IMPASSE

'After solving the mess, I can go back and live my happy life with my baby. This is great.'

Before he could celebrate it, he realized another mess he had created by calling Taehyung's name. Now he would like to know who he was. He wanted to slap his mouth.

Taehyung's identity wasn't well known. When he was still studying, his name would come up as the second son of Kims, not exactly his name. He wasn't sure if Taehyung liked privacy or if he had become the spoiled son of a rich family.

Jungkook again tried to get off his arms and unexpectedly, he let him down. He mulled over which lie to pick. Should he say Butler told him? What if Taehyung commanded them to be quiet? 'Did I see his name anywhere here?'

Jungkook recalled the previous night, when he threw Taehyung's wallet out of the balcony. He hadn't felt the necessity to check it in the night; anyway, he chose that lie.

He took steps away to create distance between them. He suddenly slipped before he could take a second step. He was falling on his back and a faint squeak left his lips. "Ahh..."

Taehyung caught his right-hand wrist before he could fall to the floor. His trench coat, which was on his shoulders, slipped off and fell on the floor when everything seemed to be frozen.

Na-Rae: "..."

The housekeeper clearly witnessed Taehyung stepping on Jungkook's robe and tripping him purposefully. What could he do? He stayed quiet and pretended to be unaware.

Jungkook pursed his lips, looking at Taehyung. He tried to calm his sudden rise in heartbeats. He wasn't letting him fall or pulling him up. The big-sized slippers were slithering on the smooth floor without giving him a grip to stand.

Seeing him gravely silent, gazing at him as if he were reading his mind like an open book, Jungkook lied, "I saw your identification card in your wallet yesterday."

Isn't it common to have an identification card in the wallet or at least a driver's license?

Taehyung's face turned to pitch dark hearing his lie, without looking him in the eyes. He had doubted he knew him; hence, he tolerated him the last night. His guess turned out to be accurate.

Jungkook slowly removed the slippers and stood up on his own. He tried to pull his hand away from his clutch but he suddenly started marching towards the rooms. Jungkook couldn't match his long legs.

Jungkook: "..."

He was treating him like a delicate doll just a few seconds ago, and now he was walking without checking if he could catch up with him. 'Weird man.'

Even though he wasn't particularly short, he felt like a kid while jogging behind him without slippers. The cold marble floor was colder than his face, whereas his palm was warmer on his tiny wrist.

Na-Rae hesitantly followed them to keep the food tray in the room. She was speechless when Taehyung again took the man to his bedroom, 'Master is behaving strangely due to this man's arrival.' She was wary of Jungkook.

Taehyung took Jungkook to his bedroom and then to the bathroom. He poured out the laundry basket and grabbed the wallet that fell from it. He gave him the wallet and demanded, "Show me where it is." He asked for the identification card he mentioned.

Jungkook recognized the wallet. His fierce words only meant he was missing something. He hesitantly opened the wallet. His eyes widened as he looked at fake credit cards and identification cards. 'Damn...' None of the cards had his real name.

'Jeon Jungkook , you are truly dumb-headed.' He was berating himself. Taehyung stepped towards him, looming over him overbearingly. "So, Mister, did the cat catch your tongue?"

Jungkook swallowed nervously as he took steps back. Will he believe another lie? The faster he was trying to get away from him, the further he was entangling with him.

'Why is he accusing me of lying when he broke into my house?'

He was expecting him to lie more or blurt out the truth but his face turned grim and his eyes narrowed at him. He held the wallet up and walked towards him. "So, Mr. Kim, how do you explain your mind-blowing act of drugging and breaking into my house with a fake ID in your wallet?" He challenged him with the same tone.

Taehyung: "..."

Did he just slap himself in the face for trying to dig up his lies?

His leg lifted to take a step back but he paused. 'This Little Kitten is trying to scare me now.' He mused at how he could stand his ground, forgetting his fear.

His hand almost lifted to reach his hair, then he paused, recalling his flinch for his touch. He didn't like that reaction of his.

He has to talk with him about the situation regarding his life being in danger due to Wang Jackson and the risk his job has brought on him. Anyway, he gave importance to his health so that they could speak after he rested a little.

"You need food and rest." His impassive tone sounded as he went towards the door of the bathroom.

He turned around when he didn't follow him out. He crossed his arms and snickered. "My dear princess, are you waiting for me to serve you?"

Jungkook's face deadpanned. He never asked him to serve him. It was he who served him the whole time. "You seriously need a psychiatrist."

Taehyung: "..."

Jungkook pointed at the toilet and he left, closing the door behind him. He locked the door and ran towards the window. He peeked out of the window to check all the escape routes.

He concluded that she couldn't escape from the bathroom. The balcony was the best choice. When he went out, he beckoned him to the bed and he didn't move.

Taehyung couldn't understand what was wrong with his head. Can't he understand his aactions His threatening tone sounded, "As you wish." He pulled his sleeves up and took steps towards him.

Jungkook saw the food on the bedside table and guessed he was going to carry him again. He slipped his hands, ran over to the bed, got himself to a comfortable position, and grabbed the tray. He had taken just a spoonful of soup, and a throaty chuckle filled the silence, warming the silence. His heart skipped a beat at the deep, pleasant sound.

The laughter died before he could look at him. He looked as surprised as he was. He didn't meet his eyes. He strode out with a stern face while commanding him, "Don't run around. Take a nap." He vanished, closing the double door behind him.

In a daze, he ate his food without thinking about the hard disk or the fear of losing his darling son. He was confident enough to deal with everything.

----

In the study room,

By the time Taehyung entered the study, he was indifferent, with a hint of ire. He took his throne as he questioned, "What are the possibilities of cutting off a cruise vacation?"

His uncle was worried about the many cabinet ministers' family members' lives that were in Wang's hands. If he saved those people, In Ho could release the information against Wang. Then the young daddy's life won't be at risk and he wouldn't be titled as a criminal.

He opened his laptop and logged in. He opened a file and spun the laptop towards Jin, who was in confusion.

Jin gave a quick check through the passengers' details and furrowed. "These are..." He spotted the commonality of the passengers. He next checked the ship details. "The cruise ship of Wangs." He understood that Taehyung wants the ship back to the country's port.

He asked himself, "Where are they right now?" He didn't bother to know Taehyung's intention. He checked the itinerary of the cruise vacation in the same file. He straightened his back and shoved his right hand into his pocket.

"Eun-Mi Soo is a merchant from the country of Korea. He is our client. We could ask for a favor but it will cost us a little too much." The little too much cost meant hundreds of millions worth of rare artifacts from Taehyung's collections.

As a curator of rare and unique artifacts, he treasures his priceless collection. Thus, he was unwilling to sacrifice anyone in his massive collections. So he queried while thinking of different possibilities, "Won't Country China sea officers help us?"

Jin thought for a few seconds. Since Taehyung avoids his appearance in the world, Jin was always the one who maintained social connections, so Taehyung didn't have much of an idea about other countries' people and administration.

Jin contradicted Taehyung's suggestion: "No, they will need solid proof and our act could alert Wang Jackson."

Both friends thought for a while in silence. Jin recalled another choice: "We can reach out to sea pirates but it's risky. They might take over the ship and kill people." They can't trust pirates.

Even after thinking for a while, they had no fruitful solution. Taehyung instructed, "Look if there is a better solution. Keep Eun-Mi Soo as the last option."

Jin nodded while thinking if Kim's team could be enough to take over the ship and bring it home. Well, they could but Taehyung was at odds with his family. Hence, Jin hesitated to suggest.

_____

Happy Reading