HELLO GUYS!!!!

So... before you all kill me for being away for like, decades, I want to apologize for the very very late update. I'm going through some new and tough times right now... and for the past weeks at that. I just powered through it to get this chapter up for you guys. So sorry for the bad writing in this one... I feel like I really did badly with this chapter due to me lacking inspiration, time, practice, and just... everything.

And also, I wanna say thank you for all of you guys who are still here, waiting for me to update! Thank you for staying even though you've got no reason to do so. Even though I've been away for a really, really long time.

I've wasted a lot of your time already! Here's the chapter! I hope... I hope you like it. Though it lacks a lot of things... 

21

A loud noise echoes through the parking lot Jeon Jungkook slammed the door of his car close before leaving it with hurried, deliberate steps. He headed straight into his dedicated elevator, opened it with his biometrics, and went straight up the building to his office on the topmost floor. One of the biggest advantages that he really liked about the company having its own elevator to reach the CEO office is that he did not have to deal with employees greeting him. Especially now, when he really was not in the mood to even be polite enough to acknowledge other people’s presence.

Once Jungkook reached his own office, he headed straight to his chair and dropped down to sit, leaving his bag on the couch. He then turned around to open the blinds to his office, only to groan in irritation as the sunlight suddenly fills the room with its radiant glow.

“What the hell?” Jungkook complained, pulling the blinds shut once again, plunging the room into its usual, yet unfamiliar darkness. “It’s too bright outside today.”

Just as he was spinning in his chair to face his desk, the door to his office opened, revealing his smiling secretary holding a cup of coffee in her hands.

“Good morning, sir.” Momo bowed down after setting the cup down on its usual spot.

“Mhhmm.” The boss replied nonchalantly, proceeding to opening his computer. “Appointments?”

“Uhmm,” Momo stuttered a bit, taken aback by her superior’s unusually cold aura. “You’re mostly free today, sir. No appointments nor meetings for today. However, your day tomorrow will be busy due to meetings and a press conference regarding the new partnership with Pink Princess.”

“Dammit!” Jungkook suddenly hit the table with the palm of his hand, cursing out loud, much to the woman’s surprise. “I hate days like this.”

“S-Sorry, sir.”

Hearing the secretary’s small voice somehow managed to knock some sense into the CEO’s brain, since he looked up from his desk, and let out a heavy sigh before apologizing to her.

“I’m just… a bit under the weather.” Jungkook explained, he himself not really sure why he was so upset in the first place.

“It’s okay, sir.” Momo bowed, stepping back and excusing herself from the office.

Once left on his own, Jungkook let out another sigh. The day had just started, and yet he already felt like he had worked through a busy day. It was alright to him if the day actually was busy—however, it clearly was not, given that his email was unusually devoid of any new message as well.

If only he had something to occupy himself with, then he would not have to keep on thinking about what happened the night before. If only he had gotten at least three hours of sleep, maybe he would not be as grumpy as he was.

Catching sight of the coffee his secretary had brewed for him, Jungkook reached over for it and with one, swift motion, downed the whole thing. He was sleep-deprived. He needed it.

Really, though, there definitely was something wrong. It was as if butterflies were building a colony in his stomach. The only event that he could attribute it to was Jimin’s surprise confession.

He was shocked, that was all. It really was weird, for another guy to blatantly confess to him that he liked him. Yes, they have been acting as a couple for the majority of the time that he had known Jimin, but it was all an act. Having it in front of you for real was entirely different.

That was probably why he had said some… upsetting words to the older the previous night. Not that he was justifying it, of course. It was just that…

“It’s his fault, anyway.” Jungkook interrupted his own train of thoughts. “He was the one who fell for me, a man. He was the one who forgot that it was all just an act.”

Jimin’s face scrunched in discomfort the moment he woke up, struggling to open his swollen eyes. The warmth of the sunlight pouring right onto his face told him that it was well past his supposed time of work.

Turning on the bed, his hand rested on a particularly cold spot on his pillow.

“Great,” The designer mumbled with his scratchy voice. “Pathetic me just had to wet his pillows by crying.”

A few more yawns later, Jimin managed to sit up on his bed and open his eyes. And the first thing that he used them for was to glare at his phone that started ringing, and indication of an incoming call. He let the device ring a few more times before he picked it up—along with his wet pillow for drying out in the sun—and checked who the caller was.

“Taehyung.” Jimin sighed, quickly tossing the pillow over the clothesline just outside his window, all the while clearing his throat. He finally answered the call when he deemed his voice presentable.

“Hello?”

“Oh god, Jiminie!” Taehyung’s voice sounded from the speakers of the phone. It was a little too loud for the taller to be in the office. Or he just probably did not care.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Jimin chuckled.

“I was starting to get worried!” The other boy answered. “Did you know how many times I tried calling you?”

“No.”

“Check, .”

Raising his brow, Jimin pulled the device away from his ear to check. His eyes slightly widened at the fourteen missed calls staring back at him.

“Yeah, fourteen, you little thing!” Taehyung continued. Jimin was only slightly alarmed by the fact that he managed to hear him despite the phone being away from his ear. “What even happened to you?”

“O-Oh, nothing.” Jimin answered, the simple question reminding him of why he was still in his tiny apartment and not working his off in his cubicle. “I’m just sick, that’s a—”

“You’re sick?!” The other designer shrieked, worry already laced in his voice. “Have you eaten already? Did you take medicines?”

Jimin could not help but laugh a little at Taehyung’s concern. “I just woke up, Tae.”

“But it’s past nine already!”

“And I’ll be going out in a while to buy some healthy breakfast and medicines.” Jimin continued. “Don’t worry, Tae. I’ll be fine.” After saying those words, Jimin felt his throat tightening up a little bit. He internally cursed at the way his body reacted just from those words. Because really…

“I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know you’ll be fine.” Taehyung agreed, oblivious to the emotional turmoil the shorter was currently experiencing. “Just like how you always were.”

“Yeah. I’ve been through worse.” Jimin sniffled. That was acceptable. He was supposed to be sick, after all.

Noticing the he was leading the conversation towards rather depressing tones, Jimin tried to lighten up the mood by changing the topic.

“Oh, how are our lovebirds there doing?” He asked, actually genuinely curious about how said officemates were.

“Oh, oh! They’re doing really great!” Taehyung chirped, putting a smile on the shorter’s face. “The tension is gone! Like, it’s as if nothing happened!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He confirmed. “It’s even better, actually, since there’s this another aura thing where it’s just… love around them.”

“Are you talking about us?” A voice definitely not Taehyung’s made its way through the phone, making Jimin laugh for a while.

“Oh, no! No!” Taehyung answered. “Some other people. Definitely not you guys.”

Incomprehensible mumbling followed the designer’s answer before Taehyung continued talking to Jimin on the phone.

“They’re so cute. So happy for them.”

“Yeah, me, too.” Jimin answered. The next thing he knew, he was already covering his mouth in an attempt to muffle the sobs the suddenly took over him.

At least they were happy.

“God dammit!” He wiped his tears away with this free hand in frustration. “Damn these eyes!”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” Jimin reassured the boy on the other end of the line. “My eyes are stinging because of my runny nose.”

Lying to people he held dear always made the designer feel bad, but this time, it was necessary. He did not want to drag Taehyung into the problem that he had made for himself.

“You should sleep again, then.” Taehyung answered. “But not until you’ve eaten breakfast and taken medicine, okay?”

“Yes, mom.” Jimin answered.

And then he ended the call.

Jimin let out a heavy sigh at his predicament. It was not like Yoongi did not warn him. Everyone, including Jungkook himself, had warned him of what could happen.

And now, he just had to deal with the consequences.

Tossing his phone onto his bed, he went over the cupboards to scavenge for any instant food he could eat. In his state, Jimin just knew that he was in no condition to go outside to buy breakfast—not when he ran the risk of suddenly breaking down out of nowhere.

“Let’s be miserable just for today, Jimin.” He told himself. “It’s alright today. But tomorrow, we live life again.”

Jungkook took a deep breath, and sighed as he continued to keep his eyes closed, waiting for much-wanted sleep to claim him. He had been stationary on his office couch for a while now, yawning every now and then.

He just had to wait. He would eventually fall asleep.

“Ah, it!” The CEO snapped, forcefully sitting up from the couch and rubbing his hands against his face in frustration. “… what to do, Jeon? What to do?”

He reached for his phone lying on the coffee table and opened the email application, hoping for something urgent to come up. Actually, no. Even something not urgent.

Just… anything to do.

But much to his dismay, there was none. He then opened his social media accounts just to check for anything interesting.

Maybe he really should have made more friends and non-business contacts on his accounts, just so there could be something entertaining to spice up his currently-laughable boring timeline.

This has never happened to him. Ever since the beginning of time, he had not run out of important, productive things to do. Ever since, he had worked his off to prove that he was worthy of everything he had.

But now that he had nothing to prove anymore… there was just… nothing to do.

Jungkook thought about going back to his house already, but they would not be much of a wise decision either. There was even less things to do back there. Maybe it was time to pick up a new hobby.

Or a new person. Maybe he should start on making himself visible to his secretary. Not as her boss, but as a man.

Standing up to get his blood pumping, the CEO paced around the office, thinking of a way to spend more time with Momo without being too obvious. It did not take long before he was already contacting the said girl to come to his office.

“You called me, sir?” Momo asked upon entering the office, clipboard in her arms. Jungkook stood up from his chair and went around his desk to approach the girl.

“Yes.” He answered, heading for the door. “We’re going to have a tour around the whole building. Get to see things up close and personal.”

“Oh… that’s… new.”

“Yeah,” The CEO agreed. “I just thought that since I’m basically free for the day, and I haven’t really been connecting well with our assets, now is the right time to just get the people to feel my presence.”

“I’ll go with you then, sir.”

“Right.”

And with that, the pair left the office and proceeded to work their way around the place, starting from the second highest floor going down, visiting departments and acknowledging the greetings that employees they meet throw at them.

However, for reasons unknown to the CEO, most of the people he greeted along the halls of the building ducked their heads—almost as if in fear—as soon as they crossed gazes with him. He had not received such responses for some time.

Confused, he turned to his secretary to ask her if something was wrong with his appearance.

“Nothing’s wrong, sir.” Momo answered. “Though something feels… off about you today.”

“Off?” Jungkook asked, receiving a small nod from the female in response. He really did not understand what she meant by him being “off”, but at least, he knew that there actually was something with him. The thought that maybe it was because of Jimin’s act the previous night, but he quickly shook the thought away.

The pair proceeded with their department visits, briefly stopping by each department to make his presence more prominent in the large company building. He was more than happy to lightly converse with the department heads, all of which asking him if everything was alright the moment he stepped into their offices.

Really, though. He was fine. They did not have to ask him every single time.

The first time that he acknowledged that no, he was not fine, was when he found Momo and himself in front of the entrance to the design department. The heavy feeling in his chest that was there since the start of the day but was manageable all of a sudden intensified, prompting him to stop in his tracks.

“Are you alright, sir?” Momo asked the boss, looking at the taller in concern. “Is something wrong?”

Jungkook let out a heavy sigh, willing the feeling in his chest to go away. “I’m fine.” He answered, continuing to walk into the department. There was no way he could be nervous. Jeon Jungkook was never nervous. Especially since it was Jimin’s fault, anyway.

If there was anyone who should be nervous about him coming into the design department, it should be the older. Not him.

The moment he stepped into the place, he could not stop a small smirk from appearing on his lips when he noticed everyone immediately shifting their attention to him. The CEO continued walking to the office of the department head, his gaze straight ahead. However, along the way, he caught sight of Taehyung, currently focused on his work on his computer.

The cubicle beside him was empty and clean.

Jungkook rolled his eyes at the empty space, letting out a huff of hair through his nose. The nerve of the boy to not go to work after what he pulled off on him the night before.

Feeling the irritation creeping up on him, Jungkook shook the thought of the older male away and went straight for the department head office, exchanging greetings with the sole human within.

“Congratulations for the deal with the Pink Princess!” Yongsun smiled to the younger. She put away the design magazine she was reading prior to the entry of her boss.

“Thank you.” Jungkook answered, regally taking the seat offered to him by the woman. “How are things so far in the design department?”

“Hmmm… nothing much has been going on recently.” She answered. “I’ll be submitting the accomplishment report on time, just check the details there.”

Jungkook nodded in understanding. He let his eyes wander through the wide expanse of design magazines scattered on top of the female’s desk. Several colored papers were sticking out from the pages of the publications, acting as markers for details Yongsun deemed as important.

“Oh, I remembered,” the department head started. “I’m happy that one of my colleagues in this department helped a lot in securing that deal with Pink Princess.”

She was talking about Park Jimin. Jungkook knew it. And he hated just how unexpectedly violent his body reacted just at the thought of talking about the said boy.

“And you know, the boy’s also very talented in his craft!” She continued, oblivious to the younger’s predicament. “Remember the annual special assignment I give some people in my department?” She asked, receiving a hum from her boss. “Well, Park Jimin won it! Such young talent.”

“Yeah… he’s actually really good.” Jungkook forced the words out of his throat, hoping that neither of the two women with him noticed the struggle in his voice. A moment of silence that was in no way comfortable for the CEO floated in the air right after he answered.

The air was thick. It was getting harder for him to even breathe.

“So,” He suddenly stood up, straightening the non-existence wrinkles on his coat. “I’ll get going then, Kim Yongsun-ssi.”

Said woman stood up from her seat and gave the two visitors a simple bow before going back to her work.

Once out of the office, Jungkook briskly walked out of the department, feeling the shaking in his knees intensifying with each step he took. This time, he dared not take a glance at the general direction of Jimin’s cubicle, and opted to head straight for the exit.

“Damn Kim Yongsun.” Jungkook cursed under his breath once he was out of earshot of any of the department’s employees, letting out another burdened sigh and stopping to stabilize himself. His secretary asked him if he was alright, to which he only responded with a nod.

It really was not his fault. It was not as if he had been the one to ruin a perfectly fine arrangement.

Still, Yongsun did not have to bring up that one boy that Jungkook did not want to remember for the time being.

Maybe he should have skipped the design department, after all.

He could feel the gross oils on his hair which he had not washed for more than twenty four hours now as he took his first slice of pizza from the pizza box he had ordered for delivery. Jimin, his laptop and the said box were all on his bed as the designer pressed play on the device to resume the drama he was watching again for the third time.

The drama was especially relatable for him, since it was about a pretty-girl-turned-ugly-weirdo who had low self-esteem who had her hot best friend meet up in her stead with her childhood sweetheart. At the funny turn of events, as if the whole universe was conspiring against her, said girl ended up having to work under said childhood sweetheart and conceal her identity, all the while trying to prove herself worthy for the company she had just entered.

Jimin could feel himself already tearing up from the thought of the events that are about to happen in the series. He was about to shove his third slice of pizza into his oil-slicked mouth when there was a knock on his door, scaring the out of him and making him drop the oily delight back onto the box on his lap.

At least it did not fall onto the bedsheets. That would have been a whole new level of disaster.

The man immediately stood up from his bed, and looked down on himself. The tear on the right knee of his sleeping pants was very visible from his viewing angle, and the toe sticking out of the hole of his left sock did not help to make him feel presentable to any visitor.

But what if it was Jungkook?

Jimin’s eyes widened in panic at the thought, immediately looking around the place for anything he could do to at least make himself passably decent.

The kitchen knives on the counter looked shiny. But he did not need them at the moment.

The used clothes in the laundry bin were all probably stinking from being kept together unaerated.

The panic in him was beginning to overwhelm him when he heard a voice from the other side of the door.

“Jiminie?”

Oh. It was just Taehyung.

Upon realizing that his panic was for nothing, Jimin raced to the door and opened it, revealing his friend still in his office clothes, sporting an expression akin to that of a horror movie actor.

“Tae.”

“Oh god, Jiminie,” Taehyung said, pushing the shorter boy with him into the apartment. “You look horrible!”

“I know, Tae,” Jimin retorted. “Thanks for pointing out.”

“You do smell delicious—oh, it’s the pizza!” Taehyung was about to complement the other boy when he spotted the box of still-steaming pizza on Jimin’s bed. He grabbed the same piece that Jimin had dropped when he heard the knock against his door, and proceeded to shoving the whole thing into his mouth in one go.

“Show, haw ar hue?” Taehyung asked with his mouth filled with the food, taking a seat on the bed and unpausing the drama. Jimin promptly reclaimed his spot beside the taller boy and took another piece of pizza to continue his marathon.

“Better, I guess.” Jimin answered, recalling that he had told the other that he was absent since he was not feeling well. “I’ve taken medications, so there.”

“Good, good.” Taehyung nodded, already downing his next slice. “You know, your boyfriend passed by the department this morning.”

“Who?”

“Jungkook.” Taehyung answered, eyes fixated on the drama still playing. It currently was on a particularly funny part where the female lead was crying over what she thought was her fallen tooth. “He passed by the department. Probably to talk about you to Yongsun-noona.”

“Hmm.” Jimin only hummed in response, not trusting his voice enough because of the lump that formed in his throat just from the mention of the younger’s name.

“You did tell him you were sick, right?” The clueless man asked the shorter, taking a look at him to see him nod in response.

Jimin’s jaw was shaking.

“Hey, Jiminie, are you alright?” Taehyung asked again, this time fully facing Jimin to properly look at him. Once again, all that Jimin managed to give in response was a nod as he fumbled with his next slice of pizza, almost dropping it in the process of putting it in his mouth.

“You’re crying.” The taller pointed out.

Again. He did not have to tell him that.

Not all is lost, though. He still could save the situation.

“The… drama.” Jimin answered, forcing out a smile as he wiped his tears away with his free hand. He gave the other the best smile he could muster at the moment.

But if the fall of the expression on Taehyung’s face was anything to go by, he was ed.

“Jiminie…” Taehyung said the other’s name, sincerity and softness pulling out more tears from Jimin’s eyes. “What’s wrong? Is it about Jungkook?”

And he was gone.

The mention of the guy’s name broke the last bit of remaining resolve in Jimin. The designer just broke down into tears as he clutched his friend’s sleeves for dear life. Taehyung, on the other hand, immediately wrapped his long, but comforting arms around the small frame of the crying man.

“What happened? Did you guys break up?”

The question only served to make Jimin cry even more, since it only reminded him of all the lies he had told his friend. The friend who did nothing but support him through all the that happened to him.

And now… he just could not take it anymore.

“Tae.” Jimin sniffled. “I’m so sorry.”

“Sshh… just cry it all out for now.” Taehyung said, pulling Jimin closer to him. “Save everything you have to tell me for later, when you’ve cried all of your current frustration out.”

Jimin nodded against the taller’s shoulder, closing his eyes and tightening his hold onto him. “No more lies, Tae. I promise.”