.

How Sungmin even came to agree to this... compromise, he didn't know. 

But it definitely wasn't because of the tall man's dark chocolate orbs that stared at him from under that soft hair--

Dammit. 

Sungmin smacks himself across the cheeks, trying to bring himself back to his senses. He should hate the man, not drool over his eyes or hair. 

He stifles a yawn and pulls at his tie, frowning at the awkward knots near the collar of his shirt.

Sungmin curses himself again. Why had he agreed so quickly to work for the man? He even had to run around looking for the (cheapest) tie-- god knows how a small piece of material can cost the same as twenty of their pancakes. He grumbles at having to spend before even receiving his first paycheck. 

He glances at the clock. The tall stranger expects him in his office in 15 minutes. And it's only 7am. 

Sungmin mutters under his breath as he walks across their dining room, when his toe makes painful contact with wood.

Fuc--

He limps towards the door, rolling his eyes.

Today was definitely not going to be a good day. 

"Sungmin-ah."

Mrs. Lee ambles towards her son, and squeezes Sungmin's shoulder.

"Here, I just polished your shoes. I know you wouldn't do it yourself." 

She holds out a pair of well-worn, but gleaming shoes. Sungmin softens, dissipating his earlier anger.

"Sungmin-ah..."

Mrs. Lee pauses, then looks up at her son. She wonders when he had grown so tall.

"Sungmin... your dad and I are very proud of you for getting a job at KM... I've heard it is almost impossible to be employed by them..." 

Calloused fingers from years of folding dough reach up, deftly correcting Sungmin's tie. 

"But... we both wonder whether KM has forced you to do anything... since they rang us this morning telling us to disregard the letter... and told us they gave you a job as well..."

"No, Mum. KM didn't force me to do anything at all." Sungmin keeps his face blank and manages a small smile. 

"We don't want you to get hurt because of us--"

"No, Mum." Sungmin repeated firmly. "I promise you KM didn't ask me to do anything stupid."

Except to work with that guy.

 "Well... okay." Wrinkles branch from Mrs. Lee's eyes as she smiles at her son. "Now hurry up! You don't want to be late on your first day!"

Flick.

Sungmin rubs his forehead before hurrying out the door.

*****

What makes that doe-eyed person so special?

The tall man crosses his fingers, resting his chin on the back of his hands.

Closing his eyes, he breathes in, the air filled with a trace of rich mahogany from his desk, mingled with the smell of leather from his chair and Clive Christian No. 1.

He shifts his elbows slightly to better accomodate the weight of his head, and crosses his legs.

Then uncrosses them.

And crosses them again.

The man lets out a soft sigh and opens an eyelid. In front of him lay neat piles of documents-- probably all needing his signature on the dotted line. 

He should be reading the many rows of Arial, size 10. But what occupies his mind is far from meetings, deadlines or new area development. 

It's those eyes.

He remembers only one other pair of eyes which captivated him, and that was Sungmin. The Sungmin who he spent the happiest week of his life with. 

From time to time, he still reminisces about that week, and the promise.

It's been thirteen years already... but he hasn't visited that little alcove yet. He purses his lips, blaming the never-ending sheets of A4 paper finding their way to his desk. 

He smirks at the possibility of this short man being Sungmin, then shakes his head. 

Impossible. 

He then chews his lip as he wonders if he'll ever see Sungmin again. Maybe he's already been forgotten... 13 years has been a long time. He really should get his secretary to clear his schedule...

A sudden sharp knock on the door snaps the man out of his reverie.

"Kyuhyun-sshi, the man from yesterday... he's here."

The tall man smirks. This will be fun.

"Please, bring him in."

A/N: Sorry again for the late update/lack of plot/short update guys, car broke down in the rain and had to get towed... then got up next morning with a bad cold 
Just my luck
So I'm really sorry if this chapter is weird/not satisfying enough... I'm not 100% happy with this chapter either :/ *facepalms and rolls away*

As a thank you for waiting patiently, next chapter should be out by tomorrow!