SMOLDER

On the surface, Taehyung looked so calm that Jin, who grew up with him and the butler who looked after him, didn't dare make a tiny noise.

Both men looked at each other and shook their heads, mentioning they had no idea why Taehyung was livid. Jin guessed it might be because the man left when Taehyung went out of his way to take care of him. He wanted to voice his desire to bring him back but he stayed quiet.

The housekeeper, Na-Rae, who was busy arranging 'Jungkook's room' with other maids, came in search of Taehyung. He smiled at Jin, who brightly smiled. He hoped he could break the intense silence and cool the bone-chillingly calm Taehyung.

Na-Rae had no idea so she broke the silence, "Mr. Kim, the room is prepared as per your instructions. Would you like to take a look?"

Jin's eyes widened, turning to Taehyung. He had forgotten. He dropped by the mansion to deliver men's clothes. But it went out of his mind after seeing the young man attack his friend. He was shocked again to know Taehyung was personally taking care of the man's stay, leaving all his work behind.

He couldn't hold back anymore. He questioned seriously, breaking another round of silence, "Taehyung, who is he?"

Their questions just seemed to worsen his mood. He still held the same composure but his grip on the fork was enormous, as if he were trying to crook it.

Na-Rae looked at her husband, the butler, without knowing what was going on. She fell silent. Jin was used to Taehyung's silence and indifference but this time he was worried without knowing why the man was affecting Taehyung so much.

Taehyung gritted his teeth and left the fork on the salad plate. He stood up and strode away briskly.

Jin breathed out loudly, while Seo-Ho Lee kept his noise down. Na-Rae asked first, "Why is the Master's mood terrible?" Before they could respond, her eyes fell on another set of meals that were prepared for the man. "Did the young man wake up?" The doctor had told her it might take an hour or two.

Jin questioned in a dilemma, "Don't you guys know who he is?"

They had a lot of questions but no one to respond to.

----

Outside, Taehyung grabbed his trench coat while exiting the mansion. He had thought he was stubborn but the man he wanted was headstrong. He wanted to call him pigheaded for leaving in sleepwear. He would die in the cold before he left the estate.

He didn't take the car. Stretching his long legs, he marched at a fast pace to find the feisty, dumb man. He had walked just a hundred meters when he caught a white frame sitting on the rock at the corner of the road. He had buried his face between his knees and his hands hugged himself.

The wind blew, rustling the branches. The colorful autumn leaves showered on his delicate frame, giving a stunning view. He noticed his arms tighten and quiver with the blow of the wind.

He spread the hem of the trenchcoat, which he was holding in hand. Kneeling in front of him, he tried to cover his body with his coat. As his legs were folded, he couldn't do it so he held the edges of the coat and hissed, "Dumb-headed." He sounded annoyed. Annoyed to see him suffering in the freezing air.

Jungkook knew who was there but his dizziness was in worse condition, he couldn't even keep his eyes open. He had repeatedly tried to halt and move but almost fainted twice so he had to sit down.

Taehyung could hear his breathing through his mouth, deep and long. He was repeating his breathing pattern so he wildly guessed in his mind, 'Dizzy!? Why won't you be dizzy? You ate nothing for more than twenty-four hours. You even dared to attack me with your puny strength.' He berated him in his mind.

Jungkook lifted his head when he managed to open his eyes and said, "I need to go." He didn't want him to take advantage of his weak state and bring him with him. He has to reach his chief and report the situation. He needs to find out how Yang got to know the hard disk was stolen. He had suspicions about Yang In Ho and Bogum's actions. He won't be able to live peacefully with his son if he is labeled as a criminal.

Taehyung watched, his eyes barely holding up. His face was flushed red in the cold. He clenched his teeth when he heard his ailing voice mention he wanted to go. A part of him wanted to drag him inside, but he lied, "Later." His voice came across as relaxed and distant.

He saw him purse her lips and tried to challenge him again, daring to go against him. But to his eyes, he was just a kitten that wandered off and was quivering in the cold.

He was aware he could force him back to the mansion and he had no strength to fight back. However, that didn't quite sit well with him. He gave a reason, saying through his teeth, "You are weak."

His face slightly softened seeing his struggle to even utter a word, "I haven't eaten." He hadn't eaten anything from the previous day's lunch and there was so much drama in evening, hence he was weak.

His hand unawarely reached for his hair that was fluttering in the wind and he flinched. He curled his fingers and turned into a snowy peak of the mountain, saying, "You are trembling." He sounded like he was chiding him.

He countered in the same tone, "You have so many trees." His lawn was bigger than the city's park. The further he tried to look for the gates, he couldn't see them at all.

Taehyung felt like he was the one to blame for his state. He pulled him up, holding his arms. Feeling his body weak, he was quick to scoop him into his arms.

Taehyung: "..."

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He was astounded by his smooth movements. He came out of the daze when he heard his demand, "Put me down."

He ignored him and walked towards the mansion, which majestically stood at a short distance. "You will faint." He reminded him when he was glaring at his side profile.

Jungkook bit his lips. He couldn't understand why Taehyung was putting up with him and taking care of him. He wanted him to throw him away but he was doing the exact opposite. He craved for him to get out of his life and stop him from entering it, but nothing was happening as he wished.

Afraid he might faint, he chose to speak to keep himself awake, "Have you poisoned the food?"

Taehyung halted. He couldn't recall which action of his gave him the idea of harming him. He found none. He shifted his gaze and glared into his softly blinking eyes. He looked damn serious.

'What caused him this misunderstanding?' He was becoming a mystery, hard to solve. Yet he felt like the solution wouldn't be as difficult as he was finding it to be.

He adjusted him in his arm, which caused his face to come closer to his and he struggled to get off his arms. "Why would I save you to harm you?" He resumed his steps towards the mansion

Jungkook stopped struggling and looked at his calm face, which had a hint of annoyance. He couldn't point out if he was testing her to hear about Tan. He didn't want to voluntarily bring up his son so he picked up the recent act of his, "Y-you lied to me." He noticed his cognac eyes shrink at his words.

He continued to make note of his changes, "You don't live in 309... It was your ploy." He would have believed in coincidence if he hadn't come into his life again. He would have believed in the coincidence if he had met him at his home to scold him. He wasn't a fool to believe in coincidence while being at his real place.

He didn't bring these up before because he was afraid to hear that he wanted his son. He was in a hopeless situation of being labeled as a criminal and Taehyung could make use of it to take his son's custody. He was selfish for his son. He was desperate to run away from Taehyung.

The silence enveloped him after his question. Taehyung realized he had every reason to run away from him. He tried to be smart by playing dumb, finding an escape from him. He schemed and stole the hard disk; he probably viewed him as more dangerous than the kidnappers, although he saved him.

Well, Jungkook was only able to think of his son around Taehyung and ignored the possibility of Taehyung stealing the hard disk, as Kim and Wang were more like enemies in the business.

He turned to him as his steps slowed down. He could sense his worry while he put on a stubborn expression on his flushed face. He was determined to get him out of the political, business, and wealthy people's mess which wasn't related to his life.

He deadpanned, "Listen carefully."

Jungkook cautiously looked at him. His heart raced in fear, looking into his cognac eyes, gazing deep into his. He felt his heart shudder at the thought of listening to him say something about his son. He held his breath, hoping his words would be different.

He swore without hesitation, "I would destroy the entire city if doing so meant keeping you safe."

Jungkook: "..."

_____

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