|| CHAPTER NINE ;; NOLAN KIM
- i might just kiss you

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Since he's been notified about being the 'first pick,' Nolan sits higher up at the table compared to the others. Because of his higher status, Levin isn't next to him, but the Jung family is. Min Suho and another competitor sit on either side of Nolan, and luckily for him, Jung Jae-In sits right across from him.

What an awesome and great privilege. He nibbles at his bottom lip as he swirls pure liquid gold in his glass, the feeling of sitting so high up amongst the billionaire family a little awkward.

It's like all of their eyes are on him, even though they all are indulging in their own private conversations. Soo-Jin steals glances at Nolan from where she's sitting, and when he looks up at her, she merely blinks and turns away. Jae-In's older brother sometimes casts curious looks over at Nolan, and whenever Nolan catches him, Nolan curses inwardly that he can't understand the foreign language that flows from Jaewoo's mouth as he converses with Suho.

The Jungs are a pain in the ass; more than Jae-In himself. Nolan simply wants to crumble and disappear like dust in the wind. He feels excruciatingly embarrassed to be sitting amongst high-ranked people. It's a struggle debating whether or not he wants to be excused — they haven't reached the deserts yet!

"M-may I — um, be excused?" Nolan stumbles over his words pretty embarrassingly, and if not for the fact that Jung Soo-Jin hears him, he would have died from the awkwardness of having to say it again.

He mutters an inaudible thanks as he pushes out of his seat, ignoring the way Jae-In's irises seem to trail after him. It's when he's halfway down the table that Nolan bumps his thigh against someone's pushed out chair, bending over to rub away at the pain. At the same time, that person ends up splashing their red wine over his shoulder, the liquid hitting Nolan's bent head.

Oh fuck, I'm going to screech. Nolan's face flushes bright red and a muscle twitches in his jaw at the feeling of wine dripping down his hair.

"Oops." The boy shrugs, setting his wine back down with a snigger. Nolan blinks slowly, frozen in place as he stares daggers into the back of the boy's head, hoping if he stays there the boy will disintegrate underneath his gaze.

"Byun Jae Bom." Jung Jae-In's slow vowels prick Nolan's ears, surprise contorting Nolan's features as this is the first thing he's said all night.

Jae Bom's features turn pale at the call of his name, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat as he stutters over a simple, "Yes?"

There's something in Jung Jae-In's eyes that's indecipherable, a sort of new flame burning wildly in his onyx irises. Nolan watches in anticipation, completely entranced by the pure silence of the dining room.

"You're eliminated. That behavior is unacceptable if you want to work here." Jae-In sneers bitterly, his eyes rolling as he returns to his one-sided conversation with Soo-Jin like nothing happened.

Guards swarm Jae Bom as they lift him out of his seat, leading the blubbering boy that's suddenly a fountain of good manners out of the premises. Nolan tries to catch Jae-In's eye but it's useless.

Jae-In's back to acting as if Nolan is just thin air.

☰

Nolan goes up the stairs as everyone disperses amongst the living space, probably chatting about the recent (and quite unexpected) elimination that took place only minutes ago.

He didn't at all expect Jae-In to eliminate anyone so fast, especially after an accident like that. Nolan has to admit he feels a little bad, knowing the guy probably worked hard to get here. Yeah, he'd purposely tossed his drink at him, but Jae Bom didn't stain his shirt, so Nolan's perfectly fine with that. The only thing that's making his nose wrinkle in disgust is the smell of fermented grain in his hair.

Wine is nasty. He hums as his hands glide across the railing.

Once in the loft space, Nolan realizes he has absolutely no idea where the bathroom is. The upstairs is just as big as the downstairs space, with doors filling the walls. What's unfortunate is the fact that labels aren't written on the doors like in Nolan's childhood home, but whatever room he picks has to be the bathroom eventually.

The first door he opens is a storage room. There's nothing interesting about that so he shuts it as fast as he can. Nolan proceeds with the other doors, either storage spaces or just empty rooms with no occupants. It's an endless search for the bathroom when Nolan suddenly opens up a door near the end of the hall.

It's a bedroom without a doubt, the theme matching the layout downstairs. The room's made up of all dark colors, the palette perhaps fitting the taste of one of the males in the Jung family. Nolan's not surprised by how dimly lit it is or the fact the only messy part of it is the desk area where three monitors sit in front of a keyboard glistening with the colors of the rainbow. It gives off this comforting vibe with its black walls and assortment of gray decor, and the bed's big enough for a bachelor and his many hookups, or cosy enough for a tired couple to spend calm evenings in.

Nolan doesn't hear the door click shut behind him.

"I thought you wandered off to find the bathroom." The voice is smooth and sharp like ice. Nolan spins around to see Jae-In leaning against the doorframe, his hands resting in his pants pockets as he studies Nolan's current state with wine in his hair.

"Well, there wasn't a sign," Nolan murmurs, cupping the side of his neck.

"Why would I need a sign?" Jae-In raises an eyebrow at him. "This is my house."

"Then maybe you should have put up a sign since you have guests," he says.

"Excuse me?" Jae-In frowns, staring at him like he's absolutely ridiculous. The idea of that honestly irks Nolan, even if he is the one who wandered into Jae-In's room with wine in his hair in the first place. But there is no way he's letting Jung Jae-In walk out of here without being humbled.

"Why'd you eliminate Jae Bum?" Nolan changes the topic quickly, watching as Jae-In's gaze flicks upward to capture his own.

"None of your concern," Jae-In retorts dryly, his shoulders shrugging. He doesn't question the suddenness of Nolan's question. Thankfully. "Jae Bom pissed me off anyways."

"But he did nothing to you?" the older boy counters, his mouth twitching into a frown. Something flashes over Jae-In's face that he can't quite decipher.

"I didn't choose Jae Bom, nor did I choose you. I found his profile annoying, and yours too, so you can be eliminated if you ask me any more stupid questions," he challenges harshly, giving Nolan a bored frown.

Wow, my heart just jumped off a building. Nolan stands there stunned, his jaw going slack.

Any silly belief Jae-In chose him as his first pick suddenly drops away the moment those words leave the dark-haired boy's pouted lips. If anything, Nolan's actually less willing to be polite to the boy after such a threat.

It only ignites the fire in Nolan that he's felt simmering the whole night. This asshole...

"I'd be honored to be eliminated then," the brunette comments rather bluntly. "But then you'd be left with all those other boring shits outside who are drinking their asses off. I think I'm the only person here besides Levin who's a decent human being, which you aren't, and you need that."

Jae-In's eyebrows knit together on his forehead, the skin around his nose wrinkling as he takes a stride forward, his body centimeters from touching Nolan's. Nolan nearly cowers upon locking gazes with Jae-In, the other boy's charcoal irises surveying his face with a sort of fusion between disbelief and disgust that Nolan is not a stranger to.

"Is that so?" Jae-In hums impatiently, his legs moving forward so quickly Nolan finds himself backing up towards the bed. The other boy's so intimidating despite his shorter height, and Nolan wants nothing but to escape with the wine still in his hair.

"You can try me." Nolan regrets how freely and easily his mouth moves, but instead of pissing off Jae-In, something unfamiliar flickers in his eyes. Something that has Nolan's stomach feeling odd.

"Oh?" He feels his legs bump against the side of Jae-In's bed. A yelp escapes his lips when Jae-In bumps his legs against his own, causing Nolan to fall flat on his ass on Jae-In's surprisingly comfortable bed, but it doesn't stop there.

Nolan's eyes widen when Jung Jae-In's face comes merely half a millimeter away from his own. He feels Jae-In's warm breath fan across his cheek, the scent of the boy's cherry Chapstick tickling his nose.

He feels Jae-In's eyes on him, making his own shut tight, his lips mumbling a flurry of incoherent prayers until he feels Jae-In's presence move back. Nolan's eyelids slowly open to see Jae-In already walking towards his door, his shoulders shaking as the softest laugh rumbles from his frame.

"Don't test me like that, pretty boy," Jae-In warns lazily over his shoulder, the corner of his mouth quirking into a half-assed grin.

"Next time, I might just kiss you."