Billionaire's Bargain || Kim Taehyung

The Last Straw

Taehyung threw the duffle bag onto the couch that adorned the only furnished room in the building. He dropped lazily onto one of the chairs and tapped on the table. M looked up from his book, taking in Taehyung's spotless white jacket and the inflated bag.

"I see you're back early."

"There wasn't much to do." Taehyung drawled. He neatly pulled out a cigarette and let it hang loosely on his lips. He lighted it and watched the smoke unfurl and dissipate across the room. "Don't you ever get bored?"

"Pardon?" asked M.

"Don't you ever get bored of doing this? The same thing over and over again."

M closed his book and leaned forward on his chair. "Not so much. This is what keeps me alive."

Taehyung shook his head. "Not even once? You've never felt like living normally for once?"

"The thoughts have crossed my mind but this feels normal to me now. 'Living normal' as you call it might seem appealing but what thrill does it hold when it becomes your everyday?"

Taehyung looked away, exhaling a huge puff of smoke. The past eight months had moved agonisingly slow. He had been plotting a plan that if failed would prove extremely fatal to himself and anyone who surrounded him. Breaking up with Minjee had been one of its first steps. He had distanced himself from everyone who could potentially be in danger; one of the reasons he never got close to his family.

His mentor had a very cautious routine of trusting the bare minimum. Their buyers could be classified as a set of concentric circles, the innermost being the most important ones. The outer circles consisted of new buyers who venture into the trade either out of curiosity or desperation. It barricades the next circle that deals with companies who are bound by lethal contracts. It surrounds a rather deadly circle of inhabitants: the oligopolists. Being a rather small market dominated by powerful large sellers; it was important to establish good faith between the other marketeers. They ran their own dens and wouldn't hesitate to sabotage the other if messed with. The second step of his plan was a clandestine tedious task: buying over the circles. He wanted to strip M of his authority and this had been the way to go. The innermost circle was once occupied by three trusted henchmen: Taehyung, Jungkook and Michael.

Michael Lee was a lingering bitter aftertaste; a ghost of who was once considered the heir. His essence now stained as a mere traitor, a shameless coward, and a forgotten son. He was the only child of M, cherished and raised in hopes of creating a successor but Michael had other plans. He was never the hoodlum; he was trained all his life to be one but he was the gentlest of the three. Art, literature and romance was what he thrived in, much to M's distaste. Michael had always despised his father's trade. No matter how hard he tried, he could never embrace it. And so, he ran. With the threat of being disowned hanging heavy on his chest, he had left to seek what he truly desired. With his own art studio, he now lived in his precious little world with his wife and son.