#worldwidehandsome x reader

[jeonjamiekim]

Oh, to caress that handsome face. 😍😩

[shina913]

Scale, Part 6 | KSJ

Scale, Part 6

Definition: A beam that is supported freely in the center and has two pans of equal weight suspended from its ends; Something graduated especially when used as a measure or rule: such as (a) an indication of the relationship between the distances on a map and the corresponding actual distances; (b) a series of marks or points at known intervals used to measure distances; A graduated series or scheme of rank; A means of ascent.

✮ ✮ ✮ Scale Masterlist ✮ ✮ ✮

Pairing: KSJ x fem!reader; appearances by OT7

Rating: Mature content (21+), no minors please!

Genre: Rich boy!AU; CEO!AU; strangers to lovers; fluff; angst; smut

Count: 12.6K+ words (a monster!)

Warnings: socioeconomic imbalance; heavy cussing; hints of arranged marriages; mentions of surgery; SMUT; penetrative sex; unprotected sex; oral sex (mutual); moral degradation (not by Jin); alcohol consumption

Summary: Kim Seokjin lives in a world where money is no object as he is the heir to his family's lucrative company; OC is a scrappy go-getter who has to work hard at multiple jobs to meet her financial obligations. When their paths cross, they'll have to figure out whether they can find a balance point between themselves and their lives.

A/N: Lots of 'technical' talk here as my underlying plot is set in motion. Overall--it's pretty fluffy until you get to the end...😬

Also--the place where they go have dinner is a real place that I've been to within my area. I thought it made for the perfect, chill setting!

❤️, comment, reblog, or send me an ask 📩. Would love to know what everyone thinks. My taglist is open as well if you're enjoying this and would like to keep up on new chapters. Just DM me!

“Hey…welcome back,” Hoseok said softly while giving you a hug. It didn’t matter that you were in a professional setting. Hoseok wore his heart on his sleeve. After all these years of working at his company, he’s never made you feel like an outsider. He cared about his staff—they were his second family.

“Thanks, Hoseok,” you said as you pulled away from him. “I’m happy to get back into the swing of things.”

“Are you sure you’re good? I know you mentioned something about a private nurse taking care of your dad...I want to let you know that if you need more time or need to work from home, you can?”

“I appreciate that and truthfully, I might have to work from home maybe one day a week just so I can keep my dad company but I’ve been repeatedly assured by this agency that my dad is in good hands,” you explained.

“Well, either way, we’re glad you’re back. Work’s been steady and that new client has been dumping new records.”

“Still? I thought that we had all of their books as of last week?”

He sighed. “Apparently there were some—“ he did an air-quote gesture with his hands, “‘New revenues,’ that just cleared the 4th quarter and they sent it over via courier to avoid getting audited further.”

“By courier, huh?”

“Yeah. Actually, your friend Taehyung dropped them over not too long before you arrived.”

“Oh! Darn—guess I’ll just catch him when I get home.” You were glad to hear that Taehyung was slowly getting back to work. You were sure that he was itching to get his income jumpstarted again.

“Alright, well—I’ll stop by with those new books in two hours. I just need to look them over. Would you mind cross-checking afterwards?”

“Of course not! Put me to work, boss!”

Hoseok grinned. “That’s why you work here. I love your energy!”

Hours later, you combed through the first stack of records from the new client. You flagged a few inconsistencies that you found. You kept an open mind and figured that the client’s accounting team was just rushing to get their financial records out to beat the tax deadline.

Still, you kept them marked up so that Hoseok could run an accurate report to let them know later on whether these inconsistencies were enough to warrant a higher level of scrutiny—usually done by the federal government itself.

And once he sent off that recommendation to the Internal Revenue Service, there was little else that clients could do since the firm solely did independent audits—meaning you weren’t necessarily accountable to anybody but the government.

A government audit is the last thing that these corporate conglomerates need. Things like these were usually leaked out to the press and it was bad for business.

Many clients whom you’ve recommended for a government audit usually threatened to sue Hoseok and your firm but no lawsuit ever stuck. He ran a clean operation and that was how he intended to keep it.

Just then, he walks by your desk, briefcase and files in-hand. He had his jacket and a tie on which only meant one thing...

“I’m heading to court, YN. Are you good here?”

Once or twice a month, Hoseok or one of the senior partners would be called in to participate as expert witnesses and present their findings in fraud cases.

“I hope it’s not too overwhelming on your first day back.”

“Not at all! I actually just finished one set of the client’s records and am about to get started on the next set. I flagged a few inconsistencies,” you said.

He pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows. “Mm—you found those too, huh?”

You nodded then shrugged a shoulder. “I mean…maybe these were just rushed and cobbled together so, it could be nothing.”

“YN, in our line of work, if you see something off, it’s never usually ‘nothing.’ That’s why we’re good at what we do,” he says proudly.

You smiled.

As a forensic accountant, Hoseok recognizes the value of integrity more than anything. He found things that other people thought that they had skillfully tucked away. He had a great eye for detail and nothing could get past him, which is why he was great at his job.

“Alright, well—Mayumi is in charge in my absence so, if anything needs my authorization for the rest of the day, just put it on her desk to sign. Otherwise, I’ll get to it on Monday,” he instructs.

“Will do. Good luck!”

“I don’t need luck. The numbers will speak for themselves. Have a good weekend, YN,” he calls over his shoulder as he walks towards the exit.

That evening, you skipped your shift at the diner, opting to work Saturday instead so you could give the night nurse a break and make dinner for your dad.

He was doing well a few days after surgery. You also decided to tell him about more recent developments in your relationship with Jin—much to his delight.

“I had a feeling,” he said as he slurped on his soup.

“How? You were basically unconscious most of the time.”

“My intuitions are not as sharp as your mom’s—God rest her soul—but I noticed a change in you. You seem—lighter.”

“Hm,” was all you could muster with a soft chuckle.

“Anybody who makes my YN happy is always great in my book,” he says with a smile.

******

Coming back to work and getting used to a routine after being off for almost a week was not without its challenges but you were glad to get back into the swing of things. The good thing was that you had most of Sunday to recover before putting in those long hours and late nights once again.

By late afternoon, you were a ball of nerves while you anxiously waited for Jin to pick you up. He repeatedly told you to just be your lovely self around Haejin. You weren’t sure if snarky, dark-humored YN would charm his sister.

You also asked if you needed to dress fancy or relaxed. Even though you only caught a glimpse of her at the gala, Haejin wore what looked like a custom-made designer dress. She looked incredibly classy–much like high-fashion models that walked the runway.

“YN–seriously, Haejin is probably the most chill person you’ll ever meet. I mean–she can be a little neurotic–but then again, I grew up with her so that’s just my opinion,” he said over the phone on Friday night.

That didn’t help you at all but since Jin says you’d be dining outdoors, it was better to dress comfortably and warmly so you settled on some leggings, a long-sleeved tee layered with a zip-up hoodie. You figured you would just bring a down-jacket just in case it gets cooler.

Since you still had his car, you told him that you could drive to meet him there but he said that he wanted to come and pick you up since he wanted to go and check in with your dad anyway.

Your dad let Jin in, thinking that it was the night nurse coming in to check on his condition. You didn’t expect him to arrive this early as you were just finishing up getting ready. You could hear low voices in the living room as both men casually conversed followed by a sudden eruption of laughter.

“Dad! No extreme emotions,” you yelled out from your room as you pulled your hair up in a ponytail.

Just then, you heard a squeaky window-wiper laugh closing in from down the hall before stopping at your doorway.

“You’re early,” you said as you spotted his reflection from your mirror.

“No rush,” he says as he leans on your doorframe. “I wanted to have a quick chat with your dad anyway. It’s good to see him up and about.”

“Yeah…the nurse said that it’s good for him to move around. We drove out to the pier early this morning.”

“I’m sure he loved that,” Jin said amusingly. “And you can keep the car for as long as you need to,” he adds.

You tilted your head slightly. You were actually really grateful for the car. You were able to run errands easily and able to take your dad out around the city for some fresh air. “Thank you–It’s just until dad’s next appointment,” you gave him a small smile.

“Seriously, there’s no rush, YN. It’s not like I need it. It’s paid in full and the great thing is that you don’t need to put gas in it. Insurance is taken care of, too.”

You chuckled uncomfortably. “Jin, you are not giving me a car.”

“I know that. It’s on loan…indefinitely,” he says a little too casually.

“Anyway, what did you need to talk to my dad about,” you said as you retrieved a pair of socks out of your dresser.

“I just asked for his permission to whisk you away for the night,” he said simply.

Your jaw dropped. “Uhh—what?“

He chuckled. “He said that I didn’t need to ask and that I could steal you away whenever I wanted to.”

You tried to stifle a smile as you walked towards him. He mentioned that he lived far away from the city and you weren’t sure if you were comfortable being that far away from your dad yet.

“I don’t know, Jin…“ you said worriedly.

“Honey, I’m a grown man. I don’t need you to watch over me,” your dad says as he hobbles along the hallway. “Besides, the night nurse is coming soon. Go and have fun!”

He said the same thing exactly a week ago—when you were out having fun with Jin until Taehyung found him unconscious.

“Dad—“

“Honey, I’ll be alright. I’m all fixed up, see?” He gestures at his chest. “I’m taking my meds, eating better…”

You looked at him apprehensively.

Sensing your hesitation, he reassures you. “Please…it’ll break my heart even more if you don’t enjoy your life after everything that we’ve gone through in the last week. Don’t waste it.”

Seeing your dad on the brink of death was a daunting memory that you’ll never be able to push aside. But instead of being a recluse, he wanted the experience to propel you to enjoy your life more. It didn’t always have to center around responsibilities or work. Nobody ever had their gravestone say, ‘Here lies YN. A solid employee who never went out to live their life.’

You look at your dad then back at Jin.

“But don’t you live far away?”

Jin straightened up and put his hands in his pockets. “Actually, I just bought a small place in the city again. Just…something convenient for,” he shrugged his shoulders, “When I’m working late at the office or…if there was an emergency…”

“Riiiight,” you dragged out while you eyed him suspiciously.

“See? You can always get back to me easily,” you dad says, trying to drive the point home.

You eyed both of them once more. “Uh…I guess so.”

“Told you,” your dad says smugly, holding his hand out as Jin sniggers before lightly smacking his own palm against it.

You rolled your eyes at whatever their inside joke was, at your expense. “Seriously? You guys are like children!”

“C’mon, baby—go pack an overnight bag. I’ll wait out here,” Jin says as he and your dad chortled on the way to the couch.

******

You arrived at your dinner location about half an hour later. It was a former military base port in the city whose facilities were remodeled to house public events from swanky food and wine festivals to campy fan conventions. At night, it was all lit up and you could hear the waves if you stood by one of the outposts.

The actual dinner location was outdoors. It was an open-air lot situated between what used to be old military barracks and was now home to a food truck pod that rotated options on a weekly basis. Since Haejin and Jin couldn’t decide where to go, they figured that this should cover all the bases. The food trucks offered a variety of cuisines from burritos, steamed buns, cheese fries, gourmet grilled cheese, and even ramen burgers! There were a variety of dessert trucks to choose from as well.

It seemed like a fancy, yuppie, hipster place for dinner but it was actually very chill because you could sit wherever you felt, whether you were in a small or large group. It was all very casual, which Haejin thought would be the perfect setting to make you feel comfortable.

You all met up at the parking lot before heading in and exchanged introductions there. Haejin gave you a tight but warm embrace–even asking about how your dad was doing. You thought that she looked beautiful–it clearly ran in their genes. You didn’t know who else could pull off leggings, a slouchy, oversized hoodie topped with a messy bun all while still looking incredibly polished.

Her boyfriend, Jungkook, seemed nice as well.

“Nice to meet you, Jungkook,” you said after you turned away from Haejin.

He hugged you tightly and said, “Thank you, YN. Jin-hyung has been in a much better mood at the office since meeting you. Please keep doing the Lord’s work,” he snickered while pulling away from you.

Jin shot him a warning look. During the week, Jungkook was all about serious business that made it seem like he was a decade older than he actually was. But on days like these, he was just a cheeky 20-something year old who let loose–and it showed.

You made some small talk as you walked into the where the food trucks were, mostly scoping out some tables. You showed up early enough so it wasn’t quite packed. Plus it was a Sunday so it didn’t really get as crowded but Jin didn’t want you all to stay out too late since tomorrow was the start of your first full week and he wanted you to get a full night’s sleep.

You scoped out the options and as you walked through before settling on a vacant picnic table.

Jungkook and Jin took your orders and left you and Haejin to have a chat while the guys got in line to grab your food.

You and Haejin talked casually–mostly about the most random things from the weather to your favorite TV shows.

The guys returned a few minutes later with armfuls of food that you all shared.

“So what do you do for work, YN,” Haejin asks.

“During the day, I work for an accounting firm. I’m not an accountant but I mostly do administrative work–”

“Which is still important and relevant work,” Jin emphasizes while he chewed on a mouthful of dumplings.

You smiled at how supportive he was and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Yes, thank you, Jin. Uhm–then at night, I work as a waitress at a diner. I’m sort of my dad’s full-time caregiver so I just do my best to make ends meet.”

“That’s very earnest, YN. I’m sure it must be challenging for you sometimes,” she remarks.

You sighed. “It is but I’m just happy to be able to take care of my dad. He’s worked very hard most of his life to make sure that we had a roof over our heads and food on the table. I kind of think of it as paying it forward in a way.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re able to join us. When Jin told me about you, I just knew that I had to get to know you myself,” she said excitedly as she picked up a french fry.

You turned sheepish. Just how much did Jin divulge to her?

“Oh–don’t worry. It’s all great things,” she beamed.

Conversation flowed comfortably for the next two hours. You shared laughs and a few jokes–mostly the siblings trading little ribbings here and there.

“Ok. I know we just ate all that food but I’m craving for something sweet,” Jungkook says after you all get up and discard your utensils.

“Babe, there’s dessert trucks all around. You can take your pick,” Haejin says as she waves around the options that were lined up around the lot.

“I don’t know…I feel like none of them would hit the spot though,” he says.

“Hmm…You know what would be perfect right now? Warm hotteok,” you piped up.

Jungkook’s eyes bulged in excitement. “Ooh! I love the way your mind works, YN,” he says.

“You know, there’s a place not far from here that Namjoon-ah and I used to go to back in high school. For some reason, I can’t remember the name now,” Jin trails off.

“Can we call Namjoon-hyung to find out?” Jungkook was now laser-focused on the hotteok. Nothing else at this point would satisfy him.

Jin pulls his phone out to dial Namjoon’s cell.

“Yo!” Namjoon picks up on the other end.

“Namjoon-ah! What was the name of that place that we used to go to that had made those bomb-ass hotteoks? They cooked it right in front of you,” Jin asked.

“Sammy’s!”

“Sammy’s,” Jin echoed to the group.

“Funny you mention that. Ji-yun actually had a random craving for it, too. We’re driving down the street from our place to grab some now,” he chuckles.

“No way! You wanna link up then?”

“Sure! We’re pretty close now but we’ll wait for you. Who’s all with you?”

“Haejin, Jungkookie, and uhm–” his eyes land on you. He realized that he didn’t quite plan on you meeting Namjoon today even though he’s told you about him and he’s told him about you.

“Aaaand? Who else are you with?” Namjoon says with a singsong teasing tone.

“Uh–”

“Is it her?! Are you with her?! Tell me you’re bringing her!!” he badgered his friend.

Jin could vaguely hear Ji-yun giggling in the background asking about Jin’s new lady.

“And YN. We’re just coming off an early dinner by the food trucks,” Jin explains.

“Geez, thanks for the invite, bro,” Namjoon says sarcastically.

“We’ll see you guys in a few minutes. Might run into a bit of traffic on the bridge but we’ll try to make it out there in 20 minutes or so,” he says.

“Alright. See you guys in a few,” Namjoon signs off with a soft chuckle.

“So uh–Namjoon and Ji-yun are headed to Sammy’s, too. He says that we can meet them there—“ he looks back at you hesitantly and silently asking if you were comfortable with it.

“That sounds great! I can’t wait to meet them.”

You grinned at how excited he was. You were meeting his inner circle—one that he confessed that he kept small.

“He’s your best friend, right? You’ve met my best friend. It’s only fair,” you said.

He smiles before planting a quick peck on your lips. Haejin couldn’t help but beam at how smitten her brother was.

“So uhh…this is all fluffy and all but uhm, should we get going soon to beat the evening traffic? I kind of have my hopes up now,” Jungkook says shyly–still really focused on getting a snack.

Haejin playfully smacks him on the arm for bursting her brother’s bubble.

You all drove across the bridge and exited towards the street that the GPS directed you to.

After finding some street parking, you crossed the street towards Sammy’s. It was a small outpost with an unassuming sign. Only people who knew about and frequented Sammy’s would never miss it.

When you arrived, you saw a tall, lean man standing next to a petite woman having a conversation on the sidewalk.

“Joon!” Jin yells as your group closes in.

“What’s up!” Hugs were exchanged between the friends until the couple turned their attention to you.

“Namjoon, Ji-yun–this is YN.”

Once you’ve interacted with people, you were pretty good at remembering faces. You recognized serving them drinks at the gala but weren’t sure if they remembered you so you just played it off since you were formally meeting them for the first time.

“Hi, so nice to meet you,” you said as you shook Namjoon’s hand.

“Hi! Good to see you again,” Namjoon says as he seems to have remembered you from that night as well. “This is my wife, Ji-yun.”

“And I’m a hugger,” she says as she wraps her arms around you. “Glad to meet you, finally.”

“Y-You know each other?” Jin says as he gestures between you and his best friend.

“I mean–not really but we had a brief exchange while I ordered drinks at the gala–when she was bartending. She was really good at it,” Namjoon said.

You waved him off. “Well, I hate to break it to you but I think my bartending days are over.!”

As you made some casual conversation, Jungkook was already getting in his second order. Haejin told him to pace himself because he had the tendency to have a bottomless appetite.

Jin glanced at his watch to find that it was getting close to 8PM.

“Hey guys–sorry to break up the YN lovefest but we all have work tomorrow–”

“Boo!” Haejin bellowed. “Stop being such a grandpa, Jin!”

“Yeah, you just want her to yourself,” Ji-yun chipped in.

“Wha? What is wrong with keeping my girlfriend to myself?” He countered.

“It just means–” Namjoon’s voice boomed over everyone’s bickering, “That we all need to get together again soon.”

You couldn’t believe how comfortable and fun this outing turned out to be. Jin kept telling you not to worry about it since his friends would absolutely love you. It turned out that you really enjoyed spending time with them as well. Perhaps at some point, you could also get your friends together to meet Jin’s friends. It would probably turn into a wild time.

You said your goodbyes and went your separate ways.

After getting off the bridge, Jin drives towards a building close to the waterfront then pulls into the underground lot.

“Uhm–this is awfully close to my neighborhood,” you remarked after Jin shuts off the engine.

“Oh? I hadn’t noticed,” he grinned as he prepared to exit his car.

“Jin, wait…” You thought it was sweet how he wanted to be close to you but you were worried that he was unnecessarily moving his life around for you.

He kept his gaze at you, waiting for you to say your piece.

“I just hope that you aren’t rearranging your whole schedule around me. I’d feel incredibly guilty if that was the case.”

His lips curved into a smile. “YN, nobody forced me to make these decisions. I’m doing it because I want to. I want to be close to you and be able to get to you easily if you need me. And it so happens that it’s also practical for me. Sometimes, if I need to work late, I don’t have to drive 45 minutes away.”

He brushes your cheek gently, which makes you smile at the contact.

“C’mon, I can’t wait for you to let me know what you think of the place.”

You knew that the building’s façade was relatively old but the interior was completely remodeled and upgraded. You rode the elevators up to the third floor—which was the topmost floor.

Jin presented his phone to the keypad link on his front door which made a brief beeping sound, signaling that it was unlocked.

“Okay so—just a heads up, my assistant picked all the furniture so I won’t take any of the decorating credit,” he chuckled before pushing the door open and holding it for you.

As you crossed the threshold, you both took your shoes off and left them by the doorway.

You took in the dark wood flooring by the entrance, which pretty much covered the entire floor. The room was currently dark with just the recessed hallway lights illuminating the space.

By the time you reach the end of the hallway, the first thing that you see are the pair of large bay windows in the center of the room. They were currently framed by dark drapes with a thin lining in the center for privacy although it was light enough to let the moonlight in.

As you stood there in awe you felt Jin close in behind you and rest his chin on your shoulder.

“Do you like it?”

You scoffed. “You’re asking me? This is your place.”

“I know. But I just want to know what you think about it.”

“It’s beautiful,” you gasped.

He grinned into your year. “Wait til you see the bedroom,” he says with that dangerously low tone.

You crane your neck to meet his eyes to find that he already had that mischievous look on his face.

“Why do we need the bedroom when there’s a perfectly good couch out here,” you said with a cocked eyebrow.

*****

The days tick by and you and Jin have fallen into a nice routine that fit your schedules. You agreed to see each other once or twice during the week but you’d spend the night with him on Sundays after spending time with your dad during the day. That would make it a little easier on his sleep pattern as you didn’t want him staying up all hours of the day just to be with you.

The private nursing care really helped ease your stress. Your dad was doing better each day and you didn’t have to worry about him as much because you knew that he was being well-taken care of.

Taehyung still looked in from time to time and dropped off Tannie on some days at your dad’s request. Tae didn’t want your dad to feel overwhelmed but he truly enjoyed the little puppy’s company while you were at work.

Your scheduled meet-ups were unfortunate for Jin because his dad was able to force a couple of dates with Miya once a week to placate her. Those nights were painful because all he wanted was to spend every waking moment with you.

It was getting harder and harder to keep this secret from you. He’s been meeting more frequently with Jungkook and his CFO, Dae about the company’s financial situation. They had repeatedly assured him that everything was on track for termination of the contract in the first quarter of next year–it was only two months away and that was the best that he could hope for.

He wondered if that was too long of a wait and if he should just come out with the truth. He could hear Haejin’s and Namjoon’s voices nagging at him.

He decided to tell you this weekend. You were going to stop by your place right after your shift at the diner on Saturday night to check in on your dad and the night nurse before driving to his apartment soon after to spend the night.

You didn’t have access to the garage yet so you parked across the street to enter the building through the main entrance in the front.

You were about to scan your phone to the keyless access point when you noticed that the door wasn’t closed all the way.

You recalled him saying that an older tenant in the building hated the keyless access points and preferred old-fashioned keys. But it didn’t stop them from propping the door open with takeout menus that restaurants randomly left as free marketing for their business. This tenant took their dog out for a walk around the block to go to the bathroom at all hours of the day and night.

Sometimes they conveniently forgot to shut it when they returned to the building.

You pushed the door shut when you walked in before proceeding to the elevators.

You scanned your phone to Jin’s apartment door and found that the lights were still on. It was about 3AM and he was still waiting up for you.

“Hey,” you greeted him as you toed your shoes off by the front door before walking into the kitchen.

“Hi,” he greets you with a kiss.

“I thought you’d be asleep?”

“Hm, I was but I set an alarm for 2AM to make sure that you got here safely.”

Can he be any sweeter?

You pinched the tip of his nose. “You are too cute! But you should be asleep though.”

“I know but I just missed you. I didn’t see you at all during the week.”

He felt guilty because he had been working tirelessly to ensure that he had the funds to get out of the deal and that a new contract was drawn up to present to his father when he asked him to opt-out of the Hwang deal.

“You want to sit?”

You both rounded the sofa where you curled up into his arms. After changing out of your diner uniform, you had taken a quick shower and put on some sweats, a lounge shirt, and a pullover hoodie before heading over to his apartment.

Jin savored this moment–seeing you wrapped up in arms, fully content.

“How was work?”

You sighed–you were pretty exhausted, if you were going to be honest. “Pretty busy. That tech convention downtown is really bringing in lots of people into the city. I guess that’s good for tourism and for business though,” you said, as you fought your drowsiness.

“Anyway–before I forget–I think that tenant left the door open again when I came in just now.”

You felt his arms steel around you. “Fuck–I really need to complain to the building manager about that. They’re compromising the security.” He was already reaching for his phone when you stopped him.

“Hey–it’s not like the building manager is up 24/7. Just handle it in the morning, okay?”

He sighed deeply. He couldn’t really fault his assistant Jae for the lapse in security. He did ask for a discreet building–nothing too opulent. Unfortunately, opulence came with a doorman–which he used to have at his former home in the city. He thought that the keyless entry access points were secure enough but he didn’t take into account the human element of it.

“I’ll do it first thing in the morning,” he mumbles.

You also didn’t want him all riled up because you were just so comfortable laying on the couch, in your little Jin ‘nook.’ You took in his scent–it was a nice heady mix of shower gel and aftershave.

“You want to head to bed?”

You groaned in protest. “But I’m comfy.”

He chuckled while he nuzzled into your hair before kissing the crown of your head. “Okay.”

You tilted your chin up to him. “I love you.”

“I love you,” he says before dipping his face lower to kiss you. Your exhaustion all but faded away and was slowly replaced by your hunger for him. Your kiss deepened, tongues stroking, and breaths quickening.

The arm that he had wrapped underneath you tightened and pulled you in closer. His other hand snaked under your shirt to cradle your spine, sending shivers through you as your kisses grew even wilder.

He breaks away to nudge your chin up to access your neck. Once you tilted your head back he sank his lips onto the exposed skin–his lips alternating between kissing and gentle sucking.

His hand that cradled your back moved up and you felt it slide up underneath the front of your sweatshirt and up your chest.

He stopped kissing and stared at you with a surprised look on his face as he felt your bare breast underneath.

After you showered at home, you had foregone a bra since lunch and dinner service had taken a toll on you and you just wanted to get out of the constricting material and looked forward to flopping yourself onto the bed–you didn’t plan on showing up without a bra on…not really.

“I…I thought we were going straight to bed,” you smiled sheepishly.

“You know–I’m really glad that I splurged on a good, sturdy couch because if I didn’t, I’d have to switch it out every year with all the vigorous activity that it’s getting.”

You giggled as he buried his face back into your neck, squeezing your breast…eliciting a deep moan from you as he rolled and pinched a hardened nipple.

You leaned downwards, your back hitting the couch cushions as he was already working on pulling your sweats and underwear off.

He pushed your legs apart and found that you were already soaked for him.

“I told you I stayed up for a reason,” he said with a smirk before he sank his warm mouth onto the tender flesh. You grasped desperately at the cushions underneath you as his tongue licked leisurely at you. He rimmed the opening to your core–teasing it before his tongue sank into it. You arched your back violently while he tormented you.

He purred, circling your clit with the tip of his tongue while his hands held you down when you would have bucked your hips at the contact.

“My god, Jin…” you moaned, seduced at the sight of him savoring you so intimately and driving you absolutely wild.

You whimpered and bit back a scream as his tongue fluttered over your clit. You hooked a leg over his shoulder right before he started to suck on your flesh–further drawing in the tight bundle of nerves.

You climaxed with a breathless cry, your legs shook as your release rushed through you.

You were still dazed with pleasure when he sat up on his knees to shove the waistband of his sweats down, freeing his erection underneath.

You reached out instinctively for it wanting to feel him in your hands. His flesh was warm and your mouth watered so you scooted down to lick the crest.

He gasped in pleasure and you took it as your cue to take him in. He gripped the couch cushions as you bobbed your head slowly, up and down his length. You lifted your head and he slid out of your mouth with a light pop before continuing to run the flat of your tongue against his cock once more.

“Fuck,” he breathed out through clenched teeth. “I need to be inside you now–aaahh,” he groaned right as you hollowed your cheeks and slid upwards his length, stopping right at the giving it a brief suction.

You lifted your head to see that his eyes had darkened with lust. He gently urges you down on the cushions again.

“Do you trust me?” He asked.

“Yes,” you said, without a doubt.

He parted your legs again and lined his cock up to your center. You’d been on birth control since becoming sexually active again. And although the hormones messed with your moods, it offered a small sense of security for you.

He looked up at you hesitantly but you gave him a small nod to assure him. After a beat, your eyes roll to the back of your head as he pushed into you.

You flinched at your muscles that slowly stretched around him.

“Shit, are you okay?”

“Wait–” you winced. He slowly pulled out and switches out by dipping two fingers into you. “Sorry, baby,” he said as he gently pumped them in and out of you.

You stifled a moan. “Hmm..It’s okay–maybe we just need to switch.”

His fingers stopped moving in and out of you. “You want to get on top?”

You nodded as he leaned back onto the couch, pulling his sweats further down his legs. You moved to straddle his hips and lined himself up underneath you. You grunted as you sank your hips onto him. Once you had taken him all in, you sat there for a few seconds while your walls flexed and adjusted around him.

You felt his hands snake up your shirt once more as he gently lifted it off you. He ran his hands gently up your arms, your shoulders then down to your chest. You sighed at the contact as it relaxed you.

You started to undulate your hips into him–slowly and calculated at first until your instincts took over and your body moved on its own volition.

His hands rested on your waist as he watched your hips roll towards him.

“So good,” he whispers as he meets each of your thrusts with his own.

You found a rhythm. Your thighs clenched and released as you both focused on the moment.

“That’s it, baby,” he encouraged hoarsely. You could see his forearms clench and flexed with each movement. His abdomen tightened every time you took him to the hilt.

You moaned his name as you took your pleasure. Your core clenching rhythmically as another orgasm started to rush up quickly–your senses were completely overwhelmed.

He sat up slightly and caught you by the neck and your hips and held you as he thrust upward…over and over, with powerful lunges. The friction of his entire length surging within you became too much. You came apart in a violent rush, your fingers clawing at his shoulders.

Shuddering, Jin followed you shortly after. “God, YN…” he gasped out as he buried his face in your throat.

You collapsed into his arms on the bed, not long after getting cleaned up. You were happy and blissful. Months ago, you didn’t think that any of this was possible. You were completely fine just living your life–aimlessly moving in and out of each day. But Jin changed all of that and for the first time, you were looking forward to the future.

******

A few hours later, your body clock was right on time. You got up at 8AM on a Sunday, in your sweats from the night before but with a bralette and one of Jin’s dress shirts that you randomly grabbed as it sat atop his laundry bin.

You scrounge around his pantry for coffee but couldn’t find any. Just then, you heard him trudging down to the kitchen mid-yawn.

You turned around and stood there wordlessly holding the empty carafe up at him.

“Ah, damn. I knew I forgot to grab something yesterday,” Jin says, smacking his forehead.

“What?”

“Coffee,” he grimaced.

“Oh no,” you said.

“You know what? I’ll go grab some around the corner. There’s a cafe there–“

“No, Jin, you don’t have to—“

“No, no. I know you love your caffeine and…truth be told, after last night, I need a little bit myself, if you know what I mean,” he grinned devilishly as he gave you a quick peck on the lips.

You giggled. “Okay, fine. Thank you,” you smiled.

He kissed you again. “I promise I won’t be long.”

After taking the elevator down, he decided to walk down the block–figuring it was easier than trying to find street parking on a Sunday morning.

As he gets to the main entrance, he sees the front door ajar and grumbles to himself. He was definitely placing a call to the building manager as soon as he returned.

******

After a few minutes, you heard knocking on the door.

You thought that maybe Jin forgot his backup keys because he relied so much on his keyless entry app–that’s fallen out of sync before. He complained about it to the building manager and some technician came out to fix it. I guess he might have to place another call to take care of that again, you thought.

You walked over to the door, still wearing his shirt.

You pulled it open and chuckled, “I told you that you should have brought—oh!”

You were surprised at the figure standing by the doorway.

“Hello!” she gave you a sweet smile.

“Uh…h-hi,” you greeted her apprehensively.

“Is Seokjin here?”

“No, h-he…stepped out for a bit but he should be back soon.”

“Oh,” she sounded disappointed. “Well, can I come in?” She didn’t wait for you to answer as you were in shock and embarrassed by your current, indecent state that she just easily barrelled through you.

“Is Jin expecting you?” You instinctively pulled the shirt tightly around you.

“No,” she said simply while she quickly scanned the living room before swiftly turning around to look back at you. “I actually came here to see you.”

You were so confused. Who was this woman? You felt somehow as though you should know her but couldn’t quite place her.

With your memory failing you, you shook your head gently “Sorry…y-you have me at a disadvantage—if you just give me a few minutes so I can get dressed–”

She scoffed. “Oh, I don’t really care what you look like, to be honest with you.” She stared you up and down once more then wrinkled her nose ever-so-slightly, as if she had smelled something undesirable when in fact, you wondered if she was just breathing in her own perfume and then realizing that she had put too much on.

“I’m sorry, what’s your name?” You dared to ask.

“Not important. But I’m here to ask you one question–how much?” she asked nonchalantly.

You scrunch your face in utter perplexity. “How much for what?” Who is this woman and why the hell was she acting like she knew who you were? You wondered if maybe she just happened to walk into the wrong apartment.

“How much to stay away from my fiancé?”

Did she just say—

“Your fiancé?” You echoed. “Who?”

“Seokjin,” she said sarcastically, as if you were so stupid that she had to spell it out for you.

Your eyes immediately flew to her left hand that held her handbag in front of her. No ring on that finger.

She notices you searching so she swiftly turns on the balls of her feet to walk around the room once more. She pointed her chin up and scoffed. “That’s right. We’re engaged.”

You stood there skeptical. “And how do I know that you’re not just some bitter ex trying to get him back?”

You had never met Jin’s ex, nor had he mentioned her name before. You hated to think that this was the woman that he had been pining for around the first time that you met. You were mentally kicking yourself for not taking Jimin’s advice before and Googling Jin–maybe you would at least have a vague idea of who this woman was.

She turned around to sneer at you before rolling her eyes. “Please…is this how desperate you are to get his money?”

You jerked your neck back in disgust. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, c’mon! Kim Seokjin? One of the most eligible bachelors in the country? Good looks with an equally handsome bank account?” She started to circle you–like a shark zeroing in on its prey.

This woman also appeared to have money–and lots of it. From the diamonds that dripped from her ears down to her neck; to the structured couture that she wore; and the red-bottomed stilettos that she stood on–you didn’t own any of these things but you were still a woman who recognized and appreciated labels since you walked past the windows that displayed them on the way home from your office.

Unfazed, you chuckled then folded your arms across your chest. “You know, there are much more interesting things about Jin other than looks and his money.”

Her overly made-up face slightly twitched. Your last comment seemed to have hit a nerve.

The truth was, Miya didn’t have a clue about him. They’ve gone out on a few dates and other than a few web searches that displayed his short biography, she didn’t really know who he was or what he was like. He didn’t really give her the chance. She didn’t even have the privilege to call him by his nickname.

But she still smiled mockingly at you. “I’m sure there is, honey. But in your position,” she eyed you up and down, “I’d be hard-pressed to believe it.”

“And what exactly is my position?” You cocked your eyebrow. Whoever this woman is, you were trying very hard to keep your temper in check.

She moistened her crimson, artificially filled lips. “I know that you work a low-paying job, you live in a state-subsidized dump, and don’t get me started on all of those hospital bills that you need to pay—“ she gasped dramatically, “Oh wait…he paid for those,” she smirked.

It concerned you how much she knew about your financial status.

“So, YN YLN…name your price. How much–to stay away from him?”

“Listen, lady–I don’t know who you think you are but–”

She cut you off once more. “You’re living in a fantasy world, honey, so don’t try to fool yourself. Do you know what you are? You’re just the side-piece that these rich boys keep around when their wives are out shopping or at the spa. In the end, they come home to us.”

She couldn’t be more wrong. Never has Jin ever made you feel like a ‘side-piece’ whenever you were together.

“Whatever. We love each other—“

“Aww…that’s so adorable,” she downturned her mouth in mocking empathy. “Has he…brought you over to his house? Have you met his parents?”

That stopped you dead in your tracks. He told you that he had a house by the coast and although he mentioned bringing you there at some point, he hasn’t gotten the chance due to your work schedule and other more recent events…or so you thought. But his parents? You’ve seen them at the gala but he never mentioned introducing you to them.

You tried to push that feeling away but she got you there.

“I mean…why else would he buy this apartment when he has a perfectly beautiful mansion out on the coast?”

You were dumbfounded but you hung on to what little hope that Jin gave you.

She sighed. “Face it, girl. This is nothing but a fuck-pad…designed to keep his little secret from his dad—unless—,” she paused for dramatic effect, “Unless he was your end-goal to begin with,” she jeered.

You’d had enough of this woman’s insults.

“Please leave! You have no right to talk to me like that. You don’t even know me,” you don’t know how you managed to keep your voice steady after her last remark.

“Oh, honey…I know girls like you. I’ve known girls like you all my life. You are not one in a million. And I’ll tell you right now–there is nothing special about you except what’s between your legs,” she snickered.

“Get the fuck out!” You screamed.

She raised her hands in mock defeat. “It hurts to hear the truth, YN. But whenever you get some sense knocked into you…” she reached into her purse to retrieve something—a small, folded piece of paper and a business card. She sets them on the counter.

“There’s more where that came from and I included my card as well. Call me and we’ll talk,” she says as she sauntered towards the hallway. You held your breath until you heard the door click shut before breaking down in tears.

******

A few minutes later, Jin was finally heading up the elevator after picking up the two coffees and a box of donuts after getting stuck behind two people who seemed like they were ordering for a whole neighborhood.

After he walks through the front door, he immediately calls out to you while he walks down the hallway. “Hey–sorry it took me a while. Everyone and their mother was out to brunch today for some reason. It was ridiculous…”

He looked around but noticed that you weren’t in the living room where he left you. He set his things down on the kitchen counter then walks into the bedroom.

He found you sitting at the foot of the bed, fully dressed, back turned towards him, with both arms on either side of you, hands gripping the lip of the mattress.

He rounds you and sees a blank expression on your face.

“Sorry I’m—“

“Who’s Miya Hwang?” You asked, looking up at him while he towered over you.

The color drains from his face as he is at a loss for words. It was the same look that he gave to you when you served him his salad at the gala.

As he stood there to try to form words in his brain, you somehow managed to calmly get your thoughts out to him.

“You know…I just can’t help but shake this nagging feeling within me. This—imbalance between us. And I’m not just talking about money or social status. I just feel that every time I give a little bit of myself to you, I find out that you are hiding something from me.”

You stood from where you sat and walked past him. He wanted to stop you but he was rooted in his position.

You exhaled sharply and kept your eyes on him while his were downcast. “I’m out here laying my cards on the table for you while you keep yours concealed and I have no idea why. Have I given you a reason to do that?”

You were asking him in earnest. He shook his head gently.

“I wanted to high-tail out of here as soon as she left. But I thought that perhaps maybe you had an explanation for it. I think you owe me that much,” you said.

He didn’t know how Miya managed to push past the security system at the building. He figured it was that careless tenant who kept propping the door open as she walked her dog. He was livid but he would deal with that later.

For now, you were his priority.

“W-what did she say to you?” He asked.

“That she’s your fiancée.”

His heart sank. “Baby, I’m…I’m sorry—“

“So it’s true? That you’re engaged to her?” You wanted to give him the benefit of doubt but you were sorely disappointed. Your chin quivered and you felt the tears sting your eyes again.

He took a step towards you wanting to envelop you in his arms but you instantly held your hands up to him like a shield, suddenly repulsed by the thought of him touching you.

“No…please. I’m leaving,” you muttered as you gathered the things that you had packed earlier this morning before he stepped out.

You shook your head as you walked out of his bedroom,

“YN, let me explain,” he begged as he followed you out.

You marched down the living room, fighting to keep your breathing even though your chest felt as if it was about to combust.

You left his car keys on the kitchen counter. “Please…YN—“

You turned to him once more before opening the front door. “I never ask anyone for anything because that’s not who I am. I never asked you to help me with my dad…loan me a car or move closer to me. You did all that and I was grateful for everything. The one thing that I asked for was your honesty…and you couldn’t give me that.”

You then pulled the door open but not before getting in a final word.

“And you can tell your fiancée that she can keep her check and shove it down her throat.”

With that, you walked out and shut the door in his face. You walked several blocks back to your building. It was still within your neighborhood but it was still quite the distance on foot. You didn’t mind anyway since you needed to clear your head.

Back at the apartment, Jin holds his phone up to his ear. He was eerily calm even though he wanted to run out after you but he decided that somebody else had to be handled right this second.

“Where are you?”

******

He charges through the handful of occupied tables at the Country Club’s lounge. His hands were clenched into fists. He would never hurt a woman but he was absolutely fuming and it took all of his energy not to flip all of the tables that he walked past.

He found her sitting by one of the corner windows on her own, sipping on a mimosa.

He did his best to appear calm even though he was anything but. Through flared nostrils and a clenched jaw, he asks, “Can we talk?” His voice was soft but it was laced with anger.

She slowly looked up while still holding onto the flute.

“We’re talking now,” she says casually.

“I meant somewhere more private.”

She let out a chuckle, mocking him. “Nobody gives a shit about me here, Seokjin. If anything, these people are waiting for me to do something exciting so they can gossip about it. And I need a bit more excitement in my life,” she says, taking another swig of her drink.

He squares his jaw, desperately trying to rein in his emotions. He roughly pulls the seat across from her and takes it.

He kept his voice low. “What did you say to YN?”

She made a face as if she heard an absolutely offensive sound. “Who?”

“I will not ask again.”

She scoffed. “I just told her the truth. That you’re just passing the time with her before we’re married.”

He flexed his hands briefly before clenching them into fists again. “I will only say this once—Stay away from YN.”

“Why? Do you like, love her or something?”

“Yes, I do love her. Believe it or not, Miya, some of us are actually capable of human emotion.”

“Ouch!” She clutched her chest and dramatically contracted her shoulders while she feigned offense. “Is that how you address the woman whom you’re supposed to spend the rest of your life with?”

“We. Are. Not. Getting. Married,” he enunciated every word.

“Oh, Seokjin—I totally get it. It’s your last hurrah before we tie the knot so I don’t mind,” she said with a laugh. “Daddy likes to keep a couple little chickadees on the side as well–it keeps him young and as long as mother gets her monthly allowance, she just shuts her mouth,” she says as she took one last gulp of her drink.

For a moment, Jin felt sorry for her disillusionment.

As she set the glass down on the table, she turned serious all of a sudden. “But I’m not like my mother. Once our engagement is announced, you will dump that hussy,” she says.

“She is not—“ he pulled back once more, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “Do not call her names, Miya. She’s a good person.”

“A good person trying to take something that’s not hers.”

“I am nobody’s property,” he says.

Her laugh taunted him. “And I really don’t care! We are getting married, like it or not, Kim Seokjin.”

“Not if I have a say in it,” Jin says.

She scrunched her face and tutted. “Mm-mm. No, you won’t. And if you do, you’ll lose everything.”

His eyebrows subtly raised, confused by what she meant but he didn’t let it phase him.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I know how important your company is to you,” she utters while she randomly inspects her manicured nails. “And you wouldn’t want your dad to risk his fortune as well.” She looked up at him pointedly.

What the fuck is she on about? He was going to find out either way especially if his dad was involved in this.

He got up from his seat, ever the gentleman that he was raised to be. “Well then…it’s good that I’m ready to risk everything for her,” he says before he turns on his heel to walk away.

“Hmph…we’ll see about that,” Miya mutters to herself.

******

Jin was relentless for the rest of the day. Texts, calls, voicemails until you finally muted his number temporarily.

Your dad was surprised to see you home early since you’ve spent the last couple of Sundays at Jin’s and leaving for work on Mondays from his place.

You made up an excuse saying that Jin was called away to the office and you didn’t feel like waiting around the apartment as he took meetings.

He knew something was up but he didn’t prod you when you decided to lock yourself in your room for the rest of the day, feigning a headache when all you really wanted was to cry yourself to sleep. Instead, you fired up your work laptop and decided to make a dent on some of the paperwork that you brought home from the office.

The new client’s recent records from the last quarter have been increasingly inconsistent the closer you reviewed them. You flagged every number, every line that seemed suspicious or didn’t quite add up.

Earlier at this week’s staff meeting, things were starting to look pretty grim for this client. The terms ‘federal audit’ and ‘tax evasion’ started getting thrown around which was odd because the prior records that you received were clean–or so they seemed. But in true Hoseok-fashion, he wanted to go over those records again just to ensure that nobody missed anything.

It was tedious work but the firm, though small and not as heavily staffed as the larger companies, was 100% trustworthy and Hoseok wanted to uphold that reputation.

Several hours had passed and you were neck-deep in tax forms and spreadsheets when you heard a soft knock on your door.

“I’m okay, dad. I’ll order us some dinner in a minute,” you called out from your room.

“It's me,” the voice said softly from the other side of the door.

Your head snapped up as that wasn’t your dad’s voice. You got up from your bed to open the door.

“Tae?” This was a surprise. “Everything okay?”

“Sorry for dropping in like this. Your phone was off, I think,” he says.

“Oh shit–sorry. I was...just trying to catch up with work,” you said apologetically.

“Sure, YN. Uhmmm–” He looked back to make sure that your dad was out of ear-shot.

“So–Jin-hyung called me…”

You groaned. Of course he would try to go behind your back but you didn’t realize that he would get to Taehyung.

“Look–I don’t know what’s going on but he called me sounding really desperate. He said he couldn’t reach you.”

“Sorry you got dragged into this, Tae.”

“It’s fine, YN. But uhh–he just asked if I could pass along a message. He says that whenever you’re ready, he’ll be waiting in his car downstairs…and that he would wait all night if he needed to.”

You dug your fingers into your tear ducts before shaking your head. “Thanks, Tae.”

“Sure thing. But are you going to talk to him? He sounded really sad on the phone.”

“Does my dad–”

He shook his head. “No. I just told uncle that I wanted to talk to you about a gig for next weekend,” he said lowly. “Whatever this is, I hope you and Jin-hyung work it out. He seems like a really nice guy.”

You gave your best friend a tight smile–it was all you could muster after this morning’s events. “Okay. Thanks Tae. I’ll be right down.”

He gave you a boxy smile before turning around to walk back to his apartment, wishing your dad a good night.

You shut your front door moments after telling your dad that you were going to put the garbage bins out in the street and that you’d be back in a few minutes.

As soon as you walked down the stairs out of your building, you looked around your street. It was dark out but you found his car to your left by the curb, illuminated by the street lamp that he sat under. He didn’t want to seem too eager so instead of getting out to run to you, he tentatively opened the passenger door instead. It took all of your energy to will yourself to take those next two steps to get in his car but you did it anyway.

You sat in silence for a beat while you stared straight ahead, your soft breaths filling the dead air.

He chewed at his bottom lip, trying to collect his thoughts and finally decided to break the silence. “Th-thank you for…for meeting me.”

You managed to find your voice but still avoided looking at him. “Listen…the only reason that I’m even in the same space as you are right now is because I don’t really want my dad to be involved, much less hear any of this. He’s still in a really precarious situation and I will not risk that.”

Your voice started to shake but you cleared your throat to stay focused. “So–just say what you have to say so that I can get back upstairs.” You kept your hands clasped together on your lap.

His mouth hung open as he tried to figure out where to begin. He had tried to rehearse it over and over in his head and now that you were here again, he was suddenly muted by your presence.

You finally mustered enough strength to look at him.

“When were you going to tell me that you were engaged? W-were you ever going to tell me?”

He chokes out a breath. “It’s not what you think it means, YN.”

“Is there any other definition of the word ‘fiancée’? I mean, I know that I didn’t take any fancy French classes in high school but if there was any other definition of it in the English language, please–I’d really like to know,” you seethed.

You watched him rub his eyes and take a deep breath while you awaited his response.

“I thought that we weren’t going to keep things from each other anymore, Jin?”

You were so disappointed that he reneged on your conversation not so long ago, after you found out that he was a multi-millionaire. It took you a minute to wrap your head around that but since not much had really changed between you two, you had eventually grown comfortable with the idea.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “It’s an arranged marriage,” he said matter-of-factly.

You bulged your eyes out at that and had to pick up your jaw off the ground.

“Woah-wo-wh-wh-what,” you stammered.

It was too late to take it back now, Jin thought. He already felt increasingly guilty about keeping things from you.

You puffed your cheeks while you let all this sink in. Now you were really confused. You had shared things…you had been intimate with each other…you had exchanged ‘I-love-you’s–‘ all while he was engaged this whole time?

“Let me explain. I had nothing to do with this…arrangement.” He refused to call it an ‘engagement.’ He didn’t get down on one knee and ask Miya the all-too-important question so to him, it didn’t even fall under that category.

“That was–the work of my parents. Mostly my father–”

“An arranged marriage? That’s still a thing? In this century?” You almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.

“It is in my world,” he said wryly.

“Uhm…okay.” Your brows were still furrowed, trying to understand it all.

“But it hasn’t been announced publicly. I’m trying to buy some time–”

“Oh my god…Jin–” You clutched your forehead with one hand to keep your thoughts from spinning out and while the other tried to suppress your heartbeat from beating out of your chest. You had to lean against the car seat just to feel grounded.

“I’m…” he shrugged, “I’m trying to get out of it.”

You look back up at him briefly.

“This is why I’ve been working hard for the last year. I wanted to make enough money to…” he swipes his hand once in mid-air, “Buy them out.”

“Okay, well–for us commoners, can you explain what that means exactly?” You didn’t know what else to say. Rich-people dealings are all very foreign to you.

“Miya’s family paid a dowry–which is kind of like an investment deal. To get out of that deal, I have to pay that back–plus interest— just so her dad doesn’t feel like he’s losing money. With my company doing well now, Jungkook and my CFO predict that I can make that principal amount–meaning their initial investment–in the first quarter of next year.”

You listened to him intently–trying to keep an open mind even though you were still frustrated with him.

“I have a deadline to meet that value which is why I’ll need a little help from my dad to pay off the interest. The only problem is that if I go past that deadline without fronting the money…then I’m locked in.”

“Locked in?”

“Meaning I have to marry her.” He exhaled sharply, catching his lower lip with his teeth.

You let out a soft sob–a million thoughts swimming through your head. “Were you ever going to tell me all of this? B-before–”

…Before you fell in love with him? You softly knocked your head against the headrest, thinking that you had made such a big mistake.

He leaned backwards, mirroring the way you sat. “I’m sorry–I shouldn’t have kept it from you. I just…I just always thought that I could work to fix the Miya-problem on my own. I didn’t think that I needed to burden you with it because—“

He sighed heavily, “Because I didn’t expect to fall for you,” he finished before glancing sideways towards you.

You saw him from your peripheral vision but you didn’t meet his gaze and chose to squeeze your eyes shut instead. You were in deep with him and you couldn’t deny it. You were angry and incredibly frustrated at the situation but your love for him still outweighed that.

He looked down at his fingers–they rested on his thigh while yours gripped the seat cushion…just within his reach. He ached to flex them, to link them with yours. Unaware of his intentions, you suddenly pulled them away to cross your arms over your chest.

He feels dejected not being able to reach out to feel you.

“So…you need your dad to help bail you out. Does he know about your plan,” you continued without making eye contact.

He cleared his throat. “Somewhat. We had spoken about it from the very first time that he mentioned the arrangement last year. I said that I didn’t want to marry anybody that I wasn’t–in love with. He told me to stop spending too much time with my head in the clouds and that I could eventually grow to have some affection for Miya. I just–I couldn’t bring myself to do it,” he shook his head.

“And I could care less even if he kept reminding me of my age,” he added.

Most of Jin’s peers were either engaged, married, or in the family-way. He’d sooner choose to grow old alone but his father would not allow that to happen–most definitely not his only son.

“I think of it as…buying myself some freedom.”

“Freedom?” you asked curiously, glancing at him.

“You’d be surprised what money can and cannot do for you.”

You nodded, showing him that you understood that statement in more ways than one.

“YN–” he eyes your fingers that peeked from underneath your elbow closest to him while you had your arms crossed and reached out to squeeze the tips.

“I promise you, I’ll fix this,” he says softly.

You feel your resolve start to crack. “Jin…”

“I don’t want anybody else. I love you.”

You yearned for him just as much–you fought every instinct to thread your fingers through his hair strands, pull him towards you, and kiss him like crazy.

You felt your eyes stinging with tears. You tried to blink the feeling away but a drop found its way and tracked down your cheek. His breath hitched at the sight and he instinctively wiped it away. He suddenly felt like a fraud doing it since it was he who caused you this hurt. He began to withdraw his hand but you held it in place.

His heart swells at the feeling but he knows that he didn’t quite deserve this luxury that you afforded him at this moment. He was just grateful that you allowed him this much.

“What if your plan doesn’t work,” you whispered.

“It will…I’ll make it work,” he says.

It has to work, he thought.

******

The next morning, he marches to the office to attend his first meeting of the day. Last night, he demanded that Jungkook, his legal counsel, and his senior finance staff clear their morning to address the matter at hand.

The agenda was clear: get out of the Hwang deal—as soon as possible.

He was done biding his time. When he got home after your conversation last night, he stayed up for the rest of the night crunching numbers and deduced that he had enough leverage in stocks to pay off the principal investment. There wasn’t as much financial wiggle room as he had hoped but he figured that he could make up the losses in the first quarter.

The team scrambled to review copies of contracts that they obtained from KimCorp, his dad’s company, and other legal and financial documents listing Jin’s assets.

But they hit a snag.

The company’s chief legal counsel had informed Jungkook beforehand that the contract that Jin brought over for review months ago had been recently appended.

The rules had changed in the middle of the game. The goal line had been moved. And Jin was the last to know.

“Why?” He asked, absolutely feeling blindsided.

“Because—this addendum states that everything is tied up in shares and bonds—“ Jungkook tries to explain.

“Aaahhh fuck…fuck all of that,” Jin bellows.

“Hyung-nim, you can’t just say, ‘fuck all of that.’ This,” Jungkook pointed to the documents right in front of Jin, “This just got more complicated. It’s no longer the simple buyout that we thought it would be. If we back out on this deal—Hwang takes over the company.”

“How the fuck did this happen? Dae! Talk to me!”

“I…I don’t know, Jin. Since KimCorp is our parent company, your dad doesn’t legally need your signature. He can override your authority on financials,” his CFO says.

He growls in frustration. “What’s the use of owning my own company when I can’t even do what I want? If my dad can just walk all over me? How did we miss this, huh?” He roared in angry rhetoric.

Everybody in the room tried to avoid eye contact as they didn’t have concrete answers for him right this second. They didn’t have enough lead time to review every legalese.

But the fact remained—Hwang had sunken his claws deeper than they had initially thought. Jin’s father had basically put up Moon Industries as collateral, should the deal fall through.

So Miya was right after all…Jin could lose everything.

He swipes at papers in front of him while Jungkook watches them fly off the table and scatter to the floor.

“You all better figure this shit out! Or else what the fuck do I pay you all for?” Jin roars before he storms out of the conference room leaving Jungkook to awkwardly try and make sense of his spirited outburst.

******

An hour later, Jungkook goes to check on Jin in his office. He found Jin laying on the sofa, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

“Jin-hyung…what was all that about?”

Jin was despondent.

The younger man took a couple of steps towards his hyung.

“Jin–what’s going on? You were kind of vague last night and now all of a sudden, you want to go from zero to 160 on this? This is not like one of your sports cars. I thought that you said we had ‘til the end of the first quarter to meet this deadline?”

“I’m sorry, Jungkook. I just…I got desperate.”

“Did something happen?”

Jungkook found it odd for Jin to just act on impulse. He was always calculated especially when it came to his business.

“Miya got to YN.”

Jungkook raised his eyebrows in surprise. How did she find out? It seemed that Miya was either jetting around somewhere or hanging out at a day spa. He knows that his hyung wanted to keep this arrangement under wraps until they had all of their ducks in a row to push off Hwang and his other associates off them.

Jin sighed deeply. “Are we fucked, Jungkook?”

The COO scratched his head briefly before taking the seat adjacent to his CEO.

He flexed his jaw before answering. “Dae and I looked at the documents more closely after you left the room. The legal group was there and…” he sighs and runs his fingers through his hair, “If we renege on this deal, we have to triple Hwang’s investment…and we can’t ask your dad to pitch in.”

Jin flared his nostrils but bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from screaming.

“How did this happen? I thought we had a clean exit strategy?”

Jungkook shook his head as he was just as baffled. “That’s what Dae and I are still trying to piece together, hyung. So far—everything that your dad has done was by the book. The addendum was well within his power as company chairman. Everybody in our legal team said so.”

Jin groaned. Weeks ago, the days held so much promise. He had built up his company, revenue was flowing in…and as an added bonus, he found love again.

But now, he felt trapped. His hands were tied and he was running out of time.

******

Later that evening, he takes a drive out to Namjoon’s house. He apologizes profusely to Ji-yun for the late night visit but she waves him off and tells him that he was always welcome. She just asked nicely not to get Namjoon too drunk because he tends to snore louder than usual.

As his wife disappears into their bedroom, Namjoon sets two glasses and a bottle of whiskey at the bar where his best friend sat. He poured a shot for Jin and himself.

After a toast and a couple of sips, Jin unleashes his day upon his friend. “Fuck. I’m in a bind, Joon. I don’t know what to do. I’m out of options…” he trails off.

Namjoon scoffed. “You? Kim Seokjin, out of options? I’ve never heard those words used in the same sentence before. What happened to the master of negotiations?”

“Please…Don’t start. This isn’t a normal investment deal that I can simply talk my way out of. I can’t believe my dad would do this to me…after everything I worked hard for.”

“Have you talked to him about it?”

“I wouldn’t know where to start! ‘Hey dad, why did you stab me in the back?’”

Namjoon inhaled sharply. “That fucking sucks,” he says as he takes a sip of the amber liquid.

Jin rakes his fingers through his hair. “What the fuck am I gonna do? I don’t want to let YN go but…I also don’t want to disappoint the people who helped me build this company by throwing it all away and treating them like nothing but collateral damage just so I can ride off into the sunset with the woman that I love.”

The men sat in silence, trying to contemplate their next move.

Namjoon cocked an eyebrow. “Hm. Maybe we haven’t exhausted all options.”

Jin sighed in exasperation and slumped over the bar. His legal team spent the rest of the day poring over the Hwang amendment. “The contract is ironclad. I was completely mistaken. These people may have gotten rich quick but they’re smart. They made sure not to leave any loopholes.”

“Are you sure you’ve tried other ways?” His friend uttered.

Jin sat up straight. He knew that tone of voice. For as long as he’s known Namjoon, he’s always thought outside the box. Where Jin saw things in black and white, Namjoon saw things in technicolor.

“What did you have in mind?”

Part 7◥

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Seokjinie For Xmas Celebration

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