Hi readers!!! I'm so sorry for the very late update. And I would like to say sorry in advanced for a few reasons. One, I won't be able to update for the next... what? Three weeks? I will be leaving the city soon to go back to my province, and we do not have internet there. The next update will probably come in early August. 

Secondly, this chapter... I am not happy about it. It sounded better in my mind than it does in words. I just wish you would like it.

Okay, I won't bother you anymore ahahaha here's the next chapter!

11

It was so much better this way.

Just Jimin and his office desktop, doing the usual office jobs that usual office workers should be doing. Some people might despise seeing many assignments in their inbox, but not the ’95 liner designer. In his opinion, doing the boring assignments in the office was way better than having to pretend—no, deceive other people.

And yeah, even though he could admit that usual office tasks were so, so menial, he still liked it more.

Jimin could not help but let out a sigh, missing the things that he used to do back when he was still a student. When he decided on what he was going to do for a living, he thought that his job would involve him making designs and handling people to achieve a certain look for an event. But it was none of that sort.

“Aaaand… done!” A loud voice suddenly penetrated Jimin’s thoughts. It was soon followed by collective sighs, sounds of chairs rolling on top of the tiled floor, and conversations that he could not care to understand.

“See you tomorrow, guys!” He heard one of his officemates said to her friends before hurrying out of the place. It seemed like she was running late for something. Maybe it was a date.

“Hey, Jiminie.” Said male turned around to face the grinning face of Kim Taehyung. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Hmmm… don’t know.” Jimin answered, shrugging. “Just going home to rest, I guess.”

“Oh, I see.” Taehyung said. “I’ll be leaving, then. Rest well, okay?”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

Once Taehyung was out, Jimin proceeded to fixing his own things and tidying up his own place before leaving. A small smile danced on his lips as he continued to move containers and folders back into their original positions. As he was doing so, his other neighbors started hollering it up again as they started leaving their respective cubicles.

The short male turned around just in time to see Wonwoo and Mingyu running out of the office, with the latter leading, and seemingly running away from the former, both with smiles on their faces.

They looked so carefree and just… happy, Jimin could not help but let his own small smile grow wider. At least people had it easier than him.

Letting out a tired sigh, Jimin gave his desk another once over before he stood up and left the Wings Company building and went out to the cold, city air of night time Seoul. Plugging in his earphones, he leisurely walked back to his apartment, momentarily willing for his thoughts to just disappear and be replaced by the soft tunes of the music he was listening to.

It took some time, especially since he really took his time walking, but Jimin eventually reached his place. Another tired sigh left the struggling designer’s mouth once he opened the door of his tiny abode, still not used to coming home to no one.

The place was still empty. As always.

Not like he was expecting it to not be empty, because really, that would have been a lot scarier. Even though the apartment did not have much in it, Jimin still would rather be alone than be visited by burglars.

He went over to the solo couch—the only resting place in the tiny place aside from the bed—and the small television he had bought from the surplus store. It was bulky, being among those old models with a large conical tube at the back, but it sufficed.

And just like that, tired Jimin relaxed his body and simply watched the night news. It was his way of connecting to the world and exposing himself to something a little different from his current life, which if not around the boring paper works in the office, revolved around his grand setup with Jungkook.

It did not take long before he became hungry. The night was still young, and Jimin felt light. Light enough to be in the mood for something different aside from the usual ramen he ate at the nearby budget fast food.

So, taking his wallet and phone with him, Jimin walked out of his apartment and into the busy streets of the city. He then proceeded to walking leisurely, taking in the surroundings and taking note of the different shops and places that he might need to visit in the future.

After about thirty minutes of walking, the designer arrived at a park which, despite the time being already too late for park visits, still had occupants. A lot were jogging. It made Jimin miss the old days of him having time to take care of his body.

Back when he was still studying, and was stressed by all the work in school, he could not wait to be an adult. He could not wait to be in charge of his own life, But now… he could not help but wish he could turn back time and enjoy being young more.

He missed having more school requirements, but having less responsibilities.

“Jimin?!” A familiar voice snapped Jimin back from his train of thoughts, making him turn his head to look for the source of the voice. The instant he realized who it was, his heart started beating a lot faster.

“Oh my god, Jimin!” Seokjin continued shouting, this time going out of the track for joggers to meet the smaller. “Nice to see you here!”

“O-Oh, Jin-hyung!” Jimin awkwardly answered, forcing himself to smile. “Y-You jog?”

“Yeah, to relieve some work-induced stress.” The older replied. “What brings you here? And where’s your bunny boyfriend?”

“B-Bunny boyfriend?” Jimin stuttered at the mention of the younger. He really did not know how to answer Seokjin’s question because he did not meet Jungkook the whole day. He could not even laugh at the nickname the broad shouldered male gave the younger CEO.

“Uhm… h-he’s still in the office.” Jimin nodded, trying to sound as convincing as he could. “He said he’s too busy to go anywhere else today. Poor Jungkookie.”

“Oh… I see.” Seokjin answered. “Then why is he there?”

“W-What?”

“I see Jungkook, like, right now.”

If Jimin’s heart could actually run, it would already be sprinting in the park along with the other joggers. He ed up, he knew. He ed up real bad.

“H-Huh?” He said, conjuring a confused face and putting it on before turning on his heels to look at the direction the older was facing. And true enough, there was Jungkook, walking out of a bakery with a paper bag in his hand, already heading to his car which was parked just outside the establishment.

“Oh god… turn around, Jungkook.” Jimin mumbled to himself, staying rooted on the spot he was on. And as if the younger heard him, Jungkook spared their general direction a glance.

It was laughable, how Jungkook’s doe eyes grew even bigger when he recognized the two faces around thirty meters from him. He was most certainly not expecting to meet the two. And judging by the distressed look on his fake boyfriend’s face, he could say that Jimin was not expecting it either.

“Oh god, he’s gonna screw this up.” Jungkook mumbled under his breath. Cursing once and gathering enough courage to again, act as a gay, Jungkook gave the two, who were still looking at him, a shy smile.

He then proceeded to walking to their direction, still keeping the shy act up, even adding a rub at the back of his head to make the scene more believable.

Jimin was still dumbfounded when the younger reached their location, brain still muddy with the turn of events.

“Hey, Jin-hyung, nice to meet you.” Jungkook greeted the older, stealing glances at the shortest of the three.

“Same here, Jungkook.” Seokjin answered. “But anyway, why are you here when Jimin said you’re in your office?”

“Uhm… yeah.” Jungkook nodded, taking a look at the designer just in time to see Jimin’s Adam’s apple bob up and down. So that was why he looked so agitated.

Quickly wracking his brain for an excuse, Jungkook smiled another shy smile and put up the embarrassed façade once again.

“Ahh… you guys caught me…”

Jimin sent him an even more confused look, because really, he was not understanding anything. “What?”

“I really wasn’t expecting Jiminie-hyung to be here…” Jungkook continued. He then turned to the other and said, “I thought you said you’d head straight to your place?”

“B-But…” Jimin stuttered, finally getting what was going on, but still struggling to keep up. “Uhm… yeah. I did. But I got, hungry, so I went here.”

“Yeah… I was actually planning on… going to yours.” Jungkook said, nodding. He then raised the paper bag he carried out of the bakery, and showed them to Jimin. “I was planning on surprising you and maybe asking you out for dinner, but yeah… guess no more surprise.”

He then ended his lie with a genuinely embarrassed life, because even to his own ears, his words were too cheesy. It was almost disgusting.

“But you said you’re too busy.” Jimin pouted, catching on. He knew Jungkook was lying, and honestly, the younger was not too bad at it. He just had to add more acting skills.

Jungkook looked around, and started kicking the ground with his leather shoes. “Well… yeah. But I saw your disappointed face earlier. It was hard to ignore, you know.”

“Aww… you guys are too sweet!” Seokjin suddenly interjected, clasping his hands and smiling. “So, you guys haven’t had dinner yet? Do you want to come to my place for dinner?”

“Uhm… hyung?” Jungkook asked, looking at Jimin, who was busily fumbling with his pocket. After a few moments, he finally looked up with his phone in his hand, and smiled at Jungkook.

“It’s fine to me. Are you sure you wanna go? I thought you’re busy?”

“There’s always tomorrow for work!” Seokjin commented, trying to convince the two to say yes. “And I’m quite proud of my cooking, so I’d really like you guys to come over.”

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Jungkook answered. He then turned to the oldest of the three before asking, “Are we leaving?”

“Oh, yeah! Just follow my car.” Seokjin affirmed. The three of them then walked back to their respective cars, with Jimin going with Jungkook.

Once inside the car and on the road, safe from anyone else’s ears, Jimin finally let out a relieved sigh, happy that he was able to survive an otherwise disaster.

“Yah, what was that about?” Jimin asked the younger, who was focused on driving. “That was close, you know.”

“What?” Jungkook replied. “I just… got hungry, so I went to get some strawberry muffin from the bakery.”

“Yeah, yeah, what a nice timing.” Jimin continued ranting. “Do you know how much it stressed me to lie to a person as nice as Jin-hyung? And you’re not making it any better by appearing at the most inconvenient of times!”

“It’s not as if I know!” Jungkook defended himself. “But yeah… sorry.”

Upon hearing Jungkook’s apology, the older’s irritated expression fell and was replaced by confusion, and then amusement.

“Yah, what is this? You’re being nice again.”

“I was always nice, you know.” The younger answered. “So yeah. Sorry. For this. And the… last time.”

“Last time?” Jimin asked, getting more confused at Jungkook’s words. At first, he could not remember what it was that the younger did that deserved apologizing for. But after a few moments of silence, the designer finally recalled their last encounter in the younger’s office.

He actually already forgot about that confrontation. He did not hold any grudge towards Jungkook for it.

“Nah… it’s fine.” Jimin finally answered. “I actually already forgot about it. I’m surprised you remembered.”

“It was kind of rude for me to say those words, really.” Jungkook admitted, his eyes still glued to the road ahead. Silence took over the car after his words, and was only broken by Jimin’s sound of confusion.

“Yah, you’re being weird again.”

“What’s weird with being a decent person who can say sorry?”

“Well, it’s so not like you.” Jimin answered, chuckling a bit. “Don’t do that too often. I might fall for you, you know.”

One, two, three seconds of silence floated in the car before Jimin broke it again with his own laughter.

“Just kidding!”

“Oh, you better be.” Jungkook answered, looking at the rear view mirror to take a look at the car overtaking them. “We had a deal about this, remember? And you’d only end up getting hurt. I would never like you back.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I know.” Jimin waved his hands and the younger, complete with a roll of his eyes. “As if I’d fall for you.”

Right after saying his response, the sound of a grumbling stomach coincided with the silence that followed, prompting the younger to laugh at Jimin.

“You hungry?”

“I wasn’t lying earlier when I said I was there to have dinner.” Jimin pouted, rubbing his stomach through his shirt. His eyes then drifted to the paper bag which may or may not contain a sweet treat, but decided to ignore the temptation. He did not want to ask the younger about them.

“You can have the muffins.” Jungkook suddenly said, quickly grabbing the paper bag and tossing it to the older. “If your stomach grumbles like that, it means you’re already too hungry.”

“Nah… I can wait.” Jimin answered, opting to focus on the light posts they passed as the younger continued to drive. “We’ll have dinner at Jin-hyung’s anyway.”

“It’ll take longer than you think.” The CEO answered. “Jin-hyung still has to cook once we get there, so just eat those for now.”

Jimin smiled. He then took the container and slowly opened it to take a look at its contents. And true enough, there they were.

Muffins. With strawberry filling oozing from the top.

“Well, if you insist.” Jimin chuckled before grabbing a muffin from the bag. He first smelled the bread, which was still slightly warm. What he got was worthy of the satisfied moan that left his lips.

“Ah… thanks.” The hungry designer said before taking a bite off the delicacy. Just as he had imagined, the good-smelling pastry tasted even better.

He was about to blurt out praises for the food when suddenly, another one of the grumbling sounds was heard in the car.

And it was considerably louder.

And this time, it was Jimin who laughed as Jungkook slightly turned red, embarrassed by how loud his stomach was.

“Y-Yah! Why are you laughing?!”

“Aww… you’re hungry, too, I see.” Jimin nodded to himself, still laughing. He then took the other muffin in the bag and held it towards the younger. “Eat.”

“I’m driving.” The younger replied. To his surprise, Jimin, instead of giving up, only nudged the muffin to his lips.

“Open up, then. Let me feed you so you could drive the two of us to safety.” Jimin smiled. He frowned at the younger’s lack of response, but instead of withdrawing, Jimin only stubbornly nudged the younger’s lips once again.

“Doesn’t it smell great?” Jimin said in hushed voice, imitating those voices used in food commercials. “Look at the strawberry filling… it’s glistening from all the strawberry goodness—”

“Okay, just shut up!” Jungkook suddenly cut in before taking a big bite off the snack. It made the older, once again, laugh.

“Good boy.”

“Wow…”

It was the first sound that left Jimin’s mouth the moment he stepped out of Jungkook’s car once they arrived at Seokjin’s place. His usually narrow eyes widened in amazement at the establishment before him.

Jungkook, on the other hand, shook his head at the elder’s surprise. He was already quite used to seeing homes as luxurious as the one before them. Though he had to admit, Seokjin’s was special.

“You should see my house in Busan.” Jungkook smiled to himself, holding his head up higher as confidence surged in him.

“Just… wow.” The designer continued to marvel, completely ignoring the younger’s boasting. It honestly irked Jungkook how Jimin did not pay attention to what he just said, but he decided to just let it go for now.

“Welcome to my… not-so-humble abode.” Seokjin chuckled, opening the front doors of his house for the two. He could not help but smile at the awestruck face the shorter of his guests was sporting. “Yah, Jimin, why are you so amazed?”

“Yeah, you look like you’ve seen a flying pig or something.” Jungkook seconded.

Without taking his eyes off the details of the place, Jimin answered, “I’ve been in really big houses before, but really, yours is amazing, Jin-hyung!” He then approached one of the pillars on either side of the doorway and examined the details on top of it. “Just… the architecture. It’s amazing.”

True enough, the house was more like a castle out of a fairy tale more than anything else. The pillars were ivory in color, and there were countless of them surrounding the main structure, some not even connected to anything, just placed on the garden in such a way that it did not look out of place or odd at all. The walls were complete with engraved lines that resemble bricks, and the crenellations on top just made the whole thing more awesome.

And to finish the whole castle look, vines trickled down the walls from what Jimin supposed was a rooftop garden.

“Well… thanks, then.” Seokjin replied, bowing slightly. “I really liked the setting of those old fairy tales that we grew up knowing, so I decided, since I could afford it anyway, to recreate that world here.”

“Wow… It’s awesome, hyung.” Jimin continued complimenting the place. “Is the theme like this inside, too?”

The CEO of Pink Princess simply raised his brow at the question, and smirked. “Well, see for yourself, then.”

And with that, the broad shouldered man turned his back to Jungkook and Jimin and walked into his house, prompting the two younger to follow his lead.

It turns out, stepping into the elder’s home was like taking a step into a different world.

Jimin was rendered speechless. And this time, even Jungkook had to admit, Seokjin’s house was on a completely different level. It was like a testament to just how successful he was.

“Make yourself at home.” The oldest of the three said. “I’ll just prepare dinner.”

“Yes, hyung.” Jimin answered, eyes still wandering the intricate interior design. He was like a child seeing a mall for the first time in his life—the resemblance made Seokjin chuckle a bit.

“I’ll just… look around.” Jungkook said to the older, motioning with his fingers towards the appliances in the bigger part of the living room which he supposed was the entertainment area.

“Go ahead!” Seokjin smiled before leaving the two to their own devices.

While Jungkook continued to saunter towards the gaming console and the sound system in the living room, his “boyfriend” was left by himself to inspect the furniture. They all looked very regal to his eyes—from the cover of the couches, to the carpet, to the book cases, the stands, the picture frames and paintings. He continued gawking at nearly everything in the living room until his eyes landed on the coffee table.

The table itself was beautiful, being made with wood covered in resin, with the middle part devoid of wood and only filled with even more resin that probably housed the light bulbs that gave the table the light shining from it. But what really caught Jimin’s attention were the papers on top.

They were concepts. For a design for some event.

“Ahh… designs.” Jimin mumbled to himself as he walked closer to take a better look. “Real flowers… Fake flowers… Too many flowers…”

“Yeah, I was trying to convince the boss to lessen the flowers, too. He just loved them so much.”

“Oh, so Jin-hyung wanted the flowers—Oh my god who are you?!” Jimin suddenly shrieked, sending the other person stumbling backwards at the sudden outburst.

“Oh my god you shocked me!” He cried, clutching his chest and making a face at the still-confused Jimin. He then took a couple of deep breaths before standing up straight again and smiling at the shorter. “Hi, I’m Jung Hoseok.”

“H-Hi…” Jimin trailed off, not really sure what to make of the situation. The man certainly looked friendly, with his bright smile and just overall nice aura. But still, Jimin did not know him.

But for the sake of courtesy, the young designer just smiled in return and introduced himself. To his surprise, instead of questioning his intentions, the stranger, who he learned was older than him and was really as nice as his smile made him look like, even invited him to take a seat and give some ideas.

Jimin was thrilled.

That was why Jungkook could not help the shocked look on his face when he came back just to see Jimin already laughing with someone who could rival even Jimin’s smile with his own.

“Oh… hi.” Jungkook awkwardly said, raising his right hand to wave at the two. This earned the two’s attention.

“Hi.” Hoseok replied, still smiling. “Are you… with Jiminie?”

“Jiminie?” Jungkook asked stupidly. Did his companion actually know the person?

Seeing the lack of answer from the younger as being tongue-tied due to panic, Jimin just chuckled, and answered the question. “Yeah, hyung. I came here with him.”

“Oh, so you’re a friend?” The long-faced man asked, to which Jungkook replied with a tentative nod. “Then, I’m Jung Hoseok, creatives and design department head of Pink Princess. Seokjin-hyung didn’t tell me he’d be having guests.”

“Oh… it was a… spontaneous thing.” Jimin answered. He then turned to the youngest person in the room and nodded at him, signaling him to snap out of whatever it was that got his tongue and introduce himself.

It took a few more moments than necessary, but Jungkook eventually came back to his senses, and proceeded to introducing himself. “Hi… I’m Jeon Jungkook, Wings’s CEO.”

“Oh! Oh! The famous one?!” Hoseok excitedly asked, his eyes wider than usual.

The baffled doe-eyed male did not know how to respond to that without sounding arrogant but without undermining his fame as well.

Lucky him, however, just like how it had always been when the two of them are out together, Jimin did the talking.

“Yep, that Jeon Jungkook.” Jimin answered. “And… sorry about how he’s acting. He isn’t all that social, as you can see.”

“Ohhh… I see.” Hoseok nodded in understanding. “He’s still young, after all.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s not like I’m twelve or something.” Jungkook mumbled under his breath in protest, a mumble the other two heard, causing them to laugh at him. “Yah!”

“Alright, alright, you’re not twelve.” The younger of the two designers said. “I’m fifteen, so you’re thirteen.”

“Yah!”

The three of them continued bantering at the expense of the youngest for some time, before they managed to drop the subject and calm down.

“Hoseok-ssi,” Jungkook called the older’s attention.

“It’s Hoseok-hyung.” The other countered, already feeling comfortable around the younger. “You’re nice.”

“O-Okay. Hoseok-hyung.” Jungkook corrected himself. “I’m sorry for bothering your work. Jimin-hyung just really like meddling with other people’s work.”

“Nope.” Said male protested.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” The oldest of the three shrugged. “It’s nice, actually. He’s helping me by adding more ideas and correcting misplaced elements in the design. I’m quite surprised, actually. Jiminie managed to notice the errors even though this proposed design had already passed a couple of checks. He saw what was wrong when no one else in my department did.”

Jimin shyly smiled at the compliment, bowing his head down and putting his palms together and squeezing them between his thighs.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry I totally forgot to mention I had another visitor!” Seokjin’s voice suddenly sounded, prompting the three other people to turn their heads to see him already clad in house clothes and an apron. “Anyway, you guys seem to get along well, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Don’t worry, hyung. They’re in good hands.” Hoseok answered, holding up an “okay” sign to the older.

“I know. So… dinner’s about to be served!”

“Wow… that’s fast.” Jimin commented.

The broad-shouldered man smiled at him before turning around on his heels to go back to the kitchen. “Well, I already cooked dinner before I went out to jog. I just reheated it.”

And with that, Seokjin left them in favor of working with the dinner again. Hoseok, on the other hand, also went back to his work. And as he did so, Jimin could not help but watch him.

That was what he imagined when he decided on his career path. It made him wonder—when would he get to be a hands on designer, like Hoseok? Then again, he was just a newbie in the company. Maybe his seniors were already doing the work he wanted.

He will just have to wait, until then.

“You guys look cute together.” Hoseok suddenly said, his eyes leaving the papers to take a look at the two younger boys.

It took both Jungkook and Jimin by surprise, because really, neither recalled mentioning that they were an item.

“Uhmm…” Jungkook trailed off, once again unsure of how to respond to such compliments. His gesture made the older’s eyes go wide.

“Oh my god… are you not an item?” Hoseok asked, moving back a little in his seat.

“Well… we are.” Jimin answered. “Just that… did we mention that we were together?”

“Awww come on, guys. You don’t need to tell people that you’re together.” The other replied. “I mean… well, I’m quite good with reading people, you know. I’m not sure if others could see it, but I definitely can.”

“Oh…” The fake couple responded at the same time. They then turned towards each other in confusion, only to be met by the other’s shrug.

“See? You two are even in sync!” Hoseok shrieked, proud of his deduction. “Perfect match.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Jimin answered. He then once again spared the younger a look, only to see him already fumbling with the hem of his coat. He can see that his boss was already getting uncomfortable with the talk.

Jimin could not help but feel sorry for the guy, because it was not like he liked acting like he was gay.

“Hey, guys!” Seokjin’s shrill voice once again came. “Dinner’s ready!”

“Yes!” Hoseok happily jumped up from his seat and went over to the general direction of the mess hall.

“Yah, Jungkookie.” Jimin softly said, tapping the man’s shoulders. “Let’s go?”

“Oh… yeah, yeah, of course. I’m hungry already.” Jungkook answered, clearly still not in his usual mindset. He then started trudging behind the older, who led the way to the dining area.

Once settled on their seats, all four of them started eating the dinner the oldest made. Right after taking his first bite, Seokjin looked up from his bowl and watched the other three as they took in the flavors in the dishes.

Hoseok was the first one to speak up. “Omo… this is so good!”

“Yeah, it really is!” Jimin agreed, making the cook’s smile grow wider.

“It’s amazing, hyung.”

“Awww… thank you, guys!” Seokjin clapped, happy that his guests liked his cooking. “Cooking has always been my first passion.”

“It shows, hyung.” Jungkook complimented the older CEO again, smiling before taking another bite of the grilled pork. “Really, it’s like eating in a famous restaurant. Have you tried opening a restaurant?”

“Well… actually I was thinking of doing just that.” He answered.

The three then continued eating dinner, with Seokjin, being the host, formally introducing the two parties to each other along the way. He had introduced Hoseok as his “design and creatives department head” and his “longtime friend”, and also had mentioned that the two of them had decided to have a work night for their upcoming event in Pink Princess.

“Oh, is this for your anniversary?” Jungkook asked, recalling having seen the announcement when he was conducting some research on the company.

“Yes, it is.” Seokjin answered. “I really want it to be a big one. So Hoseok and I decided to directly intervene with the preparations.”

“Yeah, so directly Jin-hyung had so much say in the amount of flowers in the venue.” The senior designer jested. His boss scowled at him.

“It looks good like that!”

“But it just won’t work!” Hoseok countered, once again taking another bite from the crispy vegetables. “Even Jimin saw that!

“Well… n-not really.” Jimin said, waving his hands in defense. “T-That’s just my opinion. I just think having too much flowers would somehow… deformalize, the event? Like… I don’t even know. I just think flowers were meant for adding accents to a design. But I could be wrong.”

“See?”

And Seokjin pouted. Jimin almost felt bad for speaking up and siding with the other designer. “Well… that’s two designers already. Okay, fine. Let’s just see.”

 “Yes!” Hoseok rejoiced, pumping his fist in the air. “Oh my god Kim Seokjin finally relented!”

“Still though… if it’s such a bad idea, why’d no one else tell me?”

“Most of them were just -kissers trying to get to your good books, hyung.” Hoseok frankly answered, ignoring the scandalized look the older sent him due to his words. “You could’ve just listened to me, you know? As if I’d steer you to the wrong direction. It even took Jimin here to finally convince you.”

“Because you were the only one saying that it was wrong when everyone else tells me my idea was fine.” The older countered. “ And Jimin was quite convincing, you know.” Seokjin admitted. Then, all of a sudden, he perked up, like a literal lightbulb just lit above his head. “I know! I know! Jiminie,” He continued, facing the younger who looked at him nervously. “Do you want to work with us?”

“What?! Are you stealing him away from me?!” Jungkook protested, joining in the conversation for the first time since their introduction. “No.”

“No! No!” Seokjin clarified, borderline wanting to coo at the jealousy in the man’s eyes. “I meant for this project. Something like a collaboration. You seem like you could really help our team.”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with our team!”

“Shut up, Hoseok.”

“Well…” Jimin trailed off. “I’d really love to… but it isn’t a decision I could just make on my own.” He continued, turning his attention to the youngest in the room, asking for consent with his eyes.

“What?” Jungkook asked, raising his brow at the older. He then looked at Seokjin, who was looking at him expectantly. “But… why though?”

“Well… It was just a suggestion.” Seokjin shrugged. “I thought it would be great to have collaborations between our companies, but I could be wrong.”

Realization suddenly hit Jungkook once he heard the other CEO’s words. It was his goal to establish a connection with Pink Princess, anyway. Kim Seokjin was just making it easier for him.

“No! No! You’re not wrong!” Jungkook suddenly interjected, his doe eyes practically glowing with enthusiasm. “I mean… yeah, why not, right?”

“As I was saying.” Seokjin nodded, smiling. “So… let’s just contact each other about this some time, okay?”

“Of course, of course.” The boy nodded happily.

Jimin narrowed his eyes at the younger and watched him resume his eating with somewhat more energy than moments ago. It did not immediately strike him what happened, but when it did, he could not help but roll his eyes in slight irritation.

At least the happiness in his eyes was real. But damn was Jeon Jungkook so fake.

The dinner proceeded normally after the conversation, with small talks here and there about the food and office life in general. The fake couple did not forget to still perform their respective roles, showing off some skinship every now and then to keep the thing going.

Not too long after the dinner, the two younger boys had to go home. Hoseok was scheduled to stay the night at Seokjin’s, when it got a bit late, Jungkook had to excuse himself and Jimin, claiming that they still had a day to face.

Albeit reluctantly, Seokjin and Hoseok let them go, the latter taking an inordinately long time saying goodbye to Jimin, claiming that he felt like he was “sending his son away”. Yes, it was weird, because they literally just met that night and only knew each other for the past few hours.

But Jimin quickly figured out that the long-faced designer was just clingy like that. And he would not even deny, he liked it.

“Yah, hyung.” Jungkook was the first one to speak once they were out on the road and out of Seokjin place. “You did really great. You’re making the whole thing easier for us.”

“Aww thanks…” Jimin smiled, but was cut off when he suddenly hesitated on how to address the younger again, since they were once again alone. In the end, he stuck to the safer one. “Uhmm… sir.”

The CEO’s brows furrowed at that. Yes, he understood that he actually set the rule that they boss and employee when not around Seokjin, but it still irked him for some reason.

He decided to just push it aside for the moment.

“No, I should thank you for that. You’re doing the company a great service. Even though you really… don’t like doing this whole boyfriend thing.”

“We had a deal, after all.” Jimin answered, opting to look out the window instead of facing the younger. “I’m just keeping my part of the bargain.”

“Yeah…” Jungkook nodded in understanding. “Keeping your part.” He once again frowned. The thought did not sit right with him. It just felt… wrong. But instead on dealing on the thing, he decided to just change the topic and avoid thinking too much.

“Where do you live? I’ll drive you home.” Jungkook offered.

It took some time before the older answered, yawning before he did. The address slightly took Jungkook aback, since he had already heard of the place before, and he did not expect Jimin to live there.

His expensive luxury car was an uncommon sight at the vicinity of Jimin’s apartment complex, which held the reputation of despite being affordable, offered only a small room in exchange, perfect for people living alone in the city for the meantime.

“So… this is me.” Jimin chuckled, staring up at the slightly dilapidated old building. “Are you gonna go home, sir?”

“Huh?” Jungkook tilted his head to the side, still too caught up by his thoughts on the elder’s living conditions. “Ah… yeah, yeah, I’m going back home.”

“Take care then.”

“You live here?” Jungkook finally asked in curiosity. He slightly pitied the designer.

Jimin let out a short chuckle before asking in return, “What? Do you pity me?”

“W-What?! No!” The boss lied. “I was just… asking.”

“Yup, I live here.” The older answered, sighing. He then gave the younger a smile—one that surprised him more than anything, because really, how could someone admit they live in such a cramped place and still look proud?

“O-Okay, then.” Jungkook stuttered out. “Just… take care. Good night.”

“Yeah, you, too, drive carefully.” Jimin answered, smile still in his face. “Thanks for the lift.”

And with that, Jimi stepped out of the vehicle, and waved at the younger before heading inside. And as Jungkook drove away from the place, he still could not shake off the sadness that suddenly overtook him.

He suddenly felt sorry for Jimin. Not just because he obviously was a lot poorer than him.

It was because after knowing the elder for a while, he just thought that Jimin did not deserve to live there.