Hae’s POV 

We kept eating in silence until both plates were cleaned. I had offered to wash them as a skimpy repayment for how Hyukjae had taken care of me last night, but he had refused greatly, saying that it wasn’t much and that he would deal with it when he got back from work. 

 Afterwards, he had suggested we leave, so here I was, shoes on and waiting for him by the doorway. 

I watched as he walked around the apartment getting some things to take to work. He didn’t have his suit blazer on, showing off his crisp, white, long sleeved button down that was rolled up to the elbows with a black tie hung around his neck, that matched with his black fitted slacks. It was a very simple look, but I found myself staring. 

I had been doing that all morning and he had caught me more than once already. But I couldn’t help it. It was like he had just walked out of a magazine cover. 

We didn’t talk as I followed him into the elevator and to his car, and the whole ride was quiet. 

I hadn’t been paying attention most of the ride as I though about how things were going to be when I went back home. It wasn’t until I noticed the familiar neighborhood and realized that I hadn’t given Hyukjae any directions that I asked him how he knew where I lived. 

Hyukjae turned to look at me as he drove slowly, looking amused as he answered my question. “I was there for the party, remember? I even gave a speech,” he chuckled. Oh, yeah. Nice one, Hae.

A few moments later, he was pulling up in front of the heavy metal gate and was about to drive in when I stopped him. “C-Can you just let me out here?”

He was about to say something but I interrupted. “I’ll walk the rest of the way. I just want to get some fresh air before I go inside,” I said, looking down at my hands. 

“Ok, sure.” He put the car in park and I carefully got out, shutting the door as he rolled the window down. 

“Don’t worry about the clothes. You can keep them,” he said, leaning so that he could see me outside the window. I avoided his eyes but nodded and I heard him chuckle again. 

We said goodbye and when he was off speeding up the road, I began the long walk up to the front of the house, taking my time as I prepared for whatever would meet me inside. 

Silence was the first thing I noticed when I stepped into the foyer. None of the house staff were around and so I took it as an opportunity to sneak up to my room. 

Once inside, I noticed my phone on my bed and went over to check it. 

My eyes widened as I looked at the screen: 6 missed calls and 14 unread texts, all from Kyu. 

I’m in so much trouble. 

I flopped stomach first onto the bed as I dialed his number. After the first ring, he answered. “Hello? Hae? Is that you? Are you alright?”

I felt guilty for causing him to worry. “Yeah it’s me. I’m fine.”

That didn’t calm him down though. “Where were you last night? Why didn’t you answer my calls?”

“Uh… My phone just died… that’s all.”

“Don’t give me that crap. What happened?” he demanded. 

I sighed. I was never really good at lying. Or maybe Kyu just knew me too well. 

“Did that witch do something to you?” 

I answered ‘no’ too quickly, and he was quiet on the other end. “Kyu? You still there?”

“Hae, if you don’t tell me what she did to you, I’m coming over there right now and it’s going to be quite a scene. So you better start talking,” he threatened. 

“Can we talk about this later?” I hadn’t even had time yet to wrap my head around the whole situation. 

“No.”

I let out a soft groan but finally gave in and told him I was coming over, hanging up after.

I didn’t need to get ready because I had already done that at Hyukjae’s place, but I decided on changing out of his pants. Before we left his apartment, he had given me a belt to keep them up, but they still sagged uncomfortably. 

I wanted to keep the sweater on, though. I blushed at the thought, but couldn’t help the smile that also came with it. 

I had enjoyed our morning together with the warm smiles and awkward conversations. It had felt pleasant and it seemed right. It was different from when I was with Kyu, but maybe that's because Kyu and I were best friends that liked to tease each other a lot. 

So then… what was Hyukjae and I? 

We’re not friends, yet… but we’re not strangers. Maybe we’d be classified as acquaintances. But that doesn’t seem right either. 

Ah whatever. I’ll figure this out later. I should be leaving now. 

I slipped into the long hallway and was about to start walking when I saw Umma round the corner, heading my way. 

A breath caught in my throat and I watched as she approached me, and then walked right past, not even sparing me a glance. 

My heart clenched and I bit my lip, shutting my eyes to keep the tears in. 

Ugh. I feel absolutely miserable. So much for a having a good morning. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hyuk’s POV 

As I pulled up into the underground garage of the company, I was thinking about what my excuse was for being late. The only person that would ask would be Sungmin but I still needed a good reason. I wasn’t going to tell him about Donghae. I don’t know why but I wanted to keep that on the hush hush for now.

When I stepped off the elevator and onto the floor where my office was, I was met with a furious bunny snarling in my face. 

“Where have you been all morning? Were you aware that you had a very important meeting scheduled at 11?” he shouted, gaining the attention of Yongguk who was sat at his desk trying to wipe a smudge off his computer screen. When he saw me looking, he snapped his head away so fast I’m surprised he didn't kill himself with the action. All the other employees were already in their own little offices, all of their doors shut tightly. 

I glanced at the huge, steel, analog clock on the wall and realized it was just after 1 pm. 

“And do you know how many calls I’ve had to deal with?  Dynamite said they want to finalize the deal but you weren’t here to take the call,” he jabbed an accusing finger at my chest. 

“Great. I’ll get them on the phone right now.” I moved around Min as carefully as I could, trying not to spark any violence in him. 

“And what about that meeting that you so blissfully skipped out on?” he asked with an irritated face.

“Just reschedule it for this afternoon.”

“Argh! It’s not that easy you know!” he yelled as he charged at me. I ducked out of the way and escaped into my office, slamming the door shut and locking it. He pounded angrily on the door and I could hear muffled profanities firing out of his mouth. 

I went over to my desk and picked up the phone, dialing Yongguk. 

“Y-Y-Yes B-Boss?”

“Tell Sungmin to get the file from internal affairs. I need it for this afternoon’s meeting,” and then hung up, casually sitting down to being work. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sungmin’s POV

I stomped down the busy corridor of the internal affairs’ floor, coming to a halt in front of the door marked ‘Choi Siwon’. 

Not stopping to knock, I opened the door to see Siwon perched by his window sill, sipping at his black coffee. 

“Oh, hey Sungmin. Hyukjae already called,” he said, coming over to hand me the necessary file. 

I snatched it and Siwon raised his eyebrows before laughing. “I heard Hyukjae missed the meeting this morning so it got cancelled. Is that what you’re so worked up about?” 

I puffed my face in annoyance and he seemed to get the hint, changing the conversation. 

“So for some reason, we’re getting someone new in this department in a couple of days. I’m supposed to ‘take him under my wing’ but I have no idea what he’s going to do. I’ve got nothing that he can help with.” 

“Who is it?” I asked, momentarily distracted. 

“Not sure. All I was told is that he’s the son of the new partner company’s CEO. 

That perked my interest. Was he talking about Donghae? “What’s his name?” 

“Um, I think it’s Donghae,” he said sipping some more of his drink. He must’ve noticed the recognition on my face because he asked if I knew him. 

“Yeah, I do… If you really have no use for him down here, send him over to me when he starts working. I could use an extra hand as I strangle— I mean, help Hyukjae.” 

He pursued his lips before nodding. “Sure.”  

uh... how is it so far? it's going reallyyyyy slow but hopefully im updating well enough so that it doesn't seem too bad ^^

and i’ve decided that the three pairings i’m gonna "focus" on is hyukhae and changkyu

...i haven't even stablalized hyukhae's relationship yet and im trying to bring other couples in -_-

anyways, thoughts about the chapter?