Love Maze

02 | a catalogue of hot people

|| CHAPTER TWO ;; JUNG JAE-IN
- a catalogue of hot people

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Jae-In's lips press against the rim of his champagne flute as he tilts his head back to down the pale gold liquid, already feeling the buzz of the bubbly drink swaying his mind the moment he feels the last drop of champagne coolly drip down his throat. He sets the empty flute on the kitchen island with a soft clink, leaving it as he makes his way over to the living room where the real party is.

Well, if you can actually consider three grown men crowding together on an expensive couch in front of a flat screen tv bigger than the mirror in Jae-In's master bathroom a real party. Though there is expensive alcohol, there is mostly wine imported from all over the world which Jae-In doesn't like that much. So, technically, it isn't that big of a party, nor is it a hardcore one.

"I'd so smash that idol from that one girl group," the heir of Min Global admits shamelessly, cheeks already stained bright pink from the clear liquid he's drinking as he tips his wine glass at the tv screen.

"As if you can," Jae-In's right-hand man retorts, words slightly muffled as he takes a small sip out of his water bottle — an alternative to alcohol, as his job is to protect them, and being drunk isn't necessarily the best condition to fight in. "You're gay and asexual, there's no way you'd bed her anyways." He rolls his eyes at the tipsy billionaire with ease.

The two others that join Jae-In on nights like this is his bodyguard-slash-friend Santiago Reid and Min Suho, another fellow billionaire. The three of them make a unique mix, especially since Santi's an actual intellectual compared to them and he isn't Korean; he's Filipino. It just so happens to work despite their social standings too, and Jae-In is more than glad to have them as people he can rely on.

"What about being asexual?" Jae-In asks cheerfully as he plops down between the two, creating a tight fit on the leather couch.

"If I wasn't asexual, I'd bang every hot person I see!" a very drunk Suho declares with his arm raised above his head, the white wine sloshing around violently in his glass. Jae-In chuckles uneasily, murmuring a 'dude, don't ruin my hardwood floor' as he lowers Suho's raised arm gently.

"Min, I think you should stop drinking," Santi comments coolly, reaching over to retrieve the Moscato bottle and wine glass. But being Min Suho, it takes a good few tugs between the two to fight for control, however Santi wins with the help of Jae-In smacking the back of Suho's head.

As Santi disappears into the kitchen to hide Suho's wine despite the flurry of curse words Suho rapid fires at him, Jae-In leans forward to grab the binder his secretary has compiled of every applicant who wants to participate in the contest to be his assistant. It's thick with thousands of forms, in which Jae-In has to choose six to participate in the competition. A grand spectrum ranging from talented people to people with good looks. Jae-In is more than ready to choose.

He already knows what he wants as he drops the heavy binder in his lap, slightly grunting from the impact. Suho leans next to him, their foreheads touching as the nosy boy peers at the different applicants along with Jae-In. There's a bunch of them from girls to boys, each file listing their talents. Though Jae-In knows he has to choose some decent people for his father's approval, his tongue licks at his lips suggestively as he searches for people to perhaps have funwith.

"Oh, he's pretty good-looking. Jae-In, pick him." Suho's in awe as his heavily-ringed finger points to a picture of a boy with red-dyed locks that brush the sides of his face like a semi-colon.

"His name is Park Levin," the younger murmurs, thumb brushing across the edge of the page, the corner of his lip lifting into a smirk. "He's only...two years older than me."

"I don't think this is an opportunity to fulfil your raging hormones." His other friend joins them on the couch, the judgement blatant in his tone. Suho moves away from Jae-In, almost bumping their foreheads whilst his angry gaze fixates on Santi.

"Jae-In barely messes around anymore," Suho snaps back, jabbing his pointer-finger at his cheek. "I think he's fine, right?"

"It's practically a catalogue of hot people," Jae-In jokes, his words creating a smile on his lips. As Santi and Suho continue to bicker in English — a language Jae-In doesn't really prefer listening to, as it hurts his brain — Jae-In takes the time to himself to dig deeper through the book.

He goes through sections upon sections of boring people until he hits the 'K' section. His fingers stop at the corner of one of the pages as his irises spot a familiar face. It takes a second for Jae-In to realize who it is, but immediately the smile on his face broadens as he remembers seeing the boy in the rundown part of town in that one diner with pretty good coffee.

Gucci boy's name is Nolan Kim. He tries to think over the racket, but Jae-In instantly gives into the irritation building in his veins as he shushes his two best friends. His sudden gesture thankfully makes the two older boys quiet, though it doesn't take long for them to realize Jae-In's been staring at Nolan Kim's slightly parted, thick, pink lips. The look in the boy's honey irises leaves Jae-In in a sort of unexplainable excitement.

"Damn, he's sexy." The other billionaire beside him gasps, stealing the book from Jae-In and cutting off the lustful thoughts manifesting in Jae-In's head. The youngest of them all casts Suho an annoyed look, his hands snatching the binder back without any struggle.

"I have to admit, this Nolan Kim's actually a decent person based on his facts." Santi nods in approval after seeming to read the boy's application form.

It's rare for Jae-In's bodyguard to ever approve of anything, especially this whole competition. Santi's the one who doesn't like the grand gestures the Jung family likes to do to show off, though he knows his place in the corporate system well enough to not question it. The only reason why he's not so bitter about the competition is because Jae-In's younger sister Jung Soo-Jin came up with it, and inside Santi's heart she holds a special place.

In all honesty, it is sort of unfair. Santi prefers the younger girl over Jae-In, but who wouldn't? Soo-Jin is way sweeter and less affected by the world's true form, and everything she does is for a good cause despite how young she is. She's a complete contrast to her brother; well, all except for the known fact that the Jung family has a knack for having so many talents. But Jung Soo-Jin is selfless while Jung Jae-In is all about fulfilling his own selfish needs.

"I'm going to choose him as my first pick," Jae-In announces of all of a sudden, the two boys on either side of him taken aback at his unexpected decision.

"Never have I ever seen Jung Jae-In make such a sure decision so fast." Suho chuckles, a mischievous smile fluttering on his papery thin lips. "Is this because you like him?"

"I find him interesting. That's different; I don't like him," he replies surely, assuring the two of them there's clearly no feelings involved.

He is Jung Jae-In, heir to a multi-billion-dollar company — having feelings like that is only a drawback. There's no way he's going to fall for Nolan Kim; the boy's only going to be there as someone he can mess with, play with, to fulfill those hidden desires of his that he unfortunately locks away without much of a choice. Nolan's going to be a fuck-and-leave situation. The younger boy's lips contort into a smirk as he makes sure to bookmark the page by folding the corner of his application.

I'll eliminate him the moment I'm done with him.