010:

BUSTED?

            Upon getting over his initial shock, Sungyeol immediately runs towards the wall beside the elevator and hides behind a post, hoping that neither Myungsoo nor Sungjong saw him. His heart is beating fast when he hears footsteps walking out of the elevator so he takes a peek and sees that Sungjong is trying to talk to Myungsoo. Afraid that Myungsoo would turn around and see him, Sungyeol returns into hiding and trying to blend in with the wall.

“Please, don’t be like this, Myungsoo. I know that you were hurt, but I also hurt myself in the process! But I’m back now and we can continue where we left off!” Sungjong begs, holding onto Myungsoo’s hand.

“You left me without telling me! I didn’t know whether I should wait for you or move on. Do you know how hard it was? Do you think it would still be the same? I am not some kind of a video game where you can go back to where you left off! My world didn’t stop when you left me. It continued spinning and spinning as it threw challenges at me. You weren’t there when I needed you the most and you expect me to agree to take you back?!” Myungsoo says.

“I’m sorry for leaving without telling you, Soo. Can’t you forgive me? Are you just going to throw away what we had?” Sungjong asks.

Sungyeol covers his mouth in shock.

“The man that Lee Sungjong abandoned is Kim Myungsoo…” Sungyeol whispers to himself.

Sungyeol peeks again and sees that Sungjong is shedding some tears and he just really doesn’t want to be there because it’s so ing awkward.

“You did not leave me, Sungjong. You abandoned me and remember, I wasn’t the one who threw our relationship away. It was you, so even if you’re back, we can’t just go back to how we used to be because I’m not the same anymore. My heart for you is not the same anymore,” Myungsoo says.

Sungjong drops Myungsoo’s hand and looks at his shoes upon hearing that.

‘Damn, that for you, Sungjong-shi,’ Sungyeol thinks as he continues to peek from his hiding spot.   

“I’m so sorry…I feel so thick-skinned standing in front of you and asking for your forgiveness now. But I’m really sorry…I’m so sorry, Myungsoo.”

With that being said, Sungjong bows his head and walks out of the building, leaving Sungyeol and Myungsoo alone at the lobby. Sungyeol immediately returns to his hiding spot and waits for Myungsoo to start going out of the building. However, instead of hearing footsteps fading away, Sungyeol hears Myungsoo calling his name.

“Sungyeol, I know you’re hiding behind a post. You can come out now,” Myungsoo says.

Sungyeol remains frozen on his spot, almost hugging the post for dear life. He’s not sure what punishment he’s going to get for eavesdropping to that conversation but he’s going to hold on to this post like a lifeline for as long as he could to postpone the punishment. He curses in his head when he hears Myungsoo’s footsteps approaching him and after a few moments, he sees Myungsoo standing in front of him with raised brows.

“Why are you hugging the post?” Myungsoo asks.

Sungyeol clears his throat and stops hugging the post. He dusts off invisible dirt on his clothes before looking at Myungsoo with an awkward smile.

“S-Sungjong-shi’s really…pretty…you look good together,” Sungyeol says.

Myungsoo ignores what Sungyeol said as he turns around and walks out of the building. Sighing in defeat, Sungyeol quickly follows Myungsoo back into the car.

~ O ~

“A-about a while ago…I’m sorry for eavesdropping and—“ Sungyeol starts to say when he and Myungsoo are finally back at the mansion.

“You don’t have to say anything. Don’t waste your breath,” Myungsoo cuts off as he starts to walk towards his room.

“How can I do that?! I may be thick-skinned but I still have my manners…I didn’t know that she was your girlfriend and I even talked bad about her. Why didn’t you tell me earlier so I could’ve stopped my mouth?” Sungyeol says.

“Tell you? There’s no use in telling you! Why would I tell you personal matters? If you continue to be like this, Lee Sungyeol, I’m going to fire you. Know your place in my life! I’m only asking you to be my fake cousin and don’t think that you can suddenly act like a real one!” Myungsoo says, raising his voice and effectively making Sungyeol flinch.

“I-I’m sorry…I’m overthinking things and I’m prying too much. F-from now on…I-I’ll only do as I’m told. I’m s-sorry, director Kim Myungsoo,” Sungyeol says.

He bows one last time before turning away and going inside his own room. As soon as the door is closed, Sungyeol collapses on top of his bed and buries his face deep within the covers.

“Lee Sungyeol, he’s still your boss and it’s very rude to pry in your superior’s life. It was really too much. I shouldn’t be too into my work and think that I should really care about that cold man.”

Sungyeol turns and lies on his back as he stares at the ceiling.

“Right, he’s just my boss and not my family…he’s not even a friend, so I have every right to still hate him…I mean, he didn’t have to raise his voice at me…I didn’t even know. AISH, KIM MYUNGSOO IS SUCH A MEANIE!”      

Sungyeol throws his limbs around the bed as he throws a tantrum, he tries to calm himself but he just couldn’t. Kim Myungsoo is such a mean person who doesn’t smile and care about the people around him. Just the thought of being his fake cousin stresses Sungyeol out because it means that he has to spend more time with that meanie.

Remembering that he now has a bathtub that can transform into a jacuzzi, Sungyeol perks up. He stands up runs to his personal bathroom.

“Aigoo, this is the life of the rich people! Ah, so nice!” Sungyeol says as he fills the tub with warm water and lavender scented bubble bath.

The scent of lavender immediately relaxes his stressed out mind. With closed eyes, he sheds all of his clothes until he is standing next to the tub.

“This is the life, Sungyeol. This is the reward that you get for putting up with grumpy old Kim Myungsoo, so be more patient,” Sungyeol says.

Sungyeol dips his toes and when he deems the temperature perfect, he submerges his tired body into the water. A sigh of relief escapes his open mouth as he rubs his sore calves and shoulders. He rubs the soapy water all over his body and closes his eyes as he leans back. Happy thoughts start to invade his mind. He tries to imagine that he’s swimming in money and the thought brings a huge gummy grin on his face. Sungyeol is starting to drift off to sleep when he hears his phone ringing. He feels around for it but realizes that he left it by the sink.

“Aish, I’m so relaxed here. I can’t be bothered by unimportant calls…” Sungyeol mumbles to himself and continues to lounge inside the tub.

What if it’s appa calling you?

At that, Sungyeol sits up straight and goes out of the tub. Rushing towards where his phone is, he doesn’t notice the patch of soapy water on the floor and he slips on it. Sungyeol lets out a shrill scream before his tailbone hits the marble floor hard and the back of his head makes contact with the floor as well. He hears his neck crack painfully but he’s thankful that he’s still conscious. He tries shouting for help but his voice sounds strained.

            In the sea of silence in Myungsoo’s room, he hears a scream and a loud thump from Sungyeol’s room that gains his attention. He frowns because this is the second time that he heard a thump from the latter’s room that night. He tries to ignore the urge to check up on Sungyeol because he still feels irritated at the latter for being too nosey. But within moments, he finds himself walking towards Sungyeol’s room.

“Lee Sungyeol? Sungyeol-ah?” Myungsoo calls out, knocking on the door.

Without getting a response, Myungsoo opens the door slowly only to find no trace of Sungyeol in the room but he hears the water running in the bathroom and some and whimpering. Myungsoo’s eyes widen and he hopes that the latter isn’t or doing something inappropriate.

“Sungyeol? What are you doing?!”

Myungsoo hears Sungyeol whimpering from the inside arising his worry. On the other side of the door, Sungyeol is trying to stop Myungsoo from coming in because he remembers that he’s and Kim Myungsoo cannot see him laid out like that.

“Sungyeol, I’m going in and you better be decent!” Myungsoo says.

Myungsoo counts to three before opening the door. His eyes widen as he sees Sungyeol lying on the floor, wide eyes staring back at Myungsoo as he lets out a silent scream.

“Wh-What happened to you?!” Myungsoo says, trying so hard not to look at the wide expanse of pale skin laid out in front of him.

“Get…out…you…ert…” Sungyeol squeaks.

At that, Myungsoo mumbles an apology and shuts the door. He tries to calm down his racing heartbeat but he remembers Sungyeol who probably slipped and hit his head lying on the floor of the bathroom and still needing his help. Myungsoo opens the door again and hastily tries to pick up Sungyeol who lets out a scandalized scream as one of Myungsoo’s hands grabs on his and if he has the strength to, he would’ve screamed profanities at the latter while hitting him.

“Wait, I just can’t bring you out to the hospital !” Myungsoo says.

Sungyeol thanks the heavens for making Myungsoo realize that. He had been exposed enough. But his relief is short lived when Myungsoo throws him on the bed. Sungyeol shakes his head at Myungsoo who is looking at him intently.

‘! I’M ABOUT TO GET ! HEEEEELP!’

Myungsoo throws a thick blanket on Sungyeol and the latter thinks that this is the end of him but instead of the feeling of dying, he feels Myungsoo wrapping the comforter around him before hoisting him up on his shoulder.

‘Oh…right, he can’t bring me outside .’

Upon descending from the second floor, Myungsoo meets Ms. Kim and Jinki ahjussi looking at him with wide eyes at the foot of the stairs.

“What did you do to your cousin?!” Ms. Kim asks.

“Are you finally throwing him away?!” Jinki ashjussi asks.

Sungyeol shuts his eyes in embarrassment because he probably looks indecent only wrapped around in this stupid comforter as Myungsoo carries him on his shoulder. He wishes that a hole would open up on the ground and swallow the both of them because he’s sure that Myungsoo is just as embarrassed as he is.

~ O ~

“Are you okay now?”

            After getting Sungyeol checked and treated in the hospital, they are finally walking back to their car to go back to the mansion.

“Y-Yes, I’m fine,” Sungyeol replies, still unable to look at Myungsoo in the eye after what happened.

Wearing only the hospital gown that the hospital gave him, Sungyeol shivers as the cold winter air blows and when Myungsoo notices this, he removes his coat and drapes it around Sungyeol’s shoulder. Sungyeol blushes as Myungsoo’s stare lingers at him.

“Wh-What are you looking at?” Sungyeol stutters out.

Myungsoo smirks before looking away and unlocking the doors of their car. Sungyeol still feels uncomfortable being alone with Myungsoo but he gets in anyway. He sits on the passenger seat but he sticks his body as close to the door as possible so that when Myungsoo tries something, it would be easy to get out.

“Why are you clinging on to the door?” Myungsoo asks.

“N-Nothing,” Sungyeol stutters out and he curses himself to stop stuttering.

“Are you scared that I’ll suddenly ravish you?” Myungsoo asks, leaning forward and effectively creeping Sungyeol out further.

“Y-You saw it, didn’t you?” Sungyeol says.

“Saw what?” Myungsoo asks, feigning innocence.

“You saw it, right?!” Sungyeol bites out.

Myungsoo chuckles and leans in closer.

“Of course, I saw it. I saw everything,” Myungsoo says, breath ghosting over Sungyeol’s neck.

Sungyeol turns to look at Myungsoo’s smirking lips and before he could stop himself he thumps the latter’s forehead. Myungsoo yelps and leans back into the driver’s seat, nursing his hurt forehead.

“Even if you have seen it, you should’ve lied and told me that you didn’t!” Sungyeol yells.

“Fine, just think that I didn’t see you on the floor,” Myungsoo says.

“Oh my God! Please stop talking! You’re making it worse! Why are you being like this?! Don’t you know how to deal with people?! You should’ve lied in order to save me from embarrassment! Do you hate me that much?!” Sungyeol shouts.

“Are you saying that I should lie to protect you?! Unlike you, I can’t lie easily without blinking an eye. Besides, what's there to see?! I also have what you have!” Myungsoo shouts back.

“Oh, so now you’re playing innocent! Are you telling me that you haven’t lied even once in your life?!” Sungyeol says.

“I didn’t say that! But I don’t lie in order to protect myself and get out of sticky situations like you do!” Myungsoo says.

Sungyeol glares at Myungsoo.

“So, pretending not to know Lee Sungjong is not some kind of lying in order to protect yourself?!” Sungyeol blurts out without thinking.

Myungsoo looks at him, mouth screwed shut in a thin line and Sungyeol knows that he crossed that line between them again. He blinks and clears his throat.

“Lee Sungyeol…” Myungsoo says.

“Y-Yes?”

Sungyeol is just waiting for Myungsoo to say that he’s fired but instead of those words, he feels Kim Myungsoo’s hands on his shoulder and the next thing he knows is he’s looking into Myungsoo’s deep raven eyes.

“You know, it really looked nice,” Myungsoo starts.

“Wh-What are you talking about?” Sungyeol asks, frozen on his spot.

Myungsoo leans in closer and Sungyeol is starting to go cross-eyed from the closeness.

“Do you really not know what I’m talking about?” Myungsoo asks, voice getting husky.

“N-No…what are you…t-talking about?” Sungyeol says, gulping when he sees Myungsoo his lower lip.

“Your …it looked nice and perky despite its small size. Also, your milky white legs are so long and flawless,” Myungsoo says, looking at Sungyeol’s body and effectively rendering him speechless.

Sungyeol tries to utter a word but Myungsoo has him pinned on the passenger seat and he is currently torn between pushing the latter away or pulling him closer and tasting those sinful lips of his. But even before Sungyeol could decide what to do, Myungsoo is chuckling and starting the car.

“So, that’s how it feels like to lie, huh? It feels nice to lie once in a while,” Myungsoo says, driving out of the parking lot.

Sungyeol stares at Myungsoo, eyes still wide and body still frozen against the passenger seat’s backrest.

“Don’t look at me like that. You weren’t even that great. You’re too scrawny to be my type.”

Sungyeol rolls his eyes at Myungsoo and starts plotting his revenge in his mind. He’s going to nurse grandfather back to health and be a really, really good grandson so that even if they find out that he’s only an impostor, they would still love him. If that happens, grandfather could disown Myungsoo for being so mean to Sungyeol, the favorite grandson. He evilly snickers to himself and glares at Myungsoo.

~ O ~

            Woohyun stares long and hard at Sungyeol and observes him from head to toe. Sungyeol is avoiding his eyes and is only looking at his hands that are poised on his lap. He knows that there is something fishy about Sungyeol being his and Myungsoo’s cousin. He doesn’t want to think too poorly about Sungyeol but he remembers how men were chasing after the latter when he first met him in Jeju. Sungyeol looked like a troublemaker back then and even now that Woohyun is staring at him, he couldn’t wipe off the image.

“Woohyun-shi, I think that you should stop pursuing me like this…we are cousins,” Sungyeol says, breaking the uncomfortable silence between them.

“Are we really?” Woohyun incredulously says, raising his brows.

“Wh-What do you mean, Woohyun-shi? Myungsoo hyung found me…I-I’m your lost cousin,” Sungyeol stutters out.

“Yes, indeed. Myungsoo confirmed that you’re indeed our lost cousin. Knowing Myungsoo, I know that he’s not the kind that would lie to his family about this matter. On the other hand…I’m not so sure about your background, Sungyeol,” Woohyun says.

Sungyeol uncomfortable squirms in his seat. He wants to say something to avert Woohyun’s suspicions but he cannot come up with anything. His tongue is tied and his mind is blank.

Come on, Sungyeol, it’s just like one of those situations where in you have to lie a little to get out of it.

Woohyun continues to stare at Sungyeol, narrowing his eyes at Sungyeol as if to further scrutinize the latter and Sungyeol wishes that Woohyun would stop doing that because he feels like he’s going to blurt out the truth any moment now.

“What are you talking about? A-are you saying that I’m an impostor that Myungsoo paid to fool the rest of your family including grandfather?!” Sungyeol says, pretending to be offended.

“I’m not saying anything. You’re the one who said that and because of what you said, my suspicion that you aren’t the real lost grandson is intensified.”

Sungyeol covers his mouth and mentally scolds himself for talking too much. He is having a mental breakdown at the moment and he doesn’t know what to do.

“A-Are you going to tell on me and arrest me, Woohyun-shi?”

Author’s Notes: I updated again! I’m grabbing the opportunity to update again before I go back to university and be buried into schoolwork again! I hope you like this chapter! I tried to edit it because the previous chapters had some serious cringe-worthy grammatical errors and I apologize for that! Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read, upvote and comment! See you next time!