Sequel to Ive been the archer (i've been the prey)

By: @islandbreeze

"They said no? What do you mean they said no?"

Jimin glances up from behind his computer monitor, trying to be subtle about his eavesdropping. Namjoon — the department manager — is usually pretty soft-spoken, but his voice is carrying across the office floor, so it's kind of impossible not to listen in.

Namjoon is currently standing at Woojin's desk, looming ominously. Woojin is another account manager in Jimin's department. Jimin isn't sure exactly what deal they're discussing, but whatever it is, it sounds like it didn't go well.

"Uh," Woojin says, adjusting his shirt collar nervously. He coughs hoarsely and it's clear he's just trying to buy more time to think. "It's not exactly like they said... no. It was more of a not right now?"

Jimin can practically feel Namjoon's blood beginning to boil in the heavy silence that follows. He slides down in his chair a little bit, one hand over his mouth, anticipating the pending explosion.

"Woojin," Namjoon says, his voice booming. Jimin knew it was coming, but he still jumps a little. He tilts his head again, one eye peering out from behind the monitor.

"Do you remember what you told me in our meeting last week?" Namjoon asks. His arms are crossed and he's hovering over Woojin threateningly. Woojin is barely five feet tall, and it doesn't help that he's cowering like a child. He looks tiny.

"I know... I told you that we had this in the bag. I remember," Woojin responds, his voice shaking a little. "At the time, I really believed that. It seemed like a done deal."

Namjoon is speaking calmly, but his overall aura is terrifying. "I've already prepared the report on projected sales for this month. I submitted it yesterday. And I included this deal, based on what you told me. Do you have any idea how much work we'll need to do as a department to make up for the missing revenue? Because I sure as hell am not going to take the blame for this. Unless you'd like to speak to the VP directly and explain?"

Woojin doesn't say anything. He swallows, opening and closing his mouth a couple of times, but he's clearly bit off more than he can chew.

"I've expressed repeatedly what characteristics are important in this role," Namjoon continues, pushing his glasses up his nose and glaring down at Woojin. "I need you to be honest with me. You need to be realistic about what's going to close. I don't tolerate bullshitting around like this, and frankly, you should already know that. Consider this your first and final warning."

Namjoon turns around and walks away, and Jimin lets out a long, low breath, swivelling his chair slightly back towards his computer and typing some random nonsense words in case Namjoon happens to catch him spying. As Jimin glances around, though, he realizes it's probably not necessary; everyone on the office floor is blatantly staring at Woojin, jaws slack.

"Better him than me," Jimin mumbles quietly, looking back to his screen and clicking to open up his email. There's a little notification bell next to the instant messenger tab. He clicks on it, and it's a message from Jungkook.

Jeon Jungkook 9:58AM
That was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen

Jimin stifles a giggle, glancing in the direction of Jungkook's cubicle. He doesn't even know why he does it, since it's technically out of view from where he sits.

Park Jimin 10:01AM
You ever been on the receiving end of one of his lectures?

Jeon Jungkook 10:02AM
Once, and I swore to myself it would never happen again. I couldn't sleep for three days

Park Jimin 10:05AM
Sounds like you learned your lesson

Jimin still finds it a little strange that he's talking to Jungkook. Casually, like he's a friend. It feels weird. Almost a week has passed since The Elevator Incident, and if not for Jungkook's odd shift in behavior and the half-wilted bouquet of peonies sitting on his desk, Jimin would probably think the whole thing was a fever dream.

Jungkook doesn't reply to Jimin's last message, so Jimin eventually clicks away from the tab and opens Excel, checking his sales tracker spreadsheet and mulling over the numbers. He's absorbed in trying to figure out a calculation that doesn't seem quite right when he's startled by a sudden tap on his shoulder and nearly falls out of his chair.

It's the devil himself.

"Sorry!" Jungkook says hurriedly, running a hand through his hair. He seems nervous. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Jimin returns to an upright position, calmly smoothing his hands down the front of his shirt and bringing them to rest in his lap. "It's okay. Hi, Jungkook."

He looks sinfully good today. His grey slacks hug his thighs in all the right places, and the white dress shirt he's loosely tucked in is rolled up to the elbows, as usual. He's wearing a silver watch Jimin has never noticed before, and one dark wisp of hair falls onto his forehead.

"Hi," he responds, eyes flicking over to the peonies sitting on Jimin's desk. "Those are dying kind of fast," he says with a small frown.

"It's okay. They usually do," Jimin explains. "Besides, it's not like they get any sunlight in this dungeon."

"I guess not." Jungkook pauses for a moment, but Jimin doesn't try to fill the silence, as it's obvious he's steeling himself for something. He bounces back on his heels. "Hey, do you want to go to dinner with me tonight?"

Ah, so that was the something.

Jimin allows himself a second to think about it, although he knows he can't delay answering for too long without making Jungkook feel terrible for asking.

Ever since The Incident, Jungkook has made his intentions pretty clear. First, it was the flowers. Then it was the change in his behavior, the saccharine sweet compliments he's been delivering as he cruises by Jimin's desk, a vivid contrast to the torment he's always dished out in the past. Yesterday, the DMs through their company email program started.

He's on a pursuit. It's kind of obvious by now. So the dinner invitation doesn't surprise Jimin at all.

Jimin does know, though, that his answer will change everything, and that's why he lets himself think about it first. Although he's already made a decision — already spent plenty of time thinking about this, lying in bed over the past couple of nights — he does a little mental check-in. He's giving himself one last chance to back out before he commits to falling down this deep, dark rabbit hole.

In the end, his decision is the same.

"Sure," Jimin answers casually, crossing one leg over the other. "Where do you want to go?"

Jungkook totally fails to mask his surprise. It seems like he might have been expecting Jimin to turn him down.

"Oh," Jungkook says. "You actually said yes. Cool. Um. What about the BBQ place near here? The one that's a couple blocks away?"

"Yeah, that works. What time? I could probably do, like, six?"

Jungkook glances down at his watch. "Yeah, I should be done by then. I'll... uh... pick you up at your desk?"

Jimin smiles. "Jungkook, your cubicle is like, 30 feet away. I think we'll be able to find each other. Don't worry about it."

"Right. Ha-ha," Jungkook says, shooting off some awkward finger-guns. "Okay, see you later."

"Bye, Jungkook," Jimin tells him, laughing softly and shaking his head.

Jimin turns back towards his computer, humming to himself happily. He feels like maybe he should have warned Jungkook that agreeing to go to dinner with him is literally the only thing that he's going to hand over easily. But it'll probably be more fun for Jungkook to discover that on his own.

———

Jungkook is true to his word and shows up at Jimin's desk right at 5:59PM, hair mussed and bag slung over his shoulder, bundled up in a fluffy down jacket. Jimin was expecting to feel more nervous, but he's relatively calm as he gathers his things and slips on his black peacoat. They ride down in the elevator together — which makes it to the ground floor successfully this time, thankfully — and then they're walking down the street, hands in their pockets, noses quickly turning pink from the cold.

"Why has it been so freezing lately?" Jimin whines, tucking his chin closer to his chest. "I'm glad we picked somewhere close."

"I thought about driving us, but it felt kind of silly to drive two blocks. It's not too late to go back if you want me to, though."

Jimin huffs out a little laugh. "How chivalrous of you. No, you're right, it would be dumb. I'll survive. Wait, you drive to work? Where do you live?"

"Not that far," Jungkook says with a shrug. "Only like twenty minutes away. But I have to go check on my mom after work most days, so it's easier to drive. That way I can go straight from the office."

"Ah, I see. I was wondering if you lived with her."

Jungkook shakes his head. "No, not anymore. I did for a while, after the accident. She really needed somebody there to take care of her all the time. She's pretty much recovered now, though, so I moved out a few months ago. I still have to go help out with stuff — groceries, helping around the house, those kinds of things. But living on my own again is nice."

"Yeah. That sounds like... a lot. That must have been really hard."

"Mmm. The hardest thing was seeing her in so much pain, honestly. It was rough watching her recover. I felt so helpless. It's alright now that she's better, though. We're really close, so I don't mind spending time with her."

"Your dad..." Jimin trails off, wondering if it's too soon for him to be asking this question. "Is he not...?"

Jungkook smiles softly. "No, he left when I was a kid. Haven't heard from him in years."

"Ugh. That sucks. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Jungkook says, and he sounds like he really means it. "If that's the kind of person he is, I probably don't want him in my life anyway."

Jungkook pulls open the door to the restaurant and ushers Jimin in first. The place isn't very busy, and they're able to get a table right away. Jimin is shivering, despite the brevity of the walk, and he asks for a table far away from the door. They end up seated in the back corner of the restaurant in a tiny booth, a single bulb swinging above them, providing a bit of light in the otherwise dim space. It's the dead of winter, so it's already pitch black outside.

As they chat between bites of food, Jimin really thought he would feel awkward, or anxious, or something, but more than anything, he just feels comfortable with Jungkook. He's easy to talk to — highly attentive as Jimin speaks, with those round, dark eyes levelled on him, the ghost of a dimple poking into his right cheek as he smiles. He's cute. Really cute.

It makes Jimin think about how it felt to have his body pressed up against the wall of the elevator, Jungkook's big hands running up his back. He thinks about how nice it would be to have those hands on him again. It's almost enough to make him forget how fucking annoying Jungkook has been over the past couple of years.

Almost. But not quite.

Here's the thing. Jimin's not exactly the type to hold a grudge — he's kind, and he knows how to forgive. If he didn't, he wouldn't be on a date with Jungkook in the first place.

But as soon as he decided to give Jungkook a chance, he figured he might as well have a little fun with it. One measly bouquet of peonies wasn't going to be enough to win him over. Not after all the ways Jungkook had irritated him to hell and back. He was going to have to earn it.

Jimin can already tell he has his work cut out for him. The sexual tension between them is a little suffocating, and now that Jungkook is actually being nice to him, Jimin knows how easy it'll be for him to cave. He's strong-willed, but lust makes him weak — as he so readily demonstrated during The Elevator Incident.

If this whole thing crashes and burns, at least he'll have had fun.

Jungkook interrupts Jimin's somewhat inappropriate elevator thoughts by clearing his throat.

"I felt bad for Woojin today. Poor guy got roasted alive. I thought he might actually piss himself."

Jimin shrugs. "Eh, it probably didn't need to be done in public like that, but it seems like he deserved the scolding. It's important to keep Namjoon up-to-date so that the reports are correct. I would be mad, too."

"I was surprised to see Namjoon be so harsh in front of everyone. He's usually pretty mellow."

"Yeah, that tells me Woojin probably earned it. Namjoon's not the type to go off for no reason. There might be something more going on there."

"Maybe," Jungkook says thoughtfully, pausing to sip from his water glass. "I crossed him early on, within my first few months of being hired. I was really young and I massively screwed up a huge deal. It was a dumb mistake, and honestly, he would have been right to fire me. He gave me such a terrifying lecture that I cried like a baby when I got home, but I got to keep my job. I respected him a lot more after that. And since I'm not an idiot, I've never gotten on his bad side again."

Jimin smiles. "You are a lot of things, but I have to agree that an idiot isn't one of them."

"Mmm. What are the things that I am?"

Jimin ticks off on his fingers as he goes. "Smart. Terribly competitive. Too flirtatious for your own good. Awful at following a dress code. Good memory. Selfless — that one surprised me. Slightly claustrophobic. And a little shit."

Jungkook almost chokes on his water. "Me? A little shit?"

"Yes."

It only takes Jungkook a few seconds to come to terms with the truth. "Yeah, okay. Fair enough. I am. You still let me take you out, though."

"I did."

"I was kind of expecting you to say no," Jungkook admits.

"I could tell. Why?"

Jungkook doesn't answer right away. He leans back in the booth, tongue swiping across his lower lip. While Jimin is so cold that he's left his coat on, Jungkook has unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt. Jimin has to resist the urge to climb across the table and lick his collarbones. This is not going well.

"I know you told me you'd give me a chance, but... I really, legitimately thought you hated me. I thought after you had a bit more time to think about it, you might change your mind."

"That may have been the wise thing to do... but." Jimin takes a long sip from his soda straw, not planning to finish that statement.

"I'm that irresistible, huh?"

"Don't start with me," Jimin says, rolling his eyes.

Yes, you are, apparently.

"You know, I'm actually glad that elevator broke down," Jungkook begins, playing with his shirt cuffs lazily. He looks like he's fighting back a smile. "I mean, it could have been really bad, like if you froze and got hypothermia or if we plummeted to our deaths or whatever. But I ended up with you in my lap. And now I've got you out to dinner. I would say it worked out quite well for me."

Jimin can feel himself flushing a little bit. "I've made this too easy for you."

"Maybe," Jungkook says quietly. His eyes are dark.

Jimin turns and frantically calls the waitress over to bring their bill, desperate for a distraction. He knows he's gotta get away from Jungkook soon if he's actually going to stick to his plan. Jungkook offers to pay, and Jimin lets him.

When they exit the restaurant, Jungkook pauses outside the door. His exhales turn into visible puffs in the frigid air. "How are you getting home?"

"Subway," Jimin says, nodding towards the station.

"I'll walk you," Jungkook tells him, nudging his arm softly. It's only about a block, and they walk in comfortable silence, huddled in their coats.

Jimin stops in front of the doors to the station, shifting his weight from one foot to the other to keep warm. "This is where I get on."

"Okay. Thanks for letting me take you out, Jimin. It was really nice."

Jimin wonders for a split second whether Jungkook will actually try to kiss him, but he doesn't have very long to think about it. Jungkook is already leaning in before Jimin even has a chance to respond.

Jimin lets him get close enough that their noses are almost brushing before he reaches up and places a single finger to Jungkook's lips, pressing hard to stop him from closing the distance.

Jungkook freezes, his eyes wide.

"I don't kiss on the first date," Jimin says sweetly.

He sputters a little. "But we already—"

Jimin shakes his head. "I was under duress."

Jungkook's eyebrow creases slightly. Jimin can practically see the gears turning in his brain, and it's just as gratifying as he imagined it would be. His finger is still pushing into the soft flesh of Jungkook's bottom lip, and he drags it down, delivering a gentle flick to the underside of Jungkook's chin before pulling away.

"If you want me, you're going to have to work for it."

Jungkook looks a little dazed, but a hint of clarity enters his stare. "Oh, really. Is that a challenge?"

"Thanks for dinner," Jimin says lightly, ignoring the question. He pushes through the glass doors and heads down the stairs to the train platform without looking back.

——

The next day is Jimin's third favorite day of the week, Friday. Saturday is his favorite day, because he doesn't have to work. Sunday is his next favorite day, also because he doesn't have to work, but since he does have to work the next day, it's not quite as good as Saturday. Friday comes in third, since he gets to spend the whole day feeling excited about the brief window where — you guessed it — he does not have to work.

The January cold spell isn't showing any signs of letting up, and Jimin's only been sitting at his desk for a few minutes, numb fingertips gradually thawing out, when his computer makes a quiet "ding" and the instant messenger window lights up with a notification.

Kim Taehyung 9:04AM
So, did you sleep with him?

Jimin huffs, keyboard clacking loudly as he types out a response.

Park Jimin 9:05AM
Wow, good morning to you too

Kim Taehyung 9:06AM
Good morning, my sunshine! I'm guessing the answer is yes since you are conveniently avoiding the question

Park Jimin 9:08AM
Oh ye of little faith. No, I didn't sleep with him. I told you about my strategy

Kim Taehyung 9:08AM
Yes, but I kind of figured you would cave

Park Jimin 9:10AM
I think he did too. You should have seen his face when I stopped him from kissing me

Kim Taehyung 9:12AM
Wow, you're not playing around

Park Jimin 9:15AM
Correct. This is simply reparations for all the shenanigans he forced me to put up with before finally admitting he just wanted in my pants

Kim Taehyung 9:17AM
Do you have to tell HR you're boning each other?

Park Jimin 9:18AM
We're not boning each other. And no, I checked the employee handbook and you only have to report it to HR if the person is your supervisor

Kim Taehyung 9:20AM
Hmm, alright. Well, I give you one week. One week until you're doing the naked tango

Park Jimin 9:22AM
Oh come on. I'll last AT LEAST two. Now stop pestering me and get back to work before I report YOU to HR, Kim Taehyung

Park Jimin 9:23AM
Wait, that sounded too mean. I was just kidding, I love you. Are you still coming over on Sunday?

Kim Taehyung 9:24AM
Duh

Taehyung had made a habit of coming over to Jimin's apartment on Sunday mornings, two hot Americanos in tow, which