Taehyung knew he was in deep shit. In more ways than he could count.
For one thing, he'd spent the entire day pretending not to know anything about engineering at Jeon Seongjin's firm—quite a feat given the fact that it was the field to which he'd devoted his entire adult life—and he was walking away with nothing. Sure, everyone in the firm was excited over the recently granted patent—his patent—but whenever he asked questions about it, they treated him like a kindergartener who couldn't possibly understand anything beyond 1+1=2. Taehyung would have found it insulting even if he were a financial director. Jin might have been able to sneak around or seduce the info out of the cute twenty-something receptionist or some other 007 scheme, but Tae was out of his league. He'd wasted the day.
And to top it off, Jin had texted Taehyung to tell him that Jungkook was pissed about finding him on his mother's sofa. Jin knew how important it was for Taehyung to remain in Jeon Seongjin's good graces. It was their best and only chance to get the information they needed to save their relationship with their investor. Thankfully, Jin had stuck to the plan, telling Jungkook that Taehyung had no idea he was coming, but apparently, Jin hadn't gotten the chance to pull the younger aside and tell him why he was there. When Taehyung got no response to the three texts he sent asking Jin what he'd planned to tell Jungkook, he knew he was on his own. But Jungkook had to wonder why Jin would show up unannounced on his doorstep. What possible explanation could there be that wasn't incredibly sketchy?
He had a lot of smoothing over to do.
The patent celebration had caused them to leave the office late and Seongjin still needed to pick up the food for the family dinner. Using his brother's arrival as an excuse, Taehyung talked Seongjin into dropping him off at the house before making his restaurant run.
Taehyung watched Seongjin drive off, wondering if he should have stuck to the plan and arrived later. Then he wouldn't need to face Jungkook yet. But avoiding conflict had never been Taehyung's style. He met it head on. That's why this whole situation was so atypical for him. But then again, he'd never had so much to lose. The thought momentarily floored him. Losing his business or losing Jungkook—which bothered him the most?
Before he could reason it out, the front door swung open and Knickers greeted him in the doorway. "Taehyung! I'm so thrilled your brother could join us."
At least someone was happy about it. "Yes! I was shocked when he texted to say he was not only here in Busan, but at your house. I hope he hasn't been an imposition."
"Of course not! He's your brother. You should have family here."
He walked through Jungkook's parents' front door, preparing himself to face Jungkook's wrath, but he wasn't in the living room and he didn't see him in the kitchen either. Jin, on the other hand, was sitting at the island drinking what looked like lemonade while talking to Jungkook's grandmother, who—thankfully—was fully clothed.
Gran glanced up at Taehyung and shot him a grin. "You're off the hook, Taehyung. Jin here has agreed to pose as my nude model."
Jungkook's mother walked through the back door, rolling her eyes. "No one's posing nude."
Jin winked at Gran and gave her a knowing nod.
"How was your day, Taehyung?" Ae-ri asked, giving him a sweet smile. Taehyung was sure that wasn't an adjective normally associated with Mrs. Jeon, but he planned to use her temporary approval to his advantage.
"It was great, but I'm eager to see Jungkook."
"He's upstairs with Yoongi, getting ready for the dinner."
"I'll run up and check on him."
Jin shot him a glance that conveyed good luck.
Tae bounded up the stairs, but his steps slowed as he neared the top. He'd spent most of the day frustrated by his lack of progress, and the only thing getting him through his utter failure was the knowledge he'd see Jungkook at the end of the day. Granted, they were supposed to break up tonight, but maybe Tae could talk Jungkook out of it. The fact that the younger seemed to like him improved his chances. Of course, the wedding was in less than forty-eight hours, so any kind of breakup would have to happen soon, but he'd felt pretty confident he could convince him to wait until tomorrow. But now he was nervous. Any points he'd gained, he'd lost now that his brother had made an uninvited entrance.
Damn it. Why hadn't he thought this through?
The thought of Jungkook kicking him out the door made him more upset than he cared to admit. He was in a very awkward situation, with no discernable plan, but he knew one thing: Every time he thought about seeing Jungkook, he felt happiness blooming in his chest—a sense of peace and fulfillment he hadn't experienced since his father's death.
What in the hell was he going to do?
First thing first—he had to deal with this crisis. He knocked on the door and called out softly, "Jungkook?"
The door cracked and Yoongi's face filled the opening. He grimaced at the sight of Tae.
"That bad?" he whispered.
"Worse." He swung the door open wider and stepped out of the way. "Kookie's in the bathroom, but he's decent."
"Okay." He started toward it, but Yoongi grabbed his arm.
"He likes you, Taehyung. Fight for him."
Yoongi's newfound trust in him added to his guilt, but he needed the elder as an ally. Which meant pretending his only motive was to make a relationship work with Jungkook. "Thanks, hyung."
Yoongi stopped and turned around to face Tae, his stoic face returning. "You're something else, Taehyung, you know that?"
Tae froze, unsure of what the elder meant.
Yoongi's eyes turned serious. "Jungkook's different than Namjoon and me. He wears his heart on his sleeve and a lot of people take advantage of it." He stepped closer, an unfamiliar look filling his eyes. "I'd rather not go there, but let's just say if Namjoon's right and you're really here to hurt him, you'll find out that Namjoon isn't the only one with claws."
Tae resisted the urge to swallow, which he was sure would make him look guilty. Instead, he spread his hands wide and gave him a gentle smile, lifting his eyebrows to assert his sincerity. "Yoongi-hyung, I will do everything in my power to help Jungkook." Not a lie, but not the complete truth either.
Yoongi studied him for a second, then that strange glint in his eyes disappeared and a soft smile appeared. "Yeah, I think you will. Well, I'm going downstairs to talk to Jimin."
Taehyung laughed. "Have fun!"
As Yoongi left, Tae reached for the doorknob and let himself back into the bedroom. After closing the door behind him, he studied the bathroom door, struggling with what to say.
The bathroom door opened and Jungkook stood in the opening, wearing a white sleeveless shirt with a simple black pattern on the front, his dark hair up in a fluffy mess. Even if Tae had a perfectly planned-out speech, it wouldn't have helped him. He was struck dumb by the sight of Jungkook's natural beauty. He wasn't made up with lots of makeup and fancy clothes, although Tae had no doubt that he'd be beautiful that way too. Jungkook was the kind of man who was beautiful no matter what he was wearing. And in that moment, Taehyung knew he was struck with a strange certainty: he might actually want to marry this man someday.
Where the hell had that come from?
But more importantly, what the hell did he do with that, with the knowledge that he had less than forty-eight hours with him? Because fake fiancé aside, once Jungkook knew the details of his little business problem, they would be done. And for him to give up his quest was impossible. What he was doing went beyond him personally. His employees were also counting on him.
Taehyung would have to make the most of the time he had with Jungkook. If they survived this part, anyway.
Irritation was written across Jungkook's face and Tae braced himself. Tae needed to stop drooling over him and put out this fire.
Jungkook pointed to the door, anger darkening his eyes. "I don't know who is down there in my mother's kitchen, but you have some explaining to do."
He lifted his hands in surrender. "Just give me a chance."
He crossed his arms and glared at Taehyung. "Is he even your brother?"
"Yes, that's Jin, my brother who Namjoon talked to last night."
"What is he doing here?"
Taehyung sighed and motioned to the bed. "Can we sit down while I explain it?"
Jungkook glanced at the bed, seemingly unsure, wrapping his arms tighter around his torso.
Tae sat tentatively on the edge. "I didn't ask him to come."
"Then why is he here?"
"He knew I was coming to Busan..." Dammit. He got to his feet and began pacing. Why had he been stupid enough to believe that Jin, who'd gotten him into this situation in the first place, could help? "He's worried about me."
Jungkook pointed his finger at him. "That's a bullshit answer!"
"Jungkook, I'm sorry! I didn't ask him to come." When the younger didn't interrupt him, he continued. "He knew I was coming to Busan and when we spoke last night he asked me where I was staying."
"And you told him?"
Taehyung ran a hand through his hair. Shit. This whole trip had been one ill-thought-out decision after another, which was the exact opposite of the precedent Tae liked to set for himself. No wonder he was floundering. "He didn't want me to come to Busan this weekend. Like I said, he was worried about me."
"Let's go back to the part where you told him you were here!"
Taehyung sat back down and leaned his elbows on his knees. He looked up at Jungkook, pleading. "I told him that I was helping you. He wanted to know how exactly I was helping you—"
"I bet he did," he said sarcastically.
"—so I told him you were in a desperate situation."
"You told him that you were posing as my fiancé?"
He nodded, unable to look Jungkook in the eye. "Yeah. I'm sorry."
"Didn't he want to know why you were helping me?"
"Yeah."
"And?"
Tae took a deep breath, then looked up at him. He needed to tell Jungkook the truth. Or at least the part of it that directly impacted him. "Look, I wasn't lying when I said I never meant for this to happen. Your mother heard me say I was your fiancé. I wasn't myself...you saw me on the train when I boarded. So when your mother assumed I was Taehyeon, she swept me along in her cloud of...Knickers-ness... Well, the next thing I knew, I was still carrying you and we had wandered to the car. How could I correct her at that point? I was in dire straits with my business, and like I told you, I'd decided to hand it all to fate, so I figured if I did a good deed, the cosmos would do one for me in return. Stupid, I know."
Jungkook turned to the side and Tae could feel that he was losing him. "Jungkook, this isn't coming out right." He groaned in frustration, then stood and moved in front of the younger. "When I decided to go through with this, I admit I did it for selfish reasons, but then I got to know you." Taehyung slowly lifted his hands and placed them gently on his upper arms. "As stupid as this sounds, I like you. Like really like you. I've never fallen for someone this quickly, and while it kind of freaks me out, I'm not ready to end this yet. At least not like this."
He looked up at him, still defensive. "You're doing all of this because you like me?" Jungkook took a step back, his arms dropping to his sides. "That's not a reason."
Tae stopped in front of him, lifting a hand to the side of Jungkook's face. "It's the oldest reason under the sun."
Jungkook's body relaxed and he pressed his cheek into his palm.
Encouraged, Tae lowered his head, his lips hovering over the younger's. His tongue ran along Jungkook's lower lip, and the younger's breath was hot on his face. "Boy meets boy. Boy likes boy. Boy does anything he can to impress boy."
Jungkook lifted his face and pressed his lips to Tae's.
Tae wrapped an arm around Jungkook's back and pulled him against his chest. Before he even registered what he was doing, his tongue parted Jungkook's lips and plunged into his mouth as the younger opened to him, so lush and soft and... Jungkook's hands lifted to his head and he held Tae firmly against his mouth, bringing their kiss deeper. Wanting to be even closer, he tangled one hand in his soft thick hair.
It took Taehyung a couple of seconds to realize someone was knocking on the door. He dragged his mouth from the younger's, lifting his head as he tried to gather his senses.
"Jungkook," his mother called out as she knocked again. "We need you downstairs."
Jungkook groaned and closed his eyes. "I'll be right there."
"Don't dawdle like you usually do."
Tae's hand was still in Jungkook's hair, holding him inches from his face. The younger opened his eyes and looked up at Taehyung, his gaze dreamy. "What is this, Tae?"
He gave Jungkook a lopsided grin. "What? You've never made out before?"
Jungkook turned an even redder shade. "No... But you know that's not what I meant."
Taehyung almost laughed, but instead, he held it back. "I thought I was demonstrating the lengths to which I'd go to impress you."
"Or distract me."
"Jungkook." Taehyung's hold loosened, but he still held Jungkook close, unwilling to let go of him just yet. "My brother is here to check up on me—and probably you, just like how Namjoon threatened to determine if I'm circumcised or not." He shot Jungkook another grin. When he didn't stop him, Tae pushed on. "He's my big brother. He's worried."
"He looks like the type of guy who's only worried about himself."
Ordinarily, he'd applaud the younger accurate character assessment, but not tonight. "He might appear that way, but deep down, Jin cares about me." Or at least, Taehyung liked to believe he did.
"We need to break up tonight," Jungkook whispered.
"But I don't want to break up with you tonight." Tae's mouth lowered to Jungkook's again. "I want to do the exact opposite of breaking up with you tonight."
The younger leaned back, but stopped short of pulling out of his arms. "We are the bride and groom in a very real wedding that is taking place in two days, Tae. We have to break up...and very publicly, at that."
Jungkook was right. Taehyung knew it. As much as he hated to admit it. But not tonight. "Let's just play it by ear."
"We have to do this tonight, Tae. It's going to be a nightmare to cancel everything now. If we wait until tomorrow..."
"You're right." Taehyung dropped his arms. "But it has to be natural. And let me take the lead. I'll act like a jerk, so when we break up, no one will ever question why the wedding got called off. You have to come off smelling like a rose." He almost felt guilty deceiving Jungkook, but he took solace in the fact that even if his spying job was done, he still wouldn't want to break up with him. "No matter what, do not yell at me. Be the reasonable one."
Jungkook studied his shirt for several seconds before nodding. Then he looked up into Tae's face. "And then what?"
What did he want to hear? That they could go back to Seoul together and date? Was that really possible given that his family knew him as Taehyeon instead of Kim Taehyung? They weren't likely to approve of the pairing if they found out that he'd strung them along, particularly given how much money they were throwing down for this whole wedding. That wasn't even factoring in the whole patent mess.
"Then we'll take it one minute at a time."
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A/N: boy meets boy. boy falls in love with boy. what a fluffy cliche.