Taehyung's pov
I sigh and resist the urge to run a hand through my hair. This was a complication I definitely didn't need. The coming days were going to be busy enough without suddenly second-guessing where I was going and who I am meeting.
Maybe hiring Jung-kook had been a mistake. I had assumed that learning to be an assistant was easier than learning architecture; that he could learn on the job. But maybe I'd been wrong. I had been, often, when it came to assistants. Damn Rita had been lucky on her first try.
I return to the architectural model on the screen. There's something missing, something in the curve of the outer fixtures that doesn't work. At first, I'd thought it was a problem with proportions, but balancing that hadn't helped either.
The elevator dings. I click away the project, switching instead to the office building we're developing in the Boryeong.
Jungkook is standing in the doorway to my office. He'd worn a black suit to work today, complete with matching formal shoes, but that's gone now. He's in darkwash jeans and an oversized sweater. His face looks bare somehow... no makeup on. And his dark bangs frames his face and a little ponytail on top.
I frown at him. He looks beautiful, which is yet another distraction I don't need. Sure, I'd seen it before, when I interviewed him. But then he'd worn his beauty like armor, with sharp eyes and hair swept back. This time it's disarming-seeing him like he'd look on a Sunday morning.
He steps into my office uninvited, laptop under his arm. "I'm sorry again. Let me double-check this and I'll have it fixed in no time."
"See to it that you do."
He takes a seat at the large conference table in my office, still uninvited. Few people spend time in here apart from me. I can see how his eyes drift as he fires up his laptop, running across the bookshelves I have to the large model in the corner. It's covered by a sheet, but I still feel unsettled as he looks at it.
That project is for my eyes only.
He works away on his screen, fingers tapping occasionally against the keyboard. I try and fail to focus on my own screen.
"Do you always work this late?" Jungkook asks, voice cheery. I can't tell if it's fake or not. "It's midnight."
"Often, yes. A lot of people rely on us meeting our deadlines." I frown again. Why am I volunteering more information?
He nods, clicking away. "I can imagine."
"Which is why things like calendars can't go missing."
Jungkook's shoulders stiffen, but he doesn't say anything. We both work in tense silence for another few minutes before he sighs. "It's back. I accidentally unsubscribed us both to that particular calendar. It was a simple fix. Everything's still intact."
I open the email and scheduling program. He's right. All the information about my eight o'clock meeting is readily available to me again. My fingers fly across the keyboard, quickly taking a screenshot in case he does the same thing again.
"Don't let it happen again."
"I won't," Jungkook says. Displeasure is clear in his voice-like he's disappointed in me. I frown at him and find that he's wearing the same expression as well. "I'm sorry. It was a simple mistake."
"No mistakes are ever simple."
He crosses his arms over his chest, the sleeves of the sweater long enough to cover his hands. It's a vulnerable look, completely at contrast with the fierce determination on his face. "I'm sorry, but I think a mistake on one's first day is allowed."
"They are. Which is why I'm not making a big deal of this."
Jungkook rolls his eyes-actually rolls his eyes at me!-and heads toward the door. "Is this why you go through assistants so fast?"
I stare at him. He did not just say that to me. Talented or not, beautiful or not, that's just... well, it's too close for comfort.
He stares right back at me. One of us is going to have to give in, and I can tell from his gaze that he's not planning to.
But if he thinks I am, he doesn't know a thing about me.
This goes on for a long time.
Jungkook doesn't look away, but his lips curve into a smile. "I didn't think I'd have a staring contest with my boss on my first day."
"Neither did your boss."
His smile turns full-blown. It's a thing to behold, transforming his face from fiercely beautiful into something that's nearly luminous. Fucking hell. Why did I think it was a good idea to hire him?
"I don't think either of us likes to lose," he says.
"That's fairly evident." I lean back in my chair, trying to find some level of authority in this situation, not breaking eye contact. It's silly-so damn childish -but I still can't look away.
"Let's make a deal," he offers.
"While you have me hostage in this game?" I ask. "I don't negotiate with terrorists."
His smile turns, impossibly, even brighter. "I know I might make mistakes again. Not get your sandwich whole-wheat, for example. Prepare too hot coffee. But I want you to give me the full six weeks of this trial period. A proper chance."
"And not cut it short?"
"Exactly."
I pretend to deliberate, tapping my fingers on my desk. The deal he suggests is pointless. I hadn't planned on cutting the six weeks short anyway, especially not after this little performance. It was insolent... and very entertaining. Jeon Jungkook is unlike any assistant I've ever had. There is no fear in his eyes and no dislike of my frank manner.
"All right," I say slowly. "If you agree to my tasks. You have more experience in the field than any assistant I've ever had before."
"Use me," he says in agreement, and as if on command, a lovely blush blooms on his cheeks. Yeah, he heard how that sounded-just like I did. I ignore it.
"Very well. You have your six weeks, Mr. Jeon, despite any mistakes you might make along the way. Now get out of my office before I'm forced to stare at you until sunrise."
Jungkook nods and grabs his laptop. He walks backwards out of the office to avoid breaking eye contact. I raise an eyebrow at him, and he gives a delicate shrug.
"I'm competitive," he says, voice apologetic. "Goodnight, Mr. Kim."
"Goodnight."
The door closes behind him, and I stare at it for a few more seconds in disbelief at the interaction we just had. Well, Jeon Jungkook. I'm competitive too.
And I always win.
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He's exemplary the next day.
"Here's your Korean Egg bread, Mr. Kim from the place down the street that you like. I've ordered lunch for you-Bibimbap and Kimchi and i've told it too be less spicy."
I look down at the coffee in my hand. How did he know that?
"And Tae-yong called from the Exon project. They have to push back your two p.m. meeting by fifteen minutes. I've re-scheduled your meeting with the architects afterwards to fit."
"Did you book a Town Car for tonight?"
"Yes. It'll pick you up at 6:45." There's a faint pause. "And you're sure you don't want a dinner reservation?"
"No. I'll handle that on my own." I glance over at my schedule and at the new meeting he'd set, every Monday morning. "You added a recurring meeting for us?"
Jungkook nods, standing straight and proud in front of me. He's wearing a navy suit today, his hair slick and parted. He looks entirely professional-no trace of the dressed-down, combative man he'd been last night. It's for the best. Any more of that and I wouldn't... well. For this to work, there needs to be absolute professionalism between us.
"Yes," he says. "To go over your schedule for the week and for me to ask you what's on your mind. It will make me better at anticipating your needs."
Anticipating my needs? "All right."
"Good." There's faint relief in his gaze-did he think I would object?-and then he sweeps out of my office in a pair of camel brown shade shoes. Not only had there been no trace of the casual Jungkook, but there had been no trace of the silliness he'd displayed. That I'd played into-even enjoyed.
I shake my head and return to my emails. Get your head out of your ass, Kim.
Two hours later, his voice chirps out of the intercom. "Your mother is on the line. Would you like me to patch her through?"
Damn it. I'd been avoiding this call for two days, but there's no hiding forever.
"Yes."
My mother's satiny voice rings out. "Hello, Bear."
"Eomma."
"I'm glad you had the time to talk to me. Always so busy, Taehyung-ah. It can't be good for you."
"I always have time for you."
She laughs at the empty flattery. "Now I know you're lying."
"Is everything all right at home? Dad is good?"
"Yes, yes. He just closed on some big deal in the Midwest, I forget where." I can almost see her waving her hand in dismissal. In Denmark, I want to say. He finally closed the Rhett project. But it's no use. "He'll be there for a week, hammering out the details. Always working, always working... So like you."
"Yes."
"You haven't been home for a while now. You know we all miss you." My parent's home is only a few hours' drive from Seoul, I feel like saying. Everyone is welcome to visit.
"I'll come home soon. I'll be home for the wedding, you know."
"Yes, but that won't be just us, just family." Mom sighs. "That's what I was calling about, you know. Your brother is a mess of nerves, trying to organize all this. I told him-how many times did I tell him?-to hire my party coordinator, but no, this had to be his show... Small, he kept saying, intimate... We have too many guests for that!"
"Jin hyung wants it his way," I say. "Let him and Namjoon hyung plan their day however they want it. If they want it small, that's okay."
"Yes, but there are expectations on the family. Oh, I thought you'd understand, Taehyung..."
"I do, but we both know that you can't change Hyung's mind about anything."
She sighs again, ever the dramatic. I'm reaching the end of my patience. "Who are you bringing? I've been asking and asking, but you don't seem to have an answer. We have you down for a plus-one, of course. Your younger brothers are both bringing dates."
Yes, my little brothers had both found dates-as pressured by Mom as I was.
"I'll bring someone. Stop worrying."
"Fine, fine. You know your grandmother will worry otherwise. You're nearly your thirty, Taehyung."
Thanks for enlightening me. But I am just 27.
"I'm aware. Eomma, I have to go. I have a meeting in five."
"Oh, do you really?" No. "Take care then, Tae. Tell me as soon as you have a name. Jinnie needs them for place cards, you know."
"I know."
"Bye, bear."
"Bye. I'll call soon."
I lean back in my chair. A headache is coming on-not surprising. There is no way my hyung is concerned about who I'm bringing. This was all Kim Eun-ah, our mother, and her perfectionist, scheming ways.
She might mean well, but that didn't make it any more pleasant to bear. The worst part is that she wasn't wrong, either. I don't have a date for the wedding and haven't taken a woman or man out in months. My last relationship, if you can call it that, had ended poorly. Ae-rum wanted more than I was willing to give, even if I had been clear with her from the beginning.
You love your work more than me!
Yes, I'd had to tell her, because I didn't love her at all. And I needed to finish my build and the architectural model before the deadline, which was now only a few weeks away. I hadn't spent nearly two years on a design only to give up at the finish line. Which was exactly why I didn't have time for men/women. It was never just simple-and my attempts to simplify things just left them hurt, instead of enlightened, which was my aim.
My mind drifts to the dark-haired man sitting outside my office. At the fire in in his eyes when he challenged me last night to give him a fair chance. To his obvious ambition and competitiveness. His quick tongue and the way his body curved beneath the office-appropriate outfits.
I halt that train of thought. It has clearly been far too long if I'm finding myself drawn to my own assistant. Not once have I lusted after my own assistant, and I refuse to start now.
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To be continued.......
Jeon is becoming a beautiful distraction for Kim....
Will it become more or....😉