Taekwoon woke up after an uneasy sleep the next morning, rested but still distracted with thoughts from the night before. He got in the shower, cleaned up and got dressed, then headed downstairs, pushing his hair back as he walked into the kitchen. Hyosonn greeted him with a smile, still in pajamas and pouring herself a glass of milk.

“You got home late last night,” she greeted, Taekwoon nodding and picking up a bagel. Hyosonn watched him, waiting for a response as she took a sip from her glass.

“I had a lot to do,” he replied, Hyosonn nodding in understanding as she leaned back against the counter. “And…”

That was where he paused, gaze focused on Hyosonn while he thought.

What had really made him take a while was the fact that Wonshik had been there with him, massaging his neck and touching his face and relaxing him, but Taekwoon didn’t say any of that. He didn’t know how to word what he was thinking about anyway, so he just shook his head, taking a bite of the bagel.

“I’ve had a lot on my mind,” he finished, nodding to himself.

He wasn’t lying about that, at least.

There was a long silence between the two, Taekwoon eating some more of his bagel and Hyosonn drinking her milk.

“I’m going to head to work,” Taekwoon added, looking up to Hyosonn and giving her an attempt at a little smile. “I’ll see you later. And I’ll be home in time for dinner tonight,” he mumbled as an afterthought, Hyosonn nodding at him with a tired smile.

“Yeah, I’ll see you later,” she replied, waving as Taekwoon turned and left the room.

He got into his car, turning the radio on and singing softly along with a few songs he knew as he drove. Taekwoon knew he needed something to distract him, even if it was just a little distraction while he drove.

When he got there Taekwoon walked directly to his desk, waving to Wonshik but not doing much else. He saw Wonshik wave back, but when Taekwoon unceremoniously tossed himself into his chair Wonshik’s smile fell and he furrowed his brows, standing up and leaning over to look at Taekwoon.

“You okay?” he asked, Taekwoon looking up and sighing before he shrugged. “Well, I don’t know what that means, so I’m gonna assume no…” he mumbled, Taekwoon groaning before letting his head drop back against the seat.

“I just think too much,” he admitted, Wonshik staring at him for a moment before laughing to himself.

“Yeah, I can tell,” he replied with a grin, Taekwoon shooting him an irritated glare as Wonshik’s smile fell. He leaned his head in his hand, frowning a bit. “Do you want me to leave you alone for now?” he added, Taekwoon thinking for a moment before he nodded. “Okay. Just let me know if you need anything,” he finished, offering Taekwoon a little smile before he disappeared back into his cubicle.

When he was finally alone, Taekwoon was left with his thoughts and he wasn’t sure that was a good idea. All he could think about was the horrible sleep he’d had, the dreams he wasn’t going to admit he had, and the pure amount of work he needed to get through. Luckily he managed to finish what he hadn’t the night before quickly and he sent it in, focusing on what he had to do for the day ahead.

Or rather, he was trying to focus.

By the time lunch finally came, Taekwoon was eager to get up from his seat, stretching and hearing a few unsettling pops as he did. He frowned, wishing silently that Wonshik could have given him a massage like he had the night before. But he said nothing, looking over at the other man and clearing his head.

“Do you want to get lunch?” he asked, Wonshik looking up and catching Taekwoon’s gaze. He smiled, Taekwoon staring for maybe a bit too long before he noticed Wonshik nod. He also noticed that Wonshik was wearing his shirt more ed than usual but he said nothing, pursing his lips as he looked back up to Wonshik’s face. “Mm. I’ll drive,” he offered, attempting a smile and watching as Wonshik saved something on his computer and slipped out behind him.

Once they were both settled in his car Taekwoon gave Wonshik control of the radio, the other man putting on some type of hip hop and Taekwoon immediately zoning out as he drove. He wasn’t sure where they were going, so Taekwoon let his body go on autopilot, turning into a little bistro and parking just as the song ended.

The whole time Taekwoon was trying not to smile because Wonshik was rapping along with the song.

Once they got their food they settled down at a table, Taekwoon munching on a sandwich and Wonshik eating a wrap. It was a good lunch, though Taekwoon was paying less attention to the food and more attention to the man sitting across from him. He didn’t know what was so appealing about him, but Taekwoon was almost losing sleep because of him.

But he wouldn’t tell Wonshik that.

“... Taekwoon, are you okay?” he asked, Taekwoon belatedly realizing that he was staring directly at Wonshik’s lips. He pulled his eyes away, meeting Wonshik’s as he blinked.

“Hm? Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, voice soft as he took a bite of his sandwich. Wonshik just narrowed his eyes, cocking his head a bit as he continued eating in silence for a moment. Eventually Wonshik sighed, setting what was left of the wrap down on his plate.

“You’re acting off, are you sure you’re okay?” he repeated, Takwoon nodding silently. “Because if something’s up, just let me know. I’ll try to help.”

Once again Taekwoon nodded, gaze focused down at the table as he swallowed deep.

What was he supposed to say?

The two went through the rest of lunch with only a bit of conversation, taking what they couldn’t finish back to the office with them. The whole time Taekwoon drove he was focused on the road, Wonshik casting a few glances at Taekwoon every once in a while.

On the way back to the office Taekwoon followed behind Wonshik, thinking about the things that he’d said to him a few nights before. He kept thinking about how Wonshik had said his wife was lucky, how he’d implied that he’d thought he was attractive, how he’d been okay when the waitress mistook them for a couple and, for a while, Taekwoon was okay with that. In fact, as he watched the other man walk ahead of him, he quietly decided he agreed with Wonshik and would say the same for him.

But he was never going to admit that out loud.

By the time the two of them managed to get to work it was already later than they had expected, Taekwoon distracted by mulling over what Wonshik had said in his head and Wonshik distracted by how Taekwoon had been looking at him. It was an awkward day, neither of them making much of an effort to talk to each other until it was nearly time to leave. That was when Wonshik popped his head over the barrier like usual, about to speak when he saw Taekwoon roll his shoulders back in a stretch. At that Wonshik frowned, sighing just a bit before standing and walking around to Taekwoon’s side.

The moment he felt hands on his shoulders Taekwoon stiffened visibly, but when he realized whose they were he immediately relaxed, letting out a soft breath and dropping his head forward. Wonshik smiled, thumbs working through knots in Taekwoon’s muscles that he could tell were from stress. Taekwoon just closed his eyes, biting his lip and wincing a bit when Wonshik got to a particularly rough spot.

“You need to relax more… Jeez,” he mumbled, Taekwoon stifling a laugh and immediately after a groan when Wonshik hit another tight spot. Wonshik heard it, though, the little pause in his motions barely noticeable as he looked down at the other man. For a moment he didn’t change what he was doing, simply working out the kinks in Taekwoon’s shoulders, until he moved his hands up to the other man’s neck, fingers rubbing little smoothing circles in his skin the same way he had been the night before.

Taekwoon simply sighed, arching his neck up just a bit and humming quietly to himself. Wonshik kept his eyes on the other man, nibbling his lip in thought before he let his hands slide up more, eyes narrowed as his fingertips slipped up into the hair on the nape of Taekwoon’s neck.

Taekwoon immediately groaned, shaking his head and sitting up straight as he turned in his chair to face Wonshik. He didn’t realize that he’d grabbed Wonshik’s hands, but he held them as he looked up.

“No… You can’t do that,” he requested, cheeks tinted with the tiniest bit of a blush. For a while they both stared at each other, Taekwoon eventually looking down and dropping Wonshik’s hands as he his lips just a bit. Wonshik was still staring at him, watching his reactions and trying to get a grasp on what the other man was thinking.

Taekwoon was thinking about how nice that had just felt.

After Taekwoon turned to face his computer, Wonshik finally gave in and walked back to his own, sitting down and checking his emails to give him something to do. He paused, however, when he noticed a message from his boss to a select few of them, letting him know to respond back that the message was received and head to one of the meeting rooms near the end of the day. Wonshik replied, about to pop up to see if Taekwoon had gotten one when he saw Taekwoon’s head over the wall between them.

“Did you just get an email about a meeting?” he asked, Wonshik nodding in response as Taekwoon glanced back at his screen. “I hope it’s nothing bad,” he added, Wonshik taking in a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh.

After hearing about that the day went slowly, minutes crawling by like hours and Taekwoon’s mind running away with him. What if they were all getting fired? What if they were being demoted, or promoted, or something else entirely? Taekwoon had no idea, but as they walked to the meeting room it was clear that Wonshik shared his worries.

There were about ten of them in the room, a few faces that Taekwoon had never seen before and a few that had been working there for as long as he had. It was an odd mix of people, but it didn’t help with his thoughts. There was a very good chance they were all getting let go, but he said nothing, simply watching as his boss paced in front of the room.

“I know this is sudden, but I’ve just been informed of a conference out of town. I’m sending the ten of you due to how well you perform in the office on a daily basis, and how much I trust all of you.” Taekwoon blinked in surprise.

In all the time he’d worked there, he’d never been sent out for something like this.

“There’s a mixture of you for a good reason - I want some of our newer hires to get some much needed experience, and I think that this is the best way to do it. There are going to be a lot of companies there, and everything is paid for, so don’t worry about that.” The man winked and the people in the room all laughed, listening to the rest of their boss’ speech with smiles on their faces.

It was exciting, knowing that he’d been chosen for something like this.

It was even more exciting that he was going with someone he enjoyed the company of.

On the way out the few that were in the meeting were buzzing, Taekwoon and Wonshik talking between themselves as they made their way to their cars. Both were actually smiling, and by the time they’d reached Taekwoon’s car both felt much better than they had the whole day.

Taekwoon turned, hand almost impulsively moving to rest on Wonshik’s shoulder.

“Thanks,” he started, eyes locked with Wonshik’s, “for the massage today. I really needed it,” he finished, words becoming something of a mumble near the end of his sentence. Wonshik nodded, casting a sideways glance at the hand on his shoulder before looking back to Taekwoon. He smiled.

“It’s nothing,” he said back, words coming out a bit softer than they should have, Wonshik taking a small step forward and Taekwoon taking a quick breath in. They stayed like that, Taekwoon’s gaze drifting down to instead focus on Wonshik’s lips as he let out a shaky breath. He bit his own lips and, for one moment, wondered if the other man would mind if he leaned forward a bit more.

He didn’t realize he had actually moved until Taekwoon felt Wonshik put his hand on his chest to stop him and he looked up, closer than he had been and able to see the slight blush in Wonshik’s features. Taekwoon stared for a moment before he cleared his throat, taking a step back and patting Wonshik’s shoulder before he nodded to himself and opened the door of his car. Wonshik walked off with a simple goodbye, leaving Taekwoon to try to disappear into the driver’s seat of his car from pure embarrassment.

Why had he just done that? What was he even thinking?

And why was he still thinking about what Wonshik’s hand had felt like on his chest?

For a while he just sat in the car, music on and eyes focused up at the roof. Absently he massaged his temples, shaking his head at himself with a little groan in irritation.

For now he had convinced himself it was because of stress and exhaustion.

For now.

He drove home lost in his thoughts, kicking his shoes off when he got inside and tossing his coat on the couch haphazardly. Hyosonn walked in, seeing Taekwoon nearly toss himself on the couch, and she sat down with him, pouting just a bit.

“What’s wrong, Taekwoon?” she asked, Taekwoon letting out a deep breath before shaking his head and looking at her with an attempt of a smile.

“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong, I’m just… overthinking things,” he admitted, sitting up and turning to face her a bit. “Listen, in a couple of weeks I’m going to be going out of town with a few other people from work for a business conference. You’ll get the house to yourself for a week. I’m sure it’ll be relaxing,” he said, Hyosonn cocking her head and smiling.

“That’s great, honey!” she exclaimed, wrapping him in a hug for a moment before pulling away. “I’m proud of you, this is a great opportunity. And who knows, maybe a raise will come from it?” she finished, a hint of a question in her tone. Taekwoon simply shrugged.

“Maybe,” he replied easily, Hyosonn grinning happily before hopping up from her spot on the couch.

“I’m going to make something really good for dinner,” she announced, Taekwoon raising his brows and trying to get an answer from her. She just shook her head. “It’s a surprise.”

That was all she said before she headed to the kitchen, a bounce in her step while Taekwoon’s mind was drifting to how happy he was that Wonshik was going to be there.

It was like that for the next couple of weeks, Hyosonn being excited about the opportunity and Taekwoon focusing more on other things. He couldn’t bring himself to mention how he’d acted with Wonshik and so he just pretended it hadn’t happened, focusing on work until he headed out.

Luckily it was close enough that they could drive. Taekwoon wasn’t a fan of planes.

By the time they all got there it was late on the first day, all ten of them exhausted and wanting to get rest before they started on the work part of the trip. Taekwoon caught sight of Wonshik, smiling at him and walking over with his bags. Wonshik grinned back.

“Who are you staying with?” he asked, Taekwoon shrugging. He knew that they were sharing rooms but he hadn’t even thought of it. Wonshik just grinned. “Good. Stay with me,” he requested, Taekwoon looking at him before he smiled and nodded. Wonshik could only chuckle, reaching down and taking Taekwoon’s hand to lead him toward the room.

Taekwoon glanced down.

He didn’t need to be guided to the room like this.

But he wasn’t going to pull his hand away from Wonshik’s.

He just couldn’t shake the feeling that this was going to be a long week.