License to Cuddle

5

It was because of Taehyung.

Taehyung and his soothing presence. Taehyung and his warm fingers and soft caresses. Taehyung and his gentle words spoken in his deep, comforting voice. Taehyung and his incredible ability to transform tension and stress into a blissful tranquility.

It was all because of Taehyung.

And thanks to that man, Jungkook was now leaving work way too early for a Tuesday—it was now ten after six; he probably should have stayed until eight to finalize a presentation—all so he could go snuggle. Cozy up. Cuddle. In no world did he have time to spare for this, yet here he was, repeatedly pressing the down button in the elevator bank so he could skip on over to The Cuddle Sanctuary.

What had his life come to?

Before Jungkook could ponder that philosophical mystery, one of the elevators chimed and opened its doors. It was empty, thankfully; he didn't have to worry about whacking someone with his backpack or duffel as he stepped inside and punched the button for the lobby. No, all he had to worry about was the countdown to his first cuddling session. Was he going to arrive too early? Would that be weird if he did? Where would he change? What if his cuddling outfit wasn't cuddly enough? What if he wasn't cuddly enough and—

"Hey, hold the elevator!"

Jungkook recognized that voice, so he lunged forward and shoved his hand between the closing doors. The cool metal grazed his skin before promptly reopening, revealing a well-dressed and cheerful Jin. Even after a long, busy day, the older man always appeared untroubled. Seriously, his suit showed no signs of wrinkles and his hair remained perfectly smooth and styled. Maybe those were the perks of actually liking your job.

Jin's eyes lit up as he entered the elevator and scanned Jungkook from head to toe. "Am I seeing things? Is my little mentee actually leaving work at a reasonable hour?"

"If by leaving at a reasonable hour you mean sneaking out, then yes," Jungkook replied as the elevator started its descent from the fifty-second floor. "I'll have to log back on later tonight."

Jin let out a conspiratorial hum. "Well, at least you're leaving the office before the sun sets. And voluntarily, too."

Voluntarily . . . An image of Taehyung flashed in Jungkook's mind. Yeah, he wouldn't call any of this voluntary. It was more of an uncontrollable and inescapable compulsion, an inexplicable urge that drew him in like a siren's song.

Jungkook didn't think he had enough time—or nerve—to explain all of that to his mentor, so he changed the subject instead. "Where are you headed? Another happy hour with a client?"

"Close guess," Jin revealed with a grin. "I'm meeting one of my brothers for drinks."

"The art collector? Or . . .?" Jungkook pursed his lips, trying to remember details about Jin's family. Maybe he was forgetting something, but he didn't recall hearing much about Jin's other sibling—his youngest brother.

And apparently, he wasn't going to learn more now, not as Jin nodded and said, "Yeah. Namjoon is in town for a nineteenth-century Joseon exhibit. It has statues . . . or tapestries . . . or something. You should come with me. He'll be in Jeju with us in a couple of months, so it would be good for you two to meet beforehand."

The elevator stopped at the thirty-sixth floor, allowing two more people to step on. Jungkook pressed his body into the back corner, trying to take up as little space as possible, as he dropped his voice and said, "Thanks, hyung, but I can't. I have this . . . thing."

"What thing?"

Jungkook should've known that his very curious and very nosy mentor would pry for more information. "It's private."