The Escort

Like A Person

"I'm not sure you should be hanging out with her." Y/N paused, chopsticks in midair, and looked at him. And Jimin had the decency to actually blush. It was not his place to say such things, he wouldn't have dared with most of his clients. But Y/N was different. Always so damn different. Walking into her apartment felt like entering another world sometimes, and he liked it. And he was scared by it.

It was finally going to happen. He was finally going to take her all the way. And Jimin was doing something for her that he wouldn't have done with any other client. He took her out for dinner.

Y/N had been skeptical and resistant at first but he reminded her that he almost always ended up eating at her place. It would be the same thing, just a different location. She still hadn't been fully convinced but Jimin had wormed his way into her affections enough that his multiple emoji texts worked their magic. She had to admit, she found trusting men hard, she knew Jimin was just here for the money. But he played his part well and being the buyer gave her the control she needed to become comfortable around him.

Jimin gulped, looking down, picking at the table cloth in discomfort. It was a nice restaurant, but Y/N had asked for chopsticks. She'd told him once she'd become used to them, found them easier to eat with sometimes, but he hadn't realized how far she would go to insist on little things like that when she went out. She could afford to and she wasn't rude, but he noticed it.

"I mean..." He shouldn't have opened his mouth but he had and now he had to come up with a good reason for inserting his opinions into her personal life. "...uh...."

"Why?" It shouldn't surprise him by now but it did. Y/N didn't sound offended, she dug her chopsticks back into her meal. She sounded like she genuinely wanted to know what his thoughts were, why he thought she shouldn't hang out with Nicole. He took a deep breath and silently prayed he would word this right.

"Because....you've talked about her quite a bit. Whenever I come see you and you've hung out with her...." He hesitated. "...you're...not very confident. I can see it affects you. I know...I know it's not my business. You don't have to listen. Those are just my personal observations." Y/N chewed and cocked her head slightly, regarding him. He busied himself with his wine glass to distract from how nervous he was at having spoken his thoughts.

"What makes you think I wouldn't want you to tell me your personal observations?" Sometimes Jimin really puzzled her. He was confident in bed, he was confident touching her, but sometimes she could detect cracks in his confidence. When they were sitting, talking about non-sex related things. She wouldn't say he was insecure but he did seem to have some thoughts plaguing him at times.

Jimin coughed.

"That's...um...that's actually why I wanted to take you out to dinner." He said quietly. Y/N raised an eyebrow, on the inside feeling her heart-rate speed up. Oh god, please don't let this be going where she suspected it was going... "I wanted to thank you." She blinked.

"For what?" Jimin sighed and dug his fork into his food, but didn't put it in his mouth yet.

"For....I don't know how to describe it. If I'm being honest, and I know I shouldn't be, you're one of the few clients I have that I actually don't loathe." Well that wasn't what she was expecting.

"Oh. Um. Thank you?" Jimin took the time to take a bite and swallow before continuing.

"When I come to your place, you always ask me how I'm doing. You let me stay that one time." And got me my money, he silently added. "You always feed me when our sessions are during eating hours. You finish me off." He shrugged and smiled slightly, feeling less self-conscious now that he'd gotten it out in the air. "I know we're probably coming to the end of our arrangement." Again, he didn't say it but he hoped that he was wrong on that. "So I....just wanted to say thank you, I guess." Y/N wiped her lips with her napkin and sat back. She looked a little stunned.

"They don't treat you like a person?"

"Huh?"

"Your other clients. They don't treat you like a person?"

"Um...uh...." What was he supposed to say to that?

"You mean they don't....feed you if you work during dinner time? They don't let you finish? They wouldn't...." Her voice got quieter. "They wouldn't care if you showed up on their doorstep after being beaten?"

"Y/N." Jimin said softly. Trying to make her understand. "I'm an escort." She didn't understand, he could tell.

"And? So? Therefore? Your point is?" He didn't understand what she wasn't getting.

"They may use me, but they look down on me for it. I'm there to provide a service and then I leave. A lot of times I'm a hole to stuff, a hole they own for the amount of time they've paid."

"But, Jimin...." She looked out over the railing, the lights of Seoul twinkling in the dark night, before looking back at him. "You're still human." He felt warmth flood his chest. Yes. He was still human. "Why....why would you be okay with them not respecting you like that? Can I ask?" He gave her a small smile and took another sip of wine.

"Power."

"Power?"

"Yeah. They may not view me as human but I take their money and I get what I want. And in the end I have control. I control the pleasure. They don't get it unless I give my consent and show up." She pursed her lips and nodded.

"I can understand that."

"As much as it bothers me sometimes, in the end their opinions aren't important. Because I get what I want." He didn't know why he was admitting this to her, he rarely talked about it with people. With some flukes, the power to control your life. To not slave away for 40 years as an office worker, relying on the generosity and good luck of chaebols. Sex was always in demand and it paid well. And for the most part, that gave him a big ability to control things in his life. "But thank you anyway. For treating me like a person. For asking how I am and stuff when I walk in the door." She shook her head, intent on getting the last few scraps of food on her plate into her mouth.

"I can't believe they don't even ask you that."

"Well...I'm not very interesting, I guess." He said ruefully. Only to still when Y/N's eyes looked up, straight at him, with an edge he'd never seen before.

"They're missing out." He shrugged and laughed a little, feeling self-conscious again. She did that. She could build him up and tear him down multiple times in one conversation. She didn't know the power she had. It was scary that one day she might find out.

"Not really."

"Jimin." Y/N's voice was firm, she sounded really offended. "You've had to listen to me rant about work enough to know I hate talking to stupid and unintelligent people. Don't insult me. You're nice to talk to." And just like that, her focus was back on her food. She built him up. She tore him down. She did both simultaneously. She gave him a huge compliment, but scolded him for questioning her. Why did this make him feel so happy?