Monsters Within Us || Taekook AU

스물둘

In all his years until his sudden death on Jungkook's twentieth birthday, his father never really taught him to be particularly careful, like he promised he would. Jungkook doesn’t know if he simply forgot or if he was just too dense to truly grasp the gravity and the consequences of his actions. Had he been old enough to realize what was happening he would have intervened, or at the very least reminded him of it, but like his father said; he was only six.

It’s not too late yet to exercise caution, however. Sometimes all you have to do to keep the plane from crashing is to shed some excess weight.

“What do you mean you’d like to resign?”
Jennie, the vice president of the company, peers at him from the leather sofa in the corner and untangles from her relaxed position.

“I mean exactly that,” Jungkook says as he absently scrolls through his emails. “I think it’s time to call it quits.”

“Bullshit.” Jennie leans back again, arms crossed. “You haven’t even hit thirty yet. It’s no time to call it quits. You gotta be planning something.” She narrows her eyes in suspicion. “Wait – are you trying to jump ship? Did you fuck something up?”

“It’s not that deep.” Jeon sighs, rolls his eyes. “I’m just stepping down. Money isn’t everything anyway.”

“I disagree.” Jennie hesitates. “So… you didn’t call me to your office to fire me?”

“Um… no?”

“I mean, you never call me to your office! I assumed the worst.”

“Why would I fire the vice president?”

“Oh, I don’t know… Maybe in the same way you fired Hosoek and Jimin?”

Jungkook closes his laptop and shrugs. That’s confirmed water under the bridge now. It can’t hurt him anymore, no matter how badly certain members of the board want to use it against him.

“Well, I’m not firing you. I’d like you to take over the company, actually.”

Jennie wheezes an incredulous laugh, ready to fire back a retort, but she abruptly stops when Jungkook doesn’t respond. After a thoughtful moment she emerges from her corner and takes a seat in front of the desk, her full attention now caught.

“Are you serious?”

“When am I not?”

She struggles processing the information, her doubt slowly turning into scrutiny. “You’re seriously saying that you would like to give the company to me? And I don’t have to fight you for it?”

“Yeah, why’s that so weird?” Jungkook shrugs again. “I’ll sell all my shares and leave the company in your hands. You’re the vice president after all. Makes sense to me.”

Jennie is a more than competent business woman, as far as Jungkook is concerned. He’d even say she has a talent for it, which is also why he’s willing to trust her with the task. The company has grown into an entity of its own over the years. He doesn’t know how it’ll react to a new owner. Jennie will either continue on to bigger successes or run the ship into the ground. There’s no in-between. And either way is honestly fine with Jungkook.

“You’ve wanted to rule an empire all by yourself, and especially this one,” he continues. “It’s okay to admit it. So I’m offering it to you. I’ve already profited enough to be set for a lifetime.”

Jennie’s hesitant pout twists into a smirk, a twinkle in her dark brown eyes.

“If you’re giving it to me then obviously I’ll take it, I’m not stupid. Makes you wonder though, doesn’t it, Jungkook? Your father built this company up from the ground. Shed blood, sweat, and tears for it, no doubt. What would he say if he knew you’re planning to give it away, just like that?”

Everyone thinks like Jennie does. Everyone believes the company was built from nothing and everyone’s proud of that fact. Only Jungkook knows that’s not true. His father didn’t work for it so much as he sold his soul. Quite honestly a terrible business decision, in his opinion.

“My Dad’s dead. It’s not like he’ll know.” Kageyama looks his vice president square in the eye and smiles. “Good luck, Jennie Kim.”