#also big noses are so cool genuinely love the variety of nose shape and size in encanto | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

justimajin · 5 years

Text

The Treasured Thief

Pairing: Hoseok x Reader

Genre: Soft Angst, Fluff

↳ CEO Reader AU, Arranged Marriage AU

Words: 16k

Summary: The men that so graciously ask for your hand in marriage come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes, and yet each one of their proposals are as predictable as blinking your own two eyes. It doesn’t help that you’re are indeed a CEO, constructing an entire empire from your hands and having the notorious mindset that love was simply not for you. However, love can be incredibly unpredictable, which is why nothing could have prepared you for the rollarcoaster that was Jung Hoseok.

Warnings: implied smut, swearing, copious amounts of sarcasm

A/N: This has been sitting in my drafts for far too long and I’ve realized this is technically my first ‘official oneshot’ (I miss my series writing already) but I’m pretty happy with the concept and hope you guys enjoy it too :)

The night has been perfectly set; the venue is lit with decorative fairy lights and the large quantity of luxurious guests arrive one by one. You naturally assume the role of greeting everyone, a small smile placed on your lips when they all congratulate you on the latest success of your company. The open acknowledgement of it is a strange feeling, since you had spent a considerable amount of time in the past few years re-constructing a company that had fallen through from a major loss. The experience itself was agonizing to go through, many hurdles and failures constantly arising in your path, but eventually you were able to overcome it all through sheer determination.

However, nothing could easily replace the pressure you had felt, or the abundance of sleep you had loss, or that consistent empty feeling which was hard enough already to abandon...

“CEO Y/N. It’s been a while.” The man announces each syllable carefully, as he was still processing the status of your position and where it had eventually lead you.

You smile, “I could say the same for you too, Namjoon.” The CEO from one of the biggest companies in your generation next to your own greets you open-heartedly and you can’t recall the last time you had even seen him, knowing full well that he had decided to leave his position long ago.

“I’m surprised to see you’re back. The normal life wasn’t suiting you well?” You question, a soft smile arising when he sits down alongside with you; having his own drink in his hand.

“I’m not, I actually...” He turns his head around, scanning in the area as if he was looking for someone. His brows furrow for a moment until they land on her, to which he responds with a “Ah!”

You turn your head in the direction he was looking at and you’re pleasantly greeted to a young woman, seemingly around your age, looking around the venue. A pale yellow dress flows when she so occasionally turns around, excitement filling her eyes at the prospective place.

It’s amusing, seeing such excitement in a place you were so accustomed to attending that there was no special significance remaining in it anymore. But it was always so intriguing to see someone else experience it for the first time, to be in such a place and radiate pure sunlight in there eyes from it...

A cracked smile resurfaces when you take another sip of your wine, your mind wandering away from the precious girl.

Namjoon chuckles, bringing you out of your thoughts when you see him watching her expression change into amazement at the food being served. It’s a kind laugh, not full of mockery but genuine joy in seeing her that causes you to raise an eyebrow at him.

“So who is she?” You tease, only for him to get flustered when he takes a sip from his drink. The shining metal on his third finger greets your eyes and you widen them, being fully aware that it wasn’t there when you had last seen him.

“You got married?” Namjoon nods, a huge dimpled smile spreading across his features and another small chuckle escaping him. You’re astonished, never taking into consideration that he would have left for such a reason, but also surprised that she was just a simple girl and not some daughter of a big company.

“We met and I decided it would be best if I left the company to be with her.”

“For her?” It’s a little strange to hear that he would even consider the thought when he had spent so many years building the foundation for it.

He nods, “I didn’t want to bring her into any of this. You know how it is...” You understand exactly what he’s saying – the world that you lived in only functioned on reaping the benefits out of things, utilizing people so you could be granted the top position, observing everyone because anyone could take you out easily within a second.

Your eyes flicker back on his wife, who waves over to him on the other side of the room as she eagerly tries the different varieties of food before him. She radiates too much raw purity in comparison to anyone else present in the room, so you can easily comprehend why Namjoon wants to keep her away from all this.

“What did your father say?” You itch towards the question, knowing that it wasn’t a particular topic he was fond of.

“I told him I would leave. To get married. And that he would just have to accept it.” Namjoon shrugs and brushes the thought away – but you’re completely surprised.

You and Namjoon always had this shared understanding with each other, being CEO of your respective companies and being too acquainted with the way your world works. It was harder from someone outside to relate to it, to follow along with how things operate, but you and Namjoon were so familiar with it that it didn’t take long to become close friends.

That being said, it surprises you. Namjoon was never the type to simply ‘shrug off’ his father’s opinions like that. The man is extremely cautious and fulfills his role as CEO to uttermost perfection, an admirable yet exhausting quality of his. But something does tell you that this Namjoon seems different now, less cautious, more open, actually giving you a proper smile that was void of any restraint.

Perhaps it was because you hadn’t seen him in so long, or perhaps it was because of...

You turn your head and silently observe him, seeing how his eyes shine when he looks at his wife and the abundance of warmth they hold. The two of them are meters apart, but they convey an obvious message with only the gesture of there eyes and its incredible for you to witness such a thing.

He’s in love.

The thought should bring forth the welcoming happiness for your dear friend, but it underlies with a rooted feeling that’s hard to shake off.

“I’m just going to step out for a minute.” You whisper, standing up and Namjoon nods. He walks over to his wife while you walk over to the other end of the room, near the balcony for some much needed fresh air.

The balcony is luckily void of anyone else, the cool breeze welcoming you with open arms as you let out a shaky breath. You take another sip of your wine, regaining your posture after a couple of seconds with the seclusion and decide to head back in.

The sound of blossoming laughter flows through your air, infiltrating your ears.

You abruptly stop.

What?

You hesitantly turn around, eyes widening when you witness the sight before you.

You feel the urge to blink a couple of times, not being able to fully comprehend his change in appearance. He adorns a deep purple suit and his hair has been freshly dyed a dark orange. A pair of green glasses sit on the bridge of his nose and he occasionally pushes them up, before continuing his conversation with the gentleman in front of him with uttermost respect.

Your mind is racing – one million thoughts plunging through you at an alarming rate and you narrow onto the conclusion that it was perhaps just simple coincidence.

He laughs again and you hug your drink closer to your form, steadily trying to remain calm.

But his eyes do linger mid-conversation, before they land on you and collapse in pure disbelief. You stare back at him, attempting to remain controlled with your actions but you soon see the regret pooling in his eyes and you abruptly decide it was best to go back to the balcony.

You hurriedly rush back when tears form in the corner of your eyes and you desperately try to hold it back in. You were the CEO of your company first and foremost – any sign of weakness shown to others could not be tolerated.

“Y/N!” Your name so easily flows out of him like honey and you curse at yourself when the smallest of sobs escape from you. A hand gently wraps around your wrist, turning you around when you attempt to hide the water coming out of your eyes.

“Y/N...” He whispers, as if he was still processing that you were right there in front of him, not some sort of illusion or mirage.

“Let go of me.” You grit your teeth, but he doesn’t follow through.

“Y/N, please. I need you to listen to me-“

“How is the life of riches treating you? How does it feel to be living the life of a CEO?” Venom leaks into your voice when you finally look up and make eye contact with him. You aren’t sure what hurts more anymore, having to sprout out the words coming from you or the shattering look in his eyes.

“You don’t understand...” He pleads, but you yank your wrist away from him and back away.

“I understood very well Hoseok.” Your voice cracks, a tear already escaping. “You were just like the rest of them.”

You spin on your heels, ignoring his sounds of protests when more sobs escape from you and you exit the building.

Sitting in your car, the tears fall to stop and you curse at yourself again for getting so emotional in front of him. You rest your head against the car seat, taking deep breathes when your mind winds back in reverse.

You were living life on your own terms, nothing bothering you in the least.

But that was until you had met Jung Hoseok.

Silence lingers in the air, the only sound being heard is the harsh tapping of a keyboard. There’s the occasional soft squeak of your rolling chair, accompanied with the irritated grunt that clicks as your eyes carefully observe each and every section of the bright document placed in front of you. The silence still lingers, but it’s the complete opposite in comparison to the chaos ensuring inside your mind.

You wonder if your proposal is enough, if in the gracious arms of contenders it will be appreciated and brought forward into action. But the thought itself is a loose one, no underlying support grounding it and giving zero to none any gratification that it will indeed work. It serves to increase the weight that presses onto your shoulders, the vicious pounding in your head and increases the crease that lines between your brows.

Taking in a sharp inhale, you narrow your eyes and begin furiously typing once again, immediately getting into the groove of things and redeeming back into the way you want this proposal to be conducted. Nothing was going to escape from your eyes when your mind focuses in on its own, the tension in the room dramatically escalating.

Ring-Ring~

You continue typing, completely forgetting that there was a world existing outside of your screen from being so fully immersed in the work at hand. Your mind starts looking further into the process, wondering if it would best to consult-

Ring-Ring~

-Mr. Choi on this before you decide to submit through and let the board stamp their wonderful and everlasting opinions that would just stir more tension in the pit of your stomach. Perhaps if you take an even further step and-

Ring-Ring~

do. some. research. This was going to put a lot on stake in regards to your reputation-

Ring-Ring~

-RIGHT?

Riiiiiiinggggggggggggggggggggg~

The laptop immediately slams shut and the only light stimulating the room is cut off. You grab the tedious device that you had unfortunately decided to purchase and don’t even take a second glance at the name displayed before shoving it right against the side of your face.

“What. do. you. want?” You hiss out, the words trapped in uttermost restrained anger.

The woman on the other line just scoffs with an offended tone, “Is that anyway to talk to your mother?”

Your shoulders shag down and you blink a couple of times, before plastering on a sweet voice that wasn’t underlined with the urge to throw the phone out the window. “And what do I owe the pleasure, mother?”

She simply sighs, accustomed to your attitude already, “Did you check the files I sent?”

“Files?” Your eyes immediately perk up, placing the cell phone between your ear and shoulder before opening up your laptop again - ignoring the pending document that you were working on - and flow onto the hoard of emails you had to go through on a daily basis. Your eyes finally latch onto your mother’s email, carefully clicking on it to scroll through the contents.

“Now Y/N, before you get upse-”

Links. Tons of them.

And you inwardly cringe at the attempt already, shutting your laptop again in detest and spinning away from it.

You groan and slap a hand on your face, “Why are you still sending these to me again?”

“Y/N…” Your mother sighs, “How much longer are you going to avoid this?”

“I’m not avoiding anything.” You state, trying to make your point clear to her, “It’s just not something I would choose to keep my mind on.

“You need to seriously consider it, Y/N. You haven’t even chosen from the ones you’ve already met!”

You’re already beginning to inwardly groan at your mother’s attempts, wondering to yourself why she was so set in stone of introducing you to a wide arrange of men that you could care less about. You recall when she had initially come to you with the idea, seemingly harmless links being sent your way that only had you nodding so you could please her, but you had soon learned how wrong you were.

A lesson learned in the most torturous fashion.

“Y/N right?” His mischievous eyes dance along your expression, but you pay it no mind when your eyes widen considerably from the substantial amount of alcohol the man was consuming as the seconds pass by.

“Uh yeah…” For some reason you instinctively clutch your own drink closer to yourself, not wanting to down it alongside with his own. He catches the little action, assuming that you were simply nervous from the meeting.

“Anything you want to know about me?” He rakes a hand through his dark lavender hair and begins to refill his own glass. You however, glare at the clock behind him.

Yes. How are you on your third drink already when only twenty minutes have passed by?

“No, not really. I appreciate you coming to meet me Mr. Park, but I-“

“Jimin.” He says, and you raise an eyebrow.

“What?”

“You can call me Jimin, I want to hear the sound of my name from you.” He breaks out into huge grin, looking so oddly similar to a Cheshire cat, and you press your lips into a firm line.

“Alright. Jimin...” You don’t try to hide the underlying disgust that attaches itself onto his name, “This meeting was set-up by my mother and I don’t find us compatible in the least. Also you’re a creep.” You begin to get up but he’s quick to halt you in your steps.

“Ooh you’re denying me, that’s hot.” He raises his glass and the crease in your brows just further increases.

Would it still be considered hot when you accidentally swung your bag in his face?

“Goodbye Jimin.” You say, picking up the wine bottle in front of him to his protest and downing the contents into a nearby trashcan – ignoring his shocked expression as you exist the restaurant.

You assume that would be the end, that your mother wouldn’t continue to pester you with more suitors and that you wouldn’t face more individuals in the same manner.

Proven wrong. Multiple times again.

You narrow your eyes at the man, trying to make some eye contact but it seems like anywhere but your eyes are where he wants to look. You clear your throat, scrolling through the menu when you notice that he finally starts slowly looking his own.

“So….” Awkward silence lingers in the air and stretches out, a sour taste being left in your mouth despite having eaten anything.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” He quietly asks, causing you to be alarmed from the sudden burst of words escaping from him.

“Well we did just sit down, so yes?” The silence drops in once again, his cheeks tinting pink at your answer and you bite back from the response.

The meeting had just begun, but you wanted to leave to escape from all the awkwardness.

“Would you like some?” You question, attempting to break the silence once again by offering to fill his glass while taking a drink from your own.

His doe eyes immediately light up, nervousness being emitted from every fiber of his being when he looks like what you’ve just offered him was horrendous.

It’s then that he decides to drop an interesting fact into the conversation.

“I don’t drink…well I can’t drink. I’m underaged.”

You instantly spit out the wine you had been consuming.

You thought it would stop there, that thankfully the next person you would meet wasn’t part of the two ends of the spectrum that you had already met. That he wouldn’t want you to either punch him in the face for being an ass or feeling like you were his mother in comparison.

Why are you still kidding yourself?

Your lips press into a firm line, not a single word leaving on your behalf the entire night.

“I mean, like, have you seen this face? Why would you want to reject someone with this type of face?”

You inwardly sigh, cursing yourself for believing that perhaps you were given a chance to not want to throw something at the person on the other end of the table.

He had seemed nice enough, offering to pull your chair out before you sat down in a gentlemanly manner. And he was indeed good-looking, gorgeous eyes paired with plump, pink lips. A fact that was unfortunately all too known to him.

“Don’t you think I’m handsome?” He abruptly stops, looking towards you for some sort of validation and your lips stretch out into a smile. Not because you were happy, but because you actually given the opportunity to say something.

You know what’s even more handsome? If you had an off-switch somewhere, can you please direct me to it?

You were done. So utterly frustrated with every single one of them, but your mother reassures you that she has found someone to your own standard, someone that you would like very much. So once again, you were being dragged into meeting another one.

You scan through the menu, a disinterested look on your face from having viewed it so many times, the only factor being the person in front of you changing. Oddly enough, the man in front of you actually shares the expression and the both of you let out a unison sigh.

Your eyes quirk up at the action, especially when he reaches out for his drink the same time you do, and you begin to think that maybe the night wasn’t going to end in a disaster with a frustrated you exiting the vicinity. It was so similar to looking inside a mirror, his actions reflecting your own wonderfully.

But unlike the others, this one made you realize how mind-numbing it is to date yourself.

“Listen, you’re nice and all, but my mother set up this meeting for me and I’m not really interested.” He says the words that were originally planning to escape from your own throat, with you only giving a simple answer in response.

“Same.”

“I’m not looking to get married. I just want to lead my company in peace.” Your eyes widen at the response, already nodding.

“But you’re not really my type. Sorry.” He gets up and leaves you with a bewildered expression.

You had never assumed how much of an asshole you could be until you were looking straight into the mirror.

“Y/N.” Your mother says in a warning tone, your eyes flickering back to the conversation at hand you were having with her.

“The older you get, the harder it will be to find someone, and eventually it’ll be even harder to have kids.”

And there it is. The one particular point that this conversation somehow would always pick on and got you contemplating on why your mother was so borderline obsessed with the concept of children.

She had you already, didn’t she?

Why on earth did she want more of you?

And besides, becoming a mother was not on top of the list for your priorities. In fact, you had already obtained the role of taking care of something you loved with all your heart, except this was more influential in the business world and didn’t leave you on edge from hearing the constant cries a child would produce.

Your eyes land onto the engraved plated stand that sits right in front of your desk, its bold and sharp letters alarming those who scrolled into your office and quite literally informed them with remorse that you had the ability to dismiss if they were no longer required in service.

CEO Y/N of Dash Enterprises.

There’s a particular way it rings when your name is attached to the title and witnessing the sound of it always had your lips tugging upwards.

You place the phone on your ear again, “I’m not in the need to have children mother. Or be married for that matter.”

“J-just once.” She abruptly says, her voice wavering.

“Hm?” You raise an eyebrow, having learnt this tact before in which she would usually give up on you and leave you alone, but it didn’t seem to be the case right now.

“Meet with who I’ve selected for you, just once, and I promise not to send you any more links.”

Interesting.

“Why are you trying to bargain with me now?” It was a little suspicious in the least, the concept of your mother actually stepping away from her constant pestering being all too new and refreshing idea.

“He’s a lovely boy Y/N…and I think he’ll suit you very much. He’s sweet, kind-“

“So I just need to meet him and you’ll stop with all this?” You frankly, don’t even care. He could be part of the world’s biggest boy group if anything, but if it meant not having to go through several emails per day of potential suitors your mother sent to only delete them in a tedious process, or having to actually use your phone for important news on the company’s statistics instead of pointless bantering with her, then you would do simply anything to grasp that opportunity.

“Yes.”

“Fine.” You agree to it, ignoring the sound of your mother voice relieved sigh from her last attempt in persuading you working, since you truthfully couldn’t wait to get this over with. “It seems like we have a deal, Mrs. L/N.”

It wasn’t a surprising fact to know that your mother did her research before sending a suitor to you, but oh boy, did your mother do her research. You’re being tugged between being completely impressed by her work and being horrified on the level of detail the large profile on your computer screen was presenting you with, some things that you wonder are even necessary for you to know.

“Blood type?” Of course, because knowing his blood type is bound to make you fall in love and live happily ever after, right?

Ugh.

You scroll through it all, oddly feeling like you were being invasive of someone’s privacy and a little annoyed when you discover that despite all the research, there was no photograph of the man you are supposed to meet. Because apparently knowing someone’s blood type is far more important that knowing what there actual face looks like.

Thankfully, the gracious digits greet you immediately and you’re glad your mother at least remembered to give you some form of communication. Letting out a deep sigh, you pick up your cellphone and jam the numbers in based off of the profile, patiently waiting so you can schedule in a meeting.

“Hello?” The low voice on the other side responds on the second ring.

“Hi, is this…” You squint your eyes, abruptly realizing that you hadn’t even attempted to look at his name thanks to the onslaught of pointless information and random facts you were given, “Ho-Hoseok?”

You pause, hoping you hadn’t somehow butchered his name with the pronunciation and that he would know to correct you if you did.

He chuckles, a husky timbre buzzing through the side of your ear at your obvious and hesitant attempt before he clears his throat. “Yes, this is Hoseok.” He pauses, “And you are?”

“Y/N, I’m sure my mother has already spoken to you.” There’s annoyance in your voice, “Did you want to schedule a meeting time?”

“Of course, when can I see you?” It’s a little prickling to know that he’s already associating this as something casual, but for you it was just like how you handle your work. Briefly and timely.

“Does Friday evening work for you? I have an hour and a half to spare.” It was a lie. You actually had a lot of time to spare that day but it wouldn’t be worthwhile to spend so much of it on a stranger than you would have to end up denying anyways.

“Sounds good, I’ll see you then.” You hum, before turning the phone off and placing your organized planner to the side.

You sigh, your shoulders sulking when the meeting is only days away and you know you’ll be going through the all too familiar process once again.

You stare into the elongated mirror placed delicately on your dresser and taken in your entire appearance.

You looked good. A long, flowy black dress that didn’t constrain your movements much but gave you just the slightest amount of edge that was necessary for someone of your position. Your face was caked in makeup, but it served to only highlight the uttermost important parts of your features, especially the dark shade of lipstick that lined your lips. A pair of heels completed the look into one whole package of perfection, the smugness radiating off of you.

Yeah, you looked good.

But all the effort was more so for yourself, to fully display onto his eyes that you meant business and nothing more than that. You weren’t there to converse, you weren’t there to listen to his demands, you were there to be granted the freedom of never having to do this again.

Fetching your purse, you exit the apartment and stroll towards the car graciously waiting for you. You direct your driver to take you to the restaurant you had planned to meet Hoseok at and he begins heading in the path of your directions.

You lean back against the soft cushion behind you, beginning to wonder why your mother was so insistent on meeting this man. You weren’t too sure if she was even aware of the wonderful adventures you had meeting your suitors, for all she knew from them was that the problem was always you.

That you wouldn’t listen to her. That you were too stubborn. That you should stop being so head-strong. That you were the one scaring them all away.

However, she had failed to understand that these were the very traits that brought upon the riches of your success, that you weren’t invested in becoming trapped within the emotional coaster that was love because you had something far more important and valuable in your own hands.

Again the image of the engraved stand that lined your title arises in your mind and yet again, the smile of its appearance never once faded.

Your driver comes to a halt and snaps you out of your thoughts. You take a glance outside, seeing that you had indeed arrived at your destination, before signalling to your driver to come back within an hour’s time.

“This won’t take too long.” You send him a brief smile at his confusion, but he simply shrugs and nods – knowing far too well not to question the CEO.

Stepping out, the car drives away and you trail towards the restaurant. Meeting eyes with the lady at the reception, you inform her that you had reserved two seats and that the man you were meeting would be coming shortly.

And that is when, he makes his grand arrival.

You have no clue at to what you were expecting, so many of your suitors coming in different shapes and sizes, but yet there was a fair amount of predictability lined within their tactics.

Nothing could have prepared you for Hoseok however.

What the actual fuck?

Your jaw instantly drops down at the sight of him, a smile gracing his lips when his eyes land on yours. He’s dressed in a casual light blue sweater, paired with some brown khaki shoes and a pair of sandals on his feet. His long brown hair is barely combed through, spotting obvious tangles, and he waits for you with his hands dug into his pockets.

You’re shaking your head, wondering if perhaps he didn’t get the memo that you were supposed to meet in the restaurant, not off to go on your way to a nearby beach. You shoot the reception lady a stiff smile, who had been previously mimicking the shocked expression you were holding in regard to Hoseok’s assumed misplaced attire.

“Hoseok.” You say, approaching him with your dress gliding behind you and the stiff smile still pinned to your lips.

“Y/N.” He responds, a huge youthful smile adorning his features and a part of you is lurching already, hoping that he was at least the same age as the profile had suggested.

He picks up on the scowl on your face, “Is something wrong?” He innocently asks and suddenly you’re looking for a nearby wall to smash your head into.

Is something wrong?!

You repress the urge to laugh like a maniac.

Yes of course! Nothing is wrong at all! You were just casually going for a nice stroll in the afternoon, talking about butterflies and gushing about how much you were in love with each other~

Oh god, why did you feel like you were going to throw up soon?

You take a deep inhale, knowing that you were stuck having to go through this blasted night with the sincere hope of never having to do it again so you paint the most restrained smile you could possibly muster.

“Of course not.” You say, your voice borderline sweet like it was soaked in red cherries, “But why are you out here when the reservation is in there?” You gesture towards the restaurant and a confused look adorns his features.

The smile on your face soon vanishes.

“We were going to the restaurant?” He questions and it’s taking every fiber in your body to not strangle him right there and then.

Nooo of course not! You had just invited him there so you could stand and stare at all the people eating the fine food of the restaurant and that’s how your entire evening was to pass by as.

Taking yet another deep inhale, “Yes Hoseok. I reserved us seats.” You smile and he looks like he’s contemplating for a moment. Seconds pass by as more rage begins to boil inside you like a slow-cooker and you pray that he doesn’t open the container for it all to only explode.

“Mm why don’t we go somewhere else? I had another place picked out.”

“Sure.” You hurriedly say, just wanting to get this over with already so you can get back home without balding from all the stress he was already giving you.

He suggests that you walk there when you’re about to protest and call your driver, but the constant array of thoughts in your mind telling you to just suck up and keep going oblige you to say yes. As time passes by, it becomes very painfully aware to you that you were trudging down a sidewalk in a long dress and heels while he was simply casually walking in shorts and sandals.

And as if it wasn’t obvious enough, he decides to bring this very fact to your attention, “You look really nice in that dress.” He says, shooting you a smile but you look at him exasperated.

He’s joking right?

But he simply isn’t. You wonder if he was playing games with you, purposely edging you on with all this but the expression he holds is of complete nativity making you think what was worse. The fact that he was doing this to you or how he was just clueless about what he was doing.

Was it possible for you to be found out if you murdered him? Like just ditched his body into a bush and pretended you never met? Could you get away with that?

The silence between the two of you only creates more plausible questions in your mind until you finally arrive at the place he had been wanting to take you. You shake the thoughts away, knowing that he didn’t know what he was doing and that should be a good enough reason for you not to be thinking about such things.

How wrong you were.

Yeah, you were definitely going to murder him. Forget the bush, he’s going straight down the sewers and you don’t even care at this point if your attempt is found out.

Because right in front of you.

Was a bloody burger joint.

He brought you, CEO Y/N of Dash Enterprises, one of the biggest and strongest leading jewelry companies of this generation, a company you had spent countless amount of hours on, a company built from your shoulders and run smoothly by you for years.

To a damn burger joint.

He can’t be so naïve, not when he’s brought you here.

But the smile doesn’t leave his face and you’re absolutely mortified when he drags you inside, your heels scrapping against the concrete floor when no curses are able to escape your mouth anymore.

It’s interesting…you suppose.

It isn’t as crowded as the restaurant was and you have a visual board displaying all the options that were served before you. There isn’t a need to book a previous reservation and you’re granted the chance to enter as is, no prior accommodations required per say.

But the immediate eyes glancing over you is what brings the chills.

You’re already aware of how out of place you looked, but now inside the light of the joint, that feeling increases only by ten-fold. And the only person seeking out the blame is the man who is currently situating himself into a booth, gesturing for you to join him with a smile.

You let out a sigh, softly rubbing at your temples and repeating the words “just for today” constantly to yourself in the form of reassurance to get through all this.

His eyes begin to rake through the menu in a hurried pace and you take in a moment to simply observe him once again. His features are sharp, but yet they radiate such a heartful vibe that its daunting to know that this the man you’re mother had specifically picked. A mop of long tousled brown hair is complimented the bright blue hue of his shirt, something you had initially thought was irritating to your eyes because of how out of place it was at the restaurant.

But now you’re the one out of place, because he seems like he’s right at home and where he wants to belong.

You just want to leave.

“Are you ready to order?” He questions and you nod, the waiter coming over to note them down. You had originally planned on just ordering a simple salad and then calling it a day, but Hoseok requests for them to serve you their specialty burger and you groan of having to stay for longer than intended.

“So…” You’ve reached the essential part of the night: the small talk. The part that was always the main contributing factor in turning your night into a complete disaster or so rarely, less of a horrendous hurricane that somehow still had you pulling your hair out from your scalp.

“So you’re the CEO of Dash?” He question, reaching over to pour you and himself a glass of water.

“Yes, I was appointed many years back and I’ve been working on the company ever since then.”

“That sounds like a lot on your plate. Do you ever find it hard to get through?”

“I do, but seeing the company grow and develop from my own hard work is a lot more rewarding.”

“That’s impressive.” He nods understandably after having poured your water, and you notice that he was quite attentive then he rather appeared, not interrupting you once.

It’s a little strange, but something swirls within you and its then you notice that you had answered him point blankly without having some other resentful emotion be laced into your words. You shake your head as to why, but the small entry way of the conversation makes you realize that he was at least interested in knowing about you, a trait that he unfortunately didn’t share with any of your previous suitors.

However, the thought soon dissipates when the sheer amount of food is served to your eyes, their lidded appearance immediately enlarging. The waiter sets down the food and Hoseok is grinning ear to ear, but in your mind you’re calculating how you were possibly able to accommodate for so much when you were used to eating so little.

He grabs a burger and takes a giant bite out of it, humming in content at the tinging taste of it before he looks to you and a frown sets on his lips. Because his eyes land on you, attempting to stab the burger into pieces with a fork, and miserably failing to do so.

“Have you….never had one before?” He questions and a bright red tinge at your cheeks, refusing to make eye contact with him as you continue stabbing.

“Here.” He reaches over and separates it into two pieces with his hands so that its large amount was less frightening to look out, before gesturing for you to hold onto it. You look at it skeptically, but the encouraging smile doesn’t leave his lips and you decide to cave it, grabbing onto it and taking a bite.

The taste is as intriguing as it looks and you soon find yourself munching down on it with a smile. It was really embarrassing to tell him the truth of not eating one, but there was no possible way to avoid it. You were the CEO, and that usually consisted of having associated food with meetings alongside board members or conversing with your mother about getting married soon, something that would just cause the food to become harder to swallow. There were even times where it was simply considered tedious, no time being left in the day for it and you would just forget about with a mere shrug of your shoulders.

But this wasn’t so bad. Just enjoying what you were eating in the moment, completely forgetting that there was someone in front of you whose gaze ceases to remove itself from you when a content smile stays on your lips.

He chuckles, “You’re so cute.” He says, but immediately the blush on your cheeks increases and you’re flabbergasted for reacting in such a way. You were accustomed to being called several things – scary, intimidating, hot, sexy, unapproachable. Cute wasn’t a word that easily slipped through into the definition of you among the others.

You take a moment to pause and look towards him, “What about you?” You find it a little odd to actually take in some interest about him, but you were curious as to what the answer would be.

“O-oh…” He looks shy all of a sudden, “I dance.” His glance reaches down to his plate and you raise a brow at his occupation.

Your mother…picked out a dancer for you?

Not some sort of heir to another company, or even worse, a CEO like yourself?

You shrug it off, considering that maybe your mother had finally caught on to what your previous meetings had been like and decided to send someone new to you this time around.

And after all, at least you wouldn’t be in a threesome for once – you, the suitor, and the giant suitor’s ego that closed the gap between the two of you.

It was a different change, a nice change to be more specific, an attitude that genuinely wanted to know about you and had come from a different platform compared to your own.

The conversation continues on, to which you eventually learned that Hoseok liked dancing very much, and that his family consisted of his parents and his sister. His eyes instantly lighten up when you inquire more about his sister and he rambles on about the various things they had in common, how the support she gave him always had him moving forward.

Again, it was different.

You weren’t a very domestic person, making the point extremely clear to your mother that starting a family soon was not part of your current agenda, but something in you flutters at the thought when Hoseok speaks so passionately of his own. And it was different, a factor that your previous suitors barely decided to acknowledge because they were always so invested with winning your heart over and the pending contract they needed to establish with you, that the conversation ending up being pointless small talk on several occasions.

This…wasn’t business. This was something else.

Hoseok being sunshine personified didn’t help with your racing thoughts either, his smile beaming at you but his eyes remaining understanding when you spoke about how much your career mattered to you, how important it was for you construct a form of your own independence.

The handles of the clock begin moving at an alarmingly rate and you let out a gasp when you discover that you had ended up spending hours with him at the restaurant, originally having planned to only stay for an hour.

It’s even more surprisingly when Hoseok walks you to your driver, a phone number secured into your cellular device and a smile with hopes of seeing him again.

The loud and abrupt tone automatically rings out, the consistent dinging sound being far too familiar for you. Reaching over, your hand slides multiple times and a frustrated sigh escapes from your lips, but it finally brushes against the same digital device that would annoy you to no end every morning and you jab at the snooze button.

After doing so, you roll over on your other side and clamp your eyes shut, wanting to embark back into the world of dreams when the sound blares out again. Your lidded eyes open and you flop back around again, sliding on the off button before coming into acceptance that the world of the living was calling you back for return.

With an extremely huffed groan, you toss yourself upwards and grab your phone, scrolling through the notifications that were blinking on it. It comes to no surprise when the first six are from your mother, more and more questions laced in her text messages about how things went with Hoseok, and you don’t even spare them a glance when you begin immediately swiping them away.

However, the last message brings light in your eyes and awakens them.

Hoseok: Did you get home safely?

You look at the time it was sent, minutes away from when he had dropped you off at your car. But you had never gotten the chance to see the message, exhausted from the abundance of food you had consumed prior to spending time with him. Your eyes narrow down, seeing another message sent from this morning.

Hoseok: I hope you got home safely. Please don’t tell me you got kidnapped or something.

You chuckle, wondering just how naïve he could possibly be. You decide to slide off your bed, phone in hand when you eagerly respond back to him.

Your office is just as you left it; the lights being dimmed down and the curtains shut close but there’s no rampage vicious typing of your keyboard being heard, nor is there any recollection of the small squeaks your chair makes.

Instead, the office is filled with a new sound – your own laughter.

The phone gleams in your hands when you’re grinning ear to ear with it, wondering to yourself on how absurd Hoseok was being with you.

Hoseok: how are you not scared of them?! :o

You: They aren’t so bad once you get used to them. Plus I don’t really get scared easily.

Hoseok: so you just sit there and watch? that’s it??

You: I’m sure that’s the whole point behind watching a horror movie. You watch it.

Hoseok: i would have never guessed…

You roll your eyes, a seemingly harmless topic quickly escalating into you discovering his long-lived fear of horror movies.

Hoseok: you know, you’re definitely a lot stronger than i expected. its admirable.

His words causes a crease in your brows, not quite understanding what he was trying to get across. You try to get it to sink in like a compliment would, but the uncertainty causes it just to float out and you think to yourself.

He likes that you’re strong?

Never in a million years would you hear such a thing from just a suitor, someone wanting to only marry you as a way to increase their own profit and reputation. Never would they be caught dead saying that your strong personality was even worth praising, being considered harmful instead due to the potential of you becoming controlling of them instead of the other way around.

Their ideal image of having a wife that would be a trophy for them was never an image fit for you.

You were never what they wanted.

You continue to stare at the message and the words sink far too deep in now; it starts to dawn on you that Hoseok was actually interested in you, as a person. He was looking to get married, not be confined to a contract for the sake of prospecting.

You stand up and stretch out your tired limbs; constantly sitting in your chair all day long did get unsettling every once in a while. Your phone begins to glow, the familiar display name re-appearing onto it.

“Hoseok?” You question, turning around to lock up your office before exiting through the hallway.

“Hey are you busy?”

“No, I just got off work.”

“Awesome, do you want to grab dinner together?”

“Oh sure.” The image of a burger joint emerges in your mind and you wonder if he was planning to take you there again.

“Great! I’ll be over in an hour!” You turn off your phone and secure it back into your bag, slipping inside your car and pushing the key into the engine.

It takes about a solid two minutes before your eyes widen.

Be over?!

You had assumed by now that Jung Hoseok was getting easier to figure out. Being CEO of your company meant that you would have to have keen and exceptional observational skills, deciphering people’s motives and their steps quite easily.

But not Jung Hoseok.

The guy has so many damn layers to him that you’ve lost count, his unpredictability re-merging once again when you find him smiling at your doorway, takeout in hand.

He innocently blinks at your initial questionable look, wondering what exactly was wrong with him entering your home for a date, without even letting you know.

“I did tell you! On the phone!” He says, but you want to slap a hand across your face thanks to how vague he can be.

You sigh, massaging your temples when you sit down next to him on your couch. You were glad that you had at least gotten ready to go out instead of being left in your pajama’s but the realization sinks in that you could have just stayed in them anyways.

Hoseok comes over to your side with a box of noodles for you and himself, reaching over to switch on your tv before he leans back. You raise an eyebrow at the action, a baffled look on your face.

“Is this what we’re doing all evening? Just eating and watching tv?” You question, the concept feeling different but oddly intimate at the same time.

“Did you want to grab a burger instead?” He points to the food as if you had disliked it, but you shake you head and instead opt to joining him in eating. You don’t think you’ve ever associated something so simple as eating and binging with meeting a person, the concept just feeling so awfully casual when you were used to being formal all the time.

As time goes on, a movie begins to play on the screen and you narrow your eyes, laughing a little bit on the inside when you discover the name of it.

The Train to Busan.

It was one of your personal favourite movies, the whole idea of a zombie apocalypse being so fascinating and intriguing. You’re glad you get to spend the evening watching it, eyes gleaming when the first scene begins to play.

However, the man sitting next to you doesn’t share the same opinion.

A gruesome zombie jumps out, blood dripping from its forehead as it lets out a loud moan but you don’t seem to quite hear it when a startling shrill is let out beside you. You blink your eyes a couple of times, have zero recollection of a zombie ever producing such a sound, but you turn your head around and you suddenly understand where that petrifying scream came from.

Hoseok is terrified. His eyes are blown out and grown in the size of large saucers, his hands are rapidly trembling and so occasionally does he let out a squeakish scream – even when the scene is simply displaying the young girl and her father.

Among all this, you lack the understanding as to why he was so keen on using you as his personal pillow to hide behind; grasping your shoulders to cower in fear and lacing his arms around you.

But to be fair, you had been warned prior to the situation.

You just had to watch a zombie apocalypse with a guy that doesn’t like horror movies. You just had to...

As time passes through and Hoseok’s screams increase in intensity, you just sincerely hope that your neighbors don’t suspect you of murdering someone.

Your eyes land on the clock and you notice how late it has become. Quite frankly, you were pretty sure at this point that Hoseok wanted to go home – having shed an abundance of tears all over your couch from the movie.

Hoseok turns to get up, moving over to grab his jacket that was hanging before turning to you, tears long dried from his eyes.

“W-well this was fun.” He whispers and you wonder if he was able to pull himself together soon, looking like the living crap had been scared out of him.

“Yeah, it was.” A small smile flashes on your lips and he’s pleasantly surprised to see its appearance.

“I guess I’ll see you later.” You say, before Hoseok swiftly leans in against you, pecking a soft kiss on the side of your cheek. Your eyes instantly widen, reaching out to faintly touch the area when a bright smile spreads on him and you’re left completely speechless.

He did not just-

“See you later.” He whispers, before turning to leave and you remain frozen in position.

It wasn’t working out.

Your mind wasn’t in the right place anymore, piles and piles of work amounting to a mountain on your desk collecting dust when your mind is occupied with far too many distracting thoughts.

Hoseok this, Hoseok that, since when were you turning into some childish school girl with a crush suddenly?

You had attempted countless amount of times to get back onto track, to erase all those irritating lingering thoughts because it was simply not letting you work.

You couldn’t.

And a part of you was really getting annoyed with the little irrational voice peeking out from the back of your mind that was persistent on asking you a question that you had yet to conjure an answer up for.

Did you like him?

It was a two-faced question, like a coin it was either heads or tails, you pick one and then move on with your life.

But you couldn’t, spending close to a week stuck on that one question and the fear encases you if you further dwell into it. You had never been faced with this question before, it was long discarded of and tossed away when you reached this certain point in time.

You sigh deeply, realizing what exactly this was all coming down to and how it all just needed to stop. You weren’t getting any work done, you were confused with your feelings, you keep thinking about him.

With a huff, you dial in the number that you had been in contact with and you patiently wait as it rings. It was for the best – you and Hoseok were just too different and there was no way you could have been an actual pairing in your mind.

“Hello?” Hoseok answers hurriedly, his voice sounding breathless.

“Hoseok, hi, I needed to tell you something…”

“Y/N! Of course! What is it?” He almost sounds like he’s running, but you brush it off with the intention of getting your point across to him.

“Hoseok, I don’t think I can do this anymo-“

“HEY! He has his phone with him, switch it off!” A man in a husky voice speaks out in the background and it startles you.

“Hoseok? Is everything alright?” Concern sinks in and you wonder if something had possibly happened to him.

“Hi, hi Y/N, yeah it is! I can’t really talk right now but I’ll call you ba-“ The line goes dead silent and you’re left with a confused look on your face by the abrupt cut-off.

You opt out driving your own car immediately, hair wrangled in obscene tangles and plain blue pajama’s covered with a grey hoodie. But you couldn’t care less about how you looked in the moment, quickly typing in the address Hoseok had given you if you wanted to come over for your next date into your small GPS.

The robotic voice staggers for a moment and you furiously hit it a couple of times before it finally functions normally, spewing a line of directions your way. Hurriedly, you jam your keys into the ignition and buckle your seat-belt, knowing the ride was going to be a new one. The way Hoseok’s voice sounded let you feeling uncertain on the inside so you hastily try to reach his place as soon as possible.

It takes you roughly ten minutes to reach there and you’re silently praying that you aren’t too late, rushing out to see the apartment building in view. You stumble getting out of the car, running to get inside but your head turns when you hear a familiar voice.

“Stop trying to call! We need to get out of here!” The exact same husky voice you had heard yelling in the background when Hoseok was calling you. He stands next to a black van and his attention is directed to another man of similar stature who is frantically trying to call someone to no avail.

Your eyes remain glued to the vehicle, your worst intuition taking place at its rugged appearance and you take a deep breath. Trying to remain hidden in the shadows, you walk on the opposite side from where the men were attempting to call – towards the back. To your own grateful convenience, the car is unlocked when you lightly pull against the door handle and you’re relieved when it opens.

Hoseok’s eyes immediately glare at you, taking you back a little at the darkness that swirls in them. But he takes one more look at you and his eyes instantly widen, his mouth mouthing your name in shock underneath the cloth that was concealing it. You place a finger on your lips and reach out to him, only to discover his hands were tied to his back. Grabbing his arm, you slowly ease out and he follows you quietly as you hastily loosen the rope on his hands-

“HEY! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Shoot.

You’re frozen in fear when the bulkier of the two approaches you in rage but Hoseok laces his hand in yours.

“Those two don’t like me very much, we should get going.” He says with a smile, before bolting when the man gets closer to you. He literally drags you alongside him in a hurry and you’re surprised to see Hoseok navigate so easily, being able to move farther away when the man got closer to you.

“Where’s your car?”

“T-to the left.” He swiftly moves around, reaching the driver seat but you move him over to climb into it. You didn’t care if you were being chased, there’s no way in hell you were going to let him drive your precious baby. Getting in, you jam your foot on the gas pedal and drive away.

“Did we lose them?” You ask, but when you slightly turn your head back to look, you notice that a very familiar black van was now following you. Your brow furrows however, when you see an additional blue car on your tail at the same.

“Whose that?!”

“They don’t like me very much either...” Hoseok sheepishly says and you wonder how on earth he was able to stay so calm in a situation like this. He was in the process of getting kidnapped and now on a car chase ride from the exact people that tried to kidnap him, to which he only he can retort that they don’t like him.

You could have figured as much.

You instantly halt on your brakes when a black van shows up in front of you, turning around to see the other ones still trailing close behind.

“Who is this now?!” You frantically ask and Hoseok smiles.

“Let’s just assume that if any cars comes near us, they don’t like me.” He says, gesturing for you to turn around before the car behind you got any closer.

You were starting to lose your mind. There were three cars after you and Hoseok is relatively calm while you’re freaking out that there’s three cars after you. A fact that has yet to properly sink into his mind.

“Is there anybody that does like you?!” You say exasperated.

“You.” He smiles and you don’t even have time to react to the cheesy comeback when the back of your car is abruptly sent flying forward. The car shakes and you lost control of your grip, eyes widening in alarm when the car continues to skid. Panic fills you when you try to gain control again but nothing happens – before Hoseok leans over and quickly maneuvers the vehicle. He reaches over and places your hands on it again before turning back to see the car being extremely close to you.

“Hit the gas pedal. Accelerate before they get to us.” He instructs to you and soon you’re back on track, the cars long left behind you.

“Well that was fun.” Hoseok says, laughter bubbling him when all you can do is glare, glare at the fact that you had almost died thanks to the idiot. You continue to drive and Hoseok stops laughing, a look of recognition on his face.

“Oh you called me! Did you need something?” He questions and you’re suddenly flustered, not wanting to tell him directly but on the phone since you wouldn’t have to deal with any unnecessary emotions of his.

“Uh yeah....about that...”

“What is it?”

You take in a deep inhale, “Hoseok. I...I don’t think we should see each other anymore.” You whisper, silence lingering in the air.

“Is it because I almost got kidnapped and three cars were chasing after you?”

“What? No! Not because of- well...” You sigh, trying to recollect yourself.

“I don’t think we match up, we’re too different and this...” You wave your hand around, “this isn’t going to work out.”

There’s complete silence in the car and it’s a little suffocating to breath, but you don’t dare turn around to see the expression he makes until his voice breaks the silence.

“You’re lying.”

“What?”

“You’re lying, there’s some other reason...Y/N, I know you like me.”

Your mouth hangs wide open, “Like you?” You scoff, “Please, I don-“

“Why did you save me?”

“Huh?”

“If you didn’t like me, then why did you save me?” You make the mistake of turning your head to see his expression, because the words are lost in your throat.

He looks like he can understand, like he can understand you, something everyone around you has always failed to do. His eyes meet your own, patiently waiting for you to answer back but you can’t, you can’t tell him that the reason you drove all the way to his apartment and helped him wasn’t because you had some unexplainable deeply rooted feelings for him.

He was right. You were lying.

You don’t say another word throughout the night, turning your car into the same burger joint Hoseok had taken you and a smile dances on his lips.

“Oh, we’re not going to a restaurant?”

You slam the car door on your way out, not answering back, but the smile that forms on your lips mimics his own.

A hidden shaky breath escapes you when you dig your heels into the fine carpet below you, patiently waiting outside the venue. It was completely out of the blue; being told that you were invited to a formal event held by your company and as CEO, it was mandatory for you to attend. However, it wasn’t the particular event that had all your nerves bunched up and on alert, but the acknowledgement that such an event will place a target on your head.

You can see it already, large corporations eyeing you down and wondering how they could supposedly gain your trust, getting complete access into the prize that was your well built organization. Some of the stares were only in conducting business, but at this stage you were already incredibly aware of the fact that some of them wanted to take it to the next level and fulfill the specific fully ledged partnership contract.

Ugh.

You glance at the clock again, wondering to yourself if you had made a mistake. You weren’t sure if inviting Hoseok alongside you was the smartest move on your own behalf, having a wonderful recollection of the first instance you had met him.

Would he even know to wear a suit? To know not to waltz in with a snapback and shorts? To dress appropriately?

The thoughts jumbling your nerves together when you occasionally fiddle with your thumbs, before someone moves into your view. You instantly recognize him as CEO Park, but you also take in account that he was someone that had been long into getting your companies to somehow merge together.

“Ah, Y/N! Haven’t seen you around lately.” He smiles at you, a smile that you don’t quite return back completely.

“Likewise.”

“How has your mother been doing?” He questions and you smile again, knowing he was slowly inching closer to dropping the bomb soon.

“She has been well.”

“She could be better, after all she hasn’t married you off yet.” He lets out a small chuckle and you paint on a stiff smile, thinking how much you were going to need a glass of wine after this.

“Have you met my son by any chance? I think he would be suit your tastes.”

Yes of course you’ve met him! The one who thinks he’s all that and has an excessive drinking habit?

“Yes I have, and no. He didn’t appeal to me very much.” You hope the conversation would end by now, but a frown sets on the man’s lips and you know its too early to think something like that.

“He didn’t?” He questions, like the idea itself couldn’t be plausible. You want to roll your eyes, wondering why it was hard to believe you didn’t like him.

But the next thing that slips through the man isn’t something you’re truly appreciative of.

“Of course he didn’t. I don’t think he would be able to pair up with someone who can be so prideful and selective.” The man scoffs and your brows furrow. You assume it’s for some bruised reasoning of his, that you were the one being held responsible for not being obsessed with his son they way he wants you to be.

It’s aggravating, being completely disregarded as an individual because of your own status and the amount of profit you could bring.

You set your lips in a firm line, not responding nor showing any type of emotion. It only seems to push man farther ahead of himself, wanting to see his words be able to sink into you and disrupt their own greedy chaos.

“If you keep going like this Y/N, you’ll soon end up alone.”

Your eye twitches. Taking a deep breath, you’re prepared to do something you had been long accustomed to. Giving the man complete and literal hell, making him eat the words he so easily throws in your face.

A warm hand presses into the small of your back, its presence instantly pulling you out of the atmosphere and ushering you to stand up tall again.

“Thank you for the advice sir. But I don’t believe that’s an issue you shouldn’t be at all concerned about. Y/N can make her own decisions.” The voice that rings out is familiar and a small smile tugs at your lips when you see CEO Park’s face morph into one of resentment, before he scoffs and turns away from you.

You turn around, about to thank Hoseok for jumping in at the right time, but the words seem to immediately dissolve when you actually do get a look at him.

Your jaw drops down, your eyes have significantly enlarged and they move frantically all over him.

No...actual...way....

He’s clade in a gorgeous black suit, fitted to his form perfectly with the collar spread wide open to reveal where a glittering gold chain sits at. His tousled dark brown hair is sleeked back with gel, showcasing the glorious jawline you didn’t even know he had to your own eyes. He swiftly pushes some of it back, gold rings shining in the process and you don’t even realize you were holding in a breath from the display.

The man is the epitome of beauty.

“H-Hoseok?” You shutter, trying to ignore the blush that creeps onto your cheeks or the way your voice completely breaks when you say his name.

You definitely need some wine.

He chuckles at your reaction to his appearance, before he leads you towards the table full of food. You eagerly pour yourself some and Hoseok looks around the venue.

“This is so cool...” He whispers and you laugh. It was probably a new change for him, but for you it was always so tedious to come to these events.

“Y-you look nice. By the way.” You stutter again and take a huge gulp out of your drink, praying that you would re-assume your intimidating presence once again instead of acting like a school girl.

“Thanks, you do too.” He smiles, sunlight pouring out from its brightness and you find yourself chugging down your wine.

What was even going on with you?

It was harder to understand before but seeing how Hoseok looks so different in this form gives you the realization of how well he was being able to blend within your surroundings. The way he stands tall right by your side is a new feeling, and you can’t easily dismiss how you could potentially see him standing like this, for many years to com-

You hurriedly shake the thoughts away, taking yet another sip.

“So who was that?” Hoseok questions, turning back to you after having completely absorbed the glorious venue.

“CEO Park. He was trying to set me up with his son.” You state, pouring more wine into your now empty glass.

Hoseok’s brows furrow, “Set up?”

You shake your head at his confusion, “You’re not the first one, I’ve had tons of suitors before hand.”

The fact doesn’t sink in properly with him, confusion still being evident when he cocks his head to the side in bewilderment, “If you had that many suitors...why didn’t you pick one?”

“I didn’t like anyone. They were more interested about the benefits that came with the relationship, not about the actual relationship itself...”

Hoseok takes a step closer to you, enough to bore his stern eyes into yours and you find yourself wavering, “Then why am I here?”

“W-what?”

“You weren’t interested in anyone, and I know you wanted to stop seeing each other. So why did you want to being me here?”

You avert your gaze, knowing quite frankly that there wasn’t a clear answer you could give. At this point, you weren’t even sure yourself anymore; the moment the invite had come through, your mind had automatically thought how much better it would have been if he came alongside you.

But why did you choose to make that decision?

The uncertainty is too evident as it become even harder to keep yourself together when he stares at you like that, reading you easily like a book. “Y/N.” You bring back your averted gaze, “Can I ask you something?”

You nod and he gives you a soft smile, sincerity emerging in his voice, “Y/N...do you believe in love?”

It’s a very simple question, an inquiry with the frequently common response of yes – yes, you believed that love was sparks flying through the air and the warm roar of a fire. That love was surreal and lifted you above cloud nine, granting you eternal happiness. That love was something that was natural, no hardships or twisted realities crossing along the fantasy mirage.

“No.”

You’ve said it. You’ve finally said it out loud.

“Why?” Is the only response he retaliates back and you know the alcohol is playing tricks on your mind already, sweeping you into a vulnerable stage. But it doesn’t take into account that Hoseok is persistent – that he was trying to understand you, with those beautiful eyes of his and perhaps, perhaps it was about time you had said something.

You take a shaky inhale, reaching out to tug the sleeve of his jacket as you bring him closer to you and away from the stares of others.

“My parents separated. When I was young.” Hoseok’s eyes widen when he realizes what you’re about to tell him, but he soon sinks into being attentive; something you had always liked about him.

“My father had told my mother that he had loved her, decided to marry her, and left her soon after I was born.” You pause, your eyes glossing over, “She was left with nothing, and there were many years where we struggled to make ends-meet.”

“I saw her. Every. Single. Day. Suffering because of her broken marriage, suffering because of the fact that the man she had trusted most left her to suffer alone.”

“So I worked hard. I didn’t want to see my mother suffer anymore, so I created a new empire out of my own hands for her. My company.” The CEO plaque appears in your head again, a smile tugging at your lips.

“From that experience, I realized, I see too many people throw away such important things in life so easily for love. Just so they can be loved and cherished by someone else. But I wanted my own life, and I wasn’t willing to throw anything away for it.”

“You wanted to know Hoseok...I don’t believe in love, because I threw it away.” You look back at him and its stings at you when you see his eyes again, so much warmth and acknowledgement radiating out of them and it hurts.

It hurts to see him wanting to understand you, wanting you to let him in but you’ve disregarded every single person whose tried in order to protect your own kingdom. It hurts knowing that no matter how much you try to resist him, he keeps coming back to you with open arms.

You unconsciously lean forward and almost as if he can sense what you want, he does as well. The slightest brush of his lips has your insides being set on fire, your eyes instantly fluttering shut when he reaches out to cradle your cheek in his hand. It drives you nuts that you’ve never been kissed like this before, kissed until the breath completely escapes from you and you’re left in a haze.

You abruptly separate from him, acutely aware of the lingering eyes around you when you steadily try to catch your breath. It immediately hitches when they land on Hoseok’s, a deep scarlet covering his cheeks and his eyes growing darker. His stare catches you completely off guard, before he reaches out to grab your hand and lead you away from the preying eyes.

He ends up dragging you to your car, opening the door to lead you in before his lips are furiously on yours once again. You gently push him away, your eyes glancing back and forth to notice the wide arrange of cars around you and knowing the last thing you needed was someone walking in on you right now.

“N-not here. Someone might see.” You whisper, cursing at yourself at how much your voice was wavering already but Hoseok swiftly reaches over to grab your keys.

“Move. I’ll drive.” He gets up and gestures for you to sit on the other side. His hands grip on the steering wheel and it astonishes you when his hands go pale from gripping on it so hard.

He leads you into your apartment, the door handle barely managing to keep open before he’s bringing your form closer to his again. He softly caresses your back as his lips ravage your own, small gasps escaping from your lips. His hands being to trail everywhere, wanting to feel every single inch of skin he could find before he easily picks you up and walks towards your bedroom.

He sets you down on the bed and you’re startled when you see a new fire ignite in him, easily switching roles from his naïve and sweet persona into something more. The heavy gaze he sets on you tells you that there was much more about him that you had yet to discover, and you were not going to be one to deny that.

He descends down on you and you’re soon left in a whimpering mess within his hands, only repeated pleads of his name and desperate whines escaping from you when he leaves lingering kisses down the column of your throat. Articles of clothing are scattered across on the floor as you remain bare before him and he takes upon every opportunity that night to completely worship you when he explores your warm caverns. He thrusts into you at an alarming rate, to which you harshly bite your bottom lip as sweats plasters to your forehead from the ministrations.

You completely forget about anything around you anymore, because all you could see and feel was him and him only. That night you sleep with a smile on your lips when he holds you close, fading away easily from reality.

You wake up that morning feeling so utterly content, stretching out your lazy limbs as you yawn. The sunlight pours into the room and illuminates it, reminding you specifically of someone’s sunlight you were used to seeing so often. You twist around in your bed, an expectant smile on your lips that suddenly drops.

The other side of the bed was empty.

Your eyes widen when you sit up, the soft sheets being the only thing covering your bare form. Grabbing a hoodie and some shorts, you hurriedly put them on and look around – wondering if Hoseok decided to wander around in your apartment.

He’s nowhere to be found.

You don’t know why but your heart instantly sinks at the thought that he could have possibly left, causing you to grab your phone in an attempt to contact him.

You dial his number and press the phone to your ear.

The phone number you have dialed is currently unavailable at the moment. Please try again later.

You yank the phone from your ear and redial again, getting the same message to avail.

Why wasn’t he picking up?

Your brows crease as to why he decided to leave like that, but your phone rings after a second and you instantly grab it.

“H-Hoseok, I-“

“Y/N!” Your mother’s voice pitches through the line much to your own disappointment. But the fear in her voice is what speaks out most to you.

“Mom? What’s wrong?”

“Y/N...oh my goodness, its terrible. Where are you right now? At home? The office?”

“I’m at home Mom. And what’s terrible, what happened?”

“They’re all gone. The funds for the company.” Your mother says.

“They’ve been stolen.”

It feels like a slap to your face, painful and scorching. The funds were essential to the company, used to increase revenue alongside profit. They’re were only put into the hands of someone trusted.

Like the CEO of the company.

You hastily pull up your laptop, furiously typing in the details of your account and you’re left with a loss of words when the multitude of zeros welcome your eyes.

Someone had hacked into your account.

And taken everything.

It’s utterly overwhelming. You’ve never seen everything just disappear, with a flash from your eyes.

Your hard work, years of building those funds to ensuring the company would prosper and flourish on its own and not require external assistance.

All gone down the drain.

“I-I don’t understand, how did this even happen?” You had never been hacked before, always remaining cautious in times like this.

Your eyes flicker to the empty bed.

Everything...just disappeared....

Your eyes widen and your mouth parts to let out a shaky breath, “M-mom. What do you know about Jung Hoseok?”

“Huh?”

“Jung Hoseok. What other information do you have about him?”

“Jung Hoseok?”

“Yes, the man you had picked out for me.” You grow frustrated with her lack of a response.

“Picked out for you? When?”

“You picked him out! You said I need to meet him just onc-“

“Y/N...” The concern in her voice leaks out and her response leaves you numb.

“The man I picked out for you goes by the name Kim Taehyung.”

The base of your heels hit against the concrete floor when your eyes remained glued to the silver watch on your wrist. Your meeting was going to begin within an hour’s time but arriving early would give you the perfect chance to set up accordingly.

You enter the building and turn left towards your office, but you abruptly stop when you see the newly familiar orange hair leaning patiently against your door. His head looks up immediately when the sound of your heels against the fine carpet resonates through and you know it wouldn’t be as simple as trying to get close to the door to bypass him – so you decide with clenched fists to just ignore him as you go about with your day.

“Y/N...” He whispers when you clasp your hand around the knob and you make eye contact with him, a searing glare coming from your own.

You open the door and he follows you in, but the moment you hear the soft thud of it closing do you turn back around.

“What are you doing here?” You question, crossing your arms and narrowing your eyes at him.

“Y/N, you have to listen to me. It’s not what you think it is.” He pleads but you shake your head, deciding it was best to shut him out.

He subtly notices the change and he firmly states the words, “I’m in love with you Y/N.”

It’s as if those words were all you needed to snap the fine strand of patience you had left in you, the constant tugging and pulling abruptly breaking in half. Gritting your teeth, it all comes flowing out.

“In love with me? How-” You pause, “How can you even say that? You pretended to be one of my suitors, wasted precious hours of my time, used me and then left once you got what you wanted! And you’re suggesting that it was all done out of love?”

You’re breathing hard and you don’t even notice the overwhelming amount of tears rolling down your cheeks. It wasn’t even remotely easy to explain what you had to go through after he left – needing to recollect yourself immediately so your company wouldn’t suffer from the results of your stupid mistake. You buried all thoughts of him, eliminating there presence in order to establish your life’s hard work.

The self-proclaimed CEO that established an organization within a mere couple of years was reduced down to the reckless CEO that was so famously conned.

Hoseok looks away, shutting his eyes when you launch the facts that were so painfully true in front of him. He can’t stop himself when he reaches out again, grasping your hand when you usher him to leave.

He sees the amount of emotional exhaustion leaking into your eyes.

He drops his hand.

Turning to leave, Hoseok slowly closes the door and falters for a moment when he hears the small cries escape from you. He racks a hand through his locks in frusteration, turning to leave.

He doesn’t even know where he should begin, or how he should go about it. He doesn’t want to see you suffering anymore but he can’t even fathom if you were going to believe him or not.

Hoseok abruptly walks up in the middle of the night, recalling he had stayed over at your apartment. He looks down at you and smiles, watching you use his arms as your own personal pillow when the soft snores flow from you. A chuckle escapes him when he hears you produce a loud one, but it fades away when his phone vibrates and he slowly lets go of you. He reaches down and unlocks it, eyes illuminating at the message.

Unknown number: it’s your last day. do not mess this up.

Hoseok nibbles on the inside of his cheek, noticing how both your phone and laptop were located only mere inches away from him. He lets out a sharp exhale, to which another snore responds to him and he faintly chuckles this time. He looks down at your form and his eyes tinge with an indecipherable feeling, the light of his phone still remaining bright on his features.

With a deep sigh, he responds back.

Hoseok: Response received. Jung Hoseok,

He smiles.

Hoseok: Response received. Jung Hoseok, termination requested.

He hurriedly gets up, knowing he didn’t have much time left after the message was read. Pulling on his clothes, he grabs all his belongings and takes one final look towards you.

“I’ll be back,” His brushes a strand of hair out of your eyes and places a soft kiss on your forehead, “I just hope you’ll be able to recognize me this time.”

He leaves your apartment.

***

Hoseok finds it a little unsettling, losing a job he had finally managed to obtain so easily. But he’s filled with relief, the buzzing feeling of being able to go back to you without the lingering guilty feeling enticing him.

However, he receives a response the next day on his phone. Turning on the news was a bad choice he had indeed made as well, the shock overflooding him.

Unknown number: Response Received. Termination Denied.

He repeatedly tries to message back, to get some form of communication but his first and last job leaves him with no response.

You weren’t in the best of moods; encountering Hoseok twice was already resurfacing too much of what you chose to throw away and it seems just like before – he doesn’t leave your thoughts once. You let out a defeated sigh, failing in your attempt to simply push them in the back of your mind when you sit down in your car. You needed to attend a company party and you pray that time flows faster than it does on your watch.

“It’s the usual party. The address should have been given to you.” You state to your driver and he obliges when you sink into the car seat. Your mind continues to wander as you stare outside the window.

The car comes to an abrupt stop and you furrow your brows in confusion, to only see that you conveniently parked out of what appears to be a burger joint.

Your eyes widen.

“Wha-“ Your mind had been too clouded with your own thoughts that you had failed to even spare a glance at your driver, or in this case, who your driver supposedly was.

“Hoseok?” He softly smiles at you before he gets out of the car, opening the door for you.

“What are you even doing here?” You furiously ask, but Hoseok leads towards the back of the car and opens it.

“I need you to listen to me.” He sternly says, reaching out to grab a bag from the trunk before he empties the contents into it.

It’s filled with an abundance of files and multiple photographs of one single person: You.

You raise an eyebrow when you reach out to grab a file and you scan through it. Alarm floods you at the level of detail the inquiry has about you, from where you would work to the accounts you would access to even information about your own mother being contained.

Another lingering statement doesn’t rest well with you.

Con Artist Jung Hoseok.

Your eyes flicker up to him but he simply gestures for you to keep going through the document. They eventually land on the particular set of instructions assigned towards Hoseok.

‘Infiltrate database to pose yourself as a potential suitor and hack into the target content’s using the following instructions.’

It goes into extensive detail on how to hack into your account but surprise arises when you notice that the operation was stated to be conducted for only a single day – the day Hoseok had taken you to the same burger joint you were standing at right now.

You look up at him in confusion and he smiles once he’s noticed you’ve read through everything.

“I wanted to show you all this to prove something, because I know it isn’t possible to trust me after what I’ve done to you.”

“My name is indeed Jung Hoseok, and I am a con artist who was assigned to you as his first job. My assignment was to be completed upon meeting you.”

“Then why didn’t you complete it?”

He smiles, “Because I had fallen in love.”

His smile falters however, “I wanted to tell you after my position was terminated, but I found out that they went ahead with the operation under my name. I was already receiving heat from delaying it, so they decided to take matter in their own hands.”

You contemplate the information expressed to you and the fire inside you has considerably shimmered down, but a new feeling opts out in replacing it – doubt.

“Why...why did you become a con artist?”

The question surges out, but the implications behind it were valid. When you initially found out that you had been conned, it was hard convincing yourself that it was Hoseok’s doing because the occupation wouldn’t be something you would so readily associate with him.

He lets out a deep sigh, “Stealing was something I just did best, and you don’t really think of any consequences when you’re a kid and the only thought you have is protecting your sister. So the choice was simple, I was poor and needed to survive.” He averts his eyes from yours and you can sense that it was something he wasn’t very proud of saying out loud. You realize that you could be possibly the only person he’s revealed this to and it draws you back to the point where you had confided in him.

“You were trying to protect something you treasured.” The flash of your prestigious title reappears.

He nods, “I wanted to come back from there, show you that I didn’t need to steal anymore.” He sheepishly reaches into his pocket and reveals the newly laminated employee card for none other than your own company.

A soft smile makes its way onto your lips and you take a step towards the trunk where he was seated and join him.

“You know, it wasn’t easy to handle things when you left. I had to constantly overwork myself from the loss.” He immediately turns to you, guilt eating away at him from the words.

“But it seems like you have something to treasure just like I do.”

You inch closer over to him.

“And you did succeed in stealing something.” You peck him softly on the lips and he’s startled by the gesture.

“I-I did?”

“My heart.” His brows immediately furrow and a repulsive expression overcasts his face.

“Since when did you become so cheesy? I only remember an intimidating CEO who looked like she was going to murder me when I first met her.”

“I actually thought about it.”

“What?”

“Keyword – thought. I’m here now aren’t I? And you’re still alive.” He scoffs before you’re bringing him closer again, delivering another sweet peck.

“Hey. Mr. Thief.” He hums, “What say we make our way somewhere else?” You gesture behind you towards the burger joint.

“No more fancy restaurants huh?” He teases, walking alongside you hand in hand.

“Oh shut up.”

657 notes · View notes