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Taehyung drags his feet as he walks down the long eerie hallway he has despised ever since he was a child. The place has not changed a bit, the paintings that hang on the muted gray walls are still as boring and distasteful as he remembers. The only aspect that has changed are the receptionists at the front desk, who seem to get younger in age each time Taehyung is summoned to the hellish building. He reaches the end and sucks in a breath before turning the crystal knob and entering.
"Son," his father's voice booms from behind his glass desk.
Taehyung gives a lame nod and flops down into one of the chairs in front. "Why did you call me in here," he asks bluntly while adjusting his sunglasses.
His father shakes his head and takes off his glasses, "for the love of God, Taehyung. Does it kill you to just walk into the building of the company you're going to take over one day?"
Taehyung grunts and his father rolls his eyes. "Anyway, I want you to go down with Kai and Samuel to Yeonjun's high school this Friday. Something about a job fair and our company providing possible internship opportunities to students for the summer..." He trails off as he begins to write.
"Why do I have to go?" Taehyung scoffs then widens his eyes in fake realization, "oh of course, if Yeojunnie wants it, Daddy gives it to him." He crosses his arms.
When his father does not respond, he eggs him on. "Besides, who are you kidding?" He leans in and cups a hand onto the side of his mouth pretending to whisper, "we both know you just want some high school girls to spice up this office. After you've fucked every woman who works here already, you need something different, something youngerrr-"
"That's enough," his father scowls, "look, it's bad enough the little shit begged me to go to a public school but I don't need you acting like a hypocrite when you make me pay for that public university just so you could go with your best friend." He taps his pen on the table, "you both are brats and it's time you start giving back to the company that has paid for your entire livelihood since the day you were born." His father stands up abruptly and slams his fist on the table, "Do I make myself clear?"
Taehyung peers up into his father's fiery eyes and smirks. He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "crystal."
He stands up, turning his back to his father as he exits.
"I expect you there Friday." He calls out to the man.
Taehyung waves him off, slamming his door on the way out.
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You wave your last student off with a grin as she exits the library. You begin to pack up your things when you feel a tap on your shoulder.
"Ah Mrs. Lee, hello," you smile at the plump old woman, "I'm sorry if I took a little longer than usual, Ava was really struggling with functions-"
"Oh no honey don't worry, you know you're always welcome. It's always a pleasure to see your face," she pinches your cheek, "it almost feels like your mother is here."
You smile fondly at the comment. Mrs. Lee was your mother's best friend at the high school she used to teach math at and where you now tutored. Your mother was a dedicated woman who had a passion for teaching and her students, so it was no surprise you often had to wait a couple hours after school for her to drive you home, as she provided the same services. After the accident, Mrs. Lee mentioned as a joke you should continue her infamous tutoring sessions as she claimed you inherited her skills so you tried it. You somehow felt closer to your mother and quickly developed the same passion for the subject as she once had.
"I was going to ask if you would be able to maybe b help out at our job fair this Friday. I just need you to hang out in the front and direct some of the companies we have coming in to the auditorium," she says with pleading eyes.
"Oof, Juni hates me hanging around his school as it is," you tap your finger on your chin, "so yes, of course I'd love to do it."
Mrs. Lee claps excitedly and she excuses herself just as your brother and a couple of his friends walk in. You begin to raise your hand to wave but stop yourself when you remember how lame that might look for him. To your surprise, it's Juni who approaches you first followed by an unfamiliar face.
"What's up Y/N, this is Kim Yeonjun he just transferred here a couple weeks ago and he SUCKS at math." The boys chuckle as the boy with the blue hair playfully punches Juni's shoulder.
He politely bows and you smile at his manners. "Hello, nice to meet you Y/N."
You stand to be more polite and you are taken aback when the boy easily towers over you. You thought Juni was tall but Yeonjun has at least 3 inches on him, forcing you to look up to meet his eyes. "N-nice to meet you too Yeonjun, and please feel free to come anytime you need help in math. I'm here Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays."
He sends you a sweet smile, nodding his head before his cellphone goes off. He answers, his voice low and monotonous compared to his earlier cheery tone.
"Sorry to leave so soon but my driver is outside, again it was nice to meet you Y/N, see you Juni." You both wave until he is gone.
"Driver?" You ask, looking at Juni.
"Oh yeah, Yeonjun's stupid rich," he says nonchalantly, his eyes glued to his phone, "his dad owns some really fancy financial firm downtown."
You proceed to put your things back into your backpack as you snort, "so why does he go to school here?"
"Don't know," Juni shrugs, "said something about being tired of the boring preps at his private school and wanted a real high school experience blah blah blah."
"Hm, well he seems nice," you both walk out of the school, "look out for him.
"Look out for him?" Juni stares at you wide eyed, "did you see the kid, nu uh he's gonna be looking out for me."
You chuckle before ruffling Juni's curls, him swatting your hand away in the process. You both hop into your car and you begin to drive home. Juni props his head up on the window sill with his elbow and hums an incoherent tune.
"How'd your party go?" He suddenly asks.
You don't respond for a second and he continues, "you came home sober so it was obviously not that fun."
You roll your eyes, "it was fun, just kinda weird I guess."
"Weird, how?"
Again you don't respond and Juni gasps making you jump, "did you have ˢᵉˣ?" He whispers the last word and you scoff.
"I fucking wish Juni, I really fucking wish," you pause, "I just don't know who I wish I would've had it with, ya know," you mutter.
"Oh I see," he closes the window to primarily focus on you. "Love triangleeee," he sings.
"Lust isn't love, Juni."
"Do you know who you're talking to," he blinks at you, "of course I know that."
"The party was at the house where I drove those drunk guys the other night and they were both really sweet and really cute-"
"Yeah whatever I don't care get to the interesting stuff." He interrupts.
"Well the one I thought I wanted to get to know, Taehyung, was being a huge asshole to these drunk girls and when I called him out on it, he basically told me to fuck off," you bite the inside of your cheek, "and the other one, Jungkook, was really sweet and easy to talk to and we ended up kissing."
Juni whoops and tries to give you a fist bump, which you wave off because you're driving. "So what's the problem?"
You twiddle your thumbs and stare at the red light in front of you before hearing Juni awe in realization.
"I see, you still want asshole?"
"It's not that I want him because he's an asshole, I just refuse to believe that's really him. I mean you should've seen him when I was driving him home that night, he was so cute and begging for my number and-"
"Honey, you want to have sex with the asshole."
Your brow furrows and you look over at Juni's annoyed expression. You pull into your driveway and groan before resting your head on the steering wheel.
"I can't believe I want to have sex with the asshole." Your words are muffled by the leather.
"It's okay," Juni awkwardly pats your back, "like you said it's just lust. He interests you, maybe you interest him-"
"Maybe??!"
"I don't know, his standards have got to be pretty low if he wanted your number."
You send him a death glare and he gulps. "Get. Out."
"I'm just saying, who cares about the nice one, what was his name Jungle Book? Anyways, it was just a kiss you don't owe him anything, you just owe it to yourself to get laid by someone you are more sexually attracted to."
You ponder what Juni said, debating on whether to even give this 17 year old horn dog's words the light of day. Maybe your intrigue in Taehyung is just purely sexual and you miss being touched.
Juni unlocks the front door and you both jump at the sound of your father's piercing scream. Juni dashes down the hall with you in close retreat. He kicks the door open and you both barge into your father's room in a panic.
"Oh thank God," you let out a breath in relief.
"Dad!" Juni shouts in annoyance at the man feverishly pressing buttons on his controller, his eyes glued to the screen.
"Whattt?" He asks in a whiny voice, barely glancing at you two.
"We thought you died!" He shouts again, this time throwing a pillow at the man.
Your father dodges the pillow, "God tried once, gonna take a lot more to kill your old man."
You roll your eyes but halt when you hear snickers coming from the other side of him. You look over to see Namjoon holding one of the controllers and Jin waving at you sheepishly.
Your father notices you staring at them, "oh yeah, they're here too. They came by to keep me company." He smiles proudly and slaps Namjoon's back.
Jin clears his throat, motioning with his head for you to leave and you excuse yourself. The sounds of your father's yells and curses fill the room once again as you both step into the hallway.
"Hey, um so," he scratches the back of his neck, "the um...the anniversary is coming up soon isn't it?"
Jin and Namjoon the people who called 911 when the accident had initially occurred. They both helped to drag your mother and father out of their car before they could be incinerated. Even after the accident, they came to visit both of your parents in the hospital and helped your father through his grief when your mother eventually passed away. At first, you were skeptical about allowing two complete strangers to be so involved with your parents.
You actually used to think they were just creeps obsessed with trauma or something.
But they were both there for your father when he needed a friend the most. Namjoon once told you that right before he witnessed the crash, he and Jin were discussing whether or not to quit school and persuade their dreams of opening up a restaurant together. The crash was a physical representation of how fast life can change, and it was the push both needed to just say "Fuck it" and buy Bang's.
It was a stretch but you were happy someone you cared about was able to gain from your loss.
"I guess, if you think a month is soon," you answer Jin.
"Right um, we were thinking maybe we should take him on a trip?" He speaks with caution.
"A trip?"
"Y-yeah, I don't think he wants to spend another year in this house on that day, and Joon and I have been dying to go to Venice so I figured we could bring you all along."
"I don't know," you hesitate. You are both startled by your father screeching in excitement at the video game and you smile, "I'll have to talk to him and his doctor's but I think that'd be okay."
His plump lips curl and he kisses your hair before ruffling it.
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Jungkook is startled by the sound of the door cracking open as a fuming Taehyung enters the house. He pops a popcorn kernel into his mouth and watches the older quietly mutter to himself as he hangs up his jacket.
"How'd it go with your dad?" He calls out to him, pausing the movie he was watching.
Taehyung runs a hand through his chestnut hair and shakes his head, before stomping down the hall to his room. That is when Jungkook notices the plastic bag in his hand and out of curiousity, he follows the man.
He leans on the doorframe of his room, watching him peel off his shirt and walk into his bathroom in a huff. Jungkook picks up the plastic bag left on his bed and inspects the items inside. He lets out a hearty laugh and Taehyung pokes his head out, now with rubber gloves on.
He shakes the box in his hand, "hair dye?"
Taehyung rolls his eyes, snatching the box out of the younger's hands with a scowl.
"You're like a teenage girl," Jungkook plops himself on top of the toilet seat cover, watching the man prep his hair in the bathroom mirror, "every time Daddy makes you mad, you dye your hair as an attempt to rebel."
Taehyung ignores him, feverishly mixing the dye in a bowl.
"You know you haven't gotten back to me."
Taehyung halts, the bowl and his arm in midair. His eyes slowly meet Jungkook's doe ones. "About?" He asks as an attempt to stall.
Jungkook kisses his teeth, "you know about what, Tae. Y/N's number, you know I want it."
"Should've asked her for it," he shrugs and goes back to mixing.
"Everyone left so fast I didn't get the chance to," he pokes his side and Taehyung involuntarily smiles, "come onnnnn, I think I could really like her."
"I think I could too," he mumbles, averting eye contact with the man.
"Yeah right," Jungkook chuckles, "you're a little bitch, in the 10 years that I've known you you have never wanted to pursue a girl. Hell, I'm surprised you didn't try to fuck her yesterday."
"Well she didn't exactly give me enough time to try," he drapes a towel over his shoulders.
"Exactly, Tae, you think you like her because you're not used to the chase and that's why you probably can't stop thinking about her. Guys like me who aren't sociopaths," he points to himself, "have the actual end goal of dating the girl, not just fucking."
Taehyung purses his lips and stares at the black dye mixture in the bowl, Jungkook's words bouncing around his head. The younger notices his friend's inner conflict and it tugs his heartstrings.
Damn, why does he always have to be the nice guy?
"Ugh, tell you what. If you can convince her to go on a date with you, that doesn't end with you fucking her then I'll believe that you like her."
Date.
Taehyung didn't date and Jungkook knew it. It was a recipe for failure. He furrowed his thick eyebrows in defeat and the younger smirked. The two had always been competitive but almost never over a woman, it was usually over things like who could type the alphabet the fastest or who could make Hoseok laugh the loudest or who could get Jimin to hug them first.
Yet he could not deny that he was intrigued by this challenge presented to him.
He glares at Jungkook's smug smile but notices the way he subtly taps his foot, indicating a hint of nervousness. That was all Taehyung needed to see.
"Deal," he tries to look nonchalant.
Jungkook nods and begins to make his exit, Taehyung going back to his hair.
"Oh, one more thing," Jungkook pops his head back into the bathroom, "deal ends at end of the week."
"What!" Taehyung drops the bowl into the sink, a few drops of dye landing on his torso. He curses as he takes the towel and frantically wipes them off.
"Yup," he replies popping the p, "you have her number right?" He shoots the man a mischievous smile and Taehyung chucks the towel at him.
Shit.