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By the time Friday rolled around, both Taehyung and Nia were giddy. And nervous. Nia was still wondering why he’d invited her over. And Taehyung was nervous about meeting her parents for the first time in eight years. Would they even recognize him?
They both spent the day nervously flitting around the office. They barely talked but for a few reports she gave him. By the time the clock struck five, she was hurriedly packing all her stuff up. She had to get home and get ready before her parents picked her up at six thirty.
Taehyung rushed out of the office for the first time in his life. It was rare he cooked for anyone but himself. He had no friends, and after his mother dying two years ago, he had no family either.
What should he make tonight? Usually he did something simple, but tonight he had guests coming. He remembered Mr. Choi had always loved japchae, and Taehyung had all the ingredients to make it, so he decided that would be tonight’s main dish. He also needed make sure he still had kimchi in the fridge.
He worked fervently in the kitchen for nearly two hours after he got home, not even bothering to change out of his dress shirt and slacks. By the time there was a knock at his door around seven, the food was all done and ready to serve.
The second Taehyung opened the door, the Choi family was greeted by a tiny fur ball barking at their feet. Nia scooped Yeontan up and cooed at the tiny dog.
“Oh! You’re so cute! What’s your name?”
“That’s Yeontan.”
“Aww! That’s an adorable name!” Nia grinned and found her way to the living room, the tiny dog still in her arms.
Taehyung looked back over at Mr. and Mrs. Choi and bowed slightly. “Please, come in.”
He could feel Mr. Choi’s stare on him as he led them to the dining room. Nia had somehow found her way there and was sitting in a seat at the end of the table with Yeontan in her lap. She was talking happily to the small pup, who was wagging her tail happily.
Dinner was beyond awkward. Mr. and Mrs. Choi occasionally made a comment on the food, and Nia would say something about how pretty his house was. But other than that, they ate in silence. Taehyung could tell the atmosphere was tense. Her parents definitely did recognize him, which confirmed his suspicions. Nia really had lost her memory. And they hadn’t told her anything, he was sure of it. But…why not?
He could practically hear the gears in their heads turning. They probably wondered how he was a CEO. No one knew that he hadn’t known his father. They had just assumed that he had been a hidden heir. He had been hidden all right.
——————–
Dinner definitely hadn’t gone as planned. Her parents had barely spoken a word while they had been in his house. Taehyung knew something was wrong. But he wasn’t quite sure what. As he sat at his desk that night doing work with Yeontan sound asleep in his lap, he began to ponder what on earth could be going on. It was all very strange.
——————–
Nia was going through the box again tonight. She couldn’t get the pin cushion out of her head. She had to call the number. She just had to. She picked up her phone and typed the number in. Then she pushed call. It rang a few times before someone picked up.
“Hello?”
