“Don’t forget you have your first meeting with Kim Jonghyun today!”

Sunggyu gave a loud sigh as he opened his eyes and squinted at his alarm clock which read the numbers 5:59 am.

“Damnit Changmin. You’re one minute early.”

“Come on boy, up you get. I’ll have Dongwoo get the strongest coffee ready for you when you get into the office. Don’t fret.”

“Goodbye Changmin.” Sunggyu groaned as he clicked off the mobile device before chucking it down at the foot of his bed, overestimating the distance as a loud thud resounded against the creamy walls.

“Oops.” Sunggyu whispered under his breath as he stared up at the ceiling, wait for the seconds before his very own alarm would start its sequence of ear piercing beeps.

3..

2…

1..

There we go. Sunggyu rolled over and landed his hand right on top of the red snooze button.

“No snooze today.” Sunggyu mumbled as he rubbed his eyes, slightly squinting the sleep in his eyes away before getting up to take a shower.

His suit was already hung out nicely next to his mirror, and a navy blue tie to match it slung carelessly around the neck of the coat hanger.

He stared at himself through the fogged mirror, one hand reaching out the rub away the blurriness and replaced it with a wet streak and hand print of his very own. Sunggyu looked at himself and thought to himself what he thought every day, for the past few years.

“Yet another day. Yet another façade. And yet another case with an opposition that’s about to go down.” He smirked to himself as he recited his mantra.

“Morning Boss.”

“Hey Dongwoo.” Sunggyu gave a careless smile as he grabbed his steaming hot espresso in one hand, as promised, and another stack of papers in his other hand.

“What time?”

“In forty minutes. Sungyeol will be down from the big guy in ten. You gotta brief him on everything and stuff.”

“Remind me why I take orders from Changmin again?”

“Because he’s your cousin and your senior partner.”

“Right.” Sunggyu turned away, a slight shook of his hand as he descended down the hallway into his office.

“Right.” He repeated before pushing open his brass door knob, the light scent of sandalwood and lavender filling his nostrils, the familiar scent of his office. The familiar scent of home, actually, back when his mother used to love this smell.

He sighed and sat down, getting all his papers ready for his meeting with the famous Kim Jonghyun.

A loud knock resounded on the door before Sungyeol bounded in. Sunggyu rolled his eyes and gave him a brief nod,

“Sit.”

“Okay, hey Mr Kim. Isn’t this a little exciting? Getting to work with a kpop star and all?”

“Yah Lee Sungyeol, please don’t tell me you’re a fanboy.”

“Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see.” He gave a lopsided grin before getting his own stack of papers out. He was eager to learn and very good at taking notes, Sunggyu had to give the kid that much credit at least.

“Okay. I’ll do the talking, you do the writing. If you’re good I’ll even get him to autograph your CD which I can see poking out of your bag, Sungyeol. Pathetic.”

Sungyeol lightly blushed and kicked his bag so that the flap now covered the plastic case with Kim Jonghyun’s face so clearly pictured on it.

“Got it, Boss.” Sungyeol mock saluted before taking his pen out and paper ready for note taking.

A light buzz came out of the speaker phone before a knock sounded on the wooden door.

“Got it, thanks Dongwoo.” Sunggyu spoke into the phone before he stood up to greet the music idol.

“Good morning, Mr Kim. It’s very nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much.”

“Good morning to you too, Mr Kim. Please, call me Jonghyun.”

“Ah Jonghyun shi, then please do call me Sunggyu. This is Sungyeol, he’s my assistant for this case, Dongwoo the secretary whom you just met will always be joining us shortly.” Sunggyu gestured towards Sungyeol briefly before giving Jonghyun a light smile.

“Please, do sit. I would like to know absolutely everything that this bastard of a company has on you.”

Jonghyun gave a light chuckle and immediately relaxed in his arm chair, Sunggyu noticed and gave a small smile in return.

“I’m afraid we might be here all day then.”

“We’ve got time. Don’t you worry.” Sunggyu reassured before Dongwoo walked in with a tray of coffee for the new client.

“Okay. So I understand this is a contract dispute?”

“Yes.” Jonghyun nodded before taking a large sip out of his coffee cup.

“Right, okay. Sungyeol’s ready?” He gave a brief look at his assistant to make sure he was listening and pen poised at the ready.

“Good.”

“Now, tell me everything.”

A couple of hours passed before Sunggyu could feel a light squeeze in his stomach indicating that it was indeed, time for a lunch break. Sungyeol’s hand was slightly shaking as he had been acting as scribe the entire time, and Dongwoo’s eyes had begun getting droopier and droopier.

“- And I was outraged at the fact that they thought they owned me. I’m a human being for god’s sake. Do you understand?”

“Yes I do, Jonghyun. They are completely in the wrong and I will not stop until you get your rights back. Don’t worry. I’ll give you my word.”

“- It’s ridiculous, they have this whole list telling me who I can and cannot date. I had to fake a relationship with Jessica for goodness sakes, she’s like my best friend. And even then, they dictated our every action, telling us to hold hands, or for me to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. It was so overwhelming. I mean, I’m clearly gay. I felt like a robot being told what to do, or worse, a fish being told to breathe on land.”

Sunggyu nodded, ignoring the ridiculous analogy as he gestured Jonghyun to keep on going, now there was the evidence that he needed.

“Jung Jessica, witness.” Sunggyu spoke directly to Sungyeol to make a small note.

“Heck they don’t even let me take credit for the own songs I’ve written. They made me lie to my own boyfriend, restrained me from my friends and family, I feel like I’m trapped in a fishbowl with nowhere to go but practises and recording studios.”

“Restrictions, exploitation, unsigned permission, not previously stated, blackmailing by threatening family and co-workers, all in all a breach of contract. Jonghyun did I miss anything?” Sunggyu asked as he gave Sungyeol a brief nod along with a twirl of his pen. He pushed a glass of water slightly towards his client with a sympathetic smile.

“No.” Jonghyun replied with a grim look on his face, his chest slightly heaving as he tried to calm himself down, the glass seemed to almost break if the brunet had gripped it any harder.

“They are nothing without me. You hear me? Absolutely nothing.”

“Then let’s show them what you’re made of.” Sunggyu gave him a sly grin as he patted his shoulder.

“Thank you, Jonghyun. We’ll see you soon.”

It was natural for law cases, especially one this big, to be with full media coverage and updates on every meeting of the case. As security surrounded the Korean Hallyu star on his way out, Sunggyu stared at the flashing cameras and desperate fangirls waving their handmade posters of ‘we support you, jonghyun!’ and ‘you are our only almighty bling’. The lawyer leaned on the handrail of the upstairs reception with his head slightly tilted, deep in thought. The receptionists could be seen slightly giggling to themselves as they shamelessly stared at the handsome man in front of them, wondering why the usually isolated junior partner of the firm would be so curious about the exit of one of his many clients.

“God, I hate this case.”

“You hate every case, Sunggyu.” Dongwoo sighed as he continued typing at a ridiculous speed, barely sparing a glance at the keyboard as he looked at his sighing boss with a knowing smile.

“Yah, who told you to speak informally?” Sunggyu narrowed his eyes as he grabbed a new pile of documents off the desk.

“Hoping you wouldn’t notice. Was worth a try.” Dongwoo shrugged his shoulders as he looked back down at his desktop with a grin.

“Yah you-“ Sunggyu began trailing off as he caught sight of the large cuckoo clock on the far end of the hallway.

“Nevermind, gotta go. Family calls.”

“Oh yeah, noona called to tell you to hurry up.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Two hours ago.”

“Dongwoo. Seriously, why-“ Sunggyu shrugged his coat on hastily before briskly walking away.

“Better run, boss.” Dongwoo gave a cluck of the tongue before continuing to tap away studiously at his computer.

With about fifteen minutes to spare before his promised time, Sunggyu rushed out into the parking lot into his Maserati. A loud screeching noise came around the corner as a familiar leather jacket was seated comfortably on the grumbling motorcycle. Sunggyu squinted his eyes in recognition and scoffed as he flicked his hair out of his face, still remembering the young man having called him boring.

“Kid-“

“Do you have time to be chatting with me, Mr Kim?”

“Well you are blocking the driveway- wait. How did you know I was late?”

“Your rushed actions and your crooked tie as well as your slightly flushed face offer that explanation.” The brunet smirked as he lazily the straps of his black helmet.

“An observer, aren’t you?” Sunggyu unconsciously reached up to straighten his tie, his eyes never leaving the figure in front of him.

“Perhaps. I’ll have lots of observing to do later though. Best be on your way, Mr Kim.” The mysterious male gave a light smirk before placing the helmet back on his head and with a loud screech of his twin wheels, left through the entrance of the building.

Sunggyu blankly stared at the receding motorcycle as it blended in with the peak hour traffic before realising he only had ten minutes left and gave a loud curse.

“I don’t understand why you’re an to the rest of us but not to the kids.” His sister stood, arms crossed firmly across her skinny bodice. After three kids, you’d think a woman would be well overweight and struggling on her feet, but no, not Kim Minah, she was a strong, determined and willing woman. Some may argue it ran in the Kim family.

“Because they actually act their age, and for their age, their immaturity is justifiable.” Sunggyu simply stated, loosening his tie and top button of his white shirt.

Dinner had been quick, with the kids eagerly awaiting their favourite uncle at the dining table as he came rushing in through the apartment doors with apologies following his steps.

It was pizza night, and that meant a table full of fallen pepperonis and salami, along with the usual mush of tomato sauce dropped carelessly onto the floor. Sunggyu held his three year old nephew on his hip, his left arm wrapped securely around the young toddler as he picked up the food scraps with a wet tablecloth.

“Isn’t that right, Taeyongie?” Sunggyu gave the now squealing toddler a light kiss on the forehead as the child’s mother gave a scoff and the television.

‘This is reporter Lee Sanye, we are currently outside the SM building where popstar Kim Jonghyun is eagerly awaiting the return of his long term boyfriend, Kim Ki-‘

“Oh look Gyu, it’s your favourite client.” Minah gave a teasing smile at her brother who rolled his eyes, but his attention was drawn to the colourful screen where hundreds of reporters stood, and fangirls screaming for the attention of their favourite idol.

The slightly buzzing image zoomed in on the ambushed idol star who had a distraught expression on his face. The words of ‘idol suing company’ rolled swiftly across the bottom of the screen, however, it was the sudden flash of what seemed like a million cameras that drew the attention to the now open doors of the tall building.

The camera once again zoomed in on Jonghyun’s face, now lit up in surprise as he rushed forward towards the doors and opened his arms widely, welcoming the dark hooded figure who met the idol halfway.

Loud ‘awws’ and sounds of clapping resounded through the television as fangirls united and squealed at the reunion of their OTP.

The hooded figure shyly clutched the back of Jonghyun’s t-shirt and the couple embraced for what felt like hours before finally separating. However, the strand of pink that could be seen through the hood made no fault in distinguishing Jonghyun’s long-term lover, Kim Kibum.

The reporter continued on rambling about their devastating love story of being blackmailed and the possibility of separation before the camera zoomed out on the retreating couple who made their way into a private car.

It wasn’t until Minah turned off the television and threw the remote at her brother’s face that Sunggyu finally realised and came to terms with what he should’ve known in the first place.

 “My god, I’m defending a lovesick idiot.”

#

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! i made sure i could finish this by today, so sorry for the delay. this chapter hasn't been beta-ed because if it had, it woulda taken another week more, i think my beta is away somewhere fun :( need to keep better tabs on her haha!

anyway hope you all have an absolutely amazing holiday and relax and spend time with your family!

i know this may seem like it's really slow moving, but i want to make sure i get everything right, and drag out the story a bit because i just feel like theres so much i want to write! anyway, woohyun will be (officially) introduced next chapter, so look out for that!

shout me a comment to let me know what you think! (have you all disappeared? :( ),

as per usual, thank you for reading <3