“So… why are we here again?” Sunggyu questioned, as he followed the determined restaurant owner through the crowd at the mall.

Sunggyu rarely went to the mall and only when he really needed to. He didn’t like the crowds and waiting in lines. Thank God for online shopping.

But, on that rare day off of his, Woohyun had called him and told him to meet him at the mall in Yeongdeungpo without much explanation. Then, the younger had hung up before Sunggyu could protest or even say “no”. Kyungmi was out on her monthly visit to her parents and he had nothing to do anyway, so Sunggyu obliged and dragged himself to the giant hunk of a building that catered to capitalism. (Pretty ironic since Sunggyu was a businessman, but semantics.)

Ahead of him, Woohyun turned his head around. “I told you, we’re shopping for new clothes! We have to change our looks to appeal to our wives’ tastes! And we are going to help each other!”

The younger man’s determination and strange ideas astounded Sunggyu, yet he couldn’t seem to help but follow along, anyway. When he wasn’t yelling at him, making demands, or drunk off his , Nam Woohyun wasn’t too bad.

When they met up in front of the mall, the younger man had been wearing a blue “I Love Daegu” shirt, one that obviously matched the red one Sunggyu had at home. It was only further proof of the existence of their wives’ infidelity.

So, despite his misgivings about Woohyun’s plans, he still followed him into a classy store for men that Sunggyu himself would enter if he was in dire need of new clothes. The younger paused in the middle of the store and scanned the place, searching for something, before he finally moved towards a rack of clothing.

“You wear these, right?” he asked Sunggyu, gesturing towards the silk and satin button-downs in front of him.

Sunggyu raised an eyebrow, looked down at his own white satin button-down shirt, and looked back at the younger. “Yes? But I have enough clothes to last me a lifetime, thanks.”

“Good for you, rich boy!” Woohyun said, sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. “Now, I need you to pick one for me. Nothing expensive, though. Do they have sales? Or do you have a coupon or something?”

Woohyun began to rifle through the shirts as Sunggyu stared, still uncomprehending of the situation.

“Can you remind me again why I’m picking clothes for you?”

The younger man huffed. “I told you at least 3 times already. We’re picking clothes based on our wives’ tastes. I was thinking the other day…”

Sunggyu stifled the amused chuckle that threatened to come out of him.

“…that Chungha is fairly young and Kyungmi is a bit more mature. What if that’s the key?” Woohyun looked so sure of himself as he stated his reasoning. “My Chungha is a young and fun woman and so maybe I’m too immature for her? And Kyungmi is all classy and high-class and you’re too stuffy for her…”

“Hey!” Sunggyu began to protest but the other kept talking as if he hadn’t heard him.

“… so maybe that’s what we need to do! I need to be a little more mature and you need to loosen up. And one way we can do that is to start with clothes! I need to look more mature and you need to look a little more fun.”

Sunggyu tried not to take offense at that statement. Meanwhile, Woohyun looked so proud of himself as he took out a dark blue silk button down and pressed against his body.

“What do you think?” he asked with a grin.

Sunggyu looked. The color was nice and it looked like it would fit Woohyun’s skin tone. In fact, Sunggyu figured that the man could make any color look good – he had the type of skin tone that just went with many colors. But, Sunggyu was partial to the material and style of the shirt.

As he was contemplating, Woohyun looked at the price tag and his eyes bulged. Slowly, he put the shirt back in the rack.

“Waaaay over my budget,” he stated, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

“I can buy it for you,” Sunggyu said before he could stop himself.

Woohyun eyes widened. As he stood there in shocked amazement, Sunggyu realized that he wasn’t bluffing or even joking. He wanted to buy the younger man a shirt. He had figured as soon as they stepped into this store that Woohyun wouldn’t be able to afford anything in here.

Nam Woohyun may own a restaurant but Sunggyu had done his research – INSPIRIT was a humble family restaurant that made just enough to break even and maybe a little over but not enough that its owner and head chef could just throw 100,000 won for a shirt.

“Y-Yah,” Woohyun stuttered, another blush staining his cheeks. “T-That’s not necessary-.”

But Sunggyu waved a hand. “Nonsense. If this is a way to get our wives’ attraction back, then so be it. But, we’re not getting you silk shirts. You work in a kitchen, you’ll just ruin the material. And washing them takes a lot of effort if you have no idea what you’re doing.”

Sunggyu looked around and flagged down a salesman.

“What can I do for you, sir?” the man asked with a bow.

“My companion here needs shirts,” Sunggyu simply stated. “Ones that can be both formal for work as well as casual for a day out. I’m thinking satin, no silk. Maybe even cotton, but the good kind.”

“Of course, sir. Any colors in particular?”

“Bold colors but not too dark or too bright. As well as a few blacks and whites.” Sunggyu turned to the still stunned man behind him. “Every man needs at least a white shirt and black shirt, they go with everything. Your size, Woohyun-shii?”

“U-Um… I…”

Before Woohyun could say any more, Sunggyu turned back to the salesman. “Do you mind taking his measurements? The shirts need to fit but also allow him some room to move. He has an active occupation so he has to be comfortable.”

With a nod and a “yes, sir”, the man wasted no more time whipping out a tape measure and measuring Woohyun’s arm length, chest, waist, neck, and back. Sunggyu stood there watching, fighting the urge to laugh at the younger man’s stunned face as the salesman politely manhandled him.

When the salesman was done, Woohyun was bright red and Sunggyu could barely hold his amusement and it probably showed on his face as the younger glared at him.

They were led into the fitting room and asked to wait. Grumbling to himself, Woohyun settled on an armchair. Sunggyu sat on the one next to him. Between them was a mahogany table stacked with men’s magazines, a clear bottle of scotch, and two glasses.

“What’s wrong? This was your idea,” Sunggyu said, picking up the bottle and a glass to pour himself a drink. It was complimentary, so why not?

“I… may have bitten off more than I can chew,” said Woohyun, blushing.

“If you’re worried about paying, don’t worry about it, okay?” Sunggyu said after taking a sip of the scotch, letting the alcohol warm his body and relax his muscles. “And if it makes you feel better, why don’t you buy clothes for me too?”

It looked like he said the magic words as Woohyun’s face lit up.

“I have to look like you, right?” Sunggyu said, playfully. “Wasn't that the plan?”

The younger man’s eyes glinted with mischief and Sunggyu almost took his words back if not for the arrival of the salesman, followed by a saleslady. Both of their hands were wrapped around hangers upon hangers of button-down shirts in various colors and designs.

Woohyun was then ushered into a room with the shirts.

Sunggyu turned to the salesman who was helping him. “Can you also bring back a few suit jackets for him? Casual ones, not too formal. Preferably black but if you have any dark blue, add those too.”

The man nodded and left with his co-worker.

Meanwhile, Sunggyu leaned back into his armchair, taking another sip of the scotch and even picking up a magazine to rifle through.

It didn’t take too long for the curtains to be brushed aside and out stepped Woohyun in a simple white button down. With the man’s white-washed jeans and black sneakers, he made the shirt look casual.

“Well?” Woohyun asked, gesturing to himself.

Sunggyu pursed his lips. “It would look better with dark pants. Perhaps black. What you’re wearing now is too casual. Not really my style.”

Woohyun nodded, looking like he was taking notes in his head, and went back into the dressing room.

Sunggyu poked his head out of the rooms, asking a passing salesman (not the same one) for a few pairs of formal black jeans in his size – Woohyun looked about the same size as him, though he was a tad bit shorter than Sunggyu

Meanwhile, Woohyun tried on more shirts and showed them all off to Sunggyu. The CEO had to admit that he was greatly enjoying this little fashion show, mostly because of how Woohyun seemed embarrassed with each ensemble he came out with, clearly not used to wearing such formal clothing.

“You’re not planning on buying all these for me, are you?” he asked, as he came out in a nice powder blue shirt, fiddling with the cuffs.

Sunggyu stood up and reached out to take the latter’s wrist to help him fold and button them up. Then, he moved his hands up to fix the shirt's collar, smoothing them out. Woohyun had left the top button ed so Sunggyu went ahead and buttoned it up. But… the look just didn’t fit Woohyun so he ed it again.

Better. Woohyun had nice collarbones. 

Meanwhile, Woohyun raised an eyebrow at this action. At the inquiring look, Sunggyu blushed and coughed as he took a step back.

“I just wanted to see how it looked,” Sunggyu said, as cool as possible.

Just then, the first salesman entered with a few pairs of dark-colored jeans and the jackets he had asked for.

“Try those on,” Sunggyu continued as the salesman handed the younger man the clothing. “And pick the ones you like. Okay?”

“Sunggyu-shii, this is too much-.”

“Humor me, Woohyun-shii.” Sunggyu even offered him a smile

Clearly swallowing, Woohyun nodded and went back into the fitting room with the clothing.

They stayed at the store another half hour, with Sunggyu picking out his own favorites from the selection.

After all, Woohyun did say he wanted to dress like Sunggyu.

They left the store with three new shirts (white, powder blue, and red with little black dots), a new pair of dark jeans, and a midnight blue suit jacket for Woohyun.

The chef had not stopped asking him if he was sure about buying for him and then thanking while Sunggyu paid with his black card.

“My turn!” Woohyun piped, practically skipping to another part of the mall where the less high-end stores were located, swinging his bag of new clothes.

On the way, he chattered on and on about his fashion style (chic but on a budget), his favorite clothing (baggy sweaters in the winter and v-neck shirts in the summer), and how excited he was to buy clothes for Sunggyu.

“Chungha and I used to go shopping together,” he narrated, still swinging the bag. “I’d pick clothes for her and she would do the same for me.” He sighed, sadly. “We hadn’t done that in a while.” Then, he brightened up. “I should ask her!”

In a better mood now, the younger bounced on his feet towards the store.

Sunggyu didn’t say a word at Woohyun’s choices: v-neck shirts (no surprise there), a denim button down (Sunggyu was actually interested in this), some sleeveless shirts (he raised a brow), and various types of ripped jeans (he hadn’t worn those since college).

“Oh no, I draw the line at that,” he said, grimacing at the animal print shirt Woohyun was holding out.

The younger laughed. “Come on, Sunggyu-shii, you gotta try it on!”

“I thought I was supposed to be wearing what you normally wear?”

“Yeeeeees,” Woohyun smiled, mischievously. “I own one like this.”

Sunggyu blinked. “No.”

Woohyun shoved the shirt into his hand. “Yes,” he insisted before heading towards a rack of cheap sunglasses and grabbing a few before proceeding to the beanie hats and grabbing those as well.

He turned to Sunggyu with an excited grin. “Let’s do this.”

Sunggyu was led to the fitting room (which had nothing complimentary) and shoved by Woohyun into an empty stall.

“Try the animal print shirt with the black jeans and the beanie,” Woohyun said before closing the door shut.

Sunggyu had to give himself a moment to really take in the fact that he was in a cramped fitting room with a handful of clothes he hadn’t worn since he was in high school and college… the days before he had to trade his simple designer t-shirts, cardigans, and jeans for button downs, suit jackets, and formal slacks.

How did he get to this point?

Oh, yes, because of the overly optimistic restaurant owner one the other side of the door.

A loud knock interrupted his thoughts, followed by a, “Are you alive in there, Sunggyu-shii?!”

Sunggyu shook his head free of thoughts and replied, “Give me a minute, Woohyun-shii! You’re so impatient!”

He heard a scoff for a replay and couldn’t help his chuckle. Quickly, he got dressed in the clothing the other had asked for and looked at himself in the mirror.

He looked utterly ridiculous. The animal print was ghastly and the beanie made him look like a middle school punk. The ripped jeans were nice, though. Sunggyu was always quite proud of his legs.

Deeming himself ready, he opened the door.

Woohyun was leaning against the opposite wall, scrolling on his phone. He looked up at the sound of the door opening and paused. Sunggyu felt self-conscious as those deep brown eyes roamed his body from head to foot, silent and observant.

If Sunggyu didn’t know any better, he would think that look of appreciation Woohyun threw his legs was flattering.

“Wow, you look good, Sunggyu-shii!”

Sunggyu blushed.

“I would totally wear that!”

Sunggyu’s eye twitched. “I’m not getting this.”

“Yes, you are!”

“I’m not paying for it.”

“Good thing you’re not the one paying then!” Woohyun had a stupid grin on his face, it irritated Sunggyu. “Now, try on the other shirts!”

With a sigh, Sunggyu went back into the fitting room and did as he was told, though begrudgingly so.

In the end, he had to admit that Woohyun’s choices weren’t too bad. He ended up liking the denim shirt more than he thought and insisted on getting it, not caring if it was full-priced and not on sale. To his dismay, Woohyun really did end up buying the ghastly animal print shirt along with 2 pairs of ripped jeans (one dark and one light), and a black sleeveless shirt.

Leaving the store with his new purchases, he absentmindedly followed Woohyun to another part of the mall, the latter saying that he wanted to get one more thing.

By the time Sunggyu realized where he was, he found himself in a dimly-lit store surrounded by t-shirts on the walls, loud rock music blasting from the speakers, and shelves upon shelves of spray hair dye and jewelry. There were a few other people inside the store – mostly teenagers and a few middle schoolers with their parents.

“What’s your favorite band?”

Sunggyu turned towards Woohyun, who was examining the wall of t-shirts. The younger grinned at him.

“Or are you one of those people who don’t listen to music from this century?”

Sunggyu felt instantly defensive. “If you must know I like…” He cleared his throat. “I like Nell,” he proudly proclaimed.

Woohyun’s eyes lit up. “Really? Me too! Chungha is not a huge fan, she said their songs are too depressing for her.”

“Depressing but relatable,” answered Sunggyu.

He had always been a fan since high school and was quite bummed when they decided to go their separate ways. Nonetheless, he still occasionally listened to them, even sang them in the shower (yes, he could sing!).

“I like them a lot but my favorite band of all time is JYJ,” Woohyun continued as he proceeded to walk down the aisle of shirts.

Following behind him, Sunggyu found that interesting yet not surprising. Woohyun seemed the type to enjoy JYJ’s soulful ballads and powerful dance hits. Then again, Woohyun was young and optimistic and JYJ's style tended to draw in a young and bright crowd. He reminded Sunggyu of himself, somewhat, back when he was younger and had fewer worries and responsibilities. 

“Here.”

A midnight blue t-shirt was placed in his hands, the name “NELL” printed on it large white letters. Underneath the name were the names of the band members.

Woohyun was grinning. “Everyone needs at least one band shirt in their life.”

Amused, Sunggyu asked, “And how many do you have?”

At the unexpected question, Woohyun pursed his lips and looked up at the ceiling in deep thought. “Hmmm… five… eight… ten… Fifteen! I have fifteen band shirts!”

The younger man looked quite proud of himself as he picked up a red shirt with the logo of JYJ from a neighboring shelf. In the back of the shirt, the name "JAEJOONG" was clearly printed.

Clearly, even to Sunggyu, Kim Jaejoong was Woohyun's favorite member.

“This one’s for me!” He held up the shirt against his body, happily. "I’ll pay for these now.”

Before Sunggyu could protest, Woohyun had grabbed the shirt and headed for the counter, leaving a stunned Sunggyu at this spot, feeling a little touched at the younger’s generosity.

Well, as it turned out Woohyun offered to buy his shirt so he could get his own for half off.

Sneaky kid.

But, it made Sunggyu laugh. How many times had he laughed that day, exactly? Woohyun was amusing, indeed.

And Sunggyu had to admit, he had fun on what would otherwise have been a boring day for him. The younger man was a breath of fresh air from his usual crowd of stiff and boring business partners.

And if he were to be honest with himself, under different circumstances, he could see himself and Woohyun being really great friends.

The little bell above the door jingled and a “Welcome to INSPIRIT!” rang out to greet them.

“Woohyun-shii!” one of his waitresses, Jiae, greeted in surprise. “Isn’t it your day off?”

Woohyun smiled at her. “It is but my friend and I here are hungry.”

Beside him, Sunggyu raised an eyebrow at the word “friend”. Woohyun didn’t pay him any mind, not really sure himself why he used “friend” instead of “acquaintance.”

The restaurant was crowded as it was still the lunch hours. A shame. He wanted to show Sunggyu INSPIRIT’S atmosphere but he supposed it would have to wait another time. And he didn’t want to take tables from customers.

“We’ll take two chef’s specials and can you take them up to my office, please?” he told Jiae.

She nodded and headed off to the kitchen while Woohyun gestured for Sunggyu to follow him up to his office on the second floor.

“This is our busy hour so I’ll have to give you a tour another time, okay?” he said to the older man.

“Fine with me,” said the other.

Woohyun opened the door and let himself and Sunggyu in. They placed their shopping bags in a corner and Woohyun offered a seat to the other man while he cleaned up his desk to prepare it for their food.

INSPIRIT was only a couple of blocks from the mall so the two of them had walked it together, exchanging random stories as they did. Sunggyu wasn’t as boring as Woohyun initially thought. He had random bouts of humor that Woohyun found funny and wasn’t secretive about the hilarious antics of his staff.

“So, how long have you been running INSPIRIT?” Sunggyu asked, making himself comfortable on one of the chairs in front of Woohyun’s desk.

Woohyun pursed his lip. “Around two years now. My brother and I started it together but after Boohyun-hyung’s wife gave birth to their third child, he decided to work abroad. He helps me out with some financial stuff for INSPIRIT, but overall, my baby is all mine.”

He picked up a picture frame on his desk. His and Chungha’s goofy faces stared back at him.

They had taken it during their honeymoon in Jeju Island. They had so much fun back then and so in love. When he opened INSPIRIT, she was very supportive and even helped out for a year or so before she pursued her true passion and began her work as a professional florist. In turn, Woohyun supported her. They always had each other’s backs.

How did it all turn out like this?

“How long have you two been married?” Sunggyu asked, softly.

Woohyun placed the frame inside a drawer for safekeeping.

“Four years. But we’ve known each other almost our whole lives.” He smiled. “We’re childhood best friends. We met at the playground when we were 8 and went to the same school too. I was the class president and Chungha was my VP.” He settled himself on his chair, his gaze on Sunggyu as he reminisced. “When we were 12, we promised that if we didn’t meet and fall in love with anyone else by the time we turned 21, we would marry each other. It was a childish promise, but we pinky swore by it.”

Sunggyu tilted his head to the side in wonder. “Is that why you got married?”

Woohyun nodded. “Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t get married just because of that old promise. We did date each other when we were in high school and we loved each other a lot. We broke up for a little while when she decided to study abroad in Japan and I was in culinary school, but we got back together when she came back. Everyone does that, right? Break up and get back together? I read somewhere that relationships are stronger the second time around.”

Sunggyu simply shrugged in response.

Woohyun continued, “We didn’t really date anyone else while we were apart and when we got back together, everyone just expected us to get married so… we did. And we were happy. We really were.”

“You don’t have children?”

Woohyun shook his head. “Chungha isn’t ready to be a mom yet.”

“But you’re ready to be a father,” Sunggyu stated and Woohyun smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, but you know how it is. Chungha is the one with the means to carry a child so it's up to her. I'll just be here until she's ready."

He really wanted to be a father. He sometimes babysat his nieces and nephew and often found himself jealous of Boohyun's fatherhood status. But, it was up to his wife to decide when she was ready for them to have their own family. Even if he was impatient, he would wait. 

Woohyun didn’t mean to talk about his love story with Chungha but he simply felt like reminiscing. Those were simpler days after all.

So, he turned his attention back to Sunggyu.

“What about you?” Placing his elbows on his desk and his head on his palms, Woohyun flashed the older man an inquiring look. “How long have you and your wife been married?”

“Five years,” Sunggyu supplied.

“You said you two were an arranged marriage?” Woohyun asked, feeling a little nosey but he was curious. And it was only fair since he talked about himself and Chungha.

Sunggyu seemed to get this as well as he answered, “Yes, we were. Our parents are long-time business associates so I’ve met Kyungmi a few times during gatherings and social functions. Our opinions and feelings were taken into account for the arrangement, but I wasn’t really dating anyone at the time and Kyungmi wasn’t interested in meeting anyone.”

Apparently, that had changed. Except it was with a married woman.

“We agreed to the match but decided to be engaged for a year so we had time to back out if either of us decided we didn’t want to do it anymore.”

“But, you did do it. Get married, I mean,” Woohyun stated.

Sunggyu nodded. “We did like each other. I suppose you could call us friends, as well and at some point, I did grow to love her. The first year of our marriage, we tried to have a child so we could have an heir. And our parents figured a child could deepen our marriage even more.” At this part, Sunggyu’s face sort of fell. “We tried everything, but nothing was working. We gave up, eventually.”

The older man’s voice softened towards the end and Woohyun suddenly felt sorry for asking. He felt the urge to give him a hug, but before he could, there was a knock on the door and Jiae’s voice announcing that their food arrived.

Woohyun called for her to come in and the waitress entered with piles of food.

The chef’s special was made of Woohyun’s perfected kimchi fried rice with bits of chicken, pork, and beef with a fried egg on top, seaweed soup, and a helping of various side dishes such as pickled radish, steamed eggplant, and stir-fried zucchini. Jiae had also thoughtfully added bottles of water for them.

“Do you want anything else to drink, Sunggyu-shii?” Woohyun asked the older.

“Water is fine, thank you.”

Woohyun nodded and turned to Jiae to thank her. The waitress bowed and made her way out.

Sunggyu looked at the food with interest. “So, this is your specialty?”

“Mmhmm. My mother’s recipe with my own personal twist and a sprinkle of my secret ingredient,” Woohyun stated, proudly as he served his guest and himself.

Sunggyu cocked his head to the side. “Which is?”

Grinning cheekily, Woohyun replied, “Love.” Then, he winked.

Snorting, Sunggyu burst into amused laughter. “That’s so cheesy!” he remarked, hand at his mouth to try and stifle the sounds. 

“Well, the fried rice does have a little cheese in it,” Woohyun chuckled. He was perfectly aware of how cheesy he could be, but he never minded.

He watched as Sunggyu dipped his spoon into the rice and scoop some into his mouth. Almost instantly, the older man’s eyes widened and Woohyun could have sworn he saw them sparkle. Sunggyu chewed with eyes closed, in delight.

The sound made Woohyun’s stomach flip. For a moment, he stared down at his stomach, wondering what the hell was going on in there. He was hungry, yes, but that didn’t feel like hunger at all.

“I’m in love.”

The chef’s head shot up, his cheeks suddenly turning red.

Sunggyu was now trying to the seaweed soup, slurping it in such an unrefined manner that Woohyun found himself staring at the sight.

He must have felt his gaze since the CEO looked up and finally looked embarrassed. He swallowed, politely, before talking.

“I apologize, that was rude,” he stated. “But… the food is amazing. Truly.”

Woohyun’s blush deepened but he felt his chest puff up in pride. “Thank you. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

“Maybe next time, you should cook it for me instead of one of your staff,” Sunggyu said as he got started on the side dishes now. “I bet it will be even more delicious since it would be filled with your so-called secret ingredient.”

Chuckling, Woohyun nodded as he lightly blushed at the teasing. “I’ll cook for you next time then, Sunggyu-shii.”

“Hyung.”

Woohyun blinked. “Excuse me?”

Sunggyu looked up briefly to smile at him. “Call me ‘hyung’. I figured since we spent the day together, are eating together, and you just promised to cook for me, you should just call me ‘hyung’. Okay?”

Blushing yet feeling delighted, Woohyun nodded. “Okay… hyung.”

With a smile, they both dug in to their food.

Woohyun felt like he accomplished something great that day. 

A/N: Hello! So sorry this was late! I had quite a busy work week and this chapter was giving me a little trouble as so much happens and there are a lot of details. I also deviated a bit from what I originally planned for the chapter but not too much so I'm still on the right track. 

So, in this chapter, Sunggyu and Woohyun go shopping and buy each other clothes! We'll see if Woohyun's plan works in the next chapter or all that shopping would have been a waste of time, right? Lol. But, we also see them slowly getting to know each other as well as each other's love stories with their respective wives. What did you guys think? I'd love to hear your thoughts about this!

Also, I've been so thrilled at seeing Woohyun and Jaejoong interact on "Photo People". Woohyun even calls him "Jaejoong-hyung"! And since I love Jaejoong, why not have him here too?

Anyway, KCON NY is this weekend and I'm going! I'll be seeing Super Junior (Kings!), Pentagon, Stray Kids, Heize, and Red Velvet so I'm quite excited! However, it also means that I probably won't be able to write or update much during the weekend so the next chapter might not be up until the end of next week, so please be patient with me!

Meanwhile, I'd still love to hear your thoughts! I know it's a very slow burn so I really appreciate everyone's patience!

'Til the next one!