Chapter Text
The sky was surprisingly clear today.
He looked at the clouds slowly moving in the blue horizon while lazily balancing a pen between his nose and upper lip, the action making his face scrunch cutely.
Jeon Jungkook was bored out of his mind.
He was slowly losing his patience as he waited for the bell to ring that’d signal the end of their last lecture today. He was tired, he always is, but he felt a bit different today.
Maybe it was because of seeing a clear blue sky in the midst of monsoon season, maybe it was because of his father informing him and his mother about bringing a new business partner to dinner tonight, whose identity he decided to keep as a surprise. Or maybe it was something completely different.
Nevertheless, he heaved a sigh of relief when the bell finally rang and set him free for the day, quickly grabbing his bag from where it was leaning by the desk as he made his way out of the campus, not willing to have lunch in the uni cafeteria with his friends today. He wanted to go home and have lunch, then pass out on his bed till dusk.
He’s sure Hoseok & Seokjin would understand, they’re his besties after all. The three of them met in high school, with Jungkook being the beloved maknae of their group. They treasure and spoil him a lot, probably more than his own parents ever did.
Jeon Jae-sung and Jeon Na-rae treat their son like a trophy. Although his mother has been emotionally available for him whenever he needed, his father couldn’t care less about anything except Jungkook’s education, Jungkook’s exam results, Jungkook’s social reputation….he was going to inherit the Jeon Motors Enterprise, after all.
It was mentally exhausting to have to listen to his father and be controlled by him in each & every aspect of his life, but nineteen years of living like this had made him immune to it.
Jungkook had a mundane routine. Wake up, go to college, come home, eat, study, sleep and repeat. The only changes in his days were when Jae-sung would bring new or potential business partners at home for dinner, but he couldn’t care less about them trying to smooch off each other’s fortunes.
He felt the same for the person coming tonight. He’ll be the same — wrinkly old men with their expensive watches and cashmere suits and people-pleasing attitudes — Jungkook was sick of this. But it wasn’t his place to complain, and he has to learn to deal with such people in a matter of a few years anyways.
When he reached home, he wasn’t surprised to see all the maids rushing around the mansion to wash, sweep, lick — whatever it took to make the place look sparkling clean. They were so busy doing their work that no one stopped to serve Jungkook lunch, but he wasn’t fazed by it. He likes to do things on his own, it makes him feel independent and in control of his own choices.
After having lunch, Jungkook just drops by his mother’s study to see her busy talking to someone on the phone, letting out a sigh before he makes his way to his own bedroom.
Nothing feels as soothing & safe as laying on his bed to him, scrolling through some brainrot reels before succumbing to a much-needed nap.
It’s already 7 pm when he is woken up by his mother, making him get up from his bed and start getting ready to look presentable for the important dinner tonight. He takes a short bath, puts on a white shirt and checkered trousers, gives his hair a neat parting and then makes his way to the living room, seeing Na-rae nervously pace to-and-fro by their grand sofa set.
“When are they arriving, eomma?” Jungkook asked her dryly, trying to feign interest. His mother saw right through him and sighed.
“Jungkook-ah, I know you hate these business dinners at home but please be a good boy like you’ve always been and try to develop some interest, alright?” There was a firm yet sensitive tone in her voice as she spoke, “Observe what all your father does and learn from it, you have to do the same when you inherit his business empire, after all.”
“I know.” He replies dryly yet again, rolling his eyes at Na-rae’s words when she turns around at the sound of their doorbell ringing.
“They’re here, Jungkook-ah. Get up and welcome them with me, come on.” Letting out the nth sigh today, Jungkook hesitantly gets up and walks behind his mother who is rushing to open the door, quickly fixing her hair and straightening her midi skirt before doing so.
When he catches up to Na-rae, he does not expect to see her greeting a young-looking man standing beside his father. He’s nothing like the stinking rich oldies Jae-sung has brought home in the past…he’s rather handsome.
Dark hazel eyes, luscious curls, a charming smile. Clad in an all-black suit, the man didn’t look any less than a Greek god with his fine facial features and perfectly complimenting stature.
The moment Jungkook’s eyes met his’ , he understood why he was feeling a bit different earlier in the day, a bit more restless than tired.
“Good evening, Jungkook-ssi. Your father told me a lot about you on the way here.” The man held his hand towards Jungkook as he continued — something about his deep, honey voice bringing a calm to the younger’s mind, “My name is Kim Taehyung, but please feel free to address me as you wish. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
As they shook hands, the warmth that emitted from their interaction made Jungkook feel…safe. He couldn’t pin-point an exact reason for this feeling, but it felt nice. There aren’t many nice things or situations in the younger’s life to be content about, but having a family dinner with Taehyung felt oddly calming.
He’s never felt this way before, except when he is with his best friends. Taehyung seemed to bring a sort of liveliness to their dinner, effectively using his people skills.
There was a stark difference between how he versus the businessmen from the past house dinners behaved with the Jeon family. Although it was too early to say, Taehyung seemed genuine in his efforts to get along with the three of them.
While others, as old as in their 60s, stuck with their people-pleasing attitudes despite having reasonably reputable status, Taehyung — even with his extremely sought-after personality in the business circle and the fairly young age of twenty-nine — remained humble and true to his actions & words.
He was quite attentive when Jungkook was told to share a few bits about his educational background with him, a warm smile on Taehyung’s face as he nodded along to each & every achievement of his.
Jungkook wasn’t used to such dedicated attention. It made him falter in his speech a bit, getting a glare from his father at that. But it didn’t matter, because Taehyung’s ever-warming smile was there to ground him.
Without many words but with soothing gazes & grins, the two of them had built a fast connection during the dinner. Now, Jae-sung had taken the man out to the gazebo in their front lawn garden while Jungkook stayed back with his mother in the house, sitting on the kitchen counter as he watched Na-rae pour wine into two glasses and then place them on a fancy tray.
“Ice?” He got down and walked to the fridge to fetch his mother some ice for the wine, getting a head pat from her at his thoughtful contribution. “Want me to bring it to them?”
“If you want to.” Na-rae smiled at him, handing her son the tray. “Be careful, take this extra glass just in case.”
“You’re not joining them?” Jungkook inquired curiously, getting a negative nod from his mother along with a tired smile.
“I’m a bit tired, you go ahead. Tell your father I’m going to bed.”
“Oh, okay. Good night, eomma.” They headed out of the kitchen together as Na-rae gave her son a quick forehead kiss before they separated ways, smiling at Jungkook while she watched him walk over to the gazebo and be told to sit with them. Her smile dipped into a yawn as she retired herself to the bedroom, feeling content with how everything went surprisingly smooth tonight.
‘ Surprisingly ’ as in she didn’t have to hear her son talk rubbish about how his father had brought such mind-numbing and kiss-ass business friends or partners at dinner, unable to resist giggling and sighing at his complaints at the same time.
Tonight was not the same. Well, it was quite the opposite. Na-rae was pleasantly surprised to hear good words coming from Jungkook’s mouth about Taehyung, feeling glad that he implemented her advice.
Perhaps he did more than just implement it, not only taking interest in what Taehyung does but also feeling quite comfortable and inspired by his warm & effervescent nature.
“Mr. Kim here is going to invest a huge amount of capital in our enterprise so we can go even higher and gain international popularity.” Jae-sung cheered as he took a good sip of his wine, already on his third fill. “We should celebrate! Jungkook, pick up a glass for yourself.”
“U-Umm…but appa—”
“It’s okay, no one cares that you’re below the drinking age here. Just celebrate with us, listen to your father.” He was being rather stubborn over wanting his son to drink with them, pouring the boy a glass and then shoving it in his direction.
Jungkook didn’t like wine at all , but he didn’t want to piss his father off. Taehyung could see the underlying disgust in the younger’s face as he accepted the glass of wine, feeling a bit sad for him.
“Just do cheers with us, take a sip and then pour the rest in my glass, yeah?” He whispered over to Jungkook sitting on the chair adjacent to him, going thankfully unnoticed by Jae-sung who was checking his phone for an important email he had just received.
The younger gave him a warm smile. “Thank you, Taehyung-ssi.”
“Come on, no need to be so formal . Just call me hyung or something, I’m only ten years older than you.” They shared a chuckle as Taehyung air quoted the word ‘ formal’ , his attempt at making Jungkook crack a smile indeed successful.
But the smile faded out soon when his father spoke. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Kim. I have to take an urgent call, but I’ll be quick. Jungkook, engage with him and learn something till I’m back.”
The two of them watched Jae-sung stride back into the house, wondering about the reason behind the urgency of his call. But Taehyung soon shifted his thoughts and attention to the younger in front of him, wanting to see the cute bunny-like smile on his face again.
“Fathers can never have enough of giving their children a hard time, huh?” He tried to initiate a conversation, earning a chuckle from the other at his statement.
“Tell me about it.” Jungkook scoffed as he accidentally took a big sip of his wine, immediately cringing at the sour sensation and then keeping the glass on the tray, pushing it far away from him.
His rather cute reaction made the elder laugh just a bit before his face turned slightly sombre. “Really wish I could tell you about it. I lost my parents a few years ago.”
“Oh shit, I’m so– NO – I mean s-sorry! I’m so sorry for your loss!” Jungkook internally cursed himself for faltering again, feeling embarrassed as he hid his face in his palms.
“Hey, come on, it’s okay.” Taehyung patted him on the shoulder to assure him that it was fine, following the action with a personal anecdote from his past when he himself had gone through a similar, silly situation like this.
He managed to bring a smile on Jungkook’s face again with that, and couldn’t help but point out the fact that it resembled a bunny’s.
“Your smile really reminds me of bunnies.” Taehyung casually passed the comment, making the younger’s cheeks go pink. “Your nickname should be bunny…or bun. Do your parents call you that?”
“Uh, no…my parents have never called me that. But my friends have pointed it out a few times before.” Jungkook’s response made the elder pout momentarily, perhaps the wine had started to hit him.
“You have good friends, keep them close.” He shared a little piece of wisdom, giving the younger that warm smile he’s grown to be fond of in just a few hours. “Tell them to call you bun. It suits you.”
“Okay, Taehyung hyung.” Jungkook had a bright smile on his face as he called the elder that, “Or should I say Taehyungie hyung?”
“Hey, that suits me!” They shared a hearty giggle at their cute conversation, but their voices soon drained out when a thunder suddenly roared in the night sky and heavy rain started pouring, making their laughter stop.
“Oh, I think we should go in. Appa might get worried about you.” His words fell faint on Taehyung’s ears as he watched him grab an umbrella kept in a basket by the entrance of the gazebo, signalling him by a show of his hands to come over.
“Take this umbrella, I’ll come behind you. Doesn’t matter if I get wet.”
A frown formed on the elder’s face at his unreasonable sentence. “What do you mean? It does matter because I don’t want you to get sick, bun.”
The sudden use of the nickname brought a red tint to Jungkook’s ears.
“B-Bun?”
“Can’t help it, I guess. Now let’s go together.”
Taehyung took the umbrella from him and swiftly opened it before pulling the younger in its shade, one hand holding the umbrella while the other arm held him close by his shoulders.
Maybe it was the rain, or maybe it was Taehyung being so caring & considerate that brought the feeling of immense comfort to him, almost making him tear up.
Even if for just this moment, just this night — Jungkook could say he had never felt so cared for and safe with a man before. Of course there were his best friends, Hoseok & Seokjin, but with Taehyung it just felt different .
It was indescribable. Such things always are. It’s not everyday that a complete stranger comes into your life and becomes so much to you in just one night.
But it wasn’t just one night. When they were seeing off Taehyung an hour later, he whispered a promise to Jungkook that he would try his best to come over again as soon as he can so he succeeds in giving him a good break from his father’s taunts & lectures one more time. And many more times.
And luckily , Jae-sung was too busy calling one of their chauffeurs to drop Taehyung home, letting the whispers go unheard again.
——— ✦❘༻༺❘✦ ———
Jungkook woke up with a smile the next morning. Not paying much heed to the reason he felt content, he went on with his morning routine — brush, bath, breakfast and then off to the university.
He didn’t feel bored in his lectures today, rather he paid attention in class and even answered some of the professors’ questions. When afternoon came and the last bell rang, Jungkook texted his best friends to have lunch together in the uni cafeteria. The trio soon gathered around and sat on a table near the windows, munching on their food while each of them shared about how their day went.
“I winked at professor Kim and he literally blushed in front of the whole classroom.” Seokjin gushed to the two about his sweet moments with his professor crush Kim Namjoon today, a pink tint settling on his handsome face as he shared.
“Yeah yeah we get it he is in love with you, now shush. Jungkookie, how was your day? Why didn’t you join us for lunch yesterday?” Hoseok told the eldest to shut up as he urged their maknae to speak, making a cute pout appear on both their faces.
“Didn’t feel like it, sorry hyung.” Jungkook apologized as he took a bite of his tteokbokki, getting a shoulder pat from the elder. “As for today, yeah it’s going good. Last night’s dinner went really well too.”
“Ooh it did? I recently heard that he decided to invest in your dad's enterprise!” Seokjin emphasized the pronoun ‘ he ’ with a giggly smile, which soon turned into an annoyed pout when he saw the clueless expression on his best friends’ faces. “Oh come on, Jungkook! Wasn’t it Kim Taehyung who came to your place last night for a business dinner??”
The sudden mention of his name made Jungkook cough a few times, oblivious to the hint of blush appearing on his cheeks. “Y-Yes, Yes it was.”
“Oh my god! How was he??” Both of his hyungs spoke in unison, beyond curious to know about everything that happened during the dinner. It must be something interesting, because they’ve rarely seen their maknae blush at the mention of a person’s name.
“He was nice, I guess? I think we built a connection.” Jungkook flinched at the squeal his best friends let out at his words, encouraging him to share more. “I don’t know, hyungs. Maybe it was the wine that made him more friendly or he’s just like that. You both must know more than me, he’s invested in your family businesses too, right?”
“Yeah, he has! His investment and connections literally helped our cosmetics brand become popular nationwide. And above that, he’s such a hot dilf.” The eldest spoke as his last sentence made Hoseok giggle and Jungkook cough again, yet not surprised by the man’s transparency.
“Hot dilf?? He has kids?!”
“Not the literal meaning, Jungkookie.” Seokjin let out a chuckle at the youngest’s innocent question. “As far as I know, he’s single. And I called him a dilf in the sense that he’s a very sexually attractive older man. I love love a sexy age gap between me and my partner.”
“That’s why you’re hellbent on having professor Kim, am I right or am I right?” Hoseok teased him as both of them giggled loudly, while Jungkook absent-mindedly took another bite of his tteokbokki and appeared to be lost in his thoughts.
Why would Seokjin call Taehyung a hot dilf ? Well, he /is/ very handsome but going as far as calling him a dilf when he’s considerably still young seems a bit much to Jungkook. He did get a lot of information from his best friends about Taehyung because they’ve met him way before Jungkook did, telling him all about what a gentleman he is — kind, suave, charming and so caring.
He himself did see all these qualities in the man last night. It brought a warm smile to his face. Last night went really well for him.
But it wasn’t their last night. Taehyung did keep his promise and started coming over for dinners quite often, truly enjoying the time he spent with the Jeon family and especially, Jungkook. He adored him and developed a protective instinct for him, determined to make Jungkook feel better whenever he felt low because of his father.
Slowly but surely, Taehyung became a significant part of the younger’s life. He wasn’t hesitant to show Jungkook how much he cared for him — coming over for dinners, sometimes meeting for lunch, chatting over the phone, going to the younger’s college to support him in competitions & events when his parents were supposedly too busy to attend — and many more things.
They had formed a solid bond, and it was a bit odd at first because Taehyung had never been like this with the sons or daughters of any other businessmen he has been an investor for…but with time, everything became normal. Everything settled.
Life was looking much better for Jungkook. It wasn’t just a mundane routine anymore.
He had Taehyung, who loved spending time with him and calling him bun . He’d take out time from his busy schedule just to be there for Jungkook whenever he needed him or missed him.
But this , their strong bond tolled heavily on someone.
Although money and fame was rolling in, Jeon Jae-sung was still not satisfied with the way things were going.
He didn’t like how his own family preferred to spend time with Taehyung and liked the man more than him.
For them, this was just the calm before the storm.