It had been five days already since Jungkook and Y/n came to Bangkok. All these days passed while they discussed the plans and statistics to make a perfect presentation. Taehyung and Jungkook were the perfect mentors for her and Sohee was a great supporter and together they made the best team.

During the entire one week of business trip, they attended several workshops that helped her with her preparation and today was the day when she would finally have to show what she was capable of.

Jungkook's hand caressed her knee as she continuously bit her lip in nervousness.

"Don't worry you are going to do well." His words of affirmation were like a boost for her everytime she was on the verge of losing her confidence.

In no time, they were in front of the massive glass building where the seminar was going to be conducted.

Luxurious cars were aligned at the entrance. The well known business tycoons from all around the world had gathered in one place. Paparazzi clicking their pictures and shouting them to pose, made her nervous. She rubbed her sweaty palms on her skirt but after a while, a warm hand engulfed hers making her look at him with tender eyes.

"If you feel nervous, just look at me okay?" He said and she nodded in response, still unsure of herself. Still holding her hand he was about to drag her outside the car when she stopped him.

"What are you doing?" He asked with a frown.

"What are you doing? There's media all over the place. You can not walk out holding my hand like that"

"I can." He asserted, his gaze determined.

"No, you can't." She said in a contradicting tone, hesitantly slipping her hand out of his. "I am not your girlfriend. I don't want people to think more about us than it actually is."

Her words pinched his chest, he didn't know why but they did. He wanted to show her off, let the world know that this gorgeous woman was his. And he had no issues in holding her hand and walking in front of the paps. But then, if she didn't want that, he wouldn't force her.

When the driver opened his door, he slid out from his side and waited for her to come out as well. The flashes of the cameras made her uncomfortable. His hand rested on the small of her back as he gently guided her through the reporters.

Once she was inside, all her drowsiness subsided and she could breathe again.She couldn't help but be in complete awe of what kind of effect he had on people as he walked through the main area. All the presenters, big or small, looked at him with admiration, but he hardly passed a full smile to anyone.

She, on the other hand, gave her signature bright smile to everyone who greeted them. His jaw clenched looking at how the men in the venue were mesmerised by the beauty of her smile.

When they reached the elevator, Jungkook made sure that they were the only two who entered it.

"You should stop smiling at strangers like that." He said in a low gruff voice.

"And you should start smiling at people who greet you." She retorted back, her eyes narrowing at him. "Does it pain your face if you smile a bit? Or do you have to pay extra tax if you smile?"

"I don't like smiling for unnecessary reasons." He said, guiding her to where the auditorium was.

"Correction, Jeon. You don't smile at all."

When they stepped to the centre of the floor, she looked at her surroundings in complete awe. The high ceilings, a giant silver chandelier and all the glass walls looked too exquisite.

"You are going to break your neck if you keep staring at that chandelier." His words brought her back to reality as she faced him. He was leaning casually against a glass railing with a smirk of tease on his lips. But fuck, he looked as if he had just come out of a GQ magazine with the lazy confidence of his.

That was what attracted her to him always, the way he was so gorgeous and hot all the time even in his t-shirts. The aura he radiated and the confidence that filled the air when he was in the room. He didn't need to shout to let everyone know who he was. The moment he entered any room, he was the only person that anyone could look to.

Removing her phone from her pocket, she clicked on the camera zooming onto him. "Wait." She focused on him. "Don't move. Let me click a picture of you."

With an annoyed sigh he rejected her request. "No. I don't pose. What am I twelve? Posing for pictures."

"Twelve year olds are very enthusiastic posers. Don't act like a grumpy old man now and pose for me."

He wanted to debate again, but there was no point in arguing with her when she was in no mood to listen to him. So he just did as she said. The earlier he complied with her childish requests, the earlier it would get over.

So he looked straight into the camera, the intensity of his eyes burning through the lens, straight to the pit of her stomach. He was insanely handsome. She clicked a few pictures, rotating the angle in a fast manner before he got annoyed.

"Are you done?" His tone was stiff and deep, almost as if he was annoyed. She pursed her lips, refraining herself from smiling. She had to agree, but annoyed Jungkook looked cute.

"One last one please. Let us take this one candid. Can you smile for me?"

He gave her the stiffest smile which wasn't even a smile, it was more like a forced clasp of lips that stretched over his face.

"What is that?" She scrunched her nose, completely disappointed. "This is how you smile? That is not a smile, that is the face I make when someone puts ketchup in my noodles." Her remark made his eyes crinkle, his smile was almost there but it wasn't what she wanted.

Clicking his picture, before his expression vanished off, she scanned the image and hummed in satisfaction. "Hmm. This is better but I will have to work more on you."

She walked to him, while he still leaned himself on the glass railing. "Wait. Are you ticklish?" Her fingers started searching for his sensitive spot, that started on his neck, chest and then reached his sides but he showed no sign of laugher. Beneath her touch, this man was all muscle. Just when she was going to tickle him near his abdomen, he grabbed her hand and pushed her to the glass wall, completely caging her.

A surprised gasp left her lips, when his hands rested beside hers and he growled in her ears. "Had fun?" He murmured, running his nose along her jaw. "I can spank you right here, right now. You know that right?" A soft sigh escaped her mouth, when he gently kissed her beating pulse on the side of her neck.

Jungkook looked straight in her eyes, a devilish glint teasing hers. His gaze darted towards her pink lips, her button nose and hooded eyes that made his, darken. Even with the working business attire, she looked nothing less than a temptress to him.

"You look beautiful." He murmured, kissing the corner of her mouth.

"Wish I could say the same." She replied back with the same tease he had within him. She thought he would feel offended by her bratty remark. But no, the way he was looking at her right now, looked nothing near an offended expression.

They let their eyes converse of their own, while they had their banter until a familiar voice called out her name.

"Y/n." When Y/n looked at the direction of the speaker, a feeling of joy seeped through her veins.

There she was, Kim Aurora standing just a few steps away from her. The soft curls of her hair fell at the level of her shoulder. Her signature business dress that complimented her skin tone. Without wasting a second, she sprinted towards her mother and enveloped her into a warm hug.

"I was waiting to see you again." Y/n murmured with immense love and appreciation. Her mother softly stroked her back and distanced herself, but her eyes showed no hints of joy and happiness that she expected.

"What are you doing here?" That was the first question her mother asked her and her tone was nothing but unimpressed.

"She's here with me." Jungkook spoke from behind, as he came alongside Y/n. Aurora watched both of them cautiously, trying to understand what was happening between the two.

"Nice to meet you again, Ms Kim." He held his hand out for a polite handshake but Aurora had a look of militancy all over her face. "Likewise, Jeon. Now do you care to tell me what my daughter is doing with you?"

"She is presenting my company here today." His words brought a wave of shock and fury to Aurora's ears. She glanced back at her daughter whose eyes just confirmed his statement.

Her own daughter was going to help her biggest rival. She hadn't yet forgotten how she had lost her deal to him last time due to a silly mistake by her team. Losing to a young man burned her ego, in turn making her hate him even more.

"If you excuse us, I would like to talk to my daughter. Alone." Aurora, pressed the last word of her sentence highlighting that she wanted no one except her and her daughter while they spoke. Grabbing her daughter's wrist in a firm grip, she dragged her away from him.

Y/n looked back at him and gave him an assuring nod signalling that she was going to be fine.

When they reached the other end of the hallway, her mother released her wrist in a harsh manner.

"What the hell are you thinking right now, Y/n?" Aurora asked with utter aversion.

"I am here to represent Jungkook's company, Mom."

"Are you out of your mind?" Aurora spoke with clenched teeth. "Do you have any idea how much I hate that guy?"

"But that is between you and him. What does it have to do with me? He is Sohee's brother and I just want to help him."

"Help?" Her mother ridiculed. "He is just using you against me, Y/n. Fuck, I can't beleive you are so naive that anyone can make you fool." Her heart sank when she heard her mother's words. She had never spoken to her like this before. It was like she was talking to a completely different person.

"He is not using me. He believed in me, Mom. He believed that I can use this platform and prove myself when you should have been at his place." She wiped a long tear that passed from her eye.

"What?" Aurora squinted her eyes in confusion.

"Yes. You should have asked me to represent you, represent our company but leave about asking, you didn't even consider me worthy of being a candidate."

"Because you are not worthy of representing me or any other company Y/n." Her mother's words shattered her heart. "You are young and inexperienced and have no knowledge about business. All your accomplishments are only limited to Seoul. Leave that, you can't even stand straight without getting nervous or having panic attacks. I can't babysit you, when I am looking to expand my business. I can't calm you down everytime you have a mental breakdown. You can not handle pressure Y/n. You and I both know that. You know why I didn't choose you? Because I don't know at what moment you will have a breakdown and you will end up embarrassing me in front of the entire world." Tears brimmed Y/n's eyes as her mother continued speaking. "And believe me, you should back out right now so that you don't end up making a fool out of yourself and embarrass Jungkook as well."

"W-why" Y/n spoke through a silent sob. "Why don't you believe in me?"

"Because you don't give me a reason to. You are almost twenty one but you keep on getting your episodes of panic attacks. Just like now, I barely said anything to you, but you are already crying. Grow up, Y/n. Nobody is going to come for you everytime." Aurora ran her fingers through her hair as she passed a fake smile to other business associates that she glanced at a distance. "You know what? I don't have time for your nonsense. I am getting late. You better collect yourself up and look presentable if you want to be introduced as my daughter in front of my colleagues.

Her vision turned black and her heartbeats raced against her chest as her mother left her alone without any other word. Her body was shaking as she heard her mother's words ringing inside her head again.

Y/n felt a ripple of unease, small at first, but rapidly growing in intensity. It was like a tidal wave of fear, building with each passing second, ready to crash over her with all its might. She was powerless against the onslaught of panic that was about to engulf her.

"Breathe, Y/n. Breathe." She reminded herself as her limbs felt weak and her knees collided on the floor. All that she could see was blur images as her own tears cascaded down her cheeks.

She trembled, her hand clutching her chest as she found herself hard to breathe. She was hyperventilating, the hair of her body standing in fear and she felt too cold that led her to shivering.

She gasped for air, trying to breathe again but she could not. The blood pounded in her ears. Her heart thudded in her chest. Her hands shook. Her feet started to tingle. Her vision was disfigured, as if she were looking through a fish-eye lens.

She felt as though a hand of ice had reached inside her chest, gripping her heart with a vice-like hold. It was an unshakeable fear, one that seemed to seep into her bones, magnifying the panic that was rapidly overtaking her.

She felt as though she were spiralling down a never-ending abyss, each breath becoming more laboured, each heartbeat pounding louder and faster. She was a prisoner to her own fear, held captive by the panic that had her in its merciless grip.

Her mind became a battlefield, filled with unwanted intruders that took the form of fearsome thoughts. Each one was darker and more terrifying than the last, exacerbating the panic that she was already struggling to control.

Her mother's words managed to strip down her confidence that Jungkook built inside her. Each thought was a drop in the torrent of self-doubt that filled her mind. They flowed together, forming a river of negativity that threatened to drown her, fueling the panic that had taken hold.

On the other hand Jungkook waited for Y/n in the auditorium. They just had twenty minutes before the presentations started. There were four presentations with their being held at number three but once the presentations were started nobody was allowed inside.

Tapping his foot, he waited for her and hoped she would come back soon.

"Call Y/n. We don't have a lot of time left." He leaned closer, whispering to his sister as he looked around to find any trace of her or her mother. Sohee called her best friend but all of her efforts went in vain when she did not pick up the call.

"She isn't picking up." Sohee said nervously, dialling her number once again. As he searched for her in the crowd the very next moment he saw Aurora entering the hall. As if searching for him, Aurora glanced straight into his eyes and flashed a dirty smirk in his direction.

Panic flared through him when he found that she was alone and not with Y/n. Something was wrong, his heart felt.

"I am going to be back in a minute. If anything goes wrong, give me a call." He said to Taehyung and Sohee who sat beside him.

Without wasting a second he left his seat, and marched down the stairs. While he was going to leave the auditorium, his eyes fell onto Aurora who looked at him with a villainous glint and mouthed an 'all the best' to him.

Running in the corridor, his steps were fast and his mind was tense with all the thoughts running into his head.

"Please be fine, Cupcake." He rasped in his head as he continued running through the corridors to find her.

His steps came to a halt when he heard a faint sob that belonged to her. His blood turned cold, when he saw her on her knees as she fought for finding her breath with every passing second. Her face was red with tears continuously flowing down her cheeks.

He sprinted towards her, crouching down to her level.

"Fuck Y/n. What happened?" he asked even though he knew she could hardly utter anything. Her fingers were clasped on the fabric around her chest, her breathing tensed and she shuddered and he felt she might almost faint if she didn't stop crying.

All the thoughts of presentation and getting the deal went out of his head. At this moment, his sole focus was her and only her.

When he knew that she suffered from acute anxiety and regularly had panic attacks, he did some research on how to calm her down if she ever got one in front of him.

He had to remain calm. He had no experience of dealing with anxiety before, but he couldn't let irrational thoughts waver his mind when she was on the verge of passing out.

"Breathe for me, Cupcake." He said in a soft, gentle way as if pleading to her to breathe for him.

"I can't." She sobbed harder, her body shuddering more and getting covered with sweat.

"You can." He held her shoulders to make her look up at him. "Look at me okay, Inhale deeply and exhale slowly." He showed her with his actions how he wanted her to breathe, but she couldn't replicate his actions.

Her body shivered as if a bucket of cold water was thrown her way.

"Fuck, You are freezing." He cursed and wrapped his jacket around her and tucked her into his chest.

"I feel like I am going to die, Jungkook. I c-can't breathe." Her words broke his heart and all he could think was about all the possible ways to remove her misery.

"It will pass, baby. You are stronger than your panic attacks. You have done it before and you can do it again." He wanted to know what in this world went wrong in the conversation between her and her mother. It was certain that Aurora did do something that made her go into this state, because she was absolutely fine earlier until she spoke to her mother.

"I-It hurts Jungkook. Everything hurts." She said, her hold on his blazer getting tight. Her words depicted that her pain meant beyond the physical pain that her body was experiencing.

His hold around her body became rigid as he tried not to let her pass out. He needed to get her out of this state. If she didn't stop crying, her condition would only worsen more.

"It's okay. Nothing is going to happen to you. Take your time. I am here for you." He stroked her hair, in an attempt to calm her down. " Just know that you are strong enough to fight your fears. Don't let anyone define you, Cupcake. You have fought enough and it's your time to shine. It's your time to show everyone that you are not as weak as everyone thinks you are."

His words of motivation helped her to calm down, her silent sobs finally stopping. Like an ebbing tide, the symptoms of her panic attack started to recede. The pounding in her chest slowed, her breath started to come easier, and the stranglehold of fear began to loosen. Y/n was left feeling as though she had run a marathon, drained yet relieved that the worst was over.

"Jungkook," She whispered through her wavered breath.

"Hmm?" He hummed, the vibrations of his body felt against her cheek.

"Hold me tight." He didn't need another word from her. He was happy to oblige. Without any hesitation, he held her tight against him just as she asked. Her breathing was better now, he could feel it through her sighs.

"I don't want to disappoint you." She said, stopping the movements of his fingers in her hair.

"You will not. Why are you doubting yourself again?"

Tucking herself into the crook of his neck, she breathed in his calming scent. "Mom said that I am not experienced and I will probably embarrass you in front of everyone. And if I mess up in any way your reputation will be tarnished. That is the last thing I want for you."

Jungkook cursed in his mind. He knew Kim Aurora was a competitive woman who would go to any extent to get a deal. But manipulating her own daughter? Discouraging her till she had a panic attack that could almost send her to the hospital? He hadn't thought her mother would stoop so low.

But he could not tell her how her mother really was in the business world, when she was the only family Y/n had with her at the moment. So he decided to help her regain her confidence. He would deal with her mother later.

"When I gave my first presentation, I was nineteen. I was studying in college at that time. And when I reached the venue I was nervous as hell."

"You were nervous?" She asked, almost not believing her ears because she had never seen this man nervous. He was the most confident one she ever knew.

"I was." He nodded , even though she couldn't see him. "There were people almost a decade older than me, all experienced and confident. But I knew somewhere that I had to show everyone that I deserved to stand on that stage. And when I went on stage, all my nervousness was gone. I gave my presentation and everyone was impressed. It was not for a deal yet it mattered a lot. And I won. What I want to tell you is-" He stopped, distancing herself from her. "-Is that it doesn't matter how much experience you have. Of course experience is important, but not having much isn't a weakness. It's your confidence, your belief and yourself and your knowledge that will make a difference." Her face was drenched with tears, her hair a bit out of place and she looked like she was in immense pain.

"I don't want to give you false hopes, Y/n. But if you will doubt yourself, you will only make your mother's doubt in her turn true. You are crying because you know you can do better, and you want to shout that thought. But no one's gonna believe you until you go and prove yourself." He said gently, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"You are right. I want to show my mother that I can make her proud. I can be the daughter she will not be embarrassed about. I-I" she stopped and reached for his palm that caressed her cheek. "-I want to do this for you."

"Don't do this for me." He shook his head placing a kiss on her forehead. "Do this for yourself. I am sure you are going to rock it."

And she did. In the auditorium full of thousands of profound businessmen and business associates, she left everyone tongue tied and speechless with her confidence and knowledge.

She was a bit nervous before entering on the stage, but Jungkook's constant reassuring gaze from the audience seat helped her with her composure. When she looked at her mother in the audience, she could see her face turning sour, not one bit of pride reflecting on her face that was contradictory to everyone's. She wondered if her mother was proud of the way she presented or not.

But Jungkook's belief and faith in her gave her the push she needed to give her best. Everyone was beyond impressed by the young woman in front of them. With every statistics that she explained with the precise terms and by the way she carried herself everyone was stunned by her presence.

And that led her to win the deal and prove everyone wrong.

But Jungkook could not leave the chance to mock her mother. Aurora's face was nothing but pure hate and sour when her daughter won. Knowing how much Aurora hated losing, Jungkook winked in her direction with a smirk, agitating her even more than she already was. He pitied Aurora about how shallow she was, who couldn't be happy for her own daughter.

The businessmen congratulated her and Jungkook as they proceeded through the crowd. When they reached a fairly empty space of the corridor, Y/n pushed him to one of the corners. Without any hesitation, she kissed his cheek, expressing her feelings. He was taken back by this action of hers, because she was the one who suggested that they should keep a distance in the first place.

"We did it! We did it! We did it!" She said in a tiny voice. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, while she pressed herself into his body. The hug was pure and innocent but he could not ignore the sizzling sensation of her luscious breast against his hard chest. Not wanting to turn this into an awkward situation, he gently distanced herself from him, yet keeping her in his hold.

"Not we, you did it. It was your hard work of five days and your belief in yourself that got you this deal." He caressed her waist with his thumb in circular motion.

"Are you happy? Are you proud of me,Jungkook?" He could see the need of assurance behind her hesitant voice that made him wonder exactly how much this girl had heard her entire life to doubt herself so much.

"I am beyond proud of you, Cupcake."

The tips of her lips tilted up, but it wasn't the kind of smile that she always showed him, meaning there was something that was holding her back.

Just when he was going to talk to her more, her mother and her team opened the door of the auditorium to leave the corridor, without sparing a single glance at them.

"I am going to be back in a minute, okay. Wait here." Y/n said, running towards her mother's direction. As much as Jungkook wanted to stop her and tell her that there was no use of talking to her mother right now, he knew he had no right to speak between them.

Y/n's steps were fast to catch up to her mother who was furious with her right now.

"Mom." She called out, making Aurora halt at the voice. When she saw her daughter running towards her, her jaw clenched and she glanced at her team to leave them alone.

With a heaving breath, Y/n stopped in front of her, her hands resting on her knees to gain her breath.

"Were you going to leave without saying a bye?" She asked, hoping her mother was in a good mood to talk to her right now.

Even after whatever her mother said to her, she was the only person who was hers at the moment.

"Listen Y/n." Aurora spoke in a stern way that held no mother's love. "I don't think it's good for us to talk right now and if you are here just to show me what a loser I am then just go."

"Mom." Y/n's voice softened with plead, as she spoke to her mother. She hated that her mother misunderstood her. Gently, grabbing her hands she looked at her with hopeful eyes. "Are you not proud of me?"

"Proud?" Aurora scoffed. "You just made fun of me in front of the top business tycoons." Her mother grabbed her arm, her fingers digging into her skin that caused her pain. "You won against me for someone else. So no ,Y/n. I am not one bit proud of you."

Aurora's words shattered her daughter's heart. After all this, Y/n expected that she had proven herself worthy in the eyes of her mother. But nothing. Kim Aurora was so driven by her own failure that she could see nothing beyond that.

"If I were at your place, I would have been proud rather than bringing my daughter's self esteem down." A deep voice rang in the empty hallway, making both of them snap their heads into that direction.