles against his lips.
"You're in a good mood today." He teases once the kiss is broken. Taehyung throws his head back with a hearty laugh before rounding the desk, eyeing the white board with calculation. Yoongi taps him on the ass.
"How dare you make me all nervous and flustered like that in front of my class."
Taehyung hums with a smirk. "Now how great of a boyfriend would I be if I didn't embarrass the love of my life whenever the opportunity presented itself?" He asks. Yoongi scoffs.
"A great one." This earns another giggle from Taehyung who, is leaning up against the desk now, watching Yoongi with adoration and pursed lips.
Yoongi looks up at him, his expression unreadable before Taehyung's look gets to his insides, an uncontrollable, gummy smile spreading across his round features.
"They love you." Is all Taehyung says.
Yoongi's smile falls, his cheeks giving life to a lovely shade of rose. The corners of his lips quirk up before he finishes with the packing of his things.
"I'm tough on them."
"And they respect you because of it." Taehyung retorts as he approaches Yoongi quickly, his large hands finding purchase on the curve shorter man's hips. Yoongi looks up, met once again with Taehyung's tantalizing glare. The professor grips the man's biceps to steady himself and to keep his head from spinning deliriously.
"I just want them to do well." Yoongi says, his voice soft and small against Taehyung's look of desire.
"And they will, because of you."
Yoongi doesn't even get a chance to respond before a pair of hungry, ravenous lips crash into his own. Taehyung's lips part, the shared kiss melding perfectly together with a heat that is molten and fierce in tenacity.
Yoongi pulls back to breathe, his own lips red and swollen. Taehyung looks no better but, he can make anything that is unappealing to the eye look the complete and total opposite.
"Have lunch with me?" Taehyung asks, and every time the man does, it's like he's asked for the very first time, his caramel infused eyes sparkling with love and aspiration.
And Yoongi doesn't even bother with answering, the two of them knowing that he would accept till the day he died.
Even so, Yoongi is still petrified. The thought of this being the last time that him and Taehyung are together enough to make him queasy. He doesn't think he'll be able to keep his food down with the way his nerves are acting up, prickling his skin and making his stomach bubble with nausea.
The walk to the coffee shop is all too short for Yoongi's liking, as he would like to hold the break-up off for as long as humanely possible but, at least Taehyung's hand is warm in his. People stare, their hushed whispers falling upon deaf ears. This is normal for them in all honesty. Yoongi used to question it at first but, it makes sense in a way.
The people whisper when they walk by because how could some like Taehyung, end up with someone like Yoongi.
This is odd though. Well, Yoongi supposes that Taehyung has always been odd but, this isn't your typical pre break-up behavior. It's more awkward and insufferable than this.
And yet, Taehyung still looks like he has something substantial to get off of his chest.
The younger man holds the door open for Yoongi as the two enter the homey looking café. Yoongi opts for a simple cup of coffee while Taehyung's eyes fall to the most expensive thing on the menu.
He looks up at Yoongi in question. "No food love?"
Yoongi shakes his head quickly, drawing patterns in the condensation of his water glass.
"I'm not really that hungry."
Taehyung seems to frown but, he nods anyway, handing the menus to the waiter and folding his hands together. Yoongi swallows thickly.
This is it.
Taehyung clears his throat, the nails of his fingers digging into the skin of his nape as he scratches lightly. The sight agitates Yoongi beyond belief.
Because there is no way in hell that Taehyung is more nervous than he is.
Yoongi pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration, just wanting to rip the Band-Aid off so that he can finish with teaching and go home to grieve and drown himself in a wine that reminds him of Taehyung's lips and soft, sultry voice.
Taehyung clears his throat, his eyes filled with worry.
"Love? Are you okay?"
A bitter chuckle trickles from Yoongi's pouted lips. He huffs. "Ha, no. No Taehyung I'm not okay. Can you just, can you just tell me what you need tell me so we can get on with this?" He nearly bites, sounding much angrier than he anticipated. He wasn't prepared for the hurt that glistens in Taehyung's eyes immediately after but, he shouldn't care, even though he does.
Because he's hurting too.
Taehyung's brows knit together in shock before shakes his head, the look in his eyes now one of irritation.
"Alright... do you," he clears his throat once more, "do you know Kim Namjoon?"
At this, Yoongi's head whips up, his scratching of the wooden table beneath him ceasing.
"W-What?" He stutters, baffled. This is not the first thing he expected Taehyung to ask him, his knowledge of someone else or their whereabouts. It's pretty fucking strange actually, and random too.
But again, when was Kim Taehyung not strange?
The look in his boyfriend's eyes is dull, unrecognizable. It makes Yoongi feel damn awful for lashing out like that so suddenly.
"Do you know Kim Namjoon?" Taehyung asks once more.
Yoongi blinks once or twice before he looks down at his nail marks on the table, the wood shavings buried deep beneath his nailbeds. Their drinks come, Yoongi's coffee and Taehyung's pricey mimosa.
"Uh, I... it sounds familiar?" Yoongi asks more than tells. Taehyung takes a sip of his drink, his gaze drifting to the wine glass in hand as he swirls the orange concoction.
"He is the crown prince of Gyeonsang, well, one of them. There are two more, one is named Kim Seokjin." Taehyung says. Yoongi gulps.
What the hell is this man getting at?
And why did he only name one of the three princes?
But then Yoongi racks his brain. A familiar face coming to mind, one that he has seen on countless television screens as well as in the tabloids but, not with purpose.
"Uhm, yeah? I think... he's the nerdy looking one, right? With the dimples and the dorky glasses?" Yoongi clarifies.
At this, Taehyung's eyes go wide before, without warning, he cackles, the sound startling Yoongi as well as the fellow guests nearby. Taehyung wipes a tear from his eyes.
"Oh God, ha, yeah, yeah that's him."
The laugh does nothing to calm Yoongi's vicious nerves.
"O-Okay." Yoongi has no fucking clue where this is going.
Taehyung takes another sip of his mimosa. "Do you know that he's getting married?"
Yoongi shakes his head so achingly slow that he feels dizzy anyway. "No."
But then it all starts to make sense.
The money, the unemployment, the expensive trivialities... The. Money.
Taehyung has been cheating on him. That's the only possible excuse that Yoongi can come up with that makes sense.
He doesn't realize that his eyes have welled with tears until they start to spill over.
"Well he's getting married to someone named Park Ji... hyung? Yoongi are you crying?!"
Taehyung is by his side in seconds, his hands on his cheeks as he furiously thumbs away the tears in a state of absolute panic.
"Baby?! Baby why are you crying?! Did I say something wrong?!" Taehyung asks, the onslaught of questions going in one ear and out the other.
Why does Taehyung have to make this so hard. Why does he have to pretend like he cares about Yoongi's feelings when he's been cheating on him all this time.
Yoongi begins to blabber on, manic and distressed. "Are you gonna marry him? Taehyung I know I'm not rich baby but I love you. I'll do whatever you want but please, don't marry him please I beg you I'll get another job or sell the car I don't care I'll buy you anything you want I― OH GOD, is that where all of this money is coming from?! Have you been buying me things with your sugar daddy's money? YOUR SUGAR DADDY IS A PRINCE?! I'm think I'm gonna be sick..." Yoongi sobs.
Because in the end, Yoongi already knows he's lost Taehyung.
Yoongi can't compete with a fucking prince.
Taehyung brows furrow, his eyes squinted before they grow as wide as dinner plates. "Marry him...? Baby I don't... OH GOD NO!"
Taehyung gags, like, actually gags, his hand on his chest and his eyes screwed tight. He starts to choke and Yoongi gasps, patting Taehyung's back quite harshly.
The waiter decides then, to bring over their food.
The couple freezes, the waiter avoiding eye contact as he hastily drops off their plates and makes a break for it. Taehyung takes this as his cue to keep on coughing, Yoongi slamming a hand to his back.
Once his coughs have tapered off into mere wheezing, Taehyung begins to laugh like a goddamn maniac, tears falling from his eyes, his cheeks burning red.
To say that Yoongi is scared is an understatement.
"Hyung... baby, I'm not marrying anyone." Taehyung manages to say in between breaths. Yoongi's heart stutters.
"So you're not... you're not cheating on me?"
Taehyung's jaw drops, looking scandalized at the mere thought of infidelity.
"What?! Baby of course I'm not cheating on you... Hyung I love you, and the only person I want to marry is you." Taehyung says with his whole heart and soul, his hands finding Yoongi's and squeezing them tight.
Yoongi finally regains enough of his breath to speak. "So you're not breaking up with me?"
Taehyung squints again, his look questioning and confused before finally, it hits him like punch to the gut.
"Oh no... no, no, no this is all wrong. Baby I didn't text you to meet up so that I could break up with you... I was going to tell you that... well I..."
Taehyung sighs, a frail hand carding its way through his hair. He isn't looking at Yoongi anymore, and the older man's heart feels stricken still with fear for what is to come.
But... what the hell is more worse than a breakup?
Taehyung looks up, his face etched in sorrow, his lips tugged downward into a sullen curve of downheartedness.
Yoongi's heart breaks.
The one look that Taehyung can't wear right is sadness.
"Hyung, I'm invited to the wedding, and I was going to ask you to come with me." He says, and Yoongi's eyebrows almost raise to the crown of his head.
Yoongi had always thought Taehyung had people in high places, for example the influx of money but, he didn't expect this.
Upon Yoongi's silence however, Taehyung has one more thing to say.
"Hyung, Joon-hyung is my brother." Is all he says, and Yoongi's mind draws blank because, okay. He has a brother. It was something that he didn't know and yes, it's a little weird that Taehyung tells him this after all this time but, again:
When. Is. Taehyung. Not. Weird.
But then Yoongi comes to a realization, one that is striking and unbelievable. One that has his eyes wide, his heart frozen, his head spinning.
Because holy shit.
Holy shit.
"You... I... you're a... he's a... what?" Yoongi sputters, his tongue utterly tied, his heart dumbfounded.
Taehyung sighs with a nod.
"I'm a Prince." He says, barely above a whisper.
Yoongi's bottom lip trembles in utter shock.
Holy. Shit.
"You're... you're a... you're a prince."
Taehyung nods, downcast and, afraid. "I'd understand if you wanted to end things between us. I wasn't completely honest with you, in fact, every time you brought up the spending habits or my family, I kind of brushed it off but, I just wanted you to like me for me and, when I realized you had no idea who I was, I decided to give this, to give us a try. But, hyung, I really like you and, I was going to tell you eventually but, every time I gathered the courage I was afraid that you would break up with me because I lied. Hyung, I'm really sorry, and I would love it if you were my date to the wedding. I promise, no more secrets. From now on I'll tell you the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
Yoongi is speechless.
The whispers, the staring, the clothes, the money...
The. Money.
Taehyung is a Prince. A real life fucking prince.
How did Yoongi not catch this?
Oh right, he's a hermit at the age of twenty-six who doesn't really know how to use a Twitter or an Instagram or whatever the kids use nowadays, a Snappychat?
And of course Taehyung wouldn't put I'm a prince in all caps on the About me section of his Facebook page.
Taehyung looks as if he is on the verge of tears. "Baby, baby are you mad at me? I really am sorry. And I mean it when I say―"
Taehyung doesn't get a chance to finish, his apology spilling into Yoongi's pouty lips. Yoongi has Taehyung's cheeks in the palms of his hands, their lips pressed flushed against one another. Taehyung's breath hitches before he relaxes vicariously into the kiss, their lips cascading and their tongues lapping.
Yoongi breaks the kiss, tears in his eyes.
"Tae... you could be a fucking murderer for all I care... I love you, no matter what." Yoongi says.
Taehyung giggles tearfully, his laughs wet and full of love.
"I love you too baby."
The waiter comes by with the bill and a small cake in hand. Written in strawberry syrup, is the word Congratulations in neat, delicious looking cursive.
The two bust out laughing.
♛
BONUS:
Yoongi groans, the royal garb that the servants have squeezed him into is far too tight and suffocating to say the least. The threaded shoulder pads laced with gold sparkle, the buttons clearly gems worth more than Yoongi's entire existence.
"Babe, are you done yet? The housemen have left already so I know you're dressed." He hears Taehyung say from beyond the velvet curtain.
Yoongi sighs.
It's now or never.
Yoongi steels himself, the diamond engagement ring on his finger giving him all the courage he needs. He takes in a deep breath, swallowing down his resolve as he slips through the curtains, his eyes on the ground, his focus honed in on the fancy dress shoes constricting the free will of his toes. His cheeks are on fire and without warning, Yoongi sees the tips of another's shoes.
His fiancée.
Yoongi looks up, Taehyung's eyes filled with tears.
He's beaming.
"You... you look..." And even though Yoongi doesn't believe it when Taehyung says things like this, he was expecting a 'you look beautiful' or a 'you look handsome'.
For damn sure he wasn't expecting this.
"You look sexy."
Yoongi gasps. "Taehyung I swear to God―" Yoongi starts but...
It's kind of hard to speak when you're being kissed senseless.