Tear

~23~

Ae Ra stretched out her arm, making sure it was bent at a perfect angle. Her fingers came in contact with his hand, slowly wrapping around to clasp the underside of his palm. He tightened his grip, and she did the same. This time, her intent was clear, and her shake was firm. But when Ae Ra tried to let go, she realized he was still holding onto her hand. He fixed her with a smile that resembled that of a madman, and she laughed nervously before he let go.

"Well, Ms. Handshake, I think you've proved yourself," Baekhyun grinned. "You can return to your seat. Anyways, today, I wanted to talk to you about trust. Trust is the fundamental principle behind running a company."

Namjoon nearly choked on his saliva. "Trust, hmm?"

Baekhyun locked eyes with him, and Namjoon straightened himself out.

"Trust is what makes or breaks a company. If a CEO trusts his executive members and employees, the company is able to function and progress. But if everyone is always doubting each other and skeptical of other people's ideas and motives, the company can come crashing down in an instant."

Baekhyun paced the stage for a few moments. "But also, what establishes trust is the right qualifications. A CEO should be passionate, willing to learn, good at communication, willing to risk it all, and an overall knowledgeable person. Gyeseung Group has such a wise CEO. It will be interesting to see how the successor follows in his footsteps."

Taehyung shifted uncomfortably in his seat. To other people, the shade probably breezed over their heads. But Taehyung knew exactly who he was talking to. And the word 'successor' was pretty strange itself. Tae was set to take over, but Baekhyun had made it seem like the position was up for grabs.

"I'm telling you! We need more seasoning!" Jin tried to steal the salt shaker from Jungkook.

"We can't give him high blood pressure on top of his stress!" Jungkook argued, yanking the shaker towards him.

Meanwhile, Jimin had grabbed some pepper from the cabinet and added at least half the bottle to the meat. "This should do."

Namjoon face palmed watching them. They were a bunch of crazies, but he wouldn't trade them for the world. He noticed Taehyung standing in the doorway of the kitchen, leaning with a hip pressed against the wall. He seemed lost in thought.

Ae Ra coughed. "Jimin, that was definitely too much pepper. Can I take over and try to fix things?"

Everyone stopped to look at her. Jin fixed her with a skeptical look. "What would you do to make this edible?"

"First of all, the chicken is too dry. We can add in some fish sauce with a dash of sugar and the teensiest bit of corn starch."

Jin's eyes lit up. "You actually know quite a bit! If you add in the corn starch and then some coconut water at the end, it'll caramelize into a sauce. Why the sugar?"

Jimin raised his hand. "That'd be my fault."

Jin guffawed. "I expected as much. Alright, let's chop some other herbs and vegetables to toss in there. Jungkook, can I trust you with a knife?"

Jungkook held up Jin's professional chef's knife and waved it around excitedly. "Whoa, I feel like a samurai!"

Namjoon slowly took the knife from the youngest. "I'll do it."

Ae Ra stepped forward. "No, I'll do it. I cook just about every day."

Jin nodded. "She's pretty knowledgeable too. Alright, julienne some garlic for me and mince the lemongrass after you peel the outer layer."

The girl glanced down at the cloves of garlic on the chopping board quizzically. Julienne? The heck did that mean! She quickly moved over to the counter and removed the garlic's outer layer. The pungent aroma hit her, and she inhaled sharply while shielding her eyes. At least he wasn't asking her to cut the onions. Those were way worse.

She was still unsure how to julienne the garlic. Taehyung must have sensed her confusion because he walked over to where she was standing.

"Want me to show you how?" he whispered.

Ae Ra was surprised. Out of the other people in the room, she least expected Tae to know.

"After I was kicked out of the house, I had to learn everything about cooking in order to survive. Here, I'll show you."

He handed Ae Ra the knife and moved so that he was directly behind her. She felt his warmth against her back as he placed his hand over hers. He directed her movements until she was basically cutting thin strips of garlic.

Ae Ra noticed the others go quiet, and she wriggled out of his encapsulating arms. "I can take it from here."

Namjoon frowned, but he didn't want to comment and make a scene. Right now, there was much more on the line. He had to protect those two at all costs. They didn't need another incident like Yoongi's.

Jin cleared his throat. "So, you can just throw the garlic with the lemongrass into the frying pan once you're done."

Ae Ra worked as fast as she could. "I have to get home. My brother is expecting me."

With that, she grabbed her backpack and scurried out of the house. Namjoon and Taehyung both began to move towards the front door to follow her, but Jungkook grabbed them both by the collar.

"You two aren't going anywhere. We need to finish making Yoongi's meal."

Ae Ra was on the way home when she heard it again- the shuffling of footsteps behind her. Her heart began pounding as she sped up her pace. The footsteps behind her quickened.

Swiftly, she pulled out her phone only to see an incoming call from Taehyung.

"Tae," she whimpered.

"Turn around. I'm behind you."

Ae Ra whipped around and saw Taehyung waving to her. He ran to her and held her hand.

"Was that you? Those footsteps I heard? Were they yours?"

Taehyung frowned. "No, I just got here. You heard footsteps?"

"I think someone is following me. I don't know what they want, but I don't like this feeling of being watched one bit."

"Tell me about it," Taehyung sighed, gripping her hand a little tighter. "Let's just get home."

Baekhyun watched from afar in amusement. "You think a house is going to protect you?"