Seven Years Later

It was almost 10pm when Jin stubbed his finger against the metal button of the elevator – 20. From the enclosure of the chilly elevator, he couldn't hear the rain beat against the roof or slam against the windows, but outside, it was pouring cats and dog.

He still hated the rain and everything it came with; the water itself, the thunder cracks and the lightening zapping through the sky, the cold and worse off, the memories. They were there, however faint.

Sometimes, he only had flashes of those dark days and other times they were invasive thoughts and images that wouldn't leave his head for hours, frustrating him for the entire day. They came any day but mostly, when it rained. He had learned to manage those days when they became too overwhelming.

Of course, the first thing he always did was be with Jungkook. Jungkook's presence somehow made everything seem less daunting and more bearable. It didn't matter where they were, as long as they were together, Jin realized life felt brighter.

Then again, a few years ago, he got himself to finally listen to the voice messages of his parents and Ryujin on his old phone. He'd expected to be an emotional wreck hearing it for the first time in years, but that day all he felt was a calm delight, having Jungkook listen and hear how his family sounded like, even though they were mostly of him getting scolded.

On days he felt down and depressed, especially on their death anniversary, he would listen to the recordings again and it would relax and calm him. But that day, he wasn't with the phone, it was at home, in his bedside drawer, but it didn't matter, his main source of happiness and serenity was barely a few floors away.

It hadn't started to rain until two hours ago, despite brewing for the whole day. He had stopped by at Ploosh to check out the new security system that had been newly installed, because lately, there had been a series of armed robbery going on around that neighborhood, and he didn't want it hitting Namjoon's club.

And since Namjoon and Hoseok had gone on a trip in North America to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary, Jin had taken it upon himself to check out the security system himself.

After Lee had resigned to go get married to his Malaysian girlfriend, Liam had taken over as the head of security in the Jeon household. During that time, Jin had enrolled in the Defense Academy and with manipulations from Mr. Jeon had been placed under the secret service department.

Mr. Jeon had rehired him to work side by side with Liam as Chief of Security in the estate. Mostly, he moved around with Jungkook but there were days like that day that he had to stay back to oversee the affairs in the house, unable to be with Jungkook until late at night. On those days, Jungkook had two security agents follow and protect him against threats.

With his little power, Jin had assigned two men from the security agency as bodyguards in Ploosh. Ploosh was no longer a regular club but now an affiliate with Jeon Groups. After what had happened to the place several years ago, Chairman Jeon had taken the club under his wings and had invested way more than Jungkook had done.

He had also expressed his pride towards his son for the action he'd taken when Namjoon had been at risk of losing the place. Jungkook had an eye for business because Ploosh was booming more than ever and due to that realization, Chairman Jeon had retired much early as CEO and had shifted the power to Jungkook.

After graduating high school, Jungkook had gone to Harvard business school before settling as CEO of Jeon Groups 2 years ago. Jin could see him struggle to fill his father's shoes sometimes but he was catching up really fast. Chairman Jeon still advised him on projects he was struggling with but overall, Jungkook was doing a fantastic job running the business and Jin was never prouder.

The elevator dinged and parted for Jin to make his way through. From up there on the 20th floor, he could faintly hear the pitter patter of rain. It was faint but a bit irritating, nonetheless. He walked to the large oak wood door, knocked on it before stepping into the large office.

"I told you to stop knocking, baby. No one else comes up here but you."

Jin shrugged. "Habit," he said, approaching the desk. "Why's no one guarding the door?"

"I told them to take a walk. I felt like a prisoner under watch with them constantly there," Jungkook said.

Jin nodded. "You're still working?" Jungkook was behind the desk, eyes burrowed in a thick folder, the first 3 buttons of his shirt undone, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked stressed.

He hummed in response, flipping from one page to the other in search of something.

"Have you had anything to eat?"

Jungkook shook his head, his gaze still fixed on his work. He was reading off a page, mouthing the words incomprehensively. He always worked himself too hard and barely remembered to eat. "Well, you have to eat," Jin said, walking behind the desk, placing his hands on his shoulder and gently massaging. "You're too tense."

"Blame it on my father for building this massive group, retiring at 50 and dumping the whole thing on me." Jungkook tilted his head, taking his fingers off his keyboard. He let out a soft groan, leaning into Jin's touch.

"You're doing an amazing job," Jin said, reassuringly.

"I'm barely surviving this."

Jin let out a sigh. He stopped what he was doing and placed a hand on the headrest of Jungkook's chair, then spun the chair so Jungkook was facing him. He bent down, placing both arms on the armrest and closing the gap between them to a few inches, all the while not looking away from Jungkook's sweet gaze.

"You're doing an amazing job," he repeated.

"Thanks, but," he shook his head. "My father did an excellent job when he sat on this chair. He made hundreds of millions in profit every year."

"You made hundreds of millions in profit as well," Jin reminded him. World News had carried the headline of Jungkook's massive profit during his first year as CEO of Jeon Groups. Jungkook had been praised both locally and internationally, but despite all this, Jin was heartbroken to see and hear Jungkook doubt himself at the slightest opportunity.

"Last year, I made 20% less than my father did in an average year."

"Yet, you've been CEO for only 2 years. Do you not see how insanely wonderful you are? Are you the only one not seeing your potentials? You made 20% less but the value of your stocks went up by 6% since you came in. You're going to take this company higher than your father did. You're only just starting out," Jin said.

He cupped Jungkook's face in his right hand, caressing his thumb over the soft, smooth skin of his cheek. "The expansion the group did 7 years ago was recorded today as one of the most successful expansions in business history in the country, and that was all your doing. You were already making big moves at only 17."

Jungkook chuckled softly. Jin could see the confidence slowly fill his eyes.

"Believe me, when I say you're doing an amazing job, it means you are doing an amazing job," Jin said, nodding his head slowly and cuing Jungkook to do the same.

And he did. He nodded, taking Jin's face in both his hands. "I don't deserve you, do you know that?"

"I don't know that," Jin said. "And I don't agree with that. What I know is that we both deserve each other, none too good for the other. We're perfect for ourselves."

Jungkook's smile grew wider. "I knew you were going to say something like that. Why don't you ever let me get away with saying that without arguing?"

Jin leaned in, nuzzling his nose against Jungkook's. "If I agree you don't deserve me or I don't deserve you, that would mean someone else being in the picture. Someone who might be deserving of me or you. Someone who isn't me or you," he said, then shook his head against the thought. "I don't want to even think about you thinking of someone else, loving someone else, hugging and kissing someone else, needing someone else to do the things that I do for-"

Jungkook's lips crashed against his, kissing his words and his worries away. Jin sighed into the kiss. Just thinking about Jungkook being in love with another man made him want to set his over thinking mind on fire. He didn't want to imagine it, not even for a second or he might go crazy.

Their lips worked rhythmically, want and desire flooding his belly. Every day for a week, Jungkook had come back home late and tired, then gone to work very early. They had gone a whole week without exploring each other's bodies. All Jin wanted to do was clear the table (or not) and fuck Jungkook senseless until he walked with a limp.

He deepened the kiss, pulling Jungkook out from the chair, his hands digging Jungkook's shirt out from his pants. He ached to touch Jungkook's bare body, to kiss every inch of flesh on him until he was red and covered in love bites.

Jungkook's hand wrapped around his wrist, stopping his movement. Slowly, he inched away from Jin, leaning back into the chair. His lips were swollen from their kiss and the look in his eyes gave away the fact that he wanted Jin as much as Jin wanted him.

"What?" Jin asked, grabbing him by the arm to lure him closer.

"Not now," Jungkook said, his gaze darting down to Jin's lips.

Liar, Jin accused with his eyes because when he pulled Jungkook back in, Jungkook didn't put up much of a fight. Jin pressed his lips against his neck, kissing and sucking on the soft spot there, while running his hands up and down Jungkook's thighs. "I want you now," Jin mumbled against him.

"Babe," Jungkook called, weakly, his fingers digging into Jin's hair.

Behind them the already dark city grew gloomier with thunder cracking through the sky and rain pouring relentlessly. It was a shit weather, but all was forgotten to Jin because all that mattered was Jungkook slowly opening up to him despite wanting to put a stop to their fun.

"Jin."

Jungkook knew better than to moan Jin's name, especially when he was trying to diffuse their intimate moment. Jin angled Jungkook's face towards his and kissed him senseless, swooping his tongue in to meet Jungkook's already waiting one. He wrapped his arms around Jin, pulling him in and deepening the kiss.

There was no need for Jungkook to say anything, he'd already lost and he knew it, so when Jin picked him up and dropped him on the table, all he did was let Jin.

***

"Why are you so irresistible?" Jungkook asked, buttoning up his shirt. His hair was disheveled and he had hickeys plastered all over his neck just the way Jin liked it.

"Are you trying to resist me?" Jin cocked a brow teasingly.

"Well, no, but how am I supposed to get things done if I can't resist you once in a while?" He asked.

Jin chuckled. "My apologies, Young Master," he said. "I mean, Mr. CEO."

Jungkook walked to his table and grabbed his phone from his desk drawer then slipped it into his back pocket. "Let's get something to eat," he said, heading back to Jin and stretching out his hand to him. "Now, I'm hungry."

Jin stood to his feet and went to take his hand. He pulled Jungkook into his embrace and kissed him one more time, earning one more blushing eye roll. "What do you want to eat?"

"We could go to the Sushi place," Jungkook insisted, pushing a button on the elevator.

"Do you want Junghyun to drive or..." He trailed on, tilting his head to the side.

"You know I always prefer you behind the wheels," Jungkook said to him. "But if you're too tired then we could ask Junghyun to drive us there."

"I'm never too tired to drive you, you know that."

Jungkook smiled, rubbing the back of his neck before pushing his hands into his pockets.

"So, there's something you should know," Jin said.

"What is it?"

"I got a call today," Jin said. "From Australia."

"I don't want to hear it," Jungkook said, turning away sharply. He chewed his lower lip and tapped his right foot on the ground relentlessly. "I don't want to hear anything about him. Ever."

Jin let out a sigh. "Listen to me. I'm not going to try and justify what he did, even though over the years I have kind of understood his stupid action, but that's by the way. What I want to say is, you can't ignore him forever."

"I've done that for 7 years, believe me I can go way longer," Jungkook said stubbornly.

"I know you can but I don't want you to," Jin said, softly. "Baby, you forgave Hanuel, quite easily might I add. You're not best buddies now but you both wave and say hello whenever you run into each other."

Jungkook was quitet. Jin knew bringing this up was going to severely upset him but to be honest, it was necessary. Bambam had fucked up, majorly, but just like Jungkook's mother, he had believed his action had been for Jungkook's good.

Jin knew when they got together Jungkook had changed. They had both changed and in a way, it had scared Bambam to see Jungkook turn into someone independent from his family and friends, someone who could be his own person and could survive without them if he and Jin had succeeded in starting a life of their own somewhere else.

He hated to admit he understood Bambam, but he did. A part of him still hated Bambam for what he had done, but a bigger part of him had put it behind him. All he wanted was for Jungkook to let go of that baggage that came with holding a grudge.

"That's because Hanuel was never my best friend," Jungkook said. "Hanuel was just someone I knew. But Bambam was my best friend and I took him as my brother. You risked your life for him. I invested millions in him and his siblings to ensure they have a good life but he still chose to fuck me over when I needed nothing but his support and encouragement. He hurt me, got on my private jet and headed for a brighter life while mine went to shambles."

Jin rubbed his forehead.

"The only reason why Bambam still has a good life there is because of the good times we had, because I loved him once. If it weren't for that, I'd have taken everything away from him and let him suffer."

"You wouldn't have."

"Yes, I would have."

Jin shook his head. "No. You're not that kind of person. I understand how you feel and I know Bambam did something unforgivable, but I know deep down you still care about him."

"I don't."

"You get a report on him every month. You probably already know that he's completing his Masters program next week and that's all because of you."

"I don't want to know."

"I believe you," he said, wriggling his brows. "So, are you going to return his million calls?"

The elevator came to a halt at Jungkook's private parking area and slid open. "Not likely," Jungkook said, expelling a shaky breath. "Can we drop it? I don't want to talk about this right now."

Suddenly, Jungkook looked pale in the face. Jin wondered if mentioning Bambam really bothered him so much. He knew Jungkook was still hurt by what Bambam had done but he hadn't thought it still affected him this deeply.

"Of course," Jin said, taking Jungkook's hand in his and squeezing it. Jungkook flashed him an appreciative smile before turning away. He didn't let go of Jungkook's hand, as they walked past Jungkook's shiny black SUV, and past a matching convoy SUV until they got to his own car, a white BMW.

"You don't always have to open the door for me," Jungkook said as Jin opened the passenger side, ushering Jungkook in.

"Just allow me do the things I love doing for you," Jin said, calmly. Jungkook's driver, Junghyun, was somewhere in the company, but whenever Jin was around, no one else drove Jungkook but him.

"Of course. Thank you," Jungkook said, before climbing in.

Their drive was peaceful and sweet. They barely said anything to each other, but their hands never parted. Jin enjoyed every form of physical contact with Jungkook. If it were possible, he wanted to always have a part of Jungkook's body touching his. It still sent shivers down his spine.

Jungkook's sweet, musky smell still made his stomach turn with ecstasy and his heart race. And he knew he affected Jungkook just the same way. Truthfully, they were made for each other, because he couldn't imagine himself loving someone so intensely.

After fifteen minutes, they arrived at the restaurant. What Jin loved most about the place was how small, cozy and minimalist it was. The interior was mostly black and gold, with black painting on the wall, black polished wooden floor and gold furniture.

There was a bar at the corner where they served the best whiskey he'd ever had and usually, there was soft music playing through hidden speakers, but that night, there was a lady behind a piano playing an unknown but charming, soft rhythm. There were airy lights hanging off the ceiling. It was a different look.

The ambiance was entirely romantic and intimate.

"I think this is the first time this place is entirely empty," Jin commented, chuckling softly after a well-dressed host showed them to a table with a beautiful transparent vase of red roses.

"You don't like it?" Jungkook asked, his gaze somewhat nervous.

"I mean, we have the whole place to ourselves, so I can't complain," Jin said, giving him a reassuring smile. Had he ruined their evening by bringing up Bambam? Jungkook had been acting off since they got into the elevator and he wasn't sure if his mention of Bambam had worsened it or if it was something else.

Jungkook nodded. "Right."

A familiar waitress appeared at their side, a smile on her face. "Good evening, Mr. Jeon, Mr. Kim. Would you like to see the menu or would you prefer the usual?"

"The usual, please," Jungkook said to her.

"Thanks, Haesoo." Jin flashed a friendly smile as she turned around and left. He looked around the place once more. Were they having an event in the morning or did they just have one? The restaurant looked so cozy. "It's really beautiful here tonight, don't you think?"

Jungkook nodded. "It is," he said. He grabbed the glass of water Haesoo had dropped for them and chugged it. While his right hand stayed wrapped around the glass, his left hand formed a fist on top the table.

"You're really thirsty," Jin stated, gaze burrowed on Jungkook.

Jungkook flashed a smile which disappeared almost instantly. He dropped his hands to his laps and let out a huff. "A little."

There was something up with him. Jin watched him intently. His brows were pinched, he was constantly chewing his lower lip and he wouldn't stop fidgeting with his hands. Jungkook was nervous and now, Jin could see it had nothing to do with their conversation about Bambam.

He gaze circled the restaurant one more time. This time, he noticed details he'd missed earlier or rather, had failed to analyze properly. The empty restaurant. The bartender was sneaking glances at them. The look on Haesoo's face hadn't been a fond smile but an attempt to hide her blush. The piano lady that was never there before. The tiny string lights. The rose flowers...

There was no event holding in the morning, neither had one already held. The event was currently holding. Their presence there was the event. Jungkook had done this beautiful setting. What were they celebrating?

"Your dad invited me to play golf with him on Saturday," he said, just as Haesoo arrived with their platter of food.

"You still haven't told him you hate golf?" Jungkook asked.

"He's always so happy about the game," Jin said, then turned to Haesoo. "Thank you."

Haesoo nodded, still blushing hard. "Let me know if you need anything else," she said, then turned to Jungkook to give him a not-so-stealth nod, before hurrying away.

"I don't want to break his heart, you know," Jin continued, choosing to not comment on the look Jungkook and Haesoo had just shared. "I'd rather endure two hours of it if it means he'll be happy," he said, sincerely.

Honestly, Jin would rather sit and watch grass grow than play golf but he liked Chairman Jeon and Chairman Jeon loved golf which meant he also loved golf.

"I think you should tell him, nonetheless. You could both find another sport to bond over."

"It's alright. A little white lie doesn't hurt," Jin said, casually. They dug into their food, Jungkook barely eating anything. All he did was sip from his glass of wine and pick at his food.

Moments later, their plate was cleared and Haesoo returned with dessert. A flat ceramic plate covered with a gold steel lid. She was almost as red as a tomato when she dropped it on the table, looking from Jungkook to Jin in excitement before rushing off.

Jungkook was breathing heavy now, his chest rising and falling. Oh, Lord. Jin hoped he wouldn't have a panic attack. It was glaring at this point what was happening. Haesoo hadn't even asked what they wanted for dessert, she'd just left and reappeared with a plate, saying it was their dessert.

"Umm..." Jungkook swallowed thickly. "You can open it."

By all means. Jin offered him a smile before reaching for the lid, taking his time to hold onto the little knob on it before picking it up, revealing a black velvet box.

Jungkook slipped out of the chair and got on one knee just as the piano ceased and a violin started to play. Jin's heart hammered in his chest as he stared down at Jungkook who picked up the box and flipped it open, showing the most beautiful silver ring he'd ever seen in his life.

"I'm trying not to puke right now," Jungkook mumbled, shutting his eyes tightly.

Jin chuckled quietly, despite the fact he was starting to get emotional.

Jungkook opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Jin. "Jin, I umm, I know that I say this a lot and I already sound like a broken record but I don't deserve you, and I'm not just saying that. Even before we started dating, you were already too good for me and I was afraid on many occasions that you would realize that and move on from me."

He licked his lips. "But somehow you haven't left. Even after the wrong I did, you still stayed with me, loving me every day. You saved my life without even knowing it. You made me persevere and be brave and not give up on myself and on us. Your strength, your braveness, your kindness are little parts of you that I can't help falling in love with over and over again." His hands shook. "You make me happy and I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make you happier, if you'll let me."

Regardless of the nervous on Jungkook's face, he was still so breathtaking. He was literally perfect. Jin's vision blurred and his heart swelled with love. He didn't think he could love any more than he already did but alas, he could swear he was more in love with Jungkook than he had been when they had walked into the restaurant.

"You're my life, Jin, my heart, my everything and I can't do life without you. Will you marry me?"

Jin didn't realize he was crying until he opened his mouth to speak and a sob escaped his lips. Tears spilled from his eyes as he nodded frantically. "Yes, baby. A million times."

A cry of relief escaped Jungkook's mouth as he pulled out the ring with shaking hands and slid it into Jin's already shaking fingers. Jin sprang to his feet, pulling Jungkook into his embrace.

"I love you so much, Jin. So much," Jungkook sobbed against him.

"I love you too," he cried into Jungkook's shoulder. "I promise, I'll be right by your side. This life thing, it's you and me forever, baby." He said and he meant every single word of it.

The End

Dear Bambam,

Congratulations on the completion of your Masters. I'm proud of you.

          -   Love, Jungkook.