Fading Away | Taekook

37 - Owned

Taehyung felt his heart racing as he stared at the numbers on the body assessment scale. Three kilos. Just three damn kilos lost. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as frustration consumed his mind.

After enduring three days of barely eating due to his fluctuating fever, followed by three days of carefully monitoring his diet and working tirelessly on the farm, Taehyung had hoped for better results. The sheer amount of sweat he had shed should have accounted for those five kilos.

But the numbers didn't lie. The physical assessor handed him his report, and he made his way to Team Park's office.

Entering the room, Taehyung found Jackson seated behind an imposing desk. His cold eyes scanned Taehyung from head to toe. "Taehyung," Jackson said with a fake smile, "please, take a seat," he gestured to the chair in front of him and extended his hand, requesting Taehyung's report.

"Where's Bogum?"

"He's busy, I can handle it," they fell into silence for a moment, Taehyung studying Jackson's face, which took longer than necessary to read his death sentence. He hoped to see a smirk, a sigh of disappointment, but Jackson remained unreadable.

"Yep, I failed, as you can see," anxiety overcame Taehyung, and he decided to speak up. Jackson lifted his eyes from the paper and stared at him. "Yes, but you were already doomed to fail. I asked you to lose five kilos based on the weight listed on your file. Since you were three kilos heavier, your goal would be to lose eight kilos in total. A bit more challenging for the one-week deadline."

Taehyung stared at him, his mouth forming a thin line for a moment, trying to shape the words in his mind so they would come out more politely from his mouth. "You could have mentioned it on the day, I wouldn't have needed to travel two hours for an unnecessary assessment."

"You would have needed to come to sign your termination, anyway. You are officially released from your contract," Jackson stood up, grabbed the termination papers, and walked over to Taehyung; he sat on the table, spinning Taehyung's chair with his foot to face him, "don't think of this like an evil plan to harm you. We just can't delay this campaign any longer. You're our main model, and today Bogum will present you with a new contract. And it's a big one."

Taehyung nodded and took the papers from Jackson's hand, trying to spin his chair to face the table, but Jackson still held it with his foot, "you still need to lose five kilos, don't lose focus. We have big plans for you, but you need to do your part. You might not believe it, but making you succeed is important to me. Then I can retire from modeling for good."

Taehyung stared at him without saying anything; he couldn't care less about Jackson's needs. When the model removed his foot from his chair, he finally turned around and signed the papers. He signed the proof of his failure.

"Very nice to chat with you, Taehyung! Always so talkative! Wait here for a few minutes; Bogum will come talk to you, okay? Don't touch anything," Jackson winked at Taehyung and left the room.

Ten minutes later, Bogum sat across from Taehyung, a confident smile playing on his lips as he slid the contract across the table. "Taehyung, I have something special for you," he began, his voice smooth and persuasive. "This is a contract of exclusivity, offering you a lucrative payment to work solely with Bangtan Enterprise."

Taehyung's eyebrows rose in interest as he skimmed through the document. The figures were indeed impressive. The offer on the table was undeniably tempting – a chance to secure his financial future and to expand and modernize his farm.