•Lust of Innocence•

Nari nodded in thanks to Taehyung as he held open the door for her to exit his boss' office, and she couldn't help but smile at the kind gesture. Despite finishing the meeting with Boss Man-nim, her hands still felt slightly clammy from the nervousness she felt from before. It isn't everyday that a reserved girl like her is requested to see the boss of a male strip club. It was as if the initial walk to the office caused a variety of scenarios to swarm her mind, but in the end, she's quite satisfied with the way things went... all things considered.

The two could hear the men beyond the corner talking to one another and since they were occupied, she thought it would be a good time to get details on this volunteer opportunity before Jimin or that green-headed, demonic specimen saw her. Grabbing onto the sleeve of the man in front of her, she muttered, "Hey, Taehyung?" He turned to her and waited for her to continue with curious eyes, slightly intrigued by what the quiet girl had to say to him.

"About this volunteer thing, when should I be here?"

He looked up for a moment in thought, thinking of the date. After a few moments of drowning silence, he snapped his fingers, startling Nari, and exclaiming, "Ah, right! If you could be here two days from now at around 2, that would be great! We're closing the place down for a couple days so we can get the walls painted and dried before we open back up."

She nodded and looked up at him while saying, "Also, thank you for recommending me for this. This volunteer stuff has been burdening me lately because I haven't had the time to thoroughly look into anything." Taehyung's face lit up at her words, for helping people out always makes him feel a little better about himself. However, trying to keep a cool composure, he brushed it off and said a 'no worries' before patting her shoulder and walking away.

The brown-headed girl clutched the strap of her bag as she walked out from behind the corner, hopefully making her presence known. However, she jumped a bit when she heard a booming, "Yah! Jungkook-ah! I left a bag of chips here and they disappeared!" Just across the room she saw a fuming Seokjin pointing at the bar top with an accusatory glare at the youngest employee. To her surprise, Jungkook returned the glare and aggressively put the towel that was hanging on his shoulder onto the counter, as if accepting a fight request.

"Why are you pointing fingers at me, hyung? I've been minding my own business this whole time." Jin put his hands on his hips and tilted his head up while speaking so quick, it was as if his words were gibberish. Nari was able to make out a, "Yah, who else is gluttonous here, huh? I already buy you food everyday and you still have the audacity to steal from me!"

Even though Jungkook was being scolded, he still couldn't help the smile that graced his lips and showed off his teeth. When Jin was angry, it was more so funny to him than scary. The girl couldn't blame him though- it was like watching an old man scold a child for changing the channels on the television without permission. Jimin, being the one to always get involved in affairs even when they don't concern him, placed his arm around his hyung's shoulders and said, "Hyung~ give Kookie the benefit of the doubt. You make bad decisions when you're hungry too, selfish even."

The elder's eyes nearly popped out at the disrespect dripping from the younger individual's words. Although Nari wanted to stay to listen to the amusing argument between the younger ones and the oldest, she thought it would be best to be on her way unnoticed. Taking a glance at the older man that held a blank expression while he put glasses in their correct order, she made sure he wouldn't see her because she wasn't in the mood to be scowled at, and quietly walked past the group of men. Luckily for her, they didn't spare her a glance due to being occupied with their own discussions.

•••

After going over her schedule for the next week and avoiding going out for the next couple days in order to manage her time efficiently, Nari was able to keep her schedule open for volunteering at the strip club. On the same day she accepted the offer, Jimin texted asking where she went, but to her surprise, didn't ask about the details from the meeting. She assumed Taehyung told him, so she didn't see the need in telling the man herself. It took her a while to find a sufficient outfit for the type of work she would be doing, though she wasn't completely sure what her tasks would be. Playing it safe, she found an old oversized T-shirt and washed out skinny jeans, and tucked the shirt in so she wouldn't look extremely small, though she wasn't that short.

The weather was abnormally hot that day and although she's a hard worker who doesn't complain in most circumstances, she internally prayed for all the work to be done indoors. Air conditioning sounded surreal and she was in favor of avoiding the outdoors altogether if possible. When Nari parked outside the club, it didn't take long for her to notice that there were more cars than normal when it was closed. She wiped off the confused expression on her face when she figured there were more volunteers, however a bit surprised that there were others who agreed to assisting a male strip club as easily as she did.

Just from outside the glass doors, she could see a few familiar faces, and some unknown, performing different tasks all throughout the establishment. It took a bit of willpower to open the doors because she didn't want everyone looking at her. It was an idiotic insecurity, but being the center of attention was not favorable for her. When she took her first step inside, the cool air conditioning whipped her in the face and she couldn't help the relieved smile that graced her features.

The first person she saw was Jimin staring at her in confusion while he was holding two heavy boxes, shamelessly showing off his strong flexed biceps from the weight. She cleared her throat and forced her eyes to not look at his arms, and waved at him. He set down the boxes and took quick strides towards her while saying, "I didn't know you were gonna be here... are you volunteering?"

The brown-headed girl tilted her head and pursed her lips before saying, "Yeah, Taehyung didn't tell you? That's why I met with your boss." Jimin nodded his head in understanding and his eyes glanced at her hair that was up in a messy pony tail. The man surprised her when he flicked her pony tail while grinning and said, "I've never seen you with your hair up so messily. Did you even brush it?"

Her mouth fell agape and she playfully slapped his arm when exclaiming, "Yah, I didn't come here to impress anyone, certainly not you."

His goofy expression turned into that of fake hurt as he placed a hand over his 'broken heart.' Jimin scoffed before saying, "Wow, I felt that." Nari giggled at his childish antics and he smiled so wide that his eyes were just barely visible. He was truly enjoying that moment of them just smiling and laughing together, but it was immediately cut off when Taehyung popped out of nowhere and threw his arm over Nari's shoulder, his other hand holding onto a basic brown clipboard.

She was a bit shocked by the sudden physical contact, but the vibe was friendly more-so than flirtatious, which she was thankful for. Jimin narrowed his eyes at first, but he knows how touchy his best friend can be, so he was quick to brush it off. He swore to himself he wasn't the jealous type, so it didn't bother him much. Taehyung gave the shorter girl a cheeky smile when saying, "Glad you could make it! I have the list of chores here and you are on painting duty," he pushed the clipboard closer towards her so she could see for herself, then continued, "And it looks like you are painting with a... Joohyuk."

She glanced up at him in curiosity and asked, "Eh? Who's that?" Taehyung released his hold on her and scanned the room with his eyes squinted. Once he spotted his target of interest, he stood on his tip-toes and waved his hand when yelling, "Yah, Joohyuk! Come here!"

Jimin turned around, curious who the guy was since he wasn't paying attention to anyone's names the entire time he was there. When his eyes landed on a guy who seemed slightly older but a whole lot taller, his gaze turned into a discriminatory one. The guy was actor-like handsome and it was just his luck the woman of his interest had to be paired with a guy like him. Jimin quickly shrugged off the thoughts of jealousy as the taller man approached and smiled at the three of them.

Taehyung motioned to the girl when explaining, "Joohyuk, this is Lee Nari and you two will be painting the two walls across the bar and the ones outside in the back together." Joohyuk looked down at the woman and smiled while reaching out to shake her hand and showing her a kind smile. She did the same, and as they were shaking hands, he said, "It'll be a pleasure to work with you."

The orange-haired male cocked his head to the side a bit and cleared his throat. The other three glanced at him and he cooly said, "Well, you two get working then, yeah?" Nari was surprised by his sudden seriousness and nodded. Joohyuk led the way, but before she could catch up to his pace, Jimin grabbed her hand and said in a low tone, "If you need any help, let me know, okay?"

She scoffed at the man, but laid her hand on his and said, "I'm not completely helpless, you know. It's just painting, but I'll hold you to that offer nonetheless." He gave her a small smile and let her go, carefully watching as she caught up to the taller man and smiled at him as they approached the paint and brushes.

Jimin shot his best friend an accusatory glare when saying, "Yah, why did you pair her with that guy? I mind as well quit my job and offer it to him."

Taehyung shrugged and responded, "I didn't really think about it when I made up the pairings..." the shorter male crossed his arms while staring at the two. The brown-headed man gave him a pervy look and wrapped his arms around his friend when saying, "Plus, I think you're way sexier than that guy." Jimin gave him a look of disgust before forcefully pushing Taehyung off of him and lowly exclaiming a "get off of me, man!"

•••

While beginning their painting session, Joohyuk glanced down at the girl focusing on how pigmented the gray paint was. He chuckled to himself and cleared his throat before breaking the ice by awkwardly saying, "So... how did you end up volunteering at a male strip club?"

She glanced up at him for a moment before referring back to her work and saying, "I know some of the employees here and one of them recommended me for the job because he knew I needed the credit for college."

The taller male blatantly let out a sigh in relief and responded, "Oh, thank goodness. I thought you were a regular or something." Nari let out a shocked scoff and felt a wave of defense wash over her when she said, "N-Never! I don't prefer to seek entertainment from men taking their clothes off, though I'm not against it..." Joohyuk rose his eyebrow at her last statement. She huffed and cursed, "Shit, that came out wrong. What I mean is that I'm not against their profession."

The man snorted and smiled at the girl's awkward cuteness and said, "That makes sense." She gave him a side glance before asking, "And how about you? Did you end up here because you're a regular? I mean, whichever way you swing..."

His eyes widened and he stopped painting completely when saying in a deeper voice than before, "It's not like that! Women are more my style, but my friend is a dishwasher here and offered me some money to help out." Nari softly chuckled and gave him a teasing glance before replying, "I was just kidding, but I appreciate your outburst of defense."

Joohyuk tsked at her and returned back to painting. A question that has been bugging him popped up in his head and he asked, "So, do you have any idea why some of these employees have such exotic hair colors? Like the guy over there has pink hair for crying out loud!" Nari laughed whole-heartedly at his question, but she eventually did take some time to ponder his words. It intrigued her as well, and she took a mental note to ask Jimin about that later.

•••

As Jimin was setting up some decorations around the club, his eyes would frequently wander off to Nari and Joohyuk. He promised himself he wouldn't be the jealous type, but hearing Nari laugh and smile at such a handsome guy made him feel insecure. Of course, he considered himself to be an attractive guy in most areas, but he was positive any other individual would feel the same in this situation.

Namjoon had been shamelessly watching Jimin stack objects and then look over at the two, then go back to stacking, and glancing over again. It amused him to no end and he snorted at the younger one's expression that held a new level of seriousness. His eyebrows were knitted together with his jaw clenched, and his grip on the objects he was setting up was tighter than any normal human would need to use. Patting his friend's shoulder from behind the bar, Namjoon said, "Assert your dominance already."

Jimin immediately changed and loosened up. He gave the elder a look of curiosity when asking, "What do you mean by that?"

The pink-headed man motioned for him to come closer and when the younger obliged, he started by saying, "First of all, it's blatantly obvious you're bothered. I can just see the steam of jealousy radiating off of you." The shorter male opened his mouth to defend himself, but Namjoon interrupted when saying, "And don't say you're not. Just listen to the master." He shut his mouth and focused his full attention on his taller friend. Smirking in satisfaction, the flirtatious man continued, "You need to show that guy who you are to Princess Nari."

He took his gaze off of Jimin and squinted his eyes at Joohyuk from across the room. He sighed in confirmation and looked back at the younger one while saying, "Yep, he's definitely got the hots for her."

Jimin narrowed his eyes at him, "How can you tell?"

Namjoon gestured for him to turn his head towards the two. Lowering his voice, he explained, "See how he's progressively moving closer to her? And take notice at how he's constantly looking at her even when they're not talking... he's totally whipped, though I don't blame him." Jimin turned his head in Namjoon's direction at a fast pace, though the elder ignored his burning gaze and placed his chin on his palm, "Your girl has that shy innocence that drives guys like that dude crazy. She's definitely not easy and that's always an adventure for us men."

The orange-haired man couldn't help the blush the crossed his cheeks when his hyung referred to Nari as 'his girl.' Although the two didn't completely confirm their relationship, he had no intentions of letting her go anytime soon. He definitely had feelings for her and he could tell she felt the same. Besides, it wasn't his style to make such confirmations through mere words. The man just hoped he was forward enough for her to understand how he feels.

While still staring at the handsome male interacting with Nari, he muttered, "Hyung... tell me what to do."

•••

"Aw man, your brush got paint on my shirt..." Nari playfully pouted. She was shocked she was able to get along with a male counterpart in such a short amount of time. He was friendly and his looks didn't intimidate her like they would before. Dating a hot stripper really made her mature, and her current attitude proved that to be true.

"Your shirt was ugly anyway," Joohyuk teased. The girl glared at him, but thought it best to finish up her portion. She had just one spot left, but it was a little too high for her height. She didn't want the man next to her notice her struggle, so she tried to strategically extend her arm higher without dislocating anything. Before she could even come close to succeeding in her attempts, a hand swiftly grabbed the brush from her and she felt another lay on the small of her back. Her dark eyes glanced up at the man next her and she gulped in nervousness.

His head was tilted upward, showing off his sharp jawline and long neck. She didn't notice before, but his side profile was something else. Not to mention, he was so close and touchy with her, his torso making contact with hers and the hand that lay on her back intentionally pulling her just a centimeter closer. Jimin looked down at the girl and smirked at her expression, "You look like a strawberry right now."

She placed her hand on her cheek and noticed how hot her face felt. It was as if all of the blood in her body rushed to her face and decided to make her look embarrassingly flustered. His hold on her didn't loosen as he finished her job and handed her the paint brush back, "It's okay, babe. You can't help your height."

Nari playfully scowled at him and exclaimed, "You can't either... you're pretty short for a guy." Joohyuk snorted at that and glanced at Jimin. The orange-haired man let his tongue poke the inside of his cheek while shooting the taller man a dark glare. Nari wasn't even the receiver of that look, but she felt it and immediately assessed the situation. After careful analyzation, she realized what was going on and couldn't help but become even redder than before.

In normal circumstances, she wasn't a huge fan of guys who get easily jealous, but she knows Jimin and understands he isn't the alpha male she expected him to be before. He was sweet and understanding, but she knows how it must feel for guys to witness attractive males interact playfully with girls they like. When it comes to Jimin, she feels like she would react the same.

She gave him a wide smile and he was quite startled at her sudden expression. To his surprise, she gave him a quick embrace and thanked him for his help to make him feel better about the situation. Joohyuk was also shocked and cleared his throat, disappointment lingering. The atmosphere held a bit of tension of all types, but was interrupted when Taehyung walked over, nodding his head in satisfaction at the work they accomplished.

"Great job, guys. You can get started out back now." The two workers nodded and Nari gave Jimin a squeeze on his shoulder while shooting him a look of reassurance. He smiled warmly at her and told her to work hard. His eyes stayed glued to the girl as he watched Nari leave through the back door.

•••

No particular words could describe the way the front doors were pushed open to reveal the sight of a woman so divine walking in with increasing boosts of confidence in her steps. It was such a shock to those that witnessed the final wave of understanding that there will be more to their work lives than ever before. Keeping that entire first impression sewn to her lovely smile, the woman approaches the seven men staring at her in utter confusion.

"There she is. My entertainer in training," The boys' boss suddenly speaks through the silence, catching everyone's attention. His prominent posture loosens slightly as he bows towards the unknown lady, "Pleasure to see that you've come today."

An unavoidable shock strikes across the faces of the employees, all heads turning to the girl to see how she would react. As expected, she returns the gesture along with a pearly-white smile. To everyone whom had been working there for years, it made no sense as to why a female entertainer would be training in their workplace only filled with males. Of course, there were some females that worked in the back area in the kitchen or helping out with boxes and getting supplies, but to be upfront and in the public eye in their stripping business was considered new.

"I apologize for being a little late," the girl looked worried as she spoke, stepping closer to the circle of men, "Traffic on the south side of the city was really busy today."

"Nonsense. Come and have a seat." Boss Man-nim waves his hand once before leading her over to an empty table  to sit down. They begin chatting about her arrival to town and work-scheduling dates as if no one else had been standing around the room. All six boys remaining had exchanged looks before scurrying over and huddling together behind the bar counter.

"You're seeing this, right?" Taehyung whispered worriedly.

"I wish I wasn't," Yoongi murmured as he turned to Namjoon, who, with usual calmness, was not exactly fitting the term "relaxed" at the moment. He was fixated on the people conversing across the room. The mint-haired waiter grabbed at the taller man for his attention, taking all of his might not to raise his voice, "Tell me, man! Tell me I am dreaming!"

"What we can do about it? It's not like we can kick her out when she was invited over. It's rude, and being rude gives me wrinkles...Not down for that, given that I already babysit six big babies who show no appreciation." Seokjin gently patted his face before dramatically throwing his arms around Hoseok to rest himself upon. Hoseok rolled his eyes before giving up and proceeding to smile cheekily at his elder. 

Jimin fumbled with the pockets of his shorts, looking back at the woman and his boss sharing continuous laughter at some story about one of her dogs. He had no idea what to think. Meanwhile, Jungkook frowned, "So what does this mean for us?"

Hoseok takes the chance to speak up, "I think this shouldn't be too much of a pain. Shouldn't recruiting more employees be a positive idea?"   His eyes search the others for an answer.

Namjoon shook his head as he finally responded, "I don't exactly think the male strippers will be given enough attention if a really pretty girl gets on the poles. More money definitely comes in," he sighed. With another glance at the two people conversing, he lowered his gaze, "Not for our staff...but for her."

"Just perfect." Yoongi muttered, leaning his elbows over on the counter to rest his chin in his hands.

"-And speaking of work," The boss suddenly rises from his seat, pointing in the group's direction, "One of my youngest ones, Jimin, will be helping you get a feel for the poles until further notice. He's my best entertainer, so you should fit right in quite soon." He proudly motions for the orange-haired man to step out and introduce himself.

"It keeps getting worse," whispered Jungkook with wide eyes.

Taehyung let out a huff of disappointment and nudged Jimin forward, his posture a bit slumped. The longer the two would be waiting there, the more awkward it could be. "Go on." He softly said, with hope that it sounded encouraging enough, however, knew it was just not fitting well.

"Hello," the girl bows her head respectfully, "Nice to meet you. My name is Eunjae. I hope we can be good friends and coworkers." She had a sparkling look to her eyes, Jimin noticed. But nothing compared to Nari, he thought before respectively returning the bow. "Nice to meet you as well. I'll show you around." He smiled, guiding her to the stages.

Taehyung checked his clipboard and patted his friends' backs before dashing off through the kitchen doors to complete his duties. Namjoon ran a hand through his pink side-swept hair and took Jungkook with him to finish stocking up the liquor. Hoseok followed Jin backstage to the dressing rooms to discuss music plans and performance practices where there weren't any distractions. Yoongi was left to clean tables, his mind elsewhere in deep thought.

Jimin made it clear to Eunjae that she needed to work hard on her individual skills and persona on stage. He insisted that she tried her catwalk and balance before pole work to see if she was able to keep her act continuing throughout a performance. Flawlessly, her composure was strong and had great charisma all around when she proved that her walk was a one of-a-kind perfection. Jimin applauded her quietly and moved on to the pole.

"How many reservations have you taken up on? I'll judge from the numbers once you begin." he said. With total honesty, he felt proud of his knowledge about the entertainment industry and was good at predicting one's skills.

"Around 37 total in my last few companies. They usually reserved me for private one-client dance specials," Eunjae explained as simply as she could. "I'm capable of doing shifts on the pole as well. It would be better if I got some more moves to work with, though."

Jimin chuckles, "I suppose that's why you came to our company." He was beginning to warm up to the onyx-haired girl after some time talking about their past occupations leading up to this day. Jimin had always met new people that had large entertainment backgrounds and learned other things from them. Hearing Eunjae speak was just like any other friend he met along the streets of Seoul.

"Oh definitely," Eunjae nodded, "Always good to get experience from different workplaces." Ten minutes go by as Jimin adjusts Eunjae's hand placement and leg balance on the pole. She keeps apologizing for her small mistakes and Jimin shakes it off with a "you'll get used to it eventually" pep talk. It is until the back doors open that the sight of those two look completely different to the eyes of another walking in.

"Well this is interesting," Joohyuk almost gasped at the sight, "What are they doing?"

Nari followed right behind his tracks, peeking around his tall frame with curiosity. Her ponytail hung as her head tilted at the scene in front of her, fingers tugging lightly at the clothes dirtied from the occasional splashes of paint. Her lips begin to press together and she gives herself time to figure out what exactly had been going on when she and Joohyuk left.

"Jimin?" Nari had a strange feeling in her gut, like air being punched out of her. Joohyuk puts down the cans of paint from his hands onto a nearby table, a little too loudly and purposefully, causing the two people on stage to halt their actions. "Taehyung! We're finished!" He called aloud, keeping his eyes locked on the orange-haired male as he walked off to the kitchen area to find the clipboard-hugging employee.

"Oh, you guys are quick." Jimin smiled at the remaining girl with his pretty teeth. Nari puffed her cheeks out, internally hating herself for falling for such a simple expression. She makes her way over to the pair.

"So uh," she started, unsure of what to say, "What's uhm...you know...up?" She figured she tried her best to get the right words out, but nonetheless, ended up with something else. She sighed deeply at her failed attempt. Jimin looks at Eunjae and back at Nari, both staring at him with questioning gazes. Pulling herself up properly, Eunjae folded her hands behind her back and decided on letting the two speak.

"My bad," The orange-haired man apologized, "This is a misunderstanding, I wasn't-"

"-Excuse me, but you're blocking my job from being done." Yoongi aggressively intervenes.

The teal-haired waiter carries two whole boxes of stage clothing and accessories for the dressing rooms, pushing Nari off to the side as he shoves his way through the narrowness of his path. The brunette stumbles and hits the wall on her side, glaring at the back of Yoongi's head as he passed. Giving one last look at the stage area to a baffled Jimin, Nari held her irritation, "Let's just get back to work..." leaving the two alone as she went to look for Taehyung in the back.

•Lust of Innocence•

•••~ Hiya guys, sorry for being late... again, but I'm sure it's not surprising at this point. If you're still keeping up with this book, we are really grateful and thank you so much!

•••~Milly here~ We appreciate all the readers that have waited patiently for our busy asses to update. Hopefully this chapter fills y'all up for the months we have been gone! Until the next one! ❤️