The Arrangement

The room is quiet.

There is tension here, invisible and daunting. So thick that you wonder if any movement you make would be able to break it.

Not that you are interested in even trying. Not now, when you have other matters to focus on.

You are now sitting face to face with him in his dining room—you, on one end of the long, luxurious dining table and him sitting on the other end. You keep your eyes on him, watching silently as he sips his coffee. His gesture is deliberate and smooth, which is almost captivating.

You know that he is simply doing this to take his time, keeping his eyes away from you to give you some space, and all the time you need to consider his proposition one last time before giving him the long-awaited response. Yet here you are now, finding more interest in studying his facial features and the gestures that he makes rather than deciding what to say to him.

How can someone be so distracting and yet—

"Have you come to a decision yet?"

His deep voice breaks the silence, dousing heat against the chilling breeze flowing in the room. He carefully puts his cup of coffee down before lifting his gaze up to look at you. His eyes are bearing daggers into yours before you can look away.

You open your lips to answer, only that words are lost on you. His voice may be gentle, yet there is something in the way he speaks, the way he is looking at you—as if he is trying to look past your facade and into your soul—that feels daunting that your voice wavers in his presence.

The answers are there. You already had it with you since the moment you came through the threshold of his luxury mansion, long before you sat down with him a mere hour ago.

The words have been echoing through your head during the quiet dinner. The small voice in your head kept repeating everything that you wanted to say to him, while there was no conversation shared between you other than mundane, trivial things that had nothing to do with the reason why you were here in the first place.

But now, once the empty plates had been taken away, replaced by two cups of hot beverages—coffee and cream for you, black coffee on his side—and an addition of an opened folder of files laid on your side, you can feel your resolve dwindling.

Clearing your throat, you try to regain it all back and find your voice, find the right words to say. "I...Yes, I have," you speak up, softening your voice as you continue, "Forgive me for taking so long to make a decision, but I needed some time to be sure."

"To be sure of what, exactly?" he demands with a light tone of voice that almost sounds like a taunt. A challenge.

Silence falls once more, as you list down all the answers that you wish you could give him. Many things had come to your consideration during the past few weeks, enough to plant doubts and uncertainty, rendering you to tread things with caution. Among them is the condition that had brought you here in the first place. And the second, the future that is written on the papers lying before you.

Keeping your gaze on him, you watch him closely without a word as he sits there. Waiting.

You wonder how he can affect the entire room just by being there. His body oozes confidence and power that feels intimidating to anyone who comes to face him. The way his gaze is locked on you would have felt unnerving, if only you had been on his bad side. His calm demeanour seems almost deceiving. But with his hands resting on the dining table, he appears as steady as a wall. As if nothing can bring him down so easily, and he knows it.

But the shivers you feel running through your body aren't coming from his gaze, nor his cold demeanour that feels challenging. It is the man himself. His strong presence and the aura that he is emitting without so much of a word coming out of him take over the entire room, dominating without even moving a single finger.

Because he is Min Yoongi.

The second son of the Min family, one of the leading business families in the country. Currently the sole heir of the family's business empire and the wealth that his grandfather had built for years, perhaps even decades. The right which belongs to him after the huge fallout caused by his older brother, the firstborn and the initial heir, years prior to your previous meeting where he first gave you his proposition.

The infamous case had caused a huge uproar within the country when it first unfolded, which had cost the firstborn of the Min family losing his right to carry on the title as the heir for the family's main company of the entire business chain, MYG Corporation. That title has been passed on since to the second son, Min Yoongi, who is already one step closer to claiming that position.

Already ahead in his game, yet not close enough to claim the win just yet.

His current position as the CEO of MYG Holdings, the head subsidiary company of the entire business chain owned by the Min family, may have shown people that he is the next in line to take over the head family's position once the time comes. But nobody truly has any idea how much of a hurdle Yoongi still has to overcome to claim his position, how much he still needs to prove, still haunted by the shadows of his own brother's sin.

And that had become the reason why you are here tonight, and why you have these papers—the contract—in your hands. You barely give them a glance as you shift the papers under your fingers, the words written on each page already engraved in your memory ever since the day you received them in the mail, ever since he gave you the offer.

"I just needed time to study the contract further," you finally muster an answer, "I also needed to make sure that you and I are completely on the same page in this matter. That everything will not be—well, messy."

Yoongi lowers his gaze, and for the first time, you see him softening right before your eyes. The first time since he sat on that chair. A deep chuckle comes out of him, though it doesn't feel like he is belittling your worries when he says, "I already told you the day I laid out the deal for you to consider. I prefer things to be neat and for everything to proceed accordingly. What else do you think would be the reason I chose you to have this arrangement with?"

You lean back in your seat. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" you ask him in return, stopping to pull your bottom lip under your teeth. "Why me? I probably should've asked you before we got to this point, but I've tried to think of a good reason why you would choose me for this, when there were more obvious options that would have been more benefitting for your future, and came up with nothing good."

Yoongi's smirk deepens as he leans forward, resting his chin on his crossed hands as he keeps his gaze on you.

"I've dealt with various types of women over the years, from those who came as business partners, and those who I became closely acquainted with in a more—intimate manner," he explains, and you nearly roll your eyes at his roundabout way of mentioning his precious exes and—most possibly— former flings. As if bragging about them. Not that you would care. "From my long, strenuous experience with these women, I've learned that getting involved with a certain type of woman often ends with two possible consequences."

With a deep, resounding sigh, Yoongi continues, "One of the first things I learned is that most women take things to heart. Be it a promise, a gesture, a smile," he briefly stops to give you his warm smile, "or simple words that might get interpreted differently than they are supposed to, and more often than not, this would lead them to deny any logic. That's where things would often get messy. Too many emotions, too little logic involved, and they'll forget the objective of any certain deals that were made at the beginning of our relationship and why they were made in the first place."

Tilting your head, you wonder if this has happened to him once with one of those women he mentioned—or perhaps too many times? The ones that he once mentioned to get involved with under the premise of mutual arrangements benefiting all parties involved. Like the women he met and took as his dates during various business deals and dinners, or the gala events he attended to meet up with other executives to promote his business.

You cannot help but wonder if those 'arrangements' had ended badly, with the women asking for more after the deal was done.

For some reason, this thought feels unsettling. But you choose to not say a thing, allowing him to continue.

"The second thing I learned is how easy for people to hide their agenda behind their smiles," he stops again to smile, only that the smile seems bitter this time when he proceeds to speak, "Dealing with two-faced people has become a common thing in my line of work, and I've learned enough to be able to tell when someone comes to me with a hidden intention, with their eyes simply on the prize without even caring about the risk they're taking to get it."

His eyebrows crease with displeasure. Such a small gesture that for some reason catches your eyes each time he does so. "People's greed over money and status puts me off. It's one thing to deal with it at work, in the company, it's another when they have to intrude on my home and personal life as well."

As he picks up his cup of coffee—as if he wants to wash down a bad memory—a glimpse of something that you have learned about him in the past flashes through you.

"Is that what happened with your ex-girlfriend?"

Scoffing behind his cup of drink, Yoongi's gaze finds you again as he puts his drink away. "Perhaps you can say that," he answers, looking almost amused that you would bring up his ex. He keeps his eyes on you as he leans back in his seat. "I hope my past love life won't be a problem for you."

Biting your bottom lip, you take a moment to consider this. The thought of his past never seems to trouble you. And they won't, not when you also have your own past still following you in the shadows as you enter this deal. "No, of course, not. We both have our pasts, after all," you answer with a shrug. "I don't think I'll have any need to dwell in your past escapades."

You raise your gaze to meet his as you add, "As long as they remain in the past and do not meddle with our current business."

A flicker of a grin grows on Yoongi's face. He looks at you with an amused look in his eyes before he promises, "The past will remain in the past. I will make sure of it myself."

For some reason that you cannot understand, his vow gives you a sense of relief. Which is surprising, because you know that it shouldn't. Crossing your arms over your chest, you try to brush it off and turn the conversation around.

"But what makes you think you won't be having the same mess with me? I am merely a woman, after all."

Yoongi's eyes seem to harden as he hears this. His piercing gaze flickers with a look that says how ridiculous he thinks for you to be saying something like this. "Frankly speaking, my dear," he says with a soft chuckle, "I believe we've both experienced the same thing from the people we've met. Comparing you to one of the problems I mentioned, for some reason, I know that you will be different. I've known you for years, despite the circumstances, and I know that you are the kind of person who follows logic more than most people I've known all my life. I have faith that we won't find any problem regarding any misunderstanding happening between us."

His grin grows a bit deeper as he adds, "But if there comes a time when something between us does change, and the way you view this arrangement shifts or if you ever find other intention to gain from this, I don't think I would mind it at all."

His words, the conviction you hear in his voice that sounds almost like flirtation, and the way he looks at you when he says it, are all making your skin flush. Heat rises from your chest to your face, and you quickly look away before you begin showing him any unwarranted reaction.

But he doesn't give you a chance to escape his attention—or his teasing—when he continues, "As for the second problem I brought up—I don't think I'd have much to worry about it since we've known each other for years."

You look at him again to see his smile softening. "I know that you are not someone with some kind of dire greed over material things or status. I've always admired you to be a woman with a purpose. And we both have the same goal to focus on, don't we?" You fall silent, having no words to say. Too stunned by the fact that he is saying all the right words, pointing at the right things to take notice of, and knowing that he is right. You both share the same goal to reach at the end of this.

Yet still—

You have no idea what Yoongi sees in your eyes—perhaps he can see you acknowledging and agreeing with him--because he simply continues, "Our shared goals aside, we do have a win-win situation to get out of this arrangement. You'll win something out of this as much as I do, perhaps you might even gain more." He softly chuckles. "That's why I have faith that you won't risk messing this up for the both of us."

Once again, you are rendered speechless. It's always so surprising when Yoongi speaks as if he can read your thoughts even before you can express them in words yourself. At the same time, it is also daunting to think that he might know what you are thinking.

Before you can say a thing in return, he speaks first, once again reading your thoughts when he says, "And for your peace of mind, I promise not to risk ruining the opportunity that you may give me with this deal. I'll do my best to do my part, just as much as you do yours."

For some odd reason, those words feel reassuring that you no longer feel any semblance of doubt when you think about the arrangement you are making with him.

Palming the pile of papers you have before you, you can almost feel the words at the tip of your fingers before you look down to read the words.

"Contract Terms: Marriage Settlement"

You have read these same letters numerous times ever since he sent the files two weeks ago. Sending it early had given you enough time to study each part of its content to make sure there would be no flaws, nothing that could harm either one of you. So far, you have no problems with the arrangements listed within the contract.

Except for the fact that each time you open the pages, your eyes will always stop at one certain part which has always caught your attention.

"Number 4, point a. When the prospect of an heir becomes a necessity during the marital term, then both parties must be in equal standing and shared consent for the process of the conceiving of a child to take place. Once agreed, then all the necessary arrangements will be done according to the contract terms as follows."

An heir.

Of course, you think to yourself as you consider this part.

As a successor of his family's business chain—and the entire fortune gained over decades since his grandfather rose in his glory, Yoongi would one day need to have his own successor to continue the line. And just like how it has been done since old times, he would definitely prefer to have someone of his own bloodline to continue to run the family's fortune.

You raise your gaze to once again meet his, which is locked on you the entire time. Realising that he is watching you closely—perhaps studying your expression—as you are reading through the contract for one last time should be unnerving. But his smile is once again reassuring, giving you mixed feelings, when he asks you, "Is there anything in the contract that you would like to discuss further?"

He leans forward, resting his hands on the table as he inquires, "You are free to object or request changes in any part of the contract that you feel wouldn't be as beneficial as you'd like them to be. I would hate to think that the contract terms will only be a burden for you."

Biting your lip, you try to ignore the suspicious flutter suddenly surging in your chest. He does this so well, alluring when he isn't intimidating the room, and you hate that you keep finding yourself being drawn to his pull.

"No," you firmly answer, "None at all."

His lips curl to a knowing smile, forcing you to look away, lest you want him to continue reading your thoughts. Eyes back on the contract in your hands, you read the lines one last time.

You already know what to do with it, as you have already figured out what you decided. But you take your time with it, savouring the final seconds that you have to hold on to your past, as you allow your mind to wander back in time.

Back to the day Yoongi came up with his proposal just three months ago.