37

"I hope you're not expecting a thank you from me. I only do that for people I actually like." I smiled with my teeth showing, flat and unamused.

No, I was not going to ever admit that I liked the lunch he fed me. I wasn't going to admit it even if my butt was up against a cactus wall and being stabbed into. The only punishment in Haerin's Code of Conduct for such a felony was death. Death with a D that was bigger than some muscular man's dick.

I stared at that asshole's face as he reached for the bill book between us.

"I wasn't expecting it. Not after you licked your plate clean like that." He expertly slid a roll of cash under the bill to tip the waiter and I think I hated him a little more when that happened.

Oh look at me, I'm rich and I wipe my ass with hard cash! Hah. Show off.

First the black card and now this? Strategy. A clear power play to show me how I lived paycheck to paycheck.

"I don't waste food." My hair flipped as I turned and began strutting down the aisle. "Basic manners missing much?"

"Clearly." He sassed, his flamingo legs already catching up to me. My lips twisted with anger. "Do you always bite the hand that feeds you Miss Kang, or are you just hungry enough to not notice?"

Hah.

"Bite what hand?" My eyes narrowed, his face now a vision of a buttcheek staring back at me. "You feed me what? Once? And now you're the hand that feeds me? Presumptious much, Mr Jeon?"

I couldn't fucking believe this man. He needed a big sumo slam from Haerin very soon.

I stopped, entering the elevator side of the premises. My hands reached for the cash in my wallet and I held it out to him. "Take this. Then, can I bite your hand now?"

The claw of his hand grabbed the fist holding out the money. He pressed my fist to my chest.

"Are you into all that?"

Oh my fucking god, this asshole from the stars! I wanted to groan so loudly but I had to shut my mouth.

"Well, I'm into paying you back because I don't need your two cents of charity." I snarled, struggling to push my fist back at him.

He stopped, jaw locking at the money I had held out and then at me. Something like amusement lit up his bastard face.

"I don't believe in women paying when they're with me." He shook his head.

I rolled my eyes. "You didn't think that before the bite-the-hand shit? You take this money now and free me from this jasmine rice hospitality."

"I will not." He bit his laugh back and I already knew that it was because I said jasmine rice. Immature bastard.

He whirled on his heel and took off. He fucking took off!

I spun, too. "You can't get away!"

I charged into the wind, my heels tapping rapidly as we arrived at the metal entrance to the elevator shafts. I smirked, as he turned, slightly annoyed that there was nowhere else to run to.

"Take it before I actually bite your hand." I snarled and a few people looked at us.

Way to go, Haerin. Way to go.

"I hope you learned your lesson and never talk shit like this ever again." I smiled flatly and folded the money, gripping it tightly enough to moisten it with my sweating palms.

"Wait. Dark chocolate." I pointed at the tuck shop close by, taken by sudden surprise.

"What chocolate?" He frowned, confused.

"There's some over there." I rolled my eyes. "You can leave, I'm going to buy some."

I didn't care to wait for him but he followed me like a dog to the tuck shop.

"Dark chocolate?" Jungkook butted in.

"Yep. This isn't as damaging as the other chocolates so I won't bloat." I displayed it at his eye level, which was higher than mine. He ducked his head behind and blinked at it slightly in judgment and annoyance.

"You're acting like you've never seen this before. Are you an alien?" I turned to the payment counter but he expertly slid through and tapped his card before I could pay.

"Thank you." He nodded at the man on the counter.

My breath fell short.

My jaw? Parted. I slowly turned my head to him with burning eyes so intense that I think I might have set my hair on fire too.

"You're really going to stoop so low?" I said, disgusted.

"Never, Miss Kang." He placed a hand to his chest as if we were in a period drama and he was a naval officer. "I only intend to pay for you, as any gentleman should."

"Oh fuck this gentleman shit! You paid to assert your dominance and you know it!" I pointed the bar of chocolate at him accusingly. "This is clearly a display of power, so I back off."

"Back off from what?" He blinked.

Aaarrrghhh!

Somebody had to teleport me somewhere stable because this man was about to get the worst karate chop of his life!

But I gritted my teeth as I pretended that it was fine except that I pulled more money out of my wallet and folded it in my fist.

"Want some?" I broke a piece of the chocolate on our way back to the elevator, after I had cooled down and didn't want to kill him brutally.

Jungkook stared at it long and hard. Then, he shook his head. "I'm fine without."

My eyes squinted.

Why was he saying no?

Was he trying to assert his physical dominance too? Like, with food? To maybe say later, look at you all bloated with all this sweet while my jaw is cutting diamonds on part-time! Something like that?

Why the fuck did I suddenly feel like I was eating too much?

I put the piece back in the packet and stuffed the bar in my wallet half-heartedly. So what? I can just eat it on my desk or when I get my period, right? It didn't have to be him that I was with, even though I felt like I could die right now without a bar of bittersweet chocolate in my mouth.

Well, in truth, I didn't want to give away the information that I wasn't as serious about my body as he probably was. I had to win this round, too, no matter how fucking petty this was.

The elevator opened and we squeezed in. Jungkook landed against the extreme back, pressing his back into the metal. I scrambled over the scraps and inserted myself next to him. Too close. Too fucking close. His perfume was so much that it crawled into the back of my tongue. Blergh.

Fucking hold your breath, Haerin or he will accuse you of sniffing him! Again.

I tried to breathe, but that was loud too in the stuffy elevator.

The bar of sweet crumpled in my wallet and I heard the sound. Damn this man for being physically maintained too. Couldn't he just let his stomach go, just a little? Just enough so that I could eat my chocolate in peace?

I folded my hands at my chest, revisiting him with my eyes. He stood tall, fit and handsome. What a troll.

And look, I hate him like the cactus up my ass, but he was a good-looking guy, and that was why the cactus had bigger thorns. I was honest enough to accept the fact that he had a lot of physical advantage over me. But with my chestnut hair and everything, I'd one-up him any day! ANY DAY!

Maybe it was because I had changed my hair recently, but I observed his hair too. It was a low cut, soft waves of layers pushed back and revealing his holy forehead so he looked complex like carbohydrates. Bad analogy. I know. His neck was slightly red. From the running, I assumed.

And God the fit of his trousers. His tushi was like a perfectly wrapped gift on the backside.

"For someone who works on the third floor, you're an awful lot on the sixth floor," I whispered with disgust. "Is this for coffee again?"

"Do you think you own this floor, Miss Kang?" He turned to me as the floor numbers changed from three, and I started wishing I had got down instead of staying here for his crap.

"Yes, I do." I raised my eyebrows.

"Really?" He scoffed.

"Yes, I really do," I said through my teeth. "In fact, the sixth floor is actually spelt H-A-E-R-I-N. You have a problem with that?"

He chuckled under his breath, his jaw ready to slice some salad for me.

"How has the floor not collapsed under a security breach yet?" He scowled, feigning confusion. "I think Neureva is on its last legs."

"You should worry about your own last leg, Mr Jeon. I still have the baton in my bag." I reminded him aggressively but he seemed to continue to make a play of it.

"Why aren't you eating the chocolate?" He glanced at my wallet.

The doors swung open for us and I rushed out first, smirking victoriously as I turned to give him a look.

"I need a bite of that." He continued.

"Why? It's my chocolate. You had your chance and you blew it." I snapped at him.

"I can still have it. It's sweet." He rolled his eyes candidly, and his cheeks dented once again. Fucker. "Let me have some."

I sighed and opened my wallet, grabbing the broken piece of chocolate. He put his hand out and I put the chocolate and the cash in his palm.

That's right, Mr Jeon.

He barely had the chance to gasp as I whirled around and ran towards the glass door, rushing to the work-floor.

He shouldn't have messed with Haerin.

•••

Sometimes this entire corporate world feels like a load of crap. Why was I so fucking nervous about something that wasn't by far related to my life? In the end, Mr Min managed to yank me out of the integrity issue meeting and put me up to handle a task that could boost my reputation or something.

I felt sad that I had to do so much just to win something back and prove myself. The grovelling was what I hated the most. And I wasn't going to do it so this was going to be twice as hard for me.

Or maybe I was the asshole for getting caught in all these issues.

I was right outside Neureva's exit when someone waved at me from a distance.

"Miss Kang!"

"Taehyung?" I scowled, stopping in my tracks.

He didn't waste a single second and ran up to me, "Hey. I was here for my brother, and I just thought you would be around but what a coincidence. Let me help you get home!"

He was wearing his baggy trousers and his cropped shirt today. His baggy trousers even had metal chains clinging to the side. Pretty cool.

"Oh no, I'm alright." I shook my head with a flat smile. "I'll just take the bus today."

"Come on." He groaned. "I have my Nissan and I'd like to use it to drop a pretty lady home. Just like last week. You looked pretty tired that day too."

I blinked at him.

What?

"Did I...?" I tried to remember when this was but honestly, there hadn't been a day when I didn't step out of here, tired as fuck. So there it went. He must have seen me somewhere around then.

"Yes. And I had to keep my decency and watch you walk away. So how about I drop you home?" His eyes twinkled with that weird kind of excitement that made it clear that he liked me.

Boys could never be this nice to a girl they didn't like. Right?

Boys. Men. Same difference.

He did like me. But oh, this was going to be a headache if I didn't clear things out quicker enough. But he didn't even say he liked me yet so I couldn't get presumptuous like a bitch who couldn't accept that people could just be nice and not have ulterior motives.

Well, fuck me.

He offered to help me with my bag and led me to his shiny grey Nissan, holding the door open like a perfect gentleman as he put my bag in the backseat.

"Miss Kang, your vibe suits cars more," Taehyung said, fixing the rearview glass once he was in the driver's seat. "Not buses or bikes."

My eyes flicked at him. "Are you bringing up that bicycle incident again?"

The car churned to life.

He looked surprised by that remark, "I mean—yeah. Right. The bicycle. The bicycle..."

It didn't seem like he was talking about the bicycle though.

The view outside the window made me stall for a moment. This was ridiculous. I felt like I wasn't in my head with all that was happening in the office. The little bit that I was with Jungkook, my head exploded for different reasons so I at least had a distraction, but otherwise, everything else felt like a burden these days.

"Music?"

"Sure," I replied, my eyes still trained on the window.

"You know," he started, "Copenhagen had all the pretty girls in the world but I still find South Korea close to what I actually need."

"Of course you do," I rolled my eyes. "The culture matters a lot. Even if you don't really spell it out and pretend to be okay with it, men just cannot sacrifice their identity for someone else. Unless they're like dog-level down for a girl. That, too, should fade in a few years. So you must be easily adapting to the girls in Korea."

"You're very practical with something that's not supposed to be about practicality." He softly dispensed and I couldn't help but sigh.

Tired.

"Yeah..." I slowly leaned back into the seat, trying to shut my eyes. "It's all practical but illogical. Not worth it."

"I don't think so," Taehyung said. "I think you just met the wrong people. The right person will give you the dog-level adoration you need. I swear."

"You swear?" My eyes peeled open. "How do you swear over something you hold no control over?"

"Just...optimistically," He shrugged with a quick smile and a glance at me.

I blinked at the name of the song on the music player in his car. Because I recognised the beat as soon as it set into the ambience.

What the fuck?

Undisclosed Desires by Muse.

I had had this song on repeat for a week now and for very shameful reasons. This wasn't the kind of song you go out and tell people that you like. It's borderline-obsession-driven. Borderline? Fuck no, it's completely obsessive. Like, let me invade and kiss you till you're wet kind of vibe. No way was this man this comfortable playing a song like that? Was this normal in Copenhagen or something?

I blinked at the name, my lips in a flat line. Then I blinked at him because this man was fucking weird. Just like me.

"I've always liked this one." His fingers tapped the steering wheel, nodding to the beat. "Profound, isn't it?"

"Hahah..." I sized him up real quick. I was judging him hard. Hard. "Yeah, maybe."

Profound, my foot. This was downright sensual what the fuck was he talking about?! Weird asshole. Seokjin had a weird brother. I had to let him know for the peace of this world!

But the song was just too nice. I had to pretend that my organs were not doing a concert inside me.

This man went ahead and ruined it for me because I was squirming in my seat to pretend that I didn't love this just as much.

"You look uncomfortable. Want me to play something else?" He peeked at me.

I stretched my lips. "Yeah...I mean, it's your car. You can play what you want."

"Is that right?" His voice slowed, just for a tiny second. As if my words just shed light on his hairy head. He quickly smiled and then changed the song to something upbeat and jumpy enough to feel safe.

I gulped and relaxed a bit, pretending I hadn't just cried in my head because the song changed.

"Apologies, I'm just so used to playing all this intense stuff that I forget the time and place." He muttered and grinned at me.

"Oh, no problem. I mean, I like that song too but it's just a guilty pleasure, I guess." I tried to smile. I couldn't.

Taehyung nodded, "I've got to inform my brother that I just learnt of his manager's guilty pleasure."

"Yeah, sure. He will have to resign if he knows that." I sneered and Taehyung laughed.

It wasn't even funny but he laughed.

I was almost tempted to smirk and snap at him the way I would have at some Cybersecurity bastard at Neureva but my dignity told me not to. I had the weirdest feeling that this man could kill me for saying the wrong thing.

For a minute more we drove in silence. Silence that could make me fart because none of us knew what to say.

Then, we turned into the familiar driveway and my buttcheeks squeezed. I sat straight, already cursing the moment I met Taehyung and stupid Nissan. Why god, why? Why me?

My mother's eyes at the door searched me out like a predator. This was something she shouldn't have seen in a million years.

Me with another fucking man.

It didn't even make sense why she was in the driveway in the first place. Why the hell did she have to cut grass at this time in the evening waiting for me?

Planned. This had to be planned or something because fuck no.

"Hello, young man." She walked over, looking him up and down.

"That's my mother," I muttered hastily. "You need to leave. Now, Taehyung."

"O—Okay." He hesitantly bowed at my mother, and then at me.

I jumped out of his vehicle like I was in an action movie and the car was about to explode.

And it surely fucking was.

Mom wasn't going to let this go and I knew it.

"Mom, it's not what you think." I began, marching towards the door. "He just dropped me home."

"Honey, you gave a man your address and you expect me to think there's nothing?"

My heart stopped.

What?

I gave him my address. No the fuck I did not.

I didn't remember doing that. No. Why the fuck would I? It's not like my address was pasted on my forehead or anything.

How did he drop me home when I didn't even tell him where I lived?