tw: there's a death threat made in this chapter so be warned. also i apologize in advance
"This house is fucking ridiculous...I don't even know what to do with myself," Felix whispered in my ear.
"I don't either," I whispered back to him. "I don't know how to act."
"He's your boss, not mine," He whispered. "Have you not been to his house before?"
I shook my head, "No, I've only seen the outside of it a couple times. I've never been in."
"What are we talking about?" Hyunjin asked us, leaning over to listen.
"We're talking about how we don't know how to act around super rich people," Felix whispered to him.
Hyunjin nodded his head, "I don't either, this is weird. I don't even know how Han and I got invited; he hates us."
"He doesn't hate you guys, he's just jealous. Isn't that what you wanted?" Felix asked us.
"Yeah but I didn't expect him to turn Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in a two-month span!" I whisper-yelled. "It's like all of his character development was just thrown out of the fucking window!"
"Just be glad there's still some Dr. Jekyll left in him otherwise he'd just be Mr. Hyde all of the time," Felix whispered.
Mr. Lee stood up with a glass in his hand, "I'd like to make a toast."
"Oh, this is fancy," I whispered to Felix, raising my glass.
With everyone's glasses raised, Mr. Lee began to speak, "You know, I've never really been the type to have many friends. Contrary to popular belief, I actually wasn't a bully in school; I was quiet. The only friend I had I actually like was Chan and I didn't exactly seek him out. However, despite this, I've grown rather close to all of you these past few months and I'd like to thank you all for giving me a chance. Cheers."
As conversations continued, I leaned over and whispered in Felix' ear, "I didn't know people still did toasts."
"Me either," He whispered back to me as he cut his steak.
"Hey Minho, I have a question," Jeongin spoke up, interrupting the silence in the room thank god.
"Yeah, what's up?" Mr. Lee responded to him, impolitely shoving a bite of steak into his mouth in the process.
"I hate to put my ignorance on display like this but what's that thing?" He asked, pointing to a sculpture in the corner of the room encapsulated by glass. Due to his phrasing of the question, we all found ourselves to be laughing.
"That's L'Homme au doigt," Mr. Lee said casually.
I had to admit, his French pronunciation was phenomenal.
Quite sexy, actually.
"That thing costs more than a year's worth of my rent," I joked in complete awe.
Mr. Lee was not amused by this, however, "It's worth more than you'll ever see in your life."
"Mm, doubt that. Have you heard about the project he's had in production?" Felix asked him, completely nonchalant.
I laughed nervously, "That was supposed to remain under wraps."
"Really? I thought you'd be more proud of it, it's brilliant," Felix said to me.
"Oh? And what's this little project of yours, Jisung?" Mr. Lee asked me condescendingly.
Fucking asshole.
"I don't know if I'm comfortable sharing it here," I said, scratching my elbow anxiously. Hyunjin grabbed my hand and held it on the table, putting on our show.
"Oh, that's unfortunate. I was looking forward to hearing it," Mr. Lee said, feigning enthusiasm.
"Nobody likes being put on the spot," Seungmin said, coming to my defense.
"Would you like to know what I think?" Mr. Lee asked rhetorically. "I don't think he has one."
Everyone looked taken aback by this, but nobody spoke. Nobody even moved. They just stared.
"Maybe I just don't want to share it with you because I don't want my idea stolen," I said, tilting my head.
Okay, that was bold. Even for me.
Just kidding, I'm always like this.
Fuck this guy.
Mr. Lee didn't say anything to this, only staring at me blankly for a moment before returning back to the food he'd been eating. I suppose I could be surprised by the fact that he didn't use this as an opportunity to berate me, but yet again, we're in front of our friends.
Changbin got up from his chair beside Felix and whispered in my ear, "I am so fucking sorry."
I shook my head at him as my way of communicating that it was fine and he returned to his seat, giving me a sympathetic look as he sat down.
Mr. Lee looked over at us coldly and asked, "What was that?"
I felt a sudden wave of rage course through my body and I threw my fork and knife down on my plate, "I'm done. I'm fucking done."
"Very mature, Jisung," Mr Lee rolled his eyes.
All of my frustration from the past four months bottled up to the surface and I stood up from my chair, throwing it across the room and grunting loudly. I slammed my fists down on the table and then pointed a finger at Mr. Lee, "Fuck you."
Chan, Seungmin, Jeongin, Hyunjin, Felix, and Changbin all stared at me in awe as I began to back away from the table with my finger still pointed at him, "Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. I'll kill you, I mean that. I'll fucking do it."
Everyone's jaws dropped at this statement and I lowered my finger, looking at Mr. Lee with disgust before I turned around to grab the coat of mine that had been thrown across the room along with my chair. I snatched it off the floor and exited his dining hall.
When I heard quick footsteps behind me, I instinctually bolted for the front door. Not bothering to check for who it was, I slammed the door behind me and ran for my car. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins and it was all I was running on.
I unlocked my car and rushed inside, shutting the door behind me and throwing my coat off. I banged my fists on my horn repeatedly, the sound loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood.
"FUUUUUU-,"