Hello everyone! Here's another chapter for the story! I hope you like it... and sorry for taking a bit longer to update, since it's been a pretty stressful and busy week for me...
I will be taking graduate studies soon, too, so updates can become even less frequent :((

Anyways! Here is the chapter! Enjoy!(?)

26

“!” The designer cursed under his breath when the tip of his leather shoe caught a step of the stair that he had to ascend to get to the entrance of the company. He was already tired from all the rush early in the morning, but he was running late. He did not like it at all.

He liked being on time, and hated it when people were not. So he himself being late was already out of the question.

It made him feel so guilty.

Rushing even more, Jimin pushed past the rotating door and quickly greeted the guard before basically running to the elevator. He was just in time, since the lift doors almost closed on him, if it were not for its passengers taking notice of him and pressing the appropriate button on the panel.

Once in, he pressed the button corresponding to the design department floor before closing his eyes to catch his breath. Jimin then turned around to greet everyone else in the lift.

“Why are you in so much rush?” An older man asked, smiling at the panicked designer.

“I’m running late, sir.”  Jimin breathed out, checking the time on his phone.

8:01 AM

“Oh my god…” He groaned, tapping his foot against the elevator floor impatiently. He was tempted to rush out and take the stairs every time the lift stopped on a floor that was not his, but seeing that he was already late, either way, he would rather not unnecessarily tire himself even more.

Once the ding indicating the arrival on his floor was heard, Jimin rushed out, briskly walking to his department. He was only a few days into his new job, and he was already running late—it was not looking so great for him.

Turning the corner, he let out a loud gasp when he lost his balance upon colliding with a back of someone who was also just coming into the office.

The commotion made the rest of the design department turn their attentions from their works to the entrance.

“I’m so sorry, hyung!” Jimin immediately apologized to the older male once he realized what happened, helping Hoseok up from the floor. The long-faced designer still bore a confused look on his usually-smiley face, not really sure of what just happened. “I was just rushing too much because I am running late and—”

“Woah, woah, hold up.” Hoseok interrupted the younger’s ramblings, the usual smile already coming back to his face. “What do you mean you’re late?”

“Well, it’s,” the younger paused to take a look at the giant wall clock on one of the office’s walls. “8:05 already. My shift is supposed to start five minutes ago… I’m really sorry I just lost track of time because I was packing up.” He explained, bowing again to the department head, who only patted his shoulder.

“Jiminie, it’s okay.” The taller answered. “Look, I just arrived, too, right? As long as you’re doing well in your assignments, the company doesn’t really mind. You should know that by now!”

The newest addition to the team just stared at his senior for a few moments, a small pout on his lips. He did eventually nod in understanding that it was not really that much of a deal to everyone else. He was just being critical on his own sense of time.

“You’re fine, Jiminie,” Hoseok reassured the younger. “Just… go and fix yourself first in front of the mirror, then work on the day’s assignments, okay?”

And with that, the department head went to his own office, leaving the still slightly out of breath Jimin at the entrance. Everyone else already shifted their attentions back to their own works, faces showing little to no emotion as they concentrated hard.

Jimin, on the other hand, first went over to the full body mirror found near the entrance to fix his own appearance before heading over to his own station, which he had successfully decorated to his own liking. Seeing how other cubicles were decorated colorfully, along with the whole department office in general, he had decided to go for his favorite color, blue, as the main color for his little personal space. His coworkers had commented on how the lighter tints really felt like him, and he was happy.

The fact that it was so him made Jimin smile.

His day was off to a rough start, but seeing his workstation was already enough to fuel him to face the day.

Turning his designer mode on, the boy sat down on his chair and began checking his assignments for the day. He had successfully finished an assignment just in time for dismissal the previous day, so he was starting on a new one.

Scrolling through his options, a set design job for a music video piqued his interest. He then opened the files, and started conceptualizing for the set design which he could present to the rest of the department in their next meeting.

Then began the arduous task of performing research on trends that would fit the concept of the music he was designing a set for. He would have to make sure that the general feel was going to be different, but he was well aware that he could not be a hundred percent original.

“Hyung, cookie?”

The question made Jimin stop in the middle of his work, heart pounding, prompting him to snap his head to his side to come face to face with an actual cookie.

“Hyung.” Seokmin asked again, nudging the piece of sweet towards the older. “It’s for you.”

“Oh, thanks.” The older smiled, taking the food from the other man. “Thanks, Seokmin.” He said, receiving a bright smile from the said designer in return before he left to give more treats to others.

Once he was gone, Jimin turned his attention to the food in his hand, still a bit warm to touch. He let out a sigh before taking a bite from it, feeling the need for sugar to lift his mood which was ruined so early in the day. He was not supposed to still be affected by it that much.

“It’s just a freaking cookie, Jimin,” He sighed, hitting himself in the cheek. “No need to react too much to it. It’s almost disgusting really, stop it.”

He was the boss, after all, so it was technically fine for him to take a break for a while. It was not like him, but such random changes should be done more often for his recently less-than-optimal health.

Tossing the tablet into his mouth, Jungkook took a few gulps of water from his glass before setting it aside on his desk. The headaches were still there, and they were not getting better. At least the medications temporarily numb him to the pain, but he knew he could not rely on them too much.

Else he would run the risk of damaging his liver.

Once done with this vitamins and medications, the CEO turned to the two coats hanging in front of him, both of which he had shortlisted from his expansive selection of coats and tuxedos. He had selected them for entirely different reasons.

For the first one, he had picked out the black coat and matching pants that had the best quality and fit out of all his wardrobe. They were normal, yes, but he did not think his date would mind at all. If he chose the black outfit, it would maybe make the female more comfortable, since it was usual for him to wear other black suits.

On the other hand, was a not-so-new pair of red suit and pants. Or what he had begun calling the Menstruation Suit.

“Listen here, Mr. Red. I don’t know how your parents raised you. It was an accident, and the least you could do was accept my sincere apology a while ago and just shut that insolent mouth of yours. Now I don’t care how much money you have in your bank account, I am not afraid of you. And if anything, you should be scared one here, because that attitude of yours would make you end up alone.”

“Now, I won’t waste any more of your time, Mr. Menstruation Suit – ”

Jungkook remembered how irritated he was of the smaller man that day, but instead of frowning like how he did during their first ever meeting, the boss could not help but just smile at the fond memory.

Of course, Momo would not be so surprised by the red clothing either, since he had worn it more than a few times already. When the girl agreed to his invitation for a day off to be spent with just the two of them a few days ago, he had meant to use the time to simply get closer to his target.

However, he also realized that it was a good way to create new romantic memories that would maybe overwrite those that he made with Park Jimin in the past.

Re-associating one of his favorite outfits with a different memory would be awesome.

“Menstruation suit it is, then!” Jungkook blurted out, taking the said item from the hanger and heading to his office bathroom to get changed. After donning the white button up that went well with the rest of the outfit, the man put on his pants and finally the red coat.

Only then was he able to begin fixing his hair and applying a light layer of concealer onto his haggard skin to hide the bags that had begun forming under his eyes, as well as some of the zits that was mostly likely caused by his stress, lack of sleep, and weird meals.

He patted his skin a few times, smiling at his reflection before putting the product down. “Okay.” Jungkook said to himself, walking out of the bathroom to get ready. His secretary would be coming in any time soon, so he had to be prepared. The whole date thing was still new to him, since he never dated anyone when he was still younger. Except for him, of course.

Park Jimin did not count.

Jungkook thought of his fake relationship as a practice for the real thing. At least he was not going into his date with his secretary completely blank and clueless. He had Jimin to thank for that.

The boss was in the middle of double checking his wallet and its contents when the doorbell for his office door rang, indicating the arrival of his date.

Taking a deep sigh, Jungkook turned the intercom on.

“Come in, Momo.”

Jimin squinted his eyes, moving his face closer to the screen to see more closely. He was in the middle of performing final touches on a section of the set he was designing. Having only eaten a cookie given to him by Seokmin, his gut was already screaming at him to just eat already.

The workaholic side of the designer silenced those little grumbles his tummy made, and Jimin would not have even noticed that it was already time for the next meal of the day, if it had not for his workmate literally yelling at him.

“Hyung!”

The voice was, thankfully, loud enough to override the music blasting in Jimin’s earphones, making the designer stop in what he was doing to remove a bud and look at the source.

“It’s lunch time, hyung.” Soonyoung said, inviting the older to follow him to the rest of the group. “We’re already listing down our orders.”

“Oh.” Jimin looked down to the corner of his computer screen, the time of the day explaining the slight discomfort he could feel in his stomach. “I’ll just save my work, then.”

“Okay.”

Once the younger was away, he turned back to his work and quickly made a small color adjustment before hitting the save button and turning the screen off. He then grabbed his phone and wallet before standing up to join the rest of the team.

When he arrived on the table where everyone else was gathered, they were already in the middle to taking turns in telling Hyejin their orders. Staying on the outer edge of the mob, he silently thought of what he could have for lunch, checking the prices of the meal and taking note of the amount of money that he had in cash.

Deciding on having an order of kimbap and japchae, he approached the female and handed over the exact amount for his own food.

Upon completion of the list, Hyejin went ahead to make a call, leaving the rest of the department to have their chatters.

“Hey, Jimin!” Byulyi called the attention of the newest member, who turned his head to face her after talking with Seokmin about the cookie. “Will Jungkook-ssi join us anytime soon?”

The question made the designer’s usually-narrow eyes fly wide open in surprise, immediately feeling the familiar pain in his chest whenever the younger so crossed his mind. No one in the department knew of the whole thing yet—not that he was going to tell them, of course.

All they knew was that Jimin and Jungkook were an item.

And even in escape, the former was the one who had to settle things that arose from the pretend relationship. It was unfair, yes. Did Jimin know about it long before the problem rose?

Definitely.

As if his mind went short-circuit, the still-broken boy only stared back at all the eyes that patiently waited for his answer.

“Yeah, we kinda miss the kid, too, you know.” Joshua chimed in, curious about Byulyi’s question as well. “I remember his shocked reactions whenever we tease the two of them… so priceless!”

At the slim man’s words, the rest of the department chuckled as well, remembering how the famous CEO blushed beet red every time.

The recipient of the question, however, was paralyzed.

He did not know how to answer, so he just blurted out the first response that came to his mind.

“H-He won’t be eating with us anytime soon. Not anymore.”

Jimin answered the question with a soft voice, but it was enough to send the office into an awkward silence. Every second that passed felt like an eternity for the brokenhearted boy, his heart beat thumping with every movement that the hand of the wall clock made.

“Jiminie,” Hoseok broke the silence, approaching the younger. “Are you alright?”

“Yes.” Jimin immediately answered, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat. “I’m…” He trailed off, not really knowing what more to say. He looked around at the faces of the people who are expecting an explanation from him, though judging from their expressions, it seemed like everyone already knew what happened.

“You don’t need to answer the question, Jimin.” Wheein suddenly spoke up, attracting everyone’s attention towards herself. “Whatever happened between them,” She continued, eyeing Jimin who was looking at her with a confused, but thankful gaze. “It seems like it’s still fresh. Let’s not cause him any more pain, please.”

“Agree.” Byulyi added, clapping her hands once in an attempt to alleviate the heavy atmosphere. “I’m really sorry for that question haha let’s just forget about it.” She awkwardly laughed, rushing over to the still-frozen designer and giving him a pat on the shoulder. “Fighting, Jiminie!”

Said boy let out a sigh, feeling relieved that at least he did not have to lie to his newfound peers. He once again looked over to Wheein, thankful for her unsuspicious save. With her being Jeon Jungkook’s mole in Pink Princesss, it was only natural for her to know what actually happened.

It was also probably what happened when she made a dirty joke in the middle of a slip up in their act, sending everyone to a teasing spree and eventually flustering the usually calm and collected big boss.

“With which department is Seokjin-hyung going to have his lunch today?” Chan randomly asked, immediately changing the topic and initiating a debate among the members of the design department on what other department was trying to steal the CEO from them, the depressing trivia on the relationship between Jimin and Jungkook already pushed to the side.

And the designer from Wings could not be more grateful. With such people around him, it was only going to be a matter of time before he could finally forget about his ex-fake boyfriend.

From quite a distance, Jungkook already smell the scent of grilling meat. The neighborhood, he was not familiar with, but the woman he was with was too enthusiastic that he could not help but feel safe.

“It’s been some time since I last ate here.” Momo chitchatted, leading the way for the two of them to get to their lunch location. She had been the one to decide, as per her boss’s instruction.

Stepping into the place, the introvert in Jungkook immediately regretted letting the secretary choose. Just watching the sheer number of people inside the establishment was already inducing some discomfort in him. But Momo seemed really happy, so he would have to put up with it. He half-expected her to take the both of them to his usual corporate restaurant, but no.

Not even a minute has passed since they entered the place, and the CEO was already sweating buckets. Eyeing the several electric fans hanging above them, he wondered why there was no air-conditioner.

Momo looked at her boss worriedly.

“Sorry, sir.” She smiled apologetically. “It’s a pretty hot weather today so—”

“Oh, no, no, it’s okay!” Jungkook waved his hands in front of him, trying to reassure his date. “I just… didn’t expect this from you. But it’s fine!”

The female only nodded in understanding before proceeding to call a server to tell him her orders. The boss, on the other hand, contemplated first on his choice of outfit for a few moments before turning his attention to the laminated paper in front of him which had the list of dishes the place offered.

“I’ll have deep friend pig’s feet!” Momo ordered, completing the meal with a few side dishes that were meant to be cleansing for the palate. Her choice of food once again shocked her companion, unable to comprehend as to where the girl would put all that food.

“I have a pretty fast metabolism, sir.” The secretary gracefully informed the baffled male, already reading from his expression that he was surprised with the amount and kind of food she ordered. With her slender figure, Jungkook thought that she had the diet of a supermodel.

“I see.” The man answered, nodding. He quickly told the server his order—which was, of course, a grilled duck dish, which in his opinion could not go wrong and would not have much liquid that could spill and ruin his suit—before resuming his conversation with the girl. “You’re lucky you have a fast metabolism… I know someone who tends to starve himself to maintain his body, since he’s so conscious about it.”

“Oh, I know someone like that, too!” Momo answered. “Who are you talking about, sir?”

“Ji—” Jungkook stopped before he could completely say his name, internally berating himself for what he just did. “No one… you don’t know him.” He answered instead.

What was he thinking? Talking about an ex in front of a date?

Well, technically Jimin was not an ex.

Why was he even thinking about this?”

“Jimin-ssi?” Momo asked, smiling around the glass of water when Jungkook’s eyes flew wide open. In the years that the girl had been his secretary, she already knew what that expression meant.

Moments later, their food arrived, with a few almost-accidents on the part of the server due to the large density of customers in the place. With utmost care, the dishes were placed onto the table, with Momo double-checking if all the orders arrived.

Once sure, the pair started to eat.

“Sir,” Momo called the other’s attention. “Did Jimin-ssi tell you about that thing you said?”

“What thing?”

“The body insecurity thing… how he starves himself at times?” She asked, to which Jungkook nodded. “I see… he must have really trusted you a lot. You know, people don’t just open up about insecurities like that to people.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jungkook agreed, pulling meat away from the bone with his chopsticks. Truth was, Jimin did not really tell him anything about it. He just noticed during the few meals that they have shared that the boy tended to eat a lot less than everyone else around him, even though he clearly loved food.

Either that, or Jimin just did not have that much money to let himself eat properly. Jungkook did not know which was worse.

“Now that we’re here in this topic,” The secretary interrupted the boy’s thoughts. “I haven’t really seen Jimin-ssi for some time now… Do you have any updates on him, sir?”

“Well, I do have one.” Jungkook answered, not able to hide the sadness in his voice. “He resigned.”

After answering, he let out a sigh to get rid of the heavy feeling that rose in his chest. Momo continued chewing the pig skin in , and then swallowed it to respond.

“Oh, I see.” She nodded. She only continued eating her food and did not speak anymore, opting to make the most out the rare treat from her boss.

Jungkook, on the other hand, resumed his internal scolding, still berating himself for talking about someone else during his date with Momo, when he was supposed to get to know the female more and also share more about himself.

Wracking his brain for something to talk about, the CEO kept his silence until he came up with a question.

“Oh, uhm, aside from work, what else do you—”

“Oh my god!” His companion shrieked out as Jungkook felt something hot travelling down his back, prompting him by reflex to stand up from his seat.

“!” He heard a male’s voice mumble as he turned around, coming face to face with a young man carrying a nearly empty plate of a stew with an orange sauce.

The rest of the dish was already on the floor and on the CEO’s back.

“I’m so sorry, sir!” The server quickly apologized, his eyes filled with fear as he scrambled to take a towel from his pocket in an attempt to wipe Jungkook down.

Jungkook promptly took his coat off to look at the damage done, visibly cringing at the streaks of sauce still warm on the clothing. Everyone already had their attention on the commotion, watching as Momo sat up from her seat to take her side beside Jungkook and inspect his condition.

“What happened?!” Momo asked the culprit, who kept his head low between his shoulders, muttering apologies again and again. “We don’t usually get made at servers, but the coat is ruined! You just ruined the coat of CEO Jeon Jung—”

“Momo, stop.” Jungkook held the female back, stepping forward to take the situation into his own hands. It was what his secretary usually did—whenever something that would rile up the boss came up, it was Momo who would speak on his behalf to prevent him to saying words that could be used to judge his character.

On any other day, someone spilling something on him would definitely raise hell. But to his surprise, he was not mad. At all.

The server, on the other hand, was not doing that well. He looked like he was on the verge of breaking down.

“Hey, hey.” Jungkook approached the man, putting his hand on his shoulder. “Look at me.”

It took the guy a few moments, but he did eventually look up from the floor. His eyes were visibly shaking, and Jungkook could also feel the tremors through the boy’s shoulders.

“What’s your name?”

“J-Jimin, sir.” The server answered, his voice unsteady. “I’m Jimin.”

“Jimin.” Jungkook muttered, feeling the name rolling nicely on his lips. Something rose in his chest once he called the boy’s name, something that he had not felt for some time now. Something good and warm.

“You’re good. You’re okay, Jiminie.” The CEO said in a low voice, trying his best to comfort the still-shaking boy, who as he had suspected, was youthful, with his narrow eyes and button nose, and his lips that still quivered as he let out deep breaths.

“Oh my god, Jimin what have you done?!” An older, and harsher female voice resounded from the counter, garnering the attention of everyone. “Go to the pantry now!”

“O-Okay.” The server nodded, giving Jungkook another bow before scampering off and disappearing into the pantry. The old woman went over to the pair instead and quickly put on a well-rehearsed smile.

“I’m really, really sorry for what happened… my employee is still new, so he’s still bad at this.” She apologized, bowing to the CEO, who was still worried for the young man who stood before him.

“May I offer to have you coat washed, sir?” The adjumma offered, holding her hands out to ask for the red article. Jungkook nodded, and handed it over.

“Please don’t be tough on the server, okay?” He asked the woman, knowing full well that she would give her employee one hell of a scolding once they were out of sight. “It was an accident. The place is cramped, so he had difficulties carrying the dish.”

“Of course, of course!” She nodded, sauntering off and disappearing behind the counter with Jungkook’s coat. Once she was gone, the boss returned to his seat and resumed eating.

“Sir,” Momo called his attention, also taking her seat once more. “Are you alright?”

Jungkook nodded. “It’s a shame… that coat is kinda… special.” He answered, already regretting his decision to wear the menstruation suit. He would be sad if the said clothing was damaged. He should have just worn the more expensive one.

“Well, you actually do really look like you’re okay.” Momo commented, lifting the pork leg with her hands and bringing it to to take a bite. “Normally, you would have already stormed out and broken such a small business down.”

The man frowned at his secretary’s words. “Hey, I’m not that bad!”

“Well, not anymore, at least.” She retorted. “You really changed so much in such a short time.”

Now that made Jungkook’s brow quirk up. “What do you mean?” He asked, curious as to in what way he changed.

“I don’t know, sir… towards the end of the competition for the partnership with Pink Princess, you just… became warmer… Kinder and calmer, over all.”

“Oh.” The male nodded, understanding what Momo meant. He, too, had noticed the change it had brought in his life.

Not the Pink Princess deal, but his arrival.

Jungkook let out a sigh before resuming to eat his duck dish. For some reason, his thoughts kept on going back to Park Jimin, and it was starting to understand what was happening.

And he was scared.

“I know.” He finished. “He changed me.”

Squinting his eyes in front of his computer screen, Jimin finally snapped an element into its perfect place. He let out a sigh of relief, and immediately pressed the keyboard shortcut to save the file, and export it to an uneditable file format.

He finished the details of one setting for the music video that he was designing for, and it took him just about the whole day, as the clock revealed. It was unusually work-intensive, since he only managed to finish one part in a whole shift. Back in Wings, he could at least do two or three tasks within a day when Jungkook did not need him for the Pink Princess deal, since the tasks were simpler and shorter.

He really should change up his strategy, and maybe work on something else.

“Hey everyone!” A voice suddenly called out in the department, perking the attention of everyone in the office. Jimin looked and stood up from his chair to see above the divider to see Joshua standing right in front of the idea board, design concepts already posted.

Once everyone was already in front of the said designer, he explained the crisis in his case.

“So, as you know, I was working on a wedding concept for a celebrity, right?” He asked, to which everyone responded with a nod. “So, I came up with two designs, but I couldn’t decide which one to present to the couple.”

“Oh, the ocean themed one.” Chan spoke up, pointing at the group on photos on the right. “It’s refreshing, since I have not seen one with that theme yet.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t really suit the couple.” Hyejin spoke up, nodding to herself and scanning the two set of photos. “They couple has a pretty calm aura around them, so I feel like the sky theme would suit them more.”

“They’re both blue.” Seokmin randomly added, causing Soonyoung to hit him on the shoulder for stating something not-so-relevant. “You didn’t let me finish!” He protested, hitting the older back. “What I was saying is, while they are both blue, the hue is very different and would give off a different feel. The lighter tint from the sky-themed design gives off a serene feel, while the deep blues from the ocean setting are bubblier and more playful.”

“Agree.” Jihyo nodded, moving to take a closer look at the two designs. “Tho in contrast to Hyejin-unnie’s suggestion, I think I would go for the bubblier theme, cuz it would be more… refreshing? It would show the side of the couple that isn’t really that explored.”

“What did they say during the consultation, anyway?” Jeongyeon asked Joshua. “They must have some sort of preference, for sure.”

“Oh yeah, wait.” Joshua answered, whipping his phone out from his pocket and checking. “They said they want something that they would not forget.”

The office fell into silence after his answer.

“That’s it?” Jeongyeon asked, to which the man replied with a shake of his head.

“I also got to know their love story… how they met and all that. They described the feeling as something like… ‘being doused in refreshing water in a desert’ and ‘sunrise after a sleepless night’.”

“Damn they’re peotic.” Wheein chuckled, earning a laugh from the group. “But based from that, I’d go with the ocean theme. It would showcase another side of them as a couple, which adds an element of timelessness to the wedding.”

“Oh… I see your point.” Hyejin nodded, groaning afterwards. “Ugh… now I’m confused.”

“But if we go for the sky theme, and pull it off really well, it’d be a lot better.” Soonyoung pitched in. He then turned to Jimin and asked what he thought.

“Well,” Jimin trailed off, looking at the two concepts. They were both good in his eyes, and whenever one person made an argument, he found himself changing minds. “First of all, great job, Joshua.” He started, commending the other designer for two great concepts that both represented the couple. “For me, though, it’s… uhm…”

“What’s going on here?” Hoseok suddenly intervened, having noticed the gathering from his office. His arrival relieved the newest designer, since he did not really have an answer yet. “Are you guys discussing the wedding assignment?”

“We can’t decide on a concept, sir.” Joshua answered, sighing. “Whenever a point is brought up, the decision changes!”

“Then, in that case,” Hoseok stepped forward, coming closer to the board. “A, B, when I point at you, choose one, go!”

“A.”

“B.”

“A.”

“A.”

“B.”

“A.”

“B.”

“B.”

“A.” Jimin finally blurted out, Hoseok’s pen pointing at him. He just gave out the answer that felt right for him in the current time.

“So, your colleagues chose the one on the left, Joshua.” Hoseok turned to the designer, smiling. “Sometimes, when the brain goes back and forth between A and B, yes and no, black and white, you will have to stop using the brain and just go for it.” He smirked before sauntering off back to his office, leaving the group of designers baffled.

“So… sky theme?” Soonyoung asked, to which Joshua only nodded. Then, the alarm for the end of the day sounded, prompting everyone to start going back to their stations to pack up, while Joshua proceeded to remove his designs from the idea board.

“If the head can’t decide, just go for it.” Jimin repeated to himself, walking back to his own cubicle with the older’s words in his mind. The statement was really so him, he thought, since Hoseok had always been a person full of heart.

“Hyung!” Chan suddenly intercepted him, shoving his phone onto the older’s face. “You’re single now, aren’t you?”

Jimin looked at the smiling boy, confused as to what he meant. They did talk about it during lunch, but he did not know Chan was the type to remember such things.

“Well… yeah.” He nodded, only then taking notice of the flame icon showing on the younger’s phone.

“You see, there’s this app called Tinder, where you can meet people online! It’s an online dating app!”

“I know Tinder, Chan.”

“Yeah, yeah, but you should try it!” The shorter of the two said, taking his phone back and putting it into his pocket. “I can see that you’ve been down lately… Maybe meeting other people would help, you know?”

Hearing the younger’s words, Jimin could not help but smile at his thoughtfulness. He reached out and ruffled his hair before resuming his walk to his own cubicle. “Thanks, Chan. I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.”

“Cheer up, hyung! Fighting!”

Once he was back in his own station, Jimin let out a sigh. “So it’s already showing to everyone else around me…” He said to himself, cleaning up his place and saving all of his work. He knew that he really should not be bringing his own personal problems to work, since he could affect the moods of everyone else around him. But he just could not help it. He was still deeply affected by what happened between him and Jungkook, and it was not like he was ever good at hiding his feelings.

Speaking of him, the designer already did not have any kind of update about the young CEO. His active avoidance of updates about the younger helped in keeping him distracted, but now that he thought about him again, Jimin could not help but ask.

“I wonder what he’s been doing lately…”

He blew out a hot breath onto his own hands as another gust of cold night wind swept past him. His feet kind of hurt—probably from walking around too much and also driving in his working leather shoes. They are not exactly the best for such all-day trips.

Well, now at least he knew what to wear for their next date.

“Here, sir.” Momo interrupted the CEO’s words, handing over an ice cream cone. Jungkook took the sweet into his hand, and thanked the girl.

“It’s Jungkook.” He reminded the female. “I told you to call me ‘Jungkook’ when we’re outside work.”

Momo just smiled, taking a bite from her own ice cream. “I just remembered… I haven’t organized your schedule for tomorrow.”

“Yeah… we were out the whole day.” Jungkook answered. An awkward silence on the part of the man ensued right after his response, making him internally cringe. It had been Momo who did most of the talking and conversation-initiating during the duration of their whole date, which irked the boss. The day went completely differently from what he had envisioned, and while he still enjoyed it, it was not exactly that great.

He accepted the fact that he was just socially awkward as of the moment. He would change, eventually.

Jungkook took a look at his secretary, who was already pricking one of the colored balls in her cup with a plastic fork. “What do you have there?”

“Oh, it’s mochi ice cream!” The girl answered enthusiastically, showing the other. “Do you want one?”

“Nah, I’m just curious.” Jungkook answered. He then took a look at his own vanilla and blueberry ice cream, which was already starting to melt into his hands. It was not supposed to be melting yet—not with how cold the night air was.

“Yah, Jungkook.” Momo called the man’s name, tapping him on his shoulder. “It’s the server from the restaurant where we ate lunch!” She exclaimed, pointing at the said man with her fork. And true enough, Jungkook found the young man named ‘Jimin’ walking slowly several meters from the bench where they were seated, kicking some pebbles along the way and wiping his nose with his bare hands every now and then, probably from the cold.

“Jimin!”

Said guy looked up from the ground, and looked around for the source of the call. Jungkook, on the other hand, figuratively clasped a hand over his own mouth after realizing what he had just done.

Why did he call the guy? What was he going to say?

Said Jimin, on the other hand, finally found a pair of familiar faces, in effect his own getting contorted with a mixture of fear and defeat.

When the said expression registered in the CEO’s mind, he instinctively started feeling guilty for whatever reason. The guy hesitantly approached the two on the park bench, and bowed when he was finally in front of them.

“I’m really sorry for what happened earlier.” The boy apologized with a small voice. “It really was an accident.”

“We know, don’t worry about it.” Momo answered, smiling warmly at the young man. “Look,” she continued, showing her boss’s coat that she now had draped around her own shoulders. “The coat is clean and fine now, it’s no big deal.”

As the two continued to talk about the mishap earlier during the day, Jungkook kept on looking at the guy. While they were not look-alikes, the Jimin who stood before him apologizing again and again really reminded him of Park Jimin, the sweet and small guy who was once his boyfriend.

Fake boyfriend.

The Jimin in front of him also had the soft and warm feeling around him which made everyone around him protect him. It was the aura that made the CEO want to kick himself whenever he caused any form of distress on Park Jimin.

“Why do you look so down?” Jungkook suddenly spoke up, gaining the attention of the two. “I mean… we’re fine with what happened. You don’t have to punish yourself about it too much.”

“I got fired, sir.” The boy revealed, letting out a burdened sigh. “The owner fired me, so now I don’t have a job to pay university and living expenses.” He explained, looking even more down than before now that he actually had to say it in words.

His response made the pair turn to each other in surprise, remembering full well that Jungkook had told the owner to not be too harsh on the server. She still fired the young man, and now he could not even pay for… really, anything.

“Momo, give him your contacts.” Jungkook said to the female, his gaze hardening to that of determination. He then turned to the man, who had his eyes wide open in shock. “We’re giving you a job.”

“R-Really, sir?” Jimin stuttered, his feet not being able to take the information well, causing him to slightly stumble back in pleasant surprise. “Y-You’re hiring me?”

“Yes, I am.” The CEO answered, motioning for Momo to give him her business card. “Come to the Wings corporate building tomorrow, you do know where that is, right?” He asked, to which the guy only responded with a cute enthusiastic nod as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “Good. Tell the guard that I wanted to hire you, and show that business card to him or her, whoever the guard is.”

Hearing the generous man’s words, Jimin could not help but fumble with his phone case to put the business card into it, clasping the phone close to his body right after to protect the said card.

“Thank you so much, sir!” The boy bowed again and again, going even so far as to actually kneel on the ground to give the pair a deep bow, to which both Jungkook and Momo responded by standing up to stop the boy from bowing so low.

After a few more snotty and tear-filled ‘thank you’s and ‘sorry’s, the boy finally left upon Jungkook’s signal that he was already free to go back home to rest after a “surely stressful day”, as Momo had put it.

That left the pair alone with each other, once again, with nothing to talk about coming to Jungkook’s mind. Another gust of cold wind made him want to suggest going home already, until Momo spoke up.

“He really feels like Park Jimin-ssi, right?” She asked the man, shoving another one of the desserts she was eating into . “And that is why you’re really, really kind towards him.”

“What?”

The secretary chuckled, putting down her cup onto her lap and turning on her seat to face her boss, who had a confused face plastered onto his face. “You’re kind to him, because he reminds you of Park Jimin.”

Jungkook gulped, not really knowing how to respond to her. “Well… i-it’s as you said! I changed, and I am kind now!”

His response made his secretary burst out into a full-blown laughing fit. Jungkook scowled at her.

“The legendary Jeon Jungkook stuttered?” Momo pointed out, laughing again. “See? I knew it! All along, I was wondering why you were all of a sudden different when Park Jimin was involved! At first, I thought you were just curious about his background or something, but then when we were in the Pink Princess anniversary dinner, your eyes were all hearty and loving whenever you looked at him!”

“I-I wasn’t—”

“Oh come on, sir!” Momo exasperatedly rolled her eyes, earning a scandalized look from the younger. Did his secretary really just rolled her eyes at him?

“I really don’t understand why you guys aren’t together yet, you know! You love the guy too much you don’t even know how to function when he left, and Jimin-ssi, from what I saw, also feels the same way! Korea is already in the twenty-first century! It’s completely okay to love someone, regardless of gender, nowadays!”

“Oh.” Jungkook opened his mouth, surprised at the observations that his secretary, who had known him for a long time, had revealed. He never really noticed that he was different when it was about Jimin—in fact, he always thought that he was being too harsh on the cute and small hyung.

Oh.

“Oh my god, you’re just getting it now, aren’t you?” Momo sighed. “You know, when we are conflicted with something because of our brain, it’s good to try and listen to the heart. So, do you love him?”

“Do I love him?” Jungkook asked himself out loud, and almost immediately, he felt some sort of warmth within him, his chest starting to pump a little harder in the most pleasant ways he did not even know was possible.

“Oh my god… Momo I’m really sorry!” Jungkook suddenly blurted out, standing up and giving the girl a bow. “I was really trying to date you today but my mind has been filled with Jiminie-hyung the whole day and I don’t know what to do anymore!”

“You were trying to what?” Momo asked, comically surprised at the man’s words. “I thought you just wanted to hang out as friends!” She laughed, pushing the other’s shoulders up as she was not used to him bowing to her. “But it seems I helped in making you realize your true feelings. Ahhh… that feels good!”

“Can I like… take you to your house now?” Jungkook asked, fixing himself hurriedly. “Oh my god, I love Jiminie-hyung…”

“Yes, you do.” Momo answered, collecting herself as well and checking the bench for anything that they might have dropped. “Let’s go then? So you can start chasing Jimin-ssi!”

“O-Okay.” Jungkook answered, blushing at the thought. He already knew Jimin loved him, too, so he now just had to call or go to the older’s house to talk to him and apologize.

God. He thought. Why did I even take so long?

Once the two of them are already in the CEO’s car, Jungkook immediately started driving to where Momo was residing to take her home. Along the way, he had already tried to contact Park Jimin through his car phone, but to his dismay, the number could not be reached.