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Youngjae didn’t know if he got paid enough for his job.

He was pretty sure most 21 year olds woke up at half past six on a Sunday morning because they had splitting hangovers, not because their boss told them to deliver a marriage contract to a woman who was the devil’s reincarnate.

Okay, so his job usually wasn’t so bad. Yongguk was a pretty nice guy, even if he was a slave-driver of a boss, and he paid a decent amount. He even gave Youngjae his own personal office (although Youngjae suspected that was more so Yongguk would have his own privacy, rather than him being nice).

Even if Youngjae did make deliveries more often than he liked, he spent a lot of time in his car anyway. His car, his precious baby, his most treasured belonging, pretty much the light of his life. He had bought it with his first pay-check, and then bought every single DAE album with the following pay-checks, until he had a collection in his car that any DAE fan would be jealous of.

A series of grumbles escaped from his lips as he stopped the car. By default, DAE’s heavenly voice was cut off as well, and the man shot a glare at the suitcase in the passenger’s seat, blaming it for ruining his morning. The man usually got at least one day off a week, but for the past week he hadn’t had any breaks at all. If he got the day off, he would probably already be awake – it was already 8 o’clock – but definitely still in bed. Maybe reading.

Youngjae didn’t dwindle on it for too long, since there was no point dreaming about what could-have-been. He was already up and halfway across town, anyway; the Moon estate was surprisingly pretty far from the city, supposing that Mr. and Mrs. Moon worked there almost every hour of the week.

He grabbed the suitcase and heaved it outside, staring at the Moon mansion with a surprised expression on his face. It was, without a doubt, the biggest house he had ever seen, and he worked for one of the richest men in the country. Even the Bang house (the one Yongguk lived in before moving with Junhong), was smaller. Then again, the Moons were definitely rich, arguably even more so than the Bangs.

Despite the mansion’s size, he had never seen it before, since it was protected with security at all times. He had to show his Bang employee ID card and his driver’s license to be even allowed inside the estate. Youngjae huffed again. It was ridiculous; Juhyeon was a news presenter, not some celebrity.

He bit his lip – maybe it was a good thing she hired so many people though. A lot of people – people like Himchan – needed the jobs she provided.

She was still the devil’s incarnate though, there was no doubt about that.

Before Youngjae could knock on the door, it swung open and a maid welcomed him in, took his coat, and ushered him into what looked like a dining room. This all happened in the span of a minute, so it was fair to say that Youngjae was pretty bewildered. He didn’t even think Juhyeon was expecting him.

He thanked the maid and sat down at the table, looking around the room. She left immediately without a word, leaving Youngjae by himself. The entire house seemed empty at first glance, but he was quiet, so he could hear the hustle of servants in the next room over.

They must have forgotten about him, because nothing happened for the next ten minutes. He was really just left alone in the Moon’s dining room, clutching at a suitcase. Terrible security, really, there wasn’t even a camera in the house. Youngjae could just snatch the expensive-looking decorations resting on the mantel and leave, and no one would notice. He entertained the thought for a while – ‘that would teach Juhyeon not to threaten my job!’ – but he wasn’t really considering it. He had morals, after all, and stealing from a woman in her fifties would go against almost all of then.

His blank face turned into a frown as the minutes ticked on and no one came. If he was lucky, maybe the maid would come back and tell him he could go home. He crossed his fingers and sat straighter.

As if his thoughts were heard, the sound of footsteps approaching got louder until the door opened.

To his surprise (and misfortune), it wasn’t Juhyeon, but her youngest son Jongup. He was balancing a plate of dumplings and another plate of buns in his hands as he kicked open the door. If he was surprised to see Youngjae sitting at his dining table, he didn’t show it, settling down in the seat furthest from Youngjae.

After a while, Youngjae took the initiative. “Good morning.”

“My mom’s out,” Jongup stated, almost immidiately. Was the boy always so clipped around people? If so, Youngjae wondered how a sunshine like Junhong could hang around him.

“I’m just here to deliver a contract,” Youngjae said calmly, trying not to look at the food to boy had in front of him. He hadn’t had breakfast, and the meal looked delicious. He again hoped that Jongup would just take the contract and let him leave; there was a cafe near his house, and he had been wanting to try out their muffins for weeks, but had never gotten the time.

As if sensing the man’s hunger, Jongup slid the plate of dumplings over the table. His face was still stoic, but the action was kind, a strange contradiction. Youngjae stared at the plate and back up at Jongup, his confusion evident by his wide eyes.

“Do you want a drink?” Jongup asked, and Youngjae blinked, snapping out of his daze.

“Ah, no.. Thank you...?” he pondered whether he should accept the food, but decided that it would be rude to refuse something directly given to him. Besides, he was starving.

He was single and living alone, he hadn’t eaten proper food in weeks. Most of his money went towards his savings anyway – he almost had enough to buy front seat tickets for DAE’s concert.

Youngjae took chopsticks already laid out on the table and dug in. As soon as the dumpling entered his mouth, he knew that not even the cute muffins from the small cafe on his street could beat these. Youngjae couldn’t remember the last time he had dumplings that weren’t from a box, or he even had dumplings, let alone dumplings as mind-blowing as these. Youngjae probably would’ve enjoyed it more if Jongup wasn’t staring him down the entire time. It wasn’t exactly a murderous glare, but it wasn’t a curious glance either; the boy was just staring at him blankly.

After cramming eight dumplings into his mouth, Youngjae forced himself to set down his chopsticks, staring at Jongup meekly.

“Where should I put the contract?” he asked, flushing in embarrassment. Pigging out on your boss’s client’s son’s breakfast was super unprofessional.

“I’ll take it, just leave it here,” Jongup replied. He rested his chin on his palm, eyes flickering to the half-eaten plate of dumplings. “You can eat more, you know.”

It was as if he unleashed a monster, because Youngjae’s eyes lit up and he immediately began eating more.

The secretary ate the rest of the dumplings, sighing blissfully.

“How long have you known Himchan?” Jongup asked curiously. His stare had broken, and he was eating his bun as well, although his manners were more dignified than Youngjae’s.

The secretary swallowed and answered back happily, his hunger satisfied. If Jongup supplied him with food from the heavens, the least he could do was participate in some small talk. “Since I was ten. He put up an ad that he was available for babysitting for the summer and my mom answered it. He was fourteen back then.”

“He was... your babysitter...” Jongup repeated slowly, and Youngjae shrugged.

“Yeah.” They were four years apart after all, they hadn’t become friends coincidentally. “He got the shock of his life when he saw me at his high school the following year though. He thought I was still in middle school.”

“Are you boasting about yourself again, Youngjae-ah?” an amused voice asked and Youngjae looked up in surprise. Himchan took a seat next to Jongup, who passed him a bun immediately. The man took it gracefully, eyes lighting up when he took a bite.

“Red bean?”

Jongup nodded, a soft smile on his face.

“Thank you,” Himchan smiled back and glanced at Youngjae, “This kid is a mini genius though, Jongup. He skipped two grades and everything.”

“Accelerated two years in university too,” Youngjae chirped. “All so I could be in the same classes as my best friend.” He grinned, but his expression quickly dropped when he saw Himchan look down and finish off his bun. He had forgotten that the elder had pulled out of university halfway through his third year, and it wasn’t something he liked to be reminded of.

Youngjae suddenly felt guilty for complaining about his job. He worked a lot more than other people, sure, but Himchan worked for twenty-four hours a week, just so he could support his family. He sacrificed his entire life for them.

As if sensing the drop in the mood, Jongup rested a hand on Himchan’s shoulder and nodded at Youngjae. “Are you still hungry?” His plate was empty.

“Oh, uh...no. Thanks for the dumplings,” the chair almost fell over because Youngjae stood up too quickly. “I guess... I guess I should get going. Sorry if I’ve stayed for too long.” It was almost nine.

“It’s fine,” Jongup shook his head, and Himchan stood, intending to walk the secretary to the door. Jongup immediately picked up the plates and gave his bodyguard a boyish grin. It was kind of cute, in Youngjae’s opinion. He didn’t expect Himchan to immediately look away.

“You walk him out, I’ll put these away,” Jongup lifted the plates and walked away, in the direction of the kitchen.

Himchan led the secretary out of the room, to his car still parked outside the house.

“We really need to meet up again,” Youngjae said quietly. “It’s been years, hyung.”

“I know.” Himchan sighed, but he wasn’t annoyed. He seemed tired, almost. “I’ll see, alright? This job kind of requires 24-hour monitoring, but I’ll try my best.”

“It was good to see you though,” Youngjae murmured and played with the hem of his jacket. He wasn’t great with goodbyes.

“I’ll see you soon,” the man promised. He couldn’t help the snide comments of ‘twenty year olds should be recovering from hangovers on Sunday mornings’ and ‘really Youngjae, your car is filled with DAE merchandise’ escaping as he herded the man into his car. Youngjae exchanged snarky comebacks of ‘I have a high alcohol tolerance, you know’ and a very original ‘shut up’ before he drove off.

He was definitely not blushing as he said the last one.

The secretary drove out of the estate, wondering where he could go to next. He had the rest of the day off, but he had already finished eating. Sighing at the dullness of his life, he pulled over at a fast food parking lot and pulled out his phone, intending to tell his boss he had finished his job. Maybe Yongguk would have something that still needed to be done.

Yoo Youngjae: The contract has been delivered to the Moon estate, sir.

Less than a minute later, he received a reply.

Bang Yongguk: Thanks. Check your email.

Youngjae blinked and did as instructed, only to see one unread email, sent ast night. The subject header was left blank. To his confusion, the email said nothing either. He scrolled down.

TO: [email protected]

FROM: [email protected]

SUBJECT:

Download attachment ‘TICKETS’? Yes No

He was so busy worrying that his boss sent him a virus that he didn’t even question the file name. Seconds later, when it finally downloaded, he almost dropped his phone in shock.

“Holy ,” he whispered, eyes scanning the contents of the attachment. How did Yongguk even know he wanted tickets? How did Yongguk even know he wanted front-row tickets?

He sent a text to Himchan immediately, screaming his joy in capital letters.

He changed his mind. His job was awesome.

Himchan’s job .

More specifically, his boss .

Moon Jongup was perfect, really; he did great in school (even though he never paid attention), he was talented at dancing, and he could control his emotions so well, to the point where everyone thought he was a beta.

The problem was that he was way too nice.

“No,” Himchan said immediately, and Jongup smirked. “No, Jongup, you can’t buy a ticket for me.”

“Well, if I want to go, then you have to go,” Jongup replied mischievously, an evil glint in his eye. “It’ll just be a coincidence that you and Youngjae’s seat numbers match up.”

“I work for the devil’s incarnate,” Himchan sighed dramatically, knowing he couldn’t do anything, and Jongup grinned.

Youngjae had left the estate two hours ago, and Himchan and Jongup had lazed around the house. When Himchan received the text from Youngjae about Yongguk’s gift, Jongup had read the message over his shoulder, before abruptly leaving to take a call.

When he came back, he told Himchan that he just got two front row tickets for DAE’s concert, on the same day Youngjae was going as well. He had also ‘coincidentally’ gotten tickets right next to the secretary as well, much to Himchan’s outrage.

“How do you even know what seat number Youngjae has?”

“Daehyun’s my friend,” Jongup chirped. “He’s also weirdly involved in the planning process for his concert. Anyway, he gave me the two tickets for free, so you don’t need to worry about the cost. Just have fun with your friend.”

“You’re too kind, Jongup,” Himchan whispered, but he didn’t try to hide his gratitude. A small smile danced on the corner of his lips, and Jongup tried not to be too proud at the fact that he was the one who caused it.

He opened his mouth, ready to say something dumb like I’m just too in love with you, or I would do anything for your smile, but luckily, his embarrassment was saved by the front door opening and his mother calling his name.

“Jonguppie!”

His mother stepped into the living room, eyes softening at the sight of her son. Behind her, the maid followed and lowered her head.

Jongup glanced over at Himchan, but the man’s smile had disappeared into his usual stoic expression at the sight of Juhyeon. Jongup’s heart fell.

“Boys, we’re going out for dinner tonight so be ready to go by 8 o’clock,” The woman flipped her brown hair over her shoulders as she placed her handbag on the table. She eyed the lack of space between them, making Himchan nervously inch away from Jongup. Jongup suppressed a growl.

“The suitcase in the dining room is for you,” the alpha muttered irritably and stood up, storming to his room. Himchan followed him, pausing to bow at her. The woman sighed – she wasn’t blind; she knew Himchan and Jongup had a deeper relationship – and made her way into the dining room, eyes immediately locking onto the suitcase on the table.

Juhyeon’s lips curled into a smirk as she read the words ‘Property of Bang Inc’ and she ran a hand over the case, unlocking it and pulling out the contract.

“Jinae,” she turned and faced the maid, who always answered the door.

“Yes, ma’am?” she answered immediately.

“Did Bang Yongguk drop this off?” She lifted the contract. Her eyes pierced into Jinae’s, as if she could tell if the maid even thought about lying to her.

“N-Not personally, ma’am... His secretary did,” her eyes flickered from the contract to the woman nervously. The poor maid had only been working in the mansion for the past month, and had never been talked to directly by the mistress, let alone questioned.

The woman’s smirk deepened, “Very good. I believe you were given instructions that Bang Yongguk is never to step foot in this house again, correct?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Juhyeon took a deep breath, about to tell the maid why, but she decided that the young girl didn’t need to know.

“Very good,” she repeated, before dismissing the skittish maid.

Her eyes darkened as she read the title of the contract, and she ran a finger over the large font.

Union of Bang Yongguk and Choi Junhong.

Her smirk dropped and she scowled hatefully, throwing the contract back into the suitcase and slamming it shut.

She would ruin Bang Yongguk, if it was the last thing she did.

find me @junhng on tumblr!

dun dun dun.....

if you didn't catch my story notice, i basically just said that there won't be explicit in this fic anymore, even though it will be hinted at! sorry for the disappointment but also, it would've been a disappointment if i had written it, so it's kind of a lose-lose situation

tell me what you think of this chapter!

next chapter, there's a time skip, so be prepared~