SNEAKING A CROWN 

Jungkook convinced himself to manage for a few days and ignore Kim Taehyung's behavior. So he focused on solving the mess, while Taehyung didn't leave his wrist. He tried to pull away, but it was making him hold tighter, so he relaxed and spoke.

"I am sorry." He apologized for doubting Taehyung's efforts to keep him safe. He might be an ill-mannered man, but Jungkook wasn't.

Kim Taehyung's thought process and attention paused for a second upon hearing him. His apology worked wonders on the man. Taehyung melted at his apology and became cool-headed. He again started worrying about Jungkook's food and cold.

Jungkook didn't give him a chance to speak. He asked to dig into the details, "You and President Yang are against Wang Jackson. Then why are you two stalling the release of the information to the media?"

He didn't sound like he was investigating. To Taehyung, he still looked the same as in the past. He had tilted his head and softly batted his lids, asking him the doubts he had. The difference was his chubby cheeks had vanished with the bangs on his forehead.

When he opened his lips, his question was entirely unrelated, "Why did you lose weight?" There was a hint of anger beneath his tone.

He met Jungkook for the first time when he was a freshman and his female classmates were bullying him for his weight. He was almost reduced to tears. That was the first and last time anybody dared to bully him.

So he wrongly assessed that Jungkook's weight loss was because somebody bullied him and he changed due to them. And he was ready to teach that person a good lesson for reducing the Little Donut to a chocolate stick.

Jungkook: "..."

'This man seriously needs a doctor.' Jungkook prevented himself from stomping on Taehyung's feet.

He took a deep breath and stayed calm. He couldn't believe he stayed calm while threatening his chief officer and lost his temper whenever Taehyung opened his mouth. "Kim Taehyung, could you please focus on my question?"

He wanted to hear him say yes before asking anything. Anyway, he quickly added, "If you don't tell me, I won't know. If I don't get to know the situation, I will misunderstand you. Then how can I stay here? I will feel like running away. So could you respond to all my questions? Please." He was forcing him to speak in a tone that's used for kids to persuade them.

Well, he liked the sweet side of Jeon Jungkook too. So he faintly nodded and recalled his question. He couldn't clarify everything in words. It would be better if Jungkook checked it himself. "Alright..."

Then he turned around and walked without leaving Jungkook's hand or telling him why he was taking him inside instead of directly responding to him.

Jungkook, who was jogging behind him, was speechless. 'Alright? Then where is the response? Argh, this man.'

Lost in his thoughts, "Ahh..." He tripped at a block of stones.

Taehyung was quick to react when he felt a tug at his hand. He caught him by the shoulders and helped him stand. "What's wrong?"

"Wrong!? Everything is wrong with you." He blurted out before realizing. He wanted to slap his mouth.

Taehyung left his hand and crossed his arms. He was daring him to continue.

Jungkook would have dared if he didn't want to know anything from Taehyung. So he awkwardly laughed, "I am wrong." He pointed to his leg, "See I have short legs." Then he looked at Taehyung and exclaimed, "You have such long legs, how could my legs keep up with your speed?" He shook his head with a sigh of disappointment.

Taehyung was amazed at his acting to butter him. "I see..." Continuing his act, he added, taking a step closer to Jungkook, "Let me help you."

Jungkook: "..."

Jungkook slipped off his hands and ran away towards the mansion, hearing Taehyung's heart laugh. He paused and looked behind. He couldn't even trick him. Taehyung was dumb and also smart.

"Waiting for me, princess?" He teased Jungkook.

Jungkook ran inside. Unaware of where to go, he paused at the door and heard Taehyung's voice again, "Upstairs."

He went upstairs and paused again, looking left, right, and straight. "Straight." Came Taehyung's voice behind him.

He walked with Taehyung behind him. He maintained his steps at Jungkook's speed without crossing the distance. He realized Jungkook's three steps were equal to his less than two steps. He made a note to walk slowly next time.

Before he could say stop, Jungkook had voluntarily stopped in front of his study. He looked at the tall wooden double doors having fine and intricate wooden work. He was admiring the art when the door opened.

Taehyung stepped inside first, and Jungkook's lips twitched. He didn't know if there existed magic, but the door felt like an entry to another dimension, a room from the ancient rulers. He smacked himself, 'What am I imagining?'

He stepped inside and almost tripped again. He wanted to follow Taehyung, but his eyes were betraying him. Everything piqued his curiosity, and it was difficult to ease without knowing what he was looking at.

Taehyung noticed him. He let him check and opened his laptop. He should have hundreds of eyes before giving him the laptop. Jungkook could hack into the network without looking at the screen while speaking with him. So he disconnected the wifi, turned off the router, and closed the unnecessary applications before opening the file that would make Jungkook understand the whole situation.

He suddenly paused in his actions when he felt something slowly settle on his head. Lifting his head, he caught Jungkook's softly curled lips and sparkling grey eyes looking at his head.

He was captivated by his smile and mischievous eyes. He was amused to see him find negligible happiness despite knowing the grave situation he was in. He wasn't fretting over the darkness; he hopefully went towards the light.

Only if his positivity was enough to survive.

Jungkook's hands were still at the sides of Taehyung's head when his gaze lowered and caught his eyes. Jungkook froze; he felt like being caught doing a crime looking at Taehyung's intense gaze. The words which he had on his lips to tease him slipped off. He didn't know what to say.

After looking at Taehyung's bedroom and study room interior, he discerned that Taehyung liked the modern and ancient royal style. So when he glanced at Taehyung sitting on a royal throne-like chair, he knew what was missing.

The crown. So he picked the crown that he saw and silently tried to leave it on Taehyung's head but was caught. He purely wanted to laugh, but Taehyung looked like he was going to scold him for touching his items.

To avoid souring his mood, Jungkook tried to divert his attention. He pulled his hands away and stumbled on his words, "Y-your Highness, may I-I know why I am here?" He bit his tongue for stuttering. It wasn't his habit, but Taehyung's cold, expressionless face was sometimes frightening.

Taehyung lifted his hand and flicked Jungkook's forehead.

"Ouch." Jungkook rubbed his head, craving to kick Taehyung.

Taehyung stood up, took the laptop, and signaled him to follow. He paused midway and looked at him standing in the same position. He realized another thing: Jungkook didn't like being called with the action of his hand.

'Is it disrespectful?' He wondered.

And he wasn't a man to sweetly invite him, "I will give you three seconds. One... two..."

Jungkook reached him and followed, cursing Taehyung in his mind. Taehyung gave him the laptop and sat right next to him on the couch. Jungkook knew what Taehyung was worried about, "I won't hack." He needed space, and it wasn't time to provoke him.

And Taehyung trusted him. He stood up, "Take your time." He went out after keeping the crown in its place.

As soon as Taehyung stepped out, Yeong-Su rushed up to him with the stolen hard disk in his hand, "Bro, there is some junk in the hard disk. Young Daddy is fooling us." The disbelief was written all over his face. He had almost dialed In-Ho to report to him about the content of the hard disk. Nevertheless, he looked for Taehyung to solve it themselves to avoid panicking his father.

Taehyung's face significantly darkened looking at the space grey hard disk in his hand, and his mood soured. It was hard to say what was going on in his mind.

Yeong-Su pulled his sleeves up and strode away, "I truly underestimated him. I will bring him inside. We need to get the truth out of his lips." He sounded annoyed.

_____

obviously its disrespectful dummy