As the sunlight shyly peaks up from the horizon, painting gentle golden streaks on the buildings of Paris, the raven haired man sits on his bed, a wilted cigarette dangling from his pink lips. With his glasses resting on his nose and hands firmly gripping a few papers, Taehyung carefully reads over the documents, preparing for the meeting that awaits him further on in the day.

As he reads through the file, a certain data set catches his attention and he furrows his eyebrows at it. That's odd... his thinks to himself, finding the values a bit obscure. He tilts his head and sucks in a long puff from his cigarette before blowing out the wisps of smoke. Before he can further look into it, a small voice interrupts his thoughts.

"Sir?" Jungkook asks groggily, lifting his head up to showcase his fluffy bed-hair and puffy eyes. The younger looks half asleep, clearly not used to the tiring effects of jet lag. The boy then looking ever so confused, reaches out towards Taehyung's hand which holds a pen.

Taehyung furrows his eyebrows and lifts the pen confusedly before slowly giving it to the boy. Jungkook grabs the pen and then drops his head back onto the pillow, now falling back to sleep with the pen gripped in his hand.

Taehyung stares at the boy for a moment and then lets out a breathy chuckle, finding his sleep-driven actions rather adorable and amusing. He looks back down with a small smile on his lips, staring at the paper blankly. With his focus now diverted onto the boy next to him, he flips to the next page and continues reading, completely forgetting what he was looking into before.

~

Taehyung taps his foot as he stands outside the hotel room door, waiting for a certain brunette-haired boy to come out. When Taehyung's leather shoe hits the tiled floor for what feels like the nth time, the awaited boy finally stumbles out of the room, hair slightly astray and tie somewhat askew. He looks up at his boss, flustered and clearly apologetic. "I-I'm so sorry, sir," he says hastily.

Taehyung shakes his head. "You slept through 2 alarms," he says, voice monotone. Jungkook gulps and ducks his head, preparing to apologise once again. "I-"

"Jet lag must have hit you pretty bad," the older says, cutting the younger off before he can speak.

Jungkook looks up at him, slightly surprised. He thought he was going to get scolded. "O-Oh yeah, m'not used to travelling."

Taehyung nods and they walk up to the car that waits for their arrival. "I figured. Also, do you still have my pen?" he asks as he gets inside.

Jungkook furrows his brows and looks at Taehyung confusedly. "Pen?"

The older smiles ever so slightly and shakes his head. "Never mind."

Jungkook looks at him for a second, pondering over the random question. As he stares at him, he notices how Taehyung seems a lot quieter today. He stares out the window wordlessly, making Jungkook wonder what he's thinking of. A part of him wonders if Taehyung is nervous for today, but as he continues to stare at him, his boss looks ever so calm and collected. Of course he won't be nervous, Jungkook thinks to himself. He's done this for years.

And with that thought, Jungkook looks away, opting to stare out at the frost-bitten scenery. He finds solace in the way the dainty snowflakes twirl before landing so courteously on the window. But seated across from him, Taehyung finds those same snowflakes unnerving, the way they crowd the glass and block out his view of the outside, making him feel oddly suffocated.

It's fascinating, how a single thing can garner such vastly different reactions. But it's this very difference that reflects each individual's inner state. One is calm and optimistic while the other succumbs to that looming darkness. One finds comfort in what the other sees as a calamity.

Finally, after moments of observing the scenery, the car comes to a stop, indicating their arrival at the destination. Jungkook gets out of the car and turns to find his boss still seated, staring out the window.

"We're here, sir."

Taehyung snaps his head back towards the smaller. "Oh, yeah," he says quietly before stepping out of the car. He straightens out his suit and starts walking towards the building. Jungkook stands back for a second, staring at Taehyung with furrowed brows as he watches him walk away.

~

"You want to buy this new land to build another branch of the company?" The black-suited man asks, staring at Taehyung.

Taehyung nods and slides over a piece of paper. "My main project for this year is a new car model and I want this branch to be the headquarters for this car."

The man nods and picks up the paper before reading through it. Jungkook observes the two interact from the corner, feeling ever so small in the presence of what seems to be two embodiments of power. His eyes glance from Taehyung, cool, dark and sleek, to the man, brown hair, hunky frame and fiery eyes. The contrast sends shivers down his spine and he wonders if even for a second, Taehyung also feels intimidated. But even if he does, his boss shows no such signs of fear.

Jungkook wonders if he can ever achieve that level of confidence, that state of nonchalance. But knowing himself, knowing the angsty ball of stress he is, he finds his own thoughts rather comical. Unlike Taehyung, Jungkook can't mask his powerless nature. When he's up there speaking... he's simply just a rabbit, cowering under the lions, trembling under their hungry eyes.

Jungkook is pulled away from his thoughts at the sound of a mocking chuckle. "You think I'm a fool, Mr Kim?" The man asks as he slams the papers onto the desk.

Taehyung furrows his brows, "I'm sorry?"

The man scoffs, "are you trying to play dumb? You have written blatantly false data values on this sheet and you expect me to trust you with my land?"

Taehyung freezes for a moment, eyeing the small stack of papers. "False values?"

The man grits his teeth. "Don't take me for a fucking fool, Kim. You're wasting my time and patience. Did you really think I would fall for your stupid games?"

Taehyung runs a hand through his hair as he reads through the data. He curses at himself inwardly when he realises that its the same sheet he was inspecting earlier before he got distracted. "Look, Mr Jones, I wasn't trying to play games with you, this must be a small mistake-"

"Oh shut up, Kim. I didn't drive all the way here to hear you make excuses. I'm not signing this deal knowing the kind of sneak you are. You can go scam some other fool into giving you their land." The man abruptly stands from his chair and collects his files.

"Wait, no, Mr Jones there must be a misunder-"

Taehyung doesn't get to finish as the door slams shut, leaving him and Jungkook to stand in the tense silence of the room. Jungkook feels his heart accelerate as he stares at the closed door, wondering what on earth happened just then.

"S-Sir, what happ-" Before he can finish, Taehyung also stands up from his chair and storms out the room.

Jungkook quickly follows the man, ensuring to grab all the documents before he leaves the room. He struggles to keep up with Taehyung's long strides and finds himself tripping along the way. "Sir?" He calls out quietly as he stumbles behind the man.

As soon as they enter the car, Taehyung lets out a rattling growl, startling both Jungkook and the driver. Jungkook watches, trembling in his seat, as the man pulls at his hair and curses loudly.

"FUCK!" Taehyung slams his fist against the seat, causing the smaller boy to edge to the end of it, feeling rather petrified.

"Eh, I think I should wait outside for a moment, no?" The driver asks anxiously with his thick french accent.

Jungkook nods hastily and watches miserably as the driver darts out of the car. Great, now he's alone with an absolutely fuming Taehyung.

"U-Uh, sir?" Jungkook squeaks out quietly as Taehyung digs his hands into his hair and takes heavy deep breaths. He watches the man with concern as he digs his fingernails into his scalp.

"Sir, y-you'll hurt yourself," he mutters.

Taehyung continues to ignore the smaller and runs his hands down his face, his sharp fingernails leaving a red trail as they irritate his tanned skin. Jungkook gulps and hesitantly moves closer to the man, bracing himself to face his wrath.

With careful movements, Jungkook gently pulls the older's hands away from his face and holds them in his own. Fortunately, Taehyung doesn't pull away but he continues to breath heavily as he stares down at the floor.

Jungkook sits beside the older in silence, patiently waiting for him to calm down as he unconsciously strokes his thumb along his hands in a soothing manner. After minutes that seem to stretch on forever, Taehyung lets out a deep breath and leans back against the seat. Without a word, he suddenly pushes the younger's head onto his shoulder, making Jungkook's face squish up against his neck.

Jungkook startles at that and attempts to look up at the older but notices that Taehyung has his eyes closed, almost like he's calming himself down. Through his thick lashes, Jungkook observes the distress painted over Taehyung's expression. He nibbles on his lip, an action that conjures from both worry and contemplation, and then before he can stop himself, he does something unexpected. He climbs onto Taehyung's lap.

They both share a look of surprise, neither having expected the action from the smaller boy. Jungkook almost jumps of immediately, feeling embarrassed with himself, but then Taehyung moves his hands to grip onto his hips, preventing him from doing so.

Jungkook blinks his big worry-filled eyes as he stares at Taehyung, not knowing what exactly to say to the older. But Taehyung proves that an exchange of words is unnecessary because after mere moments of staring into the younger's adorable eyes, he pulls his head towards him and crashes his lips onto him.

Taehyung kisses him with this urgency, revealing his frustrations through the hot movements of his lips. They continue to heatedly make out in the car until their breaths run short and they're forced to pull away from each other. With his eyes still closed, Taehyung lets his throbbing lips graze Jungkook's swollen ones for a moment before he opens his eyes and pulls back. Jungkook unconsciously frowns at the loss of contact and whines ever so softly, causing Taehyung to finally let out a small smile. He pulls the boy in one more time and gives him a lingering kiss on the lips before pulling away once again.

After a few wordless moments pass, Jungkook realises what they just did and he blushes madly while ducking his head. Taehyung stares at the boy, finding it fascinating how his racing heart slowly eases into a melodic rhythm with just a glimpse at those rose dusted cheeks and big glittery eyes. Jungkook looks up at him with a small frown which Taehyung finds adorable.

"S-Sir, why did he say that the data in the document was false?" He asks, remembering the man's words from earlier.

Taehyung sighs and rakes a hand through his hair. "Because it was."

Jungkook's eyes grow bigger in surprise. "It was..? What do you mean?"

Taehyung spreads his legs further apart and slightly sinks into the seat as he tightens his grip on the boy's hip. He opens his eyes and stares right at the younger, causing him to shiver from his dark gaze. "It means..." he starts, his jaw tightening as his tone turns bitter.

"Someone in our company is a rat."

Jungkook gasps. "So... so someone was trying to sabotage the meeting?"

Taehyung nods and lets out a scoff. "When I find out who it is," he says, eyes piercing into the younger, scaring him slightly.

"They're dead."

~

"W-What do you mean you didn't get the deal?" Namjoon asks from across the line.

Taehyung sighs into the phone. "I didn't get the deal." His tone is apathetic yet his trembling hands prove otherwise.

"Tae- you- you rarely ever lose a deal. Especially one this important. What happened?"

Taehyung is silent for a moment, almost causing Namjoon to believe he hung up.

"Ta-"

"Hyung," the ravenette says, his voice a delicate whisper bearing the weight of his heavy words. "someone sabotaged the documents that were used for today."

"Someone what?!" Namjoon asks frantically.

Taehyung doesn't answer immediately and instead he walks around the hotel room, only stopping when he stands in front of a body length mirror. He stares at his reflection and chuckles, "Someone's trying to fuck with our company, Hyung. The company that dad worked to his bones to succeed. Whoever it is, I'll...I'll-"

Namjoon sighs hearing his brothers angry tone. "Tae, calm down. We'll figure out who it is by tracking down the documents. We can fire them immediately-"

"Whoever it is," Taehyung interrupts, his voice now a low growl as he tilts his head and darkly smiles at his reflection. "I'll make sure to destroy them."

~

Jungkook walks out of the bathroom wearing big fluffy pyjamas when he spots Taehyung seated on the couch, smoking a cigarette in the dim lighting. His eyes trail over to the ashtray next to Taehyung and he frowns when he spots several freshly put out cigarette buds. He walks over to the older who seems to be lost in a daze and stands in front of him.

Taehyung lifts his head and stares up at the younger who stares down at him with worried eyes. He smiles and blinks slowly, looking slightly out of it. "Bunny," he whispers, his words sounding gravelly from the smoke clouding his airway.

Jungkook gulps down the lump in his throat and reaches out towards the older before hesitantly pulling away the cigarette in his hand. "Sir," he starts of softly, his words a gentle caress in the moonlit room.

"It's okay you didn't get the deal today. We can figure out who the person behind this is and we can get rid of them soon-"

"Do you know why my father died, Bun?" Taehyung says suddenly, cutting off the smaller.

Jungkook pauses his words and shakes his head. He stands there for a moment, observing Taehyung's silence before he carefully seats himself beside the man. Taehyung, for once, doesn't meet his eyes and instead opts to stare down at his hands. "He was a heart patient," he starts, something in his tone resembling a piece of glass. Sharp yet ever so fragile.

Jungkook listens intently and observes the older who avoids looking his way. "And King's corps... this company was where his heart belonged. He worked with dirt to build this company into what it is today."

"He was one of the greatest businessmen known to this world and his passion for his job was crazy. I use to admire it back then...his passion."

Taehyung then looks up at the younger and smiles at him, the weak gesture failing to reach his eyes. "But now I fear that very thing because it was that that killed him; His passion."

Jungkook furrows his eyebrows, slightly confused.

"You remember that man we once met, Mr Grey?" Taehyung asks.

Jungkook freezes at the sudden mention of his father's name. "Y-Yes."

Taehyung grits his teeth and looks up at the ceiling. "He was and still is our companies biggest rival. But back then, when my dad was CEO, the two of them were fighting for the top position in the business world. That bastard always liked to play dirty to try be the top but once, he pulled a nasty trick on us, he planted a spy in our company and caused massive damage to the company. It was all over the news." Jungkook looks down and nervously fiddles with his hands as he nods.

Taehyung tightens his jaw and looks back down at his hands. "Our company hit rock bottom once again and...and my dad couldn't handle the news..."

"...He died from a heart attack that day."

Jungkook looks up sharply, his eyes widening. He stares at Taehyung who refuses to look back at him but after a moment, the older finally looks up again. The sight shocks Jungkook. Taehyung stares at him, his dark eyes pooled with thick watery tears, trembling as they display this raw vulnerability that takes Jungkook's breath away. Jungkook gulps and scoots closer to the man until their thighs touch.

"And-and despite all his success, do you know what his last words were?" Taehyung, asks, his voice barely above a whisper. Jungkook shakes his head.

Chaos. That's how Taehyung can describe it. Flashes of blue and red lights tangled with the distressed sounds of the siren. Taehyung doesn't know if he's crying or simply silent but when he's pushed into that ambulance alongside his father, he feels like his whole body is frozen.

Paramedics rush to the man's aid and Taehyung sits next to his dad, watching as they hook him up to something. He looks up at his father's face and notices that he's looking at him.

"Appa," he says, his lips wobbling as he tries to stop himself from sobbing.

His father, among all the chaos, smiles at him weakly. He tightens his grip on Taehyung's hand. "I-I'm s-sorry so-son," he croaks out, voice barely audible. "I'm s-sorry for l-losing everything."

Taehyung shakes his head frantically. "N-No Appa, you didn't loose anything. None of this is your fault."

The older man looks at his son, smiling sadly. "I'm sorry f-for failing, Tae."

"Appa-"

"crap, w-we're losing him," a paramedic exclaims.

The other paramedics rush to give the now unconscious man CPR and Taehyung watches with tears streaming down his face, not knowing what to do. He closes his eyes, hoping that this is all a horrible nightmare. But it isn't. With his eyes now closed he hears everything; The frustrated exclaims of the paramedics, the frantic movement of bodies around him, the rushed traffic passing him. And then... he hears it, amidst all the chaos. The long high-pitched whine of the heart monitor.

And after that he hears nothing. Everything is just silent.

Jungkook drops his head onto Taehyung's shoulder as the older finishes speaking, his words heavy with emotion. Taehyung sighs, finding comfort in the younger's proximity.

"He died thinking he was a failure, Bun." He says, staring into space. "Thinking he failed the company that he spent his life working on."

Jungkook lifts his head up and looks at Taehyung with his own teary eyes. Taehyung smiles softly at the younger and reaches up to wipe the boy's wet eyes. "And so ever since that day I kept a promise to myself."

Jungkook tilts his head, sniffling. "What is it?"

"I promised myself that I won't make his words come true. I won't make him seem like he was a failure."

Jungkook exhales a shaky breath and drops his head back onto Taehyung shoulder. He listens to his heavy heartbeat and the gentle whisper of his breath. Taehyung brings his hand up to Jungkook's fluffy hair and cards his finger through it, letting his long digits tangle in the brown locks.

"That's why, Bun. That's why I stress out over the tiniest mistakes. That's why I feel like it's not okay, no matter how small the issue is. Because in my head, it's not. Every time I mess up...I think of him. I think of how I'm letting him down."