Fold. Unfold. Fold. Unfold.
Seo Soomin had been hesitant over the phone call, a soft but effusive apology preceding a nervous request. Only after listening patiently to five minutes of her saying sorry for just about everything under the sun, did Do-hyun finally gather that she was asking him to meet with her, alone.
Now, Jaemin's mother sat directly opposite him in a sterile, quiet café near the subway station, nervously wringing the life out of a paper napkin.
Her husband, Jaemin's father, sat beside her. Do-hyun still remembered their terse exchange outside the soup restaurant, but, for Jaemin's and Jaemin's mother's sake, addressed him politely, neither of them acknowledging their former conversation.
So now Seo Taejun sat, rigid and silent, sipping black coffee amidst the scent of roasted beans, thick in the mid-morning air.
Fold. Wring. Unfold. Flatten. Fold. Wring.
"Seo Eomeonim, Seo Abeonim, thank you for calling me," Do-hyun began, keeping his voice low and respectful, even as he struggled not to laugh at the sight of the paper napkin gradually disintegrating into tattered shreds in Seo Soomin's hands. The tabletop in front of her was already littered with small white bits. "I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me, especially since you said you'll be leaving Seoul soon."
"Oh, yes, late tomorrow night." Jaemin's mother struggled to flatten out the distressed napkin. "We have to go back home, because the twins' holiday leave is running out, but after what happened at the restaurant the other day, we just couldn't leave in peace without speaking with you first. Kang Do-hyun-ssi," she mustered all her confidence to lean forward and say, "we feel terrible that we've been taking up all the space in Jaemin's house for so long, and making him impose upon you like this."
"Jaemin could never be an imposition to me at all, Eomeonim," Do-hyun replied easily. "He will always be welcome at my place, at any time. I'm just sorry that he wasn't able to spend more time with his family while you all were here."
That wasn't entirely true. They had taken most of the last week off especially to bring the Seos around, showing them the sights of the city, making sure they were all stuffed to the brim with the best foods, even buying them tickets to a famous K-pop boyband that was touring in Seoul. Jina had been just about hysterical with excitement, and the blaring synth beats and strobing lights had given Jaemin a headache for days.
Still, Do-hyun knew they had been counting on spending time with Jaemin at his home, and had been disappointed when he had politely insisted on staying at Do-hyun's while they were still in town. Do-hyun himself hadn't really been able to find it in himself to honestly say that he had been that sorry about it.
Seo Taejun gave a grunt, taking a deep breath and opening his mouth, but Jaemin's mother quickly spoke over whatever her husband was about to say.
"Yes yes, we certainly wish we had more time with him, but so long as he's safe, so long as he's safe. We're just… We're just so worried about all the things we've been seeing on the news… And especially after how he was when he came home from Vienna… We're concerned, because that child has always been so sensitive, always taking things so hard upon himself…"
Do-hyun's eyes softened. "I understand, Eomeonim. I know you came to visit because you were worried for Jaemin." He took a deep breath. "I have to be completely honest with you: someone has been trying to attack the orchestra and tarnish our reputation, to bring Jaemin down. But I want you to know that we have some of the best lawyers and PR agents on our side, to protect Jaemin, and we're never going to let this person harm Jaemin again."
"'Again'?" Seo Taejun cut in sharply, voice rising. "What do you mean, 'again'? Who is it? Is it that Choi Seokcheol, Sangchul bastard again??"
"We haven't been able to confirm that it's him, but it's quite likely," Do-hyun admitted calmly, not bothering to correct Jaemin's father. "He was at the Revival Gala, the night Jaemin collapsed, so we know that he's in Seoul."
Jaemin's parents exchanged a look, Soomin's eyes fearful, Taejun's furious. "I told you it was a bad idea to let him come here, Soomin!" Jaemin's father thundered. "We should have just forced him to stay with us, made him quit music and find something else!"
"Abeoji, don't be like this," Jaemin's mother said tearfully. "You know how stubborn our Jaemin can be—"
"Stubborn or not, it's our job as parents to make sure he doesn't make foolish decisions! If you hadn't sent him for all those music lessons when he was young—"
"Pardon me, Abeonim, Eomeonim," Do-hyun interrupted quickly before the domestic blame could escalate further. "Jaemin is a grown man who's capable of making his own decisions, and he's a brilliant musician and conductor, one of the best I've ever seen. For all the rumors and the slander going around, nobody has ever been able to fault him for his professional talent."
"Isn't that so?" Seo Soomin agreed quickly, thankful for the quick save. "He's so gifted, our Jaemin. It's just that, music is so uncertain, Abeoji and I have always been worried about the instability. Compared to our Jina and Junho—See, our Jina's a vet, and Junho's working at a large, well-known company as an engineer… Their careers are stable and predictable. We just wish, you know, that our Jaemin had chosen a path that was less… unstable."
Do-hyun took a breath. "He could choose that path, Eomeonim," he conceded carefully, feeling like a teacher at a Meet-The-Parents session. "Jaemin is certainly more than intelligent enough to change careers if he wanted to. But—" he added quickly, before either parent could say anything, "I don't think he would be happy. He's said as much to me himself. This is going to sound overdramatic, but, honestly, such a path would require him to cut off his heart and soul."
He paused, letting the weight of the statement settle before continuing, keeping his voice gentle but firm, "All the drama and risks you see are true. But Jaemin is much stronger than you seem to think he is. He has pulled himself back up from ruin to return to the stage, despite all the hurt he has suffered. That is not fragility. Even when he was afraid to the point of shaking, he refused to retreat, even though he knew Choi Seungcheol was in the audience."
Seo Taejun stiffened, the mention of Choi Seungcheol hardening his face again. "Why would he stay, and open himself up to be a target for someone who has hurt him before? He should have just left, hidden himself away! How else can an omega like him keep himself safe from an alpha like that Choi, Choi Sang—" he struggled for a moment with the name, then finally spat, "—that bastard?"
"I understand your logic, Abeonim," Do-hyun said, nodding slowly, secretly delighted at how Choi Seungcheol's name was being repeatedly mispronounced. If he had his way, "that bastard" would be suffering from much more than just a mangled name. "But that solution only works if the hunter agrees to stop chasing. For someone like him, running is the greatest provocation. If Jaemin tries to escape, it will only fixate his alpha instinct on pursuing and claiming him fully."
Jaemin's mother nodded slowly, taking in the information with worry etched on her face. Seo Taejun, on the other hand, leaned back heavily, eyeing Do-hyun with renewed suspicion. "You alphas…" he muttered into his coffee. "Never know when to stop."
"Abeoji!" Jaemin's mother hissed sharply, glancing at Do-hyun in furtive alarm.
"What!" Seo Taejun snapped, completely giving up any semblance of courtesy. "Is it untrue? They're all the same kind, looking everywhere for signs of weakness, and then exploiting it just to get whatever they want!"
Do-hyun couldn't help but feel that that was really rather unfair for him to be grouped together with the likes of Choi Seungcheol, especially after all the torment he himself had suffered just to ensure he didn't end up taking advantage of Jaemin during his heat. Fortunately, he remained self-collected enough to know that it would be far from appropriate to bring that event up as evidence that he could control his own alpha instincts just fine.
Instead, he forced a polite smile.
"I can't blame you for thinking that, Abeonim. My kind hasn't earned the best reputation for self-control." He sighed.
"I can promise you that I will never try to exploit Jaemin, or make him do anything against his will, but I know that's something I can only prove to you with time. Right now," he shifted, reaching to refill both parents' cups of water, "I think it's more important to tell you that your son is not just another weak omega. If anything, Abeonim and Eomeonim should be proud of him for showing such resilience and persevering despite all threat, instead of surrendering to his deepest traumas and fears."
Then, feeling like he had earned the right to return a little meanness, he looked directly at Seo Taejun.
"Jaemin deserves better than your tears of shame."
Immediately, the older man stiffened, fully comprehending Do-hyun's attack. The cutlery on the table clattered, the water Do-hyun had just refilled spilling everywhere and mixing with the coffee that splattered from Seo Taejun's mug as he slammed it down.
"Why, you little punk—"
"Abeoji, dangsin," Seo Soomin reached hastily for her husband, trying helplessly, desperately, to put out the lit fuse before it exploded, "please, stay calm—"
"Who do you think you are? Accusing me, criticizing how I raise my son?" Completely ignoring his wife, Seo Taejun's voice rose to a shout, his face turning red. "How could you even begin to understand what it was like when he presented as an omega, an omega, knowing that he was going to have to face all these challenges and prejudices from the people around him, that his life was going to become ten times harder because of something none of us could anticipate or control?"
"Abeoji, please!" Soomin sobbed.
"All I ever wanted for my children as a parent, as a father, is for them to be happy and safe!" he roared, fury potent. "And then to have him wilfully leave us to go to Vienna, somewhere so far out of our reach, for years, only to come back to us broken—"
His tirade came to an abrupt halt as his voice cracked.
With a sinking feeling of dismay, Do-hyun watched as the grizzled chin trembled, the hardened, stormy eyes rapidly blinking back tears.
Oh.
He had misunderstood.
"Abeoji, don't, it's alright—" Soomin pleaded, voice thick with tears.
Fighting to control the quake in his voice, the older man shakily but stubbornly finished:
"How can you expect me, as a father, to willingly send my child back into a world that hurt him like that?"
Silence fell among them, broken only by the sound of Seo Soomin's quiet weeping. Do-hyun looked away, ashamed of his provocation, throat tight as he bit back the tears that blurred his own vision.
He had misunderstood. Gravely. The raw pain in the father's voice was a sharp, painful revelation: this man wasn't ashamed of Jaemin, not even disappointed.
He was just a father who was absolutely and utterly terrified for his son.
And Do-hyun understood. More than anything, it mirrored how he'd felt when he'd watched Jaemin teeter and collapse onstage, that night at the Revival Gala, his long-hidden identity revealed in the most public fashion; when he saw the look on Jaemin's face as he read the headlines slandering his name and dredging up his deepest, most painful wounds; and then, most recently, when Jaemin had been assaulted by that woman at the restaurant, thoroughly humiliated in front of his own parents and younger siblings during what was meant to be a peaceful family meal.
Do-hyun had been there each time, but had been so unable to prevent any of it from happening. The feeling of powerlessness, of being completely helpless to keep his promise to protect him, when all he could do was watch as Jaemin got hurt, before scrambling to pick up the pieces…
How much longer, how much heavier, must it have been for Jaemin's parents all these years?
At length, he spoke, head and voice low with regret and newfound respect.
"I'm sorry, Seo Abeonim. I overstepped. I was wrong to doubt that you have nothing but the best at heart for your family, and especially for Jaemin. I was too quick to make assumptions about things I knew nothing about. Please, accept my sincere apology for my disrespect."
Seo Taejun looked at him with reddened eyes, unmoving. It was Jaemin's mother who reached out to them both, clasping their hands tightly in her own.
"It's alright, it's alright. We all just want the best for Jaemin. Right, Abeoji?"
Seo Taejun remained silent, but he didn't storm out of the café the way Do-hyun had expected him to. Instead, he leaned forward to reach for his coffee. Do-hyun took the non-rejection as permission to speak.
"If I may, Abeonim… you're right. The music world is not an easy place, especially for an omega. I… don't expect you to be happy about the world's prejudice towards him, Abeonim, Eomeonim," he said, voice still quiet but filled with every ounce of sincerity he had within him. "It's something that shouldn't happen to anyone, least of all someone as lovely as Jaemin. But you can be proud of your son, who chooses to persevere and bravely defy it every single day.
"Jaemin is talented enough, strong enough to lead a dying orchestra back to glory, and I, as his concertmaster and partner, swear to do everything in my power to support him, to shield him from anything or anyone that tries to tear him down, and help him succeed.
"I will protect his freedom, his dignity, and never let anyone shame or hurt him again. But we must pay him the respect of seeing him for who he is, and allowing him to choose what he wants for himself. I beseech you, please, for your trust in this."
Jaemin's parents exchanged a long, wordless look. Then, slowly, Seo Taejun nodded. His lips were still pressed together, but the rigid tension that had been in his shoulders since Do-hyun first met him had eased slightly.
Seo Soomin squeezed Do-hyun's hand tightly, tears spilling afresh from her eyes. "You're a good man, Kang Do-hyun-ssi. Please, take good care of our Jaemin."
Do-hyun nodded, his own heart heavy with the weight of his promise. He was not just protecting his mate; he was earning the right to do so.
Soon after, the parents rose, their departure quiet and quick, leaving Do-hyun alone with the powerful realization that he had just received the family's hesitant blessing—and their deepest fear. Heaving a deep sigh, he took out his phone and sent Jaemin a quick text.
Everything's been handled, jagi. On my way back to you.