Jonghyun’s POV

I checked my watch as I stood in front of  the towering building of Lee Entertainment. It stood tall and proud in the heart of Seoul. As I walked in, I saw the people rushing here and there with laptops and note pads in hand. There were also a few models; well I presume they are models. They are entirely too tall like Minho. This was probably a busy day in Lee Entertainment.  I approached the reception area and looked at the receptionist.

“Excuse me”

“Yes Sir, how may I help you?” the receptionist politely inquired.

“I’m here to meet Lee Jinki.”

“Do you have an appointment with Mr Lee?”

“Hmmm…no, it’s personal and he told me to come meet him before I pick his brother Kibum,” I told her scratching my neck. I was never really comfortable in any corporate setting. The look she gave me  promised dire trouble if I was just wasting her time.

“I’ll ring Mr. Lee and check, can you give me your name please?”

“Kim Jonghyun.”

I saw her call someone up, as I looked around, taking in all the hustle bustle. Thank god I’m allowed to work at my own pace!

“Hello, Minah, there’s a Mr. Kim Jonghyun here to meet Mr. Lee. He says Mr. Lee called him but he doesn’t have an appointment….Oh! Ok, I’ll send him up immediately!”  She looked at me from top to bottom as she hanged up, seemingly  contemplating what someone like me could possibly have to do with someone like Lee Jinki.

“Please take the elevator on your right, straight up to 16^th floor; that’s Mr. Lee’s office.” I walked to the elevator after thanking her. As the elevator took me to my destination, I kept wondering how this date with Kibum would go.  The elevator pinged to let me know that I had reached my destination, effectively breaking me out of my reverie. As I walked out, I saw a beautiful lady standing in front of the elevator, smiling at me.

“Mr. Kim, welcome! My name is Minah. I’m Mr. Lee’s secretary. He is waiting for you. So if you could please follow me, I will take you to him.” I smiled at her to show that I would do as she said. Soon we stood outside of a wooden door with golden handles. As she knocked softly on it, we heard a deep yet warm voice call out for us to enter. As we enter, there seating in his chair was Jinki hyung. He was dressed handsomely in a nice grey suit looking every bit the owner of a top modeling agency! Last time he was dressed up so cozily that he looked like an entirely different person. Today he looked like Lee Jinki- young CEO of Lee Entertainment. Just as we entered, he looked up and smiled that sweet smile at me.

“Jonghyun-ah please come in. Have a seat have a seat.” Jinki hyung said as he stood up and came towards a set of couches and coffee table. He gestured for me to take a seat as he spoke to his assistant,

“Minah, could you get us some coffee and something to eat?”

“Right away Mr. Lee,” she said walking out, closing the door behind her. Jinki hyung sat down opposite to me and looked at me. I couldn’t decipher his gaze; it was like he was trying to read me inside out. He seemed like a very different person from the one  I had met previously. For some reason, this Jinki hyung made me nervous and a little intimidated.

“Jonghyun-ah, I called you here today because we couldn’t talk properly yesterday.” All I could do was nod as he continued. As far as I remembered, we talked quite properly yesterday! Did he perhaps change his mind about me being Kibum’s partner?! Or did he not like me at all and was simply too polite to say anything in front of noona yesterday?! It hasn’t even been a full minute since I entered Jinki hyung’s office and I’m already panicking! What a great start! Just then, Jinki hyung started to speak and I decided to focus entirely on what he was speaking so as to not seem like an utter idiot.  He had very somber expression on his face as he spoke.

“There are some things I want to clarify before you can take any further step with Kibum. Since our parent’s death, Kibum has been my world. He is the only one I have. I saw the look in your eyes yesterday when you met Kibum, but I want you to promise me that you’ll always keep him happy. He can be a bit too much sometime, but he is very kind at heart. His happiness should be your priority; how you do it, I won’t tell you. It’s totally your call. I won’t interrupt, but at any point if I feel he is not happy or hurt because of you… trust me Jonghyun ssi, you’ll never want to see that side of mine. I don’t mean to scare you, but take this as an advice rather than a warning; I cannot and will not tolerate any tears apart from those of happiness in my Kibum’s eyes. He can come off as a cold hearted person and has been hurt countless times in the past because of that. And while I… let’s say took care of those who hurt my Bummie, I couldn’t take away his pain! You have to understand Jonghyun that the only reason Kibum is even entertaining the idea of this relationship is because I am the one who has introduced you to him. And I won’t stand if he is hurt on my account. I can tell you are a nice person Jonghyun-ah. Please cherish my Kibum. I wish you luck. I hope this union of you and Kibum will be filled with happiness. I’ll always be here for both of you.” He said smiling in the same warm and affectionate way. Suddenly, the intimidating atmosphere was lifted and a comfortable feeling set in. Was he even the same person who pretty much threatened me?! Why does it feel as if he has a split personality? Or maybe, this is the real Lee Jinki, who managed to create an entire empire at the age of 29. I felt very disconcerted and it was probably showing on my face.

“Maa…did I scare you!?” he asked giving me a freaking eye smile! Would it be wrong to say yes? I could only shake my head to say no but I don’t think I was fooling anyone, especially not Jinki hyung. Just then his secretary entered carrying a tray with two cups of coffee and some tea cakes.

“ Lovely, thank you Minah! Jonghyun-ah, how about a cup of coffee with this old man before you leave?” I really wanted to leave as it was already 7 and I had booked a reservation for Kibum and I at Viva Polo for 7.30 but I absolutely didn’t want to offend Jinki hyung so I picked up the cup and started gulping down the coffee. However, the coffee turned out to be boiling hot so naturally, I spluttered and choked on it!

“Jonghyun-ah!” Jinki hyung exclaimed as he quickly rushed to my side and handed me a glass of cool water while taking the cup of coffee from my hands. “You seem to be in an awful bit of hurry Jonghyun-ah,” he said while throwing a knowing smirk my way. “Go ahead. I won’t keep you any longer, hehe! We’ll have our coffee  some other day. Have fun with Kibum and take care!”

I coughed up a “thank you!” and gave Jinki hyung a deep bow! I must not get on his bad side!!!! Then I rushed out of his office to pick Kibum! On my way out, I saw Jinki hyung’s secretary, Minah ssi. This woman had some serious guts if she could be this composed while working for Jinki hyung! I greeted her on my way to the elevator which she had helpfully called for me. I hope my date with Kibum will be a success and that he will enjoy it!

Jinki’s POV

I saw Jonghyun rush out of the office to meet Key. He was clearly in a hurry and yet he did not refuse to have a cup of coffee with me. He’s a good kid. Dear God, I hope Bummie doesn’t petrify him and send him running for the hills! You survived Taemin’s food and you held on through my talk. Hang in there Jonghyun-ah! Hmm….. I wonder what Kibum has in store for Jonghyun after yesterday’s failed ramen….That ramen reminds me, I need to have a chat with Taemin about his cooking. Dialing Taemin’s number, "Hello Taemin-ah, it's Jinki hyung. Yes, how about we meet for lunch tomorrow?  Huh? No, no problem, just wanted to have  hyung-dongseng bonding time. Is tomorrow 2 pm fine? Great! See you tomorrow Taemin-ah. Bye!"