DESTINED

FOUR

A day off these days is like winning the lottery.

Jimin is the one to be blamed here. He is only twenty-six, yet his back and neck hurts like it has seen better days. He owns one of the wealthiest enterprises in the world and has resources that could buy about half of Korea, but still, he chose to break his neck over the tiniest of dealings that takes place in his establishment.

He wasn't required to hold the chair in each meeting that happened in his company, he had his father's PA to oversee everything in his absence, if he were to take a personal day off. Nobody (except his father, of course) wasn't expecting for Jimin to work compulsively and excessively hard for long hours. He should stick to his employees to finish the job for him because he has a team of well-known experts who he himself handpicked as his firm made it to the top. Jimin knows he can leave it up to the professionals to handle everything perfectly. But he can't. Park Sunjae wouldn't agree with him on this, but his father wasn't the one who had to deal with the aftermath of carrying the weight of a company that was on the verge of going bankrupt.

Sunjae had no idea about the part where Jimin acquired the capital to start a new establishment. Or simply, his father didn't give a shit. A rookie graduate in business studies, with no coins in his hand, Jimin was overwhelmed by the bitterness of the world of business. All he had was a bunch of silly, childish wishes. His motivating force was to make the world a better and safe place for his family. Yes, he was born poor, had only a mediocre upbringing, had to strive to make a daily living, but his family was his sanctuary, the only place for refuge. Sunjae was the exception, thinking it would be too much to rely on his loved ones to share his burden.

The number of underpaid errands Jimin had to run to make a living during his college life brought the first profit to his hands, his very first investment. Ironically, Jimin's best friend was the only one who saw him break down in tears from receiving his hard-earned payment.

To everyone else, Jimin was the aloof, hardworking nerd who was uninterested in anything that didn't concern him in the least bit. Jeon Jungkook was the only light that shone brighter than all of his hopes combined. The cheery youth, two years younger, stuck to him like glue, despite the times Jimin had expressed his annoyance at him, both verbally and otherwise.

It surprised Jimin that Jungkook was unbothered by his indifference, still willing to offer his hand whenever Jimin needed help or lingering around him like a shadow, making sure he was alright when reality threatened to consume him.

At times, when a young Jungkook began driving him nuts, Jimin was reminded of another youthful exuberance, a chubby faced teenager with an infectious boxy grin. A small smile always tugs at the corner of Jimin's lips every time he thinks about the child who insisted Jimin hold his hands when they were walking to school. A tiny Taehyung was more of a headache to him than Jungkook ever was in his life. And Jimin admits he misses seeing this side of Taehyung, even if it's for one last time. Compared to the giant who now runs his mouth to spew the nastiest of things to exist in the world, Jimin thinks he will choose a toddler Taehyung without thinking twice.

Jimin wasn't power hungry, unlike his ambitious father. His greatest wish was to always keep a smile on his mother's face and keep his brother safe, like he promised he would do to Eun Ae on her deathbed. Jihyun Park had to grow up unsheltered along with his negligent father after their mother died, leaving behind a six-year-old child with a young Jimin.

Fate, Jimin supposed, always had a cruel way of crushing his dreams. Eun Ae became an unattainable memory at the time Sunjae detached himself from their family, chasing a goal that was too difficult for Jimin to understand. Even so, he'd liked to believe the older man knew what he was doing. He was so wrong.