The Pilot || MinJoon

Chapter 24

Jimin's friends would often tell him that he has bad taste in men. They'd point out that he has a type-- mean, muscle-y fuckboys with too little common sense and too much money to burn. That may have been true when he was younger, but that was when he was trying to figure things out. Because really, who knows what they want in life when they're a teenager? As far as he knows, back then, he was basically Jon Snow. He knew nothing. 

But if there was one thing that he was always certain of, it's this: He wanted to love someone freely, deeply, without being judged or taken advantaged of. And above all, he wanted to be loved back wholly, completely, and passionately, in return.  

In his heart, he knows that Namjoon is the one who can love him the way he wants to be loved. 

Flashback to 2013

"So, is that a yes then?" Stavros asks. "You're gonna tell your dad to meet with my dad right?"

Exasperated with his boyfriend and his endless demands, Jimin sips his tea, stalling for time as he tries to think of a response that wouldn't tick him off. They've been dating for a little over a month now, and since the first week Stavros has been hinting about brokering a business deal between their respective fathers. 

"Stav, I already told you. My father doesn't agree to meet people just because they own some land," Jimin says wearily. "He has people scout out locations for our hotels, then those guys get back to him and tell him about it, then-- never mind, it's a whole process."

You can't even tell your friends that you're dating me, and now you want our families to be in business? Jimin bitterly thinks while refilling his teacup. 

"C'mon Jimin," he whines. "You know I gotta score some points with papa. He's been on my case since I dropped those three subjects last semester, and I figured if I could close a deal to get ARCADIUM to buy our land and build a hotel on it, then everything would be cool with us again."

"Drop it, Stav," Jimin snaps. "I told you, it's a no. And besides, your property isn't even that great. It's in an entirely remote location. No way is my father gonna want to build there."

Annoyed, Stavros sneers and pokes Jimin's shoulder. "Why're you so snotty about it? And what do you know about building and running hotels anyway, huh? You think you know everything just because you're inheriting your dad's business?"

I know more than you do, Jimin internally fumes. I've been learning about the business since I was 13, asshole.

It was true. As the only child and heir to the ARCADIUM empire, Jimin's training to become CEO began at the mere age of 13. While his classmates would meet up to eat teokbokki or play games at arcades after school, he would go to his dad's office or the main hotel in Seoul and learn different aspects of the business. 

His father, wanting Jimin to know every single thing about the hotel business, decided to let Jimin start with simple tasks, such as making copies of inter-office memos and delivering them to all the department heads. No job was deemed to be beyond Jimin's status as a chaebol-- in fact, some days, he would be tasked to help clean a hotel room, or he'd be chopping herbs in the kitchen. By the time he was 15, he graduated to the front desk on weekends doing concierge duty, and by the following year, his training in the corporate side of the business would begin in earnest. 

So yeah, he knows a lot about being a hotelier. But Stavros doesn't need to know that. He wouldn't care anyway. 

Sighing, Jimin rests his head on his hands as he feels a headache coming on. "Can we just-- Stav, please, I don't want to talk about this anymore.  Please?" He reaches for his boyfriend's hand, only for the boy to snatch it out of his grasp.