Tear

~12~

Namjoon woke up in a cold sweat, his heart pounding in his chest. He tried to grab the glass of water on his nightstand, but his hand was trembling too much. Remnants of his conversation with Taehyung kept playing back in his head. And then there were the new texts he had received. A shiver ran down his spine, and beads of sweat began breaking out on his forehead. How did he find himself in such a situation?

Slowly, he pulled his phone from his charger and looked over the messages.

Keep a tab on him for me, will you?

Our group has invested in stocks in your company. If we pull out, you'll be nothing but a building set for bankruptcy.

Report to me anything you find suspicious.

Simple, right?

No. It was anything but simple. He drank a sip of water, but it felt like it was burning his insides on the way down. He looked at the cup again and took a whiff, suddenly realizing it was soju from the night before.

Namjoon was aware that every move he made would be monitored, and that terrified him. He had to think about what he could do that would cause the least harm possible. Suddenly, he felt the urge to text Ae Ra. She seemed like such a level-headed person. He could really use her advice, but at the same time, the more people who knew meant the more people in danger.

His phone rang, and Namjoon answered it warily.

"Hello?"

"So I hope you've thought about my offer."

Namjoon sighed. "It's not really an offer, is it? It's more of a demand."

The voice on the other end of the phone laughed. "I guess you could see it that way. So tell me, what do you know?"

The boy knew he couldn't tell the truth. "I remember following him home one day, but I can't remember where exactly he lived. I forgot the street names."

The voice scowled. "I picked you because you're intelligent. You're one of the smartest people at your university. You will not disappoint me in the future. If so... oh I don't have to remind you. You just might be living in the other side of that joint house."

Namjoon stiffened. How did he know? He never mentioned anything about where Taehyung lived.

"I know more than you think I know," the voice cackled. "But I need to know his weaknesses. That's your task."

Namjoon sighed. "I understand. I don't know anything now, but as soon as I find out, I'll report it to you."

"That's a good boy."

The other line hung up, and Namjoon nearly collapsed on the floor. He gulped down what was left in his glass. The burning feeling of soju slipping down his throat comforted him. His eyes darted around the dark room. He felt like he was being watched. Nowhere was safe anymore. The only place he could speak freely was inside his head. He'd have to keep his thoughts hidden no matter what.

Taehyung slumped against the wall of his room. Tonight had been the best night of his life as much as he didn't want to admit it. He looked down at the containers with leftover side dishes Mrs. Hwang had packed for him. Their family was filled with so much love. He stored the food in the fridge and grabbed a bottle of soju. He wasn't planning on getting drunk. He just needed a little something to clear his mind.

He thought about how quickly Mrs. Hwang had deflected any questions concerning the painting that had been hanging in the living room. Ae Ra had clearly painted it. Her signature had been printed in the corner.

After the party, he had knocked on the door that connected his and Ae Ra's room and asked to talk to her about things. He coldly told her to keep her mouth shut about how he had been kicked out of his family's mansion to gain experience in the real world. She agreed, but she seemed miffed about how coldly he had demanded his request. Maybe he'd been too harsh on her.

He tipped the cool bottle up, taking a swig of alcohol. And then there had been that shadow. It had definitely been the silhouette of a person, but he didn't want to cause the family next door any worries. Maybe they had been too loud, and it was one of the neighbors checking to see what was going on.

Taehyung found himself chugging the bottle. He had a sneaking bad suspicion, though. It was probably a butler from the house that his mother sent to see how he was dealing with the real world. Failing meant proving her right, so he absolutely could not fail. He had to show everyone he could survive out there even if he didn't take on the company.

He pulled his laptop close to him and searched up the coffee shop Rina had mentioned. Feeling Brew. It had an interesting ring to it. He'd never worked before, but if he wanted to be able to survive from day-to-day, he needed some source of income. A part-time job was the only way. He wondered what Ae Ra's favorite coffee was. Wait, why did his mind go there?

His phone vibrated as he got a message. It was from Baekhyun.

Hey, we need to meet up tomorrow at some point. Something weird is going on. I think someone is trying to infiltrate the company.

Taehyung bit his tongue, thinking back to the silhouette he had seen earlier. Just like every other night, he hated how hewas born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He swallowed every lost drop in the soju bottle as a tear traced its waydown his cheek.