Still With... You ? | Jenkook

*2*

"Correct. Which is why you're going to marry jungkook."

The buzzing was back. I couldn't possibly have heard him correctly. "Come again?"

"You're going to marry my son."

Had the cancer traveled to his brain already? That's the only plausible excuse I could think of. "You can't be serious."

"As serious as melanoma."

"jung hyun..." I said as gently as I could. The word tippy-toeing out of my mouth. One could only push jung hyun so far. Then he transformed into something akin to Juggernaut; complete with a head made of metal he liked to bludgeon people with.

"Jennie..." he countered, cutting me off. "This is a business arrangement. You will marry jungkook. You will stay married to him for three years and during that time the two of you will behave as a married couple in public. You will not do anything to besmirch the Jeon name. You will manage this company successfully thus ensuring the board will shut the fuck up about it. After which you two can do as you please. Get a quiet divorce. Whatever your heart desires. Jungkook can go back to doing whatever the fuck jungkook does and you will continue to helm this company as a Jeon. Have I made myself clear?"

He hadn't been kidding when he said he needed time; and he'd spent that time drawing up the plans from hell. Jung hyun, however, had always valued my opinion and my metaphorical balls. He would've never made me second-in-command otherwise. I had never shied away from giving it to him straight before and this time was no different.

"I...can't."

Jung hyun frowned. More a puzzled look than one of disapproval. After a meaningful pause, he asked, "Are you in love?" Doubt softened his tone. As if it only now occurred to him that I could be unavailable. Then again, in all the years I'd known him I'd never brought anybody to any of the numerous company events I'd attended. And he had no idea about Jimin.

"No."

"Dating anyone worthwhile?"

I almost laughed. Dating? What was that? I hadn't had time for a date in double-digit months. Working seventy-hour weeks wasn't exactly conducive to a kick-ass social life. "No, of course not..."

"Then what's the problem?" he said, jumping in. "Or is it the marriage you take issue with? Do you consider it sacred?"

That pulled a smile out of me. "No."

"So there's no ideological reason you're refusing to close the deal of the century?"

Jung hyun and his hyperbole. I had to put a stop to this thing before it gathered steam. "Permission to speak freely?"

"Permission granted."

"How can I put this nicely jung hyun...Your son jungkook's a pig. I wouldn't marry him if I had a gun to my head."

Jung hyun chuckled. "He's rough around the edges."

Understatement of the century. "I've always loved your ability to look on the bright side. He's the worst misogynist I've ever had the displeasure of meeting."

His grin widened. "He's a man's man."

"C'mon, Jung hyun. Even you know..."

"Fine. He's not your type. I get it." He leaned forward in his chair. As if everything he was about to say next was going to be of the utmost importance. "He doesn't have to be, Jen. He only needs to be your husband for enough time to show the board that you're more than capable of takin' charge of this company. And for that to happen without them trying to undermine you every step of the way, you have to have jungkook at your back. He'll be a powerful ally."

Jungkook..an ally? He was barely awake during the day, but whatever. I wasn't about to quibble over details. My resolve was fading fast, however. I didn't want much. Outside of my career, I didn't expect anything out of life. My childhood had taught me that the hard way. Wanting led to disappointment and that I'd had plenty of. But this...this I wanted, this made my blood hot and my pulse quicken. Running Jeon Holdings would be the crowning achievement of my life.

Sinking further into the chair, I tipped my head back and studied the original René Magritte painting on the wall. A business man with a window to a cloudy sky for a face. I was pretty sure there was heavy meaning in there somewhere. "Can I think about it?"

"Sure. You can contemplate it on the way to Busan. The Jeons jet is on standby at CALT(Coex City Airport Terminal)."

Jung hyun was railroading me, and I was letting him. He'd had a way of sucking me into his schemes from day one.

"But..."

"Jennie..." Jung hyun's expression was suddenly grave. "You're the son I never had. I won't rest in peace knowing anyone else will take my place." The heartfelt sentiment wrapped its fingers around my throat and squeezed. "You'll have status, money, the front cover of Forbes, possibly Time magazine, in exchange for a mere three years of your life."

If I did this...and it was still a big IF...I wouldn't be doing it for status (which I didn't give a flip about) or the cover of Time magazine (which I did) or money (which I had already). I would do it for jung hyun.

"What's in Busan?" I sourly muttered.

A slow smile spread across jung hyun's face. "Your husband."

"My husband..." I repeated, head shaking at the absurdity of it all. This was shaping up to be a perfectly normal Friday until this. "Does jungkook know...about your illness? And this cockamamie plan?"

"Not yet."

Weighty sigh. My eyes fell shut as I rubbed the throb developing between them. "What makes you think he'd even consider going along? He could be in a serious relationship for all we know."

A bark of dry laughter shot out of him. "Jungkook? In a serious relationship?" It was more than a reach. It was a last-ditch attempt to derail this runaway train. "He'll go along with it or I'll cut him off without a red cent to his name."

Jungkook was married to money. How else could he live the life of a profligate wastrel. The only hope I had of disentangling myself from this arranged fake marriage was if jungkook flat-out refused, but under that threat of disinheritance there was no question he'd capitulate...and quickly.

"What about the YG & JYP deal?" I was stalling and we both knew it. Still, I had to try. Every bone in my lawyer's body told me so. For the first time in my life I felt in over my head.

"Seo joon can handle it," Jung hyun casually replied, not knowing it was anything but casual to me. Seo Joon Han was my "arch nemesis" in the company if you will. The one person who had been actively campaigning to steal my job the moment I got it. "You won't be gone more than a few days anyway. By the time you get to Busan, I'll have everything worked out with Jungkook."

"Then why am I going?" I said, already stewing over the YG & JYP deal.

"Proof. Otherwise he'll think this is one of my pranks." I had to agree with his logic. "And, Jen?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't mention the cancer. I don't want him to do this out of some misplaced sense of duty."

I had no clue what jung hyun meant by that. And I'd given up trying to make sense of the off-beaten paths his mind took a long time ago. He seemed to think extorting his son was fine but having him act out of duty wasn't. Whatever. Who was I to argue?

"Anything you want, jung hyun."