Jimin interlocked his fingers with mine as we made our way inside the wine bar, hidden in the midst of buildings and busy streets. The host directed us to a table for two and it was then that I took my chance to admire the place. The scent of perfume blended with aftershave took over my nostrils. The dimly lit room was filled with puffs of cigarette smoke and rows of the most finest wines lined up behind the bar table.
"Wine Bar 612... a fitting name for a such a place." I said to Jimin who slouched back in his seat.
"It's a great bar and one of the best in Korea." Jimin simply remarked.
Soon after a waiter came round our table with a huge wine bottle in one hand and a pair of Burgandy wine glasses in the other. Jimin thanked the waiter before turning his focus to me.
"What's this?" I questioned while attempting to read the name of the wine. It was written in a foreign language that I didn't understand.
"Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc, a French wine." Jimin answered. He popped the cork off effortlessly and poured an ample amount of the white wine in each of our glasses.
"I've never tried French wine before!" I exclaimed excitedly, picking up the glass.
"Well my princess, you have an entire night to try them all out... this place centers around French and Spanish wine." He smiled before we clinked our glasses and took a sip.
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After drinking an entire bottle and a half of the sweet wine, Jimin suggested we take a break from drinking and instead play truth or dare.
"Ok so first lets establish that there's no limits to this." He addressed with a hint of playfulness in his voice which made it clear to me that he was up to no good.
"Sure and you can ask me first." I shrugged, arching an eyebrow.
"Truth or dare princess?"
"Truth."
Jimin thought for a moment while looking up at the ceiling. "How many times have you dated before me?"
My eyes expanded in surprise— I wasn't expecting a question like that. "Well there was Jungkook and then a bastard back when I was in school."
"Shit, you have to spill the details." He said with curiosity, hunching forward to hear me better.
I let out a heavy sigh while recalling my first relationship. It wasn't a depressing memory, rather it was a fucked up one and one that I wish I could erase from my memory permanently.
"I used to date this guy called Kim Wonjae. In my eyes, he was the most loving person I'd met but quickly I realized it was all a facade once I caught him making out with a bitch who I called my only best friend." I scoffed, crossing my arms.
Jimin looked at me with eyes full of sympathy. "I'm sorry you had to go through that.."
I held his hand and shook my head. "There's no need for you to be sorry." I smiled before he placed a light kiss on the back of my hand.
"What happened after you caught them?" He asked.
"I left both of them to do whatever they wanted. I planned to expose them but they both had popularity and I'm sure most people would have supported those fuckers instead of me. I continued to live through school quietly before some people decided to kidnap me to their mansion."
Jimin let out a chuckle, as he circled his thumb on my palm. "Kidnap? You sure you don't mean help?"
"I know what I'm saying." I kissed my teeth sarcastically before breaking into smile myself.
"Ok now your turn, truth or dare?"
Jimin hummed before also replying with truth. "You ever gone for second rounds?" I smirked slyly. Jimin poured himself some white wine and loosened his tie which pretty much summed up his answer.
"Second rounds are for rare special occasions but yes." He gulped down the wine.
I thrusted my tongue into my cheek and nodded taking in the information. "Interesting Jimin, very interesting." I teased. "I choose dare next."
"Try some of this, it's called Teso La Monja." Jimin explained, as he walked back to our table with a bottle of red wine.
I poured myself some of the drink although it was barely visible. Jimin let out a scoff and took the bottle out of my hands and poured even more till it filled half the glass. I looked up at him with furrowed brows and he gave me a shrug and flashed a devilish grin in response. To trust the Park Jimin with dares was a stupid thing to do.
"Drink all of that." He guffawed with a hand at his hip.
"You're kidding me...!" I refuted, mouth agape in total shock.
"We agreed on the no restrictions agenda so drink up princess."
I took a nervous gulp. I had always preferred the taste of sweet white wine over the bitterness of red wine and Jimin was aware.
I cleared my throat and lifted the glass until it met my lips. Jimin looked at me with a look that screamed no pity but enjoyment so I decided to take a large swig of the wine. As expected, the bitterness stabbed the back of my throat.
"I fucking hate you Park Jimin." I muttered before chugging down a glass of water.
"Oh do you now, honey?" He whispered. Jimin took one of the napkins, reached over the table and patted my lips dry. I could feel the rush of heat in my cheeks. This man and his ways to win me over again and again.
"Hey, you have to finish the entire thing." He huffed, flicking the glass which let out an echoed ring.
I bit my lower lip in defeat and raised the glass. Just as I was ready to take another sip, the front doors of 612 swung open violently. Two people came storming inside and towards our direction. I exchanged glances with Jimin who equally looked as confused as I was. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't recall who these people were.
"Oi you pieces of shit... you're both members of Bangtan right?" The woman growled while pointing a daring finger in our direction. I put down my glass, sighed and then stood up to match her height.
"And what if we are? Who even are you?" I spat out which caused her to flinch.
This time the man stepped forward and spoke up. "She's Moon In-Hye and I'm Lee Daewon, we both own a private freight forwarding service."
"And what's it called?" I asked, gritting my teeth.
"Esovu Co., Ltd... here's a business card." Daewon answered, extending a small blue card in our way. Jimin snatched the card before I could take it.
"So what's your problem with Bangtan?" Jimin said, tossing the card onto the floor with no care; Daewon's lips twitched showing annoyance.
"Easy, you fucked up our company up." In-Hye groaned, slamming her fist against the oak wood table.
I held the bridge of my nose and took a moment to process the conversation. "So how exactly did we fuck up your company? A shipping company at that?"
Daewon looked over at In-Hye and nodded, who in return gave me a reply. "Esovu paid protection fees to your mafia but then you backstabbed us and extorted all of our assets and went further by fucking laundering it."
"And we simply want our money back and to terminate our protection plan." Daewon completed In-Hye's sentence.
Jimin cupped his mouth before throwing his head back in laughter. "You— you expect us to just hand over the money just because you asked us to?"
I nodded along with his words, pressing my lips into a thin line to also suppress my laughter.
"So you're not going to give us our money?" In-Hye repeated, angling her head. Jimin and I simultaneously shook our heads. "Never."
In-hye cracked a smile and took a step back. "Don't say we didn't warn you." She licked her lips.
Daewon then pulled out a handgun and pointed its muzzle at us. He placed his finger on the trigger and fired.