Taehyung's pov

Jungkook and I wake up late the next morning, and this time, he doesn't get up before me. His body is warm against mine, his hair a beautiful mess.

Sleepy eyes meet mine. "Hey," he whispers.

"Hey." I curl my hand around his waist.

A smile is playing on his lips, and I smile back, until both of us are grinning for no apparent reason.

"Wow," he says.

"Wow, indeed."

He buries his face against my chest, his lips pressed to my skin. "I can't believe we did that."

I pull him closer, fitting him against my body. His skin is like satin. "No regrets?"

"No, none. Just surprise."

"And satisfaction, I hope."

His smile turns crooked. "Yes, there's that."

I tip his head back and run a finger over his full lips. Just woken up, with his hair messy and his eyes dazed, he's almost too beautiful to handle.

"I'm going to tell you something," I say.

"What is it?"

"It's serious. Are you ready?"

His eyes narrow. "Taehyung..."

"You already know I think you're stunning, but it's worse than that. You're quite literally the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

He laughs. "Asshole! You made me think it was actually serious."

I smile at his laughter and bend to break it off with a kiss. Heat travels through me at the soft touch. "You've told me how your looks mean people don't take you seriously, though," I say. "I've resisted commenting on them."

His smile deepens, his eyes glittering. "You take me seriously, so you're allowed to compliment me."

"I might abuse that privilege."

He chuckles. "Flatterer."

I flip over on my back and pull him atop me, his head resting on my chest. It makes it easy to reach out and run a hand over his hair and the soft skin of his neck. "Will you tell me about it?"

Jungkook takes a deep breath and nods, settling in. When he finally speaks, I listen, as he tells me all about the little insulting compliments given at Eun Ilsung's office. About the colleague at his internship who refused to accept that he didn't want to go out with him. About an architecture professor who regularly made pointed jokes in class after he spoke, saying things like apparently everyone can become an architect these days, even the pretty faces. When investors took a coworker's portion of the pitch more seriously than his.

Practically every anecdote makes me angry, and Jungkook can tell, because he laughingly runs a finger over the furrow in my brow. "This isn't supposed to bring us down."

"It's not bringing me down. It's infuriating."

"Yes, well, it's in the past." He rises up on his elbows, cocking his head. "How about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. You're very hot."

I blink in surprise. "Hot?"

He bursts into laughter, and it rains down around me. "Your expression is priceless. Yes, you're hot. Handsome. You look good, you know."

"I get by," I say.

"If you merely get by, I'd hate to imagine how other men feel."

I sit up in bed, pulling him up with me. "All right, time to change the subject."

"Wow, you really can't take a compliment," he says, the smile on his face wide. "We're going to have to work on that."

"Mhm. Shower first, though." The en suite bathroom is large, the shower doubly so, and it's an easy fit for the both of us. It doesn't take long until showering is the last thing on my mind—not when Jungkook's hands, slippery with soap, slide over my skin. He wraps them around me, already painfully hard, and I have to brace myself against the shower wall.

"Whoops," he says, his beautiful eyes glittering with desire.

"Whoops?" I run my hands down the silken skin of his arms, down his back, pinching his nipple. "You know where this is going to end."

His laughter is cut short by my kiss. It's one of the longest, least efficient showers of my life.

It's also one of the best.

It's midday when I finally crack open my laptop in the living room. Work has been the last thing on my mind this weekend, but for once, there's no stress involved with that thought. Jungkook heads to the sofa next to me, but I grab him instead, pulling him into my lap. He's a delicious weight against me.

"Tae!"

"What?"

"We can't work like this."

"Why not?" I reach for my laptop and prop it on his lap, my arms reaching around his waist to tap away at the keyboard. "It works. I don't know what you're complaining about."

"Mhm. And how will I get anything done?" He leans back, his head nestled below the crook of my neck.

"You'll help instruct me. We're almost done with this." The opera house is complete, and with his changes, it now has a balance and symmetry it lacked before.

Jungkook's fingers trail down my arm. "What will happen tomorrow?"

Tomorrow, Monday. Another day at the office. It feels like an age has passed since the last time we were at work. "We'll figure it out," I say. "You know we will."

He relaxes against me, but the hand playing with my arm is restless.

"How about this—you set some ground rules. You like those."

There's a smile in his voice. "No kissing in the office."

"Sounds good. I'll agree to anything you want."

"I don't want anyone to find out about us, obviously. That would be... catastrophic."

I breathe in the scent of his freshly washed hair, his warm skin, and nod.

He's right. Both our reputations would be tarnished if it got out, but it wouldn't be equally, as unfair as that is.

"We'll keep it a secret. Don't worry."

"And.... I can't work with you anymore. Long-term, I mean." He twists to face me, his hand cupping my cheek. "It's not that I don't want to. I actually think we work great together."

"Me too."

"But I just... it would complicate things too much. And I couldn't spend my days afraid that someone would find out, and in a blink, I'd lose everything. That's just not a long-term solution."

"I agree," I say, because I do—whole-heartedly. It's a problem I've already begun trying to solve. "We'll find you another position."

"We? I think I need to do this on my own."

"I'll help you, of course. I'm the reason you can't stay at Kim & Ryu, am I not?"

He cocks his head. "Well, technically, yes."

"Then, technically, I should help. You have excellent credentials, a solid background, and tons of raw talent. You'll find a place that you want, don't worry about that."

Jungkook smiles, but the expression dies as he glances down at my watch. "Oh, we really need to get going. It's a long drive back."

I tip his head back to meet mine. "We will. Just promise me you won't worry. We'll solve this."

He kisses me, sweet and soft. "I won't."

I reluctantly release my hold and watch as he heads to the bedroom. This morning had been unreal. The sex, both yesterday and today, was some of the best of my life. We'd packed up our things and eaten breakfast together. It feels easy. It feels right. And I'll be damned if something as stupid as work comes between us.

We stop by my parents' house for a final goodbye before we hit the road. My mother, still in her bathrobe, is practically glowing with happiness. "Yesterday was marvelous, don't you think?"

Jungkook nods. "A stunning wedding, Mrs. Kim."

"Oh Jungkookie, thank you for coming this weekend. It's lovely to finally see
Taehyung with someone, and I couldn't imagine anyone better."

I cringe inwardly at the way that makes me sound, but Jungkook's the picture of grace. "Thank you for having me, Mrs. Kim. And please give my thanks to Jin hyung, when you see him after his honeymoon."

"I will, dear." Turning to me, Mom makes me bend so she can press a kiss to my check. "Prends soin de lui Tae," she whispers.

Take care of him.

"I will."

Jungkook waves one last time as we leave the giant house behind, the ocean receding in the rearview mirror, Paradise Shores becoming a memory once more.

The drive is silent, the quiet between us getting heavier with each mile of road that carries us closer to Seoul.

I glance over at Jungkook. He's been worrying his bottom lip, practically nonstop. "Thank you for coming this weekend," I say. "It was great to have you there."

"I enjoyed myself. More than I thought I would. Your family, Taehyung... they're so great."

"They really liked you. All of them, which is an accomplishment." I shake my head. "You managed to win over both my father and Yeon, too."

He scoffs. "Well, I didn't exactly speak to your dad again after the little outburst. He might still hate me."

"He doesn't," I say. "He told me that before the wedding."

"He did?"

I nod, weighing my words. "He said you were brave." He'd also told me to put a ring on his finger as soon as possible.

"Wow," he says. "Maybe I should start arguments with more people. Seems like a winning strategy for me."

I reach over and put a hand on his knee. "It certainly worked on me. Your application letter was one hell of an introduction."

He puts a hand on mine. "What your mom said... is that the reason I was here, beyond moral support and work? Because your family really wants to see you with someone?"

Damn. I should've seen that one coming.

"I'm not going to lie," I say. "When I first asked you, that was my thinking.
Combined with the fact that we would be able to get work done, it seemed like a perfectly legitimate reason." I shake my head at myself. "But it was all justifications, really. I wanted you here with me. Spending time with you is the most fun I've had in a very long time. My mother's opinion, the wedding, work... it was all justifications for my own, selfish desires. I'm sorry for that, though."

He threads his fingers through mine. "You're forgiven," he says. "I'll admit that I'm not exactly innocent either... Even before we had the negotiation, I'd decided to join."

"Really?"

"Yes. The contract, my requirements... It was to prove to myself that I wasn't a pushover. That I had dignity. But in reality, I wouldn't have said no. How could I? I've never been able to say no to you."

I grip his hand tighter. "We're on the exact same page there, Kook."

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To be continued

The wedding is over...!!! And they are going back to their regular life.

Will they be able to stay in their little world full of love and admiration or the reality is gonna be too harsh on them?????!