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"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No"

"How come?"

"I... honestly don't know"

Taemin sips from his coffee mug watching Kibum intently. He's not careful of his glare and he really doesn't care, even though Kibum looks at him with wary. 

"And why do you dress that way?"

"Because I like it"

"But why?"

"I think it's stylish"

Kibum just wanted some coffee and his floor had ran out of it, Seohyun mentioned him he could go to the upper floor for some. He never thought he would get ambushed by a bunch of men with nonstop questions and a guy who glares at him for whatever reason. For the first time in his life he is trying his hardest to be nice. He is usually the peaceful type. 

"Are you from Seoul?"

"Daegu"

"You don't have an accent tho..."

"Thanks...?"

There are five of them, four on his face asking bunch of random things and one on the corner with (honestly great pose) staring at him, they all look pretty normal. Kibum tries not to judge them, but really, who dresses like that?...

"Why were you deported?"

"De- deported?!" Kibum almost spits his drink.

"Yeah from Japan"

He laughs loudly "I wasn't deported! I was promoted!"

"Promoted?!"

"Yeah I was promoted... It's something I have been asking for a while. I love Japan but I just wanted to come back"

"Then why did you left?" One of the guys (mind him, they just came at him with questions, cero names or even hi's) asks. 

"Uh because - " Kibum is cut mid sentence "Children!" He turns around quickly "not another one please" He thinks,  "Director Lee, at his office, right now, not you Taemin, his tired of your face" The man clearly on his years, says this quickly, bows at him and leaves.

"Ugh what does he wants now?!" They all start complaining "Sorry Kibum-ssi but duty is on call"

"Yeah... Bye" It's a fact that Kibum hasn't felt this awkward since high school, he tries not to shiver with that thought. 

"Heol... Lucky you Taemin" One of them says before leaving. 

The atmosphere is uncomfortable to say the least, he is unsure whether to leave or stay, finish his coffee and get the hell out.

"So..." But it is this Taemin kid that has decided his fate over him "Kibum right?"

"Kim Kibum from Daegu, 34 years old" Where are the honorifics? It's clear that he is older than him. 

"Hyung!" Taemin smirks giggling.

"Little rat" Kibum thinks "Yeah" But he tries to play it off "You?" 

"Lee Taemin, 32, born and raised in Seoul" Taemin smiles "Promoted to Seoul uh? I thought Japan sounded like a promotion already" 

"It actually was but I didn't have the position that I have now, so my promotion just happened to be here, back in Korea" 

"Then why did you left?" 

"Because I always wanted to go somewhere else, to live outside Korea. Japan was exciting, it really was, believe me, a total experience but I guess I got homesick" This time Kibum manages to answer this question. 

"Uh really?" it is to say the least that Taemin is not giving a flying bug about him nor what he is saying. 

"Yeah" Kibum resists rolling his eyes. 

"Well I would never, I'm too patriotic for that" 

"Oh really?" 

"Yeah" Taemin makes a face of disgust "My grandfather had to fight in the war, never stepping on that hole" He sips from his coffee and continues to speak "Besides believe me when I tell you they'll be fighting China over who sells more overseas" Kibum only nods, lost of words, Taemin then gets closer to him with a mischievous smiles "So tell me Kim Kibum, how do you manage to work on the lingerie department?" 

"It was the underwear" 

"Whatever... It's the same" 

"I would say lingerie is kind of an art, lingerie is not underwear nor made the same way, and it's way more expensive" 

"Ugh! Come on! You put a tiny bow on a bra and it gets expensive, two bows and it gets pricier, that without changing colors, that gets the price higher, of course is more expensive" Taemin rolls his eyes. 

"Well it's complicated, the thing is the fabric and - "  

Taemin interrupts him mid sentence "So, how, you, a man, gets to get the sells higher?"

"Well" Kibum is dumbfounded for second, however he proceeds to answer after he catches the question "After a while of failed attempts to get the sells up I managed to find the secret, the thing is that you have to think like a woman" He proudly says. 

"Come again?" Taemin is clueless by that. 

"Look, at first I was selling what I thought looked pretty enough for a girl, however sales weren't getting any better, so I figured something wasn't right" Kibum turns to Taemin "Back then I was dating this cutie from Hiroshima, so I figured she could give me a hand" 

Taemin smirks "Give you a hand?" he laughs. 

"A helpful insight inside the world of a girl" Kibum says sharply "Mind you, our main buyer was directed from young girls to young adults, so after a couple of questions, by Monday I had a complete new plan" 

Taemin is partly regretting this conversation, is not his usual topic, he could be the happiest if they were talking about politics or stupid American movies, in full honesty he just wanted to make fun of Kibum, mess with him, make him uncomfortable, he wasn't expecting him taking it so seriously. 

"Women are looking for comfort when it comes to the most important clothing" at that word Kibum makes quote sings with his fingers "But if it's pretty the better, women tastes comes in different colors and styles but if you have available comfort with a cute pink bow for the girly girl, a black rose for the edgy girly, diamonds around for the fancy lady, you'll be winning" Kibum then makes a face of disgust almost as if he is offended "Did you know that anything that is for bigger sizes comes as plain as a desert, that's something I also changed, bigger sizes deserve to have cute bows or black lace for the looks, believe me, bras are like a state secret women surely will pass the voice" He ends with a satisfied smile, proud of himself. 

"I think it's pretty much misogynistic" by those words Kibum is taken out of his cloud nine, he looks at Taemin confused, asking why in a soft voice "Look, what you did sounds awesome, but I still believe that these rich dudes only want to get richer, they are the least interested on helping women or making them feel good, they only make women" "happy" in order to gain what they want" 

At the end Taemin has won and Kibum is done "But that's how things work Taemin everything has a cost, I get sometimes it's not so favorable, and sure luxury brands love to put a red line between humans, but maybe you're forgetting the other side, there's people behind every product out there, the hands that made them or were there to check the machines that made them and they actually need some food on the table or paying their child's school expenses" Kibum stops for a second sighing "I know there are men out there that clearly only see for themselves but there are also men who see for women, for women and men, who try to actually do something" he says that word harsher, hoping Taemin gets it, with that Kibum bows and leaves quickly leaving a self conflicting Taemin behind. 

................... 

Kibum is smoking a cigarette by the rooftop at his last break, "maybe there should be men underwear that says DON'T BE A JERK" Kibum thinks, he turns around annoyed at the sound of some footsteps behind him. 

"I'm sorry"

"Why are you apologizing?" Kibum asks. 

"I feel like I interrupted a peaceful moment" 

"Miss Park you're so considerate, please feel free to stay" 

Seohyun smiles shyly but walks to where Kibum is, the sky is turning into a beautiful orange color. 

"Miss Park" 

"Yes?" 

"If you don't mind me asking, what would you feel if your significant other gifts you a pair of very expensive shoes? I mean really expensive shoes, like Gucci or Channel" 

"Oh wow" Seohyun laughs "I think I would be really flattered, I wouldn't even know what to say" 

"Would you be mindful of the price?" 

"Ofcourse I would be, but I guess that'll make feel extremely thankful towards him maybe even love him more" Seohyun giggles. 

Kibum smiles at her warmly "You women see the world more beautiful and yet we fail you so much" 

At that, Seohyun stares at Kibum with confusion. 

°°°