Forbidden Love ➸ Taekook ✓

- Fifty-third -

The room had fallen back into silence. After the revelation Jungkook had just made, no one dared speak. It was as if the world had stopped spinning, as if everything around him had come to a standstill. All the members of Bangtan were shocked by this revelation, Jin in particular. But the ones who were clearly having the hardest time digesting the news were undoubtedly the Jeon couple.

"I-it's... It's a joke..." whispered Hyeri.

Jungkook, who was still furious, shook his head. Still, he held back a victorious smile. He knew he was breaking his family. After this, that family would no longer exist, and he shouldn't be happy about that. But he had waited all his life for this moment. The day he would take revenge on them, the day he would finally find a weakness to exploit, to make them feel all those years of suffering and loneliness. He had waited almost nineteen years, but victory tasted divine.

Hyeri turned gently towards Jongsu, who instinctively took a few steps back, putting distance between himself and his mother. If this house had always been his kingdom, he suddenly didn't feel so safe here. His face had visibly gone pale. He honestly didn't think Jungkook would discover the truth, or at least he might suspect it, but that was all. He never thought he'd be able to tell their mother everything.

He had underestimated his twin.

"Jongsu, he's wrong, right?" Hyeri asked, her voice trembling. "That's nonsense, you couldn't do that, my little baby..."

No, Jungkook hadn't been able to gather any concrete evidence. He'd covered his tracks. He could still get out of this mess, and still blame it on his brother.

"Of course it's not true, Mom..." replied Jongsu with a smirk. "I could never have done such a thing..."

This answer seemed to satisfy Hyeri, but it was short-lived, as Taehyung's machiavellian laughter interrupted Jongsu's attempt. Everyone turned to the man, Jongsu gritting his teeth.

"Oh my God, I knew you were a good comedian, but it's true that you're amazing." The man continued to laugh. "Even with your back to the wall, you manage to turn the situation to your advantage."

But he quickly stopped laughing, his smile replaced by a deeply black look.

"But don't think you're getting off that easily. I've gathered enough evidence against you to send you to court. All your dealings with Lim, the account to which he paid you the money... I've got it all, and all Jungkook has to do is snap his fingers and I'll go public. So that I can ruin your reputation for good. Your life. And your fucking family."

He approached slowly, forcing Hyeri to move aside in the face of his menacing aura. Jongsu backed away, but soon found himself pinned back against the wall.

"So for once in your life, stop hiding behind lies and face up to your actions. It's time to stop playing the poor innocent boy, hiding in your mother's skirt. It's time for you to reveal your true face."

Jongsu pushed him away violently, before nervously running his hand through his hair. He hadn't planned this. Nothing was going the way he'd planned. And yet he had planned everything. There wasn't to be any problem, not this kind of problem. After this, he should finally be happy.

He frowned. How had Taehyung done it? All right, the guy had money, and probably a few contacts, but seriously, he didn't have the means to gather that kind of evidence. Either this man was bluffing, or he'd been hiding a big ace up his sleeve all this time.

"You're lying, you've got nothing on me, it's impossible... You couldn't have gathered a shred of evidence..."

A smile stretched Taehyung's lips.

"It was Kwan who threw it all away." he confessed. "With the help of a certain someone."

~ A few hours earlier, New York ~

Kwan fell heavily back in his chair, burying his face in his hands. Without any other issue, he had tried to assassinate Jeon Jungkook. He'd hired someone to kill him, but it had failed miserably. He didn't really like what he'd just done, it was risky and it could compromise him. All because he'd made a deal with that bloody Jeon Jongsu.

But what could he do? Jdesign was a company with a great future. The company had always attracted him, and when Jeon Jongsu had contacted him, he had jumped at the chance. The plan was perfect. But he didn't think it would ever blow up in his face. A wedding, yes. An assassination was a lot of risk taken for very little gain.

Three sharp knocks suddenly sounded on the door, pulling him out of his thoughts. He frowned. He had told his secretary that he didn't want to be disturbed. Who could have the nerve to disobey his orders? He was about to tell the person off, but the door opened without his permission. And the man who came through the door cut short any opposition.

"Kim Seojoon...?" Kwan murmured, his eyes wide.

The man smiled, even though he was devoid of any sympathy, and came forward, settling into the armchair facing the desk. Facing Lim. The two men looked at each other for a moment, one confused and deeply shocked, the other smiling, his intentions still unclear.

"As you can probably imagine, Lim, I'm a very busy man..." began Seojoon. "However... when my son calls me in the middle of the night, panicked and frightened, because some arrogant bastard has come to take away the only source of happiness in his life, you'll understand that the loving father that I am couldn't just stand by..."

"Kim..."

"I haven't finished yet." Seojoon cut him off, in an authoritarian voice.

And Kwan didn't open his mouth again.

"I don't like people touching my family, it's one of the few things that makes me angry. You attacked my son. And my future son-in-law. The two Jeon children will soon both be part of the Kim family, so they're under my protection."

"I didn't mean to provoke you. It's a complicated situation..."

Seojoon pounded his fist on the table, putting an end to Kwan's pathetic excuses. He didn't need to hear them. There was only one truth, and that was that he had hurt those he cared about.

"I don't care about your explaination. A crime committed against the Kims never goes unpunished. So it's time to think smart, Lim. You didn't act alone, I'm sure. You built your empire on the other side of the Atlantic, so you had no reason to be interested in the Jeons. Unless someone urged you to."

Seojoon paused, enjoying the worried look on Lim's face.

"I want to know who it is. I'll leave you alone if you tell me everything. If you give me the means to stop this person, then I won't take revenge on you."

Lim Kwan was difficult to impress. Usually, it was he who made the threats, not the other way round. But right now, he felt pathetically weak. Because he wasn't stupid. It was something everyone knew, a necessary survival lesson in the business world: Kim Seojoon was a threat. He had no enemies, only prey. And he didn't want to be one of them. He swallowed.

"Jongsu. Jeon Jongsu."