Bound to You

Chapter 26

Two months later

"Nice," the lady said, looking around the spacious suite appreciatively.

Taehyung shrugged, casting a disinterested glance over the room. New York, Milan, London, now Paris...There came a point when all the luxury hotels started looking the same.

Unhurriedly, he took his tie off.

"Let me," she said with a flirtatious smile, pushing his hand away and starting to unbutton his shirt.

Taehyung let his eyes follow the curves of her half-naked body, trying to muster up interest in it. He should have been more than interested. It had been a while since he'd had a woman. More than a year, now. For him it was unheard of. For him it was unheard of to stay monogamous for a week, let alone one year. The most peculiar thing was, no one forced him to stay monogamous. Jimin knew better than to request it aloud, though his eyes told a different story. That man had been increasingly affectionate and needy, greeting him with the brightest smile whenever Taehyung returned to Seoul between his trips. Taehyung didn't even know why he kept going back to Seoul at all.

This had been the last trip he had undertaken on Jimin's behalf. It had taken him almost two months to deal with the mess Park Young Soon had left after himself, but now it was over. He had no reason to keep returning to Seoul.

"Am I boring you?" the woman said with a playful pout, brushing her fingers against his crotch through his trousers.

"I'm not a teenager, sweetheart," Taehyung said. "I'm not going to get worked up just from seeing a half-naked woman, no matter how pretty she is." He determinedly didn't think about the fact that he had absolutely no problem getting hard just from looking at the curve of a certain guy's lips.

A sense of unease settled in the pit of his stomach. Irritated, Taehyung dragged her close and kissed her roughly, making a conscious effort to focus on the softness of her lips and breasts. But the shape of her lips was all wrong, her mouth wasn't sweet enough, her perfume was too strong and her hair was too straight and not soft enough—

Taehyung broke the kiss and turned his back to her. "I've changed my mind. Please leave." His words were clipped and tight with anger, and he wasn't surprised when she left without saying a word.

As soon as the door clicked shut after her, Taehyung shrugged his shirt off, balled it in his fist and tossed it across the room.

Fuck.

So much for his attempt to prove he wasn't attached to one Park Jimin.

He was attached, all right.

More than attached.

Heaving a sigh, Taehyung sat on the bed and ran a hand over his face.

They were from two different worlds. Two worlds which would never collide, should never collide. But perhaps it was time to call a spade a spade no matter how inconvenient the truth was for Taehyung.

And the truth was, Taehyung wanted his curly-haired, pouty, annoying Jimin. Only him.

He wanted to be with him. He wanted to keep him. Hell, he would keep Jimin in his pocket if he could, to have 24/7 access to him. He wanted to be able to bury his face in Jimin's soft curls, wanted to suck marks into his skin whenever he wished, wanted to kiss him silly every time, wanted to wake up in his arms every morning. He wanted to have the right to do it.

The question was whether he should do anything about this stupid want of his.

Taehyung wasn't used to denying himself anything, alcohol and drugs being the only exceptions. But wanting Jimin...it wasn't a simple matter of taking what he wanted. It wasn't even Jimin's gender that made him hesitate: Taehyung was long past that point. He didn't care that Jimin had a cock instead of a vagina. He was pretty much in love with the guy's lithe body and wouldn't change a thing about it.

No, the problem was more complicated than Jimin's sex. The man had been hurt in the past. He was too damn vulnerable. Jimin wanted the type of commitment that would send most men like Taehyung running in the opposite direction. The guy also had an unsettling knack for making Taehyung want to be a better man than he was and to protect Jimin from every hurt and harm. A prime example of it was when Jimin had asked him whether Taehyung was the one to kill his father and Taehyung had answered no. While technically he hadn't lied, but it wasn't the full truth: he'd certainly played a part in Park Young Soon's death, however indirect. But he had omitted it, knowing the silly boy would be crippled with guilt, regardless of the fact that his father wasn't worth it.

All in all, the point Taehyung is trying to make here is, Park Jimin would needlessly complicate his life. Getting involved with him would be irrational, impractical, and dangerous. Taehyung would have to make compromises and sacrifices he wouldn't make otherwise.

Sighing, Taehyung pinched the bridge of his nose.

I need to make a decision.