Chapter 13

Hello readers! I just want to ask, there's a taennie book on wattpad i think it's call 'the step' or 'the step brother'. It's about Taehyung who's Jennie's step brother go back home for a summer. Jennie work in a bar but Taehyung doesn't like it at all. And apparently Taehyung got fired from his last job and i think he work as a boxer? Like illegal boxing when rich people place a bet on them. They end up being together when their parents aren't home, they had sex, and something's happen make Taehyung leave their home. In the end he try to be settle for Jennie, and invite Jennie to his new house as their house. I only remember the plot like that.

I really love the story line but it disappear and i don't know who's the writer. Anyone can help me? What's the book and the author? Thank you! Happy reading!

Jennie and Fai are still in the cold war but they need to be professional. Now, they're in Fai's office space. He's living in a penthouse with five bedrooms. He turned one into a conference room. He is really earning big money as a freelance lawyer, moreover he will join the biggest public law firm soon. There's around five associates and lead lawyers in this case sitting in a conference room.

"So? It's settled. Ms. Jennie Kim and Mr. Fai Khadra will be considered as investigators to Mexico to track this drug case." His boss said to the lawyers and they all h

"But, I give you two or three days to think about it until our next meeting." He said again. But, suddenly Fai interrupted. "Don't worry, I'll accept it right away." He said.

"Okay, good. How about you, Ms. Kim?" She still thinks about it since Mexico is kinda a scary city when it comes to crime. She wants to discuss this with Taehyung, since he has been worried since the beginning of this case. Somehow, it feels like she asked her husband for permission. But, to see how much he worries, clingy, and needy to her, touch her soft spot to at least let him have a voice to her decision.

She turned to her boss and cleared her throat. She's a little bit nervous to say it but she has to. "Uhm, i think i will take that three days to think about it. I might have some insight." Her boss nodded and ended their meeting.

After she had a meeting in Fai's penthouse, she went straight to Taehyung's apartment. It feels like she already owns the place since he gave her a spare key to his apartment. When she opened the door, she heard jazz music from the living room.

She walks and sees the TV is on and it shows a jazz concert on youtube but she can't find Taehyung. "Tae?" She called him but still no answer. "Taehyung? I'm home." She put down her bag on the couch and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"Jennie?" She finally heard his voice. When she turned around after taking a glass of water, she was startled to see Taehyung only on his towel wrapped around his waist and his wet hair. His abs shown make her gulp and lick her lips. That's one tasty meal.

She smiles and walks to him to give a peck. "Hi, you're so hot." She said Taehyung laughed and put his hands around her waist. "I am, and you're so sexy as well. How's the case?" He asked immediately. Jennie turned her face into nervousness and put down her glass on the countertop. "Actually, I need to tell you something."

"I need to go to Mexico with Fai. My boss ordered us this evening." Taehyung froze and stared at her in horror. He blinks his eyes so many times, and suddenly releases his embrace.

"No." He sternly said.

Jennie was taken aback by his answer. She didn't expect that's what he said. She wants to tell him not to give a permission exactly, she needs insight to make her trip be more worth it and not take longer since she is scared. At least, give her the strength to go on that trip.

"No? Why? I'm not asking you for permission. I need your help to give me advice on what I should do there." Jennie said.

"No, not gonna happen. That's dangerous. You're their enemy and you're going to their territory. It's like you're purposely making it easy for them to get their prey." Taehyung's voice got higher. "I'm not going to die anyway, what's the big deal?" Jennie talks back.

'Die' that's what he was scared of.

"No, please." Taehyung said as he look down because suddenly his head is spinning when he heard a word 'die'

He held the countertop beside him to support him. Suddenly his thoughts linger on him again, this time his assumption of what Jennie will do in there.

'She's going to meet a mafia in there'

'She'll be kidnap'

'She can get shot by them'

'She'll be helpless in there with the mafia around her.'

'She can get rape!'

"Tae? Tae? Could you give me serious attention for a moment." Suddenly, he heard her voice again. "No, you can't please." He pleaded to her. His breath slowly hitch, he can't get any air properly. He doesn't know how to breathe.

"Jen-plea-please. No-i-i-can't lose you." He said between his deep breaths from his mouth. He tries to reach her hand but he fails, he can't see where she is because his sight becomes blurry. He bent his body because his chest felt pressured.

Jennie panics to see him like this. "Tae! Taehyung! What's going on?! Can you breathe? Are you having a panic attack?!" She said as she held his shoulder to make him face her.

He eventually gets on his knees to the ground, followed by Jennie too. He is still hard to breathe. "Tae! Take a deep breath! Think of happy thoughts, okay? Happy thoughts!" She said, But there's no use. He can't think, he just can imagine in his mind Jennie is in pain helplessly.

Jennis is still in panic, she never sees him like this. She cups his cheek and sees Taehyung's eyes get teary. He's in pain. He holds his chest because it feels hurt. "Tae, look at me! Happy thoughts okay? I love you. Remember that I love you. Think about us dancing on a jazz song you like. On a new year's party, on my birthday? Now hear it! Hear! There! There's a jazz song you play on tv." She points to the tv that still turns Jazz songs on.

Taehyung tries to focus on her eyes, he can't hear properly, but soon enough the longer he sees her eyes, it makes him a little bit calm and he can hear voices.

Jennie keeps her hands on his cheek to make him still focus on her. She doesn't know why suddenly he became like this. But the words coming from his mouth next make her realize something.

"Jen-no, you can't. Taehyun-he's-he almost died-uh." Taehyung suddenly cried out loud and broke down. Jennie widens her eyes and immediately hugs him while they both sit on the floor. She caresses his head while he cries on her shoulder.

So that's why. He was scared something would happen to her like his twin. He can't witness another dangerous scene from people he loves. Jennie now thinks Taehyung knows about this kind of thing more than she did.

"Sshh, tae, i won't go. I will stay here okay? It's okay, I understand. I will stay here. I'm okay." Jennie can help herself seeing Taehyung break down like this, her tears finally coming out from her cheeks.

"Please, stay. Please. Don't go there." Taehyung still mumbled on her shoulder while sniffling in his cry. "No, I'll stay, I'll stay." She kept reassuring him. He hugged her on her waist so tight, he really wanted her to stay.

Jennie tries to calm him down by putting him on his bed. She stays cuddling with him for the entire night, while Taehyung sounds asleep on her chest. It's her first time to experience such a thing. She realizes they both have their own past haunting them until now. She promised to herself this time she won't prioritize her ego to make them the best in the relationship. She wants to focus on being a presence around each other.

Next morning, Taehyung woke up in bed alone. Even if he had his episode, he still didn't get the nightmare. Maybe, because Jennie was beside him, hugging and caressing him. He roams around his bedroom and smells food. More like a pancake, so he gets up from his bedroom and sees what's going on outside.

Meanwhile, Jennie tried a new breakfast recipe this morning. She tried to make a Japanese souffle pancake. When she hums to a random song while flipping her pancake, someone wraps her hands around her waist and puts her head on her shoulder. It's Taehyung obviously. "Hello, goodmorning." He said as he gave her a light kiss on her neck.

She giggles because he's being clingy again. She likes it very much. "Hi, do you feel better now?"

"Uh-huh, thanks to you for being beside me. I love you." He gave her a light kiss on her jaw. "What do you make?" He asked.

"A pancake but it's japanese. I saw this on an Asian food channel one time. I didn't have a chance to try it but since we had a good sleep last night, I want to reward you for overcoming your problem." She put all the pancakes on a plate and released his hug to put it on the table.

They eat in silence and make Taehyung speak first. "Uhm, are you going to Mexico?" Jennie was startled by his question. She still senses his fear, so she holds his hand on the table. "Of course not! I'm here with you. I will talk to Fai about this later in the office." He hums and continues to eat.

After three days her boss made her think about it. Finally, in the next meeting Jennie tells her boss.

"I'm sorry for my request, but i think i won't be joining Mr. Khadra to go to Mexico." Her boss just nodded and turned to Fai.

"That's fine, it's not necessary for everyone to join since it's Mr. Khadra's suggestion. Is that fine you're going alone?" Fai just nod. "That's fine, I think I will keep my professionalism in this case by continuing research." He said but Jennie sensed another meaning from his words. Since she rejected him for partnering with another law firm, he's been cold and sarcastic around her. She just takes it casually because she needs to be professional.

She doesn't take it because it's not necessary and he can take another lawyer, why does he have to make it such a big deal by saying those words. But, she doesn't want it to affect her at all.

After her meeting, she tries to call Taehyung to inform him that her boss allows her to not go but she can't reach him. Apparently, without her knowing, Taehyung is having another problem in the office.

"There's a lawsuit under your name." Mrs. Hopkins, his boss said. "It said the Chief Of Legal Officer was responsible for a deal they never made but one of our PR handles the project and there's an invoice to pay to our company and it is signed under contract by our accounting staff, so they can't do anything but pay. It turns out months later they got a boycott for launching their product early before their product got approval by FDA. Because they follow a marketing design and timetable by our PR" She explained to him.

"What company?", "Birdy Snack." Taehyung never accepted this contract and at a big meeting he never heard about this company. But it says Yoongi is the one who handles it.

"I will ask Mr. Min." He said as he took the file and went straight to the Digital Marketing floor.

Knock knock.

Yoongi turn his head towards the door. He's little bit surprise by Taehyung's presence. "Can we talk? It's important. It's about your project." Yoongi raises his eyebrows because he never talks about work, just the two of them. "Okay, have a sit."

Taehyung handed the file to him. "You handle this but you never check that they never approve our service but you did it anyway, what happened?" He said sternly.

Yoongi checks the file thoroughly, and he realizes something. He knows who did it. He closed the file and sighed. "Jennie is the one who signed this, it's last year when we're still dating. She found another client and made a contract under her name. It should be under a marketer name but the company never bothered about it so she signed the deal without telling me first if I agree or not. It's typical of her. She handed me after and it gave me no choice to handle it. I never knew what was behind the contract because I only did the job." Yoongi explained.

Taehyung is just silent, thinking about something. "But how come in the file room there's no contract about it." Yoongi furrows his eyebrows. "Really? It should be, or my work can categorize illegal practice."

"Yeah, but the one who gets sued is me since the legal department has to take care of it in the first place before going through the PR." He said.

"You should talk to Jennie." Yoongi suggested. "I know. Thank you." He stormed our feelings of anger in his head. He doesn't understand why Jennie can be this clumsy, if she's one of his employees, he will be furious at her and even fire her, but. . . She's his girlfriend. He can only talk about this with a clear head.

He left his apartment with frustration. He is just really excited about his new relationship but now he has to face another turnover because of her mistake. When he walks into his apartment, he sees Jennie sitting at the dining table while looking thoroughly at her case. She now really lives in his apartment.

When she heard a step, she turned her head and saw Taehyung. "Hi! You're late. It's 8pm. I made dinner for you. Is on the stove." She pointed to the kitchen. Taehyung just nodded and put his bag down on the couch.

"Uhm, Jennie i need to talk to you." Jennie just hums while still writing something on her paper, so Taehyung continues. "Did you sign a deal for Yoongi when you were both dating each other?" By that, Jennie stops her hand to write and puts down her pen. She senses something must be going on at work involving past projects.

"Uh yes, why? Is that something wrong?" Taehyung nods. He clears his throat while sitting next to her. "I got sued by the company, and when I mean me, I mean specifically to myself since you're no longer there, and a superior should be responsible for that." Jennie gets silent for a bit.

"What company?" , "Birdy Snacks." Jennie tries to remember again and she gets a glimpse of memory. She met one of the project marketers there. But, there's one thing she did that could make Taehyung might be angry at her.

"So? What do you need?" , "I need the contract. I can't find it in the file room, Yoongi said the one who signed him for that project was you. So I need a copy of that." Taehyung replied.

"I don't have it." Jennie answered shortly. "What?" He still couldn't believe what he heard. "I don't have it." She said it again. Taehyung can smell something fishy. "Jennie, what happened? Tell me the truth."

Jennie sighed and stood up from her seat to go prepare his dinner on the stove. "I shredded it." She said, Taehyung's mind is getting crazy, he wants to be mad but he tries to calm down since it's Jennie he faces. "What? Why?"

"Because that company is a fraud. I canceled the deal once they asked to rush this product launch even before FDA license, they could put us in jail for that."

"Well apparently you're not canceling the deal, Jennie. When did this happen?" He asked again. Jennie tries to remember again. Oh she remembers. It happened when she's pregnant and had a fight with Yoongi. She abruptly runs to Switzerland and leaves all her work. That's why it is still going. . . But she already tore all the documents. . . They must have had a copy and Jennie didn't inform Yoongi about it since they just broke up and she left." Damn that miscommunication got its karma and Taehyung is the one who got the consequence.

"I didn't inform Yoongi. I broke up with him, and left my work here. I-i left for Switzerland after that." She said, Taehyung sighed, that's what he was scared of.

"Jennie, are you insane? Now they're suing me for defamation. Why you leave your work just like that!" He's a bit angry right now. Jennie just got silent and put down the plate she was supposed to give to Taehyung.

"I'm sorry, I can handle this, please let me help." Jennie approaches him but he walks away. "No, you can't, it's over. They will take away my license." Taehyung said and walked away.

"Taehyung!" She followed him to his bedroom. "Taehyung, listen to me! I'm sorry it was my fault to impulsively leave my job like that. I was frustrated about my pregnancy at that time so I abandoned all my life here. Let me help please!" She pleaded while holding his hand to make him listen.

"If you're my employee, I'm the one who turns you into that lawsuit, but you aren't. Even worse, you are my girlfriend and i can't let you be the one who lose your license." Taehyung said. He sat on the edge of his bed with frustration. He can lose his job because of this. But, Jennie just statue and think she can't lose her job too, she just started her law firm.

"Tae, I promise I can help you." , "no, just-just get out Jennie i need time." He said as he looked down with his hands covering his face. Jennie was startled by his order but she couldn't force him to listen, so she grabbed her bag and left his apartment.

He was frustrated and punched his own pillow. He doesn't know what to do now. How can he face tomorrow? How can he face Jennie right now? He wants to let out his rage at Jennie for being this clumsy and irresponsible but he thinks about what she's been through, and remembering she's his girlfriend makes him feel a burden. He can't turn her to the lawsuit because she signed for it, all of past projects are his responsibility right now to handle and supervise.

Jennie went home and guiltily ate her up. She immediately left her laptop and searched for something about the company. She needs something to help Taehyung. She admits it's her fault to let her work be abandoned like that and make everything just keep going in Omnicom without knowing if it was a good or bad move. She is too occupied with her own feelings but she doesn't want to blame herself, she deserves to feel that kind of feeling because that overwhelmed her.

Now, all she needs to do is just try to find dirt on Birdy Snacks to make an ultimatum to turn down the lawsuit.

——————————————————Sincerely, Matcha💚