𝐑𝐄𝐃 (𝐓𝐚𝐞𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐤)

//034.🕷️

EMPRISE

'He isn't an artifact to store on your shelf until you get bored of it.' Jin's words hit Taehyung a little harder than they should have.

Was he considering the man an artifact he was fascinated by?

He was always attracted to things that were rare and unique in their kind. The Young Daddy definitely fit that list; according to him, he wasn't like other men he met. He makes him feel grounded and light, which he hadn't felt in the past five years. In the past five years of rigorous and nonstop work, the first time he craved to pause and breathe was after meeting him.

Was he selfish enough to desire some more time? If he was, then he wanted to be more greedy, pause his life there, and enjoy it. So the young man resting in his bedroom wasn't really the lifeless thing he excavated.

"Hadn't you left him back? Why did you kidnap him?" In-Ho's irritated question, followed by Jin's high-pitched voice, brought Taehyung back to reality: "Kidnap!?" The revelation blew Jin's mind.

Taehyung stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. He didn't kidnap him; if he had followed In-Ho's plan, then that would have been a kidnapping. He saved him when Jackson's men were going to make his life a living hell.

"Uncle In-Ho," He uttered slowly and coldly as he turned his gaze to In-Ho, "Who planned 'HIS' kidnapping?" He stressed the word 'His' to let them know he couldn't be tricked so easily.

In-Ho: "..."

Taehyung glanced at his friend and walked towards the stairs. "Find the mole." His words were more like an order when he walked away.

In-Ho was working on finding the mole so his attention went on 'Him.' He glanced at Jin, who was probably in the same dilemma as him, "Jin, do you think he identified Jungkook?"

Jin watched Taehyung ascend the last steps before he disappeared from their sight, "President Yang, Taehyung is definitely not a fool."

Taking Taehyung's personality into account, he wasn't pressing them to tell about Jungkook because their actions were already giving them away. Taehyung was probably mentally preparing himself to accept what he had long found out.

'Perhaps he was having an internal argument about whether he was wishing for Puffyball or the man...' Jin shifted his bewildered gaze to In-Ho, "President Yang, is Jeon Jungkook a divorcee? A widow? Or had a child out of wedlock?"

In-Ho paused his thoughts on the mole and became confused about how does that matters to Jin or Taehyung, "Why are you asking this?"

Jin smoothly revealed all his thoughts to In-Ho, as the latter was like a father figure to Taehyung: "I guess this idiot has fallen for him... Probably five years ago and hadn't realized it." Even after completing their graduation, Taehyung hardly missed any days and frequently dropped by at the university library for him.

'I suppose... He still doesn't understand yet.' Jin felt like pulling his hair out.

In-Ho didn't know if he should be happy or not. He liked Jungkook and wished for somebody like him to be his son-in-law but Tan's presence had stopped him. So he wasn't sure how to react to Taehyung liking Jungkook.

"Jungkook has a son." He rejected her suitors for five years who were ready to accept him with Tan. He would never put his son at any kind of disadvantage. So In-Ho thought Taehyung might not succeed in wooing him.

Back in his mind, In-Ho was aware that he honestly didn't like the idea of Taehyung looking after somebody's child. Although he didn't judge Jungkook for having a baby, he wasn't ready to let society judge Taehyung and their family due to him. "Chairman Kim will never agree."

Jin shrugged his shoulders as he leaned back on the couch. Taehyung's father would spit fire on Taehyung and Jungkook, "A big battle is up ahead."

In-Ho sighed. He left the mansion soon after. Jin, who was sitting on the couch, ran out and saw the car drive away. "Damn, I forgot to ask why Taehyung kidnapped Puffyball... Puffyball doesn't suit him anymore." He mumbled to himself and also left the mansion to work on bringing Wang's ship back to the port.

----

Upstairs, Taehyung crossed his arms over his chest while leaning on the door of his bedroom. He wasn't sure if it was his habit to sleep with his hand aside as if holding somebody.

He didn't consider it could be his son because, as far as he could recall, he had a big room all to himself from a very young age. His son was old enough, in his view.

He went inside the room after a few seconds. With a slide of his fingers on his forehead, he brushed the hair away from his face. He had a question to ask: 'Why are you hiding from me?'

Yet he wasn't ready for the response because he might loathe him due to his family.

After losing his startup, he was so busy building himself powerful and unbreakable from his father that he had disappeared from his memories.

'Kim Taehyung,' he used to take his full name only when he was angry. The moment he uttered his name, he knew his guess was right and he was the chubby girl who admired him for who he was, unlike his looks or money. He never bothered to request or ask anything apart from working on software and helping him learn to hack. He was the only person he ever got envious of.

He didn't have the power to protect himself in the past, but now that the time was different, he could keep himself safe from everyone, including his family.

Jungkook, who had no idea about his family or what was going on in Taehyung's mind, was sleeping peacefully. When he woke up, he didn't react immediately. He slowly opened his eyes. The room was dimly lit, and his eyes traced the room that was in his sight. Nobody was in there. He flipped as if he were still sleeping. He noticed there was no one in the room.

Getting off the bed quickly and silently, he shivered standing on the cold floor after leaving the warmness of the duvet. Without wasting time, he stretched himself and found he was all fine and wasn't sleepy anymore.

The other reason he chose to sleep in Taehyung's room was so he could steal his clothes before escaping. He tiptoed to the walk-in closet. He grabbed a knitted sweatshirt and a thick jacket. When he wore them, he was speechless, looking at them and reaching his thighs. 'Oh crap, what about pants and shoes?'

He had to pick pants that had drawstrings, yet they were too big for him. He felt like stealing his father's clothes when he was young. Although he could manage with pants, shoes were impossible to fit.

'Is he a monster? Why are his feet so big?' He cried to himself. Putting on socks, he told himself to make do with the home slippers.

Pushing the door open very slowly, he stepped out of the room and onto the balcony. It was dark, the lights of the mansion gave him enough light. So he closed the door and checked around. He spotted no one. He easily and carefully climbed out of the balcony and held the pipe that was attached to the wall.

Successfully, he passed the first and easiest phase of his escape. The second was sneaking out of the estate without falling into anybody's eyes. The third was leaving the regency and taking a taxi.

He made his way towards the exit of the mansion while being careful about anyone patrolling the huge estate. After walking twenty minutes, he saw there were guards at the main gates.

His gaze calmly traveled by the wall and he spotted a tree near it. He could jump over it. Shoving the slippers into the pocket, he climbed the tree, struggling a little. Then he jumped on the wall, scratching his palm in the process.

The wall was too tall but he had no choice. He sat down, held the corners of the wall and suspended himself. Then he slowly left the wall and jumped to the ground without making any noise or attracting any attention.

"That's quite an adventure." He mumbled in satisfaction, breathing out a long sigh of relief.

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