License to Cuddle

2

—"But wouldn't an eyebrow piercing look badass?"

≣

"Where the hell did you wander off to?"

"I should ask you the same question," Jungkook said into his phone, giving in to the heaviness of his limbs and sagging against his ultra-plush couch. He tried not to blink; if he so much as closed his eyes, he would fall asleep within seconds. "You dragged me to a bar then disappeared the second we stepped inside. What kind of mentor are you?"

An inelegant snort sounded through the receiver. "I'm the best mentor you'll ever have. You should be grateful for me."

"The best mentor? How do you figure?" Jungkook would probably get an earful for asking a question like that, but he wanted a temporary diversion. He needed something mindless and stupid to save his brain from turning into mush.

And, fortunately for him, that was precisely what he got.

"How do I figure? I help you prepare for your investment pitches. I make you take lunch breaks and literally force you to leave the office each night. Hell, I'm even talking to you right now. If that doesn't make me the greatest mentor out there, I don't know what would."

"Great mentors don't ditch their mentees in a crowded bar and leave them to fend for themselves. That's, like, rule number one of mentorship," Jungkook replied with a soft chuckle. "But don't worry, Jin hyung. I'll forgive you if you buy me lunch in the morning."

Jin — who, despite Jungkook's teasing, was truly a fantastic mentor — let out another snort. "Buy you lunch?"

"Greatest mentor out there, right?"

"You're lucky I like you, kid."

Lucky was an understatement. When Jungkook first arrived in Seoul, he innocently believed that his colleagues would be collaborative, helpful, and friendly. He had assumed that they'd all become fast friends both inside and outside the office, commiserating about their hellish jobs and creating shared experiences only they would understand. But, along with everything else surrounding his new promotion, Jungkook had been wrong.

To put it nicely, his new coworkers were terrible.

Each one of his new teammates possessed obnoxiously large egos — probably to compensate for lack of something else — and couldn't do anything productive besides brag about their own accomplishments. They all sported an unhealthy combination of arrogance and assurance, making them untrustworthy at best and backstabbing at worst. And sure enough, they were the first to steal an opportunity right out of a coworker's hands and the last to offer assistance of any kind.

That all would've been manageable, of course, if Jungkook had formed an ego to match. He had assumed that he'd become bold by association, that he'd quickly develop a similar sense of self-importance. But, surprise, he didn't. Even after these last six months of settling into his promotion, he still hadn't impressed — or intimidated, for that matter — his new coworkers enough for them to back off. No . . . They were always waiting for Jungkook to mess up so they could one-up him.

But not Jin.

From the day Jin was assigned as Jungkook's mentor, the older male took it upon himself to become the best resource possible. He gave guidance when needed, provided feedback where warranted, and offered encouragement each step of the way. And yeah, sure, Jin loved gloating about some of his most significant achievements every now and then, though he made sure to use those successes as teaching moments for Jungkook as well.

So Jungkook was incredibly lucky to have a colleague and mentor — a friend — like Jin. Without the older male, he would've been all on his own in this big and unknown city.