No Going Back

14

There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavours than can ever be tasted.
━
The Art of War
Sun Tzu

≣

Jungkook sat in the middle of the canopy bed, his head resting in his hands. A torrent of thoughts swirled around in his mind like a hurricane hellbent on destruction. And if he didn't reach the eye of the storm soon, he could very well drown. He was simply feeling too much.

There was the fear, anxiety, and apprehension; these tense emotions the result of the mess he created and now had to clean up.

There was the concern for Taehyung. What made him so angry? Why did he want to hurt himself?

Then there was the lust - desire - for that same man; a raging need to feel the elder's body against his own.

And then there was hope; hope that Jungkook could survive and wouldn't regret the lie that got him into this situation in the first place.

Fuck, he should have never lied to Taehyung that first night. But he was so afraid the bodyguard wouldn't hesitate to shoot him. After all, he wasn't supposed to be in the house and he had no one there to vouch for him. So he panicked. But if he told the truth . . . 

No. Imagining what could have happened wasn't worth his time or energy. He lied and now had to face the consequences. 

But damn, those unknown consequences terrified him. Once the Chief of Security announced he'd come to the bed and breakfast, Jungkook's heart had been racing ever since. He knew the man's arrival signaled the countdown to his demise, the time when his facade would crumble. And while Jungkook could attempt to prolong the inevitable, he didn't see that as a viable option. 

With one pointed question, the Chief could tear off Jungkook's mask and realize he was a fraud. Really, it wouldn't take too much effort at all to uncover the truth.

Jungkook thought Taehyung would've had his doubts by now, but for some reason, the elder never looked too closely. Questions on his past, experience with the oil industry, or even inquiries about the murders never came up. And outside of Taehyung's initial mistrust of his identity - I don't for one second believe you are who you say you are, Jungkook - he let go of that uncertainty once he saw the picture of Namjoon. 

It seemed odd to Jungkook; he assumed a bodyguard needed to know this sort of information to protect their charge properly. But whatever the reason for Taehyung's lack of questioning, it suited Jungkook's purposes. He didn't have to volunteer any necessary information or craft new lies to explain his lack of knowledge. Avoiding those sorts of topics - especially anything to do with Korean National Oil - helped to lengthen this deception.

Besides, outside of what he picked up from Namjoon over the last three years, he knew absolutely nothing about the oil industry or its key players. 

All of that posed a massive problem, however, if the Chief of Security at Korean National Oil wanted to sit down with him and talk. The moment the man asked Jungkook something too specific - or referenced a name he should know but didn't - it'd be over.

Ever since Namjoon started working at the massive oil company five years ago, he made sure Jungkook stayed very far away. His brother always used to lecture him on how people in this industry - and at Korean National Oil, in particular - were vicious and vindictive. They disposed of outsiders if they posed the slightest of threats, harboring the personal motto of Shoot first, ask questions later. If the people in leadership detected any opposition, they wouldn't hesitate to strike down their supposed enemies.