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untaemedqueen · 1 year

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At Your Service

Escort!Jeongguk x CEO!Reader

Genre: Strangers to Lovers!AU, Angst, Fluff, Smut

Series Warnings (Will Be Updated): Angst, Fluff, Cold Heartedness, Emotional Trauma, Healing, Smut, Dark Humor

Warnings For This Chapter: A Misunderstanding, Early Angst Babies, Backstory Drama Begins

Chapter 4.

When you first step out of the car, the scent of manure and nature smacks you in the face like a tidal wave but there's something comforting about it.

Knowing you're about to see animals that took up so much of your imagination during your childhood feels practically euphoric in a way… Not that you'd ever reveal that to the outside world.

"You look lovely, by the way." Jeongguk breathes, closing your door for you.

"Thank you, Jeongguk," you whisper, fixing your long black gloves.

"Just Guk."

"Huh?" you inquire, lifting your sunglasses to the top of your head.

"Just call me Guk. All my friends do."

Oh.

How fucking dangerous is that? You're on friend terms now.

"Alright… Guk…"

The smile he gives is one that can be compared to the expansive universe and all its possibilities or an Aurora Borealis on a cold winter's eve -- breathtaking.

He pockets his hands casually into his ripped black jeans and his head nods towards the entrance of the large zoo. "Ready?"

"Oh yeah," you breathe, fighting the urge to smile.

As he walks beside you with an air of confidence that could smite down the lowly, you take him in. You hope you aren't rude to be thinking this but he doesn't look like the type to be into theoretical physics.

And if he is then why did he not graduate from Stanford? And why is he an escort?

It seems that he's an enigmatic puzzle quite like you.

Although some would argue that you aren't a puzzle, just dreadfully dreary.

"I can't believe you wore heels to walk around a zoo," Jeongguk laughs, pulling you from your thoughts.

Notching your eyebrow, you tilt your head to him. "I paid for a VIP tour. We don't walk."

"I see," he muses, sniffling once and lifting his arm to wrap it around your shoulders.

When you freeze, he slowly pulls away. "Just trying to get you comfortable with me. I don't have to though."

You imagine the wedding then, if you aren't comfortable with him by then people might assume you paid him and you will NOT allow people to judge you.

So you grip his wrist and fling his arm back over your shoulders without a second thought.

"Atta girl," Guk laughs.

He smells of sandalwood and citrus -- clementine, maybe? It's honestly divine and it matches him all too well.

"It's a nice day to see some animals," the escort comments, stepping past the gate with you by his side.

"Yes," you agree.

In a way, you feel kind of terrible that you have zero personality anymore. You give nothing to conversations nor can you manage to keep one up. It must be incredibly taxing to others.

Your date seems pleased with your answer though because he gives you a wide smile that makes the tips of your toes tingle.

"Do you have any pets?" you inquire.

"A dog. A Great Dane, his name is Hawking," the escort answers, pulling out his phone and showing you his wallpaper.

"Like the physicist Stephen Hawking?"

"The very same. Bingo," he muses, giving you a wink.

"What's your I-"

"Miss L/N!"

When you're cut off from speaking, the scowl that etches onto your face makes Jeongguk's eyebrows lift with amusement.

"You're feisty," he jests, turning to the person who's calling you.

You nudge him softly, the ice around you breaking for merely a moment to let in a good natured joke.

The zoo personnel that sees your disappointed expression seems to reel their excitement back in and they give you a polite smile. "It's such a pleasure to have you here. We can start your tour as soon as you're ready."

"Let me just run to the restroom, I'll be right back," you promise.

Guk nods, dropping his arm off your shoulders and watching the way you stride effortlessly towards the tribal decorated restrooms.

You've got a great ass.

"You're a lucky dude, huh?" the zookeeper breathes, stepping up beside the escort.

Jeongguk smirks, folding his arms accordingly. "Yeah, she's something else."

"She's so generous too," the keeper beams, lowering the volume of his walkie talkie.

It intrigues Guk immediately and his head cranes towards the shorter man beside him. "How so?"

"Y/N donates almost a million dollars every year to the sanctuary! She's the reason why our zoo looks so wonderful! She's the reason we can do conservation as well as we can."

Your date simply shakes his head, a wry smile etching onto his features.

There's so much of you shrouded away from the world. He wants to just get a chisel and hammer and just knock away all the stone encasing you until there's just you in your purest form left.

"Is that right?" he breathes, drifting his hands through his long hair.

You surely are a Rubik's Cube that he wants to solve.

"And to your left here we have the pygmy hippos. They're native to West Africa and are still unfortunately on the endangered species list but with all of your donations we've found a way to breed more of them," Lyle, the zookeeper informs you and your date stopping the golf cart.

"Oh, that's okay Lyle. You don't have to keep bringing up my m-"

"They're super cute!" Guk chirps, climbing out of the cart and holding his hand out to you.

The zoo tour has been going smoothly so far, you really are enjoying yourself. There's something wonderful about seeing Guk light up with each and every cute animal that makes the day even better. You've begun to wonder why you've closed yourself up so tightly over the years.

Is this what you've been missing out on?

You've been missing out on making memories with people that deserve it?

You've hidden away from the world for so long that maybe you've been missing out on good people too.

You take the escort's hand, stepping up alongside him.

He leans against the wooden railing along the habitat, letting his black hair fall into his eyes. "You can let someone gush about your donations, y'know. You're really helping them out here."

He speaks softly to you, almost as if he's trying to feather away any embarrassment that might land in your direction from his words.

"I just- My money isn't the most important thing there is."

"That's true," Jeongguk agrees, "You're more important than your money but you do help them out here. It's only right that they gush."

He smiles over at you, pushing some hair back behind your ear and you practically fall backwards at the feeling. Your heel slips awkwardly and he catches you with ease, wrapping his arm around your waist safely.

"Relax, Y/N. I know it's hard, I do. But try and relax," he murmurs, setting you upright.

Taking a deep breath, you turn towards the hippo, training your sights on the animal.

Your body is an amalgamation of sickly horror and longing all at once and you aren't sure which you should let win.

The one time Namjoon tried to push your hair back behind your ear, you smacked his wrist so hard that it left a welt for three days.

It's only been a few hours since the tour began but Guk had slowly gotten you to be more comfortable with him. From the way he jokes around with you, even though it's small and it doesn't need to be returned or the way he smiles at you like you're something brand new to his life -- it has set you at ease.

Which is why the next set of words he chooses to say makes you feel as if you're walking over glass with bare feet.

"Just let me show you what you're paying for."

When you wrinkle your nose in distaste, Guk knows that he worded it wrong. "W-Wait, I didn't mean-"

"You did. I get it. It's a job," you reply briskly.

"Y/N, no. Wait, I'm sor-"

"It was my mistake. I forgot that I was paying you. I'm at fault," you hiss, turning on your heel and walking away.

When you start to march up the hill towards the African Plains section of the zoo, Jeongguk groans loudly.

How could he drop the fucking ball like this?

He didn't mean to say it in such a way…

Guk has noticed just how happy you've been the past few hours. He's noticed how comfortable you've gotten even to the point where you've smiled more times than he can count on two hands so far.

And in an instant with nine fucking words, he's crushed your spirit and your openness.

The guilt that echoes inside of him makes his bones ache long and dull within him. His heart picks up speed and he's so flustered that he can't even register how unprofessional or how emotional he's getting.

"Lyle, get out of the cart!" Jeongguk orders, tying his hair up into a ponytail.

"I-I can't! It's against the rules! You can't drive the car-"

"Get out of the fucking cart!" Guk seethes through his teeth, grabbing onto the zoo keeper's bright green shirt and tugging him out of the driver's seat.

Has he even driven one of these things before?

No.

Does he give a flying shit?

Hell no.

Pressing his foot on the gas, the cart charges up the hill and he can see you steamrolling your way through guests with your Birkin limply hanging from your hands. Your shoulders are hunched over in a way that makes the thousands of dollars worth of clothes on your body seem like they came from the Dollar General and the escort feels sick to stomach that he did this to you.

He doesn't slow the cart down, he just honks the horn for people to move out of his way.

And when he finally reaches you, he takes a deep breath.

"Y/N, please get back in the cart," he begs, throwing his arm over the steering wheel and angling his body to look up at you.

"No," you mumble childishly, folding your arms.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Really, I didn't!" he gasps, shaking his head.

"You didn't upset me," you boldface lie, looking over at the lions as you pass by.

Now he knows that's completely untrue.

"You're gonna kill youself in those heels. They're a deathtrap. Please just get in the cart."

"You don't get to tell me what to do! I pay you! I'm your boss!" you snap, bearing your bleached teeth at him angrily.

He'll let that go. He'll let it roll off his back because he upset you in the first place.

"I just meant-"

When you start to walk faster, he curses softly under his breath. "C'mon Y/N, this cart can only go like three miles an hour."

"Good! Get lost!" you rasp, upturning your nose to him.

"Christ! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I just meant that you should get everything you want, you should get treated nicely!"

"Because I'm paying for it!" you guffaw, ripping your gloves off and throwing them at him.

He pulls one of the long black gloves off his shoulder with soft, apologetic eyes and he shouts after you so loudly that it makes all the patrons at the zoo turn towards you. "No! Because you're fucking beautiful and you deserve it! You deserve to be treated nicely!"

When you stop mid-step, he slams his foot on the brake

He doesn't care about the onlookers, he doesn't care about Lyle rushing up the hill with a sweaty, winded face.

He cares about you.

He rounds the cart, putting both hands on your arms. "You didn't pay me to come with you to the zoo. I came because I wanted to. And I've been having a fucking amazing time. I like getting to know you... the real you. I don't need to be paid for that. I did what came naturally to me. Me putting my arm around you, brushing your hair back -- that was second nature. I'm sorry that I misworded it and made you lose trust in my intentions. I'm happy to be here -- with you. I promise."

Jeongguk can see how red the rims of your eyes are and he's unsure if it's because of sorrow or anger but it makes him feel guiltier nonetheless.

"Really?" you mumble, looking down at your heels.

"Yes," he hisses, putting his index finger below your chin and lifting your face to look at him.

You can see how flustered he is, how heavy his breathing is and just how anxious his body language is.

He means it.

You've been studying people long enough to know when they're being sincere.

And this is an example.

You're not a normal enough person to admit that you were hurt by this, nor will you be accepting his apology because then he'll know that you really were hurt so you just give a brief nod.

"Alright," you whisper, clearing your throat.

"Okay?" he inquires, drifting his thumb over your cheekbone.

"Yes. Okay." you reply briskly.

That's good enough for him. As long as you're alright and you forgive him.

"Wanna get some food?" he asks, handing you back your gloves.

"Su-"

"I could have gotten in trouble!" Lyle heaves, leaning against the cart to catch his breath.

The both of you turn your heads to him and you both shrug in response, climbing back into the vehicle.

"I'm hungry, Lyle," you droll.

Jeongguk drapes his arm over your shoulders and he's so pleased that you allow him to. It feels good… almost right and it blows his fucking mind that this is something he can feel after Chloe decimated everything in his heart and within a fifty mile radius.

"Yes ma'am," the zookeeper whispers, getting back into the cart.

While the vehicle winds through staff-only roads towards the East Asia Eatery, you sit in silence. You're replaying your childish tantrum in your head over and over again to the point that it makes your brain want to melt.

Who the fuck is Jeongguk to rile you up? Since when do you have emotions to get hurt by what someone says in the first place?

You'll deny it until you're blue in the face but… you were having fun before, you were letting your guard down without even knowing it.

It was almost as if you didn't even have to try with the escort, he just understood you on such a level that he could break down your jaded walls without even trying.

On some level it's intriguing and on another it's absolutely frightening.

You can't let that happen again.

You won't.

Jeongguk looks at you over his rice bowl and he becomes completely deflated at the expression that sits prettily on your face.

You've closed yourself off again.

Since you've sat down at your table, you've been invested in something on your phone.

You've barely touched your food and the escort is a second thought right at this moment.

"How's everything? Can I get you anything else?" the waiter inquires.

You look up from your phone for a second and you just stare at Guk waiting for his answer.

"We're good, thanks," he breathes, setting down his chopsticks.

"Can you bring us a bottle of the red Screaming Eagle 1992?"

It's a question but it doesn't come out as such and you're throwing your dominant personality all over the place to make up for how flustered you were just a mere half an hour ago.

Jeongguk doesn't know if he should call you out for it or not. He doesn't even know what the fuck he should be doing to make you more comfortable.

He's completely lost.

You remind him of Jimin and Taehyung. He feels comfortable enough with you to speak with you like a friend and on some deeper level he wants to.

"I know you're upset with me," he sighs, pushing his plate away when the waiter leaves.

"No, I'm not," you reply, staring at your phone.

"Y/N." Jeongguk calls you.

Quirking an eyebrow, you slowly set down your phone. You give him your attention and he takes a deep breath.

"Listen, okay? I know that being comfortable with me is probably really weird to you. I understand. And I know that I fucked up earlier with how I worded what I did but you don't have to close yourself off from me."

Like always, your first defense mechanism within you is to become combative, so you do. "I never opened myself up in the first place."

"Mkay," Jeongguk huffs, running his hands over his face, "it took me a long time to be comfortable with people again after I was hurt too."

He didn't expect to do this. He didn't expect to start pouring his heart out over cheap fried rice but he doesn't want you to close up completely to him. He likes how you were just a mere hour or two ago.

When you raise an eyebrow, he continues on.

Guk doesn't even register how it took him weeks to even tell his best friends this but with you… it's almost too easy to spill his guts.

"At some point not too long ago, I got into a relationship with a client of mine. Her name was Chloe. She was… uh… rich, I guess. Really rich, like old money rich. Her great great grandfather invented the tin can or some shit… But I fell deeply into anything that had to do with her. It's like she consumed me to the point of no return."

You slowly set your phone down, watching his neck muscles strain with each word he speaks like his body is trying to stop him.

"We got toxic to the point where I would rather sleep on park benches then fucking going home. She was the devil but she looked good doing heinous shit… So when we broke up, I completely lost my sense of self. She was… everything to me. She was what made me a person for a long time and then suddenly it was gone and I was like this fucking shell of a living ghost or something."

You shoo the waiter away when he approaches and you give the handsome man in front of you all your attention.

You can see him reliving the horrendous relationship and something inside of you wants to stop it. Something inside of you wants him to stop hurting like you were hurt long ago.

So without a second thought, you wrap your hand around his.

Jeongguk gives you a smile, a genuine one and he squeezes your hand reassuringly for a moment. "I can tell you truthfully that I do understand who you are. I do understand how hurt you are, how jaded you are with other people. I completely realize how I fucked up earlier and I am sorry for it. I want you to be open with me, I want you to be comfortable and find some healing with me. Because it's not fair that you have to live in some sort of shitty turmoil while the people that made you miserable get to be happy."

When he speaks, your soul wants to thrive at his words and you swallow thickly at the sheer passion of his voice.

"I did open up," you admit.

"Yeah, I know," he whispers with a smile, "I want more of it."

"It's hard to do that," you reply, clearing your throat.

"And I know that too. But I promise you, I'm not gonna fuck up again. I want you to be yourself with me… not the self you show everyone else. The real you. And even if it takes you a while, I'd like to see it."

Oh, he talks a big game but you're almost a hundred percent sure he can back it up.

Just knowing that he's been hurt like you have gives you this blanket of protection that no one else could ever give.

"I can try," you offer, accepting the bottle of wine from the waiter when he comes around again.

"Atta girl," Guk breathes, squeezing your hand once more.

You're both two puzzles that seem difficult to solve to one another but slowly the pieces are getting revealed and it's only a matter of time before one of you completes the other.

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