Part 1

Jongin wakes up to the loud ringing of his doorbell, followed by his brother’s frustrated call. “I know you’re in there, so get your up and let’s go!” Jongdae yells outside the front door, somewhere far away and for a moment, Jongin just thinks it’s all a dream.

But then his phone starts to ring loudly as well and the young silver head lets out a defeated groan. This isn’t a dream at all. He sits up from his bed slowly, ruffling his hair as he checks the clock. It’s half past six in the morning.

What the hell? he asks from himself, annoyed beyond belief. His brothers know that he isn’t a morning person – Jongin never gets up before nine, and now they come knocking on his door around half seven?

He gets up, puts on some old sweatpants and a plain white T-shirt, then hurrying to the door with a plan to murder his step-brother, Kim Jongdae and possibly his other step-brother, the oldest of the three, Kim Joonmyun. He knows the other must be there too.

Jongin swings open the door and he is met with a very unimpressed looking Jongdae. The older (but shorter) man is dressed in an expensive suit and looks like he is ready for a top-class business meeting and Jongin looks like he should be living in the streets.

“Ha! I knew you wouldn’t remember”, Jongdae snorts before pushing through Jongin and into the younger’s expensive apartment. Jongin watches with annoyed eyes as his older brother slumps down on the gray couch and acts like he would own the place. “Do you know what day it is today?” Jongdae then asks while lazily playing with his phone.

“Monday?” Jongin offers, ready to close the door. But just as he is about to, he hears closing footsteps and looks out, seeing that Joonmyun is running to the door, as fast as he can with those expensive, leather shoes whilst still wearing a tight suit.

“Good morning, Jongin!” Joonmyun brightly greets, way too bright, before he too, slips past the house owner and sits next to Jongdae. “Why don’t you go and make yourself look at least acceptable. Please put on that suit we bought last week. And oh yeah – we’re going to go and buy you a bunch more today, so be prepared for a long day.”

“Why?” Jongin asks, confused, but he still starts to march towards his dressing room, where all his expensive clothes are.

“Well, dear brother, today is the day you take over father”, Jongdae says with a chuckle.

“It’s going to be lovely! You’re going to be the greatest CEO ever seen”, Joonmyun chirps in, way too happy and with a tone too light.

Oh yeah, today is that day, the youngest finally remembers and his mood drops below zero faster than Jongdae can open his mouth and scream – and believe him, Jongdae is fast.

With a deep sigh, Jongin does as he is told. He goes to his dressing room and picks out the black suit Joonmyun bought him last week and starts to slowly dress.

“You have ten minutes!” Jongdae yells from the living room.

So Jongin speeds up.

He dresses quickly, fixes his silver hair to perfection before going to the bathroom and washing his teeth hastily, as well as messily washing his face before wiping it dry, and then he is ready. When he comes back, he is exactly on time and Joonmyun is waiting for him with a mug of steaming hot coffee.

“But I don’t drink coffee”, Jongin comments, taking the mug offered to him with slight dread.

“Yet. You don’t drink coffee yet”, Joonmyun corrects before they head for the waiting black car outside. Jongdae has already taken his seat next to the driver and seems impatient. Jongin again, would rather stay in his bed and sleep the day away but he can’t. Not when his father’s company has been laid right over his shoulders.

Despite being the youngest, Jongin is the one to inherit what was owned by his father. The well-known technology-based company, that everyone in Asia knows. His older step-brothers, Jongdae and Joonmyun get their own fair share, but as they are not blood-relatives of Jongin, the position of the big boss goes to him.

He knows his father wouldn’t really mind having Joonmyun as the head CEO, because the eldest is also the wisest and knows his stuff – but Joonmyun had long refused that spot. He rather takes care of everything from the shadows and puts Jongin in the spotlight. You could say that his brothers are in the company, controlling it from the shadows together with Jongin, but he is the one who talks to the media and portrays the whole company.

The job of course, comes with great responsibility and in the young age of twenty-five, Jongin doesn’t think he is quite ready for it.

“You’ll do fine”, Joonmyun reassures as he fixes Jongin’s tie. “Today you have to only show up, smile at the workers and bond with your floor-masters; the people who will be working directly under you. Jongdae and I, as we have been part of this world longer, will take care of the rest until you’re ready. You won’t even notice it, but little by little, you will be given more and more responsibility until the control is all yours.”

“Yeah, and the old man gave you a lot of training too, so you’ll be perfectly fine”, Jongdae says from his position, giving a lazy smile to Jongin.

That is true. His father, who had fallen sick with a deathly cancer two years ago, had pulled Jongin out of college and started to teach him how to control a company. And Jongin learned well, he does believe that he has good starters in his hands but… he isn’t that good with people. He is afraid that the workers, those who have been in the company for years, won’t accept him, and the father who passed away five months ago, couldn’t teach him how to work with others.

Jongin has no idea what kind of people his floor-masters are or does he even have his own secretary, or will he have to get a one himself.

“C’mon Jongin, trust yourself”, Jongdae says to him when he sees that uncertain look in his younger brother’s eyes. “You are a handsome young man, polite and intelligent – you’ll do fine. The people will love you and Joonmyun will inform you about the people who are… hm, how should I put it?” Jongdae has a thoughtful look on his face.

“Hard to understand?” Jongin offers but Jongdae shakes his head, not quite satisfied.

Then he seems to get it, a bright smile forming on his lips. “Ah! Sarcastic little heads, that’s what I was looking for!”

“There’s only one sarcastic little head there”, Joonmyun calmly says. “And that’s Baekhyun.”

Jongdae shrugs his shoulders and turns back towards the front. “If I could, I would fire him.”

“No, you wouldn’t”, Joonmyun counters and Jongdae doesn’t say anything to that, so the elder must be right, Jongin concludes. But honestly, the young silver head wouldn’t mind having a sarcastic head in his company – he has the tendency to like those kinds of people. They’re funny, in their own weird way.

Not too long after, the car stops in front of a big building that isn’t quite as tall as a skyscraper, but close. Outside, there are waiting a bunch of reporters and Joonmyun sighs before taking a hold of Jongin’s sleeve.

“Walk and don’t stop. Don’t say anything, just ignore them. Once you’re in, you’re safe. Jongdae and I will be taking care of the media until you’re fully settled in your new job, alright?” Joonmyun gives Jongin a stern look and the younger just nods, his heart nervously beating inside his chest. “Good. Then let’s go.”

If it wasn’t for Joonmyun, Jongin would’ve gotten stuck somewhere between the reporters, but unlike he, his older brother isn’t afraid of pushing people out of his path and with a tail between his legs, Jongin follows. Only once they’re inside secured doors, can the young CEO breathe in relief.

“That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” Jongdae asks with a bright smile as he fixes his hair. “Now behold, Jongin. This is your company now.”

The youngest Kim looks around in awe. He hadn't gone to visit his father’s company ever, what is a surprise to many, but honestly, Jongin wanted nothing but to keep out of it. But the building isn’t actually half as bad – it’s modernly designed, spacious, full of funny modern-art and everyone walking by is dressed in suits and elegant dresses. Even though Jongin is wearing an expensive suit as well, he can’t help but feel out of place.

Places like this were never for him.

But apparently, this building, this company, is going to be his second home, from now on.

Jongin really doesn’t know what to think of it.

“So, in the first floor there’s nothing really important – except the cafeteria, but it isn’t such a good one. You should use the café on the other side of the road, that’s the best in Seoul. Your secretary will certainly inform you about that later”, Jongdae starts to explain, swinging his arms around like crazy. “There are also some meeting rooms down here, for the not so important guests like reporters, if you’re giving an interview, for example. The really important guest you might want to meet up at your own floor-“

“My own floor?” Jongin cuts in, surprised.

“Yeah”, Joonmyun nods, as they guide the confused CEO towards some elevators. “You have your own private floor, where your office is. You also have couple of small meeting rooms there. The Lu&Wu-corporation is sending out their CEOs next week, and I suggest you meet them up there. They are our long and most-trusted business partners.”

They step into the elevator and Jongdae presses button number four right away. “Don’t mind floor number two and three – there’s nothing important there.”

“No, no, Jongdae’s wrong”, Joonmyun disagrees. “Our company’s main archery is in floor number two and the computer-rooms and break-rooms are on floor number three, as well as some offices. But floor number four is considerably more important, since that’s-“

“Baekhyun’s floor”, Jongdae finishes for the eldest and Joonmyun nods curtly.

“Who is Baekhyun?” Jongin asks quietly.

“The marketing manager”, Joonmyun tells him with a soft sigh. “He does his job well, extremely well, but he is a bit of a…”

“?” the second oldest offers but Joonmyun ignores it.

“No, he’s someone very devoted to his job. Byun Baekhyun”, Joonmyun ends with a smile that promises no good. “You’ll eventually realize what we mean. He’s clingy. He’s a bit whiny, but not as whiny as Jongdae. He is clever and- I must say, I kind of agree with Jongdae now. He’s a bit of a too.”

“Great”, Jongin mumbles. Obviously this company is bound to have at least one whiny not-so-big-but-still-a- kind of guy.

They enter the fourth floor, Jongin feeling slightly sick to the stomach. What if this Byun Baekhyun is a huge bodybuilder that has no intensions of working under him? What if he’s like two meters tall and really ugly? Jongin swallows nervously at the thought of that; he doesn’t think he can have someone like that in this company.

Well, soon enough Jongin learns that he was afraid for nothing.

Byun Baekhyun isn’t a two meters high bodybuilder, but a man as petite as Jongdae, with fluffy brown hair and friendly brown eyes and a bright smile. To be honest, he is nothing like Jongin expected. But he does scare the out of Jongin, when the first thing flying at him when he enters is a sharp pencil. The new CEO is only able to survive the attack because Joonmyun pulls him aside with quick reflexes and the pencil hits Jongdae instead – right on the forehead.

The second oldest Kim-brother lets out a long, not-so-happy whine. “Baekhyun! What the hell?”

“You deserved that! You know I had to stay overnight because of this bull you decided to drop on me just yesterday – you do realize that I need to finish filling all these papers just in three days?” comes a voice just as whiny, dripping with venom.

Jongin blinks his eyes couple of times before the short man comes in sight, his wrinkled suit loosely hanging around his thin frame. Baekhyun has a dark glare on his face and two piles of paper on his already messy desk. The office itself is quite clean, nothing is out of place and it smells fresh. What Jongin is concerned is just the fact that Baekhyun – as a small person he is – might drown amongst those papers soon, if he doesn’t clean his table.

“Well, Chanyeol already finished his. Do you want to be left behind by that giant? You know Sehun is going to tease you a lot about that”, Joonmyun says, just as calm as always, but there was a hint of annoyance in his eyes.

“What? He did?” the small man by his desk asks with round eyes. Both Jongdae and Joonmyun nod, and Jongin finds himself nodding along. But in reality, he doesn’t have any idea what is going on and who this Chanyeol-guy is.

“Damn”, Baekhyun curses quietly. “Then I guess I have to finish everything today…”

“Now, that’s the spirit!” Joonmyun says cheerfully, before turning a bit more serious. “But before you start doing anything, I want you to say hello to a very special and important person. Baekhyun, this is-“

“Have you finally gotten yourself a boyfriend, hyung?” Baekhyun interrupts, lazily looking at Jongin. “He’s hot though, so I can’t make fun of him.”

Joonmyun’s eyebrow twitches in annoyance but he bravely keeps his smile. “No, he is not my boyfriend. This is Kim Jongin, your new boss, Baekhyun. And my younger brother, please say hi to him.”

Baekhyun lets out a hum, sipping his coffee peacefully. About three seconds pass until suddenly the small man spits out all that bitter liquid, his eyes going so wide Jongin thinks they might pop out of his head soon. “He’s WHAT?”

“Your new boss”, Jongdae repeats for Joonmyun. “He is the youngest son of your old boss, Kim Jongin. Be nice to him, Baekhyun, because this man has the power to fire you without consequences.”

There’s coffee staining all the papers on Baekhyun’s desk but the small man doesn’t seem to care. His eyes are fixated on Jongin and the new CEO gives him a nervous smile.

“Hi”, he says and Baekhyun gawks at him some more.

“You are the new boss?” the small brunette then asks after a moment of awkward silence. “Are you guys saying that my new boss is a man probably younger than me and this ing hot? Whoa, Sehun is a lucky guy-“

“Baekhyun, respect”, Joonmyun curtly says and the brunette nods his head hastily, looking down at his desk and he seems to finally realize what kind of a mess he made.

“Oh crap- all my papers! Yah, could this day start any better?!” He starts to look through his papers, looking for some tissue to fix it with, but it’s hopeless. Joonmyun yanks Jongin’s sleeve and starts to motion for them to head out.

“Jongdae, stay and help him”, the eldest says and Jongdae whines a little, but agrees to stay behind, watching his brothers’ backs as they walk away.

“He didn’t seem that bad”, Jongin comments when they step back into the elevator. Joonmyun lets out a hearty chuckle.

“Oh dear, you haven’t seen anything yet”, the older says but doesn’t tell any more, even when Jongin tries to pry. The next floor they enter, is the floor number seven, that is apparently Chanyeol’s floor.

Chanyeol isn’t too much different from Baekhyun; he is messy as well, complains a lot but does his work well. He looks totally different though. Chanyeol is tall, taller than Jongin and he has soft, cotton-candy pink hair and big ears, also very big, pretty scared looking eyes. He smiles a lot too; the guy is nothing but big smiles as they have a small talk. He is pleasant and very friendly as well, so Jongin thinks they’ll get well-along.

“Why did he have pink hair?” Jongin asks from his older brother when they step out of the kind giant’s office.

“He lost a bet to Baekhyun and had to dye it. But doesn’t it fit him quite well? I think it’s cute”, his brother answers, with a chirpy voice that has Jongin questioning his sanity. How can someone sound so happy at this ungodly hour (the clock is nearing eight, but Jongin counts all hours before nine to be ungodly)?

“The next floor is yours”, Joonmyun tells as they enter the elevator again and the older pushes button ten and then they’re moving up.

It’s quiet when Jongin steps out. And that feels weird after having so many talkative workers around him, but he enjoys the silence. His floor isn’t big; the ceiling is high up like in the other floors, there’s a lot of space and the whole floor is made of dark gray wood, some black and white furry carpets there and there. Jongin can see meeting rooms as they make their way forward. The floor basically consists of a one, spacious hall, continuing all the way to the door of Jongin’s office.

Outside the office is the secretary’s own office – a desk at the same size as Chanyeol’s and Baekhyun’s, though this time a lot more organized. There are lots of documents perfectly resting against each other, the shelves behind filled with them too. The computer is on and there’s a steaming hot coffee mug on the table and a suit’s jacket.

It means he has a secretary and that it’s a man. And that he is there right now. Well, Jongin thinks he gets along with males better than females anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

“Your secretary is always at work before you, or he comes in at the same time”, Joonmyun says as he notices how Jongin is eyeing the secretary’s table. “He is probably at the kitchen right now. Jongin, that man, your secretary, is probably going to be the most important person in your life for the next couple of months, as you get used to living like a CEO. He knows everything you need to know as well, he arranges your meetings, your lunch-breaks, all the papers coming from downstairs go through him before they get to you.

“He doesn’t read the papers, he just arranges them so it’ll be easier for you to read them. He’ll take care of basically everything. If you ask for a massage, I’m sure he’ll give it to you. If you want a parrot as your pet, hell, he’ll find you a one. Anything, Jongin, anything. That man is a miracle-worker.”

Joonmyun stops rambling as he guides Jongin towards the one open door. “Over there is the bathroom for your guests and the secretary. You have your own that you can enter through your office. And this is the kitchen, used by you and your secretary.”

Jongin nods heatedly. He can’t wait to see the man Joonmyun talks so highly of – the man who is going to be the most important person in his life for couple of months. Interesting, Jongin thinks, excited.

They step into the kitchen, Joonmyun first and Jongin right behind him. As expected, the kitchen is just as modernly decorated as the rest of the building, but there’s warmth inside this room. The lights are turned off as there’s a big window at the other side, letting in the light of sun and Jongin smiles. It might be December, but there’s still some light to share.

He can smell the coffee and something even more delicious – it’s the scent of honey and citrus, a very addicting sweet yet slightly spicy scent. And for some reason, Jongin can right away tell that it’s not coming from a food or tea; instead it’s someone’s odor he is smelling. After a while of looking around, Jongin can spot that person and honestly, he has to do his everything to stop his jaw from dropping to the floor.

The man is gorgeous. What Jongin first sees are the long, slim legs, strong and thick looking thighs and up he goes – there’s that slim, a bit feminine waist, but the more he goes up, the easier it’s for him to tell that the man is pretty well toned. He can basically see the slim yet defined muscles under that white collar-shirt, and talking about collars, this man has some damn beautiful collarbones, so delicate.

Jongin’s eyes meet with eyes just as curious as his own, hazelnut brown and shaped like two cute almonds. The other’s skin is a lot paler than Jongin’s, looking smoother than should be possible and Jongin wonders if it feels like silk. The man has rusty orange hair that strangely fits him quite ing well, but the young CEO bets any hair-color would just feel honored to be used by this gorgeous human being.

He expected to meet an old man, a butler-like secretary you see in animes and movies, or maybe a super-cute, awkward woman but instead he gets this super-hot man with the prettiest eyes Jongin has ever seen.

“Good morning, Sehun”, Joonmyun greets happily the man standing by the sink, hands dipped in water. He has rolled up his sleeves and Jongin swallows nervously when Sehun’s arm-muscles flex beautifully under that milky skin.

They watch in silence as Sehun wipes his hands dry before fully turning at Joonmyun and Jongin, a judging look in his eyes.

“This is Kim Jongin, your new boss. Please say hi to him, and be nice too, Sehun”, Joonmyun continues, ignoring the fact that Sehun didn’t answer his greeting. Jongin is starting to feel more and more nervous under Sehun’s piercing eyes and he feels like letting the earth swallow him whole.

But then Sehun smiles, sweet but definitely mischievous and Jongin feels like the happiest man alive. Not many get to see this gorgeous human smiling at them, right?

“Hi there”, the secretary brightly greets as he rolls his sleeves down and straightens his shirt before taking couple of steps forward. Joonmyun slips aside with an evil grin as Sehun stands in front of Jongin, arms crossed over his chest. The other leans a bit closer until Jongin can feel his honey breath on his lips and his cheeks flame red.

“It’s nice to meet you, Kim Jongin. My name is Oh Sehun and I am your secretary.” The orange-haired man tilts his head a little and smiles wider – such an innocent gesture yet Jongin feels like there’s something hidden between. Somehow, Oh Sehun manages to make that gesture seem like a sin and a blessing from the gods at the same time.

“H-hi”, he manages to squeak back and Sehun laughs, delighted. Joonmyun just shakes his head.

“Sehun, feel bad for the new guy, will you? I know Jongin is pretty good-looking, but hold your horses”, the eldest says and Sehun laughs a bit louder. What a sweet laughter, Jongin thinks dreamily.

“Who says I’m the one who needs to hold my horses?” Sehun asks from Joonmyun before giving a playful wink at Jongin – then the other takes a step back and leans on the big dinner-table behind him. His shirt lifts just the slightest, revealing a stripe of white skin before Sehun fixes it, hiding whatever secrets are hidden under his thin clothing.

“Hm, you might be right”, Joonmyun agrees and only then Jongin realizes that they are talking about him.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” he asks with narrowed eyes while his cheeks are still colored red. Both Joonmyun and Sehun share a chuckle before the secretary answers for the eldest Kim.

“Well, dear boss”, Sehun says, honey dripping from every word. The other takes a brave step forward again, curling his fingers around Jongin’s collar. “I know I’m very irresistible”, he then whispers, low but still loud enough for Joonmyun to hear too. The older snickers and Jongin’s face turns even redder, his whole body going rigid.

And Sehun chuckles brightly before slipping past the new CEO, towards his awaiting desk. “Welcome, Mr. Kim. I hope you’ll enjoy your time here. Because I sure know I’m going to enjoy having you around.”

Sehun is beautiful and he has a colorful personality, Jongin comes to learn this on his first week at work. While everything company-related goes past smoothly with the help of Joonmyun and Jongdae, everything related to the boss-secretary relationship goes downhill.

Jongin doesn’t really know how to act around Sehun. When it comes to his other workers, like Baekhyun and Chanyeol, the new CEO can handle them pretty professionally. They are really nice people, though a bit whiny, and often ask Jongin to join them for lunch, which the CEO never does, but it’s still a nice gesture.

Sehun again, is a problem to Jongin. The orange-haired man always manages to knock the air out of Jongin (the good way) when they see and the secretary is painfully obvious of his infatuation towards him. He is flirty and annoyingly, always a step or two ahead of Jongin, seems to know everything about well, everything and Sehun very well knows that it annoys Jongin. But he also knows that he can easily get away with it.

The orange-haired secretary is simply someone irreplaceable in the company. He keeps Jongin together under all the piling work, organizes everything and guides the CEO – even though, every time they talk, Sehun somehow manages to slip some snarky and flirty comments in. And Sehun knows that even if someone else would say that they want to get rid of him, Jongin would never fire him.

Sehun is smart like that. He knows that if they fire him, the company will be in trouble – Jongin will be in trouble. The CEO, despite not enjoying Sehun’s teasing, very much likes the secretary’s bubbly company.

Sehun has been in the company for four years, he joined when he was only twenty and has always worked directly under Jongin’s father. The new CEO doesn’t know why and how Sehun got so high so fast, but he doesn’t pry. It’s not like Sehun would even bother answering him. And that’s what bothers Jongin the most. The secretary seems to know everything about him; he knows a lot about Jongin’s past, knows his father better than Jongin does and maybe even Jongdae and Joonmyun. It’s kind of painful to the CEO, but he can also understand.

When Jongin still wasn’t part of this whole business-world, he showed no interest towards it. He lived in his own little world that was filled with dancing and photography and studies about history. He has always been an intelligent kid, he knows a lot about technology and his father would have loved had he majored in engineering or something akin to that. But the young CEO never completed his studies, as he was pulled away from college in order to help his dying father.

And here he is now, helping the already deceased old man by taking care of his company, even though he’d rather be at the dance-studio or taking pictures of Seoul’s nature and people. When Jongin was younger, he wasn’t part of any of this. It was only about two years ago that he was forced into a world he never wanted to see.

And Sehun has been there longer, so of course he knows things Jongin doesn’t. The secretary also has access to Jongin’s background info, unlike the CEO. He has asked about it from Joonmyun; if Sehun can see his past, why can Jongin see the secretary’s?

“Because there are no records”, Joonmyun had answered with a sweet smile on his face, like always. “But don’t worry about it. Father picked Sehun for this job himself and so far, it seems like he made the right choice. Sehun is trustworthy, Jongin, believe me.”

And the new CEO did. Why wouldn’t he? Sehun has never showed him any signs of betraying the company even though every day, every hour, important and sensitive information passes through his desk.

Jongin can’t help but wonder, is Sehun loyal to his father? Or maybe to Joonmyun, since they’re close. But to Jongin, the orange-haired man isn’t loyal to. Not yet anyway.

“So, the two heads of the Lu&Wu-corporation are coming in two days”, Sehun’s voice pipes up and Jongin nearly chokes on his morning tea (and yes, he still refuses to drink coffee). He looks up from his desk and sees his beautiful secretary stand couple of meters away with a pile of papers in his hands as usual, bathing in the Tuesday morning’s sunlight.

Oh yeah, there’s a one flaw in the otherwise so perfect secretary Oh Sehun.

The man doesn’t knock.

He just comes in whenever he wants, always managing to catch Jongin off guard and of course Sehun seems to enjoy it. And no matter how Jongin tells him to knock, the other never does. He also never calls Jongin by his first name – to the secretary, he is Mr. Kim, boss or sir. Which is kind of annoying, because Jongin wouldn’t mind hearing his name roll of the other’s talented tongue.

“It’s your first meeting as the new CEO and also one of the most important ones you'll ever have”, Sehun continues, as if he wouldn’t have scared the (tea) out of Jongin just now. The secretary walks closer with peaceful steps before dropping the papers down and taking some left from yesterday into his long arms. “The Lu&Wu-corporation from China is an old business partner. The two heads, Lu Han and Wu Yifan are coming to meet you in order to talk about expanding their branches into here, Seoul. Your older brothers will be joining you on Thursday noon, Mr. Kim.”

Jongin lets out a tired hum, still not used to waking up at half six and getting to work at seven or earlier. He can’t help but wonder how Sehun always manages to be there earlier than he even though he leaves later than Jongin. Chanyeol said that Sehun is probably the last person leaving the building each night and the first to come in the next day.

“How do you even survive?” Jongin asks before he can stop himself.

The orange-haired secretary smiles, as if he had expected that question. “It’s just something you’ll get used to as time passes by”, Sehun then answers as he lets his eyes run over the papers in his hands. The secretary hums softly, seeming pleased. “Well then, you’ll find me from my desk, if you need anything.”

But before the other manages to leave, Jongin asks; “Listen, Joonmyun said that if I want to survive this hell, I should start drinking coffee. But I don’t like bitter stuff. Do you know any good cafés that make sweeter coffee?”

“Starbucks?” Sehun offers.

“No, no”, Jongin shakes his head. “I don’t like their drinks all that much, believe me, I have tried.”

Sehun has a thoughtful look on his face before his eyes brighten up. “Minseok’s café on the other side of the street- you’ll find everything you want from there. From cakes to different kind of coffees to cute mugs and handmade chocolate. But it’s kind of expensive, as this part of Seoul is b with companies and rich people. It’s a top-class café.”

“Sounds good”, Jongin hums, turning his gaze towards his big windows. His office is in the size of a small apartment; his desk is huge and filled with unnecessary papers, a table computer and a laptop as well as at least two tablets. There is a TV in his office as well, surrounded by black leather couches and the walls are colored in different shades of gray. It’s modernly decorated, like everything else in the building and Jongin doesn’t mind.

But the office still feels empty and cold to him, and he has no idea how to make it better.

“I suggest you visit it on your lunch-break today, sir. And if you know the right people, you’ll easily get some discount from the owner”, Sehun says, following Jongin’s gaze out of the window. They cannot see the café from there but Jongin’s expectations have risen thanks to Sehun. He now really expects it to be a top-class café and not some ty old, small and dirty diner.

“The right people… Does that mean you?” the CEO asks from Sehun, who talks fondly of the owner and with no honorifics, which must mean that the man knows him.

The orange-haired secretary lets out a soft chuckle. “Maybe. But I actually meant Chanyeol or Baekhyun – even your two hyungs know the café owner.”

“Is it commonly used by everyone?”

“Yeah. It’s pretty simple, because Minseok’s café is the best café. It’s quality with still a reasonable prize – well, for a rich person – and the owner and the workers are pretty to look at, and the café is aesthetically very pleasing.” Sehun spins a pen between his fingers, something Jongin has noticed him doing a lot. Maybe it’s because the other is nervous, but that the CEO has hard time believing because Sehun is never nervous. Or at least he doesn’t behave like he would be.

“Then maybe I should agree to go to lunch with those two idiots”, Jongin mumbles, crossing his arms over his chest and Sehun smiles at him.

“Maybe you should.”

After that, the secretary excuses himself and disappears back to his own desk. He leaves Jongin’s door open because the CEO asked so. Jongin has his own reasons for it – this way he can see if someone wants to come in and also, he can continue observing his orange-haired secretary in secret. He likes to watch as Sehun works, it’s “aesthetically pleasing” and interesting to watch. When the secretary is not teasing Jongin or making fun of Chanyeol and Baekhyun, he actually does his job, and very well too.

Jongin watches as Sehun’s long fingers move on his keyboard effortlessly as the secretary writes something down before looking through some files and writing something down again. This continues for hours or so and even though Jongin does his own job at the same time, he can nearly always be seen watching Sehun.

At some point, the secretary catches his gaze and smirks knowingly, his eyes twinkling like two stars in the night sky. Jongin’s crush on the other is so obvious that it’s no wonder Sehun likes to about it and flirt, just to see how the new CEO reacts.

When the clock hits twelve, Chanyeol and Baekhyun come out of the elevator just like always at this time, and the bickering floor-masters don’t forget to say hello to Sehun as they walk past the secretary’s desk.

“Have you been working a lot?” Baekhyun asks from the orange-haired man who hums as an answer, his gaze still fixated on the computer screen. “Setting plans for the next month?” A new hum. “Great! Don’t forget to work on mine calendar too! You know you’re the only one I trust to know how to make it perfect, just for me.”

“Of course”, Sehun nods, not paying any more attention to Baekhyun.

“Do mine as well!” Chanyeol chirps in and Sehun waves his hand as an answer, indicating that he heard and registered it in his mind.

Chanyeol smiles brightly at Jongin when they step into the office. The giant drops some documents on the table, as expected before asking him to join them for lunch. “We’re going to the café close by, are you in? It’s a really good café.”

“So I heard…” Jongin mutters as he closes his computer. “And I think I’ll take your offer today.” He stands up and Baekhyun throws his coat at him.

“Then let’s go!” the brunette floor-master says before hurrying out of the CEO’s office, Jongin and Chanyeol trailing after him.

“Are you coming?” Jongin stops to ask from Sehun, who is typing something on his phone while still reading through an endless amount of papers.

Sehun looks up at him with surprised eyes, his fingers stopping for a moment. “Me? Do I look like I have time right now? I’ll just eat something from the kitchen, you just go ahead, Mr. Kim.” And then the secretary’s attention is back on his work.

“You better eat something really fatty, Sehun! Your skinny needs some meat”, Baekhyun comments from the other side of the hall, already tapping the elevator’s button up and down, impatient.

“But I still have a better than you, yet you eat twice the amount I do – so, the point of your logic is…?” Sehun counters with a devilish smile on his lips and Jongin silently agrees; Sehun does have a really nice .

Jongin hears Baekhyun curse as he steps into the elevator, eyeing the grumpy male with both confused and amused eyes. He has never been a work place that allows these kinds of conversations – especially when Sehun is just a secretary and Baekhyun a floor-master. But when he asks about it from the two, Chanyeol just laughs, saying that they’re close friends with Sehun.

“He’s been here just as long as Baekhyun and I, and since he is at the same age, it’s easy to be around him. He also isn’t as uptight as many others and behaves normally around us”, the pink-haired giant says with a fond smile playing on his lips. “He is a good and loyal friend, believe me boss.”

Jongin just nods at that, wondering if he’ll ever be able to consider Sehun as his friend. It also makes him wonder what kind of a relationship the secretary used to have with his father; where they close? Did the old man consider Sehun as his friend or just a secretary?

He doesn’t manage to give it anymore thought as they arrive to the café, Golden Cloud as the sign says. Jongin is right away distracted by the delicious scent lingering in the air and it’s warm inside, the place glowing warm light and friendliness. It feels kind of safe, Jongin realizes as he looks around the beautifully decorated café.

Unlike his company, the café has been decorated with older furniture, giving the customer a look back to the past, around 19th century. Everything seems to be in good shape though and the walls shine beautiful white, beige and very light yellow, golden decorations on the walls. There aren’t lots of people in, only couple of well-dressed men that are probably from the companies close by and there’s a quiet, peaceful atmosphere Jongin immediately takes a liking to.

A small part of the café is dedicated for all the goods they sell. Jongin has a soft smile on his lips as he looks through the dozen different candies and hand-made chocolates on the shelves, alongside with cute mugs just like Sehun said and cakes that look too beautiful to be real.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Baekhyun asks from him with a chuckle and Jongin nods his head eagerly, momentarily forgetting that he’s is supposed to act like a CEO and not a kindergarten kid in sugar. “Minseok really knows how to impress his customers from day to another. Oh, Chanyeol look! There’s a new cake here- whoa, if I wouldn’t know better, I’d say it’s dedicated to Lu Han-“

“Baekhyun, hands off”, comes a new voice just as Baekhyun is about to dip his fingers into a beautiful strawberry cake with roses on top of white cream. The cake is resting by the café counter, waiting to be put in safety from greedy hands like Baekhyun’s and a short man with fluffy blonde hair stands behind it, hands on his hips.

The man looks really young and the first thing Jongin thinks, is that he must be the owner’s son or maybe a student working there. His fluffy blonde hair makes him look younger than the CEO and cute cat-like eyes look at Baekhyun with disdain, yet there’s still a hint of warmth in them.

“Ah! Minseok-hyung, it’s a beautiful day today, isn’t it?” Baekhyun is quick to pull his hands away from the cake and he greets the blonde man with a bright grin. “We brought our new boss here today, why don’t you say hi to him?”

Couple of minutes later Jongin learns that the blonde man by the counter is not the owner’s son, but the owner himself and actually two years older than Jongin. Well, the years have been good to him, Jongin thinks as he eyes the man who looks back at him with bored eyes. Baekhyun excitedly explains that Minseok opened this café five years ago with the help of his husband and every cake and chocolate in there are directly baked and decorated by the small blonde man.

“There’s only one other man hyung trusts his cakes with, and that’s Kyungsoo, his most-trusted worker. You’re going to meet him eventually and I’m sure you’ll love him!” Chanyeol tells and Minseok rolls his eyes before ushering them to get their orders done so he could go back to working on some new cake.

Sehun was right when he said that the café is aesthetically pleasing to look at and so are the workers. Although, Jongin sees only Minseok he can understand why everyone is so keen on coming here over and over again. It’s not only because the food is good – it’s pretty damn good, by the way – but also because the owner is interesting and his work around the café is beautiful to look at. Jongin is amazed by the way Minseok so effortlessly glazes one cake in dark chocolate by the counter, creating a mirror-like surface.

“You should buy a piece of that cake to Sehun, he loves chocolate”, Chanyeol comments, noticing how Jongin looks at the just made cake. “And he’ll also love you if you buy him that.”

“What?” Jongin turns to look at Chanyeol with round eyes and suddenly he feels the need to jump up and go by the whole cake, despite it being quite pricey.

Baekhyun shares an amused and knowing look with the pink-haired giant sitting next to him. “Sehun loves Minseok’s cakes and chocolates over everything else in this world. Buy him a piece and he’ll forever be loyal to you. Chocolate cakes are his favorite, that kid has a sweet-tooth.”

“And he works hard, so if you won’t buy him a piece, maybe I should. As a thank you for arranging my calendar alongside with yours and Baekhyun’s”, Chanyeol continues with a thoughtful hum but Jongin stops him before he can move.

“I’ll buy it, alright? And I should probably buy some actual food because I don’t think there’s any by the kitchen in my floor…” Jongin frowns slightly, thinking back to the empty fridge. It’s rarely filled with anything and unless he asks for Sehun to go grocery shopping (which has happened only once), there’s only some milk and soda in the fridge.

“Minseok-hyung can also cook and I’m sure he has some kimchi-soup in the kitchen”, Baekhyun nods, humming as he takes a bite of his lime-cheesecake, smiling happily at the taste. “Just say that you want to buy something for Sehun and Minseok will give you everything you want for free. He loves that brat and would give him anything, probably even his house if it would make him happy.”

“Seriously?”

Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun nod. “Sehun grew up in the same neighborhood as Minseok, and hyung took care of him countless of times when they were younger. Sometimes I wonder does he love Sehun more than his husband…” Chanyeol says and Baekhyun continues to nod his head eagerly. “But you probably should buy some food to the fridge, just so the two of you won’t starve up there.”

Jongin agrees with a soft hum, finishing his salad and coffee first before separating with his two workers, as they leave back to the company building and Jongin goes to the counter. Minseok who has been furiously typing on his phone stops and looks up at Jongin with raised brows and his piercing brown eyes make the CEO slightly nervous. Minseok may look harmless but there’s a chocolate covered knife close by and Jongin feels like the blonde isn’t afraid to use it, should he say one-word wrong.

“Um, hi again”, Jongin awkwardly starts and Minseok straightens himself, putting his phone away. “I heard that you know Sehun and I’m supposed to buy some food for him- would it be too much of a trouble for you to-“

“I get it, wait here”, Minseok cuts in and disappears into the kitchen, leaving a flustered looking Jongin behind. The blonde owner is nervous to be around but still, when it comes to leaving Jongin flustered and confused, Sehun tops everyone else.

The silver-haired CEO stands by the counter like a fool until after about ten minutes, Minseok comes back with a plastic bag that radiates heat. “This is for the idiot”, the blonde says, pushing it to Jongin through the counter. “Anything else?”

“A piece of that chocolate cake you were making just now”, Jongin says. “Please.” Thank god, he remembered to add that.

Minseok smirks at him with his eyes twinkling like two stars. “Oh, I see~ Looks like ChanBaek advised you to how to get into Sehun’s heart, the easy way”, the owner chuckles but before Jongin can protest, he is already cutting a generous piece from his chocolate cake. The glace is still warm and gooey, runny, as he puts the piece into a box and seals it close with a sticker of the café’s logo.

Minseok names the price after giving the box to Jongin and telling him to be careful and the CEO is surprised when it’s only the piece of cake he has to pay. When he asks about it from Minseok, the owner just shrugs his shoulders and answers; “The food in the plastic bag isn’t in the menu, so there’s no named price. Today it just happens to be free, that’s all.”

Jongin stares at the blonde man for a moment before looking at the chocolate cake. He feels bad seeing that the beautiful mirror-glace is slightly ruined because Minseok had to cut a piece from it before it was even set. “I’m sorry about the cake”, he apologies politely and Minseok just shakes his head with a smile.

“You can always make a new one”, the owner says and that’s it. Jongin leaves with a thank you and soft bye, then stepping out to the chilly winter. He misses the café’s warmth right away but knowing that Sehun is waiting for him (well, not really), the CEO pushes down the urge to return and heads for his company.

As promised, Sehun does seem pleased when Jongin drops the plastic bag on the kitchen table when he returns. The orange-haired secretary was sitting there with his laptop in front of him and a cup of steaming tea when Jongin stomped in, trying his best not to shake the box in his hands. He hopes the cake is still okay when he gently lays it on the table, letting out a sigh of relief.

“You’re still working?” he asks from Sehun as he takes his coat off and the secretary hums, gaze fixated on the screen. “Don’t you ever take any breaks?”

Sehun finally turns to look at his boss and his brown eyes never fail to make Jongin breathless. They’re just so beautiful and deep, laced with secrets. “Should I?” the orange-haired secretary asks, a teasing smile appearing on his lips. “You know, if I leave this company for even three seconds, either Chanyeol or Baekhyun has already managed to set the building on fire. And you – you’d probably sign the wrong paper or arrange a meeting to the wrong place, which believe me, is disastrous.”

“Right”, Jongin grumpily huffs and Sehun laughs softly. “Here, I brought you food from Minseok’s café. I don’t know what he packed into the plastic bag but there’s chocolate cake in the box. Just made too.”

Sehun’s laughter dies down quickly and his grin is replaced by a genuinely surprised look as he glances at the bag and box set on the table. “Really?” he asks in a quiet voice and Jongin nods, wondering why Sehun got so shy all of a suddenly.

“You’re not used to it, right?” he mumbles. Did his father watch after the secretary at all? Because Jongin is sure Sehun worked as hard as he does now with the old man, and the least he could’ve done was to make sure Sehun is eating. The new CEO makes a promise to himself always to make sure there’s some food in the fridge for Sehun to eat, if he is too busy to leave the building for lunch.

“No, I guess I’m not”, Sehun says, peeking into the bag curiously. Something inside makes him smile happily and then he pulls out a big box, a delicious scent lingering in the air and suddenly the kitchen feels a lot warmer, almost reminding Jongin of the times when he was a small kid and his mother would cook dinner for three.

Sadly, it had long gotten to the point where she only cooks for two.

“Kimchi-spaghetti, Kyungsoo’s special”, Sehun mutters when he opens the box. “And in the other box there are some Chinese dumplings – huh, guess hyung must’ve already guessed that Lu Han is coming home, otherwise he wouldn’t have made any… do you want some?” Sehun looks up at Jongin with expecting eyes and despite having already eaten his own lunch, how can he say no?

“Yeah, sure-“ He doesn’t even get to finish when Sehun stuffs a warm dumpling into his mouth, leaning over the table to reach his boss. The other’s fingers tap on Jongin’s lips lightly before Sehun retreats with a smirk.

“Good, isn’t it?” the orange-haired secretary asks like nothing would’ve happened, biting down onto his own while Jongin tries his best not to choke. It’s good alright, it’s not dry at all and the meat inside is deliciously juicy, but having a dumpling as big as that stuffed inside of his mouth in one go is a bit too much. It takes a good while until Jongin is able to swallow it down and nod.

“It’s good”, he agrees and Sehun smiles a bit wider, which makes Jongin flustered. Again.

The CEO stays in the kitchen with his secretary and they chat in peace about work, Sehun explaining things about the closing meeting with the Lu&Wu-corporation as he eats. Jongin is offered more dumplings and the CEO does take a few but more than that he can’t stuff inside of him. He is just happy that Sehun is finally eating and looking at somewhere else than his laptop, even though he is now concentrating on some papers.

“Your guests, Lu Han and Wu Yifan will be arriving around one pm and the room next to my desk will be prepared. The first part of the meeting is going to last from one hour to three, then there’s a small break. Knowing them, they’ll probably want to continue talking for couple of hours more before being done for the day, so unfortunate for you, it seems like you’re going to have a long day ahead of you”, Sehun tells him while scrolling through files about the Lu&Wu-corporation.

“But since they’re good friends of your company, I’m sure everything is going to turn out fine. Your older brothers will take care of most of the stuff, so you only need to listen and learn.” Sehun then places the papers down and looks at Jongin, like he would’ve just finished a lecture and is now waiting to hear what Jongin managed to write down.

But honestly, the CEO has hardly been listening, too caught up staring at Sehun’s lips. And the orange-haired secretary seems to know that, as he just smirks and gives Jongin an amused look. “I understand that I’m pretty to look at, but you should get your head back in the game, sir. Your guests are quite handsome as well, and we don’t want for you to freeze on spot when you see them, so maybe you should practice not gawking at every slightly above average man.”

“I wasn’t- how can you even consider yourself slightly above average?” Jongin asks before he can stop himself and right after, he feels like banging his head on the table. “I mean- you’re obviously far above an average- wait, that’s not-“

Sehun cuts him off with a laugh that lights up the whole room. “I get it, I was just teasing. You should stop being such an easy target for people to pick on.”

“I’m not an easy target.” You’re just different, Jongin adds in his mind.

“Sure, you’re not”, Sehun sarcastically agrees before closing the food boxes. The empty one he throws away while the one with kimchi-spaghetti he places inside the fridge and obviously he is heading back towards his own desk when Jongin grabs his hand and spins the other back from his position by the table.

“You’re forgetting your cake”, he says, as if it would really be important but Jongin thinks it actually is. Everyone is saying that Sehun loves chocolate (and who doesn’t?) so Jongin really wants him to get the cake, because he wants Sehun to be happy.

“Oh yeah.” Sehun turns to look at the small box lying untouched on the table before reaching out to open it. He gently breaks the seal and reveals the delicious looking big piece of chocolate cake and smiles a little. “Did ChanBaek tell you that I like chocolate?”

“They told me you love it”, Jongin answers, feeling hundred times better when he sees Sehun smile down at him, his hand still resting on top of Jongin’s with the CEO’s fingers curled around his thin wrist.

“Ahaha, they did? Well, I can’t say that they’re wrong, but this is a pretty big piece…” The secretary pulls his hand away gently and darts to the shelves, pulling out two small plates. “Share with me?” he then asks, offering a smile that is both charming and coy.

And like before, who is Jongin to refuse him?

Jongin is terrified when he comes to work on Thursday morning. Today is the day of the big meeting with the Lu&Wu-corporation and Jongin doesn’t think he is ready for it, despite Joonmyun’s reassurance. He is just glad his brothers will be there with him, as well as Sehun.

In the past two days, Jongin has gotten considerably closer to the secretary and maybe he has even slightly gotten used to the other’s weird quirks, like the fact that he never knocks. Jongin doesn’t mind it really at all, because he gets to see Sehun’s beautiful face, even though the other always scares him, followed by his laughter.

Today when Jongin steps into his own floor, Sehun is by his desk as usual, but there’s someone else there too. A man that is shorter than both Jongin and the secretary but still dressed in an expensive suit and he seems foreign, judging from the accent in his tone when he talks to Sehun. At first Jongin is about to pass the desk like he normally would do, sure that it’s just some worker from downstairs, but soon it becomes clear that he is not.

The man is overly touchy with Sehun, has his hand placed over the secretary’s and just as Jongin reaches them, the secretary is pulled into a tight hug by the other and Jongin must say, he doesn’t like the sight of that at all.

“Well, I’ll see you later”, the man says as he notices Jongin and the CEO is momentarily struck by the other’s handsome face and he swears he has seen it somewhere else before. “I have to go and meet you know who, but we’ll catch up later, okay Sehun?”

Sehun just smiles, brighter than ever before, before answering. “Of course, be careful.” With that the man leaves, giving a curt nod to Jongin before disappearing into the elevator. Jongin turns to give a perplexed look to his secretary who is peacefully organizing his desk with a hot coffee mug in front of him – from Starbucks, Jongin realizes. He knows that Sehun never goes to that place so the man from before must’ve brought it to him. Which makes the CEO question if there’s something going on between them.

“Who was he?” he asks.

“Hm? Someone you’ll surely meet again soon”, Sehun casually answers before looking up at Jongin and frowning slightly. “Your tie…” the other mumbles, reaching out and grabbing Jongin’s collar gently, pulling the CEO closer while fixing his tie. The secretary leans over his desk and his breath ghosts over Jongin’s lips when he ties the necktie again until it sits perfectly on the CEO’s neck.

“That’s better”, Sehun says, proud of his work as he pulls back, brushing a teasing finger over Jongin’s collarbone. He never fails to surprise the CEO, who slightly flinches from the sudden skin contact. “You need to make yourself look good in front of the other CEOs today, Mr. Kim. Your brothers will be here shortly so you can go through today’s topics together.”

Jongin stands by Sehun’s desk in silence for a moment and Sehun ignores it like it would be normal, rather concentrating on organizing his desk from all the papers. It’s the first time Jongin actually realizes how much stuff Sehun seems to be having there, so many different documents and files, both of his computers are on and also his tablet – it’s insane how many things the secretary can do at the same time while still looking so incredibly good.

But Jongin does notice that Sehun seems to be growing a bit more tired each day. When the other starts to forget things like eating properly and last night he even forgot Baekhyun’s name momentarily, Jongin knows he is being overworked. And as the CEO, Jongin should give him vacation but honestly, he needs Sehun. He doesn’t know what he’d do without him and the secretary is probably right – everything would go to hell within three seconds, with Sehun out of the picture.

Jongin frowns a little when he notices Sehun stop momentarily to tiredly rub his eye and out of concern, he reaches out to pull the other’s hand away. He wouldn’t want Sehun to get an eye-infection accidently, now does he?

“I think you should go home for today”, Jongin says softly. “You seem tired and I’m sure everything will be fine with Joonmyun and Jongdae here.”

Sehun stops moving and looks at Jongin like he would’ve said the funniest thing ever. “Don’t be ridiculous”, the orange-haired secretary declines, like always when Jongin tells him to have a break. “I still have to arrange both Chanyeol’s and Baekhyun’s calendar and there are a lot of papers going to the archery that I have to organize today.”

“Meaning that even if you’d go home, you’d keep on working there”, Jongin concludes and Sehun gives him a smile that is both sad and amused.

“Probably, yeah.”

The silver-haired CEO sighs but relents, because he’d rather keep an eye at Sehun here and make sure he eats than have him somewhere else, where anything could happen. “Fine, do what you want. Just… don’t overwork yourself too much.”

“Got it, Mr. Kim”, Sehun says but Jongin doubts that the secretary even registered his words just now.

Joonmyun and Jongdae arrive shortly, like Sehun said, and they start to go through the dozen, boring topics they will have to discuss with the CEOs of the Lu&Wu-corporation today. Jongin feels so fed up when they’re finally done and the meeting hasn’t even started – just how is he going to survive?

Sehun comes into the office just then and offers them all coffee and something small to eat, informing that Lu Han and Wu Yifan, the two guests will be there within half an hour. They start to prepare to meet with their guests and Joonmyun tries his best to tame Jongin’s hair but in the end, it’s Sehun combing it and not the older Kim who has his own hair to tame.

Sehun is humming quietly as he gently combs Jongin’s hair in front of the bathroom mirror whilst putting some hair-gel in it, giving the silver hair a nice shine. “There. Is that good enough?” the secretary asks once he is done and Jongin nods, sending a thankful look to the other through the mirror.

“It’s perfect, thank you. God, I don’t know what I would do without you”, he says and Sehun smiles happily, and for the first time, Jongin notices the hint of pink on the other’s cheeks. Did he just manage to make Sehun blush?

He doesn’t have time to dwell on it as their guests arrive and the meeting can start.

Jongin is more than surprised, when he learns that other one of those guests, Lu Han, is actually the man who visited Sehun early this morning. He has changed his suit but is still dressed expensively, just like everyone else in the meeting room. Lu Han greets everyone brightly and friendly, but his smile is just the slightest bit wider when he greets Sehun and Sehun too, gives him a happy smile. Jongin tries his best to ignore the burning jealousy in him – he doesn’t even understand why he is feeling like that, but he isn’t used to seeing Sehun grinning at other men, not when the secretary’s attention has mostly been on him for the past two weeks.

But he can’t find himself disliking Lu Han, as the meeting goes on. The Chinese man is happy and talkative, unlike Wu Yifan, who takes care of the serious parts with Joonmyun. Jongin thinks that Yifan and his older brother fit well-together and for some reason, he thinks the two can actually agree with him because by the end of the day, they seem like they would be childhood friends, sharing far more skin contact than anyone else that day.

Like Sehun expected, things go smoothly for them and when the time to close the meeting comes, Jongin feels like he would’ve finally achieved something. He even manages to give Lu Han and Yifan a genuine smile when they departure; though, his smile is wiped away as soon as Sehun hugs Lu Han goodbye.

Jongdae and Joonmyun leave together with their guests, planning on going to a dinner with them that Jongin so politely declined, saying that he still has some work to do. Sehun too, gave the same excuse and they’re left by themselves in the office when the rest leave, taking the happy-chatter with them.

Silence and peace finally fall into the tenth floor once again and Jongin sits at the dinner-table alone, sipping tea and reading through the latest news on his phone. He thinks it’s fine if he has a break before going back to work and Sehun seems to think the same as the secretary comes in with a soft sigh, pouring himself cold water and sitting down opposite of Jongin.

The silver-haired CEO looks up from his phone, worriedly eyeing his secretary who rubs his eyes tiredly and looks just… completely worn out. Jongin notices that the clock is already closing seven and he always leaves at six, so he has never been there to see the weight of the work collapse on his secretary.

“You need a break”, Jongin blurts out and Sehun seems to be shocked to see him there for a second before his tense shoulders relax. “How much work do you even do each day?”

“A lot”, comes the blunt reply and Jongin nods, understanding that Sehun doesn’t want to share more. If it’s to stop Jongin from feeling guilty, he appreciates it, but the more Jongin thinks about it, he just guesses that it must be because Sehun is too tired to give any further explanation.

A brilliant idea suddenly comes in his mind, and the CEO is quick to share it with his orange-haired secretary. “Would you like to come and eat dinner with me?” he asks.

Sehun blinks his eyes couple of times, dumbfounded by the suggestion before looking from his water glass at Jongin, beautiful hazelnut brown eyes so innocently wide and surprised. “W-what?”

“Come and eat dinner with me”, Jongin clarifies. “Just a friendly dinner, as a thank you for how hard you’ve been working for this company. I don’t know if my father ever took you anywhere, but seriously, you’re in the need of a small break. Let’s go eat something and I’ll drop you off at your house and you can have a little longer sleep tonight.”

Sehun stares at him in silence, his eyes hesitant. “Are you sure you want something like that? I mean… I’m your secretary and-“

“It’s just a friendly dinner”, Jongin repeats with a soft smile and finally it’s he who’s in the control of the situation and not Sehun. Jongin actually likes having things turned around like this because if anything, it should be him in the control. “C’mon now, go get your coat and let’s go.”

The orange-haired secretary hesitates for a moment more but does what Jongin asks anyway and the CEO is happy when Sehun comes back with his coat in his arms and then they’re ready to go. Jongin takes the other to his car and politely opens the door for him, making his secretary blush so prettily that Jongin kind of wants him to have that hint of pink on his cheeks forever.

The drive to the restaurant Jongin choose is short and quiet, filled by the music from the radio and Sehun keeps on staring out of the window rather than looking at Jongin. It’s adorable how confused and flustered the secretary is acting for once yet Jongin can’t help but wonder why. This can’t be the first time someone’s actually acting kind towards Sehun, right? Because Jongin thinks he has done nothing but act polite and it leaves Sehun so strangely confused it worries the CEO a little.

He just hopes that his father wasn’t a total to the orange-haired secretary, but somehow, the new CEO is getting that kind of vibe right now.

Jongin parks his car close to the restaurant and they walk there in silence, close to each other in order to not get lost in the mass of people. They can only breathe in relief when they’re safely in the expensive, Italian restaurant Jongin had picked and the CEO feels happy when they’re finally seated by a quiet corner.

Slowly, as the time flows by, Sehun starts to relax in his company and then suddenly, they have left the professional working atmosphere behind and it’s replaced by something far warmer, far more appealing.

Jongin learns new things about Sehun today; he learns that the orange-haired secretary likes to dance and goes to a dance-studio close to his house whenever he has free-time (which apparently doesn’t happen very often) and that he loves bubble-tea. And Jongin tells more about himself too; he tells that he likes dancing too and spends a lot of his free-time taking professional looking photographs and he visits the gym if he has time.

It’s surprisingly easy to fall into a deep conversation with Sehun and Jongin finds himself smiling all the time. It feels a lot like his cheeks will hurt tomorrow but who cares – this night is all that matters right now.

“I noticed that Lu Han and you seemed pretty close. Do you know him or is he like a- um, boyfriend of yours?” Jongin asks at some point and Sehun laughs like the idea of being together with Lu Han would be the funniest thing in the world. And maybe it is, Jongin learns soon.

“Lu Han and I are just old friends”, Sehun explains between his giggles. “You won’t believe it, but the man has already someone else. He has been married for years now and if you think a bit about it, I’m sure you’ll figure out who the lucky person is.” Sehun smiles teasingly and Jongin stops to think.

“It’s Minseok, isn’t it?” he realizes, remembering that Baekhyun has mentioned Lu Han and Minseok in the same sentence quite many times since their visit at the café couple of days ago.

“Oooh, I didn’t think you’d actually guess right but you did”, the orange-haired secretary chuckles, with brightly glimmering eyes. “But correct! Lu Han and Minseok have been together for more than eight years now and they been married for five. I know Minseok is fine looking and all, Jongin, but you should stay far away from his or Lu Han will slaughter you. He is really possessive when it comes to his husband. And Minseok doesn’t like it when people touch Lu Han either, so nope, all I can do is hug him and that’s it.”

Jongin ignores all the new information given to him about Minseok’s and Lu Han’s relationship – because honestly, who cares about that when a gorgeous human being named Oh Sehun is sitting right in front of him and just called Jongin by his name.

“You called me Jongin”, the CEO says, happy and surprised. He likes how his name sounds when Sehun says it.

The orange-haired secretary is silent for a moment before he realizes it too. “That’s true…” the other mumbles, getting a bit flustered. “I’m sorry if it-“

“No, it’s fine. It would be awkward for me, if you continue calling me boss when we’re outside of work. So please, whenever we’re not at work, just call me Jongin. Or whatever else you please”, the silver-haired CEO tells Sehun and the other’s eyes glimmer with mischief.

“Oh, should I call you Master then?” the secretary purrs, leaning towards Jongin from the other side of the table, his long finger tapping on Jongin’s nose. “Would that please you?”

Yes, it ing would, Jongin thinks and he has to do his everything not to drag Sehun to the closest bathroom just to make the secretary moan out that word. But instead of doing that or saying something close to “If that’s a new kink, I wouldn’t mind exploring it with you”  he just chokes out; “Please don’t.”

Sehun bursts into a fit of laughter and Jongin continues to stare at him with a beet red blush on his cheeks. If Sehun calls him Master, Jongin doesn’t think he’ll be able to stop himself from exploring the other’s body wholly – so the other better keep his mouth shut about that.

They eat until they’re full and Jongin pays, saying that he should since it was his idea and Sehun nags at him about that, telling that he is no poor-person. In the end, Jongin gets to pay only after he promises to come with Sehun to Minseok’s café someday and Sehun will pay the bill then. Even though Jongin tried to deny it at first, he quickly came to the conclusion that he wouldn’t mind going to the Golden Cloud -café with Sehun at all.

It’s dark outside and Jongin is being cautious as he drivers, eyes directed at the road the whole time, even though he’d like to look at Sehun once in a while as well. The orange-haired secretary is strangely quiet and when they stop by some traffic-lights, Jongin realizes that Sehun has fallen asleep.

The first thing Jongin thinks, is that crap, now he can’t ask where the other lives to take him home but that panic is soon replaced by a smile (don’t call him creepy). Sehun looks peaceful, resting his head against the window as he sleeps, his tense body finally fully relaxed. It’s truly a miracle, to see him like this and Jongin starts to realize just how young Sehun actually is. The other is just twenty-four and he has been in this chaotic world for years now – yet it hasn’t dragged him down and he is beautiful, no wrinkles or flaws on him.

Since Sehun has been working so hard lately, Jongin decides that he doesn’t want to wake him up and instead drives to his own house, planning on letting Sehun stay for the night. They can go to work together and since they’re about in the same size, Jongin can also borrow one of his suits to Sehun, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

The only problem is that Jongin has only one bed at home – but since he is generous and feels like Sehun needs the rest more than he does, he decides to give his bed in the other’s use for tonight.

When he finally stops his car by his house, Sehun jolts awake for a moment, tiredly blinking his eyes in the dim lighting. “W-what? Where-“

“Relax, this is my house”, Jongin says with a comforting smile. Sehun squints at him before sighing.

“God, I’m too tired to move…”

The silver-haired CEO lets out a warm chuckle before standing up from his car and going around to Sehun’s door, opening it for the secretary. “Then I’ll carry you.” Before the other can even protest, Jongin lifts him up with ease – hey, he doesn’t go for the gym for nothing and Sehun is lightweight compared to what he lifts there – and out of surprise and fear, Sehun is quick to wrap his arms around the other, hiding his face in the crook of his neck.

“I won’t drop you”, Jongin promises and Sehun mumbles something incoherent. The CEO just chuckles again before grabbing Sehun’s bag and locking the car’s doors, then heading for the door to his house. It’s dark and cold inside with no signs of life and Jongin feels a bit regretful for bringing Sehun to his house. It’s not honestly all that pleasing.

But the orange-haired secretary lets out no signs of even noticing, he just rests his head on Jongin’s shoulder and is probably dozing off again and the CEO has to hurry up. He drops Sehun’s bag somewhere close to his bed before gently laying the man in his arms down.

“, whose bed is this soft?” Sehun mutters.

“Whose isn’t?” Jongin asks back and Sehun grumbles something that he once again can’t catch, but Jongin thinks nothing of it. He tries to help Sehun out of his coat but the other isn’t really co-operating with him, too tired to really move a muscle. “This is why I told you need a break”, Jongin sighs when he finally manages to pull the coat off Sehun and the secretary chuckles weakly.

“I don’t want to ever get off this bed, it’s so soft”, Jongin hears him mumble and then Sehun is on his side, head pressed against one of the CEO’s pillows. Oh my god, my pillow is going to smell like Sehun. My whole bed is going to smell like Sehun, Jongin realizes and suddenly he also makes the decision not to ever change his sheets, as long as Sehun’s scent stays on them.

“We can arrange that tomorrow”, Jongin says, pulling the shoes of the other’s feet. “But you have to help me undress yourself – your suit’s going to be ruined if you sleep in it.”

“Mmn, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not”, retorts the CEO but Sehun doesn’t listen to him and instead of finding it annoying, he just thinks it’s adorable. He likes it when Sehun acts more like himself with every passing second, dropping the protocol and finally it truly feels like they’re not just a CEO and his secretary but maybe something akin to friends.

With Sehun falling asleep on him, Jongin tries his best to undress him in silence and the way the other won’t freak out if he happens to open his eyes. It’s not that big of a trouble to get Sehun out of his suit’s jacket but Jongin starts to hesitate when it comes to pulling off his pants and the collar-shirt that has nothing but bare skin under. His fingers linger quite long by the collar of his shirt and Sehun just falls deeper asleep, not helping at all.

“ it”, Jongin grunts out after a good while of hesitating. He opens the first button, then the second and he is still breathing. But it gets harder when more of the other’s milky white skin is being revealed and Jongin regrets his life choices. He should’ve forced Sehun awake so the orange-haired secretary could do this himself and not put Jongin through all this pain. The CEO hates the fact that even though Sehun is there, in front of him – in his bed – he isn’t allowed to touch him. Not like that anyway.

When Sehun is finally out of his shirt, Jongin sighs in relief and the other shivers due to the sudden coldness, also opening his eyes in the darkness. “What the hell…? Could you at least consider waking me up if you want to strip me? I could return the favor, you know.”

Jongin snorts before offering a new shirt for Sehun to take, a simple black T-shirt. Just so he doesn’t need to stare at Sehun’s flawless skin and beautiful muscles. , Jongin is so ed.

“Just put on a shirt and strip out of your pants and go to sleep”, the CEO mutters, slightly flustered by how close Sehun is when he sits up to put the shirt on. Their bodies brush past each other and Jongin shivers when his arm slightly touches Sehun’s flat stomach on the process, making the orange-haired male let out a surprised squeak.

Sehun is quickly wearing Jongin’s shirt, hiding his face into the collar when he opens his belt and starts to strip out of his pants. The CEO can’t bring himself to understand why he’s still there when he should be running to the other side of the house- but he just can’t find himself moving. At least he can keep his gaze away, but still, he can see Sehun’s milky and thick thighs well-enough without even directly looking to the other’s direction.

There’s lust starting to build up inside of Jongin and he swallows nervously, ready to get the out. But before he can, Sehun grabs his hand. “Wait- do you have a trashcan here? My- I have contact lenses still on and-“

, of course, Jongin curses in his mind, reaching out for the trashcan close to his bed. Sehun drops two disposable contact lenses in there before the hand that was still curled around Jongin’s pulls away, leaving burning skin behind. The CEO misses Sehun’s warm touch right away and his whole body throbs with pure want.

“Are you going to sleep here?” Sehun mumbles when he lies back down on the bed, arms curled around himself. “This is your room, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is but-“

“Then, why don’t you stay?” the secretary asks and his voice drops lower, making Jongin turn his burning gaze to him. Sehun stares right back in the darkness, his eyes burning with the same kind of fire.

“Because I’ll end up doing something I’ll probably regret later on”, Jongin answers quietly, his hand placed in the space between Sehun’s knees. “And you don’t want that.”

In the dark, Jongin can’t see Sehun’s hand coming down to his until long fingers are curled around his wrist once again, yanking his hand up and onto Sehun’s abdomen so suddenly that Jongin nearly falls on top of the other. There’s a long silence where only their heavy breaths can be heard and Jongin can feel Sehun’s fingers hold his wrist even tighter, both in fear and expectation.

He feels Sehun’s hot breath on his lips when the other finally answers, eyes just as dark as Jongin’s own.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Jongin.”