#raphope

“Mr. Jung.”

Hoseok looks up to see his assistant standing by the door. His clipboard is clutched tightly to his chest and Hoseok has a hard time remembering his name. Which is strange, because Hoseok doesn’t remember hiring a new assistant recently, but he honest to god does not know the name of the man standing before him. Nevertheless, Hoseok nods, showing that he has his attention and waits to see what his new assistant has for him to sign today.

“A Mr. Kim is in the lobby waiting to see you, sir.”

“Mr. Kim?” Hoseok asks his tone heavy with shock and disbelief. “Kim Namjoon, perhaps?”

His assistant nods, a pained smile flitting across his face as he does. “Yes, sir. He’s been here for almost half an hour, refusing to leave no matter how many times I, and the rest of the staff, have told him that you clearly stated you did not want to be bothered today.”

Hoseok’s assistant pauses and Hoseok belatedly realizes that this is the new assistant his father had hired to replace the old one who’d spilled coffee all over the break room floor. To be fair, carrying that many cups of coffee was a sure way to have an accident and Hoseok hadn’t been cross with her one bit. There was no arguing with his father however and by the next day, Seulgi’s resignation letter had been on Hoseok’s desk.

“He says it’s urgent that he speaks with you, sir. Do I let him in?” His assistant continues.

Hoseok mulls it over and runs a hand through his hair, grasping for anything that would give him a hint to his assistant’s name. Finally, Hoseok sighs and nods, murmuring a sound of agreement before his assistant is nodding as well and turning on his heel, back towards the reception area.

While he’s gone, Hoseok sets about trying to look busy, pulling out a random contract from his ever-growing pile and scans its contents, hoping with all hope that he looks like he’s really considering it and not pretending to be occupied so he can avoid Kim-fucking-Namjoon.

Yoongi was right. Hoseok is in one hell of a shit storm alright.

There's a knock on his door then, pulling Hoseok out of his panicked state. Hoseok calms his breath and pulls on the poker face he saves for business meetings, staring up at the door to find Kim Namjoon's tall silhouette taking up the entire glass pane.

"Come in," Hoseok grunts, suddenly irritated again.

Namjoon enters, almost tripping when the toe of his oxfords catch on the door jam, only saving himself from falling flat on his face by desperately gripping onto the door of Hoseok’s office in a panic. Hoseok stands, concerned when a weird crunching sound fills the air as Namjoon continues to hold the door. Namjoon sheepishly lets go once he’s regained his footing and steps forward, closing the door as gently as he possibly can behind him.

Hoseok crosses his arms over his chest and sits back down, pretending to study the contract in front of him, more irritated than before.

“Um,” Namjoon starts, his voice low and barely audible. “I’m sorry if I came at a bad time.”

“Any time is a bad time for me. I’m constantly busy, Mr. Kim,” Hoseok replies without missing a beat.

“Right,” Namjoon murmurs, voice impossibly lower.

Hoseok lets the next few moments of awkward silence hang heavy in the air before he sighs and looks at the wall past Namjoon’s head. “Did you have a reason for wanting to see me or are you just going to stand there and breathe the same air as me?”

Namjoon flushes and it is by no means one of the cutest things Hoseok has seen. “Um, actually…”

Hoseok rolls his eyes and flips the page of the contract, ignoring the footsteps Namjoon is taking to approach his desk. “Yes, what is it?”

“I'm really sorry about this marriage thing!” Namjoon blurts. “I didn't want to rope you into this or force anyone's hand actually. I don't want to get married, but my parents immediately reached out to yours when I told them I'm gay and set up this whole marriage thing. I'm really, really sorry. Please forgive me.”

Hoseok is too stunned to say anything at first. He blinks dumbly down at the contract in front of him, his gaze long having left the wall, and gapes at it. Namjoon is standing a foot in front of his desk, fists clenched at his sides all that Hoseok can see.

It isn't until Namjoon sniffles that Hoseok realizes he's crying.

“Oh my god,” Hoseok whispers, looking up to meet Namjoon's watery gaze. “Don't cry! You don't need to apologize to me for being gay. What the hell, man?”

Namjoon rubs at his right eye, face aflame as he continues to sniffle. “I'm not apologizing for being gay. Not anymore. I'm just...apologizing for the marriage.”

Hoseok tilts his head to the side. “Does that mean you're offering me a way out of it then?”

Now Namjoon looks guilty, more tears springing to his eyes as he speaks again. “There is no getting out of this. My parents aren't just going to let yours go back on their word. I've already begged them to break it up, but they refused and I...I'm sorry, Hoseok.”

“It's Mr. Jung to you,” Hoseok snaps, suddenly furious. “Get out of my office. I don't want to hear another word of your little pity party. While you're off crying and moping and doing whatever Mommy and Daddy tell you to do, I'm going to be working on getting the hell out of this mess you threw us into. Now, get out.”

Namjoon is still crying when he turns around to leave, but before Hoseok can even sigh in relief, Namjoon is spinning around on the spot, a finger pointing at the contract in front of Hoseok. “That company's trying to screw you over by the way. Their interest rate is jacked up.” 

Then he's turning again and still teary-eyed as he leaves Hoseok's office. Hoseok sags into his chair, the irritation leaving him to deal with relief instead. Annoyance sets in right after though and Hoseok leans over the random contract he'd picked up to make himself look busy.

Namjoon is right. The interest rate is definitely higher than it should be and Hoseok throws the contract into his large denied pile.

Hoseok feels more annoyed now. He has a feeling he's going to hate it every time that Namjoon is right.

  Fuck you, fuck you, you're cool sometimes, fuck you and especially you! Fuck all of you! Hoseok spits out furiously in his head as he broods at the table.

The restaurant is pretty fancy, looking more expensive than his parents can comfortably afford and that should have been the first red flag.

The second flag would definitely have to had been when they were immediately seated as soon as his father uttered their last name on the reservation. Since they're so low in the rungs of the social hierarchy, Hoseok is used to waiting on a table at restaurants.

But the third and final red flag has to be when his mother gripped his arm and told him to behave, or else.

So now he sits at the dinner table, a glass of wine in front of him as he avoids glaring at Kim Namjoon and Kim Namjoon's parents. Namjoon looks graciously embarrassed and does not say a word, even though Hoseok wishes he would. Hoseok ignores most of what their parents are discussing, mainly because he can already guess what, but more so because he's tired of this whole arranged marriage bullcrap.

It's been three days since Namjoon visited him in his office and Hoseok is still pissed off to hell and back. Nothing their parents plan or agree on will change Hoseok's opinion on this.

When their waiter finally appears, Hoseok spits out the name of the most expensive dish on the menu, feeling a tiny burn of victory race through his veins when his mother gives him the evil eye. What Hoseok doesn’t expect however is for Namjoon to ogle at Hoseok as he turns his gaze away from his mother and back to the table, making Hoseok scowl.

“I’ll have what he’s having,” Namjoon murmurs, notching his head in Hoseok’s direction and Hoseok’s scowl deepens when their parents give them approving smiles.

Hoseok goes back to ignoring everyone around him, anger boiling in the pit of his stomach as the waiter comes back with their food. He immediately begins to dig in, uncaring of his table manners and highkey hoping that Namjoon’s parents will consider him too uncivilized for their son and call the whole deal off.

Of course, Hoseok has never gotten what he wanted so he’s unsurprised when neither of Namjoon’s parents jumps up and points a finger at him, calling him an animal for his barbaric eating habits.

In fact, neither of Namjoon’s parents seemed inclined to get out of their seats, not even when Namjoon suddenly holds up a mushroom on his fork, eyes wide before his body begins to shake and he falls out of his chair, dumbly saying, “I’m allergic.”

Immediately, Hoseok sets into action because while Namjoon dying would be an ideal way to get out of the marriage, Hoseok’s bleeding heart won’t allow him to let Namjoon die on his watch. He pats around Namjoon’s jeans, hoping with all his might that Namjoon had been smart enough to bring what Hoseok needs the most right now.

It looks like Namjoon isn’t as dumb as Hoseok thought because as soon as he pats Namjoon’s jacket pockets, he finds the epipen. Namjoon is still shaking, but his eyes had rolled up to the back of his head as soon as Hoseok uncapped the pen and out came the needle. Hoseok doesn’t think twice about stabbing it into Namjoon’s thigh.

Namjoon’s body goes lax, the color slowly returning to his face as the seconds pass and then he gasps, coughing or maybe choking and Hoseok panics again, quickly sitting him up to thump his back. Namjoon groans at that, slouched over but his breathing is back to normal and Hoseok falls back on his haunches, a relieved sigh escaping his lungs.

And then he laughs because no matter how deathly afraid of needles Hoseok may be, Namjoon fainting at the mere sight of a needle is hilarious, besides the allergic reactions anyway, and a little cute if he’s being completely honest.

“A needle? That’s what scares you the most?” Hoseok guffaws, laying Namjoon gently back down on the floor. “You’re a piece of work, Kim Namjoon.”

It’s only then that he realizes the entire restaurant has gone silent, all eyes on them and Hoseok scoots back, putting space between himself and Namjoon.

Namjoon’s parents crowd around their son, hands soothing over his hair and making sure he’s truly fine before calling an ambulance.

“Really, Joonie. You know better than to order something with mushrooms,” his mother says, hand on his cheek as she forces him to meet his gaze, even though he refuses to open his eyes, pretending to still be unconscious. “You’re lucky your fiance is quick on his feet.”

Hoseok blanches at that, falling back even further before deciding it would be best to just stand up instead. His parents flank him then, hands on his elbows as they force him into a seat as Namjoon’s father ends his call.

“The ambulance is on their way, alright, Joon?” His father says, much too loud and Hoseok watches as Namjoon winces at the sound, leaving Hoseok wanting to say something, but not sure what. Namjoon’s father turns to face him, his expression grave and serious. “Thank you, Hoseok-ssi. You just saved my son’s life.”

Hoseok stills, not liking the implications of that and winces in tune with Namjoon when Namjoon’s father adds, “Told you that we made the right choice when we picked him to marry Namjoonie, Minhee.”

Namjoon’s mother tsks at him, hand flapping at his chest to quiet him. “Not now. Our son just had an allergic reaction.”

Hoseok’s mother’s nails dig into his shoulder and Hoseok almost yelps, biting his tongue instead to keep himself from making any noise.

“Now might be the best moment to finalize the deal though because, as you can tell, they already care for one another,” Hoseok’s mother pipes up, not withering under the skeptical gaze Namjoon’s mother shoots her.

Namjoon’s father sits up and produces a contract out of the inner pockets of his jacket. “Have Hoseok sign this and the wedding will be a go. Thank you again, but we really should take Namjoon outside so the ambulance can take him as soon as they arrive.”

Hoseok’s father takes the contract, brows raising before he speaks. “Everything looks in order. Namjoon-ssi already signed as well. Do you have a specific deadline you would wish for us to meet before the deal is void?”

“Before next week, please. You have my number now, so just call me as soon as Hoseok signs it,” Namjoon’s father says as he pulls one of Namjoon’s arms over his shoulder.

“Why wait until then? We’re all here, Hoseok may as well sign the contract now,” Hoseok’s mother says and all the hope Hoseok held about getting out of this shitty deal goes up in flames.

Namjoon, bless him, is still pretending to be unconscious and Hoseok wishes he was lucky enough to do that right now. Hoseok’s mother takes the contract and sets it down in front of him, pulling a pen out of her purse that she pushes into Hoseok’s hand with a look on her face that says volumes. 

Hoseok gulps and takes the pen, already dreading the moment he’ll have to sign it as he looks over the contract.

  Kim Namjoon and Jung Hoseok shall wed within three months of the approval of this contract. They will remain married for the required time of one complete year and if they wish to, they may divorce once the year is complete. The parameters of the relationship will be discussed between the two mentioned and they shall be required to reside in the same residence for the duration of the year.

I, Kim Namjoon, agree to the following terms as such and promise to abide by them.

I, ___________, agree to the following terms as such and promise to abide by them.

 The contract is simple and Hoseok already hates it, but he knows better than to try and defy his parents at this moment right now. He’s been backed into a corner with no way out, the only thing that will save Hoseok is signing this damned contract.

So he signs, feeling as if he just sentenced himself to a lifetime of prison because he knows full well that by the end of the year, his parents will disinherit him if he and Namjoon do decide to get divorced.

When Hoseok looks up from the contract, he immediately finds Namjoon who’s leaning on his father, awake now as his parents try and drag him out of the restaurant.