Double Trouble | Min Yoongi

Chapter 17

Shuffling papers and clicking keys filled the office, the repetitive sounds giving the impression of a recorded track played for background purposes. Amidst the assiduous atmosphere was Kim Jiwon, flipping through pages with a hard look on her face, too immersed with her agenda.

Propping her elbows on the table, she massaged her temples with her fingers and grimaced.

"Something's not adding up," she muttered to herself and abruptly typed on the keyboard. The results on the screen accentuated the curve on her lips.

Jiwon leaned forward, studying the charts and analyzing each movement of the graph line. Her eyes narrowed and lips protruded to a pout. She went back and forth between tabs, her nerve endings wavering and pulsing with each click.

Until a whiff of a whisper touched her skin.

"Is that Mr. Im's files?"

Panic skated Jiwon's spine at the breath that ghosted on her ear, her heart stuck on her throat, the stab on her chest almost too physically painful that it could be mistaken for a real dagger.

"Hey, breathe," instructed the voice calmly. The owner patted her back, and only then did Jiwon realize she had been holding the air in her lungs.

"Y-You..." she stuttered, gawking at the man as he leaned on her desk to face her. Finally, Jiwon managed to sigh her words out. "You scared me."

He frowned. "You were too absorbed with your work."

Shoulders slumping, she palmed her forehead. "You didn't have to be so close," she grumbled and regained her composure.

"So what's with this?" The man picked up the folder and riffled through the thick bundle of pages. Then, he lifted his gaze, giving her a serious look. "Are you doing something you shouldn't?"

"It's fine, nothing serious." Jiwon snatched the folder from him and chucked it inside a drawer. "Now what brings you here, Min Yoongi?"

Yoongi gave her a blank look and crossed his arms as if he were pondering over a thought.

The last time Jiwon had seen Yoongi was three days ago, during her fitting, which was also the day a garden wedding had been decided after visiting the florist assigned for the event. Jiwon had broken her streak of having lunch out with him, traded it with cracking down a suspicious file.

"Have you eaten?"

Jiwon tilted her head. "Pretty sure I've eaten breakfast."

"It's one in the afternoon, don't tell me—" Yoongi was cut off when Jiwon's eyes widened as she glanced at her watch, confirming his assumptions.

"Have you actually been like this for the past days?" His voice leaked of disappointment.

Jiwon let out a thoughtful hum. "Did you actually miss my annoying presence? Or were you actually worried?"

"Neither," he answered, nonchalant, "but I'm hungry."

Jiwon scowled. "Then eat by yourself." She began closing the windows on the screen and shut down her computer.

"Come on, get up. Last time I saw you, you didn't seem to be getting enough sleep. Don't tell me you're skipping on your meals as well?"

"You have a way with words that honestly makes it seem like you care."

"And you have a way with your actions that makes it seem like you're not up to something reckless."

"Touché." Jiwon raised her hands in surrender.

"But really, Jiwon." The edge on Yoongi's voice sharpened. "Didn't your brother tell you not to get yourself involved?"

Jiwon stood up after locking her drawers.

"All I do is confine myself here and try to get something out of whatever is in that folder. What's the worst that could happen?"

"A lot of things happen around you." Yoongi sardonically huffed.

"Ha ha, really gotta love your sense of humor." Jiwon twitched her lips, one hand holding her coat, the other resting on her hip.

"If you're not going to dismiss the matter, at least tell me when you're planning something."

"Well, Mr. Min Yoongi... let's see if you can bribe me on that with lunch."

↠

Apparently, lunch alone wasn't enough.

Yoongi trailed Jiwon as she strode through the aisles, reaching for books on the shelves and flipping their contents from time to time. Whenever she was contented with her pick, she'd add them to the stack Yoongi was already carrying.

"Ms. Geum runs a bakery downtown," Jiwon began, fingers hovering above a coloring book in contemplation. "She didn't get to have a family of her own so she devoted her time doing what she loves."

"But recently I visited her and found out she took in three children to her home." Jiwon placed another children's book on the pile already resting on Yoongi's arms and smiled at him.

"How old are they?" asked Yoongi and Jiwon moved to the next aisle.

"Ayumi is six, Hansung is eight, and we're not sure about Yuki, but she couldn't be older than three." Jiwon frowned. "Ms. Geum told me she found Ayumi going through her trash while Hansung was carrying their little sister. She knew she just had to do something for them, so she invited them inside to eat.

"She was supposed to bring them to the childcare center the next day, but the children cried a lot and said they want to stay. It must have been hard for those children to leave too suddenly right after they received care."

Jiwon hugged her arms, a faint smile on her lips as she stared into shelves. "Ms. Geum thinks it's a blessing actually. She's more than willing to take them all in. And I also couldn't imagine the three of them getting separated. When I saw them... I don't know, I just... like, I could feel their pain without even having to ask what happened."

"Is she going to pursue the legal process?" Yoongi questioned and adjusted the books with one hand, securing them on his side. He joined Jiwon scan the shelves.

Jiwon hummed in affirmation. "I asked Taehyung since he's in the legal department. He probably knows someone who can help better with the matter."

"And you're buying this for them?" Yoongi held up a storybook.

"I'm buying them for our future children," she deadpanned.

Yoongi chuckled, causing her to cast a skeptical look at him.

"Your source of amusement really makes me wonder," shot Jiwon.

"It's just that your interests are rather odd," he replied.

"At least this is better than trying to play detective over Im Changsun's file," Jiwon jested and grinned at him.

"Are you telling me you're agreeing to count me in when you're up to something?"

"Not exactly though." Jiwon pondered. "Just one more thing and I'll comply."

Jiwon sported a sweet facade and laughed when she caught Yoongi utter in disbelief.

"I'm bringing you with me the next time I visit," bubbled Jiwon with no room for rejections, and Yoongi scowled at her.

"You're using this much to your advantage."

Jiwon took the bundle of children's books from him and held it close to her chest. The corners of her lips lifted, gaze floating.

"What can I say?" asked Jiwon, her voice merely a hush above a whisper. She turned back to Yoongi with a smile. "When all of this is done and over with, we probably won't see each other anymore. For now it feels nice to have some company every once in a while."

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