chapter: two

As he stepped out of the hotel elevator and turned towards the corridor leading to his suite, Taehyung inwardly groaned feeling his head take the hit from yesterday night's alcohol consumption. It was a little past eight am as he began digging through his beige jacket's pockets searching for his hotel card which he pulled out and inserted into the cardholder attached to the tall black hotel door. Pulling the door open and stepping inside his hotel room which remained the same as it had when Taehyung exited the room last evening, one of his suitcases laying in the middle of the room, open with different colourful clothing sprawling out of it. He ponders for a moment on whether he had packed some aspirin which could help cure the migraine that had begun, but faltered when he realised that he hadn't packed any. Great .

Yesterday nights events were a blur, Taehyung barely managing to put together the pieces of memory that his brain had thought to secure. He had woken up in a bed which he had no recollection of, and almost was sent into a fury of panic when he saw a man plastered to his side, with dried up drool on his cheek. It took Taehyung precisely ten whole seconds upon realising the stranger was called Hoseok and they both had stumbled back to Hoseok's apartment yesterday and wasted no time before both were undressed, Taehyung's body pressed against a wall and began to fuck. He removed Hoseok off of himself and started to get dressed as quietly as possible, afraid he might wake his one-night stand and he'd be caught halfway through his attempts of sneaking out to begin the journey of his walk of shame. Thankfully, Hoseok was still sleeping soundly by the time Taehyung was dressed and shutting the door behind him, he booked himself an Uber and waited at the end of the street for the car to pull up and whisk Taehyung away to his hotel room where he currently stood conflicted on whether he should go back to sleep or start packing as he was due home soon.

Sighing, Taehyung decided it'd be best to arrive earlier than what he was expected to arrive at his family house. His father wouldn't scold and lecture him about how important family is and how Taehyung was ungrateful for opting to stay at a hotel instead of his own family home the first night he arrived in Seoul.

After cleaning himself off in the shower which seemed to help calm the migraine that had previously been occupying Taehyung's head, he pulled on some underwear, followed by light blue faded jeans and a Louis Vuitton yellow embroidered shirt. He had already shoved his scattered clothing into his suitcase, sat on top of it as he huffed loudly trying to zip the case and pumped his fist into the air when he had successfully shut it. Grabbing his sunglasses which he had thrown onto the bed yesterday and forgotten about, he placed them to sit atop on his head and made his way downstairs to check himself out. He texted Namjoon once he was in a taxi to let his brother know of his whereabouts and to inform him that he was to arrive at their house earlier than expected which Namjoon was joyous about. Typical, he thinks to himself as he shakes his head and texts Yoongi about what happened yesterday night.

Stepping out of the taxi and waving the driver off, Taehyung turns his attention to the three-story colossal mansion that stands tall, demanding attention. Painted in all off-white bricks accompanied by a coal coloured roof with pastel pink flowers and its green bodied leaves and stems hugging tightly around the building. The building looks the same as it had always done, save for the odd large bushes and hedges that had grown and blocked out one of the floor lengthened windows. Before Taehyung could start to wheel his suitcases inside the house, a familiar face popped out and ran towards him.

"Young master, Kim!" He had half the mind to tell her that calling him Taehyung would be fine but he watched as their chief maid, Eunmi grabbed the suitcase in his hand and pulled it towards herself. "Please, do let me take them in." She didn't allow him to decline the offer as she began walking with his suitcase in her hand and Taehyung followed along knowing it would be of no use trying to pry the suitcases off Eunmi. She had always been like this from what Taehyung could remember, always been helpful and always been one to bat away any help, reassuring him that she was fine and could handle it.

Taehyung climbed up the few steps leading into his house and was soon tackled with a tight hug causing him to almost trip over his own two feet.

"Welcome home, bro." Namjoon cheered and patted his back as he leaned into him more before he released himself and let Taehyung breathe and laugh at his elder brother.

"Hyung, you could've seriously killed me just then!" He jokes, "what if I had fallen over, cracked my head on the door and died? Huh?" Namjoon uses his hand to whack Taehyung at the back of his head which gained a loud groan from the younger and a whiny "hyung!"

"Tae!" He recognised the voice belonging to his eldest brother, Seokjin and fixed his gaze over to where he stood in the hallway beside his gleeful mother, maneuvering himself over to where they stood, Taehyung embraced them both into a hug.

His mother smelt the same as she always had, sure there was the lingering scent of some expensive perfume but she smelt like vanilla and honey, so Taehyung hugged her a little longer than his brother and gave his mother a peck on the cheek and she giggled into him.

"Welcome home my baby" she cooed and pulled Taehyung's cheeks as if he were truly a three year old to her, which he probably was in the eyes of his mother.

"How come you only call Tae a baby and not me?" He heard Namjoon whine beside him mocking a fake frown as he stared at his mother who in return just rolled her eyes at him.

"Nice to have you back, son." They all turned their heads to the sound of the deep voice belonging to his father, he chuckled at Taehyung and beckoned him to come over to where he was positioned at the door of the long hallway which lead to the main dining room. Soon their family were all sat around the chestnut pedestal marble dining table with various kinds of breakfast food laid out in front.

There was a brief moment of silence as his father scanned the food and nodding in approval before focusing his attention to Taehyung who sat opposite him and next to Seokjin on his right.

"So," he starts, "how was your first day in Seoul?" Taehyung takes a bite of his toast, "it was actually really good" he tells, "it felt great to relax a little and get used to the city." His father takes a sip of his coffee and smiles fondly at Taehyung.

Taehyung being the youngest of the three sons ensured himself more freedom when it came to their father. Being the youngest to go on to inherit the business had granted him less pressure than what he witnessed Seokjin take on. His father was always more lenient when it came to Taehyung, though that was a given when he had allowed six year old Taehyung to drop out of his elite private elementary school to enrol in a public state school, all because Taehyung had befriended a young boy and was adamant to go to the same school as the boy. He remembers how his father told him that boys like Taehyung shouldn't be friends with boys like Hanbin, how they were from two different worlds but Taehyung threw a tantrum and cried to the point their father had no choice but to give him permission to migrate schools.

As Taehyung grew up, he realised just what his father meant that day; about there being two different worlds. However, it didn't prevent Taehyung from enrolling into a public high school to be with his working-class friends, instead of attending the strict elite school that all children who were similar to Taehyung attended. His father at this point, grew wary of his younger son not turning out exactly how he had planned and when Taehyung reached fourteen, he asked the teenager if he'd like to go abroad to the UK to study and enhance his knowledge to which of course, extroverted and curious Taehyung agreed.

"I know you only just got back, but I'd like you to attend a party later this afternoon." He hears his father speak up and Taehyung juts out his lips and pouts, "but dad-" he's interrupted by his father, "no buts." He then feels Seokjin rub his knee from under the table in order to reassure Taehyung that everything was good and that he shouldn't worry too much. "It'll be fun," Seokjin voices, "besides, you're attending a meeting tomorrow so it'd do you good to be introduced to everyone beforehand."

"Oh, and prove that you're not some helpless damsel in distress who was forced to marry some rich foreigner." Namjoon finishes and lets out a loud laugh from across him causing everyone on the table to laugh a little at the rumours surrounding Taehyung.

He finds himself nodding his head in acceptance, "fine," he drawls, "only because I can't wait to see the faces of everyone who thinks I'm some married helpless woman." Taehyung tunes out of the conversation after that as most of it ends up being business related in which Taehyung had no clue whatsoever as he has yet to embark on any business-related issues or events.

"The Jeons will be there." Taehyung's attention is suddenly intrigued at the name of the Jeons. A family just as equally powerful as theirs and thus, their sworn enemy. It all felt a little too cliché, but he understood where the hatred came from as he remembers the countless times he'd heard his father curse their name and explain how they had sabotaged one of his business plans, though his father wasn't as innocent since he too had sparked multiple fights between the two companies. Taehyung didn't know much about the Jeons, aside from the essential facts; it consisted of only one sole heir, a male. Apparently from what Taehyung had heard through eavesdropping on his brother's conversations when they thought he was too busy studying, Mrs Jeon was only able to have one child due to complications and the son was a 'self-centered jerk' as Seokjin had described him who thought he was above everyone and everything. Taehyung never had the chance to meet this infamous Jeon Jungkook as he found out he was called, mainly because unlike his brothers, he never attended the same schools as the male and therefore, never had any reason to see him.

"Must we bring them up during breakfast?" His mothers voice laced with worrisome and tiredness, probably from past experience she knew how this conversation would end; with his father irritated and then leaving to lock himself up in his office at work while mulling about his hate.

Seokjin apologises for bringing the topic up and then switches to talk about a recent investment he wanted to undertake, Taehyung found himself tuning out again until he was finished with breakfast.

"What time is the party at?" He asks and looks at his Gucci watch which shows that it's currently eleven am and if Taehyung was lucky, he'd be able to go sightseeing for an hour or so and make it to the party on time. The term 'party' to be used loosely as all it involved was wealthy individuals to gather and try to gain themselves a business deal whilst eating some expensive french food that was provided.

His mother answers him, "two PM at the Lux Pavilion." He slowly pushes his chair backwards and hauls himself up and thanks their cook for the breakfast, announcing his plans to his family that he would meet them there after his sightseeing trip he bids them farewell and hurriedly walks to his room on the second floor.

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Taehyung had in fact arrived at Lux Pavilion earlier than his family, he stood in the corner of the ballroom and watched as people began to mingle with one another and fake a laugh at some horrible racist joke old men began spouting. He had finished with his sightseeing which ended up becoming a photography session earlier what he would've liked as he noticed the streets and roads become busier due to lunch hour and was worried he'd be late. He changed into a suit that he had packed earlier that morning in his room, now dressed in an all crimson black suit plastered with a dark brown print screaming 'Gucci', his silk white shirt adorned with a dark green and red Gucci bow brooch and his light chocolate hair had been brushed so that it covered his forehead. Taehyung was growing to become bored and impatient as he tapped his feet on the ground repeatedly and checked his phone to see any updates from his family of their arrival; alas, there was none. A waiter came over offering Taehyung some red wine, on any other normal day Taehyung would've refused but with his nerves mixed with boredom and irritation, Taehyung agreed and when the glass slipped from the waiter's hands and spilled over Taehyung's attire, it was the icing on the cake.

Taehyung jeers, "fuck," he hears himself say out loud and he notices how the waiter goes into a frenzy of fear and anxiety.

"I-I'm so sorry, sir I-" Taehyung wants to punch him, Taehyung has been wanting to punch something for a while now and no one would bat an eye if he were to throw a punch at this poor waiter but it would be unfair and Taehyung instead grabs the waiter by his collar and shoves him.

"Listen," he snaps and watches as the waiter tries to make himself seem smaller, "give me your clothes." He finishes and the waiter takes a moment to let the new information adjust and settle in his head before he looks at Taehyung with confusion, he doesn't let the waiter ask anything before he grabs his wrist and drags him to the bathroom and then releases him from his grasp.

"I said," he steps closer to the waiter while glaring, "give me your clothes," and when the waiter doesn't seem to move, he shouts "now!" Which then triggers the waiter to quickly undo his bowtie and hands it Taehyung and not too long, Taehyung has changed into the waiter's clothes and the waiter holding Taehyung's expensive suit drenched with red wine, which has surely stained his silk shirt.

"Dry them and then wear it or do whatever you want with them," he clicks his tongue and looks at the mirror to fix the bow-tie, "tell your boss it was a Kim who dealt with you." With one swift motion, Taehyung opens the bathroom door and exits leaving the waiter stood in some white briefs and vest looking like he's on the verge of tears.

Making his way back to the ballroom, Taehyung grabs some champagne at the front table and stands in his previous corner noticing how Namjoon had just alerted him that he would be there in roughly ten minutes. Taehyung glances down at his outfit before messaging Yoongi who was to come later to bring him some spare clothes and waving the elder off when he inquired why he needed extra clothes, promising to tell him the dreadful story when he arrives.

Holding the champagne in his hand he begins to zone out and bores into the ceiling above as if they were the most fascinating display of art Taehyung had ever laid his eyes upon, that is before his thoughts are intervened by a deep snicker in front of him causing him to shift his attention to the noise and Taehyung squints when he takes in a familiar face.

Raven hair that's styled where half the male's forehead is showing, two silver hooped earrings hung on his left ear, dressed in a velvet maroon suit and a black buttoned up shirt which seemed all too tight for his chest the he cocks his head to stare at Taehyung with his large doe dark eyes. His strong jawline on show, cherry red lips and he's much paler than Taehyung is but he can admit that the male was indeed handsome; every handsome. Taehyung's eyes linger downwards and that's when he notices how he's not alone. His arms wrapped gently around a man shorter than both he and Taehyung, blond hair and dressed in an all-white suit and pastel pink shirt the unfamiliar male had much more soft features as opposed to the taller male, his lips much more plump and pink and his eyelids had some shimmery shadow, only enhancing his eyes more.

"Jungkook?" He asks in confusion as he wonders why the fuck the man who had injured him yesterday stood in front of him with his chest out a little. He notices Jungkook seem albeit taken back at his name falling from Taehyung's mouth but then composes himself.

"Ah," he breathes out, "now I see why you were so desperate and hung up on trying to wriggle money out of me." He says as if was the most obvious thing in the world and then narrows his eyes at Taehyung's clothing.

Puzzled and baffled, Taehyung asks "and that is because?"

"Because you're poor, idiot." He laughs at Taehyung's face and the male around his arm following. Taehyung has half the mind to correct Jungkook, to tell him just who he is and how foolish Jungkook is for assuming what and who Taehyung was merely by his clothing when the man stepped closer, letting go of the blond and then pushing Taehyung which now sent his current drink in his hand to shake and spill over him. Just his luck . He hisses loudly and tries to clean himself up with a napkin and then before he knows it, he's pinning Jungkook to the wall. His eyes widening at the sudden movement and in shock, "you'll fucking regret you ever did that, bastard." He shouts only audible for people within their proximity to hear, which was only the three of them. He digs his hands into Jungkook's shoulders and moves them to his collar bones and presses down harder before he's pulled away by who seems to be his blond boyfriend. "Who the fuck do you think you are touching him like that you imbecile!?" He shrieks as he goes over to his boyfriend and checks to see if he's all right and lulls when finding no marks on him.

Taehyung shakes his head in anger, "fuck this." He throws his glass at Jungkook and his boyfriend let's out another mortified shout followed by multiple curse words directly at Taehyung and he watches as Jungkook stands there drenched with champagne. Taehyung hears Jungkook call the guards and he doesn't wait to hear what Jungkook has to say because all he feels is his feet begin to move towards the exit and sprints.

"Hyung?" He speaks into his phone after he stopped running and was outside in the car park attempting to catch his breath.

Seokjin must've sensed something was wrong as his tone shifts from one of chirpiness to worry "what's wrong? Did something happen?" Taehyung briefly fills in his brother of the incident that had occurred inside the building, leaving out Jungkook's name and yesterday's meeting.

It's eerily silent for a moment before he hears his brother shuffling on the other side of the phone and let out a breath, "Namjoon has just arrived and is inside the building. I'll get him to check it out and as for you," he pauses as he thinks for a second, "I'm sure dad will understand so I'll be there at the parking lot in a minute and you can head back home with me." Taehyung thanks his brother and waits for him at the parking lot, he knew he should've brought his car but dismissed the idea since he was too lazy to roam around in his Tesla.

The car journey home with Seokjin constitutes of his brother throwing random questions at him about the situation and Taehyung answers them all, still not giving away too much as he knew the extent his family would go to ruin someone and although watching ruining Jungkook was an act he'd love to get involved in, he wanted to make sure it was he who punished the man, not his family.

Seokjin and he were sat in Taehyung's bedroom catching up on everything that they had missed together and laughing whilst reminiscing old memories when a knock followed by Eunmi's voice informs them that their father had returned from the party and would like to speak to Taehyung in his study room, he sent a nervous look Seokjins way as he began to make way to their father's study. He had expected his father to scold him for his actions tonight as making a scene in front of numerous guests as his first impression wasn't at all the greatest impression, but what he didn't expect was for his father to laugh at him as he entered his study room. Bewildered, Taehyung shot his father a look of confusion.

He jesters for Taehyung to take a seat opposite him and Taehyung gladly does and starts to play with the hem of his shirt, "I see you've met Jeon Jungkook." Taehyung's mouth falls open a little at his father's words and he stops playing with the hem as he tries to process the new information. That was Jeon Jungkook? Well, perhaps it explains his sly behaviour and his need to constantly belittle Taehyung.

"Though, I don't quite understand why Jungkook kept rambling how a waiter tried to sue him?"

Taehyung started to play with the skin on his neck and bit his lip trying to decide on what he should disclose to his father, more so- how much information he should disclose. Deciding it'd unfortunately be best to explain the whole situation rather than keep it to himself as one way or another, his father would find out, anything related to the Jeons always came back to the ears of his father.

When he's done retelling the story, his father seems amused and mutters just how odd fate was and Taehyung agreed.

"Well, it seems as if he still isn't fully aware of who you are," he looks over past Taehyung's shoulder as if he's in some deep thought, "but that will all be settled once you both meet at tomorrow's meeting." Taehyung almost forgot about how he were to accompany Seokjin to the shareholder's meeting tomorrow for a department store, Seokjin had mentioned how the Jeon Jungkook would be present for the meeting and now almost laughs to himself recalling how excited he was to finally meet the infamous Jeon Jungkook, not realising he'd already met the famous devil incarnate. He surely lived up to his reputation.

Taehyung gets up to leave when he hears his father say "oh and Taehyung, if you want to punch him this time, by all means go for it." Shutting the door, he lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding and leans against the door. Jungkook was disgustingly handsome, to the point Taehyung found himself mad at how he felt the need to rile the elder up even more just to see his pretty face sulk in sadness and annoyance. Taehyung had a tendency to do that; to hurt pretty people.

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Jungkook rests his head on his arm and takes note of every individual walking sturdily into the meeting room when he feels a pair of eyes pierce through him and he knows those eyes all too well, how could he forget them; the same eyes belonging to the man who humiliated Jungkook. The petite honey skinned figure walking towards his direction and Jungkook's mind beginning to shut down trying to come up with a logical reason why the waiter would be here at a shareholder meeting. To apologise? No. From both encounters Jungkook has had with the man, he's came to the conclusion that he wasn't one to apologise. He halts when he reaches Jungkook who was now sat up straight boring his eyes into the male trying to remain collected. A whiff of sweet caramel found its way to Jungkook's nose and he sees one of the Kim brothers staring at the whole situation as if it was the most amusing sight he had witnessed, Jungkook shifts his gaze back onto the male who seems to be even more beautiful up close. Jungkook may hate him, but he's not one to not appreciate and give credit to beauty where it is due and objectively, he is beautiful, almost delicate and fragile like his Jimin but he knew the man was too far off from being fragile.

A long skinny arm is extended towards him and he doesn't react, just looks at the arm, the male smiles at him. Not the sweet and sultry kind of smile, more like a devious smile if he could class it as that.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot, Jeon ," he spits his name as if it's venom and Jungkook shoots one of his eyebrows up and almost snorts when the man drops his arm to his side and he turns to face everyone sat around the rectangular table.

He smiles, this time it seems much more genuine, "I'm Kim Taehyung. Youngest son of Kim Chulsoo, it's a pleasure to meet you all."

Silence.