The Jeon of Jeonseol

16. Born to rule

"I was born to rule!!" Jeongguk all but yelled, making everyone at the table flinch, everyone being Taehyung, Jeongyeon and Namjoon. 

Jimin didn't even react, being too busy staring at Jeongyeon, who was wearing one of Jimin's t-shirts, a shirt and a pair of jeans. She had her long hair pulled into a ponytail and Taehyung distantly wondered how Jimin managed to teach her the concepts of fashion already. 

"I know, I kno-"

"YOU DO NOT KNOW!!" Jeongguk was furious, and it made Taehyung nervous. He could already differentiate between different forms of Jeongguk's anger. He already knew when to mess with him and when to take him seriously.

"Please, Jeonggukie, understand what I'm trying to say," he tried to plead. 

"Why can I not stay back at home like I did last week when you left for work?" Jeongguk asked. 

"Because people think of you as my bodyguard now. If you are not with me, it would make people suspicious. And I can't afford that. Even one scandal is enough to spoil my spot-clean history. I even told everyone you were my bodyguard because of how you behaved at the mall the day before yesterday," Taehyung explained for the hundredth time already. 

Jeongguk did not talk at the mall at all, following Taehyung's orders strictly. Unfortunately, Taehyung did NOT instruct him not to protect him from all potential dangers. And according to Jeongguk, Taehyung was too beautiful and every single thing on the way proved to be a danger for him. 

He glared at everyone who dared to look at Taehyung for more than two seconds, pushed Taehyung away from every single mannequin in the mall, pushed him behind himself when a man stepped forward and volunteered to show them their collection, shooed away every single fan who came for an autograph and much to Taehyung's dismay, pulled out a knife from his waist when a fan forced herself on Taehyung despite Taehyung telling her he was on a personal task and that he couldn't take photos with her at the moment. 

Taehyung had to post an apology message on his social media account when a picture of that was captured and posted on social media, already reaching the top of trending hashtags. 

'I am extremely sorry for how my bodyguard behaved at the mall. He went through something huge in his life recently and isn't alright at the moment. As he was the best one I've ever had, I did not have the heart to fire him when he was going through a hard time. It is still no excuse for his behaviour, and thus, I apologize on his behalf. I'm trying to support him as much as I can and beg for your understanding.'

Who would think Jeongguk saying, "Wait here for me. I shall consume water and return," would actually mean that he was arming himself with all kinds of weapons from the kitchen?!

At least, because of his apology, people were now singing praises about Taehyung's kind heart and humility. 

"And? I was still not born to guard!! How dare you try to dishonour me by ranking me so low?!" 

Taehyung sighed. He did not know how to convince Jeongguk anymore. He looked to Jimin for help, seeing as Jimin was the only person Jeongguk silently just listened to. At times, he felt jealous that it was Jimin who Jeongguk listened to without a single protest and not him, but at times like this, he was just glad Jeongguk at least listened to Jimin without a single protest.

"Jeongguk, do you know? I was born to very rich people too. But there was a time when I had to sleep on riverbanks and roads and beg for food. No one loses honour by doing something that needs to be done. Right now, the person who is giving you food, clothes and shelter needs your help. And it's your turn to pay it back," Jimin said. 

Taehyung and Namjoon exchanged a surprised look before gaping at Jimin for two reasons. One - how did Jimin always know the perfect thing to say to convince Jeongguk?! Two - they never knew that Jimin had lived on the streets before becoming a successful actor. 

Jeongguk did not say anything for a while, just wolfing down his breakfast silently. Taehyung did not say anything further, leaving him to his food, something that he realized Jeongguk loved and liked to eat in enormous amounts. 

When Jeongguk was finally done with his breakfast and burped like a monster, as Jeongyeon scrambled to clean his plate like she always did whenever they ate together, he finally looked at Taehyung and spoke up. 

"Alright, I shall accept your proposal and pretend to be your bodyguard. But you cannot restrict me from talking as you have done when we went to buy clothes for myself."

Taehyung almost deflated like a balloon with how huge of a breath of relief he let out. 

"Sure!!" he exclaimed. "Just don't be obvious to anyone about not knowing anything about technology, okay? I'll tell my actual bodyguards to leave you alone and pretend like you are one of them. Don't talk too much to anyone because your way of talking is super ancient. No one talks like this anymore. Just stay behind me and with Namjoon hyung when you can't be with me. I'll take care of the rest, okay?"

"I just told you not to put any conditions," Jeongguk said, starting to get pissed again. 

"Jeonggukie, pleaseee!! I did not put any condition at all. I'm just asking you to be behind me all the time and be with Namjoon hyung when you can't be with me. I'll take care of the rest!!" Taehyung whined. 

Jeongguk considered his words for another whole minute before finally agreeing. "Alright. Now tell me what we are doing today," he said. 

It felt like Jeongguk was the master of the house and not Taehyung. And for some really weird reason, Taehyung long stopped minding it. He loved the daddy vibes Jeongguk unknowingly gave, after all. 

"You saw your movie that day, remember? There were actors in it, right? They represent someone else, right? I do the same thing. I'm a famous actor in my coun-"

"You lie for a living?!" 

Taehyung was stumped. He opened and closed his mouth for quite a few seconds, not understanding how to contradict what Jeongguk just said. 

"He pretends to be someone else for a living. So do I. We act. We perform. It's an art not everyone can master," Jimin said, again shutting Jeongguk and everyone else up effectively. 

"I see," Jeongguk said with a nod and slowly pushed his chair back, leaning back and crossing his legs under the table before fixing Taehyung with a hard stare. "So?" he asked. 

"So today we are starting a new movie," Taehyung gulped and said, "and all the people who are acting in it are going to sit and read all the things that we are gonna say in the movie. It's gonna be fun. You can't sit with me, but you can sit with Namjoon hyung and listen to us. I'll get permission for you guys to stay inside. What say?" he asked, his eyes sparkling in excitement.

Jeongguk shrugged and stood up, looking away from Taehyung to avoid falling into his trap. He knew all of Taehyung's dirty tricks now. 

"Alright," he mumbled and walked away, carefully avoiding Taehyung's happy expression.