"You didn't tell me that your boyfriend was a hothead."

Yoongi chuckled at Taehyung's statements. Both of them were lounging at the bar, talking amongst themselves after they were kicked out for a few moments by the businessmen they had come with, as they had important business to talk to. Yoongi didn't mind; this provided him with more opportunity to fuck around with Hoseok's emotions. Taehyung was just as excited about the opportunity, wanting to explore any and every reaction he could muster out of Seokjin.

"Is he staring?" Yoongi hummed, edging closer to Taehyung. Taehyung snickered, glancing back at the table for a split second.

"Oh, he's doing more than just staring." Taehyung breezed, running his fingers through his hair. "But I bet you already knew that."

Yoongi chuckled, stirring the drink in his hand with his straw. Unable to help it, he inconspicuously looked back at Hoseok's table, and if looks could kill, Yoongi knew Taehyung would be dead. He'd never seen Hoseok so tense in his life before— not even when he had caught pictures of Hoseok stressing over the deaths of the Lees. A wave of confidence bolstered in him, and he found himself enjoying making Hoseok jealous. There was something about the way Hoseok's jaw clenched, eyes narrowed into slivers as his pupils shadowed with suspicion and a slight tinge of rage, that had Yoongi buzzing with excitement.

Taehyung leaned in towards Yoongi, making sure that the angle would make it seem that he was doing something other than talking to him. Yoongi dipped his head slightly, enough to cover his face.

"I don't think Seokjin is the jealous type," Taehyung whispered in Yoongi's ear. "But, it seems that Hoseok is. I'm jealous. Why do you always get fun ones?"

"Hm, Seokjin does seem unfazed about our interactions," Yoongi responded, looking over Taehyung's shoulder. "Who knows? He could be the silent type. Maybe you'll get lucky at the end of the night. You never did tell me how things have progressed."

"Nothing too out of the ordinary." Taehyung grimaced, pulling away from Yoongi. "Makes it a big deal to be at the top. At least, we're only business with the mutual acknowledgment to not let our 'desires' control us. God, I would probably die if it were anything but. You know how I roll."

"Straight for the coworker romance. I respect it." Yoongi smirked. "Personally, I'm going to cozy up to the President's daughter. Jooyoung suggested Rose act like a crazy ex, feeding into Hoseok's superiority complex. For obvious reasons, I wasn't interested in that idea."

Taehyung scoffed lightly. "Yeah, because you need to feed your complex first."

"I went along the lines of I didn't want to be cliche, but that works too." Yoongi chuckled, taking a sip of his drink. "It's funny really. I've never seen Hoseok so angry. Makes me wonder how intense the makeup sex is going to be."

"Yoongi!" Taehyung gasped before bursting into laughter. "You literally suck as a human being."

"Sex is one of the finest pleasures of life," Yoongi smirked, shrugging nonchalantly. "What purpose is there to live without it? Though I could just be biased, considering that Hoseok is...well, I shouldn't go into details."

"I'm convinced that you take these jobs for the sex." Taehyung shook his head, grinning widely. "Completely understandable. I mean, you're only twenty one. You have just started your life. No shame in you fucking around."

Yoongi rolled his eyes. "You're acting as if you're well into your forties. Calm down, wise man, you're only twenty five."

"You know, I never asked, and perhaps it isn't my place." Taehyung paused momentarily, shifting in his seat for comfort. "But I have to ask what made you seek to work instead of going to college? It didn't even take you two weeks for you to apply."

Yoongi pondered on the question for a moment. "If you were expecting a sob story about how someone broke my heart, and because of it, I derive pleasure from hurting others, I apologize in advance because that's not my story."

"Oddly specific," Taehyung commented, snickering a bit. "Continue."

"The world is an unfair place," Yoongi answered. "You have the wealthy at the top of the food chain, preying on those who can't make ends meet, exploiting them. Look around Taehyung. It's how all of these fuckers got where they are today. It's why they can hold events like this, where they cast us out to talk about how to get richer. In their eyes, there's no love; there's only money.

"I learned the arts of seduction from my mother. She taught me everything. Do I know why she had such hatred for wealthy socialites? No, and I never bothered to ask, but when you're at the bottom of the food chain, you do anything to get by, even if it means cozying up to sleazy dirtbags with money."

"Was your mother a prostitute?" Taehyung asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Stripper." Yoongi corrected. "I admired her for it. She wasn't ashamed of her job, and she never tried to hide it from me. She used to tell me that being a stripper, that was something that liberated her, and it was a highlight of her life. She doesn't work anymore; her husband forced her to stop claiming it ruined his image."

"Not your father."

Yoongi shook his head. "My father's in prison. The two weren't a thing, so my mom wasn't forced to stay with him. Not like he wanted her to anyhow, he supported her making her own choices. I visit him sometimes. The husband my mother has, well, he's a piece of scum. I don't talk to them. My mother was forced to cut communication with me because I didn't want to acknowledge him as a father figure."

Although Yoongi didn't say it, Taehyung immediately grasped what Yoongi's underlying tone was trying to say. He couldn't lie and say he didn't feel sorry for Yoongi— having such a history wasn't something he expected from Yoongi. Taehyung knew better than to comment on that because, from the look on Yoongi's face, the last thing he wanted was pity. Even though Yoongi mentioned his story so casually, Taehyung knew that Yoongi saying this was anything but casual, especially when he had refused to comment on his past the years they worked together. Maybe it was the alcohol loosening Yoongi up, or perhaps, Yoongi trusted Taehyung more than Taehyung gave himself credit for.

Still, Taehyung was glad that Yoongi was opening up in some way to him. Yoongi wasn't obliged to, but knowing that they had worked side by side for years, Taehyung appreciated Yoongi trusting him because Taehyung knew that for a twenty one year old, Yoongi was one of the people Taehyung could trust with his life.

"Your mother loves her husband," Taehyung said, continuing at Yoongi's nod. "She chose him over you.'

"I don't blame her." Yoongi laughed. "I was seventeen, already on my way out. She deserved to settle down, live out her life. I didn't have money to afford college. I didn't have the grades for scholarships either, so I needed to figure out a way to get money. I have a pretty face, I could have been a stripper if I wanted to, and I would have. It was the first thing I tried out, straight out of high school. It wasn't for me."

"You, a stripper." Taehyung arched an eyebrow. "Now that is a sight to see."

"I hated it." Yoongi scrunched his nose. "The way they'd look at me just filled me with rage. I couldn't handle performing for them. I was normally booked for private sessions, too— I was a favorite among them. I lasted about two weeks before I finally lost it. Good thing too, because that's when I found out about the job I currently hold."

Taehyung nodded. "You're a valuable asset to us, Yoongi. Jooyoung couldn't believe her eyes when you waltzed in uninvited and managed to seduce your way to her office."

Yoongi laughed, his gummy smile beginning to appear at the corners.

"I knew that to get a job, you had to receive an invitation. I didn't have one, so I resorted to a more...creative way to make a statement. It worked, didn't it? Look at us. You, I drinking casually while our targets are pretending to work when they're actually looking over here."

Yoongi had a darkened view of the world, which Taehyung could understand now. But even then, his past didn't seem to define him as a person— it only explained his profession. While Yoongi preferred not to pursue love out of this work (though let's face it, it would be impossible for any one of them to have a stable relationship while doing this type of work), he was still attuned to his senses. Taehyung would have found it childish if Yoongi had taken up this work because of a petty breakup, but having a genuine reason like the one he had, well, there was nothing but respect.

After all, this work helped preserve a piece of Yoongi's mother in him.

"Thank you for trusting me with this." Taehyung smiled. "I know you don't like to talk a lot of this stuff."

Yoongi scrunched his nose one more. "It makes people soft. The last thing I want to do is ruin the persona I established for myself. You and Jungkook are the only exceptions I'll make."

"You told Jungkook before me?" Taehyung placed his hand on his chest. "I'm hurt, Yoongi."

"I worked alongside Jungkook before I worked with you." Yoongi smiled. "I've had more time to get close to him. Well, it was him forcing me to endure his company. I don't mind, though. He's a special something."

Jungkook had been Yoongi's first friend when he had first arrived at Project Heartbreak, which was why Yoongi had always had a soft spot for Jungkook. Jungkook, instead of treating him less because he was a bit older, treated Yoongi as his equal. Yoongi knew of Jungkook's wealthy background, and he was astounded to find out someone like him didn't treat those clearly below him with disrespect. Jungkook was special to Yoongi, and even if he didn't say anything about it, Yoongi was glad to have Jungkook in his life.

At the end of the day, this job was temporary. Yoongi's friendship with Jungkook would last a lifetime. At least, Yoongi hoped.

"Excuse me, do you think I could borrow Yoongi for a second?"

Taehyung and Yoongi looked up to see Rose smiling widely. Taehyung grinned, giving Yoongi a pointed look. Yoongi set his drink with a sigh, any trace of softness that had occurred dissipating from his face. Any vulnerable moment that Taehyung and Yoongi had flown out the window, their masks of professionalism immediately taking over. Taehyung gestured towards Yoongi, a smirk spreading across his lips.

"I was wondering when you'd show up to take me away." Yoongi cocked his head to the side, an identical smirk on his lips. "Call me Jihoon, though. That's my name."

"Thanks for the reminder." Rose nodded, holding out her hand. Yoongi laughed, graciously taking Rose's hand. Before he left, Yoongi looked at Taehyung once more.

"Princess Charming is whisking me away now. Don't get too jealous."

"It's not me who you should be worried about," Taehyung laughed. "You should be worried about the love of your life, looking like he's about to commit bloody murder."

Yoongi winked, dusting his outfit.

"Not if I commit bloody murder first."

a/n: not going to lie, yoongi's background has been one of my favorites to ever draft out. in essence (like tae assumed), yoongi is where he is because of his mother's influence. he loves his mother, and even though they aren't in communication, he still preserves a part of her through the work that he does. while he isn't a stripper like his mother, he still seduces his way into wealthy people's hearts before ending their lives.

the outlook yoongi has on life can be applied to the world today. in this world, the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and yoongi did what he could despite his situation. he couldn't afford college, so he leaned towards a profession he could do with the skills he did have— which for him was through project heartbreak. 

i didn't want him to have a petty background. a heartbreak gone wrong, there's nothing worthy about that. i wanted him to have a past that could reflect in some way what many people go through in this world today. 

this being said, there's nothing wrong with doing what you can to get out of poverty. for yoongi's mother, it was to be a stripper, which she taught to yoongi, who then used his skills learned to earn a place in project heartbreak. she had no shame in being a stripper, as she shouldn't because it's a job to help her live and care for yoongi, so when yoongi grew up, he also had the same viewpoint.

i guess that can also be another point. parents shape their children's perspective of the world. had yoongi been taught to resent what his mother did, he wouldn't be where he is now. the same can be applied in the real world, where our perspectives are defined by what our parents teach us, regardless if they're wrong or not. it's usually up to us to research to make our own conclusions, even if they differ from parents.

i hope that kind of made sense. when it comes to my stories, i want to illustrate elements of the real world in some sort of way, even though my story is completely fictitious. in this book, it's the wealthy vs poor construct, and how people resort to their instincts to get out of situations. 

i'm going on a bit of a rant, so i'll stop now. thank you so much reading. it means a lot to me that you guys take the time out of your days to read my stories. i love you guys so much ❤️

make sure to stream be!