Fading Away | Taekook

32 - Control

"Have you lost weight? Sir, you look even more elegant these days!"

Mr. Bang smiled as he patted his belly, proud. "Did you notice? Oh, thanks to you, Jack! I've shed five kilos already!" They greeted each other with a hug, and Jackson entered the office of the powerful Bang Si-Hyuk, founder and CEO of Bangtan Enterprise.

The model flopped into the armchair, putting his feet up on the coffee table. Bang discovered Jackson when he was just fourteen years old, and started his modeling career. Today, he is one of the most recognizable faces in Asia, with global acclaim. Undoubtedly, he's the face of BE's visual identity.

But Jackson is more than just a pretty face; he's smart and ambitious. Balancing his successful modeling career with studies, he holds a law degree. Although he doesn't practice law, his legal knowledge makes him a skilled and competent agent at BE.

Aware that a model's career is short-lived, Jackson prepared his Plan B and now holds a position of trust within the company. At only twenty-five years old, he already thinks about retiring from the spotlight and focusing on his BE career—perhaps even becoming Mr. Bang's successor. From a dreamy teenager to a successful model/lawyer/entrepreneur, Jackson embodies it all.

"I saw your upcoming campaign set to launch at the end of the week—excellent as always! People are stealing your flyers from stores just to have a photo of you in those snug jeans. Because of things like that, you can't stop modeling yet."

Jackson offered his convincing fake smile. "Well, what can I say? Mom did a great job creating me, and people notice."

"She sure did, she had at least two orgasms!" Mr. Bangtan let out a coughing laugh and Jackson forced himself not to look disgusted and laughed back. "But you said you needed to talk to me, what is it Jack?"

"It's about an individual who has caused us problems by getting involved with colleagues, including myself—I let myself be fooled after so much harassment as you know," Jackson said, feigning a pitiful expression. "He's doing it again. Jungkook is having an affair with a model. I thought you should know."

Mr. Bang shook his head disapprovingly. "That young man can't seem to control his hormones, can he? He shouldn't be working in a modeling agency if he can't keep himself in check around attractive people. How did you find out about this?".

"I caught them having sex in a photostudio. Yeah..." Mr. Bang's eyes widened. "The model is a beginner, he seems like a promising kid but I think he's being persuaded to have some kind of relationship with Jungkook, you know, it seems he got into Bangtan through him, like an exchange of favors."

"This Jungkook is nasty, and his predatory behavior will still bring me problems. You know he still works for me because you asked, right? Even after the terrible things he accused you of."

"He's just a kid, Bogum's pupil. I don't want him to be fired; that's not why I'm bringing this to you. But I'd like to protect the other guy. He's the model who worked with me on the new campaign—you must have seen him."

"Ah, yes. Very good-looking kid. What's your suggestion?"

"Limit Jungkook's access to him. I know they have a few more assignments together, but after that, I think it would be ideal to prevent Team Jung from hiring him. It's bordering on harassment," Jackson furrowed his brows and gave an inverted smile, feigning concern.

"The only one with the power to demand something like that is you, Mr. Bang. I took the liberty of drafting a non-compete agreement," he handed a folder of documents to the big boss, "where Hoseok relinquishes any contractual ties with Kim Taehyung—that's the model's name. This prevents Kim and Jeon from working together."