Chapter³ - Little Tiger

This night, starting from 2AM in the morning, Taehyung received three phone calls. One was from his older brother and two from his mother.

All of it was to tell him how deadly the underground money lender was and how Younghoon and the two old people were frightened to death. They had received several phone calls in the dead of the night with no one talking on the other end, and also people had been tailing them on their way out to buy groceries. For several nights past they had been so frightened they couldn’t sleep. As for Taehyung who had a successful career, all he needed to do was to run by the bank tomorrow morning and borrow five million dollars to help Younghoon and save their family. It was this simple, no?

Taehyung lowered his head listening to their calls, and in his heart he couldn’t help but recall the scenes from his previous life.

Because after this incident, Younghoon would continue to borrow money time and time again, and would time and time again ask him for help to repay it. Through this incident Younghoon came to understand that if he was in debt, then Taehyung's reputation would also suffer. So he knew that no matter what his younger brother Taehyung would come to his aid, so he felt free to go out and do whatever he wanted.

All the way until eight years later when Younghoon had finally accumulated enough experience from this manner of using money, he was finally able to open two relatively successful restaurants in his hometown of T City, and became the so-called boss of a “chain” and made a minor name for himself. Then when the ugly rumors surrounding Taehyung being gay was broken to the media, Younghoon was the first person to stand out and post on the two restaurant’s website that the Kim family had not taught this younger son well, that they wanted to apologize to society, as well as to completely cut off all ties with Kim Taehyung.

This notice was furiously reposted by all the paparazzi. Everyone said that even though there was no real evidence to support to rumors, Kim Taehyung's own family had pretty much admitted it. Hence it was clear that Taehyung really had some serious problems. So the previously unsubstantiated slanders became real in this fashion. For Taehyung, who had painstakingly supported Younghoon and these two old people these past years, he was heartlessly stabbed in the back several times.

However at that time Taehyung still felt guilty towards his parents. Because he knew that the two old people who had grown up in a small regional town were very traditional thinking people. Homosexuality in their eyes was something that was disgusting and perverted. Actually when Taehyung admitted his sexual orientation to his parents, the words they had spoken to him were even uglier than that which was being said outside by others.

However people’s hearts in reality were made of flesh and blood. If it was cut then of course it would hurt.

Taehyung had been a good and obedient son for his entire life. He was a good younger brother. However all he had gotten in return was this kind of abandonment. Although he understood it logically, however he did not want to repeat this kind of experience.

Especially Kim Younghoon. When he thought about letting Younghoon use him for money again, he really wanted to jump out of the window of the building.

The phone had still been held in his hand for too long and it was slightly hot. Taehyung paused for a few seconds and then finally decided to dial a number.

In his previous life, he had never once before called this number voluntarily.

However it had always been saved inside his phone.

[Du–du–du—], then there was the sound of the call been connected. “Who is it!?”

The deep and husky voice sounded angry, it seemed like the person on the other end hadn’t even had time to open their eyes yet.

“It’s me, Kim Taehyung.” Taehyung looked again at the digital clock. It was still August 23rd 20XX, 4AM in the morning.

“Does Mr Jeon have time to talk?”

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“You have something on in the afternoon? Taehyung-hyung, are you going somewhere ah?”

The young voice on the phone belonged to Taehyung's assistant Gwo-jung, Yang Gwo-jung

Taehyung had previously considered Yang Gwo-jung a faithful and loyal assistant who had helped him in many situations, even down to the details of selecting his lunch boxes and creating multiple accounts to help talk for him on the internet. Once Taehyung had completely trusted him and had no guard against him at all.

However after the incident regarding the video of the yacht party, his assistant was suddenly changed from Gwo-jung to Er hong whose real name was Hong Hong.

{A/N: “Er” means two, referring to the fact that Hong Hong name has 2 Hong’s. They are different characters but pronounced similarly.}

It was not until then that Taehyung knew that other than being his assistant, Gwo-jung had another job, and that was selling news about the private lives of stars to the paparazzi.

He clearly had such a friendly and happy face, with a liveliness that brightened the atmosphere everywhere. However in reality he was doing all he could to get close to the assistants of other famous stars, and through casual conversation he was trying to glean information that he could sell. Until that moment Taehyung finally realized that the news about Younghoon's debt was leaked most likely because Gwo-jung was by his side and overheard Taehyung to Younghoon when the other person was yelling at him and begging for help.

Because after all when an underground money lender was trying to chase a debt, they would keep it secret from the outside world. They obviously knew that Younghoon had Taehyung behind him to help repay his debt, so the underground money lender would not do anything so stupid as to destroy Taehyung's fortune and also expose themselves in the process.

Originally Taehyung had been suspicious that it was Jeon Jungkook who had leaked the news. After all Taehyung had had no choice but to ask the company to lend him money. He had also received a phone call from Jungkook asking him if he wanted to reconsider the matter of being a kept lover. But now that Taehyung thought about it, it was more likely that Jungkook only had a passing interest. But because of that, in this life, Taehyung finally had the courage to make that phone call last night.

Towards Gwo-jung's question, Taehyung only said vaguely, “I’m going to see the boss. I have some things to discuss with him.”

“The boss!? Big boss Jeon?!” The voice on the phone rose two octaves. “How come ah!? Is it a new drama or what? You should tell me these kind of things ah! Okay, is it tomorrow afternoon? I’ll take Taehyung-hyung there. Where are you meeting? I’ll take you Hyung, you don’t have a car right?”

Taehyung laughed. This type of question was probing him for information. The Taehyung who had mingled in the entertainment world for ten years could already discern it. “Since we are having a discussion, where else could it be but at the company office? Is there something wrong with the company office that we have to go out and spend money?”

“Oh. It’s like that.” Gwo-jung's voice fell slightly. “Then what time? I’ll go and pick you up?”

“There’s no need. These two days I won’t be turning my phone on. You should have a good rest. The advertisement shoot has been changed to the day after tomorrow.”

They were still filming “Partners for Life”

{A/N: Remember it is a super long 6 month show, and they’re most likely filming and broadcasting at the same time}.

However because the male lead had some conflicts in schedule, so they could only film a little, then rest a little. The director was so stressed his hair nearly went white however this let Taehyung have quite a lot of free time, as well as time to do other jobs.

“Tomorrow as well? What are you doing? Are you meeting Mr Jeon again?” Gwo-jung asked inquisitively.

“Tomorrow I’m going home to see my family while I have some free time. When I get busy again I won’t get time.” Taehyung pretty much only went home once every few months, so his reasoning made sense.

“Okay. Taehyung-hyung, once you finish your talk with big boss Jeon, remember to tell me ah!” Gwo-jung didn’t want to give up. “I hope that Taehyung-hyung will get more roles in dramas and fly up to the sky! That way I can become the most important assistant on set, ahahaha!!”

Hearty laughter sounded from inside the phone. Taehyung thought about how much sincerity there was in that laughter. “Okay. See you in two days.”

“Bye, Taehyung-hyung.”

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Two hours later, Taehyung sat respectfully on the sofa outside Jungkook's office, waiting for him.

Total Entertainment was only a small subsidiary of the Eun Gang Group, so Jungkook didn’t often appear here. If one wanted to see Jungkook then one had to make an appointment very early and come here to wait.

If one wanted to talk about the Eun Gang Group behind Jeon Jungkook, everyone knew that it belonged to the Shindo's Jeon Family.

Speaking of Shindo's, it was a place that only in the last ten years had been legitimized as a designated specialty gambling area. It was known for its nightlife, exportation business and entertainment business. However previous to that, it was a place where illegal gambling and black market exportation was rife.

The illegal activities coming from on the island was very serious and it was almost impossible to completely change its ways. Until one year when the government somehow saw the light and decided to just simply legalize its gambling and open its harbor. That way they could openly and legitimately police and regulate its activities.

The Jeon family had been doing business on Shindo for generations. At the time of the legalization they were already quite powerful. Once their business became legal they immediately began to spread their business properly and openly. They opened casino after casino, hotel after hotel, buying up bundles and bundles of land. After ten years of washing themselves clean, they could now be considered a very legitimate entertainment, hospitality and shipping company.

However the Jeon family still followed the old traditions and family business model. Their so-called “professional management model” was just a veneer, underneath it the regulations that they followed were a minority, and the ones that they flaunted was the majority. In actuality, all the power still lay in the family head. So of all the Jeon's family’s enterprises, not one was listed on the stock market. They simply placed it under the umbrella company called “Eun Gang Jeon Group”. In the business world no one dared to look down on them.

{A/N: So basically unlike most major corporations which are listed on the stock exchange and have a board of directors and are answerable to their shareholders, the Eun Gang group is basically run in an old-school family business model where all the power lies with the head of the company who is also the head of the family. Think more mafia or yakuza style.}

As for the Jeon family which originally came from Shindo , because they were involved in the shipping business, so from an early time they had expanded to all corners of the world. In the mainland, other than shipping, the Jeon family also was familiar with the hospitality business. Since unlike on Shindo, gambling was illegal on the mainland, so they turned their focus on entertainment venues, hotels and high-class clubs, as well as the related businesses of selling alcohol, cigars and luxury cars.

In the last couple of years, the Jeon family had taken steps to venture into the entertainment world and had created the not large but also not small “Total Entertainment” company. Originally insiders did not have much expectations of it. They felt that the entertainment world was too complex and its ocean too deep, just because you had money didn’t mean you would become successful. However within a few years, Total Entertainment had debuted a successful male idol group R-RED, as well as two winners of the “Golden Coil” trophy. In addition they had signed the young movie emperor Kim Jong-in who was developing overseas. These kind of showy successes had smashed the glasses of many insiders, causing them to realize that once you had both money and power, then no ocean was too deep for you to swim.

As for Jeon Jungkook, who in the rumors was the illegitimate son of the head of the Jeon family, in the beginning he was just a small-time shipping boss that worked at the docks and was often at sea, and the family did not place much importance on him. However for reasons people didn’t know, in the last few years he had suddenly become powerful, to the point where he behaved as though he was the successor of the family. Old man Jeon, the head of the family, really had in the last half year, started giving control of the family to the just over 30 year old Jeon Jungkook to manage. Especially the heart of the family, which was its shipping business, had caused Jungkook's personal worth to skyrocket to over ten billion in one stroke.

However Jungkook's outer appearance completely did not match with the appearance of a company big boss.

He had a tanned complexion, untamed half-long hair, and always wore a shirt that was never completely buttoned up. In front of his chest he always wore a thick and large gold chain. Even after he took over control of the company, he still looked like a shipping worker, it was only that he had changed his flower print shirt to a more high-quality silk shirt that’s all.

{A/N: If you want to understand Jungkook's personal style more then you can look upto "Run BTS Headstone Episode", in the first part , the clothes Jk is wearing. Basically like a yakuza or a thug.}

Even so, it couldn’t obscure Jungkook's very strong and tall body, his handsome and deep-set features, as well as his unique personal charisma. Even though his style was crude, it gave him a sort of wild and untamed handsomeness. The year Jungkook took over “Total Entertainment”, he had been listed by a tabloid publication as the “number one most desired patron”.

Taehyung waited quietly for a few minutes. In his heart he still had not fully made up his mind.

In his previous life’s ten years, Taehyung had more or less heard stories about Jungkook's methods. He looked strong and generous, decisive and practical, however he also had a vicious personality. He knew how to hide his intentions and motives, before pulling out a knife that could kill with one stroke. Towards his enemies, he was undoubtedly their greatest nightmare.

If not for the scene he had seen from his previous life, then Taehyung would never have believed that he had been special in any way to Jungkook.

In Jungkook's position, how many small stars would have enthusiastically warmed his bed. Taehyung's rejection really was something that was unimportant. He wasn’t the most talented or eye-catching person within the entertainment circle and Jungkook really never took his rejection much to heart. Taehyung was clear in his heart even in his previous life that Jungkook had helped him in some small ways, however the motivation behind that should have been to play with him, so as to entertain himself by seeing the drama unfold.

But as for what Jungkook had done for him after he died, to Taehyung it really was something completely out of his expectation.

Even from the perspective of a friend, someone that would mourn for him, then on his road of suffering and fighting, it seemed like there was at least one person that recognized it. After being rejected by so many people, Jungkook's one act of kindness was etched deep inside Taehyung's heart.

However in his previous life Taehyung had been a small star that resolutely refused to bow his head.

But this time he had voluntarily sent himself to Jungkook's door. Taehyung laughed mockingly to himself. Like this, would things between them still be same?

Outside the door there was a flurry of activity. He heard the sound of people enthusiastically welcoming their boss.

A few moments later the door was brusquely and roughly pushed open.

There was a cigar dangling from the corner of Jungkook's mouth. His head was tilted and his eyes swept over Taehyung with interest.

“Little tiger, you were looking for me?”

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