2

As if on cue, the baby monitor squeaked to life and Taehyung heard his child's cry for the very first time.

His eyes lit upon the sound, he felt a strange tightness in his chest. He blinked back the sudden moisture that burned at the back of his eyes and swallowed against the lump in his throat, forcing himself to speak.

"Your baby?" he asked, his voice remarkably level despite his churning emotions

"Yes, my son. He's now four months old and sleeps through the night, don't worry he'll not disturb you while you're here. If you need anything, I.. We live downstairs at the opposite end of the inn."

"It's no problem," Taehyung responded with a smile, "Don't hide him away on my account."

The noise through the monitor grew more demanding both of them looking at the machine.

"It sounds like you're being summoned. Don't let me hold you up."

"Thanks. Remember to ring me when you're ready for your meal. I'll bring it straight through,"  Jungkook said, already heading for the door.

Taehyung raised his hand in acknowledgement, watched as the young host rapidly left the room. After a while he expelled a harsh sigh, turning to face the window to stare out onto the lake, waiting in vain for the view to fill him with a sense of calm that he hadn't felt in far too long.

It had been an entire year filled with pain, loss, grief and overwhelming guilt. 

He'd welcomed each emotion stoically, it was the least he could do, considering it was a stupid decision on his part that had taken Yoona's life.

He'd vowed to never enter into another relationship with anyone, even had a vasectomy to ensure that he couldn't screw up another person's life again.

Up until today, that hadn't been a problem.

There's something about his host that pinged every single one of his receptors, knowing that Jeon Jungkook had that effect on him, angered and scared him in equal quotients.

Not even with his departed beautiful wife had attraction been so raw, so intense, so instant

It felt very, very wrong, especially since he was only here to do something Jungkook would probably consider unforgivable.

He'd come to find a way to claim Jungkook's son.

~~~

Jungkook ran to the stairs, trying to escape not just the guest but the whole situation, taking himself down to his living quarters.

Wow, the man was intense.

Not to mention a whole lot younger and very, very attractive than he'd initially expected as his first guest since reopening.

Jungkook unconsciously wiped his hands against his jeans, trying to remove the tingle that started through a simple handshake and now it's trying to spread through his whole body every time he'd look at him.

He went down the stairs, heading straight toward Haru's nursery and the little grubby hands that waved for his attention. Scooping his son up against a shoulder he began to sway and make the soothing sounds and tried not to wince as his strong fists clawed in his hair.

"Hey, little bunny," he crooned, "Did you have a nice nappie? Have I told you that a visitor arrived? Is that why you woke up early? Are you afraid you're missing out on something? Hmm?"

Jungkook carried Haru through, placing him on the changing table, changing the diaper with a dexterity he'd once doubted he'd ever manage and kept up a running commentary on the events prior.

"I don't blame you for wanting to meet our Mr Kim. He's a bit of a hottie, not that I was looking, mind you. There's only one man in my life," he said, bending down to blow a raspberry kisses on his little belly, "And that's you! You cutie!"

Jungkook lifted Haru as his chortles of glee faded away, striving to keep him focused squarely on his son. 

But meeting Mr Kim Taehyung had completely shaken his equilibrium, nothing like his courteously friendly emails had implied.

He expected someone older, someone…well, duller.

Not sex on legs.

His dark brown hair was cropped short like those old fashioned movie stars and his mouth that suggested laughter was not something that came frequently to him. 

His slate-grey eyes had been mesmerizing, Jungkook felt as if he could look right through his very soul, if he so desired, then there was his touch.

Jungkook shivered and clutched Haru just a little too tightly in reaction, earning a short cry of protest from his son.

No, he didn't want to go there, even though it had been a very long time since anyone had made him feel like that.

Jungkook made his way to the kitchen and propped Haru on the rocker that gave him a clear line of sight for whatever he was doing. He then adjusted the toy mobile that was attached to one side for the baby to grab and play with.

The young host hummed a tune while he laid a large tray with all the condiments he thought his guest would need with the braised beef in red wine with creamy mashed potatoes and fresh green vegetables from the garden he'd cooked earlier in the day.

It was a daunting enough role at the best, but Jungkook loved Astro BnB with a passion.

He gave a mental shrug, if he had any complaints he could bring them to the management, he thought with a small giggle - the management began and ended with him.

Memories of arriving here for an interview to join the larger household staff, he'd felt as if he'd found home for the very first time in his life. He came here with nothing and had made a life, created a family and a sense of belonging.

Then ten years later, some stranger's assertion that Haru was not his husband's son. 

Party A, whoever you are, you had no idea what can of worms he'd upended.

Legal advice was what he needed, but that came with a price tag that he wasn't in a position to pay.

The young host wasn't about to use the same firm that had handled the Cha family affairs, not when they were the very people who'd like to see him and Haru removed from the property if this whole paternity crisis didn't go away.

The archaic trust that held the property only allowed direct descendants of the Cha family, who built the property back in the early 1900s, to live there.

Jungkook shook his head, being Eun-woo's husband in every meaning of the word. As Eun-woo's legal and biological son, Haru had every right to be there.

Haru was their son and Astro Bn'B was their home, all he'd ever wanted was a home - this was that home.

A chill of foreboding ran down his spine, what if a mistake had been made? Gad, he hated this whole situation, the horrible and vulnerable position that placed him in it.

If he had to leave right now, all he and Haru would have were the clothes on their backs and a small amount of money left in his bank account.

Losing the very roof over their head was not an option.

Somehow.. he had to get the proof he needed to make this all go away.

A name popped into his head, Min Yoongi.

He met Yoongi during childcare classes and knew that he planned to return part-time to his legal practice. 

Maybe.. he could help, or at least be able to advise Jungkook on the best route to take without costing a fortune.

Jungkook makes enquiries in the next few days, he certainly didn't want a whiff of any of this getting to the trustees who handled Astro Bn'B, not before he knew exactly where he stood, however shaky that ground may be.

Haru chose that moment to bump his nose with the toy he'd been clutching with his tiny fist and produced a wail of protest, Jungkook unbuckled him from the rocker and lifted him to his arms but he was inconsolable.

"Shh, Haru-bear, shh," murmuring as he held him close and peppered his little face with kisses, but he wasn't having any of it.

With one eye on the old-fashioned board that's decorated with the string bells that were connected to the main rooms, he took a bottle and settled in a kitchen chair, adjusting his arms so he could feed the baby.

From previous experiences, he knew there was only one way to soothe him. 

"Oh, Haru.. your timing is kind of off, sweetheart. Our guest is going to be down for his dinner soon and I don't think he'll be impressed if I brought you along with his meal."

Haru latched onto the bottle with gusto, Jungkook wiped his chubby little cheeks of the tears that had stained them.

"I'm happy to wait."

A baritone voice from the door made him start, popping Haru off the bottle, Jungkook swiftly guided the bottle tip back and arranged himself.

"I'm sorry," Taehyung said, colour flaring in his cheeks and his eyes were locked with his baby, "I didn't hear you ring for me."

"I didn't," Taehyung walked into the kitchen and pulled out a chair by the table, "I went to the dining room, and while it's a beautiful room, the idea of eating there alone didn't suit me. Do you mind if I eat here.. With the both of you?"

Did he mind? Part of him yelled, 'Hell, yes!' but there was a sadness in his voice, loneliness that struck Jungkook to his core.

Did that explain the shadows in his eyes or the lines drawn on his handsome face?

"No, I don't mind at all,"  said as smoothly as he could. "I'm sorry about this. Haru's a bit out of his usual routine for some reason. Maybe he's heading for another growth spurt."

"Haru? Is that his name?"

"Sure is," he replied, swiftly covering up as Haru disengaged from the bottle and turned to give a milky smile to the newcomer, "Cha-Jeon Haru, at your service."

"May I hold him?"

Jungkook must be hearing things... Was that wistfulness in Kim Taehyung's voice? Did he want to hold Haru?

He couldn't quite disguise his shock.

In his experience, most men ran a mile from kids, especially at this age. They preferred kids when they were older, toilet trained and at least partly able to conduct a conversation. 

'Most men' being his late husband, that is.

"Sure, I'll just need to burp him first," Jungkook said, fixing his clothing with one hand and propping Haru upright on his lap with the other.

"I can do that," Taehyung said.

"You've done it before?" he asked in surprise.

"No, but how hard can it be?"

The man didn't know what he was in for, "He still sometimes spits up a bit when he burps."

"Well.. you can put a towel on my shoulder," Taehyung said nonchalantly, "That is what you do, isn't it?"

Jungkook nodded, getting a small towel from a kitchen drawer and giving it to him. The other laid it over his shoulder and then held his hands out for Haru, who happily went into the arms of the stranger.

He was unable to tear his gaze from his baby in this man's embrace, "He'll be more comfortable if you hold him like this."

He guided one of Taehyung's arms under Haru's diapered bottom, "And if you rub his back with your other hand, hold him against you."

Taehyung did as suggested, it looked wrong, yet right at the same time.

It reminded Jungkook that Haru had missed out on a lot of other people's contact.

But should Haru be getting that contact with Kim Taehyung? 

Jungkook didn't even know the man, yet somehow he instinctively felt he could trust him.

When Haru belched, Taehyung's face took on a look of pride that made him laugh out loud. You'd have thought it was Taehyung himself who'd created the loud hearty burp.

"Wow, the boy can burp," he said, still gently rubbing the baby's back.

"And that's not all," Jungkook said, a smile still wreathing his face, "You should see what he does at the other end."

A look of horror passed over Taehyung's features, "I can just imagine. Here, do you want him back?"

"No, I'll finish getting our meal together. You can put him back in his rocker if you don't want to keep holding him."

"Is it safe?" Taehyung said, looking at the rocker.

"Sure, and it's sort of having him strapped to me during his waking hours, it's a great way for him to be a bit independent of me and still see what I'm doing around the room."

"It's okay," he said, "I'll hold him until we're ready to eat."

Jungkook grabbed another place setting for the two of them, even with Haru there, it felt strangely intimate.

The last time he'd done this it had been several months ago, while Eun-woo was still well enough to leave his bed and come to the kitchen.

He pushed the memories aside, he didn't want to go there right now, he had more than enough to think about.

~~~

Taehyung held the tiny, warm body in his arms and fought to swallow past the lump in his throat.

Every instinct in his body wanted to hold this child to him and protect him from the ravages of the world, but he had no right to do that until he knew for certain that Haru was his.

As hard as it was to believe, he could be holding his son.

He watched Jungkook as he moved through the kitchen, transforming a bare table setting a couple more utensils with effortless ease. The aroma of the dish he'd removed from the oven to stand on a trivet on the table spoke volumes to his ability as a cook.

It all seemed to come so easily to him and reminded him uncomfortably of how natural he'd been with Haru when he'd entered the kitchen, following the sounds of the baby's cries.

Seeing the baby at his chest had brought home a whole new range of emotions.

Jungkook offered sustenance to his son from his hands, it was perfectly natural, and yet he'd never even stopped to think about the baby's level of dependence upon him as his father.

He wondered if Yoona would have been the same if she'd have nursed their child.

They'd never even taken their discussions that far, their focus had just been on the business of getting pregnant.

That focus had been consuming to the point of excluding almost everything else.

Guilt swamped Taehyung anew, making him feel disloyal to his late wife's memory.

It seemed like a betrayal to be here, to be holding this child who might be his but not theirs. To be watching Jeon Jungkook and not Yoona.

If he'd only been on time to pick his wife up for their appointment instead of insisting on attending to just one more issue that had cropped up at the office.

But it was far too late now.

Too late for his wife, Yoona, and the child conceived for them at the fertility centre.

Even surrogacy was out of the question.

As far as he knew, their viable embryos had been destroyed in the clinic failure that had resulted when several anomalies had been discovered in their business practices.

Anger licked at the edges of his mind, a wasted emotion now, he knew.

But, according to clinic records, one of those mistakes could mean that this child in his arms had been conceived with his sperm.

"Everything okay?"

Jungkook's voice broke through his reverie, jolting him free of the pain of the past and dragging him, all too willingly, into his warm company and the welcome of his kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm fine. That smells great," he nodded in the direction of the table.

"You didn't specify any dietary requirements, so I hope this will be okay."

The host ducked his head shyly, making him realize he'd been staring at him for far longer than was probably polite.

Jungkook took Haru from him and settled the baby in his rocker, he played and gurgled happily while they sat by the table.

"This is incredible," Taehyung said as he tasted the food he'd placed generously onto his plate, "Where did you train?"

"Train?"

Taehyung lifted another piece of succulent and richly flavoured beef to his mouth, "To cook like this..?"

Jungkook initially said nothing and Taehyung watched as he ate, for some reason, watching Jungkook's reaction wasn't uncomfortable - unless you count the state of semi-arousal he'd been in from the moment he'd arrived here.

The host averted his doe eyes and focused instead on his plate, "I'm self-taught-ish. I started to experiment with a few dishes and when I arrived Astro had a cook here, but she preferred plain food and when she retired soon after Eun-woo offered me the cook's role full-time."

"You were staff here?"

That was something that hadn't been in the dossier his private investigator had put together for him.

Mind you, the man had barely had a week to gather information about him and at Taehyung's insistence was still on a quest for more.

A bittersweet smile crossed his face, "Initially, yes. I was a bit of a cliché - marrying the boss."

A sharp pang of envy lanced through him, Taehyung pushed it away ruthlessly.

He had no right to feel any envy for the relationship Jungkook had enjoyed with his husband. He and Yoona had been together, and in the aftermath of her death, he'd sworn he never would again. He had been very happily married before and hadn't looked at another person in the years.

Jungkook continued. "The rest, as they say.. is history."

"So.. what brought you here in the first place, Jungkook?" Taehyunng was keen to fill the gaps in what little he knew of the host's past.

"I applied for work, general house duties. I was staying at a nearby hostel, saw a notice in the local paper, hitched out and applied for the job. It was heading into winter then one of their regulars had fallen and broken his leg, leaving them short-staffed."

"And never left," he commented. "What did you do before you came here?"

Jungkook's expression changed, the friendliness in his doe eyes disappearing effectively as if he'd just stolen his most precious possession. 

And Taehyung suddenly realized, wasn't that what he was here to do, after all?

"Oh, a bit of this and a bit of that," the host answered evasively, "Nothing important."

Jungkook didn't like to talk about his past, Taehyung had the instinctive sensation that he was hiding something there that the host would rather not have brought into the open.

That instinct was what had led him to where he was today, driving him to the top of his field in software development, he was never satisfied with simple answers.

This irrational attraction toward him, he found he needed to know whatever it was that Jungkook was hiding.

It made Kim Taehyung all the more determined to discover everything he could about Jeon Jungkook.

Any secret could be a weapon to get him his son.