Jungkook put his fork down and took another sip of wine. Though the steak was cooked to perfection, exactly the way he liked it, it tasted like sawdust.
Jin had fallen silent after his declaration. He had shut down completely after Jungkook confessed how he felt about him.
Jungkook didn't regret admitting his feelings to Jin because it was the truth. Just like that day when he placed the promise ring on Jin's finger, he knew Jin was it for him and there would be no other.
Jungkook was shocked when Jin went on his rant. He had fully expected Jin to lash out at him, but he didn't expect Jin to include Taehyung in his wrath because Taehyung was the innocent party in all of this.
His best friend was the one who tried to talk him out of marrying Jimin, the one who tried to get him to stay with Jin and work on a solution together. But Jungkook was so overwhelmed and so overwrought with the problems besieging both his family and his Jinnie at the time that he thought marrying Jimin was the only way.
Jungkook had been so consumed with thoughts of saving everyone and everything that he loved that he never stopped to consider how it would affect the future, and how it would affect his heart, mind, and soul. Hindsight is 20/20, they always said. If only he had given Taehyung's advice more thought.
"Why did you leave me, Jungkook?"
Jin's voice was so soft that Jungkook almost missed it, thinking it was just a figment of his imagination and longing.
"Did you stop loving me?"
"No, Jinnie, no! I never stopped loving you," Jungkook was horrified that the love of his life would even entertain such a thought. "Please believe me."
"Then why? Why did you throw me away for someone else?"
Flashback...
Jungkook sighed as he stepped into his family home and made his way to the stairs to go to his room. It had been a long day at the office, and he longed to put it behind him, at least until tomorrow morning.
He was tired and all he wanted to do was to take a quick shower and call his Jinnie. Then fall asleep after listening to his voice, his sweet giggles, and his humming as he got ready for another shift at the hospital.
Jungkook missed his boyfriend, and he wished he could wave a wand over his head to shorten his training period at Jeon Corporation so he could take the first flight out to LA to fetch the love of his life, fly to Las Vegas, and marry him in one of those quaint little wedding chapels.
Jungkook didn't want to wait anymore to bring Jin back to Seoul to marry in a lavish wedding before family and friends. He wanted to put a wedding ring on Jin NOW. He wanted to make Jin his husband so they can begin the rest of their lives together. Finally.
"Jungkook?"
Jungkook sighed again. He was so close to talking to his Jinnie, but duty called. He turned to look at his father who was standing in the open doorway to his study.
"Yes, appa?"
"May I have a word with you for a moment?"
"Yes, appa."
He put his briefcase down at the foot of the stairs and went into the room, waiting until his dad had closed the door before walking over to take a seat in front of the large mahogany desk where his father often worked at when he was home.
"Not there, son. Over here. Let's talk."
Jungkook's stomach fell to the soles of his feet as he eyed the sitting area that his dad was waiting at, before his stomach bounced back to his midsection to flip and roil anxiously. Jungkook has always associated the leather sofas in his father's study with serious talks that never went well.
It was there when his father told him about the accident that had killed his older brother and made him the heir to Jeon Corporation. It was there when his dad told him that his mum had left the family home to be with the man who consoled her after Jungkook's father shut her out following the death of their eldest son. It was also there when his dad told him that his mum was recovering in a hospital after her lover dumped her and she tried to drive her car off a ravine.
"Son, how is work going? Are you enjoying learning things from the ground up?"
"Yes, appa."
"Is this the week that you're training in the Finance Department?"
"Yes, appa."
"You know, don't you?"
Jungkook bit his lip as he stared down at this feet. He had wondered when his father was going to tell him.
He marvelled at how his father had managed to keep it from him for so long. It made sense now why his dad delayed his training with the Finance Department multiple times when it would have made better sense for him to learn about the company by immediately working with the team that handled the company's funds after graduation because that was what he went to university for. After all, he was a double major in Business and Finance.
Jeon Corporation was sinking. It has been losing money for some time now. Each subsidiary, each project, each business venture was bleeding money like a cut artery.
The only thing that was keeping the family business afloat was Jungkook's mother's inheritance which she had given to her husband after she left him so he wouldn't stop her from going to her lover.
But now those funds were evaporating because not only was it being used to try and shore up Jeon Corporation, it was also being used to pay for Jungkook's mum's medical bills. His mother has been living in a long-term medical facility following her accident.
"Son?"
"Yes, appa, I know."
"Son, do you remember Mr Park?"
Jungkook frowned. Of course, he remembered Mr Park. He was his father's best friend since high school.
Mr Park owned Park Group, and had two sons whom he was grooming to take over. No, Jungkook corrected himself, he only had one son left because his youngest had died from complications after undergoing surgery.
Mr Park had been the first to come to his father after Jungkook's brother died. He had been the one to help with funeral arrangements when Jungkook's parents were unable to function due to grief.
"Mr Park has a son that he would like to see settled before he hands over the company to him. His son is a bit flighty, and Mr Park is hoping to find someone who can temper his carefree nature so he knows the company will be in good hands when he retires."
Jungkook could see where this was going and he wanted no part of it. Though he never indicated his serious feelings for Jin to his father, he has also never given him reason to believe that his relationship with Jin wasn't permanent.
His dad knew he and Jin have been together since his freshman year in university but he has never met Jin. He was going to have cut his father off before he made suggestions that Jungkook would only decline, and in the process, hurt the man's feelings.
"And you want to know if I have any friends that I can introduce to Mr Park's son?"
"What?"
"You want me to help matchmake his son."
"No, Jungkook, that's not it. I... I... uhm... I want you to meet his son. See if he would be compatible with you."
"With me? Appa, have you forgotten that I have a boyfriend?"
"Please, Jungkook. Just go and see him. He might be a better match for you."
"No, appa."
"Jungkook, I need you to do this."
"Why? What do you see happening if I agree to meet Mr Park's son?"
"Jimin. His name is Jimin. Park Jimin. I'm hoping that after you meet him, you will like him enough to consider marrying him."
"Marry? Marry someone I don't know?!"
"Jungkook, we need this marriage to save the company. To save our family."
"No, appa!" Jungkook rushed to his feet. "I have a boyfriend and we've been together for four years since I was a freshman at uni. His name is Kim Seokjin, and I love him very much. I have asked him to move to Seoul so we can start a life together."
"Son..."
"No!"
His father sighed and it caused Jungkook to look at him. To really look at him. And he realised that his dad was getting old.
The years since his brother died have not been kind to his father. And when his mum left, his dad had lost himself even more.
Jungkook had encouraged his father to divorce his mother but he had refused because he still loved her and understood that he was partly to blame for her leaving.
This was the man who gave him life, who raised him, who taught him everything he knew, and who loved him so much that he tried to shield him from the harsh realities of life. Was it too much to agree to meet Park Jimin?
Though his father would like him to consider marrying Park Jimin, he never said that he must. He was simply asking him to meet the man.
It was Jungkook's turn to sigh, and this caused his father to look at him with barely disguised hope in his eyes.
"Fine, appa. I will meet Park Jimin. But I make no promises."
The relief on his father's face lightened the heavy feeling in Jungkook's chest. He shuffled to the door and was about to leave when his dad called out to him.
"You won't regret this, Jungkook."