CLUE IN

Jimin and Jin bent forward to get a better view of Vante's picture. The two surveyed the photo critically, most especially Jimin. After a while, a loud gasp escaped his mouth.

"Holy Crap! He's Vante Scarlett, am I right? The new rising actor!" Jimin asked Jungkook for confirmation as soon as he recognized his face.

Jungkook frowned for a moment, as though puzzled by Jimin's exasperated reaction. "Do you know him?"

Meanwhile, Jin just watched them silently, clueless about Vante's identity. Among the three men, only Jimin was very familiar with the actor.

"Don't tell me he is one of your ex-boyfriends," Jin innocently asked Jimin, which brought another deep frown to Jungkook's face, his mouth twisting in displeasure.

Fortunately, Jimin immediately shook his head, denying it. "Of course not! I just often heard his name from one of my ex-girlfriends, who was an actress. Many of the actresses in the show's business circles hated him!"

"Why is that so?" Jin felt intrigued.

"Because of competition. Vante Scarlett is a rising star. His career has been booming recently, bringing his name to fame. Of course, they felt threatened by his existence," he explained.

"Women's jealousy and insecurity, I guess," Jimin added, shrugging his shoulders.

Jungkook and Jin both nodded their heads as they understood what he meant.

"Do you think he's like those other actors who climbed into someone else's bed just to get more resources and projects?" Jungkook suddenly posed this question, which naturally came into his mind.

Jimin burst out into a peal of laughter when he heard that question. He felt so amused as he recalled something. Jimin waved his forefinger from left to right, telling them it was a big "no.".

"I heard he's not that kind of acor who would exchange his body just to get famous and have support from influential people. There was this incident where the former CEO of Starlight's Company offered him an indecent proposal to become his mistress but he blatantly refused it.

"The funny thing was that he screwed that old man's fat ass by revealing it to the press, destroying the former CEO's reputation and image. Hahaha." Jimin spoke spontaneously with his blabbering mouth. "He's cool, isn't he?" he mumbled, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Hmm, he's an interesting fellow, huh?" Jin blurted out, rubbing his chin. There was a wide smirk on his face as he continued to listen to Jimin.

"But wait! Isn't he the one who committed suicide just a few days ago? How did he become my assignment? And how did you know him? What do you want me to do with him? Find the reason why he committed suicide." Jimin threw more questions for Jungkook to answer.

Jin was also all ears on Jungkook, wondering why Jungkook had Vante's files. He could tell that he had already conducted a background check on the actor.

"The man whom Do-Yun is claiming to be his future husband... is him," Jungkook said, pointing his finger at Vante's photo.

Jimin: "..."

Jin: "..."

The two men were at a loss for words for a moment. They had never seen it coming. But, in fairness, Vante was a young and charming man. No wonder Little Do-Yun was smitten by his angelic beauty. But the question is... how did Do-Yun meet him if he was confined in the hospital after his alleged suicide attempt?

As if Jungkook had read their minds, he spoke again to explain, making things clear. "Vante Scarlett claimed that he didn't commit suicide. He's no longer in the hospital. Do-Yun and Vante met a few days ago. Do-Yun ended up bringing him home. Now, he's staying at our mansion... with us."

Jimin: "WHAT?!"

Jin: "Huh?"

Jungkook's statements kept surprising his two best friends. The two were still trying to digest his words when Jungkook picked up his wine glass once again, taking a sip of his wine.

"So... what do you want me to do as my assignment? Break those two apart. Letting Do-Yun realize that they are not meant for each other? That they can't be together? Are you going to use me to break my godson's poor heart?" Jimin said it dramatically.

Jin could only shake his head helplessly. Jimin truly had a unique way of seeing things. His thinking and wild imagination were beyond their understanding. Sometimes, he wondered how Jimin became an engineer. Jungkook was having the same thought while eyeing Jimin in disbelief.

"I'm gonna need your expertise in dealing with men. Befriend him and find out if he has a hidden motive for approaching Do-Yun and me. Though I already investigated how they met, I still have this nagging feeling that he's not an ordinary man, and he smells trouble to me. He is very suspicious." Jungkook confided with them.

"What made you think that he was suspicious?" Jin asked Jungkook curiously.

Jungkook fell silent for a moment. His expression grew as he remembered last night's incident as well as Sunghyeon's statement and the CCTV footage.

"How can a mere actor escape from a room where he was locked up and was able to roam around the facility that has a high-level security system without getting caught by guards or CCTV cameras? He even managed to crop and delete the original footage."

Jungkook gave them brief information about what happened to him yesterday, omitting the 'dreaming' part. He just told them the reason why Vante was brought to his private medical facility, which was managed by Jade.

"Eh? Vante Scarlett did all that." Jimin yelled in bafflement. He couldn't believe that he was capable of doing those things. Was he a spy?

"I'm starting to like him. He's cool," Jin mumbled, letting out a soft chuckle. "It seems that my godson has a good taste when it comes to men," he added, praising Do-Yun. Jungkook didn't make further comments on Jin's remarks.

Jimin, on the other hand, raised his fist and said, "Leave this to me, Kookie! I will try to gain his trust and find his secrets. It's an easy task for me! As you said, dealing with women and men is what I'm good at." Jimin was so confident in himself.

"Kookie, do you want me to share some tips on how you can make him talk and reveal his deepest secrets and desires to you?" Jimin spoke again with a mischievous smile on his face.

Jungkook just arched his eyebrow while pursing his lips. He was not interested in hearing him out, as he knew that Jimin would only speak nonsense.

It was Jin who replied on his behalf. "Okay, tell us."

With a silly expression on his handsome face, Jimin picked up an item inside his back pocket.

"Use this!" Jimin showed them metal handcuffs. "This is man's weakness," he added, winking at his best friends.

"Damn, Jimin. You are Kinky...." Jin didn't finish his sentence, just staring at Jimin with disbelief.

Jimin was about to say another word when he was stopped by a flying couch pillow! Jungkook had thrown the pillow straight into Jimin's face.

"Ouch!" Jimin grunted. "Why don't you believe me? I promise... it's effective!"

*****

[ At Jeon Villa... ]

Vante got bored just doing nothing while staying at the mansion. Bam-Bam had disappeared again and he didn't know when he would show up. He was just popping out of nowhere, like a ghost. Very unpredictable.

Without someone to talk to, he spent his time thinking about what he would do next. Jungkook was not around so he didn't have a chance to interact with him. He wondered where he went, as he hadn't returned yet. Subconsciously, he was waiting for the devil to return home.

In the end, he didn't leave his room, as he decided to take a nap. His body was still feeling weak because of the aftereffects of his gastric ulcer.

Fortunately, the medicine prescribed to him by the doctor helped alleviate the pain. But he felt sleepy because of its effect. After fighting the drowsiness for several minutes, Vante finally drifted off to sleep.

*A few hours later*

The faint creaking sound of the door opening was heard. Someone was silently and cautiously sneaking into his room, footsteps approaching his bed.

A large figure suddenly bent down, holding Vante's hands. In his sleepy state, he tried to open his eyes when he felt the cold metal binding his wrists.

Click! Click!

The drowsiness dissipated into thin air the moment his emerald eyes met his scrutinizing blue eyes. "Jungkook???"

He was about to sit up straight, only to find out that his hands were tied with metal cuffs over his head. 'What the fuck?!' he cursed inwardly.

He tugged at his hands while glaring at Jungkook. "What do you think you are doing?" He yelled at him angrily.

Jungkook's lips curled up into a devilish but seductive grin and he said, "Making you confess."

Before he could further complain, Jungkook had already locked his handcuffs to the headrest of the bed.

'What the fuck!'

_____

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