Yoongi was someone that hated being left in the dark.

As someone who had always been on top of things from a young age, being of assistance any way that he could, being kept in the dark about important matters was one of his biggest pet peeves. He didn't like being unprepared for things, especially when it concerned him. It didn't help that everyone in the car knew what was going on, and he wasn't being told anything.

It didn't help that Hoseok had made Yoongi look ridiculous in front of everyone at the school.

How the hell was he going to explain to Minseo that he hadn't meant to lie about the status of their relationship?

Minseo wouldn't understand. Sure, she'd listen to his point of view, but to fully understand the situation that Hoseok had just put them through, Minseo would have to be like Hoseok and Yoongi— wealthy. Not to mention, Yoongi had no idea why he had to lie about his relationship status, to begin with. He hadn't expected Hoseok to flare up with anger as much as he had, though, and that unsettled Yoongi far more than not knowing what everything was about.

Hoseok remained silent throughout the ride, angling himself away from Yoongi as far as the passenger seats would let him. Yoongi didn't mind this; the last thing he wanted to do was be close to Hoseok in any form of way. He could still feel the effects of Hoseok's tight grab on his wrist, could still see the anger lingering in Hoseok's eyes. Yoongi hadn't done anything to Yoongi, but just then, it was almost like Yoongi had committed the worse sin known to man.

"Your parents are already waiting for us," Yuri chirped as they got out of the car. "Aren't you excited, Yoongi?"

Yoongi smiled politely.

They walked in silence, Yoongi silently marveling at how intricate and lavish the building was. This was one of the Jungs' many business buildings, but walking through them was a completely different story. He could hear the soft echoing of his shoes on the floor with every step he took, as well as hundreds of others. He entered the glass elevator, lips parting as they went up, and he could see everything that was happening in the building.

"This is your future," Yuri said, turning her head to Yoongi. "Grand, isn't it?"

"My future," Yoongi repeated, earning a nod from Yuri. "Huh."

Yoongi looked at Hoseok, asking for an explanation.

Hoseok scowled and looked away.

When the glass elevator doors opened, they walked down the hallway before entering what seemed to be a conference room. Yoongi immediately spotted his parents and walked towards them, while Hoseok's family took the opposite side of the table. Yoongi noted the papers and pens lying on the table, though the words were too far away for him to read. Yuri beckoned for them to take a seat, and they did— Yoongi directly facing Hoseok, who now had a poker face.

"What's this about?" Yoongi whispered to his father. His father only smiled, saying nothing before turning back to the Jungs.

"Now that we're all here, it's time to get the business dealing out of the way," Jaehwan stated, sliding the papers towards each of them. "We are very pleased that you expressed your approval quickly. If you had waited any longer, we might have had to find someone else."

"We'll briefly go over the terms," Yuri added, smiling brightly. "The most important one, of course, will be loyalty. Once these are signed, we'll be partners. We have to make sure everything goes well from the engagement ball to the wedding."

"Wedding?!"

All eyes turned to Yoongi, questioning Yoongi's sudden outburst. Hoseok's poker face cracked, amusement glossing over his eyes, lips twitching upwards. Yoongi's parents looked at him in warning, while Hoseok's parents remained poised, wondering why Yoongi sounded so surprised.

"Of course, Yoongi," Yuri said, lacing her hands together. "How else do you expect our business deal to be sealed? You come from a respectable family. The Mins, living once in near poverty, now owning assets and businesses nationwide."

"Then you have us, the Jungs," Jaehwan gestured to his family. "Generations of wealth accumulated, but that had once started from nothing. There's a beautiful story meant to be told there, eh?"

It'll be your greatest triumph.

That's when it finally clicked.

"Yes, Yoongi, we're going to get married!" Hoseok exclaimed, a smile brightly painted on his lips. Yoongi looked at Hoseok, stunned, saying nothing. Hoseok continued to look at him with faux excitement before saying, "Aren't you excited?"

Yoongi knew that Hoseok wasn't looking for an actual answer, just a way to get on Yoongi's nerves, so Yoongi said nothing except force a smile. Hoseok's eyebrows furrowed, the smile he was putting out slipping from his face. In an instant, his expression dropped, a pout settling onto his lips, leaving Yoongi more confused.

"Why aren't you excited?" Hoseok asked, feigning hurt. His eyes widened a fraction, becoming glossy—as if he was about to start to cry. "I forgot...of course you're not excited. You're dating Minseo."

Hoseok took out a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed his eyes as if he were genuinely upset at his declaration. Much to Yoongi's luck, Yuri immediately fell for it, concern with tinges of anger in her stride as she wrapped her arms around Hoseok in comfort. She shot a glare at Yoongi, who just sat there rigid, not knowing what else to do.

Jaehwan cleared his throat. "Yoongi, you lied to us, and now you've made my wife and my son incredibly upset."

Yoongi scoffed, crossing his arms. "Hoseok isn't upset—"

"Look at him!" Yuri snapped, glaring at Yoongi. "My son is being nothing but supportive in this agreement, and here you are, lying to your future in-laws and making your future husband break down into tears."

As if on cue, tears began to dramatically spill down Hoseok's cheeks, expression capturing what his mother had said he was feeling. If it weren't for the fact that Yoongi knew Hoseok was doing this on purpose, he would believe it. Hoseok breaking down, looking upset, to the point of borderline heartbreak— all of it seemed so real.

And from the looks of it, Yoongi was the bad guy.

"I need to step outside for a bit, Mom," Hoseok sniffled, earning a saddened look from his mother. She let him go, and Hoseok exited the room, leaving Yoongi with Hoseok's two angry parents and his own disappointed ones.

"It's one thing to lie to us, Yoongi," Yuri said, her voice sharp. "But to drive my son to tears? This better be the last time you ever do that. You do not make my only son cry and not pay for the consequences."

"He's a kid, Yuri," Yoongi's mother said. "Yoongi didn't mean it."

"Did you two know that Yoongi was in a relationship with someone else?" Yur asked, folding her arms. "While I commend the ambition that comes from lying, I do not appreciate it. Do not play us for fools again. And you, Yoongi, go check to see if my son, the one you made cry, is alright now. Your parents and I will discuss some small changes to the original contract."

So the deal wasn't off.

Yoongi exhaled, trying to get his anger to subside as he left the room they were in to go find Hoseok. If Hoseok planned to get the arrangement to cease existence, he'd done a terrible job at it. No sooner had he closed the door, and Hoseok was in front of his face, smirking widely.

"How was that?" Hoseok giggled. "I thought, 'What better way to make Yoongi seem like a lying, selfish asshole than to inform my parents about your girlfriend in the most dramatic way?' I did a pretty good job, I think."

"Whatever you were trying to do, it was for nothing," Yoongi responded flatly. "They haven't called off the arrangement."

"Oh, I knew that my parents weren't going to call off the arrangement with you," Hoseok scoffed, smirking. "They loved you yesterday. So ambitious, so honorable, so pretty, so... Yoongi."

Hoseok spat Yoongi's name as if it were venom, frowning in distaste that Yoongi's name was coming out of his mouth. Yoongi crossed his arms, glaring at Hoseok.

"Don't look at me like that," Hoseok mock pouted. "I don't need this engagement. If your parents were desperate enough to have you lie about your girlfriend, then they need this. I mean, it's my family we're talking about. We can make you all go bankrupt just like—" he snapped his fingers, "—that."

"You're such an asshole," Yoongi hissed, anger flaring up his body. "Are you trying to sabotage my family?"

"No, not at all," Hoseok chuckled, jabbing a finger at Yoongi's chest. "I'm trying to make sure you know who calls the shots here. I'd suggest you start getting acting lessons because if not, this little arrangement that will happen will destroy both of our families. Oh, and you have no chance of dating Minseo now. Break up with her now."

"I'm not leaving Minseo," Yoongi said in disbelief. "This is fake. It's not even official yet. None of us have signed."

"You're so naive, Yoongi," Hoseok smiled wider. "You don't have a choice. I can assure you right now; my parents will make this a condition. You already look like an asshole, Yoongi. Are you gon' lead her on when you're supposed to be with me? Such a dick move, Min. How heartless are you going to be?"

Before Yoongi could say anything else, Hoseok opened the door to the conference room. Hoseok smiled at their parents, placing an arm over Yoongi's shoulders. Yoongi froze at the touch and would have pushed Hoseok away, but Hoseok, seemingly knowing what Yoongi would try to do, discreetly pinched Yoongi as a warning.

"We're ready," Hoseok announced. "I feel much better now. Yoongi's assured me that nothing will get in the way of this arrangement. Isn't that right, Yoongi?"

There was only one plausible answer.

"Yes."

Satisfied, Hoseok let Yoongi go and sat back down. Yoongi begrudgingly walked back to his seat, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment the more everyone looked at him. Usually, he wasn't so reckless, but Hoseok managed to paint Yoongi in the image he wanted to, and Yoongi held no power over that. He could tell from the way Hoseok's parents were looking at him sternly and the way his parents were looking at him with pent up rage that Yoongi was lucky Hoseok had dismissed everything he'd put out into the public.

"You need to break up with this Minseo," Yuri stated, pointing her pen at Yoongi. "I better not hear that name anywhere, again. Understood?"

Hoseok looked at Yoongi smugly.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good," Yuri said, seemingly satisfied. "This engagement announcement will not only put the Mins on the map but will make you two—" Yuri pointed at Hoseok and Yoongi with her pen, "— the talk of the business world. Everyone's been waiting for my son to get engaged, and for it to be with you, Yoongi, many won't take it well."

"For years, we've been reached out to. Companies we have yet to own offering their children as potential matches for Hoseok," Jaehwan added, complementing Yuri's words. "We love our son, and we support him, so we declined all of them. You have a grand opportunity here, Yoongi. All you have to do is listen, and you're set for life."

"Originally, we were going to have Hoseok be the one to formally ask you out," Yuri said. "Due to recent events, you'll be the one formally asking for his hand. This will happen in three days. We're planning a large dinner, that will be accompanied by a dance. Business owners, leaders, mass reporters, and celebrities will be in attendance. The guests have already been instructed to bring engagement gifts, so they know an engagement is happening. The engagement will happen during dinner, and you two will be the main focus.

"We'll help prepare you for this engagement. The Kims have graciously offered to help draft a small engagement paragraph for us, and their son will be coming along with his boyfriend to help you prepare. We have to make this believable. Hoseok, my sweet son, will have no problem with that, but you, Yoongi, will have to act like you're head over heels over Hoseok. If we don't sell it, then we will lose more money than earn it."

Yoongi watched as Hoseok grabbed the pen from the table, his eyes trained on the pen's movements, dragging across the paper fluidly and dangerously. There was no thought behind Hoseok's expression, his hand writing his signature as if it were nothing more than signing his name for a field trip. As Hoseok finished, he slid the papers towards Yoongi. Despite Yoongi having access to a pen, Hoseok offered Yoongi his.

"Thank you," Yoongi managed to mumble as he took the pen from Hoseok's grasp. The papers themselves were filled with lots of writing, of which Yoongi only managed to skim through. His eyes zeroed in on the signature already there, neatly written for the world to see.

Hoseok Jung

"I know this is unconventional," Yoongi's mother spoke. "But this is best for us. We can secure our futures, your siblings' futures, and their children with this. Plus, you won't have to feel heartbreak. You two will be together until one of you breaks the contract. It's not too bad."

But Yoongi would have to break someone else's.

Jaehwan nodded. "This is more of a formality than a choice. As your parents approve it, so do we. But, if after ten years, this arrangement doesn't work, then you can amicably part ways. Break the contract any time before then, we'll take you to court, and you'll lose everything you have."

Yoongi would have to last ten years with Hoseok before being able to divorce him. Ten long, arduous years. If they go to different universities, then Yoongi could get rid of him for about four years. Would he just have to force himself to be in school to avoid Hoseok? He couldn't entertain the idea of being with Hoseok.

There was no way that Yoongi and Hoseok would work. They had to have known it somehow. They were too different— too incompatible. Yoongi didn't want to do this, but he knew that he had no choice. He'd been left in the dark too long, and now he had no way to defend himself or try to negotiate his way out of this.

Sighing, he let the pen hit the paper, ink spelling out his name in legible writing.

Yoongi Min

"Congratulations to the two boyfriends," Yuri beamed, clapping her hands enthusiastically. "We'll begin setting up your accounts in our funds. Expect a black card for everyone in your family in a couple of weeks. Also, I'd suggest starting packing. The both of you."

Even Hoseok seemed to be surprised at the statement.

"Why do you seem surprised?" Yuri mused as she looked at the two. "You two are supposed to be married. You don't know each other yet. How are you going to get along if you don't live with each other? We have to sell that you two love each other! Surely you two can handle it."

Maybe being kept in the dark would have benefitted Yoongi in this situation.

"You'll move in next week," Jaehwan said. "We've taken the trouble of letting you use our penthouse. Plenty of staff and to help you ease, you're each allowed to have one guest live there with you. Think about it as college life, except with comfort and with people doing things for you."

"Perfect, isn't it?" Yoongi's father smiled encouragingly. Yoongi could barely muster a smile, his eyes flashing towards Hoseok, who looked just as grossed out at the idea.

"Perfect," Yoongi echoed, unable to keep the unhappiness out of his tone.

Yeah, being kept in the dark definitely would have been better than this.

a/n: we love cliches! penthouse doe, imagine living in one 🚶🏻 personally would feel it too fancy for me but to each their own. 

y'all don't know how bad i was cringing at hoseok's character i wanted to throw him away so bad (there will be plenty more of those moments 😼‼️)

i go eat now (:

thank you for reading <3