CONDEMNATION ✓

Chapter 35

It was only five o'clock in the afternoon; there was probably some irony in that. You were now seated at Seokjin's bar, just off his private indoor swimming pool, with a glass of Jack - on the rocks - nestled in your hand that you were nursing heavily. At least it was almost six, though; perhaps that made the Jimmy Buffett reference less apparent and cliche. 

After a short rant about how you and Taehyung didn't get along, Seokjin had drifted the conversation elsewhere. Though he did not seem all that surprised to find out, there was someone who was at odds with the new blueberry bitch. Taehyung had sass, even if he also had class. He wasn't the type to like to be compared to others, even if it wasn't you who had been the one to make the comparison. The fact that he had competition in his field of expertise irritated him to no end. Jin was able to help shine some light on those little details for you, having known Taehyung longer than you.

"It's refreshing to have a woman finally infiltrating the infamous testosterone-based organization." Jin tipped his glass toward you in cheers, keeping a seat of space between the two of you at the bar. A mute man stood silently behind the counter, waiting to refill your drinks immediately. Jin seemed unbothered at speaking about business before his help this time. 

"Infiltrate?" You scoffed as your eyes rolled, shaking your whiskey gently to hear the ice click against the glass. "Are you implying I'm a spy?" You added before chasing your words with the remainder of your drink, feeling it burn as it slipped down your throat. You slammed the glass back down and slid it toward the bartender. "More like 'prisoner.'"

"Prisoner?" Jin asked as he folded his arms on the counter, cradling his glass of bourbon between his hands. "Isn't Mono your brother? I assumed you joined because of him." His finger began to circle the top of the glass, a soft hum coming from the genuine crystal. 

"Hell no." You watched as the warm whiskey began to fill your formerly empty glass and relished at the sight. "I can't stand my brother. I'd have put a bullet between his eyes years ago if it were up to me."

"You two sound like a loving pair of siblings." Jin chuckled under his breath, cracking a smile as he glanced at you over his shoulder. "How and why did you end up 'imprisoned' with this group then?"

"Dumb luck?" You questioned as you quickly took back your glass once it was filled and pulled it closer. "Some kinda gratifying greed on my brother's end that makes him believe that in some way this will make us a family again?" Your eyes rolled, raising the glass. "Or, it is R's sick desire to force me into his little 'club' just because he was bored." Your eyes, slightly dilated, drifted over to Jin as you offered a dull look. "Take your pick; it could be any or all of those answers." Your shoulders bounced. "Or none."

"... Are you at least making friends at that house?'' Jin questioned after a short silence, his glass finding its way to his lips. He took in a hearty sip. He didn't raise his glass frequently, but when he did, he took in enough of a gulp to make up for the break in between.

"Oh yeah." You hissed as you forced on a plastic smile. "Can't you tell how well Taehyung and I get along? We're planning a sleepover next Saturday.~" You raised your voice as you layered on the valley girl accent. With an exhale from your nose, your eyes closed, rolling under your color-coated lids. "I can't trust anyone affiliated with R." You quickly added for clarity.

"Not even me?" Once again, his shameless nature knew no bounds as he slid closer down the bar toward you. He tried to feed you that ravishing smile as he let his eyes linger across your skin.

"Especially you." You added with emphasis as you kept your lackluster gaze locked on him. "You're playing me for a fool, more than likely, trying to get me to trust you on some level and develop a friendship." You scuffed as you slapped a hand down on the cherry wood counter and tossed your head back to look at the raised ceiling. "Oh boy, are you wasting your fucking time."

"Well..." Jin started as he let the bourbon kiss his tongue. "I could be corny and say, 'What if it's my fucking time that I want to waste with you?'" His head tilted to the side as he let his tongue lick off the strong taste on his lips. "However, you'd likely dub me a man who wants just to get his dick wet." He huffed in amusement. "Simply put, I think your abrasive nature toward control is kind of..." He took a deep breath, letting those shoulders of his expand as they rolled. He closed his eyes for a few seconds as if imagining something before finally letting his attention settle back on you. "... refreshing."

"And by that, you mean?" You asked, leaning on the counter more as you tilted into your arms and huddled more fondly around your glass of Jack. You stared at him from across the way, letting your eyes try and read the true meaning behind his words that could be written across his face.

"Attractive." He admitted simply as he leaned back from the bar and abandoned his drink. Slapping a hand on the empty barstool between the two of you, he leaned across the way and brought his thick lips near your ear, dropping his honey-sweet voice down to a low whisper. "Very attractive."

Unwillingly, you couldn't stop yourself from taking a heavy breath, holding it in your lungs as your teeth scraped your lower lip slightly before flicking it outward with a click of your tongue. You whipped your head in his direction, staring him in the eye as the gap between your lips was nearly nonexistent.

"You're so full of shit!" You belted out, followed by the most genuine laugh you had produced in the past few weeks. Your cheeks puffed out as your painted lips spread thin in your laughter. Jin pulled back as you shook your head and looked back straight ahead, your blue locks swaying about. "Nice try."

"And I just might keep trying." He quickly added after you as he slipped his glass back onto the counter after another lengthy swig. "That is, if it brings that ravishing smile back to your pretty pink lips, Kitten." His tongue slithered from his lips briefly as he tossed free such a brash nickname your way.

"Kitten?!" You gawked as your head shot back in his direction. "I'm your 'kitten' now?'' You asked as your voice hiked up in surprise and faint irritation that someone was attempting to somehow stake a claim to you. Your brows remained firm but raised as you locked your gaze with such a bold - and handsome - flirt.

"I didn't say you were mine." He pointed out as he gestured to the open air. "But baby, you could be, just for a night if you wanted." Slipping from his barstool, he moved to stand. Tossing his hand out, he forced the sleeve of his suit jacket to retreat as he looked at his diamond-encrusted watch to check the time. Based on the curvature of his brows you could guess that perhaps he had other business to attend to. He lowered his hand before looking at you one last time.

"Consider it an open invitation, should you ever find yourself... in need."