Chapter Text
• ── ∘₊𓆩✦𓆪₊∘ ── •
Jungkook grabs the helmet from his table.
The surface is a sleek, lightweight plastic with strips of metal sealed in between. It's effortless to slip on, he just needs to pull at the strap on his chin to tighten. There’s a glass slate over his eyes, a cushion resting on the bridge of his nose, all a perfect fit. Probably because Jungkook designed it himself—or, well, designed it with the help of their head developer, Yoongi. He’s the only employee willing to indulge in Jungkook’s leisurely requests, says he does it because it “helps to expand his knowledge”, but Jungkook thinks he just hates to tell him no.
He slides into bed and lies back against the silk pillow, pyjamas on at 2 pm, scruffy hair pinned back, because the device works best when he’s as comfortable as possible. His muscles untense as he settles into the sheets.
“Link start.”
A fog prompts his eyes to flutter shut, flickers of static pulsing in his head like dancing sparks.
His entire body falls limp.
At this point of Jungkook’s mental shift, that half a second he’s aware of the paralysis are always unsettling, but he’s gotten accustomed to the feeling of letting go throughout the years.
The device blinks awake.
Coloured pixels rush across his line of view, and a company logo hums in the centre of the screen, bright and proud—JⓞURNEY—in bold, dramatic letters. His father’s pride and joy. Jungkook thinks the only thing he likes about his dad’s company is the game it released last year.
As he lifts an arm, a clear, phantomed version of it appears over a white screen, and he flicks downward. An iridescent game menu swipes into view. Each button he presses erupts in a twinkle, each swipe an ear-pleasing vrum, until he finds the exact game cover he’s searching for—the silhouette of a person hovering in the air with the head dipped back, a swirl of sparks and bright colours circling the word Dynamite.
He taps it, and all goes silent.
∘₊⟢ ▬ι𓆃 ⟢₊∘
A screeching wail echoes across the cave and straight into Jungkook’s ears.
Fucking loud, any louder and he might’ve lost his actual hearing. Not a second later, he realizes the scream was actually an attack to lower his spatial awareness as his vision suddenly blurs, the glittery dark cave merging into nothing but muddled light. “Shit, I can’t see anything!” He squints and raises his sword, holding it up anxiously in front of him.
“Hold on,” his partner’s voice comes from his left. “I’m totally blurred out.” His free hand rubs at his eyes, but nothing gets better; he can only see the outline of V’s avatar as the guy fumbles through his inventory, pulling out what seems like a dark green bottle. “Don’t touch your eyes.” He holds Jungkook’s forearm down and pops the cap open with his thumb.
“Look out!”
V grunts and jerks away from the creature, a bit of the vial spilling. It’s a miracle Jungkook saw it—the blurry outline of a gooey blue monster approaching from behind. These beasts are Ghoul types, which means they can appear through any surface and drown you in slime if you’re not paying attention.
V grabs his chin and tips his head back, Jungkook’s mouth dropping open as thick liquid pours down his throat. It’s in these moments he imagines what he might’ve done if it were a couple of months ago and he were still playing solo. Sure, he could be carrying the potions and weapons at the same time, but the chances of successfully avoiding attacks in between healing are low.
The vial sizzles on his tongue like sour candy. He coughs and rubs a sleeve at his lips, blinking as his vision begins to clear up—puddled glittery floors and large concave walls. One of the best parts about fighting in the Floating Dungeons is getting to see the surreal simulations. He remembers a year ago watching this exact level being built from scratch as he walked by the animation team in his father’s building. He’d never been more envious of subordinates than he was at that moment.
“Ku? You good?” His attention snaps to V who’s still got half the vial in his palm. “I’m good,” he assures.
“Ready to fuck them up then?”
Jungkook chuckles, nodding, “Yeah, and I’ll wait for you to follow behind this time.” It’s been a couple of months of playing together, and he still sometimes forgets what to do in stressful situations. Forgets that he has a whole other person by his side.
“Good idea.” V tucks everything away, his sword making a shlink as he pulls it from the sheath on his back, and Jungkook follows suit by lifting his own neon-striped blade. He was lucky to find a fellow swordsman in a game where archetypes and weapons come in all forms. Usually, players choose to be Gunmen, carrying a pistol and building it into a laser machine gun or something else extreme like that, but Jungkook’s always loved treating video games like they’re meant to be as challenging as possible. V just said he thinks the swords look cooler, and Jungkook couldn’t agree more.
Sprinting across the gleaming stone ground, he and V slash through the slimy creatures getting in their way, bits and pieces of blue goo flying around. Switching sides and pouncing off walls to dodge attacks, they finally find themselves in the vicinity of the Final Boss. A large pile of goop with limbs sits in the centre of the glitter cave. It's got black beady eyes and a jaw dipped so wide it’s touching the floor, the mouth spilling yellow acid that shoots out in large spitballs as a projectile.
Jungkook doesn’t want to say they’re amazing, but he thinks he and V work almost too well together. It isn’t unusual since they’re both of the Warrior class, swordwielders. Other than a slight range disadvantage, not much can go wrong there. It’s just that Jungkook isn’t a Warrior, but an Assassin, a common class among solo players. And even though they’ve been playing together for a long while and V probably doesn’t expect Jungkook to eliminate him and steal all of his items like the usual cunning Assassin does, Jungkook can’t bring himself to tell him. Doesn’t want to lose the trust they built up to this point.
Giving his partner a silent signal with just a dip of his eyebrows, V nods, and his avatar blurs to nothing for a millisecond, then reappears across the cave, running up the wall. V reaches behind the Boss’s back, avoiding the acid spitballs in the process. The two of them could have easily struck from the front, but Jungkook needed Taehyung not to see him behind the monster so he could use his Assassin ability.
A quick but loud eruption of teal lightning zips him across the cave and in front of the Boss in half a second, Jungkook’s body glowing a bright neon. Unlike Taehyung, his speed levels aren’t at their peak, so this ability allows him to make a swift, unpredictable attack while also increasing accuracy and damage points. It’s the ultimate final blow. He raises his sword and aims for the soft spot just below the slime monster’s arm. “Now!”
It takes them twenty full seconds to shred through it, mainly because the texture of its skin is so thick that Jungkook has to tighten his grip just to get through a single layer. Even though his sword is a Laser type and should easily burn and slide through a mountain of goop, he guesses this Boss’s Shield Level must be exceptionally high since its attack rates are so low.
He’s sweaty and frustrated, but utterly impressed by Dynamite’s realistic physics, and also sort of praising himself for helping render them.
They fully tear through the monster—Jungkook slashing it from the armpit across its belly, and V through its neck—and it’s morbidly satisfying to watch it melt into nothing onto the floor with a final weak shrill. The rest of the little monsters melt with it.
The two slouch, looking across the large acidic puddle at each other’s heaving, blue-soaked, exhausted forms, and break into smiles. It always feels so warm at the end of a level.
A victory screen pings in front of his and V’s avatar:
⊹ Congratulations! ⊹
PRIZE DROPPING: Slime of Glory (x5) ⟢ When consumed, User is gifted immortality for a total of ten seconds in any Boss Battle beneath Floor 60.
If it weren’t for Jungkook joining Dynamite one day and randomly finding a clumsy dark-haired noob by the crystal fountain, he wouldn’t be at the point he’s at now.
It was annoying at the time, but he’s grateful that V kept following him around and asking him over and over again where he got that ‘cool lightning sword’ hung at his waist, and Jungkook got so sick of it he just threw the item at him so hard he fell to the ground. He was already on a quest to find a new legendary sword anyway, so losing it wasn’t a problem. Though it had apparently made matters worse because the guy never left him alone after that. He followed Jungkook everywhere, asked for help with random quests that even a child could complete on their own, somehow always finding him no matter where he was. After finding out the weirdo was a Level 20 tracker, Jungkook of course took full advantage of that and asked V to help him raise his own tracking level for the favour of giving him the sword. V agreed, but their quests never ended there. He realized just how well their skills matched, how easily they defeated levels working together, how often they were able to help each other out.
It wasn’t hard to accept the idea of being an actual duo after that. And thank god he did, because Jungkook doesn’t think he could play differently ever again.
His sword stabs into the mud.
“What did you just say to me?”
The sun on this floor is bright. A hot beam so well-generated that he can actually feel it on his face, short gusts of wind slipping across his cheekbones. Nothing about JⓞURNEY seems fake. Of course, without considering the green diamond-shaped symbols above every avatar’s head and the alien creatures scattered around the universe.
They're still in the middle of battle and are very much at risk of being attacked, but after hearing what just spewed from his partner’s mouth, Jungkook is willing to lose his entire inventory including the items they just won out of pure pettiness.
“Ku, don’t just—” V’s eyes bore into him after he slashes the beast gnawing at Jungkook’s leg. It dissipates in a twinkle of digital shards, leaving a red glitchy bite mark on his shin that also fades a second later. “Do you wanna get killed?” he questions, gesturing frantically to the swarm of wolf-aliens surrounding them.
Floor 25 of the Floating Dungeons is Sun Town—a bright summer in a crowded sci-fi city where the objective is to survive before sunset while squeezing through narrow alleyways and killing hungry dismorphed wolves. Jungkook has beaten this level before, but since he started playing in a duo with V, he had to restart from where the latter left off so they could continue each floor together. So really, V should be thankful Jungkook is giving him this opportunity to improve on his own.
V quickly side-steps around him, his sword swooshing across the air, the sound of crushed glass erupting from behind. Jungkook can’t lie, the dude’s frustration is amusing to watch. He’s whipping here and there, struggling to maneuver around him as Jungkook stands there in the dead centre of the alley not moving an inch. It’s sort of softening the blow of utter betrayal.
“They barely peck at your health,” Jungkook utters, peering at a wolf from the corner of his eye, maybe attempting to spur it on a bit. “Right,” V drags sarcastically from behind him, and there’s a sudden eruption of black lightning flashing an inch from Jungkook’s cheek before the creature can pounce too close, sliced cleanly in half by V’s dark sword, right through the jaw. Red pixels and bolts of lightning swoosh past Jungkook’s face, bright and twinkly, and it’s sort of incredible how they feel like butterfly wings.
V spins around and pushes a breath from his lips. “As you can see, a constant barrage of them increases attack poin—what, why am I even explaining this to you? You’re doing this on purpose.”
Jungkook shrugs, crossing his arms. V gives him a sharp eyebrow raise, and he hates that the guy’s character features are so well-defined and humanlike that he can barely keep his displeased act together. His partner has single-handedly eradicated a pack of aliens in an act to protect Jungkook and his petulance from a little snip of health. Honestly, he would’ve expected at least one of the wolves to break through, but the green bar at the top right of his view is still entirely full, and V stands there carrying his sword with red pixels falling off his trench coat, half HP gone, out of breath.
Jungkook’s mouth twitches.
“Oh this is funny to you?”
“No.” He frowns. “You disappearing before Take Two isn’t funny at all.”
V huffs, straightening and brushing shards off himself with his free hand. “It’s only for a month, Ku.”
“The tournament is literally next month! The one that has all those important droppings in the end? What could possibly be more important than—”
“I’m getting married.”
Jungkook’s mouth clamps shut. Blinking.
Okay.
That is the last thing he expected to come out of V’s mouth.
Marriage. For a minute there, he honestly forgot V had a life outside of Dynamite.
Though he knows it shouldn’t be that surprising, it was a given that he’d eventually lose his partner and have to play solo again, which meant losing his chance in the Take Two tournament and working himself up the Floating Dungeon all on his own. It was bound to happen. And sure, he could find someone else, but he’s never trusted anyone to have his back the way he trusts V, and he doesn’t think he ever will.
“Why are you looking at me like I said I’m never coming back?”
Jungkook pulls his sword from the mud; it sizzles as it’s removed, red laser smoking. “Huh,” he breathes, letting himself smile and appreciate that at least one of them knows what the hell they’re doing with their life. “You’re getting married, that’s awesome.”
“It’s being arranged for me.”
Jungkook speculated that. He and V have had deep conversations about the outside world while travelling this one. In the middle of battle, in the marketplace, by the crystal fountain, they’ve talked about relationships and the future and everything else they’re avoiding out there. V’s never been the couple type, or so he said, but he did mention stressing over family expectations. That much Jungkook could relate to. Being coerced into a blind marriage? Not so much.
“Yeah.” He nods, prodding at the burnt crater in the ground. “Did you have a choice?”
V bites his cheek. Jungkook wonders if he does that often because it feels as accurate as real life.
Once the alley is nothing but a trill of electronic beeps and humming, just the two of them and the victory screen in the ambience, V moves closer and slips his sword into the sheath on his back.
“No,” he eventually responds.
Jungkook nods again, not knowing what else to do. His own sword disappears beneath his waist buckle with a huff of smoke.
V doesn’t seem entirely bummed out, like he’s kind of accepted the situation, or he hadn’t put up much of a fight in the first place. Jungkook can’t help but wonder why. If it were him in the situation, he would fight back hard before his father forced him to do anything that life-altering. But V has always been different in that way. They’ve both got strict, socially conservative parents, but only one of them is obedient.
Once they make it back to the safe zones, Jungkook throws himself onto the bed of grass near the large crystal fountain in the centre of the bustling town, moonlight beaming as he flops onto his back with a big sigh. V sits beside him, all but quiet chitter, dripping crystals and his partner’s shuffling in his ears.
“Well,” he resigns, “since this is the most exciting either of our lives has ever been, you have to tell me more. Who is she?”
A smile lifts on V’s face. “He, actually.”
“Oh. He, then.”
“I’m more than excited to give you all the details, but I do have to leave in a sec. Got a long drive ahead of me.”
“Going on a date?” He attempts to lighten any awkward mood he might’ve created, tugging on a handful of grass.
“Haven’t even met him. Actually, that’s where I’m headed. His dad arranged a meeting to go over things before the engagement.”
“Ah.”
V lifts, straightens out his cloak, brushing off any traces of bloody shards as though his avatar were going to see this apparent fiancé. It reminds Jungkook of the noob outfit the guy had on when he first started playing Dynamite, the era when he chased behind Jungkook in hopes that he’d mentor him. And, apparently, mentoring also meant helping him pick out cool clothing. So after a series of fit checks, Jungkook found that fingerless gloves and long cloaks suited him best. Accentuated his character’s features. V accepted it with enthusiasm, even though he originally wanted Jungkook’s leather straps and platform boots, but Jungkook doesn’t want someone else walking around in his fit. But the fashion show turned out pretty fun in the end. How often were they going to have that kind of fun now?
Jungkook squints at the digital sky. The stars blink in perfect accordance with their coded rhythm. He sometimes wishes this was all the real world had to offer too—winking stars, the scent of grass and leather, and a partner that never ever leaves you. Said partner crouches over Jungkook, his bright smile overshining the moon. Must be charming him on purpose.
V has tried arguing in the past about his physical attributes, denying he’s ever changed anything about his avatar since he entered the game—that he looks almost exactly like his Dynamite character in real life. Jungkook can’t bring himself to believe that, not when his face looks like the attempt to fuse a devil and angel into one. Soft curves, sharp angles, equal-toned honey skin; there’s just no way he didn’t spend hours in the editing profile.
Jungkook did. Though his avatar is nowhere near as beautiful as V’s, he still spent a long time making himself appear badass but in a jarring sort of way. It looks nothing like him except maybe his height, and the shape of his eyes. It was hard to pair leather clothing with pearly skin, but he thinks he made it work, and V seems to agree judging by the way he stares at his outfits all the time. Jungkook tried something new today with the shorts and leather straps around his thighs, but the baggy leg-warmers were thrown on at the last minute after V blithely shared how he didn’t expect the iridescence of Jungkook’s skin to be that high up his legs. The weirdo.
“You gonna forget me?” Jungkook teases, but he might be a little afraid of that actually happening.
Air puffs where V’s finger lands on his forehead, almost so light he can’t feel it.
Sensitivity in the JⓞURNEY universe, like pain, texture, scent, and hearing, all depend on whatever game you’re playing. MMA-style fighting games have the highest pain tolerance setting—close to 10% accuracy. Since Dynamite is an MMORPG with guns and fire and all things supernatural, the experience of pain is far less than in real life—about 4% accuracy, just enough to simulate authentic play. So when Taehyung flicks at Jungkook’s forehead, it’s as faint as the swipe of a feather. He still scrunches his face as though it hurt.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Ku. How could I forget you? We’ve still got lots to do here.”
“You have more important things to worry about now.”
“Maybe,” V breathes, tilting his head. “But you’re important too, because we’re like best friends.”
The older lifts himself back onto his feet, swiping a hand across the air to open his menu, and Jungkook’s eyes dart up to him. Because really, it’s the first time either of them has used the term best friends. It fits, since they’ve been playing Dynamite as a duo for over half a year now and the only thing they don’t know about each other is their real identities.
Flipping onto his belly, Jungkook tucks a hand beneath his chin. “Does that mean I can call you hyung?” he asks with a lopsided grin.
V glances down, finger hovering over the exit button in a halt, and Jungkook thinks he might have gone too far. It isn’t taboo to say they’re friends, but are they that close? V has always felt like a hyung to him, but in the context of tag-teaming in a virtual world and fighting aliens and creatures, the gamer tag seems more natural. He should just laugh it off as a joke.
V’s mouth suddenly lifts at a corner. So subtle one could miss it. “Of course.”
And his character pixelizes into thin air, sparkles of blue left in his wake.
Jungkook blinks, entirely not expecting him to actually agree to it.
Though it’s a bit annoying that it could be the first and last time he’ll ever get to say it. V can’t act like marriage doesn’t take over your life.
Jungkook sets his head on his folded arms, running a finger across his pearly skin beaming under moonlight all ribbon-like. There isn’t much else to do here now that V’s left, other than tugging more at virtual grass, wondering about his own reality, his own future. It’s frustrating, because for the first time in forever, Jungkook’s actually contemplating his own marriage.
He swipes down the menu and clicks the exit button. The world flashes bright.
∘₊⟢ ▬ι𓆃 ⟢₊∘
Speak of the devil and he shall appear, or something like that.
In this case, his sister isn’t exactly the devil, but what she tells him isn’t far from it.
“What the hell,” he gruffs, pulling the helmet off his head after seeing her through the glass slate. Just as he takes it off, the glaring brightness from his window nearly has him hissing. He shoots daggers at her, but it’s ineffective with one eye shut, because of course Jiyu swiped his curtains wide open before he even exited the game like he’s told her not to do many times. “Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”
“Early pickup.” She curls her lip, arms crossed, and that’s when he notices she’s not in her high school uniform but one of those formal dresses she tends to throw on for business events, hair curled and wrapped in a bun. He hopes she just has a date. “Dad wants you.”
Jungkook sits up against his headboard and stretches out his numb limbs. “When doesn’t he?”
Jiyu makes a little snort, backing away with skips. “Oh, I think you’ll wanna hear this one.” She rushes out of the room, and usually, if his menace of a younger sibling is delighted about anything concerning him, it means he’s got something to be scared of. Sitting in his bed, staring into a corner, hair a mess, Jungkook considers stalling and blaming it on losing track of time. Or even better, being busy with work, but he hasn’t done squat with the corporate planning team all morning. Fuck. They must be wondering where he is. That could be why he’s being called in, but his dad usually just questions him about tardiness at the end of the day because he’s too busy otherwise. This must be important.
He stumbles for his phone to ask the only line of civil communication he has with his father:
Jungkook slouches in his father’s leather chair.
His JⓞURNEY office is slightly more modern than the one he has at home. A large room with windows too big for the wall, a high city view, dark mahogany furniture, and an apparent lack of anything interesting. It’s a soulless cave of dread, really. Every time Jungkook comes here, he leaves with a blooming headache.
He thinks he might already be at that point. Jaw tightened, hands clenched into fists, so close to ripping through his own skin, and it isn’t much different than usual if it weren’t for what he’s just been told.
“I’ve received an incredible offer from the CEO of one of the largest law corporations in Seoul for your marriage to her son, Kim Taehyung. Heejin-ssi and I have arranged a meeting tonight to review all of the details and discuss contracts before we proceed. There are many plans to advance both our companies through this marriage once you two are old enough to hold shares. Clean yourself up and make a good impression. Do you understand?”
“Engagement,” Jungkook spits, like the word is searing a burning blade into the side of his head. “You agreed… on my engagement with some random guy I’ve never even met. Without even coming to tell me.”
V and his stupid life has jinxed Jungkook’s peace.
“Don’t act like I’ve sprung this from nowhere, Jungkook. You can’t just keep pretending your marriage isn’t a necessity for the good of the company.” His dad leans over his desk, hands gripped at the edge.
As though he’s already growing tired of Jungkook’s attitude, a line forms between his eyebrows, wrinkled but drawn tight enough that Jungkook’s forced not to ignore the certainty in his eyes. It’s starting to make him nauseous. “There is no further discussion on whether this will or won’t happen. I knew you’d decline this one the same way you’ve done with all the others. Always so unserious, always detached from responsibility. I could not let you pass up this opportunity, so I took matters into my own hands. You’re 23 now, Jungkook, it’s time you start acting like you’re a part of Journey, not a bench-sitter.”
A brittle scoff resounds in the room. How fucking cliche. Jungkook thinks he might be less of a child to his father than JⓞURNEY. And the crazy part is, he might have actually enjoyed working here. He can see a universe where he’s trained directly under his father and preparing to take over, if only he hadn’t grown such malicious intent for it. And that’s all his father’s doing, dragging him through classes and rigorous training so he could have half the knowledge his father does at a young age, exposing him to the darkest parts of what exploitation this damn company was built on. Jungkook couldn’t want less to do with it.
A breath is released slowly from his nose. He closes his eyes for a moment trying to stop the room from spinning so much in his head. “I guess you haven’t gotten used to embarrassing yourself yet, have you?”
Hansul’s knuckles go white, and Jungkook’s stomach drops for a second. He isn’t scared of his father, but he does have a sliver of the same trepidation any inferior would have sitting face-to-face and going against his direct orders. It’s how he’s always been treated—as an employee who just happens to share his blood.
“Watch your tone, son. You aren’t to embarrass me. You will attend the meeting and behave. These people are going to become gems for JⓞURNEY, partners like we’ve never had before. You will not ruin this for me, and if you do, you can begin looking for another summer job.”
Jungkook’s chest stiffens. He’s supposed to travel to their Busan branch for the summer to train new hires on field testing and glitch scanning. It’s one of the only expeditions he’s actually been excited for. He gets to go into games like Dynamite as a part of the system and show the hires how to fix bugs manually—a job he is best at, having beta tested the demos and played the game consistently since it came out.
His father seems to have caught onto his excitement, as much as he tried to hide it. Because of course he’d take away the only thing he doesn’t despise about JⓞURNEY—digital curation, the only authenticity they can prove to have. It’s why he’s always in Dynamite or around the digital team.
He lifts from the chair. “I guess you’ll just have to see how tonight goes.”
“Jungkook.”
As he walks out, Jungkook vows in his own mind to ruin this engagement the same way he’s ruined all the others, but this time, he’s going to teach his father a lesson he hasn’t learned yet. He misses how Hansul runs a hand down his face as he shuts the door behind him.
Fuck that meeting.
A meeting about his damn future? And also, what kind of chump agrees to marry someone they haven’t met once? What kind of chump allows a marriage to proceed without consulting the literal party of interest?
Kim Taehyung, apparently. Son of Kim Heejin of Ideal Law, as he read in the folder his father left for him on his desk. Took a lot in him to not burn it.
Jungkook is so done, he runs frustrated fingers through his hair. A billion rejected marital offers later, he’s at wits’ end—he might even swear this time.
It’s about 20 minutes until they reach their home. Quickly, he grabs a pair of sweatpants and tugs them on, thinking this might be the perfect outfit to show how little his concern is for this offer. Yeah, he’s so gonna swear. He’ll swear at the “fiancé”, and the parents, and he’ll make sure to chew his father out.
From his bedroom upstairs, he hears the guests shuffling in and feels himself already getting heated. Deciding to spy a little beforehand, he heads down to the kitchen and stands behind a pillar, maybe a bit curious. Scoping out the targets and all that.
Two figures walk in. A woman, and a man.
And, he freezes. Heart beating like lightning beneath his chest.
By god.
By fucking god.
It’s the last person he expected to walk through his door.
In an instant, he imagines green diamonds above everyone’s head and a neon-tinted world of tall glass buildings and caves filled with slimy monsters, because there is no way in hell his Dynamite partner has just entered his home.
It must be a coincidence.
A man he’s set to marry, who just happens to look like his best friend in a VR game, maybe it’s fate? Maybe they’re like, soulmates? He would assume that V is just using Kim Taehyung’s face and isn’t actually him, but JⓞURNEY’s confidentiality clause wouldn’t allow it. Unless the helmet scans your original face and you just happen to look like a celebrity, then it could be passed. Otherwise, using the editing profile to make your face appear as someone famous is impossible.
Then he remembers how V said he hadn’t changed his character since he started Dynamite, wouldn’t stop cooing at Jungkook every time he said his avatar looks too attractive to be real—and now that thought makes him red hot. He coughs, slipping entirely behind the pillar as a few heads flip in his direction, including his.
The prattling begins again after a second, his father giving them an overly warm greeting, almost as if to make up for whatever he thinks Jungkook has up his sleeve to scare them away. If he even has anything. Does he? Jungkook doesn’t want to get married. Jungkook has already decided he doesn’t want to get married. What’s making him hesitate? His eyes drift to his pants.
Jungkook walks into the corridor where the group still loiters, the previous sweatpants and hoodie long gone for a pair of loose slacks and a business casual collared shirt that makes even his father’s eyebrows shoot up. As he fixes the cuff on his sleeve, Jiyu, who’s standing by their father with her hands neatly behind her back, smiles to herself.
The older woman has a hand placed over her chest, in the midst of thanking Hansul for the invite and praising him for an ‘impressively high-tech home’. Her eyes drift around, admiring the digital screen of faux blossoms on the ceiling above them, while explaining how her guards couldn’t find the doorbell until they realized it had already rung when they stepped onto the porch. Jungkook had honestly forgotten that not everyone’s home looks like it came out of a movie; overhead lights and lava lamps, window-walls, minimalist grey-toned furniture.
Then she catches Jungkook in her line of sight.
She’s a beautiful woman, her posture perfect and her hand well-manicured as it lies softly over her maroon-coloured dress. Kim Heejin, CEO of one of the largest law corporations in Seoul. Jungkook was so captivated by her, he hadn’t noticed her approaching with arms spread too wide, dark lipstick spread into a smile too bright. Jungkook is engulfed in a gracious hug and his entire body locks up. “It’s so wonderful to meet you, Jungkook-ssi,” she beams, holding him tightly. She smells like vanilla bean and nail polish. He lifts his hand in an awkward pat, scuffing out a “Uh, yes, you too.”
A hand yanks her away by the shoulder, and Jungkook blinks as the V-looking guy emerges from behind the woman. “Mom, get off of him, come on,” he grumbles to her.
“I’m so sorry.” He turns, and Jungkook freezes all over again, wondering if there is any chance in the fricken world, even 0.2 percent, that he might be recognized from Dynamite. His skin isn’t pearly, but it’s pale enough; his eyes aren’t grey, but they are doe-shaped. It’s not impossible.
After the swift half-second their eyes meet, the latter is already bending over into an insanely deep bow that has Jungkook choking on nothing. An utter whiplash from casual to entirely formal.
He looks at his sister first, who just wiggles her eyebrows for some reason, and then at his dad. The man is as pale as a ghost watching the exchange, Jungkook could almost laugh. He’s never seen his father so absolutely petrified about what he could do. Though even with this immense power falling into his hands, even though he is still slightly tempted to act out just to see that colour become a mortified green, something in his gut has him going against his pride. Something about seeing V bowing in front of him, dressed in a suit and tie, hair gelled away from his forehead. It’s seriously uncanny how similar they look.
Right as he lifts, Jungkook dips into a bow that is certainly not as deep as the other because he doesn’t know if that’s even possible, but he shifts his eyes to the floor in hopes it reads the same.
“Nice to meet you, Jungkook-ssi.” He brings out his hand next. Such great manners. His smile is charming and charismatic, Jungkook can’t look away—he is nothing like he imagined him to be in real life. He isn’t at all clumsy, playful. He’s just perfect.
Unfortunately, Taehyung’s mother receives a call right before he could brush his hand across the other’s, it cuts their meeting abruptly short. She apologizes profusely before leaving, explaining how it’s from an important client, as does Taehyung. Hansul looks a minute from exploding, probably having expected them to finalize things before shit hits the fan, and Jungkook finds himself equally a little disappointed. He doesn’t understand it.
He didn’t even get to say a word to Taehyung more than “You too.” And he’s dreading when they might meet again because he honestly just, can’t believe what is going on.
A day after the Kims had arrived, Jungkook was too scared even to touch his JⓞURNEY headset. Stared at it a lot from afar, but the idea of putting his mind through more strain had him feeling nauseous.
His father gets a call that very night, and not more than two days later, they’re invited to Ideal Law’s official building to begin the process of marriage. Marriage, already. Saying something about not wanting to stall the initiation and move forward while both families are currently aligned, or whatnot.
Jungkook’s nerves spike when he receives the text from Yoongi.
∘₊⟢ ▬ι𓆃 ⟢₊∘
It’s a short drive there. Jungkook closes his eyes and listens to music during it, envisioning a tall city with cyberpunk lights, a sword thrumming alive and burning hot to the touch, another one sliding against it, obsidian and electric. He tries not to imagine V, but Dynamite isn’t Dynamite without him.
Once they arrive, the first thing Jungkook notices is that the Ideal Law’s main office is exceptionally larger than JⓞURNEY’s, and he knows Hansul is just burning from the inside out at the thought of that. He can see the little twitch in his mouth as he smiles, the firmness in his grip as he shakes hands with Heejin, though he’s always been better at keeping his emotions to himself. Jungkook, however, can’t last more than 10 minutes in the room without having to take a breather. He debriefs with himself in the bathroom after initial greetings, mainly because seeing V’s face a second time is distorting his reality once again.
They’ve all settled into the far side of the office where red leather couches are tucked. His soon-to-be husband and his parents, Jungkook’s father, lawyers from both sides.
V—or, Kim Taehyung—has been nothing but humble and kind towards him. Guiding him, pulling his seat forward, smiling oh-so-sweetly, and he just won’t stop addressing Jungkook with formality. Jungkook-ssi this, Jungkook-ssi that. It makes sense, but jeez, he’s about to put a ring on his finger in front of their families. He can chill out just a little bit. It’s also a bit strange to be referred to by his real name from someone who always calls him Ku.
And Hansul, he still seems surprised that Jungkook hasn’t done anything harmful for the partnership yet, but is still kind of on the edge of his seat. Which Jungkook is happy with, giving the old man at least that much inner torment.
Splashing water on his face, he sighs and looks at himself in the mirror. He looks good in a grey suit, and he doesn’t think he’s styled his hair in a while. Sometimes he wishes he had the same dark curly perm as his Dynamite avatar, but straight hair is easier to pull back like this.
It’s sort of insane, really, where he’s at now. Now that he’s no longer upset about the idea, and since his mind isn’t giving him any other choice, Jungkook guesses he’s really doing this. He’s actually getting married.
At least it means he’ll be free from his dad. From Itaewon. From JⓞURNEY, for a little while. And, yeah, that’s the only reason why he’s doing this. Plus, he’ll have a lawyer for a husband—it’ll be somebody he potentially knows, but he’ll chalk that up as a possibility for now because he wants to see Taehyung get on JⓞURNEY himself before he makes the idea concrete in his brain.
If it actually is him, that means this marriage was done without either of their consent, as V said. Jungkook thinks he could be a little nicer, a little more receptive to conversation, even if V’s mom gives him goosebumps when she grins at him sometimes.
He walks back into the office, thinking his damn clicky shoes are making too much noise as he makes it across the wooden floors to the seating area.
Hansul asks, “You ready?” with a curl in his smile that seems almost as genuine as Heejin’s. He wonders if they’re similar.
Jungkook’s attention shifts to Taehyung, whose eyes are too soft. He nods, coming to sit next to the guy, his soon-to-be-husband. The leather dips where he sits, he’s not sure if that’s why Taehyung’s shifted closer or if he’d done so himself. He can’t stop himself from squinting at the guy’s side-profile.
“Before we proceed,” Taehyung clears his throat and pulls out a clean folder, placing it before Jungkook on the desk. “Please take a look, Jungkook-ssi. This document is just between you and I; I haven’t shown it to my father or anyone else. It has nothing to do with legalities, just everything I want you to know before you, well, officially decide to do this.”
Taehyung smiles, it looks a little nervous. Jungkook carefully picks up the brown-coloured folder, and it’s light. When he flips it open, what’s presented to him is a single page with the words Engagement Preface printed in bold letters across the top. It’s a list of some sort.
The folder flap works well to keep his nosy father from snooping, though not for a lack of trying, as he lifts his chin high in an attempt to look over it. Jungkook is glad for it. His gaze moves down the page, taking his time reading each point, carefully going over the brief explanations—all of them topics that he and Taehyung hadn’t had a chance to discuss before their parents sprung this whole thing onto them.
It answers a lot of questions Jungkook was about to ask, and then some. He rakes his eyes over the first point: Investment. This section seems to carefully explain the kind of support Ideal Law is prepared to provide once his father transfers the company shares to him. It’s just a short overview, nothing too serious, just enough for Jungkook to understand. And then, how Taehyung will personally ensure all of these agreements are met.
Jungkook silently reads the rest, the entire room watching curiously.
Confidentiality: “The engagement/marriage will remain entirely private until you decide otherwise. Under no circumstances will the union be used for promotion or media leverage without your explicit approval. I swear by it.”
Residence: “Our living situation depends entirely on your personal comfort. Overall, I am open to separate bedrooms and personal bathrooms. Options for residence include:
- Your current residence in Itaewon with family (I am willing to relocate)
- Relocating to Gangnam to join me
- Relocating to a separate shared residence in Itaewon for convenience to your commute to JⓞURNEY
You may circle your choice or write another below. No decision is required immediately; we don’t have to move in right away.”
Finances: “Your personal income, assets, and accounts will remain exclusively yours; any shared income should be discussed in further detail when company shares are distributed between us in the far future. No expectation of access toward mine. Additionally, my personal resources (e.g., vehicles, subscriptions, cell phone) are available for you to use at any time. Do not hesitate to ask.”
A couple more like that continue down the list. Jungkook is a little speechless.
“Should any terms feel unsuitable or confusing, we can address them. Feel free to use the space below for questions or statements you may not want to verbalize. If, and only if, you agree with all the above terms, then we may proceed with legalities and marriage; absolutely nothing will proceed without your handwritten and spoken approval.”
Jungkook’s heartbeat settles a little. It’s nice, having something confidential between Taehyung and him that has nothing to do with permanence; in fact, the entire opposite. It’s intimate enough to comfort him before literally signing his name to a contractual marriage. Chips at the wall of awkwardness between them. Something only they share.
Though the idea of all of this important conversation being spread out on a perfectly margined, A3-printed sheet of paper makes Jungkook scoff—it’s oddly considerate for a business arrangement. Edging on uncomfortable, only because this entire page could’ve been discussed verbally rather than through formal exchange, but Jungkook is more than aware they didn’t have any time for that. Just makes him appreciate it all the more, a bit guilty he was so in his own head the past couple of days, he hadn’t thought of doing anything like this.
He scribbles a few things onto the page, some notes, some statements, but overall, he’s got nothing to change. Taehyung has overseen anything he might’ve imagined would bother him, it feels like a bit of weight is lifted off his shoulders.
Taehyung takes it into his own hands, looking at Jungkook’s notes with all too careful attention. He looks back up at him, and for a moment Jungkook forgets the last section of the preface. He quickly nods, his throat a bit dry when he states, “I agree.” Taehyung breaks into a handsome smile—and Jungkook might’ve stared for a moment too long and imagined a sword sheathed at his back. Finally acknowledging the others in the room, Taehyung says, “Then we can proceed.”
The lawyers hand out folders to everyone, each with a larger, heavier set of papers, the front page an overview of each section.
Jungkook only looks at what he’s most interested in, like what it means when he and Taehyung are finally old enough to take over parts of either company. What Ideal Law promises, and what JⓞURNEY promises—all he and his father didn’t talk about beforehand. Hansul has been avoiding Jungkook like the plague since their first meeting went well, probably worried his son would all of a sudden refuse the marriage, and he couldn’t afford that, making it this far. He’d just placed a binder on the desk full of all the information that he knew very well Jungkook wouldn’t even touch. So, Jungkook is completely clueless about the agreements aside from the brief notes on Taehyung’s preface.
Not that it matters much, since most of them are ambiguous. A bunch of terms not set in stone because the future can always change—just a promise for something.
The point that sticks out the most, the only one set in stone, is that Jungkook will receive ten percent of Taehyung’s shares in Ideal Law, and Taehyung will receive the same amount in JⓞURNEY. Ideal Law will then become the exclusive legal consulting partner for JⓞURNEY, handling cybersecurity matters and gaming lawsuits, which they so desperately need, given that their VR headset temporarily redirects electrical brain activity from the physical body into a digital one. Although they aren’t the only technology with this level of immersion, there are a lot of concerns to be had there.
Jungkook can always blame his father for a not-so-fruitful childhood, but he can’t deny that whatever the man chooses is always in the company’s best interest. Hansul is unfortunately very right about this partnership.
Once they’ve all gone through everything for a good 10 minutes and accepted the stated terms, the two of them sign any preliminary agreements, and then the marriage documents. Jungkook’s pen shakes just slightly as he signs his name.
Taehyung reaches into a small pocket of the satchel he carries, pulls out a ring box. It’s a velvet-coloured cushion, Jungkook nearly gapes at the sight of the ring he pulls from it—a silver piece with a strip of engraved swirls. It’s so pretty. He panics upon realizing he didn’t even bring his own, then Hansul simply hands one to him. No box, no bag, just a thin band of silver. Jungkook takes it, furrowing his eyebrows, because he’s never seen this ring before; he would know if it was his grandmother’s or something else sentimental, but Hansul’s never been the type. It was most likely bought recently, or maybe since the day his father decided he wanted Jungkook to be married. Jungkook burns at the thought that he may have never intended to marry, but Taehyung’s ring could have been for someone else. Someone more special.
Jungkook reaches out his shaky hand, wanting to get it over with first. Taehyung’s hand fits into his, gentle. He doesn’t want to look up as he slips the ring onto his slender ring finger—the only finger that isn’t glinting with jewelry of all kinds. A deliberately empty spot filled by a singular thin band, a cool-toned ring clashing with gold. Out of place.
It still feels so odd now that Jungkook has settled with it.
Gnawing at the corner of his lip, his chest begins to tighten. Despite not feeling so against it anymore, Jungkook didn’t get much time to properly think this over. Everything happened within the span of 4 short days that felt like hours, and now, it’s too late to go back.
There’s a puff of warmth at his ear, Jungkook’s hand engulfed by another—he didn’t even realize the ring had been slipped on until Taehyung’s finger brushes over the cool band. He whispers gently to him, and only him, “I know this is all so sudden, but I promise to be good to you, Jungkook-ssi.”
He didn’t look so deeply the first time, but Taehyung’s got these dark brown irises that really hold you in place. His pupils wide, his lashes long. Jungkook throws away the thought he had back in Dynamite about eyes, how digital ones can carry depth, because V’s eyes could not hold a coin to Taehyung’s. JⓞURNEY could never mimic this if they tried for a million years.
“I promise too.”
Once everything has been finalized and Jungkook is officially married, a tray of champagne is passed around. Lifting one from the tray, he stares down at the bubbles, sees the way his eyes look a little lost in his reflection.
Heejin lifts her glass once everyone has their own.
“To new beginnings in both JⓞURNEY and Ideal Law.”
Everyone repeats, “To new beginnings.”
Jungkook glances at Taehyung over the rim of his glass.
∘₊⟢𓆩✦𓆪⟢₊∘
