Once Again

17

Jungkook stood at the windows of his luxurious suite in a top Tokyo hotel and looked down at the busy streets below. He had flown into Narita this morning. He had to get out of Seoul. The media attention following Dispatch's exposé of Jimin's affairs two months ago had intensified and forced him to flee, but not before serving divorce papers on his husband.

Jimin had thrown a massive fit and accused him of deserting him in his hour of need but Jungkook was not moved by his tantrum. He had instead given Jimin a box of files containing pictures and dossiers compiled by his lawyer's investigator of every one of Jimin's affairs from the time of their engagement to his present affairs with the politician and idol. Jungkook had also made sure his in-laws got a box containing the same items before he left Seoul.

As he continued to look out of the window without really focusing on anything, Jungkook was suddenly reminded that his former best friend lived in Tokyo. He wondered if Taehyung would answer if he called him. He pulled his phone out of his trouser pocket and found Taehyung's number.

His finger hovered over the call icon as he recalled the last time he saw Taehyung. Their conversation had been heated and things did not end amicably between them. Taehyung had tried to get him to call off his wedding to Jimin. He had warned Jungkook that he will never be happy with Jimin because he had heard rumours about the man.

Jungkook had accused Taehyung of not putting himself in Jungkook's shoes, of not understanding that Jungkook's family needed this marriage to save them from imminent bankruptcy. Nonetheless, Taehyung had tried to tell Jungkook that his boyfriend was his soulmate, his true love, and that if he stayed with him, he would never want for anything.

Flashback...

Jungkook's father had trusted Jimin's father too much, and made some unwise business decisions leading to a huge loss in their family's fortune. So Jimin's father had offered a solution - marry their sons to each other to solidify their business relationship and keep the Jeons out of bankruptcy.

Jungkook had balked when his father presented the idea to him five months after he returned to South Korea with a first-class honours business degree. He'd revealed to his father that he had a boyfriend in the States who was going to move to Seoul to be with him so they can start a life together.

He told his father that he had ideas to bail them out of the financial crisis they were in, and with Jin's inheritance from his late parents and his medical connections, they would be able to dig themselves out of the current situation they were in. His father had backed down and told Jimin's father that he was declining the proposed marriage.

Jimin's father had understood and did not put pressure on Jungkook's father to change his mind, but it was different with Jimin. When Jimin's father told him that there will be no wedding, Jimin called Jungkook and asked to meet.

It was a meeting that brought Jungkook's world crashing down to the ground. Jimin told Jungkook that though both their fathers had no intention to force them to marry each other, he had no such qualms.

He told Jungkook that his father may try to help Jungkook's father with his financial problems, but Jimin knew a lot of people in the industry and in the banking sector, and he would make sure no one would do business with Jungkook's family or lend a financial hand to Jeon Corporation.

Jungkook had scoffed at what he thought were empty threats from Jimin. After all, Jimin didn't involve himself in the day-to-day running of Park Group, preferring to live the life of a rich socialite instead, fleeting from one party to another, and from one exotic holiday to another.

But then business ventures started failing for Jeon Corporation, and possible partnerships started drying up. And no matter how much Park Group tried to help by steering projects and business ventures to Jeon Corporation, the investors would inevitably walk away.

Things were looking dire for Jungkook and his family, and they were heading for massive bankruptcy, so a few months after Jungkook refused Jimin, he knocked on Jimin's door and asked for his hand in marriage. Jimin quickly accepted and a wedding date was set not long after.

Jungkook's father was nonplussed by his son's sudden change of heart and tried to convince him that he didn't need to marry Jimin, but Jungkook was adamant. His father had then asked him a question that he didn't want to hear.

"But, son, what about your Jinnie? What about the life you two were planning together? I thought you love him."

"It was just campus love, appa. I will learn to love Jimin."

End of flashback...

Jungkook was startled to see drops of water on his phone screen. His finger still hovered over the call icon on Taehyung's contact. He looked up at the ceiling and wondered if there was a leakage but then another drop fell, this time on his finger and it was warm. He realised then that the drops were actually tears falling unchecked from his eyes.

He had been so lost in his memories that he didn't even notice he was crying. He wiped his tears away with one hand and took a deep breath. Without further hesitation, he pressed the call icon and waited for the call to connect.

"Moshi moshi," a deep voice answered.

"Hello Taehyung. It's Jungkook. It's been a while."