𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 || 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄/𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐖𝐎𝐍

Chapter Nineteen

"I like you, Wonwoo."

Wonwoo lifted his gaze from his plate and swept it around the restaurant before settling it on the man seated across the table. The calm, dark eyes of Kim Namjoon met his and held.

Namjoon had a strong, handsome face, with fashionably cut brown hair, dark eyes, and a firm, sensual mouth. His olive skin hinted at some Mediterranean roots. He was only four years older than Wonwoo, twenty-seven, but he had such an air of calmness, straight-forwardness, and quiet confidence about him that he seemed older.

It was Taehyung who had introduced them. He and Taehyung...they hadn't really spoken about what happened a week ago (Wonwoo liked to pretend his breakdown in the alley had never happened), but Taehyung seemed determined to take Wonwoo's mind off of it and had set him up with Namjoon, one of his many distant cousins. Despite coming from an obscure, impoverished branch of Taehyung's family, Namjoon had made quite a career by the age of twenty-seven and had earned himself a fancy office one floor up from Wonwoo at Grayguard.

"Yeah?" Wonwoo said, giving Namjoon a lopsided smile. "Not sure why."

Namjoon sipped his wine. "Are you fishing for compliments?" He had a good, sexy voice, very low-pitched and husky.

"Nope, I know I'm cute." Wonwoo smiled wider. "It's just...From what I've heard of you from Taehyung, you don't have much respect for people who are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, which is a bit funny. You're related to a bunch of aristocrats."

Namjoon chuckled but didn't deny it. "It must be the dimples. I've always had a bit of a weakness for them."

Wonwoo could only smile back. They were flirting, weren't they? Flirting was good. Taehyung would be so pleased with him.

Namjoon's face turned serious. "Look, I'm going to be blunt with you. I don't want any misunderstandings here. I want to make sure we're on the same page." He looked Wonwoo in the eye. "I'm tired of the club scene and casual relationships. At this point I would like a husband and a couple of kids to spoil." Namjoon shrugged. "I really like you, but if a serious relationship isn't what you're interested in, you'd better tell me now."

Wonwoo swallowed, trying to fight the wave of panic. This was good, wasn't it? This was what he had been looking for. Namjoon was attractive and confident without being arrogant, he was firm without being domineering, he was genuinely nice without appearing weak. He had a sexy voice and some nice muscles under that suit. He wanted kids, too. Namjoon checked all the boxes. He was practically perfect. The man of his dreams.

Wonwoo brought his glass to his lips and sipped his drink, trying to buy himself some time.

Namjoon smiled, looking amused. "I'm not proposing or anything," he said, reaching across the table and taking Wonwoo's free hand. His hand was big and warm. "I don't want you to freak out. I'm just saying I like what I see—a smile like yours doesn't lie—and I'd really like to get to know you better. Would you like to get to know me?"

It was reasonable.

Wonwoo smiled back and nodded, trying to ignore the anxious knot in his stomach.

The rest of the date went pretty well. Namjoon was easy to talk to. He was a good listener and a great conversationalist. He was funny, smart, and attractive. Wonwoo liked him. He liked him a lot.

After the dinner, Namjoon bought him flowers on the way to Wonwoo's flat and kissed him chastely at the end of their date, the look in his eyes fond and fascinated.

All in all, it went great.

Later that night, as Wonwoo stared at the beautiful white roses on his nightstand, he thought that Namjoon was pretty much everything he had been looking for all his life.

He fell asleep with a small smile on his lips, feeling pleased and optimistic about their next date.

He dreamed of rough, possessive hands, ice-blue eyes, and a heavy, hot body on top of him. He woke up, breathless and panting, his body tingling all over with longing and hunger, the likes of which he'd never felt before.

Angry tears sprang to his eyes. It wasn't fair. He didn't want this. He wanted Namjoon. He wanted to dream of Namjoon, who was the epitome of everything he wanted in a man.

He wondered what Mingyu was doing right now.

Wonwoo groaned in frustration. Stop thinking about him, you idiot. It had been a month since Yoongi and Jennie helped him escape. He doubted Mingyu spared him a thought, and even if Mingyu did, it was likely because he was annoyed by the loss of a valuable leverage against Wonwoo's father. Or perhaps Wonwoo had been such an insignificant pawn to him that Mingyu barely noticed or cared about his escape.

Wonwoo hated how that thought made him stupidly upset. His wayward emotions proved he had done the right thing by escaping when he had. At the rate he had been going, a few more days with Mingyu would have turned him into a brainless, lovesick fucktoy who was happy to be locked up and used whenever his captor was in the mood.

There was another thing that was constantly at the back of his mind: it had been a month and everything was too quiet. Although Wonwoo hadn't expected Mingyu to care enough to go out of his way and kidnap him again, he did expect Mingyu to do something to get revenge against his father. But so far, nothing had happened. The lack of reaction was a little unnerving. Even if Mingyu didn't care about Wonwoo, he sure did care about making Wonwoo's father pay. Or didn't he?

Sighing, Wonwoo turned onto his stomach, hugged his pillow, and tried to focus his thoughts on Namjoon, reminding himself that his father's problems were no longer his concern. He had made the decision. He wanted nothing to do with the mafia, drug trafficking, or the criminal world, in general. He didn't know his father all that well to care much about him as a person, and what he had found out about him from Mingyu hadn't exactly endeared him to Wonwoo. He didn't love his father, and his father certainly didn't love him. The latter had become blatantly obvious when his father had quickly lost interest in Wonwoo when Wonwoo had told him he didn't know anything about his kidnapper.

"You're useless," was the only thing Jeon Taesoo had said afterward before leaving. Wonwoo didn't let it get to him—his father's lack of affection was nothing new—but when Taehyung offered him a job at his company, he didn't hesitate. He was done trying to be a good son. He was so done. His dad and Mingyu could kill each other for all he cared. Wonwoo didn't give a shit about either of them. He was going to be happy. He was going to be happy and never look over his shoulder.

With that in mind, Wonwoo closed his eyes and thought determinedly of Namjoon's smile.

The next morning, his father's helicopter crashed in Colombia.