From Reluctance to Desire: A Mafia Story [JJK]

✨LOCKED IN SILENCE✨

Jungkook had told me to get ready for dinner. A formal gathering—another business event where I was nothing more than his wife in name.

I had expected the evening to be suffocating, but what I hadn't anticipated was the war that would start before we even arrived.

In the car, the air was thick with tension. Jungkook had been silent, his grip tight on the steering wheel as the city lights passed in streaks outside the window.

"I assume you'll behave tonight," he said flatly, eyes still on the road.

I scoffed. "I should be telling you that."

His jaw ticked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I don't exist just to smile and nod at your associates," I snapped, my patience already worn thin. "You parade me around like I'm some kind of trophy, and then you get mad when I don't act like a mindless decoration."

Jungkook exhaled sharply through his nose. "You are my wife. It wouldn't kill you to act like it."

I turned to him, eyes burning. "I am your wife—for namesake. Nothing more."

His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. "Be careful what you say."

"Or what?" I challenged, meeting his glare head-on.

Jungkook didn't respond, but the look in his eyes was dark, warning. The rest of the ride passed in icy silence.

The dinner was as extravagant as expected—chandeliers casting golden light over elegantly set tables, wine poured endlessly, and conversations that reeked of business and power.

We were seated at a round table, Jungkook beside me, his usual unreadable expression in place. Across from us sat his business partner Mr, Oh Sun Geum, while I had the misfortune of sitting next to his son Oh Sol Min—the real problem of the evening.

At first, his words were only laced with arrogance, but as the night progressed and the alcohol flowed, his behavior worsened. His hand brushed against my arm under the table. I shifted away, pretending not to notice.

Then he leaned in, voice slurred with liquor. "You're wasted on Jeon, you know that?" My stomach churned. My grip on my wine glass tightened. And then his hand landed on my thigh.

That was it. I shoved my chair back with a screech, standing abruptly. "Keep your hands off me," I snapped, loud enough for a few heads to turn.

He raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence. "Relax, darling—"

"Don't. Call. Me. That." My voice was sharp, but I forced myself to keep control.

Jungkook, however, barely reacted. He glanced at me but made no move, no indication that he had even registered what had happened.

And I knew why. Because I hadn't said what happened. Because if I did, I already knew the outcome.

"Why didn't you handle it discreetly?"

"Why do you always create problems for me?"

I refused to be a burden. So I sat back down.

And then, later that night, when the final business deal was being discussed, that same man came toward me again.

Except this time, he tried to hug me. Instinct took over. I shoved him. Hard. He stumbled backward and fell, drawing gasps from the nearby guests. Jungkook had seen this. But not the reason why.