His hopeful eyes dim when there's only a silent stare as a response. He gulps down the lump forming in his throat and reaches his hand up to cup his mother's face. "I-It's okay, Momma. You've s-said it a lot before so its o-okay if you don't s-say it anymore."

A small sob breaks past his lips and he brings his mother's hand towards his own face. "I...I.." he pauses before smiling at her nostalgically.

"Kookie loves you."

_

Jungkook pulls his head back slightly and looks up at his bosses face, feeling awed by his wise words and lulled by his soothing smile. Standing there with the older's arms wrapped around him, he feels something so foreign, so alien to what he's used to feeling. A feeling of safety, of comfort. A feeling so intense that it feels like his breath has been stolen and replaced by only the heat of the darked-eyed man looking down at him.

Jungkook doesn't exactly know what compels him to do it, for his head was racing and his mind was screaming and chaos was the puppet-master of his being; He doesn't really know what took over him when he stood on his tippie toes and let his lips crash onto Taehyung's. He doesn't know why he did it, what compelled him to do it, but all he knows is that kissing him, caressing his bosses lips with his own in such a tender exchange, being held in his warm arms, it all just feels... right. And nothing in his tainted head or his bruised heart can tell him otherwise.

Taehyung is taken aback by the boy's sudden action and for a moment he stands still, trying to process if his mind is altering reality or if reality is really Jungkook's soft lips moving against his own. He comes to his senses fast enough though, not wanting to miss a second of the younger's affection. He places his hand on the boy's jaw, cupping it, and kisses him back with ease, letting their lips dance into heated ecstasy.

And just like that they kiss. Kiss as the stars twinkle in the sky, as the wind whistles a fine tune and as the rain crashes onto the ground around them. Every detail is simply just a blurred background to their picture perfect embrace.

And that's exactly what it is. Picture perfect.

-

"Leave, Ms Kim," the man says, finality in his tone.

She shakes her head before dropping her head into her hands. "W-Why? I-I worked f-for you for so many year and now y-you want to kick me o-out over this? First you fired me from being your secretary and now you want me to stop w-working here completely?"

Taehyung exhales, looking aggravated as he leans back in his chair. "You know why you're not my secretary anymore."

"Because I liked you?! Because I caught feelings? Is that it? I worked hard for you, sir. And now you act like you don't even remember my name at times," she cries.

"Exactly Ms Kim. You caught feelings. You know that I can't have that. But after you stopped being my secretary, you barely tried at work. You let your skills go to waste over some silly feelings."

She wipes her eyes and chuckles, muttering, "Silly feelings." After a few moments she looks back up and takes a small breath. "Please sir. Give me one more chance. I...this job means a lot to me, I need it. I'll apologise to Jungkook and start working harder, I promise. J-Just...please."

-

"Hello," he answers, seeing Brianna's caller ID.

"I'm mad at you," she huffs from across the phone.

Jungkook frowns," what, why?" he asks, bewildered by the girl's sudden remark.

"You didn't even bother to tell me?"

Jungkook pauses. "Bri, what on earth are you saying?"

He hears the girl scoff through the phone followed by the sound of his messages dinging.

"Now quit acting dumb, I can't believe you wouldn't tel..."

It's funny, how her voice now turns into that white noise he was once listening to. Except this time, the sound doesn't bring him tranquility. This time, he feels sheer panic rush up his gut, drowning out his inner voice and amplifying his rushing heart beat. His once state of calmness turns into an inner turmoil. He stares down at his phone, eye widened almost comically and all he can think is...

oh no.

Taehyung sees the fear in the boy's eyes, that look of terror mixed with shock as he stares back at him. Jungkook seems to be at a loss for words, the only sound in the room being the dull thud of his heartbeat. Taehyung grunts and runs a hand through his hair as he reads the article once again, trying to ensure that his eyes aren't fooling him with this misery.

"W-What do we do?" Jungkook finally asks, voice shaking from the anxiety clawing at his throat.

Taehyung tilts his head back to stare at the ceiling, letting the question hang in the thick air before he answers.

"We ignore it," He simply states after contemplating.

Jungkook furrows his brows and looks over at his boss, alarmed. "B-But how can we? If people think w-were dating-"

"We will deny those claims as they're not true and we'll deal with whatever comes after that."

Jungkook shakes his head at his bosses words. "S-Sir, w-what if p-people start rumours o-or-"

Taehyung sighs, "Bun..."

He walks up to the younger and cups his face, looking down and meeting his honey filled eyes. "I'll deal with this, you don't worry about it. Okay?"

Jungkook stares into what feels like pits of burnt coal, eyes that are cold, icy, yet somehow wrapped in this comforting warmth. He exhales a small breath and nods. "Okay."

~

It feels to him like the world is staring down at him, scrutiny being their motive as they ogle. The crowd of reporters rushing to him alongside long camera lenses makes him feel suffocated and he struggles to grip onto that essence of calmness settled within him. With questions being thrown his way and faces being pushed in his direction as he rushes to the company car alongside Taehyung, he feels his throat tighten, blocking his airway.

It's funny. Jungkook once found comfort from the presence of a crowd, felt warmth with the knowledge of there being others around him. Now he just craves for that isolation that he used to so eagerly avoid.

Jungkook lets out a deep exhale as soon as he shuts the door of the car and leaves behind the buzz of the curious reporters. He rubs his hands over his face before letting his back fall onto the seat.

Taehyung looks over at the boy, noticing the distress in his features. He reaches out his palm and strokes the boy's back, attempting to calm him. "Ignore all that. It always happens when even something remotely interesting happens."

Jungkook looks up and sees Taehyung staring at him intently and he finds comfort in his gaze.

But as he stares at the older, he misses one small detail. The quivering pupils hidden behind that shield of comfort.

As Taehyung smiles reassuringly at the younger, he feels his own heart accelerate, beating, untameable in the darkness of his body. But it's not the frantic crowds of reporters thrashing outside the car that drives such anxiety through him.

No. It's knowledge of those men, waiting for him in that meeting room, ready to tear him apart, that's what makes him feel so weary.

It's knowing that they'll all be there, ready to pounce on him, strike him, claw him, prey on him like the rabbit he is. They'll all be there, those lions. And that man...that monster, he'll be there too. And Taehyung wonders if he can manage it all, if he can stand up in front of them, in front of him, and deal with it. He wonders if he can keep his mask on, use his power as a facade to shield his fear. He wonders if he'll cripple in front of their cruel eyes. He wonders. But he knows he has no choice. Whatever happens, he'll just have to deal with it.

Because if not him then who?

~

There is this tenseness that clings to the walls of the room that makes Jungkook squirm in his seat. As he sits there with those several men staring in his direction, their eyes mocking him with a knowing glint, he can't help but have his nerves swarm his chest like gothic moths fluttering around a light.

He wonders how Taehyung is managing to stay calm, how the man seems to oh-so effortlessly keep his composure. He peeks at the ravenette who slides his glasses onto his face before picking up a document.

"He's late," the older announces to the room, making Jungkook furrow his brows. Who is he talking about?

One of the men, Mr Cooper, shrugs. "He'll be here any-"

Before he can finish, the door to the meeting room opens, revealing the man that kept everyone waiting.

The sight makes Jungkook freeze in his seat. Those dark piercing eyes, twisted cruel smirk, that nonchalant expression. A face he's oh too familiar with. His father.

"Mr Grey," Taehyung spits, eyes glaring down at the man who casually takes his seat. "Nice of you to join us."

The man's smirk widens, "my pleasure, Kim." Taehyung stares at the man for a second longer before leaning back against his seat.

Jungkook can barely hear his bosses speech as his head blurs with the sight in front of him. His eyes stay glued to his father's face and his breathing turns shallow with every second that passes. The man doesn't notice him there for a while as he disinterestedly listens in to Taehyung. After minutes pass, the man finally scans his eyes across the room, inspecting the faces with an utter look of boredom before they finally land on Jungkook.

He freezes upon meeting the boy's stare, a small look of surprise crossing over his once stoic features. He soon replaces the look with arrogance, smirking at his son knowingly as he let's his cold dead eyes claw into those quivering pools of honey.

Jungkook tightens his shaking fists in an attempt to keep his composure and simply looks away from the man, opting to stare up at his boss who continues to speak. He tries to ignore the feeling of those eyes glaring into his side, tries to settle his frantic thoughts and his speeding heartbeat as he let's out small ragged breaths.

Taehyung tosses a document into the middle of the table and looks up at the men in the room. "Now, I've done my part of the speaking. Does anyone else have any input or can we get straight into signing the deal."

The room remains silent, Taehyung's question simply hanging in the chilly air. And then suddenly, there's laughter. Harsh, mocking laughter. It starts of as one man but then contagiously infects the others and soon, Taehyung stands there with his eyes furrowed as the other men in the room all cackle.

Jungkook looks up at Taehyung, confused. The older tilts his head and stares down at the men. "Is there a problem?"

One of the men looks up after finally composing himself. He leans forward against the table while shaking his head amusedly. "That was a nice presentation, Kim. But did you really think..."He looks around at the other men with a smile before looking back at the ravenette.

"Did you really think after all that happened, we'd still want to make a deal with you? With some f*g ?" The room bursts into laughter again as Taehyung turns stiff.

"We saw the article yesterday. You know it wasn't the first time we heard of your gay tendencies but it was only confirmed when we saw you smooching this sissy secretary of yours."

Jungkook flinches at the harsh words and cowers his head down, trying his hardest to avoid all their piercing eyes.

Taehyung stands there for a moment, staring at the men who stare back at him arrogantly. He doesn't say a word and simply just fixates his eyes on them, letting those charcoal orbs speak against the silence. And then, after moments past, Taehyung chuckles, taking the men aback with his nonchalance.

He leans his hands on the table and drops his head while laughing louder, causing them to look at each other in alarm.

"What's so funny?" A grey-haired man asks after a moment.

Taehyung takes his glasses off and shakes his head in amusement as his laughter slowly dies down. "You," he answers. "I didn't know I was working with a line of comedians."

The men furrow their eyebrows and share a look of confusion. "What do you mean. We were serious with what we spoke about."

Taehyung chuckles softly again at that. "Yes, I believe that. But still, it's rather amusing."

The men look at him, expression hardening as they sense his mocking tone. "What is?" One spits out, glaring at the younger.

Taehyung walks over to the grey-haired man sitting across from him and leans over his chair. "Well you want to withdraw from the deal because, how did you phrase it? Ah yes, 'I'm a f*g'. That sounds rather homophobic of you. It's funny because I wonder what all your clients will think when they find out about you being homophobic," he says while looking around. "Mr Stanely," he calls out to a blond haired man. "I heard you have a grand deal with Mr Panzic, who is openly gay. You know I wonder how he would react when he finds out that you don't support people like him," he continues with a mocking frown.

The blond man looks over at the others hesitantly, unable to refute the statement.

Taehyung straightens his posture and then looks closely at all the men. "18 billion dollars. The rough amount of income your companies would lose if they don't get their support from their LGBTQ+ clients." He walks back over to his seat.

"And do you know where all that money would go, gentlemen?" he asks rhetorically.

He looks down at Jungkook who looks rather pale while he sits in his seat. He places a hand on the boy's hair and ruffles it while smiling. "That's right. It would go to my company. And you know who would benefit from all that money?"

The room once again falls into a stifling silence as all eyes glance up at the young ravenette. Taehyung's eyes darken and his lips pull into menacing smirk. "This f*g and his sissy secretary"

It slightly fascinates Jungkook to see how the once cocky men with their belittling gazes now sit in silence with their tales tucked under their wobbling legs. It reminds him once again of how powerful his boss really is.

Despite everything, Taehyung manages to silence the lions' roars with a simple gaze and empower himself through injustice. Despite his racing heart and shaking hands, Jungkook still finds himself feeling admiration towards the older. He doesn't know how Taehyung does it, how he stands up for himself like that. He just wishes he could be even remotely as brave one day. But as he looks down at his trembling hands, he know's its just wishful thinking.

Taehyung picks up the document from the middle of the table. "Right, well, I'll get going then. Let me know when you change your minds about the deal," he says, smiling down arrogantly at them.

~

"You okay?" Taehyung asks as the smaller boy walks out behind him. Jungkook looks up at him with wide eyes and nods. "A-Ah yeah, I just...I just need to use the bathroom. I-I'll be back." Taehyung furrows his eyebrows and nods as the boy rushes off.

Jungkook walks into the bathroom and exhales a heavy breath. The large mirror on the wall greets him with his own wary expression, staring back at him with brooding eyes. Jungkook sighs and rubs his hand over his face, letting the heavy weight of his palm ease the tension in his muscles. His head throbs with aching thoughts as he attempts to regain his composure but all can grip onto amidst the turmoil in his head are those mocking words. F*g... Gay tendencies...Sissy.

Jungkook drops his hands from his face and grips onto the marble countertop. He closes his eyes as his heart starts to feel hot and frantic in his chest. Think about something else, Jungkook. Think about something else. He screams to himself in his head.

His mind then slowly reels away from those words, that torment, those rushing thoughts. It then fixates on a single image, hazily resting in the back of his head. But this thought seems to only claw further at the wound. It makes his hands shake and his throat dry and his breathes unsteady as panic swarm his body. It makes him dizzy. So so dizzy.

And his spinning head only seems to worsen when this very thought manifests itself into the bathroom, staring at the shaking boy with a crooked smile.

~

Taehyung furrows his brows as the smaller boy approaches him, slightly staggering as he walks along the narrow hallway.

"You good to go, Bun?" He asks as he places a gentle hand on Jungkook's back.

The mere touch seems to startles the younger who flinches back and looks at Taehyung with wide eyes. "P-Please," he says, taking Taehyung aback with how fragile his words sound. "Please don't touch me."

Taehyung retracts his hands and stares at the boy intensely as they enter the elevator. "Is everything okay?"

Jungkook moves to the other end of the lift, trying to put as much space between him and his boss as possible. The action doesn't go unnoticed by the older who curiously quirks a brow.

"E-Everything is fine. Just...Just please don't touch me." The smaller stutters.

Taehyung stares at the boy for a moment longer and sighs while looking down at his hands, opting to remain silent in order to process the younger's sudden change in behaviour.

Jungkook looks up at his boss and notices the pondering expression. He exhales a shaky breath and decides to clarify his words, speaking in a tiny whisper. "I just..d-don't want people to get the wrong idea. I'm not...I'm not gay or anything. So just...d-don't- just...y-yeah"

Taehyung looks up at the boy and stares at him silently, expression slightly stern and unchanging. He sighs, "Yeah. Got it."

~

"Jungkook, could you take this document and hand it to someone in the sales department," Taehyung says while holding out a folder towards his secretary.

Jungkook rushes to get the folder and silently accepts it before exiting the office without a word. Taehyung stares at the boy's now empty desk and sighs while rubbing his temples. Ever since they got back from the meeting, Jungkook has been avoiding him, only speaking to when absolutely necessary. Taehyung presumes that his behaviour has to do with what happened in the meeting but he still can't help but feel a little peeved. Taehyung already dealt with the situation and has also put a stop to the articles surfacing the media but Jungkook still continues to act strange.

~

"Um, hey, Mr Min Yoongi? You work under the sales department, right?" Jungkook asks hesitantly.

The blond haired man looks up from his computer and smiles at the young boy. "Oh, yes I do. You're secretary Jeon, right?" He ask while turning completely in his chair to face the boy.

Jungkook smiles shyly. "Oh, j-just Jungkook is fine."

The older chuckles. "Okay, Just Jungkook, what did you need me for."

Jungkook blushes a bright red at the older's words and shakes his head. "N-No, I meant-"

"I know, I know," Yoongi says with a small smile.

Jungkook nods, a little embarrassed, before he hands him the folder that Taehyung gave him. "Mr Kim asked me to give this to someone in the sales department. It's a record of sale peaks that we had in the past month for our new products."