Taehyung closely followed Seokjin through the busy entrance of the building and out to the car at the end of the conference. As soon as they got into the car, Seokjin slumped in his seat and sighed, shutting his eyes tightly.

“Follow is in his car and is ready to go,” Taehyung said into his earpiece as he sat next to Seokjin.

A muffled response came, “Lead is ready to go.”

“Very good,” their team leader responded, “we’re departing now.”

As the car started and drove off, Seokjin opened his eyes and sat up in his seat, “Taehyung-ah.”

“Yes, sir?” Taehyung looked away from the window and turned to him.

“Why am I follow?”

“What do you mean, sir?”

Seokjin snorted at how formal Taehyung was being, “why are you talking like that? Aren’t we too acquainted to be speaking like that?”

“No, sir.”

“Stop it,” Seokjin exclaimed, “you are so frustrating… I’m cringing.”

Taehyung rubbed the back of his neck and adjusted in his seat.

“We’ve worked together for five years and we’ve gone drinking together several times already,” Seokjin crossed his arms and chuckled, “also, aren’t you close with Jungkook? That fact alone makes us friends.”

“No, sir. That’s not the proper thing to do.”

“Yah, I don’t care about ranks and being proper, so don’t treat me like that,” he pointed a scolding finger at Taehyung, “just speak to me casually. I hate being treated like royalty when I don’t deserve it.”

Taehyung studied his face carefully for a second and noticed that there was a certain kind of pain showing on Seokjin’s face. Was he being honest with his feelings or was he just putting up another façade? Taehyung shook his head, “I meant no offense… I’m on the clock, and as such, I have certain rules and terms I must abide by.”

“I understand,” Seokjin sighed and faced forward again, “I get that from Jungkook all the time.”

After another minute, Taehyung finally broke the silence, “I have a question, sir.”

“Seokjin Hyung,” he reminded without looking at Taehyung.

Taehyung slightly smiled and accepted with a more casual demeanor, “Seokjin Hyung… I have a question.”

Seokjin smiled and finally turned to Taehyung, “yes?”

“Why are you so against becoming the new CEO?”

He furrowed his brows, “hm?”

“I noticed you are quite… rebellious…”

Seokjin chuckled, “I guess I am…”

“So?”

“The answer I want to give is that I don’t care about the company… but honestly?”

“Yes?”

“I just don’t think I’m the right person for the position. I feel free right now and really like the way I am… also, I think Namjoon is perfect for the position and everyone feels the same way.”

Taehyung nodded and silently agreed that there was no one better than Namjoon for the job, and yet he couldn’t understand exactly why Seokjin had to resort to the kind of behavior he often exuded, “wouldn’t it be easier to just tell your father what you think?”

He snorted, “you would think so, but my father is uptight. He’s used to getting what he wants.” He smiled cynically, “also we’ve tried that already, to no avail, obviously.”

“Ah,” Taehyung nodded, “I see.”

“He knows Namjoon is perfect for the position, but he’s convinced that it has to be his own blood, which is ridiculous seeing how he has raised Namjoon like his own anyways.” Seokjin sighed, “but I also see that Namjoon has grown tired over the last few years and I often think that I’m to blame for that…”

“Which is why you’ve accepted the position now…”

“Exactly. It’s time I relieved him of this burden.”

Another minute of silence followed until Taehyung spoke, “I see.”

Seokjin chuckled, “but if I’m to be shackled to this big responsibility, I’ll make sure to work as hard as I can… I’m just going to ruffle some feathers before I buckle down as well.”

Taehyung had to smile at his smug proclamation, “you may want to take it easy though… it’ll save us a lot of trouble.”

Seokjin pursed his lips, “did it affect you in any way?”

“Yeah, of course,” Taehyung nodded profusely, “five of us… or four of us, are working today… and it’s a Saturday.”

“All because I’m making the announcement today?”

“Yep. That’s right.”

“Oh, this is odd,” Seokjin narrowed his eyes and changed the subject, “aren’t you on the clock right now?” He sarcastically added, “how dare you change your tone on me.”

“Hyung.”

“Alright, alright,” Seokjin laughed and sat up straight, “I’ll try harder to appease the public if it’s for you and your team’s welfare… I’m too soft-hearted lately.”

Taehyung laughed, “no, you aren’t.”

After snorting at Taehyung’s victorious remark, Seokjin buttoned up his shirt all the way and cleaned himself up, donning a jacket and lacing his fancy shoes.

“There,” he beamed at Taehyung, “better?”

Taehyung studied his look and nodded, “much.”

Seokjin chuckled at him just as they arrived at the building where the press conference would take place.

“Alright,” Taehyung braced himself, “you ready?”

“No, but I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“Nope,” Taehyung smiled at him before leaving the car and running to the other side to open Seokjin’s door.

Seokjin and Namjoon were far from being considered celebrities, but their statuses as chaebols and their good looks often placed them on the same plane as any actor or singer in South Korea. They were usually found on the cover of magazines and newspapers, but it was their large following of fans that shocked the public in recent years. As eligible bachelors, they got whatever they wanted, whenever. However, with love and adoration, there was also hate and fear.

Though very little has occurred in terms of harm, the company had been receiving several threats from anonymous identities, most of them being directed towards Namjoon and Seokjin for their own reasons. Namjoon had been recently threatened for not giving enough love to his fans, and Seokjin was threatened for being who he was. So much attention made Seokjin wary of the public and he realized that today was going to be his last day of freedom.

As he stepped out of the car, cameras exploded in his face as fans and anti-fans alike shouted their opinions of him. Willing himself to forget the incessant noise around him, he shrugged his jacket straight and joined Namjoon in front of the cameras.

“Ah, I see Taehyung gave you the talk?”

“Yes, he did,” Seokjin clapped Namoon’s back as they smiled for the cameras.

“He has a way with his words, doesn’t he,” Namjoon’s dimples deepened.

Seokjin chuckled, “yes… it’s freaky actually. He should get transferred to management… he could manipulate any of those kids.”

Namjoon simply shook his head and laughed at Seokjin’s words, “I’m glad he cleaned you up in time for the cameras.”

“Me too,” Seokjin smiled at the man who he saw as his only real brother. Though there were others in his family, Namjoon was the one who stood by his side the longest and, through all his troubling adolescent years, was there to support his decisions. They were always there for one another and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. He knew and believed in it. “You ready for this, brother?”

“Of course,” Namjoon gave him one last humbling pat on the back and then they started towards the entrance, “our lives are changing from today.”

Seokjin’s eyes sparkled with acceptance, “alright handsome… let’s get this over with.”

As they walked, the crowd shifted here and there, fans following their movements and haters detesting their scent. Today’s press conference subject matter must have really riled up several communities for whatever reasons they believed in as the crowd seemed to be twice the size it usually was. It was so crazy that they made it only five steps before the first person dove in front of their feet.

Seokjin bent down to help the woman up and then another person dove into the fray. Everything seemed to move frightfully slow in a split second as a bright flash sparked in front of his eyes before it was consumed by a darkness that he soon recognized was a black jacket. When he was able to get a clear mind again, he realized that he was looking right into Taehyung’s shocked eyes.

“Taehyung-ah…” His gaze moved downward tow