When Kyungsoo met Jongin again, it was ten years later. He was grabbing an iced coffee in the small cafe on the first floor of the building and had just finished paying when he heard the customer at the next register give an order for a soy latte. Soy latte--two short words, but uttered in a voice that, ten years later, still struck a chord in Kyungsoo. Acting on reflex alone, Kyungsoo whipped around, and as if he had walked into dream--a dream from his younger self--there before his eyes stood Jongin in all his tall, tanned glory.

Kyungsoo's sudden motion seemed to have caught Jongin’s attention. The latter, arms stretched toward the cashier with credit card in hand, peered over, and before Kyungsoo had a chance to look away, their eyes met. The two stared at each other for one frozen moment, two sets of pupils enlarging in shock, though of course, Kyungsoo's large round eyes looked the more dramatically owlish of the two. It was a surreal moment, familiar yet strange. Gone were the school uniforms of yesteryear, along with Jongin's brazen blond hair, Kyungsoo's mushroom cut, the rebellious cigarettes and the frosty soda bottles they would buy from the small shop by the school. Now, two men nearing thirty faced each other, clothed in Brooks Brothers suits and nice leather shoes, ready to sip at more sophisticated caffeinated drinks--mere shadows of their former selves. 

"Medium iced coffee!" a chirpy barista yelled from behind the counter.

The magic broke. Kyungsoo spun on his heel to grab his coffee. Behind him, Jongin parted his lips, looking as if he might say something. But moments passed and his voice never rang out. By then, Kyungsoo had already walked out the cafe into the building lobby. Without sparing a glance back, Kyungsoo hopped onto an open, empty elevator. 

As the elevator made its slow ascent to the 26th floor, Kyungsoo studied his reflection in the mirror that lined the elevator’s walls. Large round eyes looked back--they were dry, good. His paler than usual skin looked extra pasty even in the dim glow of the elevator lights, but that was alright too--no one would notice. He felt himself trembling, but maybe it was only his heart. His reflection remained still.

Once upon a time, he would have reacted differently. He dimly remembered those days when he ghosted through life, everything a haze. What he would have given then to see Jongin again. Countless nights, waking up in cold sweat, screaming Jongin’s name from his nightmares of their past, or was it their future? What would he have done then, if he had run into Jongin? Bolt into his arms and ask--no--beg for an explanation? Beg him to stay? Beg him for a second chance, a fresh start? With a wry smile, Kyungsoo realized with a sense of relief that he was glad it happened now, ten years later.

Today, their past was nothing more than a dull memory, slowly disintegrating in a rusty compartment of his mind. Had he not run into Jongin today, it must certainly would have faded into nothingness. Kyungsoo wished that fate would have waited--waited for that moment when Kyungsoo could've passed Jongin by like any other stranger. 

Ping. Twenty-six.

When the elevator doors opened, it was business as usual. The hustle and bustle of the accounting department jostled Kyungsoo back to reality. As he made his way to his cubicle, the surreal nature of his encounter with Jongin began to recede and his heart calmed to its normal rhythm. Thump. Thump. Thump. Methodic, slow-paced. Kyungsoo liked that.

"Hyung, the boss is looking for you." It was Sehun the summer intern, accosting him en route to his desk. Internally, Kyungsoo wanted to shake his head at the younger boy’s deadpan, devil-may-care attitude, but then, Kyungsoo suspected that Sehun was also internally rolling his eyes, so he let it go, as he always did. "Right, I'll head up after I send a couple emails."

"He sure calls you up a lot, huh," the intern remarked nonchalantly, eyes fixed to the ground.

Kyungsoo shot Sehun a puzzled glance as he settled into his chair. "Does he?"

The latter shrugged. "Iunno. Anyway, you should watch out for yourself. Corporate execs are super sketch, and you're too naive." 

Kyungsoo paused in his composition of an email and watched Sehun's retreating back. His thoughts flitted quickly from 'what the ' to 'I'm 28 you little ' to 'would I get in trouble for beating up the intern.' After settling into his own cubicle across the walkway, Sehun sent Kyungsoo a blasé stare before turning his attention to his computer. Kyungsoo sighed and settled for another mark in his mental tally against Sehun--just see if you get a return offer you little --before returning to his email.

***

Kris's office was one floor above. Kyungsoo always sat on the side of the desk that faced toward the floor lengths windows. He liked to stare out into the cityscape when Kris got too intimidating, which was most of the time. Tao, a friend from the marketing department, tells Kyungsoo that Kris is secretly a teddy bear who can't resist the adorable, but Tao is one of Kris's Chinese comrades and also a ridiculously whiny brat who always gets his way, so Kyungsoo discounts his words accordingly. Kris, all six feet of him, with his faded tattoos peeking out sharp couture shirts and his arresting gaze that pierced through lies; Kris who made it to Fortune's 40 under 40 and who graced the cover of Forbes as one of Korea's most promising entrepreneurs...he was anything but a teddy bear.  

"So, why are we pushing up external auditing?" Kyungsoo queries after the pause drags on for too long and Kris is just staring at him like a vulture stares at a dead carcass. "There's still some time until the end of our fiscal year."

"It's a delicate situation. We need to prove that we've done everything we can to ensure that we're following the law."

"...But we are following the law. I've looked over all the accounts."

Kris taps his long index finger against his chin with an unreadable expression. "Sure. But you're internal. We need a fresh eye."

Kyungsoo refrained from rolling his eyes. Kris--this just meant more work for him, god dammit. But what could he do; Kris was boss. "Okay. And they're coming today?"

"Yes, right now, actually."

A prompt knock on the door interrupts their conversation. The door is opened by Kris's pretty young secretary, "Your ten o'clock is here, Sir."

Kyungsoo strains his neck to peer behind her, and immediately wishes he hadn't. 

. 

Of course it was Jongin. 

***

They were seated on two couches--Kris and Kyungsoo on one, Jongin and his partner on the other across the coffee table. Kris was going into the details about the job--

--We just want to make sure our accounts are in order. Wu Di Group has been growing big, you know, big for an Asian pharma company. There's bound to be some scrutiny of our accounts, especially regarding future revenue projections based on R&D investment. We're thinking about expanding our new OTC drug, something like vitamins for healthy pregnancies, so I want you to look out for that especially. We've already rolled it out in Korea and sales are astronomical, so we're thinking overseas--

As Kris went on without pause, Kyungsoo allowed his thoughts to wander as he snuck glances at his two guests.

If anyone had caught his initial look of consternation when Jongin first stepped into the room, no one had commented. Instead, Kris had quickly shaken hands with the two and introduced Kyungsoo.

This is our head of accounting, Do Kyungsoo--

--We've met.

It was Jongin's partner--Lu Han--who had spoken. Lu Han, the one person in the world Kyungsoo wanted to see even less than Jongin. Lu Han, with his breathtaking beauty, Lu Han with his melodic Chinese and glib Korean, Lu Han who now stared back at him from across the coffee table with a twinkle in his captivating doe eyes. 

In high school, before there was ever Jongin and Kyungsoo, there had always been Jongin and Lu Han. They were the F2 of Kyungsoo's high school, beautiful and perfectly complementary--one dark, the other pale, one lazily withdrawn, the other gracefully social--both untouchable, like gods. Kyungsoo was a fool to dream that he could ever come between them, but fools do dream after all.

Now it's just Jongin and Lu Han again, two peas of a pod, young senior associates at reputable accounting firms on their way to making partners. Not that Kyungsoo had ever envisioned either of them going into accounting. Accounting, though perfect for a stodgy straightlaced guy like Kyungsoo, seemed too old-fashioned and far too safe for those two, those two who had always lived life at the edge, teetering on the thin line between the heroic rebels and the rebellious losers. 

But people do grow up, don't they?

"Kyungsoo?"

Kyungsoo snapped out of his reverie and found three pairs of eyes fastened on him. Kyungsoo felt faint. Jongin and Lu Han, side by side, dark and light, strength and beauty. He wanted to punch Lu Han's pretty little smile off his face. 

Instead, he said in his even, measured voice, "Yes. I'll prepare the reports today. They'll be on your desks first thing in the morning," 

"Great. Well, thanks for stopping by today, gentlemen." Kris stood up and ushered the party to the door. "Your offices will be ready by tomorrow and if you need any help, be sure to contact Kyungsoo. He knows everything about the accounts. I look forward to seeing both of you around these next few weeks."

"Sure, thanks Kris. We'll get an early start tomorrow." As Jongin spoke these parting words in his deep velvety voice, he cast a glance at Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo stared resolutely at the ground.

"It was nice seeing you again, Kyungsoo." Lu Han, in his friendly voice and with his gentle smile. "We'll have to catch up some time." 

Kyungsoo pasted a polite smile on his face. "Yes, of course." 

Kris shut the door behind the young auditors.

***

"So."

It was just Kris and Kyungsoo again. Kyungsoo was poised to go.

"Yes?"

"So you know them."

Kyungsoo shrugged and looked down at his feet. "I knew them in high school. Haven't seen them since."

"Were you...friends?"

"Friends?" Kyungsoo continued staring at his feet. "No. We weren't of the same--they were way cooler--I mean, well, no. No, not friends."

A pause. Then, with a start, Kyungsoo realized that Kris had slipped a finger under his chin and was tilting his head upwards. His eyes widened as he stared into the eyes of the taller man. With the morning sun filtering in through the floor length windows and dancing on his light colored hair and his crisp white shirt, the giant looked surprisingly ethereal. In a voice that was simultaneously gentle yet laced with danger, Kris said, "If they give you any trouble, you let me know."

Kyungsoo felt a shudder run down his spine. Kris had leaned so close that he could feel the taller man's breath ghost over his lips. He took a quick step back from Kris and opened the door to the office. 

"I'm sure it'll be fine, but I'll keep you posted."

***

Back at his cubicle, Kyungsoo plopped his head down and pressed his cheek against the cool plastic desk. God, it wasn't even lunch time. Life was such a struggle sometimes.

Kyungsoo jumped up when he felt slender fingers ruffle his hair.

"Uh...Sehun?"

"Oh you're awake." The same deadpan voice. "Here, some coffee."

Kyungsoo stared at the cup of steaming hot coffee on his desk with some measure of shock. "Oh. Thanks."

"Yeah." Sehun watched Kyungsoo take a timid, suspicious sip. "Also. Didn't I tell you to be careful? Now you have three guys to watch out for."

Kyungsoo sputtered into his coffee. "Wh-what?"

Sehun let out a long suffering sigh and before Kyungsoo could react, pinched his cheek. 

"Ouch!"

"Hyung, you're so dumb sometimes. Good thing you have me around."

Kyungsoo watched Sehun stroll back to his desk, mouth in a disbelieving 'o'. When the latter ignored him to go back to work, he plopped his head down again and groaned.

Life was such a struggle. 

*** TBC ***