By Any Other Name | A BTS collaborative fanfiction

Chapter 9

by Queenfireblade, itwasjin, SunbaeScout, JiminSSIKookie & bangtancha

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Hoseok stares at Jungkook with uncomprehending eyes. The question makes sense but doesn't. Romantically involved?

Is it true to say one was romantically involved when there was no romance present? Acting would be a better word. Maybe, the question would make more sense if Jungkook asked if Hoseok was Seokjin's partner actor.

Jungkook doesn't say anything, letting the silence swell, demanding attention. While most silences are awkward, this one isn't: The silent vigil of Hoseok confirms everything he refuses to utter. Everything he can't utter. The air seems to grow heavy with emotion until Jungkook clears his throat.

"You could tell me, you know." He says quietly, silently gesturing for another shot for the two.

"Tell you what? That there was never a romance? That there can never be a romance when it comes to money?" Hoseok asks bitterly, the heartbreak quivering in his voice.

Jungkook remains silent once again, leaving the questions unanswered, until Hoseok quickly downs the shot that Jungkook places in front of him, looking for something to do, as Jungkook's eyes brush over Hoseok, almost concerned.

Hoseok looks into the Jeon eyes his parents had warned him against: onyx black and analytical. Instead, the eyes hold a strange warmth that doesn't match the character he was cautioned about. As if Jungkook was a curious bird cautiously reaching out to eat it's feed from a human hand: not entirely sure if it could trust the human that it's learned to fly away from, but compelled by the apparent kindness.

Hoseok's thoughts drift, as he downs another shot that Jungkook has ushered over, his own drink left untouched. Lost in trying to make sense of the strange look, he misses the flash of chestnut, silky hair pass him by. The owner doesn't.

Her eyes widen in recognition, and she diverges from wherever she was heading to settle in the corner booth, where men silently smoke, heads buried in stacks of papers: quiet enough but close enough to not miss the conversation.

Hurriedly, her fingers type out a message to Hoseok's mother: Your son seems content with liasing with the enemies. It's not the first time he's been seen with Jeon Jungkook.

She hasn't forgotten the forlorn look in Seokjin's face, the heavy tension in the air when the two men interacted last time. For the first time in her life, she was afraid she was going to lose the crown she had worked so hard to win: Not every woman gets to rule the most powerful financial empire of Kim Technologies as Kim SeokJin's wife.

She tilts her head to listen, eyes narrowed.

Hoseok jumps as the phone in his pocket vibrates. Hastily, he yanks it out, fingers fumbling and slow, as Jungkook's watchful gaze drops onto the screen. Hoseok tilts the phone away from Jungkook's line of vision, reading the message his father has sent.

Hoseok. Your mother tells me you are talking to Jungkook to find out information on Jeon Financial Group. Good work, if we manage to get the stocks to fall lower, then we can buy them. Get him to trust you completely. Do what you must: If we do this right, we will be even more powerful than our Kim friends. Just find out something that can damage them beyond repair. These filthy Jeons have been interfering too long with what should have been ours. Remember: Heart as black as their eyes. Schemes as deadly as their beauty. Image as false as their character.