The couple rode to the Jeon Building together. Taehyung wanted to be with Jungkook for a few minutes after he made it to his office. He didn't want to smother him, but wanted to be there to support him just in case he needed him. Then, he had to get information from Landon before heading off to a photo shoot across town.
"Babe, are you sure you'll be able to handle a full day's work after the weekend's events?" Taehyung asked him as he was holding his hand in the back seat of his SUV. The security detail was sitting in the front with the driver.
"Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry. You need to concentrate on your photo shoot," Jungkook said, squeezing his hand.
Ever since the runway party, Taehyung-the-model had been landing plenty of jobs with Landon's help. The phones had started to ring off the hook with brands wanting his look for their ads. Landon had also scheduled shoots with a couple of magazines. Taehyung didn't stay for the duration of the runway party, as he was arguing with Jungkook. His absence made him elusive and thus, more desirable.
As Taehyung thought of that evening, all he could feel was heartache. He spoke to Jungkook in a manner of disrespect he had never used on anyone. He promised himself that he wouldn't hurt him anymore.
"I can cancel it or push it back if you need me to be with you today." Landon would be pissed, but modeling was not a priority for Taehyung.
"No need. There will be so much security there, I'm sure I'll feel suffocated before the day is over. Dad has security all over the place. I'll be good. But, I'll miss you." Kook smiled.
Tae gave him a peck on the lips.
They made it up to his floor without incident. That made Taehyung feel better about leaving him.
"Well, well, well. Look who decided to come to work and grace us with his presence," Jimin said as he met Jungkook at his elevator, grabbing his crossbody bag and jacket.
Jimin looked at Taehyung as he walked with them toward his office and whispered "Why is hottie walking with us?"
"First of all, you can't whisper. I'm sure the entire floor just heard you. To answer your question, he's here to support me. Emotionally."
Taehyung heard their conversation and smiled. He didn't engage because all he could think about was scanning the floor to make sure there were no threats to Jungkook.
They all made it to his office. There was a security guard at his door and another that had gone in ahead of them to scan the office.
"Can I get any of you coffee? Or anything else?" Jimin asked.
"Yes, I'd like an iced coffee. Just get the usual, please. Make sure to get coffee for the guards. Oh yeah, and get me a blueberry scone," Jungkook requested.
"Will do. I'll be right back."
"Do you feel ok Jungkook? Being here in the office?" Taehyung asked. He remembered how creeped out he was at the delinquents being in his personal professional space on that video when the building itself was shut down.
"Yes, I feel fine. I think I'll be ok."
"Good," he said as his brown eyes had that intense sparkle. Taehyung looked at Jungkook like he was the only other person in the world and it made Kook's heart skip a beat. Tae grabbed him by his waist and kissed him on the forehead. "So, what's on your agenda for the day? And whatever it is, please remember to never go anywhere without your detail."
"Today, I will be meeting with Trial Date and their general manager. You know we have the awards show coming up and I want to make sure they are mentally prepared. By the way, can you come with me to the show? I promise to not keep you long."
"Of course. You don't have to ask, sweetie." Tae flicked his chin with his fingers.
"Good. And after meeting with the band, it'll be all phone calls and Zoom meetings for the rest of the day," he answered with a huff, as he went to his desk to sit. He immediately got on to his computer.
"What do you have planned today besides the photo shoot?" Jungkook asked.
"I'll meet with Yoongi, immediately after. We're meeting for an early dinner but I will save some appetite to eat with you later. You have a key to get into the apartment. I may not be able to get back here in time to leave the building and ride with you. Or, are you going to your place after work?"
"I'd like to go home. You could just meet with me later. Please, don't rush on my account."
Jimin walked in with the coffee and scone. And a gentleman followed him in. Taehyung wasn't worried since he knew the officer at the door checked the guest out before allowing him to enter.
"Here's the iced coffee and scone. And here is your first interviewee, Daejung. Daejung , this is Mr.Jeon Jungkook."
Jungkook looked confused as Daejung greeted him. He stood as he offered his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jeon. I'm Park Daejung." Jungkook shook his hand.
"Jimin, I don't have interviews today."
"Well, you actually do," he started whispering. "I interviewed 10 guys like you asked me to and you wanted to see the final three."
"Again, you're not whispering." Jungkook rolled his eyes.
He made a side-eye toward Taehyung as he knew he was listening. He couldn't read his facial expressions to guess what he was feeling right now.
"The other two guys are downstairs going through checks so they can come up," Jimin further explained. He was wondering why this was so confusing.
Jungkook grabbed Jimin's arm and drug him to the area where the sectional was. "I forgot to tell you, I didn't need another personal. Taehyung and I have made up."
"Ohhh," he said as he looked at Taehyung. "Well, I can tell them that the job is taken and send them on their way."
Taehyung looked Daejung up and down and he noticed he wasn't a bad-looking guy. He bet all the escorts were good-looking that came from professional service agencies. As a matter of fact, the guy was really handsome, if Taehyung had to say so himself. He was slightly muscular and was dressed really fancy. Taehyung could tell he wore designer brands from head to toe. The interviewee seemed confident but confused with all of the hushed conversations.
Taehyung walked up to Jungkook and told him that he was heading out to meet Landon. He kissed him on his lips, while Daejung and Jimin were watching. As he walked away, he eyed Daejung once again and walked out the door.
Of course, Jimin watched him walk away. He looked at Daejung and said, "You just saw the glorious Kim Taehyung. Congratulations."
He then pointed Daejung to the door and let him know that the interview had been officially canceled. He turned back around towards Jungkook's desk and sat in his usual chair.
"So...you and the Greek god are back to being an item?" Jimin needed some tea. He had a horrible Valentine's Day and needed a good tea session to overcome the bad taste the lovers' holiday left in his mouth.
"Yes. And I'm so happy."
"So, like, what are you guys doing? He's your personal now or friends with benefits or ex-friends with benefits? Enlighten me."
"We are none of those. Just Jungkook and Taehyung. Two people who love each other," he answered with a smirk while sipping on his coffee.
"Love?" Jimin was stunned. "Did you, Jeon Jungkook, just say the L word?"
"Yes," he giggled.
"Wow!"
"I know. It's fantastic. Scary, but fantastic."
"So you guys are dating now?"
"Yep. And he's staying with me more because he wants to look after me."
"Wow," he repeated.
"I know." Jungkook was giddy.
"Ok first, y'all started that fucking for the free. And now y'all all domesticated. Taekook is now normal as fuck. Out here being a whole damn hallmark couple in these New York streets."
"Ok, first of all, you really just tried too hard to fit all the stan Twitter language in your response. But, if that's how you see us, I'll let it slide. And please stop saying y'all."
"Well, I want you to know I'm not mad at you. Sweetie, that man is 100% stud. I still stan a king. And that's on Kim Taehyung's future children."
"Jimin, I believe you have a crush on my man. Are you crushing on Taehyung?" He asked playfully.
"No, I have a crush on the idea of Taehyung," Jimin answered.
"What the fuck does that mean?" He asked with a light chuckle.
"I'm a hopeless romantic that is in love with the idea that I will one day possess a knight in shining armor, who just so happens to be fine as hell and very hung."
"Well, he's taken. Stop crushing on my knight," he said with a fake angry face.
"Ok, here you go again being a gatekeeping bitch," Jimin said as they both laughed.
Taehyung made it to the photo shoot in time. It was held in a conference room that was located in a major hotel. For this job, he would be taking photos for magazine ads for an expensive cologne brand.
He liked these sorts of shoots. The concept would be planned and all he had to do was follow the photographer's instructions. He was in a good mood because he was back with Jungkook, but was in a better one when he found out from Landon that he was working alone. So, this job wouldn't be long at all.
But, when he saw who was taking the photographs, his good mood was gone. Taehyung couldn't stand this photographer. He was too handsy and constantly flirted with him during the shoots.
This was another aspect of the modeling world that he couldn't stomach. Models made good money, but they were treated like meat at a market. They were expected to do what they were told if they wanted to keep working in NYC. If a model made trouble, photographers would spread gossip that the model was difficult to work with.
And the freelancer that Taehyung had to work with for this particular shoot was one of those. His name was Raphael and he was a beast. Taehyung doubted that Raphael was his real name.
They started the shoot and Taehyung was dressed in designer suits for each set. Raphael was his regular self. He would often stop shooting and come to move Taehyung to a spot, rather than asking him to move left and right. His hands would linger on his waist. And when they got good shots, Raphael would hit Taehyung on the ass instead of a high five like normal people.
Yoongi decided to meet Taehyung there and watched him work for a while. This line of work was amusing to someone like Yoongi. He would have never imagined that his friend would be a professional model, wearing fashion brands and makeup for shoots. It was rather hilarious.
"I see that you're making fun of me. I also heard a few chuckles," Taehyung said as he walked over to Yoongi after finishing the last set.
"This shit is funny as hell. At the office, we can't believe you're doing this. And what's up with the touchy photographer?" Yoongi asked.
"That fucker is gonna get his ass kicked as soon as my contract is up with Jeon Entertainment. I've heard he does this to everyone," Taehyung explained as he was about to text Jungkook some photos.
"Well, I guess you're right that he does it with everyone. Look at that guy he's kissing in the mouth. Is that another model who works with you?" Yoongi asked as he pointed towards Raphael with some guy.
Taehyung turned towards the freelancer. Both he and Yoongi looked on as Raphael and the mystery man were both caressing each other. Then the other guy lifted his head and that's when Taehyung got a good look at who it was. The guy with Raphael, the jerk, was none other than Daejung, the personal interviewee from Jungkook's office.
"Wait, I just saw that guy this morning. He was seeking to be interviewed by Jungkook to be his new personal," Taehyung said as he turned back toward Yoongi.
"Wait. I thought you and Jungkook were back together. You mean you're still allowing this personal bullshit to go on?" Yoongi asked, using finger quotes with the word 'personal.'
"Hell, no. It was a mistake. I'll explain after I get changed. Let's get out of here."
While in his private changing area, he
sent all the concept photos to Jungkook via text.
Taehyung:
Here are the finals babe.
And also I just saw that
guy Daejung with Raphael
the perv
He didn't wait for his reply as he knew Jungkook was busy. They left the hotel and went to PJ Clark's. They had settled on getting burgers.
"It's great to hear that you and Jungkook are doing great. I was worried about you. You're working so much and having to go through that breakup must've been brutal to your heart and body," Yoongi said.
"You coined it the best-what I felt like anyways. It was indeed brutal and I never want to go through anything like that again. I mean, you've seen me go through breakups. But, this one was an attack on me as a whole," he replied as he took a sip of his beer.
"I feel we are at a point in our relationship where I want him to know everything about me. I think it's time the two of you met, Yoongi."
"I'm not so sure about that, Taehyung. You know I limit myself to just a few people. It's better for me this way. Especially with my temperament," Yoongi said with a light laugh.
"I knew you would say that. But I wanted to have that talk with him tonight. Do you think it's too soon? And if not, when can I have that talk with him?" Taehyung asked.
"I mean, it's your relationship. It depends on how much you trust him."
Taehyung had to think for a minute. Did he really trust Jungkook? He had a secret, and if he revealed it to him, he'd never be able to take it back. He also didn't want to scare him away. He didn't think he could handle another break-up. Maybe it was too soon. But, he didn't want him to find out from someone else. And he believed that in a meaningful relationship, there should be no secrets. But he needed to weigh his options some more. He'd have to sleep on it, maybe.
"And you guys had a rather eventful weekend. The stalker situation has elevated, huh?" Yoongi asked, breaking Taehyung out of his cogitation.
"Yeah. And in a way, it's all good. This way, the bad guys are closer to getting caught. When they seem to almost make it to their finish line, they make mistakes. Trust me, they will get caught. And I don't plan to let Jungkook get hurt."
"What do you think is happening? Like, spill your theory, no matter how crazy it is. I'm pretty sure you haven't shared all of your knowledge with the Jeons or their security teams. I know you like a book and know you don't fully trust anyone." Yoongi took a bite of his burger and a swig of his Coke.
Taehyung's phone pinged. It was Jungkook.
"This is Jungkook. Let me text him and let him know I'll be home soon."
Jungkook
Fuck you look good.
And this is an
understatement. I
showed Jimin and let's
just say he's unwell 😂
Taehyung
😂😂😂😂
Thanks, babe and tell
Jimin he's in my prayers🙏
Jungkook
He told me to tell you
"In Kim Taehyung, we trust"
Taehyung
😂 I'll see you soon.
"Now, back to your observance. It's true, I don't trust easily. You know me well, my friend. Everyone's guilty until proven innocent, as far as I'm concerned. Everyone's a suspect," Taehyung said while chewing his fries.
He continued, "But, I have a theory. First of all, I believe that the culprit is actually a disgruntled loser as I've said before. Jungkook has been chosen by this psychopath to pay for the loss of love, etc. But here is the kicker. They are constantly wearing masks. This person is someone that he knows-maybe not necessarily an ex-lover of a former personal. I just need the prints to come back for my final theory to be proven."
"Hmmm. You may be on to something. And speaking of personals, that guy from the shoot-the weirdo photographer-do you think that guy Daejung is his personal?" Yoongi asked.
"Not sure. I can find out. I'm curious as to why you want to know. Are you interested in dating one of them?" Taehyung chortled.
"Fuck no. Let's just say I got something from them."
The two finished eating and visiting. After paying the check, they were ready to leave.
They parted ways, vowing to speak by phone on the next day. Yoongi insisted on speaking and meeting him more.
Yoongi headed toward his office.
Jungkook had messaged him that he had gotten some of Tae's clothes and personal items from his apartment. So, he could head straight to Kook's place. He took an Uber to Jungkook's, his soulmate, with whom he was shacking up.
Next | Too Good To Be True