Taehyung could only recall that song's lyrics sung by Beyoncé... "To the left, to the left...." from the song Irreplaceable. He felt like a toy that a child is done playing with or has grown out of.
What happens to toys when people are done with them?
He had made future plans with the guy that hired him as a prostitute. He thought they both were falling in love with each other. Kook had said he didn't know what he would do if he lost him. But, Tae thought it looked as though only he was suffering.
He was a walking zombie. He hadn't eaten and had barely slept for a couple of hours. He had stayed up with his sister and told her the news. She encouraged him and asked him to not give up on Jungkook. Taehyung got her to the airport first thing in the morning.
He felt like an empty shell. Jungkook had wounded him so badly that he couldn't cry. He had turned him into a wounded animal who needed critical care. He knew that only love could hurt like this.
Even though he saw a break-up coming, he tried to do everything he could to hold off the inevitable. He had experienced romantic splits before but this one was different. This was a big love. Big lust. Big friendship. Big fun. Big heartache.
Taehyung had been warned by Yoongi to not get involved with Jungkook romantically. But, it was after the night of their second interview. By the time he heard his boss' advice, it was too late. He was already attached to him.
Taehyung did not know beforehand what would transpire that evening of the second interview. For some reason, Taehyung felt drawn to him that night. Maybe it was the nature of the conversation coupled with the alcohol. But, by the time he had to leave him, he wanted to stay forever.
And he had never felt the same. At least he didn't think so. He could tell Jungkook was falling for him. And he also knew it scared the shit out of him. The vulnerability and the lack of control are what he feared the most. With the added threat of being rejected, his fears were heightened. For these reasons, Taehyung tried to reassure him whenever he could. And for this same reason, Jungkook pushed him out of his life.
And now, the chips had fallen and he didn't know what to do.
But before he could continue to wallow in misery, he had to talk to Yoongi. He was on his way over to speak with Taehyung in person.
"I'm sorry to hear this news, Tae. Maybe he'll come around?" Yoongi tried to comfort his friend.
"I want to at least try to get him to change his mind. I'm gonna go over today. It's Sunday. The day we usually sleep in and just have a lazy day." He slumped down into his couch and sighed.
"I was always afraid this would happen, at first. But, then seeing the two of you together caused my fears to dissipate. You guys seem meant to be Taehyung. Usually, I'd tell you to move on and count your losses. But I believe this guy loves you. I've seen him stare at you when you weren't looking. There was a gleam in his eyes."
"I hope you're right."
"What about the modeling?"
"I want to quit, but I did sign a contract. Jungkook made sure it was ironclad before I signed. So I'll work until the contract is over." He grabbed his head with both hands. "What the hell happened to my simple life? I was doing the work that I loved and hanging with my small group of friends. And then BAM!"
"Our lives have never been really simple, though. Our line of work keeps us on our toes and makes life interesting."
"Yeah, but it was all so simple to me."
"I tell you what, why don't you get up to shower and I'll drop you off at Jungkook's. Maybe you guys can talk it out?"
He had finished getting dressed. He put on the cologne Kook loved so much. He and Yoongi were on their way out when at the front of his door was something rather odd.
Wrapped in what seemed like to be brown packing paper was a meat cleaver. On the cleaver, there was blood and hair.
Taehyung immediately knew this door surprise must've been meant for Jungkook. He had been spending Saturday nights at Taehyung's and the creeps must've thought he'd be there. Taehyung called Jeon Seojun. Mr. Jeon wanted to meet at Jungkook's.
Taehyung didn't bring up the fact that they split up. It wasn't the right time. He met Mr. Jeon there.
"Come on in Taehyung," Seojun said once he saw the detail patting him down. "No need to check him. Let him in."
The cop with the detective reached for the object that was left at Taehyung's door. It had been placed in a ziplock bag.
Taehyung saw Jungkook sitting on his sofa with his arms crossed, not even looking at him. He decided he'd use this meeting as a chance to sit close to him. He sat next to him and Kook scoffed.
"Taehyung, thanks for calling me and bringing this with you. They will do their magic at the lab and look for prints, etc.," Seojun said. "We've finally received the report from the coffee analysis. All four cups were tested. Only the one with Jungkook's name was full of sodium azide in a very high dose. This is alarming."
Taehyung knew exactly what sodium azide was. It would have killed him if the dose was high. This more than worried him.
Jungkook looked at his father and Taehyung could tell he was afraid. He reached for his hand. He yanked it away.
"Seojun, do we have any intel on the two perps that showed up the day of the coffee incident?" Taehyung asked.
"Not yet. We are still chipping away at the intel we received from the escort houses." Seojun answered.
Jungkook listened to them and was made uneasy as he realized that after all he said to Taehyung the night before, he was still wanting to help him. He couldn't look at him or he'd burst into tears again.
"So, they finally sent over a list of names and photos? That's great. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help." Taehyung offered.
"Actually, I'd appreciate it if you could continue what you're doing. Help keep him safe. You're already here quite a bit. Just stay as close to him as much as you can. I know your employment limits you. But I am comforted to know that you're always around to look after him. And I know he appreciates it as well."
"Absolutely. I'll try to stay here as much as possible. The guards do a great job but he needs to be comforted as well." Taehyung ran his fingers through his hair. He still wouldn't look at him.
Jungkook was waiting for them to stop talking about him as if he wasn't there.
He continued, "And please let me know when you finally get a lead with one of the businesses."
"Sure thing."
The two houses were Splendide and The Ice House. Both companies serviced men and women (and all between) and both offered any type of escort desired. These professionals were mostly sex workers but also acted as professional dates.
The private, the wealthy, and the famous relied on these two businesses because they were discreet. The ones supplying just dates were usually models. Struggling models who needed the extra earnings. They were super good-looking and they never talked.
The sex workers were the same. They weren't your regular prostitutes off of a street corner. They were long-term lovers for those that needed to be supplied with them. No one served by the hour. Except for the short-listed.
There were some names on what was called a shortlist. These were the names of those that got passed around from one client to the next. They were always trying to work themselves off of the list. One sure way to become one of the elite escorts was to get a glowing recommendation from a high-profile client. High-profile clients like Jeon Jungkook.
"Yeah, so don't worry Seojun. I'll be here every day after work and on the weekends when I can," Taehyung offered.
"The hell you will," Jungkook finally spoke up. Looking between Taehyung and his dad.
"I'm ok to be alone." He said to his father.
"He's your boyfriend. You guys are together all the time anyways, Kook. No need to try to be strong for us. Let us help you, son," Seojun pleaded.
He just looked down and crossed his arms again. He didn't know how to tell his dad he was not in a relationship with Taehyung. Would he try to arrange a relationship for him? He was in a mess.
After everyone left, he lit into him.
"How fucking dare you come here like we are still a thing! I told you we were done. Why did you come here?" He asked, now standing.
"I told you already. The cleaver was left at my door. Truth be told, I was gonna have Yoongi drop me off so I could come to see you actually. But we saw the cleaver and I called your dad. He asked me to meet him here as he wanted to check up on you."
"But you should have left immediately after dropping off that cleaver. But you sat next to me on the couch. You're manipulating this situation," he accused.
"Of course I am. I would've done anything to get through that door to talk to you."
"Oh. My. God. Did you plant that cleaver just to get over here?" He accused.
"Hell, no. What the fuck? It's like you don't know me at all!" They were both back screaming at each other like the night before.
"Well, whatever. I don't want you here."
"I know. But, I made a promise to your dad. And don't forget, you still need to be in a relationship." He couldn't believe he was stooping this low to spend time with him.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Jimin.
"Hey, hon. Are you feeling better?" Jimin asked.
"Yes, I am. I called because I need a favor. Could you line up a list of personals for me to interview tomorrow?"
Taehyung rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"What? What happened to Taehyung?"
"The Kim Taehyung era is done," he said as he looked him in the face.
Taehyung was hurt and pissed.
"Well, if you say so. Are you sure I don't need to come over? You don't sound like yourself," Jimin said.
"Oh no. I'll just see you in the office tomorrow. And thanks." He hung up.
"Really? You're going to hire another personal right now? We just stopped being a thing last night. And you're already moving on?"
"Aren't you?"
"Who the hell would I be moving on with? I just left here last night and was right back this morning."
"So, you didn't move on before you came here last night?" He asked.
"No. What the fuck are you talking about, Jungkook?"
"So, this isn't you and Jennie?"
He went to Instagram and showed Taehyung the photos. The pictures looked familiar, like from a shoot. But they had on the outfits from the night before.
"What the fuck are these?"
"Things must've heated up with you and your girlfriend after I left the party last night."
"Jungkook, I swear, it's not what it looks like. This was me talking to her and telling her discreetly to cut the bullshit. Someone saw us and must've taken these photos and edited them slightly. Baby listen to me, there is absolutely nothing going on with me and this girl. Yes, I think she wants me. But I don't have feelings for her at all."
"First of all, don't call me baby. Next, I no longer give a shit. You don't belong to me. We're not dating. I just don't like the lies."
He reached for him and he stepped back.
"I can't seem to convince you. But can I beg you to allow me to do one thing? Let me keep your father's promise to help you. While here, I'll stay out of your way. If you allow me to, I'll take the third bedroom and you will barely see me. This way he'll think that you have a solid boyfriend, right? So it can work out."
He said nothing. He just went to his bedroom and he heard the door lock from the other side.
He went to his phone and to his DoorDash app. They usually always ordered brunch or went out. He knew he probably hadn't eaten anything, so he ordered from their usual spot.
He ordered from Lafayette. He got the brisket burger comté and for Jungkook the croque madame. Per usual, he also got an order of lemon ricotta pancakes for them to share.
He started to feel a little awkward after ordering. He said he didn't want him there so he low-key felt like a home intruder. But he was also worried for his well-being. To ease the situation, he would just try to stay out of his way. Right now, he was still held up in his bedroom, and that made him sad.
And what the fuck was up with those photos? He decided to text Jennie.
Taehyung
Hey what's up with the
pics of us on your IG
account? I thought we
agreed you wouldn't
post any photos of me
without consulting me
first.
Jennie
Those were not on my
account. We were both
tagged by a fan possibly.
Sorry for any issues this
may have caused. But it
wasn't me this time. What
happened to you last night?
Landon was pissed that
you left the party early.
Are you ok?
Taehyung
Yes, I'm fine. Thanks
for asking. I texted
Landon this morning.
He's still pissed but he
understands my
situation. And sorry
for accusing you.
Jennie
No problem. I may
deserve it. I really
liked it when i thought
we were getting close.
I understand that you
have a significant other.
I'll try to keep that in my
memory going forward.
But it's always good to
bond with models you
work with on a regular.
Taehyung
I appreciate your
consideration. And
please enjoy the rest
of your weekend.
Ok, so Jennie wasn't the one who posted the photos. He now felt bad for accusing her. However, she deserved a little grief after pulling that hand-holding stunt the night before. That started problems. And it made Jungkook think that he was interested in her.
He wasn't. Not romantically anyways.
The food arrived and he divided everything. He put Jungkook's food on a plate and made him some cold coffee the way he liked it. He sat his food at his bedroom door and knocked.
"Jungkook, I ordered Lafayette. Your food and coffee are here at the door. I'll be in the third bedroom if you need me, ok." He sighed when he didn't hear him stirring. To make sure he knows he ordered for them, he texted him. He could hear the ding going off on his phone. He walked off to eat his brisket burger and his half of the pancakes in the other bedroom so Jungkook could have a little privacy.
After eating and watching the end of a true crime special, he went to put his dirty dishes away. Looking towards his bedroom, he noticed his plate and coffee was no longer there. At least, maybe he had eaten.
Keeping a promise to assist with catching his stalkers, Taehyung went to his MacBook that he had with him and started researching the escort houses' clientele.
Next | Taught Him To Love