September 2022

It's a rough next month for everyone. Amongst Moonhae's constant mood swings, Big Hit went into freakout mode. They planned out the next year to a tee, rearranging appearances and shows, so Moonhae wouldn't have to perform when she's nine months pregnant. Her work load had to be cut in half upon doctor's orders as her stress levels are already out of the ballpark, so completely new schedules were made and dietary plans that would keep the baby healthy, but the mother small enough to be an idol.

The girl who only cries when worst comes to worst, now cries at every given moment. It could be something simple like forgetting which practice room she's going to and she bursts out into tears. Her severe case of pregnancy brain also comes with mood changes that seem to go faster than Agust D's rapping.

Taehyung handles everything surprisingly well, keeping up with his work, but also being there for Moon for whatever she may need. Of course he has moments when he stares into the mirror and just lets it sink in that he's going to be a father, freaking out over how unprepared he is, but on the other hand he's been wanting this his whole life.

Getting ready for another day in their apartment, he can already hear Moonhae's wailing coming from the bedroom.

"Taehyung-ah!", she whines and he comes running, "Nothing fits me!"

He finds her struggling to zip up a pair of jeans, throwing herself back on the bed in exhaustion.

"I'm too fat!", she starts crying.

"Moonhae, that's ridiculous", he moves onto the bed to comfort her, "You're ten weeks along, you don't even have a baby bump yet."

"B-but it doesn't fit!", she sniffs as she frantically pulls at the zipper.

"That's because...", he gently removes her hands and carefully zips it up himself, "The zipper was stuck. Not because you're fat."

Looking down at her pants, which are now magically zipped, and back up at Taehyung, who's smiling, she catches her sobs.

"What is wrong with me, Tae?", she leans back with her hands covering her face, exhausted by her own emotions.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with you", he softly strokes her abdomen, "Pregnancy brain and mood swings are completely normal to deal with and usually occur after the fifth week of pregnancy."

She lowers her hands and shoots him a side-eye, "And which book did you learn that from?"

"What to expect when you're expecting, page 154", he gives her a boxy smile.

"Aish, you're unbelievable", she shoves him playfully and looks over his shoulder to where their dresser is. That and just about every other surface in the apartment has been covered with books and magazines about pregnancy and childbirth.

"I just want to be prepared", he defends himself, then continuing in a shy voice, "I want to be a good dad."

"You're going to be the best dad", she whispers lovingly as she brushes some strands of brunette hair out of his eyes.

Just then the doorbell rings and Yeontan starts barking. With a sigh, both Taehyung and Moonhae pull themselves out of bed and towards the entrance. They're surprised to find Hyunae standing on the other side of the door, carrying a small box.

"Hi", she greets them pleasantly, but her attention is caught by all the packages lined up in the hallway of the apartment building right in front of their door, "Do you need me to help you bring all this stuff in?"

"Oh no, don't worry about that", Taehyung waves her off and invites her in, "Those are just all the condom boxes Bang PD has been sending all the members. Surely you've gotten some too?"

"Oh", Hyunae tries to keep a straight face, "Yes, unfortunately, we have."

The three of them sit down in their living room seating area and the girl pulls out some books that've been stacked into the box she's holding.

"Well, I was going to bring you these", she holds up some books about pregnancy, "But looking around, I see you're pretty much set..."

"Yeah, Tae went haywire the first few weeks with buying pregnancy books, so now we're basically a library", Moonhae replies, poking fun at her boyfriend while they're sitting surrounded by books.

"But maybe they're some we don't have yet", Taehyung quickly leans forward to study the ones Hyunae's brought.

"Either way", Hyunae then continues, "Jin and I have been trying, so I've also been doing research. I have some more magazines that may be more of your interest, Moonhae."

Handing them to her, it seems like they discuss different topics than those other medical books. Things important to Moon that Taehyung may not have even thought about.

"Thank you", Moonhae says quietly as she flips through some of the pages.

"No problem. I'm just really happy for you two", the girl beams, "And if there's anything you need, you can let me know. By the way, how are your families taking it? I know your family visited last week, right Taehyung?"

"Yeah, they consider Moonhae to be part of the family, so they were really happy despite us not being married yet", he tells her.

"What about your family, Moonhae?", Hyunae turns unknowingly to the girl.

"My... family?", her expression falls and Taehyung starts biting his bottom lip nervously, "I don't... We don't... We don't really talk..."

"Oh, I'm sorry", Hyunae wishes she could take back her words, feeling the tension settling in the air, "I'm sure they'd be very happy as well."

The rest of the conversation seems hazy in Moonhae's mind as other thoughts cloud her. Eventually, Hyunae takes her leave and it's just the two of them again.

"Hey, you okay?", Taehyung puts his arms around the spaced-out girl worriedly.

"Y-yeah", she barely looks at him.

"If this is about what she said... I'm sure that-", he starts.

"Tae?", she cuts him off.

"Yeah?"

"I think we should go see them. I think we should go see my parents."

And there they were. A week later, sitting in the car outside a small apartment complex in Ilsan. It's not her childhood home as far as Moon has told Taehyung, as her parents moved later on after she debuted. But she looks at the place in the same trepidation as if it were.

"Ready?", he squeezes her hand, gazing at her in concern.

Taking a deep breath and gulping down her nervousness, she answers, "Ready."

The few steps up to the door of the apartment, she can't seem to let go of Taehyung's hand. It's the only stable thing that's keeping her from running away right now. Once that bell rings, there's no turning back and it all happens before she knows it.

It's surreal when the door creaks open, revealing a form so familiar yet so foreign all at the same time. It takes a moment for the figure to recognize the girl standing out front.

"Moonhae?", the woman's tired eyes widen, her unsteady hand clutching the door handle.

"Hello, mother", her voice comes out more timid than she would've liked it to.

"What are you doing here?", she seems to have a hard time grasping the situation, her eyes flickering over to the boy standing next to her daughter.

"May we come in?", Moonhae gulps.

With a slight nod, her mother steps to the side, letting the two of them enter the modest apartment. The place itself is fairly nice and modern, but most of the curtains are drawn, creating an ominous feel. Dishes, takeout boxes and prescription pill bottles litter the counters and tables and it's pretty clear it hasn't been cleaned in a while

"I wasn't expecting to see you again... ever", her mother says slowly, as she makes some space to sit at the dining room table.

"I wasn't either...", Moonhae admits, seating herself closely next to Taehyung, "But some things came up that I thought I should tell you about. You being my parents and all... Where's dad?"

"He should be... resting", she responds, getting up and moving towards a door that must lead to a bedroom.

Moonhae pretends not to notice when her mother takes one of the pill bottles with trembling hands, as she passes the kitchen counter, throwing a few pills in her mouth and washing it down with some water. Then she carefully opens the door.

"What is it?", an irritated voice slurs out from the dark room.

"Moonhae's here", her mother says softly.

"Moonhae?", the disbelief can be heard clearly and some rustling and creaking of a bed follows shortly after.

Her father steps out looking a mess, nevertheless sheer surprise painting his face as he stares into the grown eyes of his daughter.

"Moonhae...", he whispers out, somehow stumbling to the table to sit across from her, "What are you doing here?"

"I want to introduce you to someone", she replies, leaning closer to Taehyung.

"I'm Kim Taehyung, it's nice to meet you", his deep voice sounds out steady as he bows his head a little in respect.

"Is this the boyfriend they were talking about in the news?", her father vaguely remembers.

"We've been together for four and a half years", she says curtly before dropping the bomb, "And I'm pregnant."

"Y-you're pregnant?", neither of her parents look happy or upset, they simply look startled.

"I'm eleven weeks along", she merely states, "I don't expect you to be in the child's life, I just wanted to let you know that I finally have a family."

Taehyung is struck by the harshness of her words that she says so emotionlessly, but her parents don't even flinch. It's like they knew what was coming and there's nothing they can or want to do about it. But Moonhae knows exactly what she's saying and how she says it. She's given up on being vulnerable with her parents a long time ago. Now she's put up barriers, so she's unable to be disappointed. Whether that's healthy is another question entirely.

"Congratulations", her mother manages a small smile, "I didn't think I'd see the day."

"And this young man, Taehyung, is the father?", her father gestures at him.

"Of course", she almost seems offended, "I'm in a happy relationship."

"Well we wouldn't know, we haven't heard from you other than over the news", her father seems bitter as well.

"We thought you died after that attack at the airport", her mother takes a shaky sip of water.

"If you had wanted to check up on me, you could have", Moonhae answers, staring down at her hands.

"That's true", she responds, more dejected sounding than intentionally hurtful.

"I have to use the bathroom", Moonhae then announces, getting up slowly. Maybe it's the tension in the room or maybe it's the baby pushing on her bladder, but she really does have to go.

After her mother points her in the right direction, Taehyung is left all alone at the table. This is his moment, the one he was waiting for, but before he can open his mouth, her mother speaks to him.

"Is she safe?", she leans forward to keep her voice down, "Is Moonhae safe?"

The question catches him off-guard, but thinking back to all the things Moonhae had to deal with before she met BTS, which is all her parents know about, he immediately understands.

"Yes", he assures her, "The label treats her well and she's found really great friends. And I'm there for her no matter what happens."

There's relief on her face and it makes Taehyung wonder. Maybe they really do care about their daughter's wellbeing.

"I do have one thing I'd like to ask you", he then starts shyly. Both of them look at him expectantly.

"I'm in love with your daughter. I have been for quite some time. And for quite some time I've been wanting to do this", he takes a deep breath, "I'd like to ask her to marry me."

"It's not like we have much of a blessing to give", her father speaks up, "But if you make her as happy as she says you do, I think it would be a good thing."

"I do, sir", he bows his head a little, "As happy as she makes me."

"Yes, well, marriage is a tough thing. Sometimes it doesn't matter how much you think you love a person", he continues, slurring some of his words.

"I believe... We'll be just fine", he responds respectfully, "And... I'm sure we can find a way to invite you to the wedding."

"I don't think that's a good idea", her mother intervenes, "It's better to keep our distance."

"But-"

"We all realized that we're not meant to be a family", her mother trails off, seeming aloof, "She pays our rent each month, so we don't end up on the street and in return we leave her alone."

"D-did she ask you to do that?", Taehyung's heart hurts for this broken family.

"No, it's just better this way", her father assures him, not saying much else. Of course Taehyung doesn't know all the background, but it's just painful to see how relatives can be such strangers.

Before he can retort, Moonhae returns from the bathroom looking exhausted.

"I think we should go", she simply says.

"Okay, you feeling alright?", he immediately jumps to her side.

"Yeah, just tired", she mumbles, letting herself be guided to the front door.

The goodbyes are short and not very sweet, but the best you can expect from such an encounter.

"Take care of her", is the only whisper that comes from her mother's mouth before the door closes.

Moonhae catches the sorry expression on Taehyung's face and wants to snap him out of it.

"Don't you dare fall for any of their manipulation crap, ok?", she warns him, "They don't actually care, they just like to act like it."

"And with you it's the other way around", he murmurs back.

"What?", she furrows her brow.

"Nothing", he says quickly, but knows that she really does care when she says she doesn't.

"Whatever they talked to you about while I wasn't there, don't let it get to your head", she continues as they get in the car.

"It's fine. I just had to ask them a question about you", he tells her, entwining his hand into hers.

"Please don't believe anything they said", she says worriedly.

"It wasn't that kind of question", he simply puts it, turning his head to gaze out the window, smiling a little to himself.