“That’ll be 6,000 won but for you, I’ll only accept 5,000.” -Kim Taehyung

Chapter 10: The bEaSt in Shining Armor

“Hope that girl’s alright,” Cindy muttered as she waited for Hamin. It felt rather awkward with Hamin gone to the bathroom, and all Cindy could do at the moment was pull out her phone and scroll through social media to pass the time.

“Misook…?” she heard a man’s voice and she froze before slowly turning her head to see who had called her by the name she hated. There was no way there would be someone who even knew of her actual Korean name, at least certainly not at the Hope’s World’s banquet, right?

“It is you, right?” the man asked again, his tone a little brighter. Cindy was about to retort back saying she didn’t know the “Misook” he was talking about but stopped when she finally took in who it was that was talking to her. Her eyes enlarged.

With his dark hair styled up and his big, bunny eyes contrasting against his rather masculine jawline and built body clothed in a suit, Cindy couldn’t believe who it was.

“Jungkook sunbae?” she covered with a hand. Jungkook grinned and nodded, “So you remember me?”

“How can I not…?” Cindy said, her eyes still big and her hand still on .

Jungkook laughed, but what Cindy said was pretty understandable. Jeon Jungkook was an upperclassman at Cindy’s high school: Persona High. The two knew each other because they were in the same art club their high school had every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. But when Jungkook moved his senior year back to his hometown in Busan, they had lost contact. Still, he was a sunbae very hard to forget. His athletic skills plus his artistic skills made him quite popular and the fact that he was good looking only increased his fans’ admiration for him. But of course, this was the same Jungkook who was now a fanboy of the great Jung Hoseok as well.

“I saw you from over there and recognized you right away. How have you been hoobaenim? It’s been what, four or five years, right?” he asked, sitting down next to her. She blinked.

“Yeah, I’ve been doing pretty well,” she said.

“Are you in college now?” Jungkook asked and Cindy nodded.

“What’re you majoring in?” he continued on the conversation.

“Graphic design,” Cindy replied.

“Ah, yes. You were quite the talented artist I remember,” Jungkook nodded with a smile. Cindy blushed at his compliment but shook her head.

“What are you doing here?” Cindy asked, realizing how they were in a place she never would have imagined meeting at.

“I work for Hope’s World, so of course I’d be here,” Jungkook shrugged before leaning in towards Cindy. Cindy widened her eyes and held her breath at his sudden movement.

“But I’m curious as to why you’re here Sook-ah,” he said, his lips still in a smile.

“I got invited as a guest, because my friend works for Jung Sajang-nim privately,” she answered, pulling back away from him. 

“Works for Jung Sajang-nim privately? Who is this friend?” Jungkook asked, quite envious of the fact that someone had more contact with his boss and role model than himself.

“Her name is Park Hamin,” Cindy answered as she shook her head, “You probably don’t know her.”

Then a question occurred to her and she looked at Jungkook with a raised eyebrow, “But wait, how come you’re working for Hope’s World? Aren’t you supposed to be in college too?”

“Oh,” Jungkook leaned back a little, “I actually got recruited last year after someone at Hope’s World saw my portfolio. I was majoring in graphic design like you too, you know.”

“Whoa...that’s amazing,” Cindy said genuinely. She always knew Jungkook was an excellent artist, but it surprised her to think that he was good enough to get hired by Korea’s number 1 game designing company. 

“So you quit school?” she asked, soaking in how admirable the man sitting beside her was.

“I mean, there’s no point of me going when I already have a job, right?” he shrugged.

“Wow, I sure look up to you even more now sunbaenim,” she said, clapping her hands and looking at him in awe.

“Nah, I’m sure you’re going to be an amazing artist too,” Jungkook nodded, patting her on the back. 

“Ah,” he suddenly looked as though he had something he remembered and reached for his phone in his pocket.

“Give me your number. We should definitely catch up more and hang out,” he handed her his phone. Cindy nodded with a smile.

“For sure,” she quickly typed in her number and called it, so that she could save Jungkook’s number on her own phone as well. Jungkook returned her smile.

“Okay. Let me save you as Misook—”

“No! Don’t call me by that name anymore,” Cindy exclaimed, startling Jungkook. He looked at her with his signature large, bunny eyes. 

“What? Then what do I call you by…?” he asked, confused.

“I go by Cindy now. I forgot to mention that when you called me Misook earlier,” Cindy responded in a calmer voice. Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows.

“Why would you use another name when you have such a nice one in the first place?” he asked, tilting his head.

“Are you kidding? Misook sounds so old fashioned; I hate it,” Cindy lowered her head.

“But I love that name,” Jungkook said gently, scratching the side of his face. Cindy looked at him in horror.

“Love that name? Why…?” she asked.

“My mom has the same name. And it’s so cute,” he answered rather bluntly, showing his bunny teeth. Cindy opened in shock.

“Oh I’m um, so...sorry...I had no idea…” she stuttered apologetically. She didn’t mean to diss his mother’s name by dissing her own.

“It’s fine,” Jungkook laughed at how flustered she was, “Just let me save you as ‘Sook’ then, hm? I want to be able to call you by your real name.”

“Okay…” Cindy gave in. She already felt bad that she offended him and his mother and decided that since he had already been calling her by her Korean name, there was no point in arguing against that. 

“Oh, the event is about to start. I’ll see you later Sook-ah,” Jungkook gave her one last smile before he got up and walked over to his own seat. Cindy just watched him, feeling weird to be called “Sook” in so long. And for some reason, maybe because it was her handsome Jungkook sunbae that called her by that name, it didn’t feel so bad.

***

“Hoseok-ah, are you ready?” Namjoon knocked on the door of Hoseok’s private dressing room. They were getting ready for their big night, and Namjoon had finished dressing up in his navy, silky three-piece suit. His silvery hair gelled up neatly and his eyes behind a pair of black-framed glasses.

Very classy.

“Yeah, come in,” Hoseok answered, all dressed as well. He was sitting on his chair, looking at his phone.

“Looking sharp my friend,” Namjoon commented playfully, eyeing Hoseok who just scoffed. Hoseok was in a slick, dark colored suit, but unlike Namjoon who wore a white shirt and tie underneath, he wore a plain black T-shirt. His whole outfit seemed to proclaim how it was themed black and his jet black hair was styled into a slightly messy comma. Still, he had a silver bracelet and shiny watch on his left wrist, along with a couple of silver rings on his fingers to give a slight accent to his overall look.

He looked quite dashing.

“Let’s go on in, since the banquet’s about to start in about fifteen minutes,” Namjoon said, looking at his watch. Hoseok slowly got up, putting his phone in his back pocket. He didn’t really want anyone to know that he had been debating whether or not he should text Hamin to make sure she made it safely just now. He cleared his throat and walked out his dressing room, following Namjoon.

“Is noona coming?” Hoseok asked Namjoon as they headed towards the elevators. It was usually Namjoon’s older sister that came as Namjoon’s “banquet partner,” but she was nowhere to be seen.

“Nah, she’s too busy. And so are all my other cousins. I’m going to be as date-less as you in this year’s banquet,” Namjoon said, teasing. Hoseok scoffed and the elevator arrived.

The two took the elevator down to the lobby floor, where the entrance of the main hall was located on. 

“Namjoon-ah, I’m going to stop by the bathroom; you go on in first,” Hoseok said, already changing directions. Namjoon stopped briefly before nodding, “Alright. Don’t be late.”

Hoseok was walking towards the hallway with the restrooms when he heard a voice.

“Which one of them is it?” it was a woman’s voice and Hoseok stopped, narrowing his eyes at the owner of the voice. He stood with just enough distance away to not be noticed by what he saw to be a group of girls standing and talking in front of the women’s room. 

“I don’t understand—” 

Hoseok heard another voice and his eyes grew big when he recognized it.

Park Hamin? he knitted his eyebrows. He took another step closer for a better look and indeed it was Park Hamin, standing defiantly in her gorgeous dress, looking like a dream. Hoseok felt his heart beat faster.

“Which one are you after? Just answer my freaking question,” the first woman’s voice reached Hoseok’s ear again and his face immediately grew cold. He didn’t like the way she was talking to Hamin.

“...are you the daughter of some famous corporation? ‘Cause you don’t look like it,” the woman continued. Hoseok ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek.

How the heck is she supposed to answer your stupid questions if you’re not shutting up to hear her out, he thought rather annoyed. 

He decided to wait a bit, until they were done. He had no idea why they were bullying Hamin, but he felt as though he had no right to intervene at the moment. It wasn’t until he heard himself and Namjoon being mentioned in the conversation when he just about had enough.

“Well Kim Namjoon may have thrown you some glances, but that’s only because he’s nice. I bet you tried to go for Jung Hoseok and realized how impossible it is for that cold beast to even acknowledge—” the girl was saying when Hoseok found himself already walked up to Hamin’s side, his hand around her waist to pull her close.

“There you are, babe. I’ve been looking all over for you,” Hoseok said with a smile. But his eyes were cold as they stared into the interrogator’s eyes. 

“Sorry ladies, do you mind if I take my baby now? I need her at her seat,” he continued, his voice smooth and his lips still in a smile. He wanted to show the girls standing in front of him that the “cold beast” they were talking about very much “acknowledged” the girl he had his arm around.

Because she made the impossibles happen, even if that meant giving the insomniac Hoseok sleep, or making Hoseok turn into a protective and caring beast.

“Thank you. Come on babe, let’s go,” he pulled Hamin along, walking towards the entrance of the main hall. He no longer had to go to the bathroom.

When he confirmed that she was alright, he stopped in front of the door, where a few security guards were standing.

“You see those four ladies over there?” he murmured to one of the guards in a low, quiet voice.

“Yes sir,” one of the guards nodded, his sunglasses faced towards the four girls that were now slowly making their way towards where Hamin and Hoseok were standing.

“Prohibit their entry. They’re no longer invited to this event,” he said and Hamin looked at him with large eyes.

“Yes sir,” the guard nodded once again and with that, Hoseok walked into the banquet hall, with Hamin right by his side. His hand was still on her waist.

“Oh there you are,” Namjoon came over to Hoseok from greeting guests as soon as they entered. He raised his eyebrows when he saw Hoseok’s hand on Hamin.

“And I see Ms. Park is with you. Glad you could make it, Ms. Park. You look absolutely stunning,” Namjoon said with a wink. Hamin blushed at that and nodded, “It’s all thanks to your help Mr. Kim. You look amazing as well.”

“Why thank you,” Namjoon did a small bow and Hoseok rolled his eyes, although he very much agreed with the fact that Hamin looked “absolutely stunning.”

“Let’s go to our seats,” he said and the three of them made their way to their table, where Cindy was patiently waiting.

But all eyes in the room were on them.

Of course, now that both the co-CEOs who hosted this grand event were in the room, who wouldn’t be staring at them? And not to mention curiously wonder who the girl sandwiched between the cold Jung Hoseok and the smiley Kim Namjoon was.

“Oh hello there,” Namjoon stretched out his hand when he saw Cindy sitting at their table. Cindy widened her eyes and stood up to grab it, bowing.

“You must be Ms. Park’s friend. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Kim Namjoon by the way,” Namjoon smiled, and Cindy nodded rapidly, “I’m Cindy Han. It’s an honor to be here.”

“Please, have a seat,” Namjoon gestured at her chair and soon, the four of them sat around their table, in the following order: Namjoon, Hoseok, Hamin, Cindy.

“When I said they’d make a grand entrance, I didn’t know you’d be a part of it!” Cindy whispered in Hamin’s ear, nudging her. 

“No, it’s not like that,” Hamin whispered back, “Mr. Jung saved me from some ladies in front of the bathroom just now.”

“He what?” Cindy raised her eyebrows but Hamin shook her head, “I’ll tell you all about it later.”

Just as the girls finished talking, the lights dimmed and a spotlight lit up the stage in the front of the room. Soon, a couple walked out, dressed as formally as everyone else in the room. They held mics in their hands and wore big smiles as the stood in the center.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the celebration of over one million sales at Hope’s World!” the man said in a bright tone. Applause was heard from all around, and Hamin and Cindy clapped as well. 

“What an honor it is to be able to host this event tonight. My name is Soobin and this is my co-MC Yeri,” the man continued once the applause had died down.

“Let’s begin with some food though, shall we?” the lady, or Yeri as introduced, smiled as she took the lead. “Dinner will be served shortly and we have our band here tonight that will be playing while we feast.”

“Then we’ll come back with a short introduction and a couple of speeches by our very own co-CEOs of Hope’s World,” the man, Soobin, took over again. “Then without further ado, bon appetit everyone!” 

The band began to play some jazz, and immediately the lights were back on and the whole room came to life. Chatter could be heard among guests, and waiters swiftly brought out fancy carts with steaming dishes on them.

“Hope you guys are hungry,” Namjoon smiled at Hamin and Cindy.

“Oh you bet. I can’t wait to try all the food,” Cindy grinned back, rubbing her stomach. Namjoon chuckled at that and soon turned to Hoseok sitting next to him.

“Let’s go around and greet the guests then, shall we?” he began to get up. Hoseok internally groaned but soon followed. Hamin looked at them with large eyes.

“Aren’t you guys going to eat though?” she asked.

“We usually eat after the event. It’s part of being the CEOs to not eat while everyone else does,” Namjoon explained kindly. Hoseok slightly nodded.

“Eat up Park Hamin,” he said, quiet enough so only Hamin could hear. She was startled at first, as that was something Taehyung usually said to her before a meal, but soon smiled at him, “Will do sir.”

Cindy raised an eyebrow at what she saw, but decided to pretend she didn’t see anything. She watched alongside Hamin as the co-CEOs of Hope’s World began to make their way around the room, bowing and shaking hands with some of the guests of the event. Namjoon had his usual smile plastered on his face, and Hoseok maintained his cold expression, giving rather solemn bows. Hamin found herself smiling at how different the two were, but how professional they both looked.

“Food’s here,” Cindy clapped as the waiters came around with their full course meal. She watched them as they set down plates of salad, steak, grilled vegetables, and even a glass of champagne on the table. The smell was as heavenly as the looks, and it wasn’t long before Hamin moved her eyes away from the co-CEOs and focused on the dinner laid before her.

“I wonder how our Mr. Kim Taehyung is doing,” Cindy said after the two of them had started feasting. Hamin stopped cutting up her steak and looked at Cindy.

“Why are you bringing him up all of a sudden?” she asked as calmly as she could. She had to admit that she didn’t want to think about him at the moment, when they were eating such delicious sustenance they probably couldn’t afford on a daily basis.

“Just curious, since I haven’t seen him in so long. When is he coming back again?” Cindy shrugged, reaching for her glass of champagne. 

“Probably this coming Wednesday, since he said he’d be gone for a week,” Hamin replied, resuming to cut up her meat.

“Is his mom feeling better?” Cindy asked.

“I don’t know, but I sure hope so. I haven’t texted or called him after he left,” Ham