A/N: Thank you soso much to everyone who is reading this! I re-read my first chapters yesterday and I really appreciate that you've been holding out with my writing up until now. Thank you for every subscribe, comment and upvote!

Minseok honestly didn't care about what he was majoring in at university. He was going for a master’s degree in Economy and International Cooperation, but it was the most boring thing he had ever joined. Everyone he was majoring with had some interesting story on how they ended up there, because seriously; most of his class hated what they were currently doing. But Minseok's story was simple and boring. His mother had told him he was going to study Economy and International Cooperation, so then he had done just that. Because if there was something one didn't do, it was going against Minseok's mother. So since Minseok wasn't interested in what he was doing, he was average. If he had wanted to he could probably do really good, but the classes just weren't interesting enough. He was much more involved and interested in his part-time job, which shouldn't be the case. But somehow, when all those numbers at school didn't reach him, the coffee shop did. He had worked there for two years already, and everything about the workplace and his colleagues just fit him. The whole concept, the atmosphere, really. He would much rather have worked there full time for a living, if that had been possible. But then again it was only a part-time job. He knew where he would end up, which was behind a desk with the name Kim Minseok, CEO on. Taking on the family business, the typical thing. He knew he should be happy, because he had lived comfortably his whole life. He was the oldest, the heir... He had kept out of the light as much as possible when it came to media and all his parents' business-partners, which gave him a good chance to live his life as he wanted to. But soon, as soon as he finished his education, he knew his mother would pester him about joining the company. His younger brother actually wanted to work there, but even though Minseok had more than once said that he wasn't interested and that his brother was a better candidate his mother just wouldn't listen.

Minseok didn't see his parents very often though, only every six months or so. He had met with them just before he had run into Luhan, which meant that their annual dinner was right around the corner. And he didn't want to go at all. His father was okay, because he was happy as long as Minseok didn't cause trouble, which he didn't. His brother didn't necessarily like Minseok as much as he did before, but they had an overall good relationship. The problem was, of course, his mother. She just couldn't keep shut, which tended to be a big problem as she asked more questions than he could answer. Often, he didn't even want to answer either, because it was so embarrassing. But he knew he had to go, as it was his family after all. Somehow, they seemed rather like distant relatives. He felt like Yixing, Luhan, Jongdae and even the boss-lady were closer to him, more like family. That kind where you mocked each other and hugged and stuff. That never happened in his home, really. Minseok liked his new family.

The day Minseok had to go eat with his parents and brother, he put on his best suit, and a blue necktie. Well, he tried putting on the tie, but failed miserably and had Luhan help him instead.

"Don't let them get you down, okay?" Luhan gave him a few words of encouragement as he tied it correctly and then tapped him shortly on the shoulder, brushing off some dust. Luhan knew that Minseok didn't really feel like going, and did his best to cheer him up.

Minseok shook his head, and smiled half-heartedly. He didn't want to worry Luhan, and did his best to keep his facade up. It was only a dinner, right? He could excuse himself with homework, so he wouldn't have to sit there for five hours straight, which he had done before.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Just cover my shift with Yixing, okay?" Minseok smiled as he put on his shoes and got ready to go out. He quickly checked his wristwatch, which told him it was half past five. In half an hour, he was to meet up. It took a good twenty minutes to drive, so he had to go now if he wanted to be there in good time.

Luhan nodded as Minseok walked out the door, but couldn't help the worried look in his eyes. Something would change after this; he felt it in his gut.

"Minseok!" His mother smiled as soon as Minseok stepped out of the car. This time they were at a fancy restaurant located at the other end of the city, and Minseok felt as uncomfortable as it was possible to become, even though there was a time when this had been normal. But after he started university and moved for himself, he had slipped into an everyday routine that resembled most people, rather than his parents'.

Minseok smiled weakly as his mother embraced him. She was the typical CEO's wife. A thin, exclusive-looking woman, who was over forty but didn't look more than thirty due the access to money and surgery.

"Hi, mother," Minseok said as he got loose from the hug and looked for his brother, Min-Soo. The dinners were a pain, but at least they were better with his brother there. However, this time, he was nowhere is sight.

"Where is Min-Soo?" Minseok turned to his mother, who was smiling as wide as her facial surgeries allowed her to. He furred his eyebrows, looking closer. Min-Soo had to be here, Minseok couldn't survive without him.

But Minseok's mother didn't as much as move a muscle as she said, "he was sent abroad on an exchange program a couple of months ago." Her smile was as wide as ever, but there was no emotion in her eyes, and somewhere in the back of his mind she reminded him of a human robot. 

Minseok turned to her in shock, as they walked into the restaurant and to their reserved table. "Abroad?! Without telling me?!" he exclaimed. Had he known this, he would never have agreed in coming.

"We did not see why this information was related to your studies and decided it was better for you to focus on school," he could hear that she had thought up this line beforehand, and it was obvious she had predicted this question would come. She had probably also predicted that if Minseok got to know that Min-Soo was sent abroad, he would never agree to come. It was an ice-cold calculation, and Minseok reminded himself that he had to watch out for her. She was sharper than she seemed, under the layer of superficiality she usually showed. He sighed and sat down on his chair, opposite of his father. He bowed slightly before taking his place, slowly counting the minutes until he could go home.

"So," Minseok's mother said halfway through the dinner. His father didn't say much, but his mother talked non-stop. Up until now Minseok had kept himself occupied by pretending to eat really slowly so he wouldn’t receive too many questions, but even his food would end sometime, and he wasn’t really hungry either. "Have you found a girlfriend yet?"

There it was. Minseok knew it would come, but whatever he did there just was no way of preparing oneself for that question. He didn't want to lie about Luhan. In fact, he wanted to shout to the whole world that Luhan was his and his alone. From the small, sleepy minutes of the morning to the long nights cuddled up to each other. He ached to tell his parents about Luhan, he really did. He didn't exactly keep it a secret, he just didn't mention it. Because when his mother meant 'girlfriend', she didn't mean someone he met at university and fell in love with. She meant an heir of one of their business partners. Minseok had dodged the question for years, not wanting to bind himself to someone he didn't love. He knew that if he told his mother about Luhan, she would separate them. She would make him move back into the main house, never letting them meet. And Minseok would rather live with Luhan calmly and quietly like now, being surrounded with the people he loved, doing something he liked. He wasn't ready to let that go just yet.

He shook his head. "No girlfriend," he said while munching on some bread absentmindedly. Luhan may have some rather petite features, but he certainly wasn't a girl. His mother pouted slightly, before smiling again. Did she ever do anything but smile? She hadn't really raised Minseok, and as she rather felt like a distant aunt, he thought it was creepy.

"Great!" she exclaimed. "The owner of MK InterShipping has a daughter a couple of years younger than you. She is certainly -"

"Mom, I don't want a marriage like that." Minseok cut her off. He couldn't postpone the question any longer, because she would continue to pester him about it. And Minseok already had Luhan; he didn't need some girl from some company he hadn't even met.

"But," his mother said helplessly, looking at his father for help.

"I don't want to marry like that, mother," he spoke as politely as he could, not to make a scene. Minseok's father had been sitting silently all the way though the dinner, and he only offered Minseok a slight look now and then. He radiated superiority - Minseok was just fine not getting his attention.

But now, instead of just sitting there, his father looked up and locked his eyes with Minseok's instantly. Minseok was worried he would say something like "you are to marry her," because even if no one had ever gone against his mom, they certainly hadn't against his dad.

"Minseok," his father said. His voice was deep - Minseok sat there paralyzed. But somewhere in the depths of his father's eyes, behind the cold business-layer, he could see something else. Was it sympathy? Acceptance? Warmth? He didn't dare hope for anything, but he could swear he saw something though he wasn't exactly sure what.

"Yes, father?" he replied.

"Answer me honestly. Minseok, do you have anyone you love?"

He nodded. "Yes. Yes, I do," suddenly, he didn't care anymore. He didn’t know if it was his father’s influence, but out of the blue, he wanted to be honest. His father nodded slowly, and Minseok swore he could see something flash by in his father's eyes. But it was gone as soon as it came, and his father shifted his gaze to a point behind him. And in that second, Minseok knew that he had figured it out. About why he could say he had no girlfriend, but still someone he loved. About why he refused to marry, about how he dodged his mother's questions. It was obvious, his father knew it all. And it scared Minseok so much he didn't know what to do. Would his father separate him and Luhan? Would he tell his mother? But instead of doing any of these things, he just kept quiet. He kept on doing like before, like he hadn't spoken up at all.

But his mother grinned, clapping her hands. “This is great news!” she exclaimed. “When can I visit to meet this person?”

Minseok furred his eyebrows. Never. “Not now.” He said, without thinking. His mother’s gaze turned suspicious instantly, and he quickly threw together an excuse on how he had too much with school and all that already. And the situation was saved for the rest of the night.