[ CHAPTER 3 ]
jeon inc.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

IT'S a rather normal day for kim taehyung. he awakens a few minutes after his alarm had screeched obscenely in his ear - to which he had promptly stomped a numb fist to its head-, missed a decent breakfast apart from a protein bar and had only just managed to skid into the practice, panting heavily as he stumbles into his room.

but inside a familiar man sits solemnly on his chair, legs folded and arms twisted in his lap as he offers him a thin-lipped smile.

"t-taeyong?" taehyung stammers, palms clammy as his form slackens, "is there something wrong?"

in all the time he had worked under the man, never had he been visited, at least not the very first second he had scurried into the practice, by his boss and the sudden swivel of normality seems to blare the alarms in his mind.

the said man sighs, visibly troubled as he gestures to the seat before him, "sit down tae."

swallowing thickly, thoughts, all leading to a terrible result, zip past his mind as he finds himself stumbling forward, slumping against the chair as he keeps his increasingly testy gaze to the floor.

"i'm s-sorry." taehyung croaks, reaching up to swipe harshly at the undersides of his eyes, "i swear i'll come early from now on and i won't drag out my breaks, j-just give me one more chance and i'll do-"

"taehyung." the elder snaps, a gentle smile gracing his lips, "i'm not firing you."

blinking and feeling rather embarrassed for nearly bursting into tears before his boss, warmth flooding across his full cheeks as he sniffles, "r-really? oh my God for a second i thought-"

"but," he interrupts, grin falling and now replaced with a timid frown, "i'm afraid i'm going to have to, well suspend you for a while, it'll only be for a few weeks so don't worry too much."

"why?" taehyung asks, bewildered as he thinks of any major error he had done in the past weeks to have ticked his boss off.

"i just got in a complaint from your patient jieun, she wasn't too happy after yesterday's visit with shiniji, the shiba inu, apparently the poor baby wouldn't let anyone touch her after she came home from the checkup. 'absolutely traumatised'. anyway, she kept on going on about how she would sue us for what appears as abuse towards her pet, and if demands action to be taken. and you know that we just started this practice up, i don't really have the money to take her to court so, for now, think of it as a mini break."

"b-but i didn't do anything to her!" he defends, white-hot anger seeping through his veins, "i swear!"

"i know tae." taeyong smiles, "i know you well enough you wouldn't dare hurt a hair on that dog's head but for the sake of the practice and you're colleagues jobs, i'm going to have to give you that little holiday."

taehyung only nods, fingers digging into the covered flesh of his thighs, jaw set as he plasters what he hopes is his best plastic smile.

"thank you for believing in me, i guess i'll see you in a few weeks then?" he mumbles, internally applauding himself for not stammering.

"of course." taeyong beams, clapping his shoulder and squeezing gently, "and i'm so sorry tae, if there was anything i could do, i would do it in a jiffy, you're one of the best employees i've got and i would hate to lose you."

the smile at his lips doesn't seem as fake then as he listens to his boss praise him, but the tears in his eyes burn terribly and taehyung knew better than to sob at his workplace where all his colleagues and the judging eyes of the public watch him.

bidding him goodbye, taehyung flees down the stairs of the practice, ignoring jennie's inquisitive remarks and bogum's desperate calls, he pushes the door open rashly, the bitter fingers of winter wrenching at his cheeks as the distant stomp of his sneakers clouds among the powdered cement.

cursing, he curls his fingers into gentle v's, knuckles pressed against his eyelids as he swallows thickly, eyes fluttering open momentarily to grasp his surroundings. he's only just a few steps out of the practice, coat strewn hazardously over his frame, crimson burning at his cheeks and eyes alike when he spots the dreaded outline of the person he really wasn't in the mood to converse with.

"kim!"

exhaling shakily, taehyung hurries to gather his thoughts, not keen on appearing so vulnerable and exposed against a man he truly despised.

"what?" he says, tone unknowingly snappy, gaze diverted to the path.

the criminal's lips curve into a smirk, eyes glinting as he surveys the elder's dishevelled state, "guess you received my little gift."

"look i'm not in the mood for this, just tell me whatever the hell you want-"

the ball at his throat shudders loudly, expanding even more as his chest shrivels at the rods of hot white, tears building at his the burn of his eyes, bursts of anger sporting them even further.

"i told you," he interrupts, eyes now lit with a cold flame as his tone sweeps into one of a deadly hiss, "tell anyone and you're dead."

"i didn't you dickward." taehyung snaps hotly.

"then explain how the fuck they know that only the two of us swore to not tell. " the younger snarls, gloved fingers delving into the folds of his leather bag and pulling out what appears as a rather recent copy of the daily newspaper.

still a tad sniffly and increasingly bemused, taehyung tugs the paper into his palms, needing not to turn a page since the reasoning for the dark-haired male's infuriation lays printed in bold as the headline.

___________________

HEIR TO JEON INC. AN ANIMAL ABUSER?

jeon jeongguk, heir to jeon inc., appears now as a wavering candidate in taking up his father's outstanding work after a single yet monstrous occurrence a few nights ago. although the details remain indefinite, it is rumoured that mr.jeon had taken part in abusing a defenceless labrador retriever all the while spitting vile insults to the poor creature. even after being accused of such indecency, he continued to claim that it was of little damage and spoke of the dog as mere dirt. this attitude and mindset aren't fit for soon-to-be businessmen and many are beginning to doubt whether mr.jeon would truly be the worthy man for the job.
___________________

"wait, you're the heir to jeon inc?" taehyung says incredulously, swollen eyes wide as his mind erupts into a series of queries, "b-but you're so tiny!"

"i'm not tiny," jeongguk snaps steely, seemingly offended, "but that's not the deal, what is is that you fucked up and your job paid a fraction of what you owe me."

gasping, gloves reaching up to slap across his lips before shooting forward in a defiant point of accusation, "i meant as in age wise you brat! you made me lose my job!"

"i did." the younger confesses, smirking smugly.

taehyung believes otherwise, for his customer had been a woman, one he had only met once and even then the female had kept her head down and shuffled around the room, seemingly indifferent.

"wait!" he gasps, eyes widening even further that it appeared as if it were to bulge from its sockets, "you crossdress?!"

"what no." jeongguk grimaces, "i'm not even gay what the fuck? i just got a friend to rat you in, better yet she visited you before our little accident so it wasn't suspicious."

taehyung couldn't believe his ears, incredulous to the revengeful plot that had been directed towards his mishap all because he had immaturely played the hero. it wasn't fair. he had attempted to do good only to be returned with nothing but misery, where was the justice in that?

his job was his life. he adored it as much as he valued himself, dedicating his life to treat unwell animals, a dream that had sprouted in his mind at the ripe age of four after nursing a homeless kitten to life, having discovered it stashed in a box under the steps of an old building. and now, after countless of sleepless nights scribbling down notes and jugging the caffeine that kept him from losing his mind, he had achieved his personal cloud adorned with ribbons and finishing gifts of abundant fruits and wrapped sweets.

but now, now some prissy man who had the world at his feet, cash overflowing in his pockets thought of his anguish as a game, something that would pass time.

"i hate you!" taehyung seethes, skin burning as the coupling of frost and tears lick flames against his cheeks, "i hate that you think is funny! that losing my job, the only damn thing that got me out of bed every morning, is part of your petty play for revenge! well, news flash jeongguk, not everyone has a billion dollars in their bank accounts and our parents at our feet, some of how went the through hell and back to be where we are today so fuck you for thinking this a joke! fuck you and your bloody newspaper, i hope that they fire your ass out of the company and you go live on the streets, then maybe you'll understand how to live without that damn gold spoon in your hand."

and with that, taehyung throws him a final, scathing black look before brushing gratingly past him, lips quivering with the bitter taste of mournful longing for the past.

~

[a/n]

quick question but do you think i'm rushing the story, like is their too much going on that it confused you?

personally, i prefer each chapter to have some sort of drama in it but at the moment i feel like it's a bit too much, i'm not sure. help me out here, please. >.<

have an amazing day, and if your reading this i want you to know that you're beautiful and loved, no one can tell you otherwise. ♡