Taehyung's interaction with Jeongguk ghosted at the back of his head for the weekdays that followed their negotiation meeting. He had to admit that the matter didn't float in his head during work hours, or on the following Friday night he went out for dinner with his co-workers. However, he felt a pang in his chest every time his supervisor mentioned the case and as he worked on it throughout the week, getting ready for the next negotiation meeting. He thought about their interaction after he went home after work, when he sat down on the couch of his small apartment after a shower, a can of beer in his hand and the LED TV vibrant and loud in front of him. He thought of Jeongguk and his words that day. It must've been years since they actually spoke to each other like this.

They broke up when they were eighteen, right before they faced their college admission exam. And now, they were twenty-seven. They never really spoke in the decade that followed, except for small heated conversations and sometimes even full-blown arguments that their friends had to intervene to stop. Therefore, they never actually "spoke". Taehyung didn't know what they were. They were not friends. Friends liked each other. Taehyung and Jeongguk hated each other. Well... Jeongguk hated Taehyung. And Taehyung... didn't exactly hate him. Jeongguk annoyed him. He disliked the other man most of the time. Disliked how he acted and ignored Taehyung.

Were they enemies? Taehyung didn't know. From their behaviour around each other, one would call them that.

They were adults. They should be able to move past a breakup that happened almost a decade ago. They should've been able to actually "speak" about what happened and solve it out. But no. Their encounters were as rare as once or every two years, or as common as once every few months (That is, if either of them decided to show up regardless of the other person's presence). These encounters were because of friend hangouts mostly, throughout the last decade and not once did they end a day without an argument or a fight. Taehyung knew that decade's time should have been enough to solve the conflict between them. And Taehyung tried, the first time they met after getting into universities.

However, Jeongguk was one to keep grudges. He was petty. And Taehyung's efforts to clear the air between them and just... not hate each other so they could hang out with their friends in peace... went to waste. And Taehyung too gave up. If Jeongguk couldn't grow the fuck up and be an adult to put the past in the past, Taehyung didn't want to waste his energy.

And nothing changed between them for the last decade. They were not friends. Jeongguk was no enemy to Taehyung. However, Taehyung was sure that Jeongguk felt about him that way.

And every time they had a conversation, or rather, a heated exchange of words, Jeongguk managed to drive him up the fucking wall.

However, for once in the last decade, the air seemed to shift after Taehyung blurted out something so... profane. Something out of their past that was so intimate. He crossed a line. Jeongguk's reaction was interesting... but made Taehyung feel worse. He was embarrassed and he didn't know how he was going to face Jeongguk in the next meeting.

Maybe, if Taehyung was lucky, Jeongguk wouldn't show up. He would send someone else to represent the company.

However, Taehyung was never a lucky person. Whether or not Jeongguk turns up at the next negotiation meeting, Tehyung will have to face the consequences of his profane words one day.

Maybe not today. Therefore, Taehyung sighed, relaxing against his musty couch and gulped down his cold beer.

-

The private meeting room buzzed with formality and simmering tension, a stark contrast to the serene luxury of the hotel owned by Jeongguk, that lay beyond its walls. Soft, muted tones adorned the walls, and the polished mahogany table at the centre of the room gleamed under the soft glow of recessed lighting. Plush leather chairs surrounded the table, on one of which Taehyung sat next to his client, Mr Park, a united front against the looming presence of Jeongguk and his lawyer.

All four members of the meeting arrived ahead of time to the discussed hour and for once, Taehyung regretted being early to a meeting. Because Jeongguk– a striking reminder of the universe's hatred towards Taehyung, sat right in front of him, divided only by the wooden table and paperwork spread in front of the parties.

"Shall we start?" Lee Dongwook said, looking at his wristwatch.

"Yeah" Taehyung nodded, handing a file to the fellow lawyer.

"We have a proposal" Mr. Lee said. "We decided to give Mr. Park a severance as well as a new job at one of StarCorp's subsidiaries, which Mr. Park will have full authority to choose. And including that, we will give a settlement of ten million won for the hospital bills and mental distress"

Taehyung took the file Dongwook handed over to him and started looking through it. "We haven't changed the settlement amount..." Taehyung started. The meeting dragged on shorter than Taehyung expected and with no tension between Taehyung and Jeongguk since the Chairman didn't speak much. After about one hour, the two parties were walking out of the meeting room.

"I have a separate meeting with Mr. Lee" Taehyung told his client as they walked towards the hotel lobby. "Since we couldn't get into a settlement today too"

"I will meet you this Friday at your office, then?" Mr Park said.

"Yes" Taehyung smiled. Bidding farewell to Mr Park, he headed towards the other lawyer and Jeongguk, who was standing in the lobby.

"Shall we?" Mr Lee asked and Taehyung nodded.

"What?" Jeongguk asked. "What's going on?"

Dongwook smiled. "We are having a separate meeting after lunch"

"Why?" Jeongguk looked confused, staring at Dongwook with wide, sparkling eyes, mouth an adorable pout.

"We decided that if we couldn't come to a settlement by the end of this meeting, we could hold a separate attorneys-only meeting. I proposed it, actually. Since we are trying our best not to make this into a lawsuit"

"Oh" Jeongguk nodded. "Did you book a room?"

"Yes, it's in the previous meeting room. And we will be doing it after lunch"

"You two are having lunch together?" Jeongguk raised his eyebrows.

"Yes it's lunchtime, Mr Jeon"

"Why so many questions, Mr Jeon?" Taehyung asked nonchalantly.

Jeongguk's eyes narrowed as they shifted to Taehyung. He ignored his question and looked back at Dongwook. "I wasn't aware of this"

"Would you like to join us for lunch?" Dongwook smiled. "It could be arranged, if Taehyung is also okay with it"

"I was thinking of talking about the case over lunch too but I guess we can postpone it to the actual meeting" Taehyung tried playing it cool.

Why was Jeongguk so nosy, anyway? He shouldn't be butting into legal matters like this, even if it's his own case.

Could it be... that he's jealous that Taehyung is going to have a private meeting with Dongwook?

No, that can't be. Taehyung mentally shook his thoughts away. Jeongguk hated him. He was sure that the guy was over Taehyung since-

"Sure. I will join you two" Jeongguk smiled.

Taehyung's eyes widened.

"Great! Let's head over to the restaurant. I'm starving" Dongwook grinned.

Taehyung gulped, not knowing what to say. Therefore, he followed the two men into the hotel restaurant in silence.

-

"You two knew each other in University?" Jeongguk asked, forking his steak.

"Yeah. We weren't close, though. I hated his guts back then because he beat my highschore in Company law"

Taehyung laughed. "It didn't matter, at the end of the day. You graduated with first class honours the year before me, right? So did I. It really doesn't matter"

"True" Dongwook grinned.

"Oh" Jeongguk muttered.

"You were one of the university's brightest students. I have heard my lecturers praising you as well" Dongwook said, taking a sip from his water.

Taehyung smiled. "I wasn't aware of that. Putting that aside, you were known to be the one of the brightest students in your year, right?"

"Yeah" Dongwook shrugged. "But man, you had a social life and great academic performance. I envied you because I was basically a bookworm"

Taehyung waved him off. "I was too. "I have missed ample partying opportunities because I wanted to prioritize my studies"

Dongwook smiled. "Speaking of social life... I have been dying to ask you this. Do you remember Beckson?" Dongwook asked with bright eyes, sparkling with curiosity... The mention of the name had the other two men at the table whipping their heads up.

Taehyung gulped. "Y-yeah?"

"Of course, you would remember. You guys were dating back then, right?" Dongwook laughed.

Taehyung's heart almost jumped out of his chest. "What? I was not!" Taehyung's voice was loud enough to make a few other people around them look at him. "We just hung out in first year"

Dongwook's eyebrows knitted together. "But he was after you like a lost puppy all the time. I thought you guys were dating"

"He didn't do well in some subjects so I tutored him sometimes" Taehyung said in a small voice. "We were just friends. Nothing more"

"You guys knew each other in school too, right? I'm pretty sure someone told me that you two were dating back then too and that's why you two chose the same university to atten-"

"That's bullshit!" Taehyung said a little loudly. "Who spread these rumours? I will sue them-"

"Woah, relax, Taehyung" Dongwook smiled. "It's just a rumour"

"I don't understand why in the world anyone would even say that-" Taehyung could feel his anger rise.

"It was probably prompted because you two always hung out" it was clear that Dongwook was being genuine. It was only a normal university mates' conversation for him.

"We were friends. That's what friends do"

"But it is true that you guys were friends in high school?"

Taehyung gulped. "Well, yes but-"

"And you have not seen the way he looked at you back then, like you are some god. Most people on campus believed you two were together from the way you two behaved-"

Jeongguk stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the wooden floor. "The bill will go into my tab" He looked at Dongwook and nodded in farewell and stormed off with a jerk to his step.

"Jeongguk!" Taehyung called after him. He cursed under his breath and started running after Jeongguk without sparing a single look at Dongwook.

Jeongguk's pace was fast as he walked towards the hotel lobby, through the empty hallways with marble floors. Jeongguk took a turn, walking into an empty, dimly lit hallway, that led to what seemed like a ballroom. Taehyung quickened his pace and finally caught up with Jeongguk.

"Jeongguk!" Taehyung called and reached out. He didn't think much when he grabbed Jeongguk's hand with the intention of halting him.

The moment their hands met, Jeongguk jerked his hand away, turning to glare at Taehyung. "Get the fuck away from me. Why are you even following me?"

Taehyung stood in the middle of the hallway, chest rising and falling. He stared at Jeongguk, not knowing how to answer his question. Why exactly did Taehyung follow him? To clear up some misunderstanding? Why would something that happened a decade ago even matter? Besides, Jeongguk hates him anyway. Clearing a misunderstanding would fix nothing.

"I never dated Beckson" Taehyung blurted out.

Jeongguk's frown deepened. "Nobody asked and I don't care"

Taehyung inhaled sharply through his nose. "You do care"

"I do not. I haven't, for the last ten years"

"That's not true" Taehyung muttered. "I just want to clear this misunderstanding"

"It would take us nowhere" Jeongguk grumbled.

Taehyung sighed. He mentally shook his head, giving up. "You're right" He stared at the other man and nodded. "Bye" Taehyung turned around, ready to walk away but-

"You know I always knew Beckson had feelings for you" Jeongguk's voice made Taehyung stop.

Taehyung whirled around. "I did too"

Jeongguk's eyebrows knitted together. "What?!" His voice was loud.

"Yeah, it was pretty obvious"

"You... you knew and you still went with him?" Jeongguk said in disbelief.

"I went to the university he suggested because he was right. It offered the best law program and look where it brought me. I graduated with a first class from the best law faculty in Korea"

Jeongguk scoffed. "You... you hung out with him while knowing about his feelings..." He whispered to himself. "You fucking cheater"

Taehyung frowned, walking towards Jeongguk. "Cheater? How the fuck am I a cheater?"

"You knew about Beckson's feelings and still hung out with him"

"Yes, at university"

"But you knew that he had feelings for you at school too"

"I got the feeling but-"

"You didn't fucking believe me when I told you about it. When I told you that he was trying to break us apart! And that's exactly what he did!"

Taehyung took a few more steps towards Jeongguk, anger making his whole body burn. "We did not break up because of Beckson. We broke up because you couldn't accept the fact that I changed my mind about my dream profession. Because you decided that you can't do long-distance. And because you were so fucking jealous and petty and fucking immature!"

"Oh fuck you!" Jeongguk shouted. "All I ever did was try to save our relationship. You are the one who broke up with me"

"Because you were an immature, jealous fuck" Taehyung shouted. "I couldn't handle your pettiness anymore. I made a decision for my future, and you insisted on blaming a third party. You always look for someone else to blame, Jeongguk. Instead of working through problems, you shift the blame. Beckson wasn't the reason our relationship ended; he never made advances towards me in school or on campus. You were the problem"

Jeongguk let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah, of course. I was the one wrong for sensing that he had feelings for you"

"His feelings for me were irrelevant if you had enough trust in me! Why would you care about someone else's feelings for me when you're the only person I loved?"

Jeongguk glared at Taehyung. "You don't get it! You are so self-centred, Tae. You took that decision without sparing a single thought on me or our relationship-"

"That's why I said we should do long distance, for fuck's sake!"

"Long distance would never work!"

"We are having the same fucking conversation we did ten years ago, Jeongguk. This is going nowhere! And you haven't changed a bit!"

Jeongguk moved closer, his face inches from Taehyung's. He seethed, "Let's not forget, you're the one who ruined this relationship. I tried my best to make it work, but you were so self-absorbed that you couldn't see it. You haven't changed a bit in ten years either, Taehyung."

Taehyung scoffed and stepped in, their chests touching. "Oh yeah?" he retorted. "How would you even know, Jeongguk? You barely spoke to me in the last decade and refused to resolve things between us. I was mature enough to move on from our past, but you kept picking fights every time we met. Make up your mind, Jeongguk. These arguments are pointless."

He could see the way Jeongguk's nostrils flared as he glared at Taehyung. He looked away and let out a brief chuckle. He rolled his tongue over the inside of his cheeks and his eyes were sharp and murderous when he turned back to Taehyung.

"You're so fucking shallow, aren't you" A humorless chuckle. "I can't believe I was ever in love with you"

Taehyung frowned. "The feeling is mutual" He didn't know what he was saying. His whole body was on fire and his hands were fisted on his sides. "I can't believe I was ever in love with someone who's so childish and immature-"

"Really?" Jeongguk cut him off. "That's all you have been saying for the last decade. The only set of insults you have for me. Childish. Immature. Like you are some god. Like you are the saint in this scenario"

Taehyung watched Jeongguk's eyes grow bigger and his eyebrows knitted together as he burned with fury.

"As if you didn't fucking leave me after being together for two whole years. As if you didn't make your jolly way to the other side of the county with some other guy who you swore that didn't have feelings for you!" Jeongguk shouted.

His tone made Taehyung flinch, and the lawyer's fury momentarily eased. His knitted eyebrows loosened and his eyes travelled from Jeongguk's twinkling eyes- glassy and red with anger. The blush that had crept up his whole face and flushed down his neck. His lips trembled– something that Taehyung remembered happening when he felt uncontrollable fury, seconds away from snapping. Jeongguk had been quite the thug at school, after all– not that he hurt or bullied anyone, of course. The shade of his lips matched the shade of the apples of his cheeks. Taehyung caught glimpse of how a pink tongue peeked through those petal lips apply some moisture. However, soon after, he was taking his bottom lip between his teeth ever so slightly. Regardless, Taehyung had known Jeongguk far too long to understand that he was indeed chewing on his bottom lip, and that he usually did so when he was angry or conflicted.

"And you, Taehyung," Jeongguk continued seconds after his previous statement. "You are nothing but a selfish, heartless jer–"

Taehyung didn't let Jeongguk finish. He felt something snap in his brain and the next moment, he was fisting his hands on Jeongguk's collar and slamming his lips against the other man's.

Jeongguk stumbled back with Taehyung's force and he sucked in a sharp breath through his nose. However, he made no attempt to push Taehyung away. Therefore, Taehyung kept his lips pressed against Jeongguk eyes fluttering close as he enjoyed the feeling of Jeongguk's lips against his own. Oh, those petal lips that Taehyung always wished to kiss for the rest of-

Taehyung's eyes snapped open after seconds, his brain finally comprehending what he had just done. He pushed himself away from Jeongguk, stumbling back, eyes as wide as saucers. He watched in horror at the other man a few feet away from him, eyes slowly fluttering open to look at Taehyung. His eyebrows were arched in surprise.

He looked mad, Taehyung thought. Taehyung cursed himself and bit his tongue to stop himself from cursing out loud.

"I'm so sorry-" Taehyung let out. "I didn't mean to-"

Jeongguk started advancing towards him, eyebrows now knitted together in what Taehyung knew as fury. This was it. Taehyung was going to eat Jeongguk's fist. As Jeongguk approached, Taehyung mentally prepared himself for the slap or the fist that came his way.

However, Jeongguk only stopped once he was chest to chest with Taehyung and the next thing he knew, the other man was pulling Taehyung towards himself and slamming his lips against him.

Taehyung felt himself gasp into the kiss but he kissed back as intensely as Jeongguk. He placed one of his hands on the back of Jeongguk's head and the other on his waist, pushing him towards himself. Jeongguk let out a small noise from the back of his throat and Taehyung felt something snap inside him. He parted his lips, letting his tongue graze Jeongguk's lips. Jeongguk didn't hesitate to let Taehyung through, a moan escaping him as Taehyung started exploring his mouth. Jeongguk's whole body was pressed against him and Jeongguk kept tugging Taehyung's body towards himself.

Taehyung felt himself groan, hand moving downwards from Jeongguk's waist to the swell of his ass. The kiss was getting heated by the minute and their bodies moved together fuelled by lust. Taehyung himself didn't have it coming when he pushed Jeonguk until his back hit the nearest wall and he pressed himself tightly against the man. He started kissing Joengguk even harder, more passionately, pouring the longing and need of the last decade into it.

"Taehyung" Jeongguk moaned.

Taehyung pulled away, puffs of breath escaping as he looked at Jeongguk's half-lidded eyes, dark with lust.

Taehyung groaned, attaching his lips to Jeongguk's neck. Jeongguk whimpered, hand tightening against Taehyung's shoulder. Taehyung could feel Jeongguk's nails through the fabric of his shirt and oh, how he used to love when Jeongguk left marks on his back. The thought didn't help as he sucked a hickey into Jeongguk's neck but Jeongguk pushed him away.

"W-we can't-" Jeongguk whispered, eyes big and glassy and he looked up at Taehyung.

"Why not?" Taehyung breathed.

Jeongguk gulped, deliberating his next words until he finally spoke: "Not here" Jeongguk looked heavenly but he was a devilish temptation.

"Upstairs" Jeongguk whispered. "I have access to the presidential suite"

Taehyung stared. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

A ghost of a smile appeared on Jeongguk's lips. He leaned off the wall and took Taehyung's wrist, dragging him out of the lonely hallway. Taehyung followed a silly grin on his face and a heavy boner in his trousers.

He could only hope that he would be able to control himself till they got to the suite.

🪢

hehe 😉