The Bitch & The Bastard | Jaehyun

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'Jaehyun!'

Jaehyun had just taken a seat at the long, open bar, away from all the mindless chatter when he heard the voice he recognized all too well. With a breath and a smile too wide for his face, he turned around.

'Johnny!' he mimicked the tone. 'How are you this evening?'

Johnny was an exceptionally tall man with the air of someone who seemed to always know everyone's business.

'Great speech,' he said, pursing his lips together and emphasizing each word. 'Specially the part where you spoke about the future of your company, bravo! I wish I was as brave as you are.'

Behind them, the bartender had placed Jaehyun's drink on the counter.

'I am glad you enjoyed it,' he said to Johnny, his cheeks aching with the weight of his smile. 'Make that a double, will you,' he told the bartender.

'Wait,' Haeyoung called out, making her way through the crowd, her long black hair flying behind her as she rushed towards the two of them with a drink in her hand.

'Are you alright?' she asked Jaehyun.

He looked at her from top to bottom, raising an eyebrow. In the time he had known Haeyoung, he had never seen even an ounce of worry on her face, let alone for him, not even when he needed her to compile an urgent report for the board of directors. She had simply turned on her heels and had gone home. Poor Mr. Nakamoto Yuta had to step in, like he had countless times before, and had compiled the report which was sent to Jaehyun's office the next morning.

'Here,' she said, pushing a glass of what smelled like whiskey into Jaehyun's hand. 'Drink this.'

'What is up with you?' he asked, holding the glass up to the light, scanning its contents. The liquid was its usual amber with a few pieces ice in it.

'You know I am little offended that you would check the drink.'

'Yeah? And when was the last time you brought me a drink or did anything for me?'

She tilted her head to the side, sighing as if it was obvious. 'Well, after that horrible speech that you just made, I thought you might kill yourself.'

There was a pause in which Jaehyun kept staring at Haeyoung's smug face before he laughed, a little too loudly. 'Aw, aren't you the sweetest?' he said, pinching her on her cheek a little too hard, making sure it left a mark.

Haeyoung laughed with him, slapping him on the shoulder, hard.

'Drink this, you'll feel much better,' she repeated, still laughing.

'What is in it?'

'Poison.'

Jaehyun laughed harder, this time pointing at the drink and then at her, making wild gestures with his hand, spelling out his own death. 'Ah, my favourite!' he exclaimed and in a single swig, he gulped the entire drink down his throat without flinching.

'You–' he began but choked on his breath. Coughing, he tried to speak but except a shallow grunt, no sound escaped him. He looked at Johnny and back at Haeyoung, who had her head tilted to the side and eyes narrowed at him.

His face convulsed in confusion, eyes widening and cheeks turning white as his gaze fell on the empty glass in his hand. Stumbling forward with his hand over his throat, he rasped gibberish, grasping for air which refused to enter him. The glass slipped from his grip and shattered onto the floor, calling the attention of the people who weren't already looking in his direction.

'Mr. Jung!'

The guests rushed to him, crowding his space. He fell to his knees, a hand still clutching his stiffened and veiny throat as tears flowed out of his reddened eyes.

The music had stopped and the overhead lights had come back on.

'What happened?'

'Call an ambulance!' someone yelled, others joining in on the cry but none of them actually took out a phone.

'Mr. Jung?' they repeated like a herd and when they asked him again, this time he managed to raise a trembling finger pointing at Haeyoung, who was standing a few feet away with her arms crossed over her chest, looking utterly bored.

Everyone turned their attention to her in shock. Even Johnny looked at her with suspicion.

Bent over himself, Jaehyun was sweating. He loosened his tie, only barely to croak out the final hammer to the nail, 'Poison.'

And in the gasps that followed, Haeyoung rolled her eyes and shook her head in disappointment, almost ready to slap her palm on her forehead.

'You're so stupid,' she groaned and walked to him, with purpose. Tightening her fist, she clasped her hands together, and in a single, swift motion, she rammed them hard into the hollow of Jaehyun's chest, who immediately coughed out something onto the floor.

He collapsed, breaking into spit filled coughs. When the shock settled down, one of the guests peered over the thing that came out of Jaehyun.

'What is that?' he asked.

'The 'poison' I gave him,' Haeyoung replied.

'But... that's...'

'That's ice,' Johnny said.

'Mhm,' she said, turning to Jaehyun, who looked more uncomfortable than when he was choking on ice.

'Well, you said that it was poison!' he shrieked, getting up from the floor.

'Why would I murder you in front of so many witnesses.'

'I'll tell you why!' Jaehyun had dropped all pretence now. He stalked forward, crowding her space. 'It's because you are evil.'

'You are the stupidest President I have ever seen,' she scoffed. 'How is your company not bankrupt is beyond me.'

'Oh, you better wish that it's not. Who is going to pay for all your expensive things then,' he said, expecting her to burst out in flames.

But Haeyoung stilled, a slight smile creeping up her face. She looked up at him, her eyes alive with a twinkle he recognized instantly.

'I don't need your company to pay for me. You are enough,' she said, then went up on her toes to whisper in his ears. 'I like you the best... remember?'

Jaehyun stumbled back, defeated.

'I'm going home,' she announced. 'I am tired and you have an interview tomorrow. I'll see you there.'

'Do you need the car to pick you up?' he asked, as nicely as he could manage.

'Mhm, in front of my apartment building an hour earlier.'