Thumbing through the magazine that was delivered to his office earlier in the day, Taehyung finally comes to the page he was looking for.

He was told several months ago and had sort of forgotten about it, but he'd been named as one of Korea's Forty Under Forty; a list that is compiled by a national magazine that carefully puts together a list of individuals which include a wide array of people.

Anyone from influential film stars and idols to C.E.Os, doctors and scientists.

Even select social media influencers are considered in some cases.

Whoever the editors or publishers are that put the list together deems someone, after doing a little research as an individual who has made an impact on the economy, benefitted. and slash or bettered the country as a whole with their successes in their niche professions- as well as under the age of forty of course- can be considered for the list.

When he comes to the page with his picture and the excerpt on who he is, what he has done for the country along with his company, he's a little hesitant to read it.

(The magazine swears the list isn't in a particular order, isn't meant to rank them according to importance, success or impact, but it's still difficult not to view it that way.

Especially when they're all numbered from forty down to number one.)

The way Taehyung sees things, a small percentage of how well their company does is because of him so it's a little dispiriting that he alone is the one who has gotten highlighted.

There are much brighter people who do much harder things than flash a smile, go to meetings and sign off on paperwork and checks, but they aren't mentioned.

Like his partner for example. His hyung.

He is only one year older than Taehyung, which makes him well under forty, yet he is not on the list.

He's barely even mentioned in the article at all except a measly sentence about how he works along side Taehyung to head up the company.

He feels bad about that.

This is the second year in a row Taehyung has been named on this list and both times he has felt bad.

He wants everyone to feel appreciated for what they do. To feel recognized.

"I'll have to make sure to take hyung to dinner or something... Have an employee appreciation day too," he mumbles, still eyeing the article over his glass as he takes a slow sip.

He notices that he is number three on the list so he continues to turn the pages, just out of curiosity, to see who has been named as number two as well as one.

Number two is a beautiful woman one year younger than Taehyung.

She is a pharmaceutical scientist her article says and she has already made a big impact in the world of cancer treatments.

Her name sounds familiar to him. One he is sure he has heard spoken before.

Cancer research as well as treatments are things Taehyung holds very close to his heart. Something he has seen the importance of up close so he was immediately very interested to read more about her.

He learns that her work to improve the treatments provided to people, mainly adults, diagnosed with various cancer diagnosis, he becomes more and more fascinated to see who could be number one.

The things this scientist has accomplished– the impact she has made– are so astronomically beneficial for such a wide variety of people.

Taehyung knows that what their company does is also important and inspires hope and joy in many people's lives, but he still feels a bit miniscule compared to her.

She literally has and plans to continue devoting her life to finding a cure for cancer, not just treating it.

It is immensely admirable and causes Taehyung to send Soobin a message asking if he can figure out how to contact her or someone who works with her for him to possibly sit down and talk with about investment opportunities to support her in her research.

It also stokes the fire of curiosity within him to see who could possibly be considered a step above her in this supposedly not ranking system.

Turning the page, he nearly spits his mouth full of wine all over the magazine when he reads the name and sees the picture of the individual.

Jeon Yonjun.

He sets his glass down a little too harshly with a clink, lifting the magazine up to get a closer look as he reads the excerpt on the late businessman much more closely than he read even his own.

For a split second Taehyung wonders if his passing swayed the magazine to rank him first as some sort of tribute, but he quickly pushes that ugly thought aside.

From his brief and few encounters with him, Yonjun seemed to be a very cheerful, intelligent, sociable and kind hearted man.

(He would venture to guess those good qualities along with many more transferred over to his personal life as well, but Taehyung didn't know that side of him so he can't really vouch for that.)

The article for Yonjun is close to a full page and he has to admit, what they have written– the words they use and the way they praise all of the wonderful work he did for the company as well as his charity work throughout not just the country but the world– is awe inspiring.

Reading through the article, further towards the end they mention how he will be missed and that his younger brother has some big shoes to fill as he "attempts" to replace his brother and take over his responsibilities within the company.

A paragraph later they refer to Jungkook again as "Yonjun's replacement."

Now that... Reading that irritates him a bit.

He considers that this list was probably finalized before Yonjun's passing.

If that is the case that could mean the articles were written for each person shortly after.

In this scenario, the finished article could have been completed and ready to be published prior to his passing.

This could be an edited version, reworded to read more as a memorial piece to a great man than just a normal excerpt.

The fact that this little comment is towards the end of the article makes Taehyung think it must have been revised again within the few weeks after his passing as well when Jungkook was officially named as the company's newest employee.

Taehyung refuses to call Jungkook his brother's replacement like this writer did.

That is far too crass as well as a completely uncalled for dig at Jungkook in his opinion.

Taehyung had a very professional meeting with Jungkook only once and he can say that Jungkook seems very competent, confident and comfortable in his job.

And the way his face seemed to light up the more they spoke about the home renovations the more confident Taehyung became in Jungkook and his creative abilities.

Taehyung was very impressed. Calling him a replacement is such a derogatory label.

After reading the article once more, Taehyung stands up from the couch to take his glass to the sink.

He then takes out the bowl of fruit Yoongi had set aside for him from the party.

It's a container exclusively of watermelon, Taehyung's favorite, and takes it back to the living room with him.

He stops by the couch, picking up the furry throw blanket Yoongi cocoons himself in most days and takes it along with his watermelon out to the patio.

After turning on one of the heaters, he sits himself in a lounge chair, blanket wrapped around his shoulders snuggly, as he begins picking through the delicious fruit.

His thoughts are a bit sporadic, flitting between the house renovations to the fact they still need to find a wedding venue– which makes him remember they still don't have a set date for the wedding to even be able to book anything anyway– but throughout all of his randomly running trains of thought, Jungkook keeps coming to mind.

When he finally relents, allowing his mind to stay on the path of thinking of the enigmatic man, he finds himself with a lot of questions.

He thinks and thinks of question after question that he'd genuinely like to know the answers to.

Questions he doesn't think Yoongi could answer. Or maybe he could, but he'd likely be uncomfortable to do so.

Like, he'd love to hear another perspective on how Yoongi was in college because when Taehyung saw him again after he'd graduated, Yoongi seemed almost like a different person.

He was more smiley and just, happier than Taehyung remembered him being. He's heard what Jin had to say about it, but he'd love to hear Jungkook's experience with Yoongi and how they became friends.

How easy or hard it was for him to get close enough to Yoongi for him to let his guard down and vice versa.

If he thinks back on all the stories involving Jungkook that Yoongi has shared, it's easy to tell that they had a very strong bond and cared deeply about each other.

And Jungkook and Yoongi do seem to be quite similar in personality, so that probably plays a big part in their getting along so well.

Much like how Taehyung knew Yonjun, his only interactions really with Jungkook before this last week have been in passing, but he has observed him enough to see how introverted he naturally is, which is contrary to his brother.

Taehyung observed that he is quite good at hiding it– smiling, sometimes joking with colleagues and potential clients seemingly without much effort– a lot like Yoongi is, but he had noticed the way his shoulders relaxed in the moments when he was able to step away from the mingling between conference speeches, presentations or whatever event they'd all met for if even for just a minute.

Those moments are when he'd look the most at ease. The most genuinely comfortable.

Or as comfortable as he could be in a room full of stuffy suits and skirts.

Taehyung didn't actively seek out watching Jungkook on purpose, but the man was kind of like a celebrity when he started attending things on his company's behalf.

Everyone knew who Jeon Jungkook was and was very interested in talking to him.

Really more so to judge him than meet him genuinely, but hopefully Jungkook thought it was the latter.

(Realistically, probably not. He seems bright enough to see through the bullshit and ass kissing.)

All in all, Taehyung's thinking boils down to him being intrigued to hear about Jungkook and ask him questions.

Questions about his college days with Yoongi as well as about himself.

Maybe he'll try to weave in at some point during their outing to the house later in the week a handful– if even just one or two– of the questions he has.

He's just so curious.

.......

As another episode of whatever show he'd landed on that had been serving as background noise begins, Taehyung hears the front door shut with a thud.

He is scrolling through his email on his laptop, cuddled up in bed in he and Yoongi's bedroom, when he hears it.

Glancing at the digital clock on the screen, he sees that it's just passed eleven.

Yoongi's been gone about four hours, which is around how long Taehyung thought he'd be out.

The two friends had a lot to work out. A lot of conversations to be had.

In fact, he almost thinks that the two could have benefited from possibly talking for longer. If the talk was going well, that is.

He turns off the TV as he throws off his covers. The carpet is soft beneath his bare feet but the wood floors throughout the rest of the place will be cold.

He stops near the foot of the bed where he'd left his slippers on his way out of the room.

He's a bit confused when he hears Yoongi talking in a lowered voice, but assumes he must be on the phone and is trying to keep quiet.

As soon as Yoongi comes into view, he halts.

Taehyung hears the low timber of Yoongi's voice as he leans his forehead against the wall across from Taehyung with his back facing the hallway.

He doesn't seem to be on the phone as both forearms are braced against the wall by his head, but Taehyung can hear him mumbling.

Taehyung cannot see Yoongi's face, but judging from his posture and the tension in his shoulders, in his whole body, it seems that he is not happy nor feeling relieved.

Taehyung still hasn't made his presence known, staring at Yoongi's back observing his posture as he contemplates silently what the best way for him to handle– to care for– his fiancé will be.

It isn't until Yoongi turns around with a sigh in Taehyung's direction– presumably to seek Taehyung out in their bedroom– that Yoongi notices him standing there.

Taehyung knows his face probably shows his perplexity and worry as his mildly tired brain didn't quite get the memo that he was supposed to be looking like he was alert and ready to comfort Yoongi, not like he was still contemplating how to do so.

But, no matter. Yoongi has seen him and after an emotion Taehyung can't quite place flashes across his face, a somewhat forced lopsided smile tugs at Yoongi's lips as he closes the distance between them.

It's an expression that doesn't really fit the general aura of melancholy surrounding him.

Taehyung can still see the emotional exhaustion around his mildly bloodshot, irritated eyes the closer Yoongi gets.

Yoongi has been crying. And quite a lot at that, which worries Taehyung further because he isn't sure if the tears were caused from the happiness of reconciling with his friend or feelings of unease because things remain unresolved or the talk went poorly.

Hopefully Yoongi will talk to him and let him in on what's happened, but only if he chooses to.

Taehyung doesn't plan on pressuring the man to talk about what happened.

What happens between Jungkook and Yoongi, for the most part, is between them. It has very little to do with him.

When Yoongi is within reach, Taehyung outstretches his hand to him.

Once Yoongi's hand is in his, he lifts it to his lips, placing a kiss on his knuckles.

His eyes don't leave Yoongi's face and he watches as Yoongi's eyes lock onto their joined hands.

As soon as Taehyung's lips touch his knuckles, Yoongi's eyes snap up to meet Taehyung's, pupils blown wide.

In a split second, Yoongi takes his free hand and places it behind Taehyung's neck before pulling him closer to him.

Taehyung gasps quietly at the surprising motion, then stares, wide eyed, as he waits for Yoongi's next move.

Yoongi stays just a breath away, straining his neck so he is nose to nose with Taehyung.

He ghosts his lips across Taehyung's lightly and at the close proximity, Taehyung can smell the alcohol on his fiancé's breath.

"Hm, whiskey and... tangerines, is it?" Taehyung quirks a brow teasingly, looking from Yoongi's lips to his eyes.

It's a rhetorical question really. Taehyung knows that's what he's smelling.

The smell is not overpowering so he doesn't think Yoongi drank a whole lot, which is good.

The smell is also extremely nostalgic. It teleports Taehyung back to their early days of dating when Yoongi would talk Taehyung into taking sips of his drinks.

Taehyung always thought the dark amber alcohol was too strong, but something about the taste on Yoongi's lips– on his tongue– was immensely delicious.

Something he finds himself craving now.

"It's an addicting combination," he finds himself voicing with a crooked smile.

Yoongi's eyes drift up slowly to level with Taehyung's stare.

"Although, I hope you didn't drive here, doll." Taehyung reaches one of his hands that instinctively had rested on Yoongi's waist up to rest under Yoongi's chin.

Yoongi shakes his head as a no, eyes appearing darker in color with heavy lids.

Taehyung furrows his brows with slightly pouted lips, "I didn't get any messages from you. You should have texted me and I could have come and gotten you."

His brow relaxes as his eyes drift down to Yoongi's lips again.

Slowly, he raises his hand, bringing his thumb up to run across Yoongi's bottom lip.

Taehyung gasps when Yoongi wraps his lips around his thumb.

He sucks it seductively, swirling the tip of his tongue over the pad. Taehyung moans and although he's a little confused by the initial sadness and worry he'd seen in Yoongi's expression earlier it appears to be long gone now and his mind is quickly being taken away from those thoughts.

Yoongi is talented with his tongue and just the little bit of effort he is putting in now is getting Taehyung worked up quickly.

Taehyung tries to calm his mind though, withdrawing his finger slowly.

Taking a few grounding breaths, he begins to ask about how the night went.

Before he can finish his sentence though, Yoongi runs both of his hands up Taehyung's torso before resting against his shoulders.

He takes slow steps, guiding Taehyung backwards until his back is against the wall. Yoongi has not said a word since he'd been mumbling just minutes ago.

Words leave Taehyung's mind immediately as Yoongi slots his leg between Taehyung's and he can feel the swell of Yoongi's half hard cock against the curve of his hip.

Yoongi rolls his hips forward as he brings his hand to the side of Taehyung's neck.

At the same moment he starts kissing across Taehyung's jaw, he brings his thumb to lightly press on Taehyung's trachea.

Taehyung's eyes roll back as he relishes in the feeling of Yoongi's mouth on him– the luscious lips having made their way down to where Yoongi is now kissing and lapping his tongue at the base of it and along his collarbones.

"Baby-" he groans when Yoongi swivels his hips against him before starting to move so that he rubs deliciously up against Taehyung's now fully hard cock.

"Hyung, I wanted to know h-how tonight went," he gasps, somehow being able to bring his mind back to the more pressing matters.

"You seemed upse-"

Taking Taehyung's lips in another dirty kiss to occupy his mouth, the older man swallows Taehyung's words.

Yoongi is being more aggressive tonight. More assertive, wanting to take charge. To be in control.

Taehyung doesn't get this side of Yoongi all that often as the man loves to be taken care of in the bedroom usually, but this is a welcome change.

Albeit the circumstances are a little puzzling.

Taehyung isn't sure what brought this out of his fiancé, but he chooses to blame the shift in his behavior on the alcohol.

Yoongi has always been terribly horny when he gets a drink or two in him. When he is right in that sweet spot between tipsy and drunk.

"Later," Yoongi growls against his lips, nipping at Taehyung's plush, bruised, bottom lip. "We'll talk later."

Yoongi continues to kiss Taehyung and run his hands all over his silk pajama bottoms and white t-shirt covered body as he walks Taehyung back to their room.

To Taehyung's delight, despite Yoongi being so worked up, he takes his time with the foreplay.

Yoongi strips him off his clothes slowly, kissing and sucking purple spots into every inch of skin that is uncovered as he pulls the shirt over Taehyung's head and the bottoms, along with Taehyung's underwear, down his legs.

Between every kiss he praises Taehyung, telling him how much he means to him and loves him and how he is so grateful for him, and that throws Taehyung for another small loop.

Yoongi's never really been one to offer kind words and terms of endearment to the extent he is tonight.

Not that he never does, just not this much.

If Taehyung remembers, and he will try like hell to do so, he'll bring the observation up later when Yoongi is ready to talk.

So that makes two things on his list now.

Two talking points to start from; how things went with Jungkook followed by what has gotten into–

Taehyung's body jolts before his back arches off the mattress when he feels Yoongi's fingers moving painfully slow, circling his rim.

He isn't sure when Yoongi had gotten lube and coated his fingers, but apparently he had and it aids wonderfully when Yoongi presses the tips of one finger shallowly into Taehyung.

Taehyung tries his best to relax but his body is humming with anticipation. Buzzing with arousal at the familiar sensation.

It's been a while since Taehyung has bottomed and Yoongi seems to be very mindful of that.

He waits until Taehyung begins moving, trying to fuck himself on Yoongi's fingers before he presses a second finger in.

He works Taehyung open skillfully, knowing Taehyung's body well enough to know all the sensitive spots on it to kiss and lick to distract Taehyung from any discomfort while Yoongi scissors his fingers inside of him.

Taehyung at one point was able to pull Yoongi's shirt off, but the man still has his pants on.

When Taehyung begins trying to push the waist band of Yoongi's pants, guiding his hard cock still confined in the garment to thrust forward, it rubs against Taehyung's they both let out harmonized moans of pleasure at the slight stimulation.

Despite the mild discomfort of the fabric rubbing against him, it still gives Taehyung some relief.

When he ruts his hips up he gasps before whining out a desperate sounding, "More. I want more. I'm ready."

Yoongi places a sloppy kiss on Taehyung lips before removing his fingers and leaning away. He stands up from the bed, wiping his lubed hand on the jeans before sliding them down his legs until they pool at his feet.

Taehyung's mouth begins to moisten, saliva gathering as he leers at Yoongi's hard cock.

He isn't as long as Taehyung, not quite, but he is a little wider. Taehyung longs to taste him. To feel the weight of the pretty flushed cock on his tongue.

He raises himself up onto his elbows with the intention to get off the bed and drop to his knees right there in front of Yoongi, but the older seems to read his mind.

He places a hand against Taehyung's chest as he slowly climbs over him.

"Uh-uh, not tonight," he states firmly, voice much huskier than usual. "I want to feel nothing else but being buried deep inside you. Not a fucking thing else."

Taehyung moans at the words. "Okay, whatever you want. Do whatever you want."

Yoongi grins wickedly, "Perfect. Always so perfect, Tae. Makes me want to ruin you. Fuck you senseless. Is that okay, baby? Is that what you want?"

Taehyung bites his bottom lips harshly, nodding eagerly as Yoongi lines himself up to him.

"P-please," Taehyung stammers, his body already trembling with need. "Fuck me. Do whatever you want with me."

"I don't deserve you Kim Taehyung," he rasps before slamming into Taehyung much harder than Taehyung had expected, but he is far from complaining about something so euphoric. Something that feels so good.

"I love you, Tae... I don't deserve you... I don't know what I would do without you... You're an Angel... I love you so much... I don't deserve you... I love you, but I don't deserve you..."

It was an odd mix of things tumbling from Yoongi's lips and with each word uttered Taehyung tries to cement in his mind his list of things to bring up later.

For now though, the only thing he can really do is dig his trimmed nails into Yoongi's back and broad shoulders as the man fucks into him with steady, hard thrusts as he holds Taehyung's hips firmly in place.

He'll try to ask his questions later.

Although, try as he may, he can't guarantee he'll remember all of them.