Jungkook has been practicing his speaking skills relentlessly, much to his baby brother's dismay. The poor boy has had to endure his brother's constant random monologues.

Seonjin watches as his Hyung stands up and starts speaking about a big word he can't quite pronounce yet. Contracevlip? Conpasentive? Contresiptel?

"Contraceptives!" Jungkook announces to the imaginary audience. "They have been around for years but still, we are yet to find a way to improve these safe sex metho-"

"Hyung, what does sex mean?" Seonjin interrupts.

Jungkook looks down at his brother, eyes wide with horror. "Seonjin! When did you get here?!"

The smaller frowns. "Hyung told me to come here ages ago to listen to you speak, remember?"

Jungkook clicks his tongue and runs a hand through his hair. "Thanks for listening, Seonnie. You can go now-"

"But Hyung, what is sex?"

Jungkook goes red, staring down at his 5-year-old brother with a helpless look. "Uhh, s-sex is..."

"...Something Jungkook will never get," a new voice interrupts the duo.

"CHIMMY HYUNG!" Seonjin squeals as he runs over to the pink-haired male. The man squats down and smiles at the boy, eyes crinkling. "Hi, Seonnie, it seems you and Kookie have been busy?"

Seonjin nods frantically. "Hyung gave me ice cream and started talking about s-sex."

Jimin gives Jungkook an incredulous look. "You already gave him the talk? Kook, he's 5!"

Jungkook shakes his head. "No, it's not like that! I was just- ugh forget it."

Jimin stands up and smiles before walking over to his friend and ruffling his hair. "What's on your mind?"

"I got a job, Hyung," Jungkook blurts out. Jimin widens his eyes. "Oh my god, Jungkook, that's amazing! When, where, how?"

Jungkook huffs as he's tackled by the smaller man. "Hyung!" he whines trying to get the older off him.

"Hyungg," Seonjin mocks from the side, causing Jimin to laugh and Jungkook to send his brother a playful glare.

Jungkook then sighs while sitting up straight on the bed. "It's at King's Corp. I'm Mr Kim's new secretary."

Jimin seems to have no reaction at first, he's completely silent.

"Hyung?"

"Hold on, I think I just gave birth," Jimin says seriously. Jungkook gives him a weird look.

"OKAY HOLD UP. JUNGKOOK WHAT THE F...ork," Jimin screams, changing his curse last minute upon seeing Seonjin's watchful eyes. "You're working under THE Kim Taehyung? THE CEO OF ONE THE BIGGEST COMPANIES IN THE WORLD."

Jungkook sighs, "Yes, now calm down."

Jimin takes a deep breath. "Yeah okay, I-I'm- HOLY SHIT YOU'RE WORKING UNDER THE KIM-" Jungkook slaps a hand over the boy's mouth, giving him a threatening glare.

"Seonnie, can you leave for a second, Chimmy Hyung and I are going to have an adult talk, ok?"

The smaller pouts but proceeds to waddle out of the room. Once the boy is out of sight, Jungkook turns back to Jimin with a scowl on his face. "Don't swear in front of him you piece of baboon shit."

Jimin giggles behind Jungkook's hand and nods at him, his eyes crinkled into small crescents. "I'm sorry. Let me try that again. Sooo how is it?" Jimin asks, clearly still feeling giddy. "Working under the one and only king himself. I'm so shocked. He's literally my idol. Is he as hot in real life as he is in the magazines? Jimin rambles on.

Jungkook sighs. "He's so arrogant. He hates my guts, probably wants me to fall off a cliff or something. He glares at me every time we meets eyes and calls me pathetic for stuttering. He makes me do these ridiculous tasks and-and ugh- it's so frustrating."

Jimin sighs, his eyebrows furrowing as he sees Jungkook's distressed features. "Kook, if it's really that hard working there, why can't you just quit? You can always get another job with all those degrees you have!"

Jungkook shakes his head, "You know I can't, Hyung. This is my dream job, working under a big company like this. And even if it wasn't, I...I really need the money, especially now." Jimin looks at the boy worriedly, noticing the way that he is anxiously chewing on his lip.

"M-Mum reached stage 6," Jungkook says as he runs a hand through his hair. "S-She forgot who I was, Hyung. S-She doesn't remember a-anything. She has no recollection of where she is, who we are... the-the doctors said she may have a maximum of 1 and a half years to l-live," Jungkook says, his voice trembling with emotions.

Jimin glances worriedly at his friend, placing a tentative hand on his shoulder, unsure on what to say. "It's going to be okay, Kook," he finally whispers out.

Jungkook looks up and forces a smile onto his crumbling features. "Yeah, yeah it is."

But they both know that it's a lie.

~

"Check these files out," Taehyung says as he enters the office. He chucks a few files onto the boy's desk, causing him to startle. Jungkook looks up at his boss who is adorning a plain black suit. It's nothing dazzling but he still manages to look very attractive. Jungkook wishes he could look that good in a suit. Instead, he looks like he was forced into one under gunpoint. If he is being honest, he is more of a hoodie and boxer type of dude rather than a high-class suit and tie kind of guy. Mr Kim, on the other hand, seems to be the complete opposite of him.

Jungkook nods to his boss and starts working on the files. "Those files have the data for the information you will be presenting tomorrow at the meeting," Taehyung speaks up from where he is sitting.

Jungkook freezes at his words. Tomorrow. The meeting is tomorrow. His entire job is practically on the line because he knows that if he messes up, Mr Kim won't hesitate to fire him. If he messes up tomorrow, he's screwed. "Yes sir," he finally croaks out.

With nervous butterflies flapping around in his stomach, Jungkook once again begins working on the files. He attempts to read the files but his mind is so cluttered with the thoughts of tomorrow that he inevitably distracts himself from the task at hand. His distraction robs him of time so Jungkook eventually finds himself rushing to finish up the documents, cursing himself for getting distracted from the most important task.

Hours pass by and soon Jungkook can hear the bustling crowds of businessmen and women hurdling out onto the streets to get home and enjoy their evening. Jungkook doesn't even bother packing up because he knows that he still has a lot of work to do and he is not going to leave until he gets it done. And so Jungkook and Taehyung both continue their work in a somewhat peaceful silence. The silence, however, is rather short-lived as a soft knock on the door shatters its existence.

"Come in," Taehyung says, not even bothering to look up from his computer screen.

Jungkook looks up and almost gasps when he sees a gorgeous blond-haired woman enter the room. She has a small frame that is hugged tightly by her short office skirt and blouse. She struts into the office in her gleaming red heels that catches Jungkook's eyes due to their obnoxiously loud tapping. She stops in front of Mr Kim's desk, a flirtatious smile on her lips.

"I've finished the marketing files, sir," she purrs out, her cat-like eyes staring intensely at the boss. Jungkook watches the scene with curiosity. He can tell that this lady, whoever she is, is flirting with Mr Kim.

Are they a couple?

Mr Kim boredly looks up from his computer screen and accepts the files. The girl slightly leans down on the desk, subtly revealing her cleavage to the boss. Taehyung skims through the files, ignoring her attempt at seduction. After reading through the documents, Taehyung looks up, a smile on his face.

"Come here," he says to her, pointing at the space in front of him.

Jungkook's eyes widen. Oh my god, what are they going to do? Jungkook thinks as a blush spreads across his face. The woman struts over to stand in front of Mr Kim, swaying her hips as she does so.

"Kimberly, right?" Taehyung asks as he looks up at the girl from where he is seated. The blond nods, her painted red lips pulling up into a smile.

"Did you do all this in one day?" he asks, his voice soft and barely above a whisper.

Jungkook almost scoffs out loud. He finished that huge task that the man assigned in just under 2 days and didn't even get a nod of approval but as soon as this pretty blond girl does anything, she gets recognised?

"Yes sir," she says, sultry syllables dripping from her voice. "You know how hard I work when it comes to the tasks you assign me."

"Is that so?" Taehyung asks with a small smile. She nods giddily.

"Mr Jeon," Taehyung suddenly calls out, making the boy shoot his head up at the sound of his name. Jungkook scurries over to his desk. He fiddles nervously with his fingers as he stands next to the man. Is he going to compare me with her? Jungkook thinks as a dreadful feeling settles within him.

"Read this and tell me what you think," the ravenette says as he tosses the files towards Jungkook. Jungkook hesitantly picks it up and starts reading but instantly frowns when his eyes meet the paper. Immediately, he can tell that the documents have the wrong design. All the company files have to have a specific design so that customers and employees can easily recognise the files. Jungkook continues reading with furrowed eyebrows and he notices the amount of spelling and grammatical errors on the page. Did she not edit this? Along with the poor grammar, the file has blatantly false data values. $30000000 for a youtube ad?! Even a fool can tell that this is wrong.

"What do you think, Jungkook?" Taehyung asks, his mouth lifted up into a subtle smirk. Jungkook almost jumps at the fact that the man addressed him using his first name but he brushes it aside and quickly starts talking about the files.

"Uh, the files seem to have the wrong design, sir." He says hesitantly, fearing that he might get yelled at if he spoke with too much certainty. He isn't even sure why he's here, shouldn't this be a matter between this woman and Mr Kim?

Taehyung nods, "Mhm, what else?"

Jungkook bites his inner cheek and nervously looks up at the woman who is now staring at him with an obvious glare. "There's a lot of grammar mistakes."

The woman scoffs quietly, rolling her eyes as she looks away.

"Is that it?" Taehyung asks.

"And... the data seems to be inaccurate," Jungkook states, watching as the woman pokes her inner cheek with her tongue, looking extremely annoyed.

She huffs, "Excuse me but you're not even in the marketing department. How would you know the values are wrong?" She exclaims while narrowing her eyes.

Jungkook opens his mouth to speak but Mr Kim beats him to it.

"30 million dollars for a youtube ad, Ms Kimberely?!" He asks while quirking up his brow.

The woman pauses and hesitantly turns to face the man. "Uhh..."

Mr Kim slowly stands up from his desk, now towering over both Jungkook and the woman. "You spelt budget as buget. Did you fail third grade English, Ms Kim?" He asks lowly, causing a bright blush to spread across her pale cheeks. Jungkook stands there awkwardly, watching as the man steps closer towards the woman.

"You used a design that we used back in 2008, one that lost us customers due to its unprofessional layout. Were you aware of that?"

"I-It was a-a mistake, sir," she stutters out as she lowers her head to stare at the ground.

"A mistake?" Taehyung asks while tilting his head, his voice calm; Almost like the empty shore before the destructive tsunami.

Before the woman can even speak up, Mr Kim slams the files onto the desk, rattling the wooden surface and shattering the breath of morbid silence. Both Jungkook and the woman jumps back in surprise, fear taking over their forms as the once calm man starts fuming with utter rage.

"A MISTAKE?" He repeats, his voice raised to a thunderous volume. "Do you think this is fucking kindergarten? Do you not understand that this is an official business document?!" The woman trembles at his booming voice.

"This is your job! I don't pay you to slack off and produce whatever this shit is!"

"I-I'm sorry, sir," the blond-head mutters, looking close to tears.

"Sorry? Weren't you so confident a few seconds ago? You seemed to not see your own mistakes. Why else would you march in here and flaunt your pathetic excuse of a document?" By now the woman is a bright shade of red, clearly embarrassed to the bone.

"If you ever step foot in this office again with a file like this, it won't just be your pride at stake but also your job." Taehyung says firmly before picking up the documents and ripping them in half. He chucks them onto the floor and sits back on his chair.

"Remake this by tomorrow morning."

The woman widens her eyes, "b-but-" She instantly closes her mouth as Mr Kim sends her a piercing glare. She hastily picks up the papers and runs out of the office, leaving behind a fuming Taehyung and a frightened Jungkook.

"Incompetent fuckers," Taehyung growls as he slams his hand on his desk.

Jungkook jumps back and gulps down the lump in his throat. Mr Kim then seems to realise that the boy is still standing there and looks up at him. Jungkook stares at him with wide frightened eyes, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. He fears that he too will get yelled at for whatever reason and after seeing Taehyung angry once, he wishes to never see it again. God, it was probably the most frightening thing he's ever seen.

Taehyung quirks his eyebrow up as he continues to stare at the boy who almost squirms under the intense eye contact. Jungkook looks so frightened and alarmed with his small pouted lips and large eyes that it almost makes the man chuckle. A small smile tugs at his lips and he sligtly shakes his head.

"You can go sit down," Taehyung says, his voice much softer than it previously was.

Jungkook stays there for a seconds before blinking. "I..." he gulps, trying to not stutter. "Yes sir," he squeaks, flushing red immediately after at the sound of his high pitched voice.

But before he can hastily make his way back and avoid further embarrassment, the doors burst open, revealing no other than Kim Namjoon, Taehyung's brother.

"Hyung?" Taehyung calls out, his eyebrows furrowed. It surprises Jungkook because one, it reminds him that Mr Kim is also Korean like him and two, it's weird to see the man being so polite and respectful towards someone else. Namjoon marches over to the desk, interrupting Jungkook from his thoughts. He slams a file onto the timbre structure and then runs a frustrated hand through his hair before spinning around.

"What is it?" Taehyung asks as he picks up the file.

Namjoon turns back and exhales deeply. "Read it," he states gruffly.

Taehyung slowly opens the file and then flicks through it, his face paling as he reads the document typed in fine print.

"Do you know why they withdrew?" He asks, voice sounding on-edge.

"I'm...I'm not sure." Namjoon replies.

Taehyung huffs in frustration, "but this is nonsense. The deal is tomorrow! They already signed the contract and- ugh! Why would they do this?!"

Jungkook awkwardly stands, watching the two brother's interact. He doesn't know what's happening but he can sense the panic radiating from the both of them.

"Whatever it is, that's 40 million dollars, down the drain!" Namjoon yells.

Taehyung looks up, looking torn. "I...I know- it's just- why would they..."

"You should have known better, Taehyung," Namjoon says, tone laced with disappointment.

Taehyung looks at his brother, a flash of helplessness running past his lifeless orbs. "I didn't think..."

"I know," Namjoon says, interrupting him. He places a hesitant hand on the boy's shoulder. "You're the CEO, Taehyung. You need to prevent things like this from happening. Just...Just please be careful and...I don't know. Just..." Namjoon sighs. He looks at his brother's worried eyes and gently pats his shoulder. "Don't stress about it now, Tae, we'll work this out, okay?" Namjoon says softly before giving his brother one last glance and leaving.

Jungkook catches the subtle sigh of exhausition that slips past Namjoon's lips as he walks out. The brunette looks down at his boss who is rigidly seated on his chair. The man looks rather blank but he notices how his hands are shaking.

The ravenette shakily reaches for the draw on his desk and opens it. He pulls out what seems to be a box of ciggarettes and the slips his fingers into grab a stick.

"FUCK!" He curses abruptly while throwing the empty box across the room. Jungkook jumps in surprise and looks over at his frantic boss with wide eyes.

Taehyung raids through the draws, repeatedly hissing out curses when he doesn't come in reach with anymore of those small boxes. Jungkook watches as the man jolts his knees up and down while running a shaky hand through his hair.

Taehyung starts breathing slightly heavily and he pushes himself back against the chair, arm coming up to tug at his hair. He seems to have forgotten Jungkook's presence. No, infact, he seems to be unaware of everything around him. Jungkook finds it alarming, the way the man is shaking in utter silence, having an internal battle that seems to be rattling his usually sturdy posture.

"Mr Kim?" Jungkook squeaks out, eye brows furrowed in worry.

Taehyung doesn't repsond. He let's his mind slip deeper and deeper into the darkness within his head. The darkness that is blindingly bright. A feeling of sheer panic engulfed in the arms of numbness. He feels a spiral of emotions but he can't label a single one. Once again, Taehyung finds himself lost. Lost in his own body, his own head, his own thoughts. A stranger to himself. Namjoon's words repeat in his head You're the CEO, Taehyung. That's right. He's the CEO. The CEO of the biggest company in the world. He has so much power... but yet he feels so weak. Because with power comes responsibilty, comes risks, comes danger. Comes all the things that Taehyung can't seem to get a grip on. And so as he reaches for the things he must inevitably control, he's finds that he's losing the one thing he has control over; himself.

How could he not? He's got all the problems in the world to worry about. The weight of an entire company and all its colossal issues rest on his quivering shoulders. So he let's himself get lost. Let's himself slip, falling deeper and deeper into the abyss that resides beneath the thin walls of his skin. It usually takes a few sticks of cancerous toxins to bring him back to the assuring weight of his own limbs but now with the empty boxes as a mocking reminder of his uncontrollable fate, he finds himself crippling beneath the dizzying turmoil of thoughts.

"Don't let me down son, I can count on you, right?"

Taehyung struggles to breath, his lungs are twisted with the force of his lurking memory.

"Y-Yes father, I-I promise."

He promised. He promised. He promised. Taehyung feels his body quivering, his mind racing, his heart palpitating, breath depleting. Air...he needs air. He needs air. He needs air.

"Sir."