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Y/n POV

I avoided Taehyung since that night. I think I don’t want anything to do with him. And since Jungkook acted so harshly that night, too, because of him, the more I don’t want to get involved with him. It's just gonna be more trouble.

"I heard Taehyung-ssi is getting fired," a colleague gossiped on a Tuesday morning in the office.

I was completely shocked. Taehyung is a hardworking employee. He started off earlier than me, and he has done nothing but work efficiently for his team. I can't find any reason for the higher-ups to terminate him.

"Why? Did you hear why?" I asked concerned.

"I heard he got into some argument with the Chairman's son last week right after the ball. And that's it. He's out. Well, you can’t question why when it’s the CEO-to-be."

I feel a surge of guilt come over me hearing her. It can't be because of me. It can't be my fault, right? Who am I to— but I clearly recall Jungkook’s words that night. You're mine, and no one's taking you away from me. I suddenly felt scared. Why did he threaten me? And why is Taehyung being laid off now? I don't want to think of anything horrifying. But I can't help but get scared for myself.

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I can't even ask him. He asked to meet me out right now, and he's treating me some dinner again at a nice fancy restaurant.

"Why aren't you eating?" He asked as he slices the piece of premium beef he ordered. 

I can’t look at him. I’m a bit scared. But I can’t get the issue out of my head. I can't stop myself from asking anyways, "I heard Kim Taehyung got fired today."

He slows down chewing on his food and looks up to me, now with dark, serious eyes. His jaw clenches at each movement. My heart jumps at how he appears right now. It's nothing like I’ve ever seen before. He was angry that night after the ball, but his eyes were much darker now than it was then. It feels so dangerous. I feel so threatened.

"What is it to you?" he asked, gritting his teeth.

"N-nothing... daepyo-nim," I look down on my food and shivers softly.

“Just eat. Company matters don’t concern you. Don’t stick your nose in it.”

“Dae…” I feel so stupid. I knew I won’t be able to talk back to him. Why bother asking then? Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, he tells me something trivial.

"You can call me Jungkook when we're alone," he said, then resumes eating his food. "Eat Y/n before it gets cold."

Jungkook? How can I even call him that? I thought. But his expression is a little gentle now. I feel relieved he’s not really mad at me.

After finishing my food and leaving the place, we ended up at a different 5-star hotel. The ambiance is as elegant as usual. But I’m slowly getting dizzy from all the bling blings all over the place.  It's too bright for me.

"Let's bathe together," he said as he held my hand and pulled me to the bath.

What?? I scream inside. And then I pulled my hand from him and hugged myself, slightly shaking from the shock. My eyes are wide open, staring back at him.

He glanced at me for a moment, and then he burst out laughing, grabbing his stomach from laughing out loud. “That was epic y/n. You should’ve seen your face.”

I almost cried from the surprise it made me teary-eyed. “Please don’t joke about something like that ever again, daepyo-nim.”

“I’m sorry, I was just playing with you. Get on with your job, and I’ll just take a shower, okay?” He said.

I’m still looking at him cuz I’m still shocked at what he just did. And seeing that I’m still not back to my comfortable self, he added, “Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to do anything you don’t want to. I don’t force girls y/n. Girls come to me.”

That didn’t calm me down, though. No matter how many times we do this, I will never get used to it. I don't love him, and he doesn't love me either. I will always feel uneasy staying in the same room every time.

I set my things at the table as he proceeds to take a shower. But today, he suddenly walked out of his room with only a towel wrapped around his torso. Is he seducing me? No way. He's facing me so I can see everything. He’s purposely doing it, and my eyes automatically wander at his chest down to his chiseled abs. For once, it makes me feel weak, thinking about other girls who would surely do anything to trade places with me in their lifetime just to spend a single night with him.

Jungkook POV

I smirk as I catch her checking out my body. Then I said, "It’s not too late to go back on your word and bathe with me y/n."

She goes back to reality as she fumbles with her things. She’s still working on the translation thing that I came up with randomly cuz of that stupid guy. Now, I had to resort to seducing her just to keep her mind off any other guy. She must’ve felt dazed. I’m doing this to help her. She has to realize that.

But then I get a little irritated at how hard she tries to ignore me. How can she refuse to look at my body? It’s not easy to look this good. Doesn’t she know that I… of course, she doesn’t. Is she looking down on me? I have to make sure she’s not. I’m the hottest person she could ever meet in her lifetime.

So I walk over her and check the progress of her work.
“Looks like you’re having a hard time translating.”

I stood a few feet away from her, and she can’t even look up to me. She looks like she's dying from humiliation, and I can’t help but feel pleased cuz she’s absolutely adorable. Enough teasing her, let the girl live, my conscience kicking in. So I excused myself and finally went to the bath.

Y/n POV

Sigh. Was the only thing I could do the moment he walked away. What does he think he’s doing? Walking around half naked like that?  Am I his mother or something? Of course, it would make me feel uncomfortable. Geez, I know he knows he looks good. Why bother flaunting it in-font of me? I knew that from the very beginning. But falling for him won’t do me any good. It would just make everything even more complicated. Our relationship is really questionable right now, and adding that thing of the heart will only mess things up even more. So can you stop daepyo-nim? If only I could tell him that.

So I concentrate on my work the following minutes until he emerges from his room, looking fresh and smelling good. Fortunately, fully dressed right now. Though I didn’t want to look at him cuz it would just distract me yet again. But then maybe distracting me is part of his plans tonight. Cuz he just sat beside me on the couch I’m sitting on. What on earth is he thinking?

“I’ve always wanted to do this,” he said, surprising me. He never starts a conversation when I’m working. He usually just goes for his bed and not care about anything else. We usually see each other the next morning. “It’s interesting how movies look so dramatic with the right cinematography.”

I keep silent. I don’t know how to respond to him. Why’s he suddenly talking about movies and cinematography right now? He’s not making any sense. Right? We’ve never really talked about anything before. It’s just me, my work and him. That’s all it has been these past weeks.

“Tell me about yourself Y/n,” he sounds so casual, asking as if my life is not on the line and my deadline is not fast approaching. I feel pressured. I just want to work on this and go home.

“I’m not sure what you want to know,” I obliged, answering though before he gets mad at me for not talking.

Jungkook POV

I look at her on the side, and she stiffens for a moment but relaxes soon. “Like how you ended up stealing the money?” Yeah, might as well ask her about things.

I can’t see her face fully, but I can decipher the truth from the sound of her voice. She tells me, “I had to pay for a 13 year old debt my father left when I was young. It blew up so much that I had to resort to stealing.”

I’m waiting for a continuation but it never came. So I ask again, “And what about your father?”

“He died when I was 13,” is her short but concrete reply. I can feel her heart breaking even if I can’t even see her face. From then, silence surrounds us.

Guilt beholds me once again in a while. Childhood memories came back to me when a man was shot dead in front of me, and all I did was stare as his blood flowed through the pavement.

Not knowing what to say, I suddenly have the urge to tap her shoulder and pat her hair. She slightly flinches from my touch, but she lets me. She doesn’t ask questions. That’s the best thing about her, but I know she’s wondering why. Why I’m doing all these things. But I can’t tell her yet. I haven’t done enough to have the courage to tell her. And until I do, that’s the right time for her to know. For now, I just have to make sure I don’t lose her.

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To be continued…

nantokanarusa 24.01.06