Chapter Text
Seokjin had just opened the restaurant for the day when he received a call from Taehyung. "Well, this is odd." He said as soon as he answered the phone.
"My mother is here." Taehyung said with a panicked tone.
"Your mother?" Seokjin's eyes widened. "The mother who disowned you when you got pregnant with Minhee?" Taehyung made a stressed noise of confirmation. "Why?"
"I don't know!" Taehyung exclaimed with an exasperated tone. "Apparently she's here for six months on a tourist visa and wants to 'catch up'."
Seokjin raised his eyebrows even though Taehyung couldn't see him. "Did you kick her ass to the curb?"
Taehyung was quiet for a moment before sighing. "I panicked. I said we could get lunch and sent her to your place."
"Do you want me to kick her ass to the curb?" Seokjin asked seriously.
"No, just…" Taehyung sighed again. "Just be there? Please?"
"Of course." Seokjin said before adding humor to keep the mood light and cheer Taehyung up. "It's my restaurant, where else would I be?" It worked as Taehyung let out a little laugh as he thanked him before ending the call.
It wasn't much later that Taehyung entered the restaurant followed closely by an older female omega that Seokjin had never seen before but was definitely Taehyung's mother considering they shared similar features. They sat down at the first empty booth Taehyung spotted and Seokjin saw Yeonjun preparing to go take their order. "I got this one." Seokjin informed the 26-year-old alpha before approaching the table. "Welcome to Jinnie's! Can I start you off with something to drink?" He kept on his customer service smile and voice just in case Taehyung wasn't wanting his mother to know that they were in his friend's territory.
"Cola." Taehyung ordered while his mother requested water.
Seokjin hurried off to get their drinks and returned to find Taehyung studying the menu intently as if he weren't going to order japchae like he did nearly every time he came to the restaurant. But Seokjin understood that he was probably trying to avoid looking at or talking to his mother just yet. "Do you need some more time, or can I take your orders now?"
"What is the 'lunch special'?" Taehyung's mother asked, gesturing to the board across the restaurant advertising and detailing the restaurant's lunch special in English.
"It comes with steamed rice, a selection of banchan, and your choice of protein and a soup or stew from this list." He gestured to their soup menu that had both English and Korean on it.
"I'll have that then. With bulgogi and sigeumchi doenjang guk."
Seokjin nodded and turned to Taehyung. "Japchae."
Thankfully all of their dishes were included in what they made they made in bulk prior to opening, so it didn't take long for Seokjin to plate their food and bring it out to them, feeling tense himself from the silence at the table. After setting their food down, Seokjin kept himself busy with bussing nearby tables and finding random things to clean within eyesight of their table. He kept an eye on Taehyung as the younger omega's mother finally started a conversation, Seokjin being just out of earshot so he couldn't hear what was said. But he could see the moment Taehyung's expression shifted to hurt and disbelief. Then the 29-year-old was standing up from the table and heading towards the door without having eaten more than two bites.
Seokjin quickly intercepted him just before he exited the restaurant, hand digging into his pocket to produce the key to his apartment. "Go upstairs to the apartment." He whispered as he pressed the key into Taehyung's hand. "Namjoon's not home for his lunch break yet so you'll have the place to yourself to calm down. I'll box your lunch up and bring it to you."
"Thank you." Taehyung said, his voice cracking, then pulled Seokjin into a quick, grateful hug before finally disappearing.
Taehyung's mother seemed at a loss of what to do when Seokjin went over to grab Taehyung's food, but she didn't seem eager to run after Taehyung to bother him further. "Enjoy your meal." Seokjin said as politely as he could muster before carrying Taehyung's food to the kitchen to place the food in one of their to go containers. Then he put Yeonjun in charge for the moment and left the restaurant to go upstairs.
Taehyung's eyes were red when Seokjin walked inside but he wasn't actively crying. Seokjin silently handed him the container of japchae then went to the kitchen to get him a drink and a pair of chopsticks. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked once he joined the younger omega on the couch.
"Just my mom thinking about herself first as always." Taehyung mumbled, shoving as many noodles as he could fit into his mouth. Figuring he needed time to process, Seokjin didn't press him.
It was when Taehyung was almost completely finished with his meal that he finally opened up. "Apparently my dad died and now my mom wants to be back in my life so she's not alone."
"Well, that's shitty." Seokjin said. "I'm sorry you're having to deal with that." Taehyung gave a tiny shrug. "You don't really talk much about your parents. Even before they disowned you."
Taehyung fell quiet again for a moment. "You've seen Namjoon's parents." He said quietly. "Imagine if their only pup was an omega and had the exact opposite personality of what the scripture and elders say an omega should be like." Seokjin frowned but didn't know exactly how to respond. So he settled for reaching out and rubbing Taehyung's back comfortingly. Taehyung leaned into the touch until they were half hugging. Then after a bit, he sat back up. "I gotta get back to the office. I have a consultation in 20 minutes." Seokjin nodded but didn't let Taehyung go until after he'd given him another hug.
Namjoon came in just as Taehyung was leaving and looked at Seokjin in confusion. "What's going on?" He asked in concern.
"It's a long story." Seokjin said, opening his arms for a greeting hug as Namjoon walked over to him.