Despite his calm and collected appearance in front of Sehun and Kai, Luhan's mind was cluttered with thoughts, flustered over the strange twist of events that fate had handed him. Striding over to his brother's desk, the younger grabbed onto Xiumin's wrist, dragging away the confused secretary who was following the lead of the other subconsiously, too startled to react properly. But when he noticed the eyes of curious co-workers, he snapped out of his trance, pulling back his arm.

"What are you doing? I have work-" the older spluttered, bowing down to his colleagues that were staring at them, whispering behind their hands as their eyes followed the pair's movements. "You're making a scene, stop it," he hissed, but of course, his stubborn younger brother didn't pay any attention to his words, grabbing onto the Xiumin's wrist once more, pulling on it harsher than before. Only when the click of the lock of an empty storage room could be heard does Luhan turn to Xiumin, releasing a breath in exasperation.

"Sorry about that, but this is really important," he began, running his hair through his freshly-dyed red hair.

"What's so important that you had to drag me off unannounced then?" asked Xiumin, rolling his eyes. "You could have just asked me nicely, like a normal younger brother." At those words, Luhan just coughed, squirming under the critical eyes of his older brother.

"I said I'm sorry, okay?" he mumbled. "Just listen to what I have to tell you," he pleaded, looking up at Xiumin with those droopy eyes that he knew would hit the other right in the heart.

"Fine," sighed Xiumin, motioning for Luhan to continue.

"I never told you who the man that cheated on his husband with me was, right?" clarified Luhan, searching Xiumin's face for an answer. The older thought back and realized that, in fact, no, he had not been told the true identities of the people that destroyed his brother's heart.

"No, I don't think so," he replied, shaking his head. "You just told me that... well, everything that happened, I guess..." Xiumin's voice trailed off as he gulped, not wanting his brother's pain to resurface. Luhan noticed the elder's hesitation, coughing before continuing.

"You'd never believe it..." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "My new boss, Mr. Kim... well, he's the husband of the guy who cheated..." At those words, Xiumin let out a startled gasp, clamping his mouth shut with his right hand.

"Which means-"

"Yeah. Seh- I mean, Mr. Oh was my 'client'," said Luhan, his voice turning bitter at the thought.

"No wonder you three seemed kind of tense when I brought you in to meet them..." reflected Xiumin, the realization hitting him like a ton of bricks.

There was an awkward silence as Xiumin digested the new information, his previous respect for his boss deteriorating at an alarming speed. In the meantime, Luhan had begun to pace forwards and backwards in the small confines of the storage room, muttering to himself.

"Let me quit," he pleaded, raising his voice to a volume that would reach Xiumin. "I promise I'll look for another job, just let me leave..." The desperation in his tone was evident, his voice cracking a few times as his resolve was beginning to fail him. Seeing him like this, Xiumin couldn't help the pity that flooded his thoughts. But he knew that there was no way out.

"You know as well as I do... You can't quit, not for another year..." the older whispered.

'But-"

"Luhan, you signed a year-long contract that cannot be nullified." Luhan stopped his pacing, turning to the other with a look that said it all. He had given up. "You know I want what's best for you, but right now, there's no way that you can quit without receiving some sort of penalty - which we really can't afford right now," explained Xiumin. "But I promise you, the minute one year is over, I won't stop you." He moved towards Luhan, stretching his arms out to call the younger for an embrace. The red-head rushed into the other's warm hug, tightening his hold. "Hush, it's okay, I'll help you through it, okay?" soothed Xiumin.

"But I don't think I could bear having to put up this polite appearance in front of the person who called me a ..." Luhan looked at Xiumin warily, unshed tears threatening to spill at the corner of his eyes. "Especially having to be reminded of the fact that Sehun was never mine..."

"I'm sure he'll maintain his professionalism. After all, he is the husband of the CEO-to-be, he can't afford to tarnish their reputation." Luhan was about to interrupt, but the older continued. "And if he dares to mess with my younger brother, he'll have me to deal with; and I can hurt them in ways that they could never imagine," he added, a dangerous tone underlying his mysterious words. And let it be known that his words carried the gravity of truth. As a secretary to the future CEO, Xiumin was privy to many private business - and personal - matters. With all of that sensitive information, he could do a lot of damage without anyone ever finding him out as the source of it all. Luhan shivered at the threat behind the statement, but nonetheless felt a little relieved. Knowing that his older brother would have his back certainly helped to calm down his frayed nerves.

"Now, I think it's time we leave this tiny room and go home, it's already five," suggested Xiumin, looking at his watch. He let out a small sigh when he realized the extra work that he would have to do at home to catch up on the few hours that he lost.

"Oops, sorry for keeping you away from work for so long..." Luhan laughed nervously, unlocking the door and stepping out of the storage room. Xiumin followed closely behind and the pair of them left the building, heading for home.

 I'm back =] Everything worked out pretty well, and I've learned how to deal with stress and decision-making better =P 

That said, my updates won't be that frequent since I have to stay on top of my studies xD But since I'm no longer on hiatus, still expect updates ^-^

Nothing else to say, so I hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to leave comment/vote/subscribe if you haven't~

Twitter

Tumblr