Love Me Again...

Chapter 15: Seven

"He did what?!" Jin yelped as he almost fell off his seat, "Is that the highest bid we've received this evening?" "Indeed, that is a very high bid," Joon agreed, "Jackson, do you know approximately how much we've made this evening?" "If our calculations are correct, factoring in Bogum's donation, we've made about ₩1 billion!" Jackson confirmed. "Wow! Not only is he a charming and successful actor but also a generous one!" Hobi commented. Jungkook was listening to their conversation silently. 'What did I expect? Of course Bogum hyung would fall for Tae hyung. They are both charming and deserve each other. Tae hyung doesn't deserve someone like me - a sad nervous shell of a person. I thought I could dream but I guess I was wrong.' Jimin noticed that Jungkook's agony was increasing. It almost seemed like the light that had finally started appearing in his eyes was suddenly taken away. 'Please confess to him sooner rather than later, Bear,' Jimin thought to himself while waiting for Bogum and Tae to get back. "I should get back to Soobin and Yeonjun. Way to go Jungkook! This Fundraising Banquet was your idea. We just have a few more transactions to process and then we'll be done for the evening. I'll send you the preliminary report by tomorrow afternoon, Namjoon sir," Jackson informed. "Sounds good Jackson," Joon agreed, "You all did an amazing job. Tell Soobin and Yeonjun that they can skip the morning meeting for tomorrow and the same goes for you too." Jackson nodded and made his way to the other assistants.

"Will we be leaving soon?" Jungkook meekly asked, trying to keep his voice steady. It was quickly becoming increasingly difficult for him to contain his emotions so he wanted to leave before the others noticed his anguish. "Kook, are you okay?" Jin asked, concerned. "I'm fine, Jin hyung," he lied, "I'm just very tired. It's probably all of the nerves and stress from today." "We still have a few things to finish up here but you don't have to stay Kook," Joon offered. "I'll ride with you," Jimin quickly offered, "Jin hyung, can you have someone drop off my car at my apartment?" Jin agreed and took his car keys from him. He was thankful that Jimin decided to accompany Jungkook especially when he suddenly seemed so distressed. Jungkook was too emotional to protest so he reluctantly accepted Jimin's company. They bid farewell to everyone and made their way out of the hall. As they were making their way to the exit, they saw Tae and Bogum at the far end of the lobby. They seemed to be deep in conversation. All of a sudden, Bogum reached into his jacket pocket and took out what looked like a ring box from Tiffany & Co. He opened it, showing it to Tae who instantly had his hands over his mouth. The next moment Tae was in his arms hugging him.

Jimin and Jungkook watched in shock at the scene unfolding before their eyes. 'What the hell?' Jimin thought, 'What is happening? I did not see this coming! Oh Kook!' Jimin was snapped away from his thoughts when he heard Jungkook's quiet sobs. "Kook!" Jimin muttered, "Why are you crying?" He quickly wiped away his tears and replied, "Bogum hyung and Tae hyung - They look so good together." Jimin spared another glance at Tae and Bogum who looked like they were gushing before turning his attention back to Jungkook. "You don't have to hide your feelings from me, Kook," he gently probed, "Why are you upset?" Jungkook couldn't control his emotions anymore, he immediately hugged Jimin and started sobbing uncontrollably. He gently rubbed his back, hoping to soothe him. "Every time I think happiness is around the corner, it gets snatched away from me," he finally mumbled after a while, "I don't know why I thought that I would be happy again. It's just that ever since I met him, my heart just..." He couldn't continue speaking. His tears started flowing again. "Kook, we don't know the complete truth so please don't jump to conclusions," Jimin said cautiously, "I know what it looks like but believe me when I say that Bear does not have feelings for Bogum hyung."

Jungkook nodded and slowly composed himself. He took a step back and abruptly realized that Jimin knew how he felt about Tae. "You know?" he slowly whispered with his head down, unable to look at Jimin. "Of course I know, Kook," Jimin answered, slowly nodding, "If you didn't have feelings for Bear, you wouldn't have reacted like this." "Please don't tell him," Jungkook begged, "I don't want to ruin our friendship. I have him as a friend and that's enough for me." "Of course not Kook," Jimin assured, "Only you can share your feelings for Bear with him. It's not my place to reveal anything." "Thank you Chim hyung," Jungkook slowly nodded, "Let's go home." They started walking towards the exit when Tae spotted them from across the lobby. "Jungkookie! Jiminah!" he yelled out while running towards them, "Are you two leaving without me?!" Jimin turned around and saw that Bogum had left. 'Strange,' he thought, 'Why would he leave without offering a ride to Tae?' "Not at all, Tae hyung," Jungkook answered while avoiding eye contact, "You seemed busy. I didn't want to disturb you." 'Why does he look like he's been crying?' Tae thought while looking at Jungkook's face closely. "Look at me," he gently said while holding Jungkook's chin and nudging his face up, "Why have you been crying?" Jimin took that as his cue to leave. He made an excuse about needing to use the restroom and stepped away.