"Son, come here for a moment." Mrs Horjevkul called out to Nichkhun. "I want you to meet our important business client." She dragged her son towards a man with receding hairline and addressed him. The man turned around to reveal an old face with a pleasant smile. "Ah." He said, with a slight Chinese accent added in, "This must be your son ar?"

"Yes, Mr Song. He's my second son. Nichkhun Horjevkul. Son, greet Mr Song."

Nichkhun made a 90 degrees bow and smiled back at the old man. This seemed to please the man. "Fine young man. Now, where is my daughter...?" He searched around but was puzzled when he couldn't find her.

Both Nichkhun and his mum searched around too, but Nichkhun was not looking for whoever-the-girl-was. He was looking for Wooyoung and the boy seemed to be missing. He excused himself for a second, informing them of his dire need to use the washroom. Mr Song simply chuckled at this and told him to come back later. He said he needed to say something to Nichkhun. Nichkhun bowed his head again and made his way out again into the backyard.

"He was just here..." He muttered to himself. "Where did he go?"

From where he stood, he could see the rest of his gang members hovering over the buffet table, probably hogging up all the food. With Chansung there, it was a good thing his mum had ordered for an extra catering. But Wooyoung was not amongst them. Nichkhun went over to Taec and asked if the big guy had seen Wooyoung.

"Udong? I think I saw him went into the house a moment ago."

"Kay, thanks."

"Wait, don't you want to join us first? It's your party."

"No, it's my sister's party and I've already eaten some snacks earlier. I'm fine. You guys enjoy yourself. I'm going to look for Youngie." He left them at the buffet table and rushed back into the house. Wooyoung was definitely not in the kitchen or the lviing room. He even checked his uncle's snooker room. All he saw was a bunch of old men, bending over the snooker table with a glass of wine in each hand. His uncle asked him to join the game, but he politely refused the offer. He made his way upstairs and checked inside the first guest room. It was empty.

And then he went over to the second guest room. Someone was definitely inside. He placed an ear against the door and tried to listen in. The first voice belonged to a woman. She sounded snobbish, as if she was demanding something or scolding the other person. The second voice was....Wooyoung? Well, it was too soft to be sure.But then again, Wooyoung does have a soft voice. Nichkhun was getting irritated. His uncle had a knack for thick doors. It made eavesdropping difficult. The sound of the ballroom music from downstairs was too loud, draining out any possibility of making out what they were talking about.

After two excrutiating minutes of having to bear the wait, he finally gave up and opened the door. The sight befuddled him. Wooyoung was pinned up against the wall, and Victoria, the girl he remembered from the dance class last time, looked like she was about to kiss Wooyoung. Nichkhun had never felt so cheated in his life. He slammed the door shut behind him and pushed Victoria away.

"What the hell is going on here? This is my uncle's house and you guys have no right to be doing anything...funny." He scolded them, shooting a glare at Victoria. From the looks of things, Wooyoung was definitely not at wrong. Nichkhun wanted to believe that. The younger boy would never do anything to betray his trust,. Would he? Wooyoung had practically just confessed to him. That would be absurd.

"I was asking Woo baby here why he was so cruel as to ignore me. And he told me that he's in love with you. What a joke! Nichkhun-ssi, would you trust a guy who has played with women and then dumped them one side like a broken toy?"

"Well, that's the thing. I'm not a woman. I'm a man. No, I'm his man. Now, it you have a problem with my man, you deal with me too. You have no right to drag him here and threaten him."

"I can do whatever I want. It's my life. So if I want to play dirty, I could do that too. Like let's say....persuading my dad to stop working for the Horjevkul. That would be a big cost to your family, isn't it?"

"You wouldn't dare..." Nichkhun hissed at her, his anger gradually rising. This woman was overstepping his boundary. Wooyoung took his arms and tried to calm him down, but Nichkhun was already too angry to care. How dare she threaten his family instead!

"Like I said, I dare. Anyway, daddy dearest is probably looking for you. He says he has something to tell you."

She her heels and walked out, leaving Nichkhun alone with Wooyoung.Nichkhun watched her disappear out of sight before he finally swerved his head towards Wooyoung. "What did she tell you?"

"The same thing she told you. If I care about you, I would give up on you."

"Would you?"

"No. I care too much." Wooyoung admitted, meeting Nichkhun's eyes properly this time. There was a spark between them and Wooyoung could feel his heart flutter. He bit his lips, suddenly shy.

How adorable, Nichkhun thought. He leaned in slowly and placed a chaste kiss on his boyfriend's lips. "If you leave me, you'll be the one explaining for my death." Wooyoung knew his boyfriend was lying, but the way Nichkhun had said it made the statement sound so real. "Anyway, let's get out of here. Go wait in the backyard. Once I'm done with Mr Song, we'll leave immediately."

Wooyoung nodded his head and the two of them quickly exited the room.

___________________________

Mr Song was having a conversation with his daughter when Nichkhun appeared. He heeded no attention to Victoria, paying full focus on the old man instead. When Mr Song saw him, he turned to greet Nichkhun again. "Ah, Nichkhun boy, here is my daughter. Victoria Song. Girl, bow to him." He addressed his daughter, who obediently bowed to Nichkhun. The Thai simply nodded his head in return. Two can play this game. She looked disappointed when he did not bow back to her properly but Mr Song thought this was part of Korea's etiquette. Only the young bow properly to the older.

He cleared his throat and begun, "Well, boy, like I have said earlier...uh...I have something to tell you. You see, my wife and I only have one child. I am already old. Soon my wife and I would want to retire, and to do that, we need to find a son. I want you to consider taking my daughter's hands in marriage."

Both Victoria and Nichkhun stared at Mr Song in shock. MARRIAGE?! There were barely out of school yet.

As if he could read their minds, Mr Song said, "The marriage will not happen now, of course. But a contract will be signed. Your parents have agreed to this. I only await your answer, boy. Once the deal is done, both of you will be betrothed. And only after the wedding will you be able to obtain my company and all its assets along with it."

Nichkhun was speechless. He stood very still, his eyes not wavering from Mr Song. The old man was waiting for his answer. And Victoria, well, she looked pleased. Damn her. What the hell does she want with him?

"I...will give you an answer another time, sir." He replied politely. Deep down inside, he wanted to yell out NOOOOO!!!! But his parents had been partners with the Song Group for years. What would they say if he suddenly breaks that business bond? His parents would kill him for sure. Rheoterically speaking, of course. But it will be torturous for Nichkhun. Hours of nagging from mummy dearest was something the Horjevkul family wanted to avoid. 

Mr Song was satisfied with the reply so far, not wanting to push the boy. He excused himself and slowly made his way to Mr Horjevkul. Victoria followed her father, giving a little chuckle at Nichkhun before she left. At a loss of what to do, the Thai decided it was time to consult his boyfriend.