***

At eight in the morning, a chilled autumnal light filtered through the cheap, white blinds of the apartment’s small living room. The drone of the morning news accompanied Lee Taemin’s tuneless whistling as he scrambled to fry eggs and toast bread.

Kim Hee Jun, the chairman of Kim Electronics, passed away last week. His will has just been made public early this morning, creating quite a shock. It appears that he has left the entirety of his estate to his bedside nurse, whose identity remains anonymous.

The estate comprises, among other things, of a 35% controlling stake in Kim Electronics. The shares are estimated to be worth billions.

Kim Hee Jun’s son, Kim Jonghyun, has just arrived back in Korea after a prolonged stay in the United States. While he appears to have inherited nothing from his father’s death, he owns a successful entertainment agency abroad, and he had inherited a 20% stake in Kim Electronics from his mother’s death, which took place years earlier. 

Kim Jonghyun’s plans are so far ambiguous, but there are predictions that he will contest the will in court......

“Oh, these rich people,” Taemin hummed with a forlorn sigh at the aging television. “I’d be set for life with just a tenth of what they have......oh ! My eggs!”

The door to one of the bedrooms creaked opened and Lee Jinki plodded out, barefoot and yawning.

“Taemin? What’s that smell? Did you burn something again?”

“Hyung~! This is what you get for making me cook!”

Taemin proffered a pan of blackened eggs to his unsurprised roommate with a wobbly frown.

“Well, you lost at paper rock scissors last night, so what’s fair’s fair,” Jinki replied with a shrug. “Anyway, it’s probably only a little carcinogenic, we can still eat it.”

“You’re a terrible person, hyung. I can’t believe you’re a certified nutritionist. I’m gonna make ramyun.”

“Well, as a certified nutritionist, I can also tell you that ramyun’s not much better. Might as well go with the burnt eggs.”

“Ugh.”

“Really! In addition to bloating from the sodium, it’s going to take you several days to poop the ramyun toxins out, if you poop them out at all—”

“Hyung! Just eat, okay? Anyway, why aren't you dressed? Don’t you have to go to work soon?”

“Well...no, considering my patient died.”

“Haven’t they reassigned you?”

“Nope. I asked for a vacation. I’m grieving.”

Taemin took a moment to squint his large eyes and scrutinize Jinki, who sat at the kitchen counter nonchalantly munching on the burnt eggs.

“You don’t look like you’re grieving.”

Jinki shrugged again.

“There’s like five stages, right? I’m probably still in denial or something.”

“Right.”

A sudden, unexpected ringing of the doorbell momentarily put a stop to the duo’s wandering conversation.

“Are you expecting someone, hyung?”

“No. It’s not for you? Well, maybe it’s a package or something. Go check.”

“Hyung! Why do I have to do everything?”

“Because you’re younger and we live in Korea...go forth, young grasshopper, and open the door.”

“I hate you.”

Taemin rolled his eyes in exasperation but obediently turned off the stove and stalked to the door, opening with all the force of his anger. He greeted the stranger standing just outside with a frown.

The stranger was a tall, young man in a dark suit. (Armani, Taemin duly noted.) He wore clean-cut hair and a solemn expression. He carried under his arm an over-stuffed portfolio, filled with an assortment of papers.

“Can I help you?”

“Good morning,” the young man greeted in a deep voice with professional intonations. “Is this the residency of Mr. Lee Jinki?”

Taemin nodded. “Hyung, it’s for you!”

Jinki sighed—couldn’t he just eat his eggs in peace?—but he too shuffled over to the front door and peered at the stranger with a tired, blank expression.

“I’m Lee Jinki. What's up?”

The young man looked taken aback, but quickly recomposed himself.

“Ah, yes, good morning.” He donned a tight smile as he extended a card to Jinki. “My name is Choi Minho. I'm an attorney at the law firm of Chang & Lee, and I am the executor of the late Mr. Kim’s will.”

Jinki glimpsed at the card for a moment before shooting Taemin a puzzled glance. Taemin shrugged, indicating his own cluelessness.

“Ye...es?” Jinki ventured, after a moment. And what does that have to do with me?

“Perhaps you aren’t aware, but Mr. Kim has devised the entirety of his residuary estate to you, Lee Jinki. Our firm has attempted to contact you earlier regarding this matter, but we haven’t been able to reach you at your place of employment. We did manage to obtain your phone number and address, but we couldn’t reach you by phone, so I came in person.”

“...Um.”

As the stranger—Minho—came to a pause in his explanations, Jinki and Taemin stared at him with mouths agape.

A moment of silence, then:

“Er...yes, my phone may have been deactivated. I forgot to pay my bill.”

Minho raised a brow ever so slightly. Is that really all you got out of what I said? –the raised brow seemed to suggest.

“I see. Understandable. (No, not really.) Well, is this a convenient time?”

“...I guess. Sure. I mean, I’m taking a vacation from work—grieving, you know. I’m really sad...sad about the death and everything, so I couldn’t—ok, wait, sorry, but can you repeat that part about the estate and what’s happening to it and what’s happening to me...and stuff?”

Minho’s brows twitched—a close friend may perhaps have read exasperation or frustration into that twitch, but in Jinki and Taemin’s eyes, he remained perfectly cordial.

“May I come in?”



***



Jinki felt faintly uncomfortable sitting across his small dining table from Choi Minho. He had never been good with strangers, being something of an introvert who had spent his youth playing video games, alone, in dark rooms. It wasn’t that he grew up socially challenged—he had good friends and was never bullied or ostracized—but he had never worked to acquire particularly strong or smooth conversational skills either.

But even so, Minho seemed extra intimidating compared to the typical stranger. Maybe it was because the man sat completely straight with poise and elegance, while Jinki could never quite completely discard his slouch. Or maybe it was because the man wore his thousand dollar suit with an air of perfect ease; it made Jinki feel just slightly self conscious about his own attire of hoodie and sweatpants.

Whatever the reason, Jinki wished Taemin didn’t have to leave so early for school. He could really use some support right about now.

“Lee Jinki-sshi, here are the official documents of the will.”

Jinki stared at the stack of papers Minho pushed towards him. The print looked abnormally small, and the words didn’t seem to piece together in his mind.

“I...”

“I can explain to you.” Minho must have noticed his discomfort. “Generally speaking, you have 35% of Kim Electronics’s shares. That’s worth about 8.3 billion dollars, that's with a B, like boy. They're worth considerably more than the sum of their individual values, because together they add up to a controlling block. A portion of that will be used to satisfy creditor claims—it won’t amount to much, as Mr. Kim’s financial affairs have mostly been settled after his retirement—and the residual amount will transfer immediately to you, as soon as you fill out the requisite paperwork.

Additionally, Mr. Kim has left you his all of his real property, which includes his mansion and surrounding grounds on the outskirts of Seoul. You’re familiar with the place, I gather.”

“Yes, I took care of Mr. Kim there before his death. I know it fairly well.”

“Good, well, it’s yours now.”

“Um. Right.”

Jinki looked down from Minho’s face. He found that it was hard to meet the man’s gaze, so he stared at his own fingers instead, twiddling in his lap. He wasn’t sure how to respond—nothing remotely like this has ever happened to him. He didn’t even know what 5.3 billion meant, barely.

"Are you...sure?" Jinki finally asked, voice timid. "Like, are you sure Mr. Kim gave all that money to me?"

"Yes."

"But why? I've only been his nurse for less than two years. Why me? That makes no sense! Are you sure this isn't a fraud?"

"It's not a fraud."

As if he'd found his footing, Jinki glared at Minho with narrowed eyes. "I mean, don't you think you're too good looking to be some lawyer? And aren't you too young? Maybe you're just trying to get me to sign off on papers to foreclose my apartment or something."

"..."

"Well?"

Minho took in a deep breath. "With all due respect, Mr. Lee Jinki, you don't have much property for me to con you out of. You don't even own this apartment. In any case, if you take a moment to search Lee & Changon the internet, you'll find that it's quite a reputable firm in Korea. You'll also find a personal page for me. As for my age, I worked hard to advance to where I am today."

In the face of Minho's calm but forceful assertions, Jinki felt timid again.

"With respect to the will, it's not uncommon. Mr. Kim did not have close relatives, and many elderly people in his position choose to leave their property to those they feel closest to near death. Since you spent considerable amounts of time with him before he died, it's not too much of a mystery as to why he left you his estate. He may think of you as something like a son."

"Oh...I guess that makes sense."

Jinki began twiddling his fingers again in silence, so Minho continued.

“I know this is a lot to take in, but there’s one more thing.”

“There’s more?”

“Yes. You’re probably aware that Mr. Kim has a son.”

“A son? Sure. But he told me his son died many years ago.”

Minho looked momentarily startled, but quickly recovered his composure.

“Died? Maybe in the metaphoric sense. The son ran off to the States years ago to be a singer or something of the sort. You can imagine Mr. Kim wasn’t very supportive, and it seems like the son never looked back either. But you can be sure he’ll revive relations now. There’s a lot of money at stake. He’ll likely contest the will.”

“Contest the will...?”

“If the will’s void, he’ll get the property through intestacy. But look, here’s the thing, Kim Jonghyun knows he doesn’t really have a chance at winning the suit.”

Kim Jonghyun.

If Jinki was in something of a daze before, he quickly snapped out of it and refocused. It always happened, whenever he heard that name. Even after all these years.

Jinki stared at Minho, eyes wide.

“Kim...Jonghyun, you say?”

“Kim Jonghyun. You’ve heard of him? He’s a pretty successful entertainment mogul in the states.”

“N-no, I...but you said he was going to be a singer?”

“A singer?” Minho allowed a sardonic smile to grace his lips. “Sure, he wants to be. But how many Asian singers do you see succeeding in the States? Luckily for him, he seemed to have inherited some of his father’s business acumen, so he started his own agency instead. Quite successful.”

“And now...now he’s back?”

“Just arrived in Seoul earlier this week.” Then, as if growing tired of the questions, “Mr. Lee Jinki, as I was explaining, he’ll certainly bring the suit because he has nothing to lose. On the other hand, he probably knows he won’t win. Our firm is fairly reputable and I’m sure he understands that we’ve taken the necessary precautions in our drafting practices to ensure that the will be executed as written.

But these kind of lawsuits can get very ugly. He’ll have no qualms about dragging his father’s name through the mud, and certainly no qualms about dragging your name through the mud. He’ll craft you into some evil moneygrubber and argue that you exerted undue influence on his father, that his father was old and susceptible, and that the will is void. Given his father’s status, the suit will certainly invoke a lot of publicity. I’m sure you don’t want that.”

Jinki’s hadn’t recovered his thoughts quite yet, so he took Minho’s cue and shook his head no.

“Right. What these relatives are after, usually, is settlement money. I therefore suggest that we meet with Kim Jonghyun and settle the matter with him so as to not unnecessarily deplete the estate with litigation expenses.”

“Meet with him?”

“Yes. To settle.”

“Like...meet him. In person...?”

Minho frowned at Jinki’s obvious nervousness. “Well, yes. We’ll probably have to meet him in person.”

“I—no, no I wouldn’t like to do that.” Jinki said quickly, shaking his head vehemently. "Let's not do that."

“You wouldn’t like to?” Minho pressed a finger to his aching temples. He had expected some difficulty in explaining matters, but this was getting ridiculous.

“Mr. Lee Jinki, I truly believe that it would be better for both parties if you just settle instead of litigate. It’ll be expensive to litigate, and as I said before, the lawsuit will likely damage your own reputation as a practicing nurse.”

Minho paused momentarily, as if debating whether or not to continue. He studied Jinki’s sullen expression for a moment before letting out a soft sigh.

“To be honest, Mr. Lee Jinki, I also do not believe you’re fit to inherit.”

“...I’m sorry?”

“Kim Electronics is a large, multinational company, worth billions. You’ll sell the shares, of course, as you can’t possibly manage the company. I’m not sure if you’ll land yourself a good deal in an arms length sale—you don’t seem to have much...business experience. I therefore suggest you turn them over to Kim Jonghyun for a hefty sum and you can save yourself the time and trouble of going through litigation and second sale. Our firm will help you, of course. We're very experienced. That’s all.”

For the first time, Jinki thought he caught a note of condescension in the young lawyer’s pleasant, professional voice.

“So you don’t think I can—”

“You have a degree from a third rate technical institute. You’re licensed as a nutritionist and male nurse. Your employers evaluate you to be lazy, introverted, clumsy, and borderline incompetent. What can you do with a 35% share of Kim Electronics?”

“I—”

“If I can access that information, Kim Jonghyun can too. And he'll tell everyone, and it won’t sound as pretty as how I just said it.”

The lawyer began packing his papers and walking towards the door while Jinki sat immobile on the hard kitchen chair, unsure of how to take the insult.

“Keep my card. You have a lot to think about. I left a copy of the will for you; come to the office when you’ve had a chance to think things over. You can also verify at that time that we are indeed a legitimate law firm.”


As the door slammed shut behind Minho, Jinki thought petulantly to himself,  "But you didn't even tell it very prettily."

Which, he realized, was Minho's point.



***



Jinki liked to think things over on strolls. Taemin often made fun of his habit as one befitting an old grandpa, to which Jinki always lazily responds that compared to Taemin, he was old.

It was a brisk autumn day. The neighborhood looked slightly gray beneath the weak, November sunlight. As a result, Jinki’s recently dyed blonde hair and his white hoodie shined extra bright among the surroundings.

Come to think of it, it was on a day like this one that he first met Kim Jonghyun. Back then, he had worn the standard navy blue blazer of his school’s uniform. It was Jonghyun who had the blonde hair, Jonghyun who flouted all the rules with an easy smile.

It was a special day, because Jinki was on the verge of being late. Back then, no one would’ve ever pegged Jinki as a lazy one. He was, in fact, a star student, and he had never once been late. But that day was just one of those mornings where he couldn’t help it. The school had shut its gate already, so as a last resort, Jinki decided to scale the wall in the back and sneak in.

The wall wasn’t particularly high, but then again, Jinki had never been particularly coordinated.

Nor did he know that a certain budding musician liked to ditch class to sit beneath the tree by the wall to find inspiration for his lyrics.

So it was in a particularly clichéd way that Jinki stumble down from the wall and crashed into the musician.

That musician being Kim Jonghyun.

It was only later that Jonghyun would tell blushing Jinki that it was love at first sight, not that Jinki ever believed him.

A bumbling angel tumbled into my lap on a sunny November day, was how he described it.

The bumbling angel, as it turned out, was also slightly anemic. Having skipped breakfast to run to school, Jinki was in the midst of apologizing to Jonghyun when he fainted from low blood sugar.

And it was Jonghyun who scooped him up and carried him to the nurse’s office. Jonghyun who sat by his bed, studying his plain, unfamiliar face with a fascinated intensity.

Kim Jonghyun. Who would’ve thought they’d rediscover each other like this, Jinki thought with a wry chuckle.



***



It was about twenty minutes into Jinki’s stroll that a black limousine slowly pulled to a stop next to him. Just as Jinki was about to walk on with the thought that the limo must be waiting for someone else, the door to the driver’s seat opened, and a large man walked out to stop him.

“Mr. Lee Jinki?”

Jinki stared at the man with equal measure fear and confusion.

“Y...yes?” What now? Will this day never end?

“I’ll need you to get in the car and take a ride.”

“Excuse me? I don’t want—wait you can’t just,” Jinki protested futilely while the man pushed him into the back seat of the limo. “This is kidnap! I’m calling the police you ! Don’t shut the door, don’t shut—”

“Jinki.”

Jinki broke mid sentence as he processed the voice. It was so familiar, that distinct beautiful voice that played in his dreams. The voice he never thought he would hear again.

“Long time no see.”

It was just as easy going as before, tinged with a flirty playfulness, always as if sharing an inside joke with you and you alone.

Jinki slowly turned to his right as the car’s engine roared to start.

“Well, aren’t you going to greet an old friend, Lee. Jin. Ki?”

It was hard to get sounds out; there was something caught in his throat. That budding musician, that young boy...this man. He was no longer blonde, and he didn’t wear a navy blue blazer with a crooked tie.

But he was still him, and Jinki was looking at him again.

“Jonghyun."

The name came out in an unpleasant croak, but Jonghyun heard it. His smile grew more radiant, and the tired November sun seemed to bring a sparkle to his eyes.

He still made Jinki’s heart pound against his chest.

He still made Jinki feel the painful, prickling sensation...of interminable regret.


****TBC***




A/N: Topic is super random...but I find will contests fascinating haha. Hope you enjoyed, and let me know your thoughts :]