Bound to You

Chapter 21

Taehyung sat at his desk in his Japan office, skimming over the headlines of SK's newspaper Yoongi had brought. His gaze lingered on the front page of one of them. A photograph.

"Anything interesting?" he said.

"Not really," Yoongi replied. "The funeral was three days ago. The intelligence does suspect the Russian organized crime groups, but there's no proof."

Taehyung hummed. "We both know there won't be. Nikolai isn't an amateur."

Yoongi raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you start complimenting him? Last time I checked, you hated his guts."

"He has his uses," Taehyung said with a shrug.

An amused smile graced Yoongi's normally serious face. "Yes, to do the dirty work for you, thinking he's following his own agenda, sure" he scoffed.

"Park did dupe him. I just might've helped Nikolai find out about it?" Taehyung said in a mock- innocent tone. He was always comfortable in Min Yoongi's presence.

"Out of the goodness of your heart, of course." Yoongi nodded.

That wasn't worth commenting on, so he didn't.

"I didn't think you would actually have him offed," Yoongi said.

Taehyung shrugged. "Can't say I'm upset about Park's death, but I can't take credit for it. I left it up to Nikolai's discretion. He's one of those few people that I don't have much influence over, you know that."

Taehyung expected Nikolai to rough Park Young-soon up, worthy of a long visit to the hospital, but not kill him. It was an amateurish miscalculation on his part.

Perhaps that was why he hadn't felt any particular satisfaction when he had been informed of Park Young Soon's death.

Yoongi's lips twisted. "It's very rare when I agree with Nikolai. The world is better off without that backstabbing bastard." Yoongi shrugged and then turned to leave.

"Hyung"

He stopped and looked back at Taehyung inquiringly.

Taehyung's gaze returned to the photograph of the funeral.

"Find out who that man is," he said, pushing the newspaper across the desk so that he could see it. "Everything about him."

"Which one?" Yoongi asked, without batting an eye. He was used to far stranger requests. He was a former agent, after all. Very little could faze him.

Taehyung leaned back in his seat. "The one who has an arm around the Park boy."

Yoongi shot him a sharp look.

But he didn't question the orders. He had always been wiser than Viper. Although Yoongi was older than Taehyung—by fifteen years and had known him far longer than Viper had—he had previously been Taehyung's father's bodyguard—Yoongi had never allowed himself to speak as freely as Viper had. Taehyung knew Yoongi considered him family, so did Taehyung, but Yoongi was a professional to the T.

When Yoongi left, Taehyung pulled the newspaper closer.

He stared at the photograph again.

The man didn't look particularly heartbroken by his father's death. Given what Taehyung knew about Park Young Soon, he wasn't surprised.

Jimin just looked...different. The golden curls were straightened and pushed back from the forehead, his usually expressive, rose-tinted face pale and blank, his sparkling eyes dark and serious.

Taehyung found his hand gripping the armrest.

He dragged his gaze away, shifting it to the taller man who had an arm around Jimin's shoulders. The man was leaning into him, probably whispering something into Jimin's ear. The posture looked more than friendly.

Crushing the newspaper in his hand, he threw it into the bin.

Park Young Soon was dead. His son was no longer relevant. Any plans Taehyung had had concerning the man were no longer relevant. He didn't need any information on the man who had his hands on—

Disgusted, Taehyung cut off his train of thought. Perhaps Viper had been right after all.

This is unacceptable.

His phone rang.

"I've found the information you requested," Yoongi said when he answered. "Do you want me to bring the file?"

Sometimes he wished Yoongi wasn't as efficient as he was.

"Taehyung?" he said when there was no reply.

"No," he said. "Just give me a short summary."

"Jeon Jungkook" Yoongi said. "Twenty-three, best employee of the fastest growing private law firm in Seoul—He's made one hell of a career already, and reportedly, he's firm in his beliefs but quite nice to deal with. He owns a charming house in Gangnam-gu and—

"Sexual orientation?" Taehyung cut him off in a snippy manner.

There was silence on the line.

At last, Yoongi replied, "He's clean, no scandals yet. But he seems to be gay or bi, implied so himself in one interview, he mentioned that he's looking for a serious relationship---"