hostage || jaeyong

sixteen

A few pleasantries were exchanged, and soon everyone was seated.

Taeyong felt even more out of place, sitting away from everyone else, and also inappropriately dressed for the occasion.

"I must admit, Mr Jung, that I was expecting something else from you." One of the older men seated at the table spoke. "I thought your style was—let's say, more rigorous."

"I decided to try something a bit different this time around." Jaehyun let a secretive smile dance on his lips.

Taeyong felt like he was suddenly back in school, and he was about to be asked about homework.

Maybe Jaehyun was just kidding about using him as an assistant.

He had never felt more intimidated in his entire life. He preferred having to deal with a pack of dogs or a street gang, rather than speaking as much as a word in front of all those people dressed in impeccable suits that probably didn't even know people like Taeyong breathed on the face of the planet.

"My assistant here will explain to you all about this new face of the project. I am known as a man who is not afraid to take chances, and I think that, in this case, my intuition serves well. Please, Taeyong ssi," He gestured towards him.

Taeyong dug his short nails into his palms.

Jaehyun wasn't joking; he was going to force him to make a fool of himself.

There was no way back.

Something in the way that eyes stared at him, challenging him, made him uneasy.

There was no place for him in a nice conference room like this one. If that was what Jaehyun wanted to demonstrate, be it.

His voice sounded unsure at first. He got closer to the table and started explaining, about playgrounds for children, about the necessity to have a supermarket closer to the city, about more greenery that had to be added to compensate for the eternal pollution from cars.

When he was finished, everyone was silent.

He bit the inside of his cheek.

Every moment now, they were going to start laughing.

The older man who had talked to Jaehyun first spoke.

"A more community driven project?" He scrunched his nose. "I see some extra expenses being involved this way, and I would have preferred the initial plan where everything was the absolute expression of efficiency. I usually like to calculate my return on investment to the letter."

"Some benefits are hardly calculated this way." A woman in her 50's sitting next to the man talked. "I think this new perspective is quite interesting, and it is worth taking into consideration. Will there be extra expenses? Without a doubt, but keeping the community happy will create a friendlier atmosphere for tourists, as well. I personally think this would be good for business."

Taeyong felt his chest expanding for some reason. He had not thought it that way but the lady was right; people would be happier if something was done for them, too.

The discussion around the table became animated, with everyone expressing their opinions.

Taeyong withdrew, and eventually, Jaehyun started to speak.

The entire audience fell silent.

"I think there are plenty of ideas to move around. I would like to hear all your suggestions and then have a second meeting, to see where we can agree to disagree," He said with a smile.