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Things got busy the moment they returned from the cabin trip.
If the atmosphere during the trip was like taking a stroll, then the air in this meeting room was comparable to skydiving without a parachute.
The tension in the dimly lit conference room was palpable. Seats on both sides of the long table were occupied by the affiliated members of Mafia Bangtan Co, with Kim Seokjin sitting on the end chair like a king on his throne.
Standing beside him like a trusty bodyguard, Clarity nervously fixed her collar, clasping her hands behind her slim-fitting suit as she stood with feigned professionalism. To Seokjin's right was Taehyung, whose expression was stoic as he handed the eldest a document. The former quickly skimmed through its contents before tossing it onto the table.
"This is ridiculous!" One of the attendees of this meeting huffed with anger. "To chase CEO Kim during his break. Senyu's basically making an official declaration that they are going to go against us."
Seokjin remained silent at the man's outburst, tapping his finger thoughtfully.
After Senyu's assassination attempt ended up as a failure, they were immediately seen as enemy by Bangtan Corporation on both the business and mafia stage. Just now, an informant had brought in the news that Senyu's business faction was involved in illegal drug purchase. Now that they've left behind traces of illegal activity, this was an optimal chance for Kim Seokjin to make his move.
The dreary silence was broken by Seokjin's dry chuckle as he slightly leaned forward from his chair. All of the attendees stiffened attentively, anticipating his next words.
"There will be a banquet." The CEO's calm yet chilling voice echoed through the room. "There will also be a transaction occurring at the banquet. It will be between Senyu and a foreign business group, Orin. When that happens, we will deliver the final blow."
Everyone knew of the incident where Bangtan had scammed Senyu Corporation's money by selling a footage for an astronomical price. The evidence was deadly for the latter, but it wasn't enough for Bangtan to completely destroy them in one blow. This was because although many of Senyu's people were identified in the footage, their CEO was not. With Senyu's CEO as the core of their corporation, Seokjin would not be able to get rid of them without destroying their central figure.
"A banquet?" Someone muttered to themselves, "I haven't heard news of any banquets lately..."
"Bangtan Corporation will be the host of this banquet." Namjoon was the one who answered their concerns. He was sitting on the left closest chair to Seokjin, a thoughtful smile on his face. "We are going to invite both Senyu and the foreign company."
His statement threw the room into confusion as mutters arose from the shareholders.
It would be Bangtan Corporation's first time hosting a banquet with its business identity while inviting presences from the mafia world. In fact, invitations have already been sent out to the prominent figures of both industries. Not only that, they were also inviting both Senyu and Orin, the two companies who have just been exposed for illegal interactions.
Uneasiness was in people's expressions after hearing Seokjin's decision. Being caught in a drug scandal was detrimental to a business's future even if they were only indirectly involved. They couldn't understand why CEO Kim would draw trouble onto himself.
However, Seokjin was thinking many steps ahead of them.
Clarity couldn't help but shudder at the man who was tapping his fingers in an unusually light manner. Seokjin had suppressed his emotions behind his cold eyes, but she could tell after knowing him for so long.
He was excited.
"What if Senyu's CEO refuses the invitation?" Someone asked.
"He won't." Seokjin spoke like a prophet, his words weighing down the room with absolute authority.
If it were a normal banquet, there was no way knowing that Senyu's CEO would for sure attend. However, this was hosted by none other than Bangtan Corporation, their top rival company. The boss of Senyu was going to attend this banquet, and knowing that their transaction partner was also invited, he was going to plan a drug transaction here. Seokjin was sure of it.
Like themselves, Senyu was also looking for opportunities to get rid of their competitors. By trading on Bangtan's grounds, even if something went wrong, the host company would also inevitably be thrown under investigation. It was like killing two birds with one stone.
Seokjin knew that was how Senyu's mind worked, which was he felt more certainty than ever that this would also be an optimal opportunity to get rid of them once and for all.
The leader of Senyu, like himself, worked on a business mindset. The CEO was a greedy old man who did things based on incentives and consequences. Seokjin was planning to go along with his plan, have the transaction to happen, then screw them over at their own game.
Kill two birds with one stone? That was not enough.
They would throw their leader into jail, eliminate Orin as a foreign business competitor, destroy Senyu Corporation as a whole, raise Bangtan's reputation as a moral company while enhancing their notoriety in the underground mafia factions—all in this one banquet.
Kim Seokjin, the central figure of this meeting, was currently smiling like a villain.
It would be five birds with one stone.
Namjoon shook his head at the eldest's evil plotting as he finished his explanation to the people in the room, whose faces were covered in both fear and relief. Fear because of CEO Kim's merciless plans; relief because they were not the target of his obliterations.
Witnessing all this with a complicated gaze, she watched with as Seokjin leaned back on his chair with a smile both charismatic and cunning.
"Code V—that is the name of this operation."
Clarity couldn't help but stare in awe.
✿✿✿
Contrary to the attendees' dreary expressions as they were released from the meeting, the members of Bangtan were in enlightened moods. Seokjin, in particular, was humming lightly as he gazed out the car window.
With all the planned schedules finished for the day, they were on their way back to Bangtan's mansion. Taehyung was driving with Clarity in the passenger seat, while Namjoon and Seokjin sat in the back.
A banquet...Why does that sound familiar?
The short haired girl couldn't help but frown at the progression of things.
The latest chapter of To Be His Possession had ended with Seokjin and Y/N attending a banquet. However, it was not hosted by Bangtan, nor did it have anything to do with drug transactions. Furthermore, the information mentioned in the meeting were also never brought up in the original story.
Was it a coincidence?
She was contemplating on whether or not to tell the members about this information. This world had long strayed from the original direction, so it may not come into use at all. She didn't want to say things that she herself was uncertain would happen, since it'll only further complicate the situation.
"Clarity, I've been thinking about what you've said." Namjoon's voice pulled her out of her trance. "How exactly did you end up in our world? There should be some sort of instigating force, like a strong emotional impact, or something that allowed this phenomenon to happen."
"An emotional impact?" Clarity recalled the night before she travelled into this world. The day of her transmigration, she had only followed her daily routine.
Eating carbs, grinding school projects, binging BTS fanfictions until three in the morning...
Not much emotional impact here, if she were to say so herself.
However, Namjoon's deductions raised a good point. After all, only her soul had been transferred into this world, taking over the body of the original secretary. If it wasn't an outside force or portal, the cause must have been something internal.
At that moment, she recalled that there was, indeed, a moment of brief return to her original world. It was when she had taken a bullet at the auction. While she was unconscious, she had a weird dream where Yeontan was speaking to her.
Clarity shuddered at the strange experience and decided to stop thinking about it for now.
"On the topic, there's a question I've been wanting to ask," Seokjin said, crossing his arms. In fact, it was a question shared by all members for a quite awhile. "You said that you were from another world and that you had a role in being here. Are you trying to return from your original world once your role is over?"
The car suddenly fell silent at Seokjin question. Namjoon was spinning his glasses with a calm expression while Taehyung, his grip tightening on the steering wheel, stared into her eyes from the rear window. Seokjin's abrupt question caused Clarity's mind to blank out for a moment, before she was hit with a realization.
Although the members had reacted with nonchalance towards her secret on the campfire night, it appeared that they were just hiding their apprehension so she wouldn't feel burdened. Whatever her internal thoughts were, the members decided to respect her decisions.
"I'm not going back." Clarity smiled. "As I said before—this is my reality now."
Satisfied with her own answer, she turned to see Namjoon looking at her with a gentle look. Taehyung refocused his eyes on the road, slightly loosening the hand on the steering wheel.
"Good choice," Seokjin commented with a smirk. "Returning would be your loss, after all."
Clarity couldn't help but laugh.
✿✿✿
"...What's going on?"
The moment they arrived at Bangtan's mansion, the group was hit with bafflement as they saw black smoke rising out of an open window.
"An ambush?!" Panic was in Clarity's eyes as they quickly rushed into the room, only to be faced with an even more incredulous sight.
"Kids... What is this?" Namjoon didn't even try to hide his frown as he sighed at the disastrous state of the kitchen.
"You're back!" Jungkook spun around with a refreshing smile, sparkling amidst a sea of chaos. A black, ash-looking substance was drooling over the counter area, while the sink was piled with mountains of dirty cookware.
Taehyung, who just entered from garage, visibly grimaced at the unknown smell wafting around the house.
"Taehyung!" The black-haired man jolted as Jimin's smiling eyes locked onto him like a predator seeing its prey. "You must have had a long day. Here, have some some biscuits."
Taehyung eyed the shrivelling black things stacked on the plate.
Those ain't no biscuits.
It was then Clarity noticed someone else who was also behind the kitchen counter. Her eyes widened at the unexpected sight of a certain brown haired girl.
"Yinn?" She was not expecting the original female protagonist, who had never gone out her room, to be a part of this cooking shenanigan.
Still looking a bit timid, Yinn gave her a small smile. Regardless, Clarity was happy to see her getting along with the boys.
"Are you feeling better now?"
"...Yes."
"That's good." Clarity then sighed, her gaze falling on the two culprits before her as she turned to Yinn once more. "Please watch over those two, so that they don't burn the house."
At her statement, Jimin and Jungkook rolled their eyes. The two then glanced at Yinn, who awkwardly looked back with a smile.
"Miss Clarity." Jimin puffed his cheeks dramatically. "You shouldn't be treating me like a kid. After all, I'm global star Park Jimin and-"
Before he could finish, Jungkook had shut him up with a burnt cookie. The youngest then turned toward Clarity, feigning ignorance with an innocent smile.
"Hey." Ignoring the chaos in the room, Seokjin shuffled beside Clarity, his gaze consciously glued onto the girl behind the counter. Slightly bending over, he spoke to Clarity in a low whisper. "Did I really fall for that weak-looking girl in the book you were reading?"
"You sure did," Clarity replied emotionlessly.
"I must have lost it." Seokjin was frowning at her curt but unhesitant response. "How's that possible? She's not even close to my type."
Clarity sighed again at the usual Bangtan nonsense happening before her eyes. Pulling together her secretary act, she turned towards Tara, another one of Bangtan's housekeeper, and signalled her over. "I'm going to get some cleaning sprays from the storage room. In the meanwhile, please help them clean up this mess."
"I'll come with you," Taehyung said and the short-haired girl nodded.
Located at the basement floor of Seokjin's mansion, the storage room was at the end of a narrow hallway. Even in her black blazer, Clarity subconsciously shivered as she stepped into the chilly space. Skimming through the shelves of home appliances, it took her a moment to locate the pack of cleaning sprays that rested on the leftmost top shelf.
Clarity reached upwards to the shelf level that was three heads above her. She mentally swore at her depressing height as she stretched her fingers further while on her tippy toes. Suddenly, a presence emerged behind her as Taehyung, who had been waiting by the door, leaned over her to easily fetch the cleaning pack.
Frozen on the spot, Clarity flinched when his hand brushed against her ears as it reached for the cans. Taehyung passed it to her with a smile, not noticing the latter's face that was turning a dark shade of pink.
It was at that moment.
A loud bang echoed the room, making Clarity jump on the spot. The two simultaneously turned towards the exit, only to witness the exact moment where the door, held up by a wooden wedge that had lost its grip, closed behind them.
"..."
At the turn of events, the two stared at each other blankly.
"Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah," Clarity replied.
Hearing her reassurance, Taehyung then walked up to the closed door, only to freeze after putting his hand on the handle. Clarity's stomach dropped at the pause in his actions.
"...Is it locked?"
Taehyung nodded. "The basement doors are ones that locked themselves. We were going to get it fixed, but..."
She had an odd feeling as the black haired man was explaining all of this. An ominous sensation was arising from within as she took in the current situation. Then, it finally hit her.
It's here—another iconic Wattpad scenario!
What would become of a cliched fanfiction if it didn't include a scene where two people were locked together in a room? Now personally thrown into this exact situation, Clarity didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
This world seemed to never give her a break.
"It looks like we'll just have to wait until someone notices that we're gone," she said with a sigh.
Clarity had told the members that they were going downstairs, so they would realize eventually as the two been gone for a long time.
However, she thought of Jungkook and Jimin, who had always lost track of time once they started playing video games.
Seokjin, who was crashing into his weird-ass sleep schedule on the second floor.
Yoongi, who was already sleeping.
Namjoon, who was drafting some scary plans in his fool-proof, sound-proof room.
And lastly Hoseok, who was out partying at who-knows-where.
"...Hopefully?"
This was driving her crazy.
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clarity: end me now.
lori ✿