It had been days since Taehyung started working at the company and he wasn't getting a hang of things. The company was declining every day and Taehyung felt everything would come crashing down faster because of him. Jimin watched from the sidelines, being like a shadow, as he tried hard not to let his presence be known. He saw it all, the family problems. Mr and Mrs Kim lived more like roommates than a married couple. At night, their arguing could be heard all the way from Jimin's room and it was constantly affecting his sleep. As someone who was pregnant, he needed utmost rest but the fighting between the husband and wife wouldn't give him a moment peace. Sometimes, he wondered what could really be the issue lingering between them but he was only here for a limited period of time. The only thing he was here for was to give birth to the heir and disappear from the family's life just as quickly as he had come.

Taehyung was a bigger issue. He appeared dead and lifeless most times, his eyes deep and sunken. It seemed he hadn't been getting enough sleep ever since he started taking part in the company's activities. Coupled with his school activities, it must have been taking a huge toll on his physical and mental well-being. However, Jimin didn't have the luxury to care about him, not after all the pain he put him through.

But he was still softhearted, a trait of his he wished he could eliminate. That's why he couldn't totally ignore Taehyung even though he really wanted to so the times when he saw him at night while sneaking to the kitchen to grab some snacks, sprawled on the table deep in sleep with documents scattered around him, he would cover him with a blanket hoping he wouldn't catch a cold. He would grab his snack and run away before Taehyung would even notice. He did this for some time but until one day, he wasn't so lucky.

That night, he woke up hungry and as he always did, sneaked to the kitchen to take some chips he noticed Mrs Gong put in the fridge that evening when he paused upon seeing Taehyung lying face down on the living room table, the reading lamp shining faintly in the darkness"

"What a fool" he grumbled. "Just how many times will he do this"

Sighing heavily, he waddled back to his room, grabbed his blanket and returned to where Taehyung was. Taking a deep breath, he wrapped it around his shoulder.

"It's my fault I have such a weak heart. Little wonder why I ended up in this predicament" he whispered and turned to leave when he froze as he felt a hand grab his wrist and spin him around. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself sitting on Taehyung's lap looking into his dark eyes.

"Taehyung..." He cried trying to push him off but the latter held onto him tightly wrapping his hands around his waist.

"I've finally caught you" he said.

Their faces were so close so Jimin turned away. "Let me go right now Taehyung. What is wrong with you?"

"You're still nice to me...you still want to help me"

Jimin ground his teeth. "Maybe it's because I am not as heartless as someone I know"

Then he swallowed hard. "Did you pretend to sleep just for this?"

Taehyung shrugged. "Well...it was the only way I could get you to talk to me"

Jimin rolled his eyes and Taehyung went on. "At first, I thought it was Mrs Gong who covers me up at night so one day, I thanked her but to my surprise, she told me she wasn't the one"

He shook his head. "And I know it was neither of my parents. They aren't so so nice to do that for me.  Both of them would hit me and send me off to my room. Which left only one person"

Jimin sighed. "Don't make a big deal out of it. I would do this for anyone"

Taehyung smiled. "That's why you are still an angel. I don't deserve your kindness. I really don't"

Jimin bit his lips heavily aware of his hardness almost poking at his butt. He needed to get away from the other

"Thanks but can you let me go? Don't try to take advantage of my weakness because of the pregnancy and besides what would you say if your parents happen to see us like this?"

Taehyung seemed to consider what he said and released him. Jimin breathed a sigh of relief as he escaped his arms and took a few steps away from him. Taehyung stared at him, his eyes roaming up and down his body causing Jimin to redden.

"What?"

"Nothing... it's just..." Taehyung smiled. "You look really good. Could it be because of the pregnancy?"

Jimin frowned. "Keep your admiration to yourself"

"But I'm serious"

Jimin ignored him as he walked towards the kitchen. He got the snacks he wanted and started to leave for his room when Taehyung stopped him.

"Jiminah, if you need anything, just let me know."

Jimin stood still for a moment staring back at him before he finally walked back at him.

"You look a mess. Why are your parents forcing you to work at the company when you know zero about the business"

Taehyung hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting from left to right before he finally spoke. "It's because of the baby..."

Jimin's breath hitched as Taehyung continued. " They told me that I had to take charge of the company if I planned to raise the baby"

Jimin seemed to be pondering for a minute. "They are using the baby to get you to do what they want"

Taehyung nodded.

"Your parents are ruthless" Jimin whispered.

Taehyung hung his head and Jimin could only shake his head at him. How could he have fallen once for this person. He took a deep breath and pondered over what could be done.  The Kims were in a state of financial crises. Their fortune could crumble at any moment. Jimin's chest tightened when he thought about Taehyung's fiance. Her family could help them at this point. He didn't want to bring it up as it made him feel terrible but he had to if he was trying to offer a solution

"I hear your company isn't doing well. What's stopping you from getting married with your fiance and using her wealth to help your family"

"She's currently not in the country. When she's back, we will immediately commence with the marriage plans but till then, we need to keep the company afloat somehow"

Jimin nodded swallowing up his uneasiness before calming himself by taking deep breaths.

"Okay, so what's the problem now?"

Taehyung ran a hand through his head in frustration.

"My parents wants me to come up with a business plan but I have no idea what to do. I'm completely blank"

"My future and that of the baby hangs in the balance if I can't overcome this"

Jimin gasped looking worried. "What do you mean? You mean our child will live in poverty?"

Taehyung shook his head. "Of course not. That won't happen"

Jimin frowned. "I'm not giving up this baby just for him to live a life of suffering. I want him to have everything I know I can't give to him..."

He threw his hand up in frustration. "But this... this is not it"

Taehyung remained silent then Jimin looked from him to the documents piled on top of the table. He sighed heavily. "Move over. Let me go through this myself!"

"What?" Taehyung nearly choked, his eyes rounding in surprise as he watched Jimin waddle towards the table and settle down on the seat.

"What are you doing? You're pregnant! You shouldn't be doing this!"

"This isn't a physical work. It's mental and from what I remember, I'm smarter than you" Jimin retorted.

"You don't have to do this for me!"

Jimin glared at him. "I'm not doing this for you!"

He lowered his eyes sadly, his hands roaming around his stomach. "I'm doing this for the baby. This will be my last gift for him. I'll do whatever I can to make sure his future is secure"

Taehyung gulped. "Right. I get it"

Without warning, Jimin grabbed his hand and forced him to seat on the neighboring chair.

"Let's go through this together"

"What if my parents see us?"

Jimin considered this. "Alright. We'll go to my room for now. We'll be private there but we'll have only three hours to spend together. Your mom comes down for coffee by six every morning"

He looked at the clock on the wall. "It's ten minutes past one. From now till three, we will bury our heads in this papers"

Taehyung hated this but Jimin was willing to go through the whole project even in his condition. It would be terrible if he didn't cooperate at least.

"Alright, fine. Let's go!" Taehyung said.  Together, the two left for Jimin's room. They sat together on top of the bed trying hard to ignore the tension palpable in the air. Before long, Jimin was in deep concentration poring over the papers, different emotions displayed on his face. Taehyung couldn't help but admire him in this state. It reminded him of when they newly met each other, the time when Jimin used to help him study. How serious he looked with his lips pursed tightly in concentration. He was still like that. Nothing seemed to have changed.

After a while, Jimin finally spoke, his eyes shining with excitement. "We'll still need to dig a little bit more but most of your problems seems to be coming from here!"

He pointed at one part of the documents.

"Terri's woods!" he explained.

"What are they?"

"Your company seems to get all their wood from there but the problem is they are monopolising the market"

"What do you mean?" Taehyung asked, his eyebrows raised slightly. "It means they have dominated the entire market making it so you can only purchase wood from them"

He gathered a bunch of papers in his hands. "It's startling because from 2020 to 2022, there has been a rapid decline in your company's clientele"

"These are reports showing the reduction in supply is caused by low standard goods. Your company furniture no longer lasts. They spoil or get damaged easily because the wood is of low quality."

"This has caused reduction in sale. You will need to change the manufacturer but the problem is we won't be able to find somewhere else"

Jimin finally looked at Taehyung caught off guard by the way he was staring at him. He ignored it and continued. "You can let them know about this development in the coming meetings. Meanwhile, we will look for other alternatives"

Taehyung was still looking at him with awe.

"Stop...stop looking at me like that. It's making me uncomfortable" he murmured trying to stop himself from blushing.

"Yes...this is why I was so interested in you that first time we met" Taehyung said. "You're amazing!"

Jimin's breath hitched. His entire face turned red and he felt his heart swell with emotion but he immediately snapped himself back to his senses before he became weak hearted.

"I think you should go now! It's way past our agreed time" he said, turning his head away to lie on his bed.

"Jimin?"

"What?"

"Why are you really here? There's no way you would have really wanted to abandon your baby just so he could have a good future"

"You are the most resourceful person I know. You wouldn't give up easily. Just why?"

Jimin finally laid on his bed and turned his back on Taehyung.

"Good night Taehyung. I wish you luck tomorrow" he murmured.

Taehyung stared at him for a while before smiling painfully.

"Good night Jimin" he said and left the room shutting the door gently behind him. Jimin breathed heavily trying hard to stop the tears but he couldn't and after holding back for so long, he broke down and ended up weeping throughout the night.

Thank you so much for reading