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You're staring down at the documents in front of you, brows furrowed.

"This is just the base contract, we'll need to discuss the details and revise things accordingly," Mr. Song explains.

You'd asked Mr. Song to provide the documents in English, as it's a little easier for you to read. You're fluent in Korean but you wanted to have the contract written out in your native language so you're sure you didn't miss anything.

The beginning pages consist of a relatively standard Non Disclosure Agreement. HYBE is pretty genius for essentially claiming the BTS members as their property. It sounds demeaning but it's actually much easier for the company to protect them legally.

You can be sued for taking someone's trademarked artwork and distributing it. It's the same concept with the BTS members.

You read over the documents rather quickly. You've signed hundreds of NDA's for work, so you know what to look out for.

After a few minutes of reading, you sign your name on the dotted line.

"Thank you," Mr. Song says as he reaches for the completed paperwork. "Now for the terms and conditions of the contract." He spreads out a few pages in front of you and Namjoon. He'd moved his chair closer to you so he could see the pages better.

"The conditions will pretty much be left up to you, Miss [Y/N]. I've written out the conditions that are most beneficial for Namjoon, you just need to read through them and let us know which ones need changing."

You scan over the pages and find a list of bullet points, giving a brief overview of the contract requirements.

• [Y/N] will sleep at Mr. Kim's apartment 4 nights per week, weekends being a requirement but the other days are up to the individuals

• [Y/N] must stay for a minimum of 8 hours, unless the reason for a shortened visit falls upon Mr. Kim

• [Y/N] will receive a base salary pay of $8,000 per night, with eligibility of overtime if 4 nights are exceeded

• The contract will extend over a period of 3 months, with the possibility of an extension

• If [Y/N]'s services are no longer required before the 3 month term, she will receive a payout of $50,000

• The funds for this contract will come directly from Mr. Kim's personal bank account

Your jaw drops. "Eight thousand dollars per night?! Fifty thousand dollars if it's cut short?!" you almost shout.

You glare at Namjoon. "This is way too much! Do you think I'm doing this for your money?"

"No!" he exclaims, "but I need to make sure you're properly compensated. This amount is actually lower than what I originally proposed."

You stare at him in both irritation and awe as he holds your gaze. You pause before letting out a sigh. "This amount is insane," you say, pointing to the paper. "I never expected any sort of financial compensation in the first place. You literally could've just compensated me with chicken nuggets or something."

You hear Taehyung giggle.

Namjoon takes a deep breath before looking away. He stares at the papers for a few seconds before he finally speaks, his voice stoic and cold. "We aren't dating, [Y/N], there's nothing between us."

There's an uncomfortable silence that hangs in the air.

Your heart sinks a little but you don't let him see that. You can feel all of the boys glaring at Namjoon but he ignores them.

"I never said we were?" you respond, irritation oozing from your mouth. "How does me not wanting to take all your money mean I think we're dating?"

"That's not what I'm saying," he says, furrowing his brows and looking back up at you. "I'm saying that I want to treat you like an employee. So I am going to pay you like any other employee," he sighs before continuing. "This amount is way cheaper than what I was spending every month for a sleep specialist."

Your fingers clench around your chair in anger as you look down.

Do you touch all of your female employees the way you touch me? I know we're not dating, we don't even have feelings for each other, but to say there's absolutely nothing between us? That I'm just an employee to you? It's a bit harsh.

"You don't have to be a dick about it," Jimin says to Namjoon, clenching his jaw.

Namjoon shifts uncomfortably in his chair as you continue to stare at your lap, trying to process everything.

"I'm sorry if the way I said it was rude. I didn't mean it like that," he says as his voice softens.

You look back up to meet Namjoon's gaze and you can tell he means it. He didn't mean to hurt you, the guilt is evident behind his eyes. You're annoyed but there's an unconscious part of you that understands why he's putting up these walls.

You sit back in your chair and sigh, turning your attention back to Mr. Song. "Fine. If that's what he wants. But I do want to make one revision to a rule, and I also want to revise something on my NDA."

Mr. Song raises his brows, waiting for you to continue.

"First, I don't want to always have to go to Namjoon's apartment. This place is an extra 30 minutes for me to get to work. Once my apartment is finished he needs to come to me on weeknights."

Mr. Song looks at Namjoon with concern on his face. "I can't say yes for sure right now. I would have to talk to your building manager to confirm we can ensure his safety. If he and I are able to come to an agreement, then I will make sure that happens."

You nod. "That's fine, it'll be another month or two before we can stay there anyways."

"Alright," Mr. Song continues. "What else?"

"Secondly, I want to revise the NDA to allow me to speak freely about things with my best friend."

Mr. Song purses his lips for a moment.

"I won't sign this if you say no. I will walk out of here," you threaten. And you will. "I need to be able to talk about this to someone that doesn't include the members of BTS or their staff."

Mr. Song lets out a sigh and looks at Namjoon again.

"I think it should be fine, Mr. Song. She kind of already knows anyways," Namjoon says, his eyes pleading. He knows you're serious about walking out.

"Alright, fine. But she'll have to sign her own NDA."

"Deal," you smirk.

After a few more minutes of you scanning over the documents to confirm the verbiage, you sign your name on the dotted line.

"Congratulations," Mr. Song smiles. "You're now an official HYBE employee."

• • • • • • • •

"Seriously dude?" Taehyung growls as he stands up, slamming his palms onto the table. "Was it necessary to act like that to [Y/N]?"

You left shortly after signing the documents, Mr. Song offering to drive you since he needed to meet Nanami anyways. Namjoon had offered to ride back with you but you quickly refused. Maybe a little too quickly, as you could tell he felt guilty. You weren't angry. You just wanted some space.

You agreed to start the contract tomorrow, knowing it would be best to decompress on your own tonight.

"I didn't mean for it to come across that aggressively," Namjoon says, his hands holding his head up on the table. "But everything I said was how I feel. I don't want her to think there will be anything between us."

"Yeah we fucking heard that," Jimin snaps. "And then you proceeded to tell her that she's nothing more than a mere employee to you, which we can all tell is horse shit."

Namjoon lifts his head to glare at Jimin who's leaning up against the kitchen island.

"Honestly I think you were saying that to yourself more than her," Taehyung frowns. "You seem to be the one infatuated. We saw the way you touched her this morning."

"Why the hell are you guys so upset by this? We hardly know her," Namjoon huffs, running his hand through his hair. "Yes my tone came out colder than I wanted it to, but I don't think there's anything wrong with me saying I'd like to keep this platonic."

"Do you start off every contract with a female employee by saying you aren't dating?" Jimin snorts. "What has [Y/N] even done to make you think she likes you? You're being arrogant. The comment in itself was just unnecessary."

"Seriously," Taehyung frowns, "you're already pushing her away when she hasn't even done anything."

Namjoon opens his mouth to retort, but Jhope cuts him off, "Okay guys let's calm down. [Y/N] seemed irritated at the way he said it but she's a grown up. If she's upset, she should be the one to take it up with Namjoon. And I don't think she would have signed the contract if she wasn't okay with the conditions."

Jimin and Taehyung glance at each other, knowing Hoseok is correct.

"Fine, whatever," Jimin huffs. "But if this has anything to do with Hei-Ran you're a fucking idiot."

Namjoon slams his fist against the table and within seconds he's grabbing Jimin by the collar, fuming. It's rare for Namjoon to get this angry, it's only happened a handful of times in the last 9 years. He locks eyes with Jimin, ready to argue, but suddenly he's frozen in place.

He notices Jimin's eyes are not filled with malice or anger. They're filled with sadness and worry. He's not upset at how Namjoon spoke to you. He's upset at why Namjoon spoke to you that way.

He drops his arms, releasing Jimin, both Jhope and Jin letting out a sigh in relief.

"Are you still not over her?" Jimin asks, his voice much softer now.

Namjoon pauses and looks down before answering. After a few seconds of silence he looks back up at Jimin and says, "I am over her. I'm no longer in love with her and I would never get back with her."

Jimin's shoulders visibly relax.

"But," Namjoon continues, "just because I'm over her doesn't mean I'm over the situation."

Namjoon plops himself onto the barstool next to Jimin. "You're right, there's not nothing between me and [Y/N], I won't deny there's some sort of spark. But it's too early to say I have feelings for her. I just met her last week. I know I'm already putting her at arm's length for no reason. But the thought of having to go through that again, having to lose someone again, I can't do it..." he trails off, tears forming in his eyes.

"I'm sorry hyung," Jimin says, wrapping his arms around Namjoon in a hug.

"Me too," Taehyung says, tears streaming down his face as he walks over to make it a group hug.

"I'm okay guys," Namjoon chuckles. "And I'll talk to [Y/N] tomorrow. I'll apologize again."

"Good," Taehyung says as they pull away from Namjoon. "Make sure she changes her bias from Jimin to you."

"No chance in hell," Jimin snorts, causing the three of them to laugh.

"Alright guys, let's go grill some meat," Jin chimes in. "Lunch is on me."

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A/N: Chapter 10 is here, don't be mad at me

Happy Monday!!!