Aj watched other cars flash by as he sat in the backseat of the car. The blonde sighed, thinking of his father. He had not been aware of his father’s return from China. He was even surprised to see that a year had passed since he had even seen the ever so famous business man, Mr. Liu.

It was different when it came to his thoughts however. Aj thought of his father weekly, if not daily. Where he would be, what he was doing, if he was eating well. All these thoughts flooded his mind constantly, to the point of him lying awake late at night, staring at the apartment ceiling and wondering about his father.

Aj almost laughed when a thought of if the feeling was mutual with his father.

The blonde knew Mr. Liu did not hate him. He just simply disliked the blonde’s desires; one of them being music.

He still remembered the long argument over what he wanted to do and what his father wanted him to do. He still remembered the two hard slaps to his left cheek, and how his salty tears added to the sting of his reddening cheek.

He remembered his mother’s tears that fell to the carpet as she tried to negotiate with the brash Liu.

Aj quickly blinked away his tears as he realized the car stopped.  He opened the door and slung his satchel over his right shoulder and his trusty clipboard to his left hand.

He lifted his head and gazed upward. Gloomy clouds hid the night sky and he guessed that it would rain soon.

He walked into the hotel, following the two men who brought him here. A quick thought of running away popped into Aj’s head, but he shooed it away, his curiosity conquering his fear.

Besides, he missed his dad.

The three men entered an elevator, with Aj in a corner and the two men in front of him. One of the men pressed the button for the eighteenth floor and the elevator began to close. The elevator doors stopped suddenly and a young woman walked into the elevator. Aj caught a quick glance at her before she turned around.

She’s pretty…Aj thought, but he quickly pushed the thought away, using the excuse of her never noticing him. He quickly realized that the elevator was soon over flown with the pretty woman’s perfume.

Mmm…Aj thought. Strawberries.

Aj shook his head vigorously to keep the weird thoughts out of his head.  He cleared his throat and fumbled with his papers on the clipboard, but with his fingers shaking because the author is a vicious troll, the clipboard fell. Aj cursed a thousand times in his head as he bent down to pick them up.

He saw another pair of hands and assumed one of the men had tried to help him, but he realized that the hands were smaller, and delicate. He gulped and slowly looked up the see the brunette beauty collecting his papers.

“Uh-You uh…you don’t have to uh…” Aj stammered. The brunette looked up and smiled kindly. She was caught off guard by how attractive the blonde was and quickly looked back down to the papers.

“It’s fine.” She said, slightly surprised by how stable her voice was. Aj thought she had a lovely voice. The woman began to stand up as she attempted to straighten up the papers. She realized that they were sheet music.

“Oh, so you’re a musician eh?” she asked, kindly eyeing the music. She silently hummed the tune in her head and smiled. “Did you write this?”

“Y-Yeah, but that one has dumb lyrics. I was going to throw it away anyway.” Aj said, attempting to grab it, but the woman quickly jerked her hand away. “Does that mean I can keep it then?” She asked, surprised by how easily he wanted to throw away such a good song. Aj furrowed his brows before a ding came from the elevator. An automated voice that said sixteen alerted the passengers.

“Yes. Yes, you can keep it; just give me my other papers. Please.” Aj said hurriedly as he realized that she was about to exit.

The woman smiled and handed Aj the rest of his music, save the one she now owned.

“I hope I see you sometime again.” She stated. She walked out and was about to go on her merry way when she remembered.

“Wait; what’s your-” The elevator door closed before she could get her sentence fully out. "Name." She smiled despite it and walked to her destination.

Meanwhile in the elevator, Aj was smiling like an idiot. During his encounter with the woman, he had forgotten about the guards. When he looked at them, he realized one of them was blushing and the other was clenching and unclenching his hands.

He chuckled silently as he realized they were probably too nervous to say anything when the woman was there.

The automated voice came on again, but this time it said eighteen. The men stepped out and waited for Aj to exit also. The idea of escaping by closing the elevator door suddenly popped into his head, but was stopped when the blushing guard put his hand on the elevator door. Aj huffed.

It wasn’t like he was going to try anyways.

He walked out with the hand clenching guard in the front, and the blusher in the back. Aj smiled, already having nicknames for them.

They walked up to the last door in the hallway then stopped. Hand Clencher knocked on the door and waited. The door opened after ten seconds, Aj counted, and all three of them entered.

The outside of the hotel was a trick of the eye as it seemed to have little room for visitors. However, as Aj entered his father’s hotel room, he was blown away by the vast size.

Living large I see. Aj thought. And not a dime goes to me, who lives in a dump.

He gently set down his clipboard on a rectangular coffee table and placed his satchel on the couch next to it. His guards stood beside him as he waited near the couch, looking around. Aj didn’t understand why his father loved lavish things. Was it because not everyone could have it? Was it because he found joy purchasing things that were already perfect?

He paused, and for a quick second thought if his dad had ever wanted to buy a perfect son. He forced the thought out and focused on the glass rose in a black vase that stood near the kitchen.

I wonder what he wants this time…I haven’t done anything, so maybe this means…he actually wanted to see me?

Even though Aj shook his head slightly, knowing that was not it, the part of him that belonged to his dad longed for that to be the answer.

Aj shot his head up and his thoughts scattered away when his father, of course, in a polished black suit, stepped out from wherever he was hiding. Aj dared to look into his father’s eyes and almost took a step back when he found his father staring at him.

He would have looked away if it weren’t for the almost affectionate look he gave the blonde. Aj pressed his lips hard and swallowed awkwardly. His dad look glanced at both of the guards and proceeded to kick them out with a flick of his wrist. The guards slightly frowned, surprised by this action, but bowed nonetheless, and walked out of the door.

Aj’s heart was beating fast now and he broke into a cold sweat. The only time his father sent his guards out was when Aj had said something to upset him and the blonde received a merciless beating. The beating followed by going home to Key, who forced makeup on him. If Key did not have any time, Aj would then admit to falling down the stairs or bumping into a door to his peers at work.

After a long and awkward silence, Aj looked down to the floor. His eyes widened to see his hands shaking so he held his hands behind his back. His father cleared his throat and Aj looked up. His heart beat faster as his father walked closer to him and…

Gave him a hug?

“Ah, Amber, I missed you.” Aj flinched at his real name and his father felt it.

“Right right right.” His father said backing up from the hug…was he smiling?

“You go by Aj, right? Amber Junior?” His father kept his strong hands on Aj’s shoulders, as if to remind him that he could get beaten anytime he said something wrong.

“Y-Yes, sir. Aj. He admitted. The blonde was shocked when he heard how strong his voice sounded. His father nodded, letting go of his son’s shoulders. Aj loosened up slightly; He didn’t realize he was so stiff.

“Because you ‘didn’t want people to be confused by your gender,’ even though you’re named after your beautiful moth- “He paused as he saw Aj avert his eyes. He simply nodded and added, “That’s understandable.” His father continued, stalking towards the kitchen to grab an apple. He picked up a knife and started peeling the apple. “How’s work?” Aj noticed how his father’s voice changed when he said “work.” Aj cleared his throat.

“Work is…fine. We’re really busy around this time.” Aj admitted. His father nodded, but something flashed from his eyes. He was peeling the apple slowly, taking his time. Aj frowned, something clicking into place.

“You know about the Valentines concert, don’t you?” Aj blurted out. His father glanced up from his apple and Aj swallowed. “Sir.” He added. His father cut the apple and put the piece into his mouth while still holding eye contact with the blonde.

“Yes, Aj, I do. Mainly because I heard of Krystal Jung collaborating with Minho. Since I knew you work for him, I knew you would be working with her also.” His father admitted. Aj relaxed more, knowing his father’s reason for calling for him.

“Dad, I’m not going to expose myself, don’t worry.” He assured his father. “And also, I don’t work for him; I work with him.” His father ignored his second comment and continued to cut another piece of the apple and ate it, this time more forcefully.

“But accidents happen, Aj.” He said in a strangely calm voice. Aj held back a shiver. A silence followed, leaving Mr. Liu’s voice to fill in the air. “Why don’t you just end these silly antics and become my son?” Aj felt a surge of adrenaline slowly fill him, but he bit his tongue, holding back. Mr. Liu placed his knife and apple on the countertop, took a napkin, and wiped his hands.

“Join me, Aj.” He said, placing the damp napkin near the punctured apple. “This really is enough of your childish games. You would make an excellent politician, like myself, or an astounding business manager, like your mother.” Aj flinched when his mother was mentioned, but he held his ground.

“I’d rather do something I love, with the people I love, rather than go to a job I despise every day, just to earn money.” The blonde said. Aj’s dad walked to Aj’s left side.

“But aren’t you tired of hiding behind Minho? Aren’t you tired of watching him receiving all the awards you deserve?” His father asked, in almost a whisper. Aj didn’t blink, his adrenaline fully coursing through his veins now. He was fueled with anger of his father’s hatred for what he loved. Couldn’t he see that his son was happy?

“You kind of get used to it when your father placed you in that position years ago.” Aj closed his eyes, waiting for a slap, but it never came. In fact, he didn’t even see his father any more until he heard two steps behind him. He turned to his right to see his father looming over his clipboard. Mr. Liu picked it up delicately and Aj felt his adrenaline flush out.

“D-Dad, don’t do anything to that, please.Those are my songs- I’ve spent so many days-” He begged, but Mr. Liu didn’t listen. He slowly took the papers on the clipboard and ripped them in half, then in half again, then again and again and again until it was nothing but tiny scraps of paper in his hands. Aj’s eyes, filled with horror, glistened as his father took the handful of paper, and tossed it into the air.

The two Liu’s kept eye contact as the little pieces of paper slowly flew down and onto the couch and carpet.

“I'm tired of your disrespect.One more mistake and you’re going to the U.S. to study marketing.” His father said before walking away, back into wherever he came from. Aj’s eyes were so blurry, as his father walked past him, he could only see a black blur. The blonde tried to relax and found his hands clenched and his jaw tightened. He took a deep breath in and blew it out slowly until his hand unclenched itself. He closed his eyes and felt his tears roll down his cheeks. He quickly wiped them away, walked to the couch, and grabbed his belongings.

Barging out of the door, he startled the guards, which followed him quickly, but stopped as Aj stepped into the elevator. The blonde and the guards made eye contact and they shared a knowing look; dealing with Mr. Liu was not an easy task, especially if he was not pleased.

One of the guards, the one that blushed earlier, opened his mouth, but closed it without saying anything. Aj forced half of a smile before pressing the close button on the elevator. As the elevator came down, Aj noticed that it was still filled with the lady’s perfume and only then could he let his tears fall freely as he stared at his empty clipboard.