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CHAPTER 8
"Looming" Arc
EP: FOUR
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What the heck is he doing here? Isn't he supposed to be on the 2nd floor?? Or is he running late??
Beomgyu watched the brunet wordlessly pass through the gateway but with a visible scowl that resulted from repressing his annoyance for their second encounter as he social-distanced himself from Beomgyu as if the other man was contagious, on the verge of pressing his shoulders against the shiny, metal wall.
Meanwhile, from the reflection, Beomgyu took in the getup of the shorter man who picked a white button-up under a matching suit and pants of sheen navy blue and a chic black tie as his formal attire.
Much to his surprise, it appeared that Kang was capable of looking "sophisticated". Though, Beomgyu thought something brownish for the hair would suit the look better than this blinding platinum blonde - dude should be grateful that HYBE had enough freedom for dress code.
What a glow up~ Beomgyu scoffed in his mind once he was done judging the brunet since he needed to observe how efficient this short stuff can be under his team, or to what distance Beomgyu can make him repay for his stupid mistake.
A sneaky grin flashed on his face upon the idea. He couldn't wait, might as well drop a hint in advance since he was strangely in a very good mood at the moment.
"Fancy seeing you here, bambi, I thought I'd never see my physical assaulter again after they got away the first time. What are the odds," he casually said to the brunet as if it was a simple 'how do you do'.
The other man turned to him, trying to appear unbothered but failing miserably. "And to what do I owe the honour of your obnoxious presence this time?"
"Maybe your luck, who knows. But why so pissed, right? It's not like you're the one whose foot got crushed by some salty midget." The brunet clicked his tongue, evidently annoyed when he looked at Beomgyu dead in the eyes.
"I'm warning you, dickface, keep your trap shut. Unless you need another of your limbs to be abused by the same physical assaulter but with much more force this time, don't cross the bloody line."
'Dickface', huh? Dear God, how long have you soaked this guy in the sea when you made him to turn out to be salty as shit, Beomgyu snickered, I'll let it slide for now. He huffed, making his voice as nonchalant as it can be to deliver his final blow.
"If I were you, midget, I'd choose my words wisely before I speak. Because one can never know how they'll end up. And by the way, the interview room is on the 2nd floor to the auditorium's left in case you're lost. You're welcome."
He waved without looking back and exited when the elevator reached the fifth floor, leaving the brunet stupefied as he should.
ꔛ
♡
What in the ill-fated bloody thing was that???
Taehyun stood frozen in the elevator as he watched the back of the slightly tAlleR man disappear into a corner, while his mind was interrogating itself what sort of bad deeds he committed to be graced with all this fuckery.
Among three distinct emotions, he wasn't sure of which to convey: 1. whether he should be thankful that at least that doofus didn't have any bloody hot drink with him nor spoiled his day like the last time, 2. be boiling mad that he was called by another derogatory name this time, or 3. be freaking out about the fact that mf knew he was getting lost in this humongous building and legit gave him directions to get to where he's supposed to be.
Interview. That was the big red stop sign where his train of thoughts pulled the brakes abruptly, as he inflicted a slap to his right cheek harsh enough to pull himself back to reality.
Fuck. I'm running late! I shouldn't be thinking useless stuff!
Taehyun got off on the second floor and quickly looked for the said auditorium, turning to its left. For now, he had to put aside the suspicion of that baboon miraculously knowing how to navigate inside this building like a pro.
Taehyun mumbled a string of curses for not reading the directions carefully and only to miss his destination by an inch. For this once, luck was on his side, as he made it on time when the interviewee before him had just left and his name was called right when he reached the waiting area outside the interview room.
He took a deep breath and fixed his clothes, only one grim sentence kept resonating in his mind as he strode with his chest slightly puffed up.
Don't fuck it up, Kang Taehyun.
And guess what?
He fucked up. As always. Marvellously.
Disappointed but not surprised from the moment Taehyun caught on the unison of reluctant expressions portrayed on the interviewers' faces when he told them he graduated from a local community college with a mere bachelor degree but no intern experience under his belt.
He was told to wait till they inform him back about the results, but he doubted he was convincing enough to secure a position anywhere inside this prestigious workplace. Confidence and self-awareness are two different things, he knew it damn well.
But it's fine. Kang Taehyun had been with the same bullshit ever since his first. Even a thousand times of this would not faze him anymore. Well, excluding the nagging he'd get later from Yeonjun who went all through the trouble just for this, a (not 100 but 90-something percent of) certain elimination. He's not a pessimist, he's just being realistic.
Which reminded him. He hadn't taken Yeonjun out as he promised. Taehyun made a mental note to take the college senior to their regular haunt in Gangnam so that they could at least drown their disappointment in the mighty amber juice.
He was about to take the bus when he remembered to call his brother to confirm something.
Yep.
Just like he thought, he was assigned as today's babysitter, for Hyewoon was no longer home, and Yeosang was out and about - something along the lines of meeting someone for business, and Taehyun assumed it was one of the artisan's clients.
When he stepped outside the building with the slightest bit of resentment, the clear sky began to drizzle out of nowhere. And did it expect him to bring an umbrella in perfectly fine weather since morning?
Of course not. Who am I even kidding??
Taehyun sped up his pace to reach the bus stop to get the rain away from drenching him like a rat. Just like that, he completely forgot about a particular nuisance.
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It was almost dusk when Jongho finally got home, as in the studio apartment where he worked and slept in. After securing his car, he approached the somewhat dilapidated building and took the stairs to the 2nd floor, his steps shambling like a walking dead.
One might wonder why he, the supposed successor of a high-rising company, would dwell and make a living in such a cheap condominium - covered in vines and several cracks on the exterior facade - that looked like it could collapse into ruins with just a swoop of strong wind.
Those who wonder are mostly people that held strong beliefs on the unwavering path of tyrannical chaebols: a crib with a gate and a code, water dripping from every inch of his existence like an overflowing, broken faucet*. But who cares about those that could only guess and imagine the odds of someone else's life, obviously not him.
Jongho rubbed his bleary eyes before entering the passcode to the door on the left. The darkness inside the lonely room was swiftly replaced by the light he switched on. His footsteps echoed through the barely furnished chamber after he kicked his shoes off at the foyer.
He walked straight to his recording studio, not bothering to go up to the loft where his futon was since his cramped feet were not willing to climb up the steep, narrow wooden stairs.
Switching the blue mood lights on, Jongho headed for the leather chaise lounge sitting at the middle of the soundproof room. The delight he experienced when he threw his back fully onto the comfy leather was immeasurable.
Saying he had a long day would be an understatement when thinking back of so many events that happened - even though only the middle part mattered the most to him.
Starting from the morning, he was at a cafe (he went to two, but the first one was a more high-class place in Yongsan where most snobby wives of the riches gather to eagerly engage in idle talk) sitting awkwardly across an elegant girl who was dressed in a pink sweater that matched her ombre hair, a young student that was still in university. Unfortunately, she was the one Mr Choi set him up with, i.e., his "date".
Old man was too blinded by his greed to mind the whopping age gap between their offsprings before he and the other old man decide to drag the poor girl into his mess. And Jongho could tell she was not happy either just by observing her body language; constant gazing around, checking the clock, minimum talking. Just like how Jongho had been since both of them sat down.
Not to be rude, the girl can easily be anyone's ideal type, but right now Jongho had some other things to be concerned about than this young lady here, so he could not see the point of continuing this nonsense.
"Ms Sohee... it seems you're just upset with this as I am. You can be honest with me. No need to worry about your father, Mr Jung. I'm sure he'll understand that we don't work out." The pinkette huffed a sigh.
"You have no idea how I appreciate you for making short work of this whole thing, Mr Jongho. I'm sorry for today. You've been such a gentleman. Truth is, the problem is not you. It's just that I ha-"
"Jung Sohee! Where are you-" Before the belle could finish, the glass door at the entrance flung open, followed by someone storming in, startling all the patrons inside.
When both of them looked over to see what the commotion was about, Sohee's trimmed eyebrows raised high and the glossy, plush lips parted open as someone walked to their table at a rapid pace. She was only able to stutter half of her words because of her astonishment.
"Jooyoung, how did you-"
The person with short black hair, whom Jongho assumed as 'Jooyoung' appeared in a halterneck crop top, a leather jacket, and distressed jeans. The latter was catching her breath like she just ran five miles nonstop before she yanked the pinkette's hand.
"Jung Sohee! Didn't I tell you to keep yourself away from that damned old fox's whatever cunning games!" She had a husky voice much contrasting to her college-aged features, and it growled in a downright, shocking bass that even a grown man like Jongho nearly squirmed.
Before Sohee could form a proper response, 'Jooyoung' ran through her windswept hair with neon blue streaks that looked as flaming as her rage was. With all the street outfit and abs her crop top failed to cover, she gave off the vibes of an underground fighter from Itaewon that no one would dare to mess with.
"C'mon. We're leaving. Old Jung and I gonna have a word about this later, but you're first."
"But, babe-"
"And you," Jooyoung turned and snapped at Jongho who was accidentally caught up in the situation.
"In case you didn't know, I'm Sohee's girlfriend, and I'm trying to save her from that capitalist monster. So don't get in the way and back the fuck off, chaebol boy." With that she dragged the young heiress of VIXEN Group away, the pinkette dropping an apologetic nod to Jongho before keeping up with her lover's steps.
"What just happened?" The question did not come from Jongho but other people - mainly *arjuma's - in the room as whispers and murmurs. His face slightly heated up in shame for something that had nothing to do with him, so he distracted himself with the 'ding' that chimed from the phone in his pocket just a while ago.
There was a message from Beomgyu.
- Hey, I just sent you the solution. Lee Jooyoung, pro street fighter and the confirmed girlfriend of your 'date'.
- You're welcome :)
Never did he want to facepalm so bad than at the moment. The message was already sitting in his inbox ten minutes prior to the ruckus, yet, he chose to neglect it only to embarrass himself as the sitting duck of the scene.
Nonetheless, he replied a quick 'thanks' and walked out of the shop to his car that was parked across the street.
By that, Jongho got rid of the baggage his father forced on him without having much trouble thanks to Beomgyu and San. So he was able to move on to his original plans for the day, albeit he couldn't stop himself from thinking that fighter girl should have come get her woman sooner.
Afterwards, Jongho was rewarded with a great feeling of satisfaction when things went silky smooth from the moment the blond singer, or Kang Yeosang, agreed to work with him. Heck, he even managed to buy the exact same gift at the last minute for Eunyeong whose flight departed in the evening since the last time it went south thanks to that little monster in the disguise of his nephew.
Regardless, Jongho now could proudly advance to the next level of his project (with San coming back just in time) and it was all thanks to the kind, blond man.
A smile sneakily tugged on his lips in the middle of his musings.
Jongho has gained a newfound curiosity for that guy since he seemed very... intriguing. Ranging from how his hand felt rough and rigid when they shook hands - as if it belonged to someone who worked some kind of hard labour on a basis - to making Jongho ineffective, and by that he meant stammering when he introduced himself. Funnily enough when the latter did nothing but listen to him attentively when he spoke.
But those eyes. They held the same intensity as the first time when he was singing on the stage.
Jongho had been living and dealing with visually appealing people his whole life (his family, and his model friend, as for proof), so a person's physical appearance or charisma was never a thing that unnerved him.
But Kang Yeosang was... a different story, he supposed. And he could not quite put a finger on it why it was different from the others.
The man was far from having an overbearing charisma, or arrogance, but he neither seemed to be a pushover type. That was for sure, what Jongho could tell from his eagle-eyed observations so far.
Voice as ever gentle and sweet as the breeze brushing over a lane of cherry blossom trees, and the humble chuckle he let out behind his cupped fingers when Jongho complimented his singing certainly did something to his heart.
"C'mon. He's not even that handsome. Snap out of it."
Mentally exhausted of figuring out the aura of mystery surrounding that blond being, Jongho shook it off and forced himself to sleep, not knowing that the faintest hope and anticipation for finding out more answers on the upcoming weekend were taking root somewhere in his subconscious.
-to be continued-
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End-notes:
*the shitty phrase that I came up with to describe the riches of chaebols is inspired from Regular, my all-time fav BOP. *in haechan's voice*
*arjuma's plural. - (every cultured kdrama geeks know this term but anyway) it's Korean, literally translated to 'aunt', so naturally, middle-aged women fit into the 'arjuma' category. In Jongho's case, he was referring to the wives of the riches who likes to gossip🤭
by the way, bambi may sound like a cute nickname, but in Taegyu's case... hell nah, it's supposed to be an insult 👁️👄👁️ idek myself why Gyu calls Tyun that, you'll find out later i guess
edit: sorry for causing confusion with HYBE's floor layouts... i was just as lost as Tyun with the directions :') it's okay now, i corrected them <3