Hello everyone!
Here's another chapter for the story! I want to say sorry in advance, since the next update will take a long time to come out. School is already starting, and I have a lot to do, especially since I am already entering my graduating year. The schedules of the subjects in our university are really, really hard to manage, especially the major subjects since they take huge chunks of time. I also think this semester will require me to go to class six days a week. FREAKING, SIX OUT OF SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
Guys, I might just die.
Anyway... here's the chapter. I hope you like it!

22

Going past the glass doors of the company building, and into the main lobby of Wings, Jimin could not help but feel like it had been a long time since the last time he entered the place, when in fact he was only gone the day prior. And since the closure of the great deal with Pink Princess, he had been famous—in the best of ways—throughout the whole workforce of Wings, so he also had to deal with greeting back everyone who actually bothered to acknowledge his existence. He was just thankful it was one of his better days for some time now.

Even a few couple of coworkers he really did not know pointed out that he was… blooming. And he had last night’s talk with Taehyung to thank for the lightness he felt inside out.

The designer reached his cubicle with a small smile on his face. Only a few people were already in the design department, indicating that he was earlier that his usual. And yet, he could not recall being rushed while preparing for the day—in fact, he was actually feeling refreshed. As if he took a long break from everything and took a nature trip somewhere remote, when all he really did was vent out his emotions on Taehyung over a box of pizza and a rerun of his favorite drama.

“That guy’s really something.” Jimin mumbled, the small smile growing into a full-blown grin, settling onto his seat and preparing for a ton of work that probably accumulated through the one-day break he had. “I probably should treat him soon.”

If there was another thing, except for exposure, he got from the whole deal with his boss, it was the sudden growth of his bank account. If it was not for that, he would not even consider treating Taehyung a meal, with all expenses that he had to think of, including the money that he had to send home to his parents regularly. Now, he could even start thinking of moving to a more comfortable, secure place in Seoul.

“Hey!” A familiar, and now-soothingly deep voice interrupted Jimin’s appreciation of the fruits of his sacrifices. “You’re early!”

“Yeah, I know.” Jimin agreed, turning on his chair and slightly sliding out of his cubicle to properly look at Taehyung. “Thanks to you.”

“What do you mean ‘thanks to me’?” Taehyung raised his brow at his friend, pulling his own chair out and also taking a seat. “Did you hitch a ride with me without me actually noticing?”

“No, stupid. I was saying thank you for comforting me last night. It was because of that why I was able to actually even come to work today.”

“Hmmm… I see.” The taller nodded in understanding. “I mean… It was my job as your best friend, but you’re welcome.” He chuckled, also pulling a light-hearted laugh from Jimin. “Should I be expecting a treat soon?”

Jimin only chuckled in response.

“Ah, really?”

“Well, I can buy you lunch later.” The shorter answered. “Don’t worry too much about the price… Like what I said, I got some money out of that forsaken deal.”

“Really now? Forsaken?” Taehyung laughed. “Oh well… You better have a few hundred thousand won ready.” He finished, sliding back into his cubicle. “Let’s get to work! Let’s earn more money!”

“Yup! Let’s do that.” Jimin agreed, turning back to his cubicle. He briefly caught sight of both Wonwoo and Mingyu coming into the office together, talking animatedly with each other. The sight put a fond smile onto his face. Yes, he was happy for the two, since things were apparently going really well for the two of them, but he could not help but feel sad as well.

Mostly due to the fact that he and the person he loved were in the completely opposite situation.

“Ahh… Jimin, stop thinking about him.” He whispered to himself, shaking the thought out of his head. The day was too good to let it be ruined by unwelcome thoughts.

The designer looked at his computer’s monitor, and let out a deep breath. He put on a smile, which did little, but still did something, and began with the day’s work, which was mostly going over tons of concepts, proposals, scripts and drafts made by his team and those which were already past the initial screening. As he had already expected, there were lots of minor details that could be improved, even in those which were already checked by others while he was gone.

Jimin closed his eyes and sighed, already feeling the frustration he often got when other people seemingly half- their work.

He has got a long day ahead of him, which by the end of it would be enough to just completely knock him out when he got back to his place. And that worked for him, at least for now.

Knowing full well that he would not be able to finish two days’ worth of work, the young designer decided to just go all out on it. He put on his earphones and started working on the marketing department’s promotional videos first, pausing every now and then to take note of the time tags of the frames which he thought could use some editing.

After every two videos, Jimin took a break by drinking water and switching tasks, focusing instead on making design and article proposals. His officemates often remarked how “very Park Jimin” and how “research-heavy” his works are, and he took pride in those comments. After all, the main reason for him being in Wings in the first place was because he quit his previous job which hindered him from fully putting his personality into his works. Also, he liked doing research on design concepts and getting inspirations from other forms of art, so as much as he knew working with videos was generally more enjoyable, he still appreciated the slow pace and freedom that working with proposals gave.

Jimin was in the middle of putting comments onto his third video of the day when his phone dinged on his desk, indicating the arrival of a text message. Hitting the pause button, he picked the device up and unlocked it to check.

From: Yoongi-hyung

Good morning!

You in the office? Come to my department real quick.

And don’t take TaeTae with you. I need to talk to you in private.

“What’s up?” Jimin removed his earphones and stood up, opting to just pay the older a visit, as requested. The fact that he specifically told him to not bring Taehyung with him was rather concerning, since knowing Yoongi, the pale-skinned man would jump at every opportunity to be in the same room with his crush.

“Where are you going?” Taehyung asked, stopping the shorter as he was on his way past his cubicle. “Getting coffee? Grab one for me.”

“Nope, Yoongi-hyung asked me to go to his office.” Jimin answered. “And nope,” He continued, shaking his head at the other designer when he started to stand up. “Hyung asked me to not bring you with me.”

Taehyung pouted, prompting Jimin to both smile at his cuteness and cringe at the coming aegyo. “But why?!” The taller asked, complete with puppy eyes and dragging the last syllable longer than his office hours. “Why???”

“Sorry, Tae. Just following orders.” Jimin chuckled. “I’ll be back.”

“Okay…”

And with that, Jimin left the taller boy—who was still pouting at him until he was out of sight—and headed straight to the elevator to the 13^th floor. But of course, not without pinching the cheeks of the willing Kim Taehyung and briefly cooing at how adorable his best friend was.

The moment he reached the older’s office, Yoongi immediately put away his headphones, and flashed his gummy smile at the younger, which in effect also pulled Jimin’s lips up to a smile as well.

“Tae said you’re absent yesterday.” Yoongi started, knocking on the desk as the other man took a seat. “He said it was because you were sick.”

“Well… yeah.” Jimin agreed, nodding his head and internally cursing. The older probably had an idea on what really happened. “I wasn’t feeling well yesterday, so I took the day off.”

“The whole thing with Pink Princess really tired and stressed you out, don’t you think?” The older asked. “But anyway, congratulations on not just a job well done with… ‘courting’ Pink Princess into a deal with us,  but also with the special assignment in the design department.”

“How did you—”

“Taehyung.”

“Oh.” Jimin nodded in understanding. “So… what did you want to talk about with me that you didn’t allow me to bring your Taehyungie with me?”

“W-What?” Yoongi asked, swallowing hard but not removing eye contact. Jimin chuckled at the embarrassment clearly flowing in the elder’s veins. “H-He’s not mine…”

“Not yet, you mean.”

“Yah!” Yoongi suddenly screamed, shocking Jimin on his seat. The former immediately covered his mouth, being made aware of just how loud he yelled. The action only added to the redness of his face.

“Okay, I’ll stop.” Jimin pouted, but still holding his chuckles back. “What is it?”

“Jeon Jungkook.”

The mere mention of the boy’s name elicited a negative reaction from the younger, making him let out a burdened sigh to alleviate the heavy feeling the name brought to him. He knew Yoongi would not just ask him to go to his office alone just to congratulate him. It had to be something serious.

“W-What with him?”

 “The deal’s over, right?” Yoongi asked. The designer gave him a nod as an answer. “That means your act with him is over as well. What are you going to—”

“I already told him.” Jimin answered before the other could finish the question. “I confessed to him the other night.”

The answer made the musician’s brow go up. “And?”

“And…” Jimin trailed off. “Let’s just say he didn’t react well.”

The office fell into a heavy silence after Jimin’s answer, both boys taking the time to formulate their next words in order to minimize the damage that the topic could do.

After about ten seconds, the older spoke again in a low voice. “Is it the real reason why you were absent yesterday?”

“Yes, hyung.” Jimin answered. “I just couldn’t bring myself to get anything done yesterday with how emotional I was. Sorry.”

“Oh, come on, it was nothing. You already did so much for the company during the short time that you were here.” Yoongi answered. “A day of rest won’t be too much to ask for.”

Jimin nodded, choosing to fix his gaze on the pattern of the fabric of his pants, as he dragged his fingers across a particular spot just above his right knee. He felt ashamed not just because of his failure despite the older’s warnings, but also since he was letting his emotional struggles affect his work—which is exactly what he said he would not during his interview in the company.

“Well, you seem pretty calm about it.”

“I’m trying my best, hyung.” Jimin smiled. “I’ve got you and Taehyung. The world won’t stop just because my fake relationship did.”

Feeling the pain the younger was feeling at the moment, Yoongi stood up from his seat and decided to give him a hug. “I’m so proud of you, Jiminie.”

“I’m sorry, hyung.” Jimin apologized, letting himself be comforted by the older. “I should’ve listened to you and closed my heart for him when I still had the chance to.”

“No, no, you’re still fine.” Yoongi answered. “You shouldn’t be sorry. In fact, I think it’s one of your greatest strengths. Not many could easily love people. It may hurt you a lot, since falling in love doesn’t always end up well, but it’s better than not loving, don’t you think?”

The older’s words put a smile on the broken man’s lips. “Thanks, hyung.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Yoongi said, letting go of the younger. “You know… I’m actually a bit busy…”

“Yeah, yeah, I understand.” The designer stood up from his seat, getting ready to get back to his own department. “I’m also swamped with work right now, since I wasn’t able to get anything done yesterday. I’ll get going then.”

“Yeah, yeah. You better should.” Yoongi smiled. “And oh, tell Tae I said hi.”

“Tell Tae you said you love him? No problem.” Jimin teased the older, running out of the office when the department head starting taking his shoes off, probably to use as a deadly weapon.

Once he was back to his own department, Jimin went straight to the coffee machine to make two cups, one for himself and the other for Taehyung, remembering that the boy asked him to bring him a drink in case Jimin was going to get one. Arriving at his cubicle, he quickly set the cup of coffee down on the taller’s desk, who was at the moment busy with editing photos with earphones plugged in. Taehyung only flashed him a smile as thanks. It was more than enough for Jimin.

Once he was sure that Taehyung was already well-aware of the cup, so he would not knock it down accidentally, Jimin went back to his own work. He had a good feeling with himself—the one-day break actually did a lot for him, since he was now feeling extra productive.

A few hours quickly passed with him just working his off, and sooner than he had liked, lunch time came. He had already done a lot of work, compared to the usual amount that he could finish within the same amount of time before, but there was still a lot to be done.

But his stomach was already growling in protest, so he saved all his work and locked his computer before fixing his stuff. However, right before he was ready to leave work to treat Taehyung, his phone dinged again. His eyes widened at the name of the sender.

From:Seokjin-hyung

Jiminie! I’m currently at a restaurant near your office. Can we have lunch together? I need to talk to you about something.

“Talk to me about what?” Jimin asked himself, tilting his head to the side in confusion. He read he message once again, and noticed that the older did not mention about bringing his boss with him.

He was about to reply to Seokjin to ask him if he could bring someone with him when another message came in.

From: Seokjin-hyung

Just the two of us. Don’t bring anyone else. Is that okay?

Okay, now that made Jimin slightly nervous about meeting the CEO. He was going to ask him about it anyway, but seeing the text now made him think that it was not just going to be a casual lunch.

But it was not like he could say no.

He quickly sent a confirmation message to the older as he thought of whatever Seokjin could want to talk about with him. The thought of him finally finding out that he was not

“Hey, Jiminie,” Taehyung’s voice snapped the said boy out of his thoughts, bag already hanging onto his shoulder. “Your treat, right?”

“Oh my god, I’m sorry Tae.” Jimin apologized, frowning. He held up the phone to his friend to show him the Pink Princess’s leader’s request. “Kim Seokjin wants to have lunch with me.”

“Aww… that’s sad.” Taehyung pouted for a while, before smiling once again and taking the other’s hand onto his own. “It’s okay, there’s still a lot of time for you to treat me. Let’s go?”

“Oh, oh, I know.” Jimin stopped the taller from dragging him away any further. “Yoongi-hyung’s rather busy, and knowing him, he would probably skip lunch again to get more work done. Ask him out for lunch. He won’t say no to you.”

At his words, the space between Taehyung’s brows furrowed as he gave the idea a thought. After a few moments of pondering, he nodded to the other boy and grabbed his phone from his pocket.

“I’ll call him, then.” Taehyung said, smiling. “You can do first. You can’t make that CEO wait too long for you.”

“I know.” Jimin answered, beginning to leave the other and heading to the elevator. “I’m really sorry, Tae. I’ll treat you next time.”

“Yeah, yeah.” The other designer waved him away in dismissal. “Yoongi-hyung’s probably gonna treat me anyway.” He smiled his boxy smile at the other before Jimin disappeared around the corner.

Jimin waited in front of the general use elevator, right beside the special elevator leading to the topmost floor, and watched as the number began going down. He took his phone out from his pocket and quickly sent the music department head a message, and as he was doing so, the elevator dinged open, and Jimin walked into it to get to the lobby.

To: Yoongi-hyung

You can thank me later, hyung. ;)

From: Yoongi-hyung

Yah! You !

Well, thanks. You’ll be the best man in our wedding.

Jimin let out a chuckle at the older’s reply before putting his phone back into his pocket, and the looking up to face the elevator door.

The sight that met him made him internally curse all the powers in the universe as his heart sank, the lump in his throat growing unexplainably large as he tried to swallow down the sob that wanted to force itself out of his mouth. He needed to get out quickly. However, there was no one else in the elevator, and the soonest stop will already be the lobby itself.

It was not like it was going to take too long for the elevator to reach the bottom, but still. It did not stop Jimin from wishing that someone would enter the small space.

He quickly considered stopping the elevator right then and there so he could get off and just take the stairs down, but he realized it would not be a good sight for him. The other occupant of the elevator would probably think he was pathetically trying to escape.

Well, it was not like the younger did not think of him like that either way. The CEO thinking he was pathetic would not be much of a news to Jimin.

What was the boy doing in the general elevator anyway? Jimin again internally cursed at the maintenance staff for letting the special elevator be poorly maintained, because standing right beside him is none other than Jeon Jungkook himself. With his secretary busy tapping away on her tablet, probably still working on something.

And judging from the stern look on the younger’s face, Jimin could tell that even Jungkook could feel the awkwardness of their meeting.

Unfortunately for Jimin, the elevator did not open to let in any other employee along the way, so he had to endure the whole trip to the lobby, feigning indifference all the while. The door opening at the ground floor was like a breath of fresh air for the designer. Once he deemed it safe, Jimin calmly stepped out of the carriage and walked away, resisting the urge to look back as the door once again closed.

“They’re probably going to the parking lot below.” Jimin said to himself, taking a couple to deep breaths to stabilize himself again. He then continued walking out of the establishment, but on his way out, he overheard other employees talking among themselves.

“Oh my god, he’s really too nice to his secretary.” A female voice said in a soft, gossiping manner.

“I know right!” Another female voice agreed. “The CEO’s really known for having a bad personality, but when it comes to Ms. Hirai, he’s really nice.”

“I won’t be surprised to know they’re dating.”

“Yeah, me, too.”

“Yeah,” Jimin mumbled to himself, choosing not to stick around any longer and walking out of the building to the restaurant Seokjin asked him to meet at. “He’s straight, after all. They actually look good together.”

And as he walked along the sidewalk, he noticed Jungkook’s familiar car—the one they had used all the time when they were still fake dating—but this time, with Momo on the passenger seat.

“Yeah, definitely straight. And he likes Momo.”

When Jimin arrived at the meeting place Seokjin had set for the two of them, he immediately saw the older through the glass walls of the place, swiping through his phone. Jimin let out a breath of relief when he noted that the CEO was not bored yet, judging from his expressions.

The tingling of the chimes hanging above the glass door might have prompted the older to look up from his phone once Jimin entered the restaurant, also pulling out a warm smile from Seokjin.

“How have you been?” Seokjin asked as the younger took a seat across him. “I’m glad you could eat lunch with me.”

“A bit busier than usual, but nothing to keep me from enjoying a meal with you.” Jimin answered lightheartedly. “By the way, hyung, why are you even around this area? Did you have something to do here?”

“Nope, not really.” The CEO answered, confusing Jimin. The Pink Princess building was a good one-hour drive from the Wings building. There was no way Seokjin drove all the way to their place just so he could eat lunch with the designer.

“Then… why…”

“I actually came to talk to you about something.” The older answered, seeing the confusion on the other’s face. “But before that… you actually look different. Like you just recovered from an emotional breakdown.”

“W-What?”

“I’m pretty good at reading people, Jiminie.” Seokjin smiled, taking a swig from the glass of water next to him. “You can tell me.”

Jimin let out a sigh. He really looked up to Seokjin, and he really thought the older was a very sensible person he could trust and rely on. He did not want to lie even more to him, since ever since they met, the CEO was never short of being nice to him.

“Jungkook and I,” Jimin started, feeling his own jaw stiffening as an effect of simply saying the said man’s name. “We’re… breaking up.”

The table fell silent after Jimin confessed what was going on in his life. What he said was almost true—it was just that they did not truly break up, because they were not really dating in the first place.

Looking into the older’s eyes, the designer could see that Seokjin was thinking of things to say at such a sensitive situation, something that he had expected from him.

Their silence was broken by the arrival of a waiter, already placing down dishes in front of them.

“I can tell that you’re still… fragile from it.” Seokjin said, to which Jimin only answered with a nod. “Let’s not talk about the details now, since you’re probably uncomfortable to do so. Let’s eat first, and then we can talk about what I really came for, okay?”

“Okay, hyung, thanks.”

After that, the two began eating the food that Seokjin had ordered and paid for the two of them, much to the delight of the younger, since he knew just how much the food they were eating cost. It would still make quite a dent on his bank account even with the raise from the deal with Jungkook. It still made sense, too, since the CEO was richer and more importantly, older.

They finished eating after a while, with every single piece of the food the taller had ordered gone. They first had the table cleared before Seokjin started to talk about the main concern for their meet up.

He handed over a folder to Jimin, much to the surprise of the designer. For the CEO to actually bring papers to their meeting told the younger that what he was about to say was not just simple matter.

However, once he opened the folder, what was inside shocked him even more.

“I want to hire you.” Seokjin said in a stern voice, one which Jimin had never heard from him before. “I’ve seen what you’re capable of, and you seem very compatible with the people in our own design department.”

“But—”

“Before you decide, I’ll have to detail to you my offer.” The CEO continued, shutting Jimin up. “About the salary, name your price. And you know how well we treat our assets. I also understand that you live quite far from the Pink Princess building, so we’ll also be giving you a condo unit in the condominium that the company owns. It’s not that far from the company building, but we’ll still provide you with a car of your own.”

Jimin’s eyes flew open at the offer, finding it really hard to reject the proposal. The company was basically begging him to be a part of it, if the terms were anything to judge by. It was not that he hated his current working condition. As a matter of fact, he loved it. Wings was a good place to work at, and the salary was so much larger than what he had expected.

But now, he has the chance to double, or maybe even triple that wage. Also, he would not have to worry about finding a new place and spending to move, because they are already giving, note giving, not lending, him a condominium unit at one of the most premier places in the area.

And to be completely honest, he loved every moment he spent working in the design department of Pink Princess, especially with the people in there.

The offer was indeed, very, very tempting. However, he owed Wings a lot. He basically owed them his career. He owed Yoongi for giving him the opportunity to show his talents, which in turn attracted Seokjin’s interest.

And Taehyung, his best friend, was there. It was not like he could just leave him. Though he was sure his fellow designer would understand if he were to take the offer, but still…

He just could not decide that easily.

“Can I think about it, hyung?” Jimin asked, closing the folder. “I have some… considerations to take into account.”

“I know.” Seokjin answered, smiling. “It’s not like I was expecting you to answer right away. I know it’d take you some time to decide. Don’t worry, the offer will stand until you give us a definite response.”

After talking about the offer, Seokjin quickly excused himself from the younger, claiming that he actually had some work waiting for him back in the office. This actually made Jimin feel bad for the older, and made rejecting the offer even harder than it already was.

Up until he reached the building again and began working the afternoon away, the young designer could not take his mind off of the very tempting offer, the pros and cons of taking it. And the more he thought about it, the more taking the offer made sense to him.

Come dismissal time, he had rejected an offer made by Taehyung to hang out with him with Yoongi, in favor of both giving them some time together and giving himself time to decide on the matter at hand.

The only thing that had distracted him enough was when he once again, saw Jungkook’s car pass by him as he walked back to his own place. Momo was, again, seated on the passenger seat, and judging by their silhouettes, they were talking rather animatedly.

“God… do I really have to see this from now on?” Jimin asked himself, letting out a heavy sigh and kicking the pebble on the pavement. “If only…”

Wait.

Realizing another big benefit for transferring to Pink Princess, the designer started to really consider taking the offer. The distance would surely help with his problem. If he were to transfer, he would not have to see Jungkook and Momo getting close again. And avoiding an incident such as that of what happened in the elevator would not be a problem anymore.

Jimin took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead, both from the head of the day and the stress of thinking. The day was particularly humid, so once he reached his apartment, the designer was already practically drenched in sweat.

He internally cursed as he removed his top and tossed the wet button down shirt onto his laundry, which was already due for washing, since it was already overflowing and with the small space, its smell was also starting to fill the whole place.

Sighing, the tired man rounded his bed to grab a drink, but along the way, a loud curse left his lips as he bent down in pain upon hitting his pinky toe against the leg of the bed.

“Ah it!” Jimin groaned, standing up and reaching for the phone he had also tossed onto the bed when he undressed. He quickly searched for a contact and held the device against his ear.

“Hello, hyung.” Jimin swallowed thickly, knowing full well that once he had declared his decision, there was no turning back.

But he was tired. He was tired of how he lived his life at the moment, and if escaping from all the inconveniences and pain his current situation was causing him meant working at a place he had learned to love during their short collaboration, then he would be taking it.

“Hello? Jiminie?” Seokjin’s voice sounded from the receiver. “You called?”

“Hyung.” The designer looked around him, and his eyes landed on the empty box of pizza lying on the floor. He took a deep breath, and continued.

“I’ll take your offer.”