#boss!jk

A/n: Hey, everyone! Here is the first chapter to Corporate Affair. It's been at least one and a half years since I have jotted down some fiction and not going to lie, my brain was so dead in the creative sense that from gathering words, ideas to even willpower, everything was an Achilles heel for me, haha. But anyways, I’m getting into writing again, though slowly. But better something than nothing. 

I genuinely hope readers find this story interesting ('cause I'm doubting this so much). It's going to be a slow burn so if you're looking for some immediate relief, this ain't it lol.

And, my rant ends here. Peace out!

Masterlist I Next

Jungkook can't resist it. He simply can't. It’s quite a momentary action, won’t even take that long honestly but he couldn’t risk it in case the feeling escalates and he has to take more than a second to recompose himself. After all, a moment or two change everything when one’s behind the wheel.

But alas, he gave in. Gave in to the sheer annoyance coursing through his veins as soon as he saw a familiar caller ID flashing on his car screen. And he, gasp, rolled his eyes so deep it’s a wonder they didn’t get stuck in there.

"It hasn't even been two weeks since you left," Jungkook's right hand swiftly handled the wheel as the other rested on his lap. "Why-” The interrogatory word came out too harsh and he really wouldn’t have allowed his tone to be like that any other time but this person had really crossed a line here. “-have you called me five times already?"

"Aww, you're keeping a count, huh?" Jimin's cooing proved to one of the million reasons why Jungkook can't stand his colleague/friend (Or so he says). “I just want to make sure you are not missing me.”

“Oh, rest assured, nobody’s missing you. Not even Tae-” Jungkook’s retort was interrupted when he heard laughter from the the other end. “Hyung? You there?”

It took one more ‘hyung’ from Jungkook for the said man to return, “Sorry, man. So, what was it? Yeah, I didn’t want you to miss m-” 

"If you don't have anything important to say, I'm hanging up."

"Yah, the four times I called-"

"Five."

Jimin groaned, "Yeah, yeah. Well, was any of it for non-work purposes?"

"It’s never just work with you, hyung. It’s all meshed in, so yeah, there was both-" Jungkook halted to a pause when the loud noises interrupted him again.

He waited for it to die down and focused entirely on the road ahead him. In moments, Jimin returned. "And... Sorry, what were we talking about again?"

Jungkook didn't bother reminding him, it was the usual bantering anyways. "You seem to be having fun over there."

He felt Jimin smile from the other end, "Man, it's fucking amazing. Tokyo is wow. The whole team went out for drinking yesterday and there was this bar with the most amazing sushi. And then we went out for karaoke too. I got home at two, can you believe it? I didn't think I had it in me anymore but looks like I still got it."

The younger man sighed at Jimin's jolly tone, "Hyung, you're in a superior's capacity there. Shouldn't you be behaving a bit responsibly?" And he lightly tilted the steering to the right which had the Mercedes glide into the underground parking lot.

"Ugh, shut up. It was my welcoming party, well, a super-delayed one but they really insisted on throwing one so I couldn't just not go. And unlike some people, I happen to enjoy mingling with people." That felt like a dig at Jungkook and he was sure it was meant to be one. "And my colleagues don't seem to mind my company either."

"Why would they mind it? They’re currying favours by spending more time with you, if it wasn't that obvious already. Plus, if their boss himself is slacking around, it gives them more the excuse when they fuck up themselves later-"  

"Yah, dongsaeng-ah," Jimin emphasized the word to remind the sharp-tongued maknae of the age gap between them that the latter never gave two fucks about. "I didn't call to have you bite my ears off. Just reminding that the new member is joining today."

Silence followed, which was unusual since Jungkook always had a comeback to literally anything and everything Jimin said. "Jungkook-ah, you there?"

"Yeah, yeah. I was just parking the car."

Jimin rolled his eyes at the non-committal response. As if Jungkook needed to be so focused during something as mundane as parking a car considering how good he was at driving, "Yeah, well, the new member is coming-"

"I heard that. And I remember it too." Jungkook finally put the car at rest and leaned back on his seat.

Jungkook and Jimin worked at one of the top multinational consulting firms, Maverick & Park but in different teams. Today there was a new team member joining Jimin's Conflict Resolution and Negotiations team (Or CRN team, as was the lingo at the firm) but he was away in Japan for a three-months project. And hence, along with looking after Jimin's team, Jungkook was also to oversee the new consultant's onboarding and so forth.

"Just make sure to give a good welcome, okay. It's bad enough her actual team leader isn't there for that." .

A crease formed on Jungkook’s forehead when he heard this. Jimin had mentioned her in literally all five calls he had made since he had left and Jungkook really wondered why he is so insistent on it. Not only was Jungkook obviously going to make sure the new team member settles in well- it was his fucking job after all- but also that this continuous persistence for being a good host was baffling to Jungkook considering how commonplace the event of onboarding a new consultant was. 

So he voiced his thoughts, "There isn’t any need to feel bad, hyung, you aren't playing hooky over there or something. You’re there for work after all." Jimin felt slightly allayed with the maknae's words. It didn't last long. "Or at least I hope you are."

The older ignored the last comment, "Yeah but you know how important she is. Everyone wanted her on their team but damn, I guess the best one won."

"There are basically just three conflict resolution teams at our branch. Barely an everyone."

"Tsk! You're such a party-pooper. Whatever. Just make sure to-"

"I said I will." Jungkook checked himself in the car's mirror before glancing at his watch, "Is there anything else other than the obvious? 'Cause I gotta run and-"

Ugh, he’s such a brat, "Yeah, fine. That was it." Just as he was about to end the call he heard Jungkook's words,

"And get some sleep. Geez."

A smile formed on Jimin’s lips. "Alright. Bye then."

He’s a cute brat though.

A week later, Jungkook was running a glance through his mailbox before one of his personal reminders on his other desktop screen reminded him of the meeting he had with the CRN team at 1:20pm. He checked the Rolex strapped on his wrist and got off the swivel chair before strutting out of his office. He languidly paced towards the conference room as he utilized this ten-minutes window not only to give his body a much-needed break from the 90-degreed posture he had sat in for the past hour but also to mentally revise the meeting’s agenda. And just then he spotted a certain figure entering the meeting room round the corner.

Lee Areum. Jungkook recognised the figure with ease, having grown used to it in the past few days. The consultant because of whom Jungkook had been subjected to Jimin’s torturous calls every morning. But after she joined, he realized Jimin wasn’t the only one obsessed with making her the subject of their conversation. Jungkook’s own Strategy and Intelligence team (SnI) and the rest of the divisions on the 23rd and 24th floor were all whispering about her so much that it came to even Jungkook’s notice, who mostly stayed aloof at work.

The attention Lee Areum was getting wasn’t exactly surprising though. Considering how close-knitted the Korean community is, a mere fresher joining work made news too. But apart from the obvious novelty, Lee Areum herself, as a person, wasn’t exactly that inconspicuous either. Her tied-up raven hair, where most Korean female employees chose to leave theirs open and her stylish attire, that impressively stood out from most of the already-fashionable crowd at Maverick & Park- all this definitely physically set her apart.

But there was more too. Lee Areum’s mannerisms- how she spoke, walked and even something as bare minimum as the way she stood, it all felt different. Charming even, as some had put it. And all this had led many to believe that she probably belonged to a wealthy family but there was no way to confirm it. Lee is a terribly ordinary last name to get any useful leads from and when asked directly, Lee Areum had denied the rumour outright, which confirmed the suspicions of many. Well, she obviously can’t admit it, you know. They are supposed to keep these kinds of things a secret. Is what the employees-turned-sherlock-holmes had reasoned.

Then why the fuck would you ask her anyways? Were Jungkook’s thoughts when this had reached his ears. Yeah, Jungkook wasn’t a big fan of the gossip flying around around Lee Areum. This was such a routine thing at the firm that he knew within a few weeks, people will find a new target and all this talk will have dust sitting over it. The only thing that Jungkook cared about was that as long as this Lee Areum's being different didn’t pose any issue, there was no need to be interested in anything other than her professional life.

What Jungkook didn’t know was that his nonchalant attitude, which surely wasn’t wrong, was going to come and bite his ass in precisely six minutes.

Fuck! Jungkook desperately and (hopefully) subtly squirmed in his chair as he mentally praised whoever that came up with the idea of dimming down the lights during a presentation. Though this didn't help his situation at all, it at least promised some privacy against his junior colleagues. Oh god. He winced as he ran the word through his mind since it held far great importance than one could imagine, especially at this moment. 

After all, how mortifying would it be if these hoobaes get to know that their interim team leader- Jeon Jungkook, one of the most impressive consultants at the Seoul branch, got a fucking boner in the middle of a presentation.

And if that wasn't enough, the cherry on top was that he got hard because of the presentation. 

Fucking shit! Jungkook kept chanting similar vulgar incantations in his mind and shifted in his chair from time to time but that was it. What else could he do anyways? Running out was impossible, his dick was too hard to do anything of that sort, plus the walk to the restroom would be terribly embarrassing. And the other alternative? Getting off. Yeah, so you get it, he really had no option but just to remain engulfed in this... this confusing state of reverie where he was panicking so hard at the situation he was in but also loved the ripples spreading through his body.

Oh god. This wave was stronger, so much that Jungkook had to bring his fingers near his mouth to seal it in the most inconspicuous way possible in order to avoid any lewd noises escaping his lips. Shit, shit. Shit! 

This wasn’t on the agenda. Oh, this so wasn’t. You know what was? Choi Heejin giving updates about her soon-to-be-finished report on a deal she had recently closed. Do Jinhyeok and Son Seokmin informing of the recent developments in their respective cases. Jungkook asking them the necessary questions about their progress and them asking him doubts that he would be glad to resolve. Both the parties contributing amicably to maintain the quality of the projects. This was on the agenda. Not getting hard at the most inappropriate time like some horny teenager. And who the fuck gets hard during a godforsaken presentation!? A presentation!?

Anyways.

Don't blame Jungkook for this entirely though because this wasn’t something that happened involuntarily. Not as if Jungkook’s dick just went ‘Top of the morning to ya!’ and sprang up. No. There was an instigation, and it was when Nam Doyun and the latest addition to the CRN team, Lee Areum started off their presentation on the case they had been jointly assigned to work on. Doyun’s part was nothing out of unexpected plus Jungkook was working with him for the past few weeks already, so he was familiar with the guy.

Lee Areum though. Daaaaamn. This literally went off in his mind in under fifteen seconds of her speaking. She was explaining how she and Doyun were planning on undertaking the case and it was clear (quite expected too) that their research and planning was fantastic. The project seemed like it would sail through in the smoothest way possible. And the pair seemed to make an exceptionally compatible team in spite of having met each other just a few days ago. 

But the number of studied observations Jungkook made decreased with time as he listened to Lee Areum and then went down to none as his focus began centering around the alluring person in front of him. His eyes felt a pull, a freaking pull, towards her and the already dimmed down surroundings somehow dulled further as if next to her, everything else was so worthless that it could and should only fade away because really, staying in her shadows was the only way anything could ever coexist with her.

What is it? Is it her intricately woven speech that makes the statistics she is mentioning sound like a ballad? Or is it the utter lack of filler words while she speaks? Is it her eyes? How they make you feel as if she could convince you to jump off a cliff the moment you stared into them? Or was it her confidence? Oh god, why does she look at me like she’s staring at my freaking soul? Okay, got it. The eyes and the confidence for sure. But was that all? Oh no.

What had really intrigued Jungkook was actually a very commonplace detail. Everybody has it more or less. But as someone who appreciates the magic of sounds, Jungkook found Lee Areum’s voice to be the most beautiful sound he had ever heard in an office setting. It’s not as if he hadn’t heard her talk before, she did participate by giving inputs during meetings but consultants usually had considerable autonomy while on projects so unless it was for those meetings, he didn’t have as many opportunities to take notice of it. 

Turns out, not listening to her enough beforehand had turned out to be the lethal mistake that led to his demise. He hadn't heard her speak at length before especially not with her being the only object of his attention and fuck, how had he missed her beautiful, deep voice? She wasn't a full-blown contralto, no, the lightness lacing her tone made sure she wasn't, but she wasn't a mezzo either. Her voice lied somewhere in between and oh god, what he wouldn’t give to just hear her serenade him for his entire life as she writhed beneath him.

He drew a sharp breath as he painted that scenario in his head. She would never be quiet, she’ll never hold back her moans. She seemed too confident for that. Huh. Would she even concede me the control then? Damn! Oh god, will she ride me? She will, won’t she? Of course she will, what was I thinking? Someone like her will never stay under, hell no. Jungkook’s brows furrowed and with a clenched jaw he imagined her rising and then slapping hard on his lap. Fuck, she'll keep bouncing, huh, always meeting my eyes and never shy away. And she’ll moan lusty nothings into the air and- Oh wait. Team leader. Fuck, I want her to say team leader while she fucks me and uses me to make herself feel good. Say it again and again, in that deep voice of hers-

"Team Leader?"

Yes, say it. Exactly like that-

"Team Leader Jeon?"

Jungkook broke out of his trance and his head snapped to the voice that had called out to him, "Huh? Oh, yes, Miss Choi?"

Heejin smiled awkwardly at the wide-eyed, whiplashed Jungkook, "Uh, Miss Lee asked if there are any questions since the presentation's over."

It took him some seconds to understand what was going on and everything that had faded away earlier firmly reclaimed their position. Everything came back to him accompanied with the horrifying realization of the shit he had just pulled Or hadn't... yet. And as if that self-realization wasn’t enough, the awkward glances of his team members just left a sinking feeling in his heart. 

And to top it all, Lee Areum just stood there in the front as she stared at him with sheer disbelief and his heart dropped. Nobody knew he was hard, including her, but there was a good reason why Lee Areum seemed so distressed. Everyone knew how important the first presentation at a new place was in terms of setting a precedence and so he knew exactly what ran through her head. That she sucked so bad her team leader zoned out during her bare five-minutes long talk. If she couldn’t keep him engaged for such little time, who's to say the clients will be at all convinced by the ideas she is pitching them.  If, at all, they give her enough attention to even be convinced.

Oh, no, no, no. Goddammit! Jungkook knew the word will spread out fast about his reaction to her and everyone will consider it to be the ultimate judgement because bosses are apparently always fucking right and since this seemed much more gossip-worthy than just thinking that Jungkook was actually spacing out.

But fuck all that, he would come out clear and clarify the incident himself in case the hell unleashes but the last thing he wanted was for someone as capable as her to think low of herself,

"Yes, of course.” He replied while composing himself. “That was- Miss Lee, it was a great presentation." She nodded but he saw her gulp hard and realized she probably thought he said it just for the sake of it. "It was. The research was on-point but your reasoning on how to handle the conflict between the clients was excellent. I noticed the inputs from your previous experience with mergers and I’m sure they’d help you immensely on this case."

Jungkook watched her lips part in awe, probably surprised that he had indeed paid attention but he wasn't going to stop just there. He felt extremely guilty for letting her feel, even for a second, that she wasn't good. If she felt so but just in case she did, "But most importantly, your presentation style is commendable. It keeps one intrigued till they very end and I am sure your clients won't be able to resist your power either. I can see why team leader Park spoke so highly of you. Keep it up."

Everything went silent for a while, it wasn’t just Areum who was in shock, the rest of the team was too as they didn't expect the esteemed Jeon Jungkook, who mostly kept to himself, to be so vocal about Areum's performance. But they were glad their teammate did well and they voiced it to her, chirping loud compliments as Areum bowed politely to all of them.

And now, for the most important thing. “All right, then. That wraps up the meeting. Mr. Nam and Miss Lee, all the best on your case, we hope you have a safe flight on Monday. Others too, great work. Hoping to see the paperwork completed as per the deadlines.” They (again) loudly thanked him for his words and Jungkook was convinced Jimin’s influence was the reason why the entire CRN team was so loud. “Now scram. I have to go over some stuff here.”

In between bowing and wishing goodbyes, Jungkook felt an attractive dark gaze focused on him and when he faced it, its owner smiled softly before bowing lightly again and then finally departing which is when Jungkook realized something.

Lee Areum had done a lot of things to him today- had his dick riled up under a minute or so, made him out to be an almost-laughingstock in front of his colleagues, instigated panic and guilt, and had him break out of his ‘man-of-a-few-words’ persona to profoundly compliment her.

All of this was so unexpected but even when combined, it came nowhere near to what he felt when she smiled at him just now.

Ahem, alright. Jungkook dismissed his elevated heartbeat quickly. No time for this. He sighed loudly and began typing on his phone to push his schedule by fifteen minutes before going quiet in his chair as he waited for the still raging storm to die down.

Damn, He somehow had an instinct, these three months are not gonna be easy.