Genre: modern settings, chaebol family, slow burn, established relationships, CEO!Yoongi, writer!reader
Summary: New York, a concrete jungle where dreams are made of. Or when Min Yoongi decides to leave everything, including fiancée and the post in family's empire, behind and start a new life.
Hello, friends! As you may have read, I'm currently working on the Golden Moon Chronicles but aside from that, I have a few more projects I occasionally work on when I'm stuck with the fantasy world. One of those is a one shot called Ghostwriter. The story revolves around a reader, who was a one-hit-wonder with their famous book and Yoongi, mostly known under his alias Agust D.
Y/N made peace with the fact her fame is long gone and the title of the bestselling author was ripped from her fingers - that was until the publicist from the Thirteenth label comes around with a very special proposal. To ghostwrite an autobiography about a famous rapper!
Today, I'm bringing you a little preview of the story. Hope you gonna like it!
Three weeks ago (Yoongi's POV)
Min Yoongi woke up in his studio shortly after four in the morning. The led lights lining the room in a soft purple tune were toned down, providing an only minimum of light for his already tired eyes. He remembered the brief idea of taking a nap between working on his new song and answering emails from Hoseok who lived on the other side of the planet, yet still had his contract within The Thirteenth label. Hoseok was overly excited to see both, Yoongi and Namjoon, visiting him in LA by the end of the next month. The preparations for the All Force One gig, a big meeting of various famous rappers, were in motion since last year, and honestly, Yoongi couldn’t feel more excited about the fiery crowd and the pump of blood he could already feel in his veins. Though, the excitement died out a little when the release date of his next mixtape clashed with his planned trip. He was supposed to be in Los Angeles one week before the gig, but thanks to the time management that didn’t work out properly this time, he had to postpone his arrival to finish the last adjustments on his next release.
Therefore, he had to spend nights in his studio, repeatedly working, eating, and sleeping on the couch. The routine got under his skin to the point it didn’t even bother him anymore; with coffee in his mug, he was ready to jump straight into what he stopped doing two hours ago.
Sadly, the mug was empty and the kitchen corner was too far away from his private studio. Groaning loudly, Yoongi slid lower in his chair and let his fingers wander through the messy blonde nest on his head. Somehow, even though he was used to jumping on the train of working in the middle of the night, today he was just extremely done. The conversation he had with his manager popped into his mind quite unexpectedly, reminding him of all the deadlines, meetings, interviews, and appearances that were waiting for him before the departure for the States. He was supposed to make it on time through one week, which wasn’t something unusual, but it was highly annoying. Mainly when his publicist, and one of his closest friends, kept buzzing around with another stupid idea of his.
“Believe me when I say that TV shows are overrated. We need a book, Yoongi! Young people love to read books! We only need to find someone who will be willing to write an autobiography for you. But leave it to me, I’m going to find the perfect person,” that day, Seokjin stood tall and proud in the middle of Yoongi’s studio, completely ignoring the expression of an utter disdain flashing through the rapper’s face.
Seokjin came up with the idea roughly a month ago when he read an article on a foreign site. The phenomenon of ghostwriters expanded wildly, mostly amongst artists who wanted to bring something new to the table. Seokjin became so obsessed with the thought he first presented it to Namjoon, but when his friend turned him down, he knew that buzzing around Yoongi’s ear and annoying him with the idea would eventually end up fruitful for both of them - and the company as well.
However, Yoongi took the same stance as Namjoon. He didn’t fancy the idea of someone else putting the pieces of life together to make it into a book. To be clear, Yoongi didn’t have an issue with the book itself but with the fact that there would be another person writing it for him. Someone completely random, without the insight into the parts of his life Seokjin wanted to partly unveil. When he voiced out his thoughts and tried to be reasonable with his publicist, Seokjin shook his head and waved the worries away.
“We are not going to reveal everything, Yoongi. Take it as a subtle insight into the life of a rapper and producer. We can show the process of songwriting and producing through the book with a bit of your personal touch. This way, fans will know more about you from the inside part of your life,” the publicist was as excited as if the book was supposed to be written about him. Yoongi wouldn’t be surprised if Seokjin had planned a short cameo for himself in form of thank you note or something similar. Though, his stance didn’t change even after Seokjin attempted to make it not so personal.
Because it wasn’t.
At all.
“Seokjin, will all due respect towards you as my colleague and one of the oldest friends, but have you lost your mind completely? Do you even understand the concept of autobiography? The author is supposed to write it by himself. And I certainly don’t have enough time spare to bury myself under another assignment,” the blonde shook his head and turned back to the PC - only to have Seokjin turn the chair back to face him again.
“In that case, you don’t understand the concept of ghostwriting. We will hire someone who will write the book for you - or with you, in case you had some notes to add and things to change. Which is only understandable, right. Yoongi, think about it. Doing short live streaming and occasionally appearing on Twitter is not going to secure you fans for the rest of your life.”
“Here I thought my music would be enough,” Yoongi scoffed, now completely done and fed up. He was supposed to work on his mixtape but Seokjin’s words echoed in his mind like a loud ring, sending vibrations through every corner and fiber that put his consciousness together. Not only his muse was gone, but the motivation also jumped from the sinking ship of his producer ego as well. And there he was, the last passenger on the damaged shipwreck.
“Just give it a thought, would you? You wouldn’t be the first nor the last one to do something like that. And who knows, you might like the idea in the end.”
Yoongi didn’t think about it nor did he like the idea. Since that night, he focused mostly on his work and tried to gather the last drops of his energy to fuel the excitement about the trip to Los Angeles. And so, after a few days, he completely let loose of the idea Seokjin tried to plant into his mind. Dove deep in the waters of producing and the carousel of neverending interviews and TV appearances, Yoongi lost his track of time and focused solely on what his heart always desired to do.
However, fate has completely different plans with the blonde rapper as his publicist visited him on the morning Yoongi woke up at four to present him with the list of potential writers they could hire for the book. The error must have occurred somewhere in the matrix as Seokjin failed to notice the blonde rapper about his further investigation into the topic of the autobiography and the ghostwriter he was ready to hire. Almost happily bouncing on his feet, Seokjin proudly presented himself - and the idea again - through the PowerPoint presentation in the meeting room. Various people were involved in the process - from the chairman of the company to Yoongi’s manager, staff, and also Namjoon, sitting in the corner and sipping on his coffee. The gesture failed to mask the grin that tugged on his lips and told Yoongi everything - You got yourself caught up in Seokjin’s scheme, bro.
Yoongi remembered that day as being cornered without the option of voicing his opinion since his manager was thrilled about the idea - and so was the chairman Yoo. Both of the men found it extremely exciting with the possibility of expanding the label into different fields of distribution. And seokjin glowed, of course. There was no way out of this mess, and so, the rapper gave up and accepted the defeat.
Nevertheless, the roundabout didn’t end. Quite the right opposite - Yoongi found his mailbox full of messages from Seokjin, proposals to review various authors and writers. Their age and gender differed from one another, offering diverse approaches to writing the book and offering the fans a truthful insight into Yoongi’s life. He still fought the idea of having someone else write about his personal issues and the occasional struggles with making music, but a single man couldn’t stop the already running train. Seokjin put everything in motion rather quickly but considering his skills in the field, Yoongi wasn’t really surprised.
Going through CVs and portfolios Seokjin put together became a habit for Yoongi. He scrolled down his phone every time he found a minute spare between either songwriting, composing, or meeting with his colleagues to debate on the further development of his mixtape. That was until he found you. An inconspicuous photo Seokjin probably stole from your social media with a piece of brief information on you caught Yoongi’s attention. A journalist graduate currently living in the city and working as a freelancer. Yoongi’s eyes followed the text further, but what surprised him most was the fact that you had only written one book.
Brooklyn Secrets became a huge sensation that boosed your name and allowed you to peek into the spotlight. However, after the five minutes of glory had passed, you disappeared from the public eye. Occasionally, you resurfaced on the social sites but never mentioned working on another project. It was a mystery for Yoongi why Seokjin decided to choose you as one of the adepts, though he knew asking questions would put the wheels of Seokjin’s mind into motion and could easily lead him to a misconception. Basically, like always when it came to Seokjin and his ways of grasping reality.
Still, your name remained in Yoongi’s mind for a very long time. He even looked up the book you wrote and read a few reviews. Those led him to interviews and TV appearances you made through the past year. When he mentioned your name in front of Namjoon because he knew he could trust him, the younger rapper offered him his own review of your book. Yoongi shouldn’t have been surprised to discover the book went through Namjoon’s fingers when it dropped last year.
And he shouldn’t have been surprised when the same book landed on his table the next morning. The combination of pink and black colors on the cover brought a scoff to the blonde rapper’s features, however, even though the curiosity killed a cat, his fingers crept closer and eventually allowed him to peek inside. During his high school times, Yoongi liked to read, though his hobby got buried under the piles of responsibilities, deadlines, and other things that stole Yoongi’s heart. Each minute of his life was precious, and in many cases spent on work and work only.
But Yoongi never felt apologetic for the passion that burnt bright inside of him. Climbing to the top through the years without any lifeline has been harsh but it also taught him to never be sorry for fighting through the thickest forest to achieve what he wanted. The same applied to his career - if giving up something so small like reading books meant offering him more time to fuel the fire of his passion, then he gladly gave it up.
Yet, this time he found himself caught up in the imaginary spiderweb of life’s hardships and too complicated relationships that you managed to create within your book. Instead of the usual beats, the sound of pages flipping filled the room. By that time, little did Yoongi know two pairs of eyes kept watching him from a safe distance. Seokjin and Namjoon didn’t need an answer since Yoongi outed himself when he returned the book to Namjoon only three days later.
And proposed your name to be the sole one on the list.
With your name, another condition came, dropping to the table so mercilessly that even the chairman on the company cleared his throat and looked elsewhere.
“Since you pulled me into this mess, I only find it fair to have a request on my own. I want ____ to write the book. If she turns the offer down, the book is not happening,” with those words, he turned to Seokjin, the shadow of a smirk crawling over his face. “You are the one responsible for the idea, so you better do your best, Seokjin. Bring ___ or noting is happening.”
And Seokjin worked hard.
See, there was this thing about the tall publicist with the handsome face and board shoulders that could easily buy him a ticket into the world of modeling. The charisma he abounded with was only hard to resist - whether he used it through the phone, email, or personally. Whatever he did, even with only the drop of his charm, got people wrapped around his pinky.
The same magic must have worked with you because when Yoongi finally loosened a little and allowed himself to have a drink with the said publicist and Namjoon in his studio, Seokjin’s phone buzzed. It was shortly after ten in the evening, yet nothing unusual for someone working in a big corporate. The Thirteenth label’s employees’ phones rang twenty-four-seven. And Seokjin wasn’t any exception.
“Kim Seokjin speaking.”
“Look at him, he is trying to be all cool and important,” Namjoon smirked and took a sip of his whisky. Seokjin gave him a sideways glance but once the person on the other side of the line introduced themselves, his eyes quickly snapped to Yoongi and turned from annoyed to extremely excited.
“Oh, good evening Miss ____. It’s a pleasure to hear from you. Honestly, I’ve been a little bit stressed you are going to turn our offer down. Have you decided?”
Yoongi almost dropped his glass and spilled the liquid all over the floor. On the other hand, Seokjin remained calm and collected, except for that devilish smirk curling the corners of his lips. However, the conversation carried on and Yoongi caught himself leaning in the chair to catch a glimpse of your voice. Sadly, the devil’s little helper Seokjin was, he plopped himself on the sofa in the corner of the room and mouthed you are done, brother.
“You indeed are a writer, aren’t you, Miss ____? Of course, your questions are all valid and I’m more than ready to answer each one of them. However, I’m quite busy right now, so what would you think about a meeting at my office tomorrow? I will send you an email with the address and time of your choice. All you need to do is to confirm the meeting immediately through email and everything will be set. Is that okay with you, Miss ____?” the charm basically radiated from Seokjin and Yoongi almost started choking again. For some reason, he felt it brushing against his skin and while Namjoon chuckled in the background, Yoongi fought the urge to just give up and leave the room as it was. On the other hand, he realized he kinda-sorta got into this situation by himself when he insisted on bringing ___ onboard. From the pile of papers, he carefully went through and stubbornly only picked you, peeked at him his own doomsday in a form of your phone call later that night. He sneered over a few things at the same time - your boldness to call at such a time, the way Namjoon found this extremely hilarious, and the tone of Seokjin’s voice that meant only one thing - that he already had you wrapped around his finger.
“Ah, don’t you worry, you didn’t disturb anything. Expect the email to land in your inbox in a few minutes. I will be looking forward to meeting you tomorrow, Miss ____. Have a nice rest of the evening,” Seokjin quickly hung up the phone with a smile on his face that mirrored his professional personality, even though the woman on the other side couldn’t see him. For the Thirteenth label’s publicist, it was sometimes too difficult to switch from the work mode to something more casual. Nevertheless, while he cleared his throat and put the mask of a complete victory on his face, Seokjin turned to Yoongi and rewarded him with yet another teasing grin.
“Well, my friend, it seems like your publicist was right. Miss ___ just contacted me, very curious about the offer we made to her. I think the rule ‘what Yoongi wants, Yoongi gets’ still applies, even in this case. If I get her on board tomorrow, there’s no way back for you, Yoongi. You gave me your word,” the grin disappeared from Seokjin’s face rather swiftly, though the spark in his eyes was too difficult to hide. Satisfied with himself, he reached for his phone again, typing a quick message in. Just when he was done, his full attention went back to Yoongi and Namjoon.
“I swear to everything that’s saint to me, you are going to kill me one day,” Yoongi rolled his eyes and finished the whisky in his glass. With one big swig, the golden liquid ran down and warmed his throat in a very pleasing manner. It slowly started to numb his body and mind, and the rapper knew he wasn’t about to work tonight anymore. Instead, he headed down the road of a night full of talks, laughs, and plans that Seokjin visualized on his mind. He came up with a perfectly prepared mind-map that even included Namjoon - to what the taller rapper toasted with another round of whisky. Yoongi reacted almost immediately, offering him the contract for the book, but then again, Namjoon politely shook his head and turned the offer down.
Yoongi was defeated.
Completely.
“Look, it could have been worse. Imagine Seokjin would hire the whole crew to film a documentary about you,” Namjoon smirked and Yoongi rolled his eyes. Again.
But the answer came quicker than any of them could imagine.
“TV shows are completely overrated! How many times do I have to tell you?”
Oh my god, guys, thank you so much for giving Brooklyn Secrets so much love! I was going through some rough times while working on this story but it turned out well and it's getting so much love, it's making me overwhelmed! 🥺
