Taehyung hadn't meant to kiss him. Despite the fact that he was posing as his fiancé, he probably hadn't given much thought to the fact that they'd have to have some type of physical contact to go along with it. Not that he had much objection to it now. He wasn't disgusted to kiss Jungkook, like he was afraid he would've. In fact, maybe he enjoyed it a little. But that didn't matter. His sole objective was to find evidence that Jeon Seongjin had stolen his plans. Once he did that, he'd never have to see these people again.
He'd figured out a plan on the way home from the train station. Jeon Ae-ri was so busy reciting every little detail about the wedding to herself that all he had to do was nod and give an occasional "uh-huh," and she was none the wiser that he was plotting against her husband.
Tae had to admit that Jeon Seongjin was nothing he had expected. He'd envisioned someone a little more ruthless, although he wasn't sure why. After all, there was no hard evidence that Jungkook's father was responsible for stealing the design. In fact, his only piece of evidence pointed to Lee Daejung, Seongjin's partner. But even if Seongjin wasn't knowingly involved, he was still responsible. He should've asked questions when the design was submitted so abruptly.
And then there was Jungkook's wedding. Jungkook told him it was "hella expensive," which seeing all the plans his mother had made, Tae wasn't surprised. But then there was the question of where, exactly, all this money was coming from.
He had tried to quiz Jungkook's father about his business, just a future son-in-law making polite conversation, but Ae-ri had done her best to steer the talk away from business, frustrating Tae to no end.
One of the things Jeon Ae-ri had blathered on about had made an impression—she was hosting a massive party for him and Jungkook that evening. Taehyung hoped to take advantage of the distraction to search Seongjin's home office. He'd heard Ae-ri mention it was upstairs. Tae could pretend to go to the restroom and then find the home office, search it, and be back before anyone knew the wiser. He also considered trying to steal the older man's keys to a visit to his actual office, but Tae didn't want to resort to such drastic measures. It was bad enough he was impersonating Jungkook's fiancé. He wasn't ready to resort to breaking and entering just yet. He'd save it for tomorrow night if need be.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out, not surprised to see his brother calling him, probably looking for an update on the situation. He sent the call to voicemail. Taehyung had enough to deal with, and he knew that Jin had something to add onto that. Especially with Jeon Jungkook in the next room.
His entire company was depending on him. So why did he keep thinking about kissing his enemy's son?
Tae was desperate to find information, but his traitorous mind kept wandering to how Jungkook leaned into the unexpected kiss, body pressed against him, lips warm and soft.
Damn it.
He needed to stop thinking about kissing him and focus on the issue at hand. The real purpose of the trip.
It had seemed like the perfect solution to his dilemma hours ago, but now he was conflicted.
After Jungkook's parents and grandmother had accepted him as his fiancé, they had moved both his and Jungkook's bags to the car.
He had set Jungkook in the back seat, his head flopping like a rag doll. He stirred and blinked up at Tae.
"Hey," Jungkook mumbled, poking his chest. "I know you."
Getting in the back as well, Taehyung forced his voice to stay light and amused when he answered, "I hope so babe."
He'd shook his head and Tae's chest tightened with anxiety, but it went away when he muttered, "I said I want the red ones."
"Red ones what?" Gran asked, staring curiously.
Turning to her, Ae-ri rolled her eyes. "He's talking nonsense, Mother. He's drunk."
Gran paid no heed and instead turned to Taehyung, who was seated next to her. "You're not what I expected."
He swallowed, keeping his gaze on Jungkook's mother, who wasn't what he had expected either. "Oh?" He asked, trying to sound nonchalant. "How so?"
"Your smile."
Tae blinked in surprise. "What does that mean?"
"Jungkook may not speak to his mother much, but he talks to me. He used to tell me everything was okay, but something in his voice said otherwise."
Tae stared at her, unsure what to say.
His grandmother patted his hand. "I'm glad you smile. It makes Jungkook happier. Whenever he talked about his fiancé, he just sounded so much brighter. Thank you." She cast a frown toward Ae-ri, her daughter.
"Yeah, I'm glad too," he whispered softly. Guilt weighed at his conscience. He was lying so blatantly to her face. But it wasn't his problem that Jungkook was heartbroken now. It wasn't his purpose for being here.
Now, several hours later, as he stood in Jungkook's bedroom while said man prepared for whatever social function the queen had organized, he realized he didn't feel that way anymore. He sincerely wanted to help Jungkook—not just for what Jungkook could do for him.
"Go look at the itinerary," he said, redoing his eyeliner. "We need to know what we're facing down there."
Taehyung walked over to the dresser and picked up one of the two bound binders. The cover was inscribed with the words The Wedding of Jungkook and Taehyeon in bold calligraphy. One book was labeled with Jungkook's name, the other with Taehyeon's.
He opened Taehyeon's book and flipped through the pages. The next three days were strictly regimented with a minute-to-minute schedule and detailed description of all the activities. The entries were color-coded with highlighters, and there was a corresponding color key.
But even worse was the fact that Mrs. Jeon had booked most of the next three days of his life. How was he going to find the evidence he needed if he was required to be at all the places listed on the pages?
"Well?" Jungkook called out to him. "What is it?"
"Uh..." Terror washed through him. What the hell had he gotten himself into?
"Tae!"
"Uh..." He scanned the page. "Oh, your mother told me about this one. Seven p.m. Poolside cocktail party."
"A cocktail party?"
"Yeah..."
"Crap."
Tae looked over his shoulder at him. "Is it that bad?"
He stopped fixing his makeup and glanced over at him. "It's not good. Do you have nice clothes? A dress shirt and a tie?"
He blinked. "Yeah."
"Really?"
He shot him a sideways glare. "Why do you sound so surprised? I am a businessman after all."
"It doesn't matter." Jungkook stormed out of the bathroom and squatted next to his luggage before glancing up at Tae. "What are you waiting for?"
He tossed the binder back on the dresser, then hefted his own bag onto the bed and unzipped it.
Jungkook came over holding a pale blue button down, and then starting digging through the bag.
"Hey!"
He tugged out a shirt. "The white shirt with a blue tie."
"You're dressing me?"
"You signed up for this gig, this is part of it. She'll expect us to be color coordinated. You don't have a blue one so this'll work. Unless there was a color scheme in the itinerary."
"A color scheme?" Taehyung shook his head. "Hell no."
"Good. Get dressed." Jungkook left him standing there before disappearing behind the bathroom door.
Taehyung contemplated wearing his jeans with the shirt and tie, but he figured Jungkook's mother would flip her lid. While that would be amusing, to say the least, he needed to stay on her good side—at least until he found his evidence. He dug a pair of black dress pants out and started taking off his clothes to change. He heard Ae-ri's muffled voice through the closed door.
"Jungkook!"
The bathroom door opened, and out came Jungkook, clad in a collared shirt. Tae stopped in the middle of sliding his shirt on.
The sight of him sucked Tae's breath away. Jungkook looked stunning with his hair swept messily, but in a horribly attractive way. He looked almost feminine, but everything about the way he stood screamed masculine.
They stared at each other for several seconds before Jungkook looked away.
"You can use the bathroom now," he mumbled, cheeks flushed pink.
"Thanks." But Tae stayed in place, pulling his shirt on the rest of the way and starting to button it.
Jungkook's gaze moved to the bed and then to Tae's face. "Keep the jeans."
"But I figure your mother would have a fit."
A mischievous glint lit up his face. "She'll hate it. That's why you should wear them."
"So you want me to piss her off? After you freaked out about upsetting her?"
"That's different," he said picking up Taehyung's tie. "You get to exit from this horror show. I have to live with her for at least another thirty years."
He looped the tie around his neck, and in an instant, Tae knew he was in deep shit. He forced his breathing to remain even, though his heart raced. Did Jungkook know how sexy he looked right now, knotting the tie at the base of his throat?
He finished his task and looked at Tae. "I guess you'll do."
"You guess?"
Jungkook turned to his bag and started digging for something.
"We need a story," Taehyung forced out.
"What?"
"People are going to ask questions. We need to tell them the same thing. Does your family know how you met your fiancé?"
He turned his head and gave Tae a wry grin. "So you acknowledge his existence now?"
Taehyung almost laughed out loud. How he'd enjoyed riling him up about his fake fiancé.
"You showed me the blurry picture, right? But I still question his existence, if only based on the fact that the man has to be an idiot of epic proportions."
Why did he admit that? Focus, Tae, focus. There was only a week left before everything was lost. He needed to do what he had come down here to do, and that was it.
Jungkook glanced down. "No. They hardly know anything. Other than the fact he was a finance director."
"Okay. So how did we meet?"
"Friends set us up."
"Where was our first date?"
"At Tavlo 47, overlooking the Seoul skyline."
"Classy and romantic. And how did the date go?"
He stood, holding a pair of loafers. He flashed Tae a teasing grin. "You were smitten with me. I found you barely tolerable."
Tae stared into Jungkook's twinkling eyes as he looked up at him. "And did any of this actually happen?"
Jungkook's smile faded, making him regret the question. "No. We met at a gay bar downtown. I really liked him, and I kept getting him drinks. After much convincing, we ended up agreeing to try dinner the next week."
"That sounds very..."
"That's Taehyeon for you."
He wasn't sure how to respond. Based on what little he knew, Taehyung couldn't see how this Taehyeon guy had made Jungkook happy. "When did you move in together?"
"We didn't," he said, sounding bitter.
Rather than commenting, he moved on to the next question. "What do you do?"
Jungkook sat on the bed and slipped on his shoes. "I'm a fundraiser for a nonprofit that helps people in need." He stood up, running his hands through his hair. "My mother finds it tacky that I'm paid to beg people for money. Especially for people who already do that themselves. She says I could've chosen a more self-respecting cause. Suffice it to say, she just wishes I would do something else."
"I'd bet."
"They know Taehyeon's a finance director, like I said... and he works long hours."
"What else did you tell them about Taehyeon... I mean, me?"
Jungkook smiled slightly as he stood, brushing invisible dust from his slacks. "You bought a condo in Gangnam. I was going to move in after the wedding. You're from Seoul. You have a brother and two parents... who aren't coming to the wedding."
"Why not?" he asked, astounded.
"They booked a cruise and got the wedding date mixed up. They would've lost nearly ten million won."
Tae whistled. "Damn, that must be some cruise..."
"It's a private yacht in the Mediterranean. And Mom had already booked the beach, so she couldn't change the date since we're getting married in June. She was lucky she got the date at all." Noticing his blank stare, Jungkook added, "That's where the wedding and reception are. The Western Chosan."
"And my brother?"
"He's not coming either. He couldn't get away from work."
"Wow. Was anyone from this jerk's side coming to the wedding?"
Jungkook cringed. "A couple of friends. But they obviously aren't coming now."
From what Taehyung had heard, he wasn't surprised. What an ass. "Let's stick together tonight. That way there's less chance of mixing up our stories tonight."
He lifted his eyebrows. "Don't worry. I have no intention of leaving you alone. I have no idea what you're up to, but I'm going to keep an eye on you."
Taehyung gave him a charming smile. "I already told you. I'm trying to avoid my family drama."
"By jumping into mine?" He sounded more skeptical than before.
"Hey, anyone else's drama is preferable to your own. Besides—" He flashed him what he hoped was a convincing grin. "—I told you this is mutually beneficial."
"Part of me wants to believe you, but no one goes through this much trouble for someone else."
"Jungkook!" His mother's muffled voice carried up the stairs and through the door, much louder than before.
"Maybe I'm just a nice guy."
Jungkook narrowed his eyes and studied him. "I don't think so."
Tae laughed. "You don't think I'm nice?"
"Not in this. You're up to something. But let me warn you—" He wrapped his fingers around Tae's tie and pulled him closer, until their faces were no more than a foot apart. "—if you screw me over down there, I will make you suffer for the rest of your life. Do I make myself clear?"
The sight of Jungkook—his eyes wild and wicked with the promise of retribution—had the opposite effect of what he'd intended. This dark and sexy side of Jungkook made Taehyung's heart race and he had to restrain himself from kissing him. "Jungkook, I'm here to help you." He tentatively put his hands on the man's tense shoulders. "You need to relax."
He released Tae's tie and brushed his hands away. "I'll relax after we've broken up. And we're doing it tonight." With that, he stormed out the door.
Oh, shit.
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A/N: Dam,,, JK gettin fiesty