Chapter 47

Marley POV

Tae had snuck in after midnight, thinking I would've drifted off to sleep but I'd told him I'd wait up for him and I did, eyes threatening to close too many times. The small amount of red I was wearing and the dance I'd promised led to the best kind of distraction for us both and we'd fallen asleep, curled together in the small hours after perfect exhaustion.

More articles came out during the night and when I woke the next day, I scrolled online like it was some kind of horror show. I knew I shouldn't but I couldn't stop myself, it was about me. There were lots that compared all the photos of us, Instagram and Twitter rife with ARMY and speculation, especially when the company released their statement.

"My heart is broken, Tae has a girlfriend."

"Do you think all of them are dating?"

"The statement didn't deny it and it talked about giving him privacy. Clearly it's true."

"She's not even pretty. He can do 10,000 times better."

"Why would Tae want to take on someone elses kid when he can have adorable ones that look like him?"

I tried not to read too many of those comments, knowing I shouldn't probably read anything at all as it got me riled up but I couldn't look away. There was one article dedicated to just Sophia and I at the the airport in Japan, Kaito shown in them and they mentioned we were clearly travelling under security. They talked about the kind of clothing we were wearing, how we had our hair, the suitcases we were wheeling and what time we'd landed in Korea. The only thing they didn't seem to know so far was our names but that couldn't be too far away.

"Your security guy had a lot of muscles," Tae said, obviously scrolling through articles too. We were still in bed, Sophia having woken once in the night for a little bit so sleeping a little longer than she normally would.

"I guess he could've jumped on someone if he'd needed to."

Tae clicked his tongue and looked back at his phone.

"Oppa, you know I would rather you had been with me."

"I would rather you didn't need a strong, attractive man to take care of you when I couldn't."

"Strong and attractive? I wasn't thinking that about him. He seemed kind and friendly though."

"Hmmmmm," he answered, sulking. I had to hide my smile, unsure of how he could not see who he was to me.

"Kind, friendly, married, at least 15 years older than me. He was just doing his job."

"And I was doing mine which is why I wasn't there." Putting his phone down he pulled me against himself. "This mess is because of me."

"It'll blow over though right?"

He paused, twisting his mouth in thought before answering. "It could take longer than normal but I hope so. Unfortunately it means we will be even more restricted while you are here."

"Sophia has toys to play with so even if we are in your apartment for the next few weeks, we'll be OK."

"It won't need to be that bad," he answered, arms wrapped tightly around my waist. "And people can come to us. I was going to ask if I should invite my parents for brunch one morning. If they come here, Sophia will have more things to play with than going to their home. And I have to go to work by lunch so it won't be too long for you if you're nervous."

"I don't mind if it was the whole day with them, as long as they like me. Brunch sounds good though. Please just give me plenty of warning of when so I can practice what to say."

At that moment, Sophia came skipping into the room, dressed as a Princess over her Pjs and holding a teacup. "Mama, we have tea party?"

"Did you wake up and put a costume on by yourself," I asked, giving her a huge hug.

"Mmmhmmm, Sophia a big girl," she said proudly.

"I'll have a tea party BugBug," Tae answered, pressing a kiss to my nose and climbing out of bed while Sophia disappeared back towards her room.

"Do you know, that earns you brownie points," I asked, thinking of the ten or twenty minutes I had to myself while they played together.

"Brownie points," he asked, pausing at the doorway.

"Yes, I can think of some things to do to thank you since you're giving me a break from parenting for a few minutes." I raised an eyebrow with a smirk so he'd know what I meant.

"So, wait. I play with Sophia, which I enjoy, you get some time to yourself which you need and I get to enjoy some fun with you later, which should be good for both of us? Why didn't you tell me this when we first met? I'd be earning brownie points that way every day to use each night."

I laughed. "I think you've had OK nights without needing to earn them. At least I hope you have?"

"I've had fantastic nights but when you say you can think of some things to thank me, my mind is going crazy. So I'm going to go and spend as much time as I can with Sophia now and you take your time for as long as you want," he said, biting his lip.

"I might go shower then," I said, flipping back the bed covers and walking backwards away from him, slowly putting distance between us.

"No fair," he said, reaching out and grabbing my hand. Pulling me in to himself, he held me still, arms running down to rest on my back as his mouth breathed against mine. "You know I'm not going to be able to concentrate now."

My toes curled against the floor at how close he was to me, how much his voice invaded every part of my body and then his mouth caressed mine and I had this overwhelming feeling, flooding through me. I was so happy and it felt incredible. Swallowing, I stepped back and he looked at me, taking in my expression.

"Are you OK?"

"More than OK Tae, I'm the happiest I've been in a long time." I wanted to tell him more when a sing song voice interrupted us at the top of her lungs.

"TaeTae?!"

"You've been commanded my Prince," I said, placing another kiss before he left the room with a grin.

Walking to the shower, I was deep in thought. Because it was true. We were so close to everyone finding out about us and the chaos that could bring but I was incredibly happy just being here with him and in that moment at least it didn't matter what the world had to say about it. Stepping under the water, I let the water flow over me as I relaxed for the minutes of alone time Tae had given me while he hung out with my daughter. And I smiled, everything suddenly feeling lighter.

KTH POV

She must've taken her time getting in the shower because Sophia and I had eight cups of pretend tea while we both wore crowns before Sophia moved onto a game that involved the soft toys and not me. "I'm just going to check on Mama, OK BugBug?"

She nodded without looking up and I could tell she was already well in her own make believe world.

So, when I walked into the bedroom and could hear the sound of water still running, I was surprised. Wishing I could join her but not wanting to leave Sophia on her own, I contemplated opening the door to at least enjoy the sight of Marley but paused when I heard her voice echoing off the bathroom walls. Leaning on the wall outside the bathroom door, I listened, captivated. She was singing one of our songs, Just One Day, completely messing up the lyrics but it was beautiful and I didn't know she could sing like that. Obviously the shower was a place to let everything go and my ensuite had great acoustics so I was able to soak it all up as she moved onto the more familiar English lyrics of Dynamite. I pulled out my phone to record what I was listening to, wanting to play it back later. The water turned off but she still continued to sing, mingled with the occasional pause as she ran the towel over her face and the rustle of clothes could be heard mingling with her voice as she changed to a song I didn't recognise.

Suddenly the door opened and she caught me leaning on the wall as I hurriedly put my phone away.

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you."

"You could've joined me."

"It definitely crossed my mind, but I wanted to listen out for Sophia and I had a good spot out here to listen to you sing."

"Thank you for watching Sophia," she said, ignoring what I said about her singing. She rested her leg on the bed, reaching for the moisturiser and I was momentarily sidetracked by the way her hands flowed up and down, softening her skin. She glance up and saw me staring, looked down at her leg and rolled her eyes with a small grin. "They're just legs Tae."

"You're welcome, I love her too Marley and they're not just legs, they're your legs, that lead to the sexiest body I've ever touched." Her mouth dropped open and I took the opportunity to continue. "And I loved hearing you sing."

She blushed and looked down, lips twisting in an embarrassed smile. "I'm not really a singer Tae."

I stepped forward to take her hand. "Then neither am I."

"Don't be ridiculous, your voice is incredible"

"As is yours."

"You're very sweet but I've had no training, I just sing because I love it."

"Which is even better. You're naturally great."

She reached to kiss me, silencing the compliments. She'd didn't seem to like people pointing out the things that she was good at or how pretty she was. I liked the humble Marley but I did want her to know that I truthfully thought she was good.

"I mean it jagiya and kissing me won't make me stop saying it. You know I tell you the truth."

"Yes but you might exaggerate because you care about me."

"No, I tell you the truth because I love you," I answered, pressing a kiss to her nose. "Ask me anything and I'll tell you."

She thought for a moment before grinning. "What did Jimin say to you yesterday at the dance practice that made you blush?"

I could feel my cheeks heating again, like they did yesterday but she'd asked and I'd tell her, even if it meant exposing myself. "He was just teasing me about some things I'd said to him that he was supposed to keep to himself."

"Which were," she asked, wrapping her arms around my neck with a smile, enjoying my discomfort.

"OK, truthfully. He reminded me that I said being with you was out of this world and when he asked what I meant I said it was the best sex I'd ever had and he said he could tell by the way your hips moved that you'd be great in bed and so I tried to punch him and...," my words came out fast before being cut off by another kiss.

"The best," she asked, head buried into my shoulder.

"Nothing compares," I answered and that truth was the easiest to say. "You do know it's more than that though? More than the way we naturally move together?"

She pulled away to look up at me through the curtain of hair she'd let fall in front of her eyes, a sort of defense mechanism against the words that were embarrassing her. I swooped the hair away so I could look into her deep, hazel eyes while I spoke, making sure she was listening. "We speak with our bodies yes, but when we are together, our hearts seem to speak as well. I feel like we're moving to the same heartbeat and we learned what each other wants and needs very quickly. It's so easy with you nae sarang."

She smiled up at me, still embarrassed but with a look of complete love and trust and I wanted to always be worthy of that look. Cupping her face in my hands, I drank in her lips, conscious of the sound of the little feet walking through the house towards us.

"By the way, I text them and my parents are coming for brunch tomorrow, they can't wait to meet you."

"Tae!" she replied, panic on her face.

"It'll be fine baby, my Eomma will probably want to know what Korean food you can cook for me and my Appa will want to know when he can have more grandkids. He likes babies almost as much as I do." I grinned, teasing her.

"Tae!" she said again. "I can't cook Korean food yet and babies?" What?!"

"Sophia likes babies," she said, walking into the room and I cracked up at the look on Marley's face.

"You two are ganging up on me," she pouted and I laughed.

"They're just looking forward to meeting the woman who is making me smile so much."

She blinked before hitting me on the arm and I caught her hand, pulling her into me. "I do like that you like to touch me yeobo."

She rolled her eyes. "But seriously oppa, tomorrow? What will I wear? Do I bow? Teach me," she said, raising her voice and I had to grin at how worried she was. It was clearly important to make a good impression and I knew she would without even trying. But the fact she wanted to impress them made me love her even more.

"Lets talk about all the things not to do when meeting Korean parents then," I said, sitting on the couch and clutching my stomach as I laughed at how stressed she looked. "I'm sorry baby, I'm just teasing."

"You know that thing you think I'm best at," she asked and I stopped laughing straight away, raising an eyebrow in question as I nodded. "I'm not going to be doing that anytime soon if you keep teasing me."

"Ah, message received. Let me teach you what you want to know then so you feel ready for tomorrow," suddenly feeling unusually serious as she smirked at me. "Man, I love this woman," I thought as we settled onto the couch together, Sophia climbing in between us. No other person had ever felt this right before and I knew my family would see that in only a few minutes together. I couldn't wait to introduce her to more of the people I love and who might one day be her family too.

Later that night, while Marley was tucking Sophia into bed, I gave Yoongi a call. He let it go to voicemail so I called a second then third time. I was about to leave a voicemail, thinking he was recording when he answerd. "Three calls Tae? What's the emergency?"

"Nothing bad hyung but I've just sent you a file I want you to listen to."

"I'm in the middle of trying to finish the song I've been working on for weeks Tae, I'll listen to it when I can."

"OK hyung but just so you know," I lowered my voice, "it's Marley."

"She's singing? I take it you think she's good then?"

"Yes and I know, I know, you all think I'm biased which is why I'm sending it to you. I told Jimin-ssi she could dance and he didn't believe me and now admits he was wrong. I know she can sing too, she was singing in the shower and I snuck a recording so ignore the sound of water and try not to think about what that means."

"Are you asking me to not think about your girlfriend in the shower Taehyung? I wouldn't have but now I am."

"Hyung, focus on the music please," I replied, ignoring his words, knowing he was just teasing me.

"OK, maybe I'll take a break for a few minutes," he said, sighing but I could tell he was grateful for a small distraction. When he went into his studio, sometimes he could stay there for days, leaving only to get the food he'd had delivered and go to the toilet, napping in his chair.

"Thanks hyung. Oh, I better go, she's coming back from putting Sophia to bed," and I clicked the call off.

My phone beeped almost straight away with a text.

Yoongi hyung

You're whipped for your baby doll

Tae

Not whipped, in love though.

Yoongi hyung

Being in love suits you, I'll go listen now

I put my phone away in my pocket as she came over to sit next to me, resting her head on my shoulder as she curled her feet under herself.

"Asleep," I asked, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Almost, she needs to get out of the house soon otherwise she'll go crazy, or I will. But, we ran around the house today a bit so she's burned off a little energy."

"You seem tired too, are you OK jagiya?"

"I am a little weary. Nothing some alone time with you won't fix."

"Why don't I make us a hot drink and then we can talk about what this 'alone time' looks like. Are you thinking Netflix? Or an early night?" I asked hopefully, standing up to head into the kitchen.

"Definitely need some time in bed, sleeping," she replied. And then grinned as I pouted. "But first, how about we spend some time in bed, not sleeping? Drink first though, I need some caffeine."

"I'm going to make it super quick,"I said, racing into the kitchen as my phone beeped in my pocket.

Yoongi hyung

She's good

Smiling, I replied straight away as the water boiled.

Tae

I know, how good?

Yoongi hyung

Good enough to be a background singer at a concert or on an album

That was high praise coming from Yoongi and now I was grinning, smile stretched across my face.

Tae

So we could offer her a job? She could travel with us?

Yoongi hyung

Don't get ahead of yourself Taehyungie but we can recommend it to the company. With everything that's about to happen, you might not need that, remember?

He was right but we hadn't spoken about that yet and we weren't allowed to until everything fell into place and we had the green light. For now, I wanted to make sure I had options for Marley to stay with me. If she had a job, working while I worked, maybe she'd be happy to stay with me instead of going home. We could get a nanny to travel with us for Sophia, it all sounded like a perfect plan.

Tae

I won't, I just wanted to know from someone else she is good enough if we ever do get the opportunity to work together.

Yoongi hyung

From what I could hear, apart from the very distracting water, she's got perfect pitch like Sophia

Tae

I told you she's amazing. And I know you're teasing but thank you for not thinking about her that way

Yoongi hyung

Who said I wasn't? I said it was distracting

Tae

Hyung! I love you but just, no.

Yoongi hyung

I'm teasing Tae, you know I'm married to my desk

Tae

When your person comes along, I'm going to give you hell

Yoongi hyung

As is your right. Anyway, I have better things to do than talk about you and your lady. Night Taehyung

Tae

Night hyung, thank you

I clicked my phone away and carried out the drinks I'd been making while I was texting. Marley had her eyes closed, resting back against the couch but opened one eye when I put them down on the table next to her. She waited for me to sit comfortably before she climbed into my lap, snuggling into my neck. That always made my heart beat faster than I thought it could and my body react in a way that had me thinking about how the night might end. Right now though, I wanted to talk to her first.

"I got you a job," I said, words bubbling out excitedly. "I mean, I might've."

"What do you mean," she asked, pulling back so she could look at me properly.

"Well, I hope you don't mind, but I sent a clip to Yoongi of you singing in the shower. Just the audio," I hastily added when I saw her eyes grow big in alarm. She turned her head to the side, looking confused. "I thought you sounded beautiful and I wanted Yoongi to confirm that it wasn't because I love you. He is very blunt so would've told me if I was wrong."

"I don't know what that all means. How could that mean a job?"

"Yoongi agreed you can sing really well and said you might be able to travel with us as a backup singer. We use them from time to time in concerts. And you could also maybe record some tracks for some of our songs. It means you'd have a job, here in Korea."

"But I have a job Tae, I mean I like to sing but that wasn't on my radar. I'm a designer."

I could feel my face fall. I had been excited there might be a solution for us being together but had clearly misread the situation as that's not what she wanted.

"I can design almost anywhere too Tae. 95% of my job is done on the computer. That's not the point. The point is I can't move countries to sit and wait for you to always come back to me. That's not what I want."

"But if you travelled with us, you wouldn't have to wait for me, you'd always be with me. And Sophia could travel too, we could get a nanny."

I watched as Marley pursed her lips together and pulled away from me, not completely but enough that I knew she was feeling upset. I reached for her fingers, holding tight, not wanting her to leave my lap angry.

"Jagiya, I didn't say any of that to upset you. What's wrong? I was hoping this could be one more thing that would help us stay together."

She sighed and paused, trying to find her words. "It's not what I pictured."

"What do you mean," I asked, trying to understand.

"I want to cook for you, snuggle up on the sofa each night, laughing at a drama I probably won't understand. Make sorbet and feed it to each other. Fall into bed whenever we want to, even just kiss you anytime I get the urge no matter who is around," her voice softening as it trailed away into silence.

"So not me then," I answered quietly, heart thumping in a strange way. I felt defeated, my face was sombre and my forehead would be wrinkled if I looked in a mirror.

"Of course I mean you."

"But that's not me is it, that's not my life. That wouldn't be our life."

I didn't know what conversation we were having right now but I didn't like where it was going. Because a big light seemed to be flashing red in front of me, warning me that there was trouble ahead and my brain was malfunctioning at the thought. She meant too much to me to think about it all going away.

"And I think that's the problem. I can't be apart from you, we've already seen that when we've had just a few weeks apart. It was too hard Tae. The thought of you going away for more than a year to the military and then all the travel for your work schedule. I can't ask you to change who you are just like I don't want to change myself."

I took a breath before answering, feeling unsteady. "I know it was hard to be apart, we both felt it. But we haven't tried you travelling with me while I work. It would be a lot, I know that but we would be together every day. The military, well, part of that is having an end date to look forward to and I do get some time off. And maybe one day we'd get to have the years of sorbet and falling into bed together anytime we want. If we travel together now, you can still do your design work."

She snuggled in close again and I held her against myself, relishing the fact she wanted contact. That at least was a good thing although it didn't feel like we were out of the woods just yet.

"I just don't know how it will work. Would we be in a hotel room while you are doing promotions or concerts and I'd just see you in the mornings and evenings because that's not a relationship or a life? How would Sophia cope with all the travel and when would I see family? My head is all over the place."

"Do you trust me Marley," I asked, making sure her eyes met mine. She nodded straight away and a small smile, escaped the corner of my lips. "This can always be a one day at a time thing. And honestly, I don't think it would need to be that way for long. We won't know unless we try though. And if it doesn't work for you to travel with me then we can find another answer. You can fly home to your family anytime you want. As long as we are both prepared to try it will be OK, I'm not giving up on us."

"I want it to work as much as you Tae. I just need to readjust my thinking about what our life would look like together. For a long, long time all I've known is a house and work and family and the same thing everyday. This life is so different from that. Not bad different, in fact, you make it amazing different. And I love you for it but it's not what I thought my life would be like."

"But you want to try, you'll travel with me, if that's what is needed for us to have time together," I asked, holding my breath.

"If the company will let me. But just to make it clear, I'm not singing. Or dancing. Or on camera in any form at all."

"Can you sing, dance and be on camera for me though, only me?"

"We could make a movie together, just for us, if you want?" She raised an eyebrow, I felt it as her face moved against my chest and I loved her more in that moment for the suggestion.

"I definitely want and I'll be writing it in my head when I probably should be working. You really are the best kind of distraction."

"Take me to bed Tae," she whispered and all of me clenched in response to her voice, her breath instantly warming my neck, sending shivers down my spine. I needed to cherish her body. It wasn't just make up sex I craved because of high emotions, it was bigger than that. I needed to tell her I loved her with every part of myself so she knew I'd fight to make a way we could be together. I had a gift I wanted to give her and it needed to come soon to reassure her this was a relationship I could picture having a future but now wasn't quite the time.

Standing up carefully, I dropped her feet onto the floor and she pressed against my body as I slowly stepped back towards the bedroom, neither wanting to remove our lips from where they'd found the others. "Should I get the camera," I asked against her mouth and swallowed the laugh she gave in response. "Was that a no," I asked as she closed the door behind us with her foot and then her tongue found mine and I was only thinking of her body, her heart and her love and how thankful I was that she was trusting it all to me.