"Se Yi?"

She froze. That voice.

It's him.

 

. . . . . . .

 

As soon as she turned around, the first thing she noticed was his black coat. Her eyes trailed up to his face and her eyes widened in shock.

He looked familiar, yet at the same time, different. His features remained the same as the last time she saw him, but now, he looked more mature. His face had gotten skinnier, highlighting his cheekbones. He had gotten a lot taller too, she noticed.

And his hair, it was-

"You dyed your hair lighter."

He blinked at her, before bursting out in that obnoxious laughter that she, admittedly, missed. "Yah, we didn't see each other for one whole year, and that's the first thing you tell me?"

Embarrassed and flustered, she frantically shook her head. "No, t-that's not what I-"

Before she could even finish, he had already engulfed her in a tight hug, with his chin resting on her head. "I missed you too, Se Yi," he mumbled softly.

Se Yi froze, before hesitantly returning the hug. She closed her eyes. She wouldn't say it, but she missed him too.

After awhile, they broke apart. He looked her up and down, his eyebrows furrowed in worry. "Are you alright? I heard from Hyun Ji that it's only been a few weeks since you came out again. I told her you didn't need to pick me up, but she insisted. You look tired, I can drive on the way back if you want," he rambled on and on, and Se Yi felt like they went back in time.

He had always been like this – a mother hen. He always worried about her, Hyun Ji, and the rest of their friends. It was probably because he was the second oldest in their group, after—

"I'm fine, Minhyuk. Really," she beamed at him. The awkwardness and anxiety she felt before dissipated after realizing that he was still the same.

He frowned, "Are you sure? Because if not, I can-"

She shook her head, and lightly punched his arm while smiling. "I'm really okay. Plus, you're probably tired from your flight, I think I can handle the 40-minute drive," she chuckled.

Minhyuk opened his mouth, probably to argue back, but she shushed him with a single 'tsk'. Minhyuk sighed.

"Can we at least get lunch before we go?" He asked as he began dragging his luggage with him. Se Yi followed suit, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Didn't you eat on the plane?"

"I did."

She laughed, "I see. You haven't changed much, have you? You still have a blackhole for a stomach."

"But hey, I'm way taller than you now," the side of his lips tilted into a smirk as he looked down at her.

Se Yi's cheerful expression changed into a scowl. "It's not fair, you're a boy."

"A boy?" Minhyuk raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't you mean, a man?"

It was now Se Yi's turn to smirk, "Yeah...No. Only a boy would be as childish as you."

"Yah!"

 

. . . . . . .

 

"So..how have you been?" Minhyuk asked as soon as they settled in the seat, in the far corner of the restaurant.

After getting in the car and driving out of the airport, the two of them debated which restaurant to go to for their late lunch. In the end, Se Yi decided to go with Minhyuk's first choice.

"I'm feeling a lot better," she casually replied as she looked through the menu. Minhyuk eyed her, but didn't say anything else.

The waiter came by not a second later and took their orders. After telling them to wait 20 minutes, the waiter left them to themselves once again.

"What about you? How was San Francisco?"

His lips curled up into a smile, "It was great. I stayed at my aunt's house in South SF. They had a pretty nice neighborhood. Most of the people were nice, although there are some racist people every now and then, but it's nothing I can't handle. Oh and there was this girl-"

Se Yi perked up at that, her lips tilting into a mischievous smile, "Ooh, a girl, huh? And who is this girl?"

Minhyuk reached across the table to flick her forehead. "It's not like that, you idiot. And the girl I'm talking about is ten years old-"

"Oh my god, Lee Minhyuk, when did you become a e?!" Minhyuk lunged across the table to slap a hand on , but it was too late. They looked around the restaurant and noticed many eyes on their table.

Minhyuk stood up, his cheeks red in embarrassment. He waved his hand frantically in front of him as he chuckled nervously, "I-I'm not.."

The people whispered and sent him dirty looks, before eventually going back to their own conversation. Minhyuk sighed as he flopped back onto his seat. He snapped his head to Se Yi and glared at her, "You.."

"I didn't mean to," she smiled sheepishly at him. "Sorry..?"

Minhyuk sighed in defeat. He could never get mad at her.

"So yeah, about the girl..?" Se Yi tried opening the conversation again.

Minhyuk shot her a look, before shaking his head and chuckling instead. "I was actually just going to tell you that the girl was my cousin. I had never met her ever since she was born, and do you know the first thing she told me when she saw me?"

"What?"

"She said I looked like a girl. A tall, skinny, masculine looking girl. Do you know how degrading that is?" He whined before proceeding to slouch in his seat, sulking.

Se Yi bit her lips and looked away. She cleared several times, but it was no use.

Minhyuk huffed, "Laugh all you want. I hope you choke."

 

. . . . . . .

 

Hyungwon locked himself in his office once again. After the little ordeal with the arrogant, egoistic Mr. Kwon, he had decided to spare his eyes of imbeciles and lock himself in his office instead. He didn't allow anyone, but Kihyun, to enter the said room.

Time passed by in a blur, and before he knew it, office hours were over and the employees had long ago left the building.

"Aren't you going home yet?" Kihyun asked, as he peeked inside the office.

"I have to finish this."

Kihyun frowned, "You're working yourself too hard again. You're gonna get sick."

"I'll be fine."

Kihyun sighed, "Well, do you need anything else?"

"Not really."

"Are you sure?"

Annoyed, Hyungwon looked up and sent his friend a warning glare. "Yes, Kihyun, I'm sure. Now do you mind?" He asked, gesturing to the work load on his desk.

"Okay, I get it. I'm leaving," Kihyun chuckled and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Don't leave too late, I heard there had been ghosts sightings in the seventh floor," he teased one last time before closing the door behind him.

As soon as Kihyun left, Hyungwon stopped what he was doing. He had been doing a lot of thinking since this afternoon. A lot had happened, and it made him think of a lot of things, including the past.

He shook his head. This wasn't the time to be reminiscing. He had a lot to do. As the new CEO, it's his responsibility to make sure that the company prospers, while making sure that he wouldn't make the same mistakes as his father did. His father was a smart man, but he was unscrupulous. And Chae Hyungwon needed to make sure that he wouldn't be like that.

Yes, he could be cold. He could be callous. He could be cruel. But he would never, ever, be like his dad. He would never put his own selfish desires before everyone else's.

Hyungwon was pulled out of his reverie by the familiar ring of his phone. He reached for it, and smirked when he saw the caller ID. "Yes?"

"Mr. Chae, I did what you told me to do."

Hyungwon's smirk widened. "Good job."

 

. . . . . . .

 

The drive back to her best friend's apartment took longer than they had both expected, but it wasn't so bad. For the duration they were in the car, their conversation didn't stop. It was like they hadn't been apart for a year at all.

"Well what are you up to now?" Se Yi asked as she stopped at a red light.

Minhyuk shrugged, "I'm going to work. Dad actually called me before I left the States to tell me that I've been offered a job at a famous company."

The car moved forward as soon as the light turned green. "That's nice. What company is it?"

"Yooseong Group."

"Wait..what?" Se Yi turned to Minhyuk in shock, earning her a yelp from the latter, telling her to "Put your eyes on the road, you idiot!"

After making sure they won't get into any accident, /$3 opened to question the male once again, "So wait, you're talking about The Yooseong Group, right?"

Minhyuk chuckled, "Yes, that company. I'm actually supposed to go there tomorrow to hand in my resume, and to go for a brief interview."

Se Yi frowned, "Didn't you just say they offered you the job? Why would you still need to go through all that?"

Shrugging, Minhyuk replied, "It's part of proper company procedures. I may have been offered the job, but that doesn't mean I'm entitled to special treatment. Even if the owner of the company is related to us."

Se Yi entered the parking lot, and parked her car near the elevator. She got out to help Minhyuk move his luggage. "Related?"

Minhyuk nodded, "Yep. My uncle – my dad's brother – owns the company. I think the position of the CEO had been passed on to my cousin though."

Se Yi looked at her best friend in awe, before snapping out of it and smacking his shoulder. "How come you're only telling me this now?"

"What, you never asked!"

"Right," she huffed. She watched Minhyuk walk towards the elevator, all the while dragging his luggage. He waved one last time and yelled out a "Drive safely!" just as the elevator doors closed.

Se Yi smiled. She hadn't thought he would be the same. She felt stupid for thinking of all those negative things, and felt bad for not trusting her best friend enough. She should've known. Even after everybody else left her, her best friends would always be there for her.

With that in mind, she drove on the way back to her apartment with a blissful smile on her face.

 

. . . . . . .

 

The next day, Se Yi woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. She perked up when she saw the caller ID, "Hello? Minhyuk?"

"Oh, did I wake you up?"

"It's fine. What's up?"

She could hear shuffling on the other line, and people talking. Se Yi frowned before remembering that Minhyuk was supposed to be at that glorious company for his interview. "Guess what, Se Yi?"

Se Yi frowned. Minhyuk with that overly happy tone is not good. Is he planning something? "What?"

"You're going for a job interview."

"Huh?" Se Yi was confused. She doesn't remember applying for any jobs. Not yet, anyway.

Minhyuk chuckled. "Bring your resume to Yooseong tomorrow. And dress up nicely."

What the-

"You didn't."

No no no no no. He wouldn't. I'm not ready!

"Oh yes, I did."

"YAH, LEE MINHYUK!"

 

 

---

A/N: Sorry for the super late update! I know any excuse right now would be unacceptable, so...let's just leave it at that :)

On another note, I'm in a great dilemma. Monsta X and BTS had comebacks around the same time. I thought after Monsta X's comeback (Minhyuk's black hair and sleeveless top had me SHOOK), I'd be able to rest but boy, was I wrong. BTS dropped that MV and I kid you not, I'm just about done with life. I know I shouldn't even be talking about another group because this is obviously a Monsta X fic (and I'm sorry for doing this), but I can't handle it. Both of these albums – Wings and Guilty – will be the death of me. 

Oh and yeah, I finally got a cover image for the story! If you guys are wondering, I requested the poster from Spotlight Posters. They're very nice and talented! 

And my story was upvoted by Caniwi. I don't know if you accidentally clicked the upvote button or if you really deemed this story worth upvoting, but thank you! And to those who stayed and are still subscribed to this story, thank you so much too! Y'all are lovely people.

Okay, that's enough. I talked too much LOL (I'm too hyper for someone who's still awake at 2 am). But anyway, lemme know what you guys thought about the chapter. And if there's any mistake you'd like to point out, you're welcome to tell me.