I See You, You See Me

Order In

She had maybe an hour before she needed to be picked up and go meet Jimin at one of the tedious board meetings she was required to attend as head of the family. So needless to say, Y/N wanted things moving quickly and efficiently. The man seated across from her was swiping through the graphs and charts she had on the tablet she'd handed him. His brow was furrowed.

"This definitely is odd behavior, especially for the people and companies that are supposedly loyal to your family." Good, she wasn't crazy.

"Okay, say for a minute that all these people are hostile to me. What could this do to me?" He peered over his glasses at her.

"You've pissed this many people off?" Y/N gave him a look that said "none of your fucking business".

"Hypothetically." He took a deep breath and shifted before responding.

"Hypothetically, you would lose control of the company. Technically they can't take away your position, but they can badger you into stepping down. And make things difficult if you don't." Y/N sighed.

"I always admired Chairman Park's insistence on involving the family and tying others to the best interests of his company. But as you can see, with how things are moving around, it means that a lot of power is essentially up for grabs and people are selling." Y/N nodded thoughtfully. She was here consulting with a financial adviser she'd had screened, to make sure he couldn't be compromised. Getting her business would be a great boon to him, but she had to be sure he wouldn't sell her out. Thus far she was confident he wouldn't.

"And if I start moving to buy, that would probably tip off whoever is behind this right?" He nodded.

"It's different corporations buying, but as you've seen, once you dig deeper they're just shells." Y/N pursed her lips.

"Can we do the same?"

"You mean begin purchasing your stocks and tying them up in shell corporations that ultimately you have control over?" Y/N nodded.

"It'll take some time and it will have to be done delicately, but I can definitely begin arranging that."

"Great, please do so. Any and all questions or concerns you have, here's my personal cell number." She said, quickly writing it down on a notepad he handed her. "I have a lot going on, but this is a priority for me."

Y/N's suspicions had been right. She was no expert on finances, but she was a fast learner. And it looked like someone was gradually trying to take over family investments and stocks and make it look like people were just naturally selling. People who'd been invested in their companies for years. It could've just been a coincidence, maybe people were unsure at having an outsider take over the family. But usually people express those concerns, they don't quietly just sell off. Especially since stocks had been increasing lately.

So she knew something was off. And she also had a pretty good idea of who was behind it.

-

"Is there a way we can put surveillance on Doyoon?" Jimin looked up and peered at her over the coffee table. They could hear the faint thump-thump of music from Namjoon's room as he ran through some steps for a new piece he and Hoseok were working on. He should probably be at the studio but home just felt.....safe.

"Probably. Why?"

"I want to know who he's meeting with." If he met with people and they dipped out afterwards, that was an identifiable pattern. "I also want you to keep a list of everyone who's selling off any family investments or company stocks." Jimin raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think Doyoon is moving against you?"

"Of course, the question isn't "is he moving against me" though. It's "does he have a chance at succeeding"?"

"Good point. Do you have proof?"

"I have suspicions, this might confirm them." Jimin nodded thoughtfully.

"He has been unusually quiet lately. You wouldn't know, but he's infamous for causing some spat or scandal every couple weeks. But I haven't seen anything in the media. Is this why you've been asking me for those background checks?" Y/N hummed and Jimin gave her a teasing grin.

"Awwww, I'm so proud. You don't need me to hold your hand anymore. Soon you'll be fully running things and I'll be able to retire...." He yelped as Y/N's touch pen hit him in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"You're stuck with me for life, Park Jimin." Y/N grumped. "Don't even think of abandoning me."

"Abandoning who now?" They realized the music had stopped and Namjoon had wandered out, coated in sweat, a towel thrown around his neck.

"Me." Y/N said indignantly. She knew Jimin was teasing, but she enjoyed teasing back. Namjoon walked over and, before anyone could move, he had Jimin in a headlock.

"What's this Jiminie? Leaving my mate to fend for herself? Don't you love us?" Jimin shoved at him.

"Not when your arm's around my neck!"

"It wouldn't be if I wasn't so worried about your undying loyalty....thinking of leaving us all alone to face the rigors of the world...." Jimin smacked at his bicep.

"You have muscles, you'd be fine!"

"Yeah, but what about Y/N?" Y/N gasped.

"Kim Namjoon!" He looked up at her and winked, causing Y/N to blush, before releasing Jimin and plopping down next to him. "I'm not incapable of taking care of myself."

"Oh, I know." Namjoon said, feeling particularly good after getting the steps right. He winked again and Jimin groaned, rubbing his neck.

"I feel like there's some inside joke I might need to leave the room for." Y/N was just giving Namjoon a look, wondering what had gotten into him. Namjoon gave Jimin's thigh a playful pat.

"Whatever makes you feel comfortable, Jiminie." He said, eyes not straying from Y/N. Now Y/N was definitely wondering what'd gotten into him. Jimin gave him a weird look, looked back and forth between them, and wrinkled his noses.

"Okay, I have things to do. You both have a good night." He said, quickly gathering up his stuff. He got the feeling it was just a good idea to leave.

Y/N waited until the door closed behind him before raising her eyebrows at Namjoon.

"What's up with you?" She asked, taking in the fact that Namjoon wasn't curled in on himself and seemed pretty relaxed. He shrugged.

"I looked in the mirror, and I was....grateful." He said, after thinking for a moment.

"Grateful?"

"Yeah. That I'm out. That I'm safe. That I can try and get better." Y/N gave him a small smile. She was honestly happy that he was recovering so well. It made her almost....jealous. It had always been her and only her. She hadn't had six friends and a mate to hang around every moment. She figured it out as she went along. And the longer she watched Namjoon come to terms with what happened to him, the more she realized she hadn't really figured it out at all.

"I'm glad you feel like that." She said, reaching for the tablet Jimin had left behind. "Are you finished dancing?"

"Yeah." Namjoon ran his fingers through his hair, wondering if now was an okay time to ask. "Is it....do you wanna go out for dinner?" He'd been thinking that they hadn't really been appearing in public together that much and despite his slight anxiety, it was probably best to remedy that.

Y/N felt bad. She knew she should be making more of an effort on this mates thing, but between finishing her degree, learning how to run the family, tracking a possible takeover, and finalizing the wedding, she was tired.

Namjoon saw her hesitancy and it made him feel unsure suddenly, even though he knew there was nothing to worry about. But he had to stop and consciously make himself believe that.

"Is it okay if we order in?" Oh, so it wasn't spending time with him. It was just her work. He nodded and pulled out his phone to order from their go-to takeout place. "Thank you." She sighed and sat back.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just tired." She closed her eyes. She heard shuffling and before she knew it, Namjoon was slipping an arm around her and leaning her into his side. "Thanks."