One of Myungsoo’s hands was resting a little below his waist while the other held on to his hand firmly. They had stepped on to the dance floor to applause from the guests. When people started joining them and the attention shifted from them, Myungsoo captured his lips, starting slowly, lulling him with soft drugging kisses.

Although Sungjong was very aware of all the people around him, he had a hard time stopping his husband. The sensation of Myungsoo running fluttering nibbles over his lower lip filled him with intense delight. As their tongues made contact, he had to stop himself from gasping loudly. Myungsoo seemed very calm and collected, so he was caught by surprise when he deepened the kiss with purpose, angling his mouth over his.

His mind was becoming hazy, just as it did whenever he kissed Myungsoo for too long. A tiny part of him was registering an alarm – wouldn’t it be very rude to lose their inhibitions in front of all these people? They should wait until they got to their room, right?

Determined, Sungjong pulled away from Myungsoo, who whined at the loss of contact. When he glared at him though, Myungsoo accepted defeat and went back to running his hand over his back, dipping dangerously low at times.

He was going to tell him off for not behaving but before he could, the elder surprised him with a question.

“The ring on your finger, the blue one, I haven’t seen it before. Is it new?” he commented.

Of course he had noticed when he was putting on the ring.

“Yeah, it’s a present, from Munsoo.”

Myungsoo nodded appreciatively. Then he added, “Is Munsoo Sunkyu’s type?”

“What?” Sungjong almost screamed.

Instead of replying, he motioned towards one side of the room, where their two brothers were standing together, talking to each other. At first, nothing seemed strange – just two guests having a chat, but then, Sungjong realized with a sinking feeling that they were standing a bit too close. And the way Munsoo was looking at Sunkyu signified that he had a little more than friendly conversation in mind.

“You don’t seem to like it,” Myungsoo observed.

“Like what?” he snapped. He didn’t realize he was frowning.

“You don’t like the two of them together,” Myungso accused plainly.

Sungjong huffed. It was not that easy. His brother had recently broken up with his girlfriend. And Munsoo had this obvious charm, anyone would fall for him in no time at all, especially if he was trying to make them like him. The two of them could work, in a strange sort of way, but he was worried that Munsoo wasn’t looking at Sunkyu but was trying to find him in his brother. His brother was a different person than him and he wasn’t sure that Munsoo understood that.

In a whisper, he confided in Myungsoo his fear. The elder frowned, then shook his head.

“I don’t think Munsoo will make such a mistake. He’s wiser than that.”

He was still not convinced so Myungsoo went back to kissing him, wiping the frown off his face successfully.

It felt like they had been on the dance floor for hours before a few people came to talk to Myungsoo. Sungjong slipped away from his arm towards the drinks table, which was now almost empty. He quickly grabbed a glass of champagne. He had refrained from drinking throughout the party, but he had been on his feet for the past 6 hours and he really needed something to steady him. Myungsoo’s friends had too much to talk about business and such and he wasn’t the least bit interested. Whether Myungsoo actually took interest in what they had to say or whether he was just being polite, he had no idea. It all seemed too complicated for him.

When he had been a child, he had thought that there would be a magic age when everything grown-ups talked about would make sense to him. But that had never happened, or at least it hadn't happened yet. Myungsoo seemed to have crossed that line though and passed into adulthood with grace. And he had done a damn good job of it. Apart from his occasional neediness of Sungjong, he was self-sufficient.

Sungjong worried that beside him, he would be just a child. Funnily enough, these concerns only had made themselves known recently. Once the high of actually being engaged to Myungsoo had dissipated a bit, he had started to feel that a wall of all the reasons they shouldn't be together made itself visible. It was terrifying. Was he just wasting Myungsoo’s time? At this age, Myungsoo probably wasn’t looking forward to babysit an adult. Would he get tired of him easily?

He was deep in thought when he felt a familiar presence behind him. With a ready smile, he looked up only to find the wrong brother.

“Hi Munsoo,” he said a bit breathlessly. He was surprised at how easy it was to mistake the two brothers. They were very similar, eerily so.

“Hey, you look like you’re having fun. By the way, you two should save something for the honeymoon.” He laughed an airy laugh, picking up a glass of whiskey and taking one large swig.
Sungjong colored immediately. It was one thing for strangers to laugh at them but this was Munsoo and he felt uncomfortable, thinking how Munsoo might have watched the two of them kiss. He gulped down his drink in embarrassment and regretted it immediately as the bitter taste hit his throat sharply.

“Where's Sunkyu?” he asked carefully. The two had been inseparable and every time he had turned to look at them, they looked too close to each other.

He motioned with his hand to one side, almost carelessly. His face was blank and Sungjong had no idea if he had been mistaken, if they had just shared a friendly conversation and nothing more.

“You two seemed close,” he tried again, just to be completely sure. He had a responsibility towards his brother.

Munsoo glared at his whiskey.

“He looks a lot like you.” His voice was quiet and plain but Sungjong could almost smell the bitterness.

“So?”

“So,” he looked up at him, his eyes bewildered. “He’s not you though, no. I thought he’s just what I need, but…he’s not you.”

He gulped – so it was like he had feared. Munsoo had been desperate enough to find Sungjong in Sunkyu. Gently, he placed a hand on his shoulder but Munsoo shook it off.

“This was a bad idea. Coming here was a bad idea. What made me think I would be able to take this…I hate that you’re happy!”

He threw his glass forcefully, causing it to shatter into pieces as it hit the floor. The sound wasn’t loud enough to be heard over the chatter that filled the ballroom, but it caused Sungjong to stiffen. Munsoo was probably a bit drunk.

“I’m so sorry,” Munsoo hastily stated, watching the terrified look on Sungjong’s face. “I thought I could handle myself but I was clearly mistaken.”

Two waiters started to clear up the broken glass, ushering the people away from the bit of floor covered by the shards. Sungjong pretended to watch them, to buy some time before replying. When the last piece of glass had been swept off, he turned to Munsoo, whose eyes were red from holding in tears.

Taking his hand, he said softly, “You’ll come back to see me when you’re ready, right?”

He nodded dispiritedly. “If I find someone…”

“You will, I promise.”

Munsoo stared above his head for some time before saying, “Tell my brother I love him. And I love you too, not in the way I wish I could but in the wrong way.” With that, he wove his way through the crowd towards the exit. Sungjong’s eyes followed him until he disappeared from view.

Now he knew the difference between the two brothers. Myungsoo was the kind to babysit him and gladly – he would do everything to raise him up, make up for his insufficiencies, whereas Munsoo was the kind to love him like thunder, fast and complete, but get frustrated with his immaturity.

Sometimes, he did wander if he had chosen the right brother to spend the rest of his life with, but he knew one thing with certainty – whether right for him or not, he loved Myungsoo.

“Hey,” Myungsoo whispered in his ear, his hands wrapping around his waist from behind. “Did you miss me?”

He wondered if he should tell him that Munsoo had left. He would definitely be perturbed by the news. Just then, something else caught his attention. Sunkyu was walking around with a confused expression, looking for something. Munsoo, probably. If Munsoo had flirted with him even a little bit, he had already gotten his hopes up. Besides, he was at the vulnerable stage.

Frowning, Sungjong scanned the crowd – he saw Woohyun and Mijoo holding hands; Taemin was whispering something in Woohyun's ear. His eyes stopped on a tall man, who was drinking quietly from a tumbler, with a kind smile on his face. Sungyeol looked at him and as their eyes met, he smiled, raising his tumbler at him.

That’s it.

Sungyeol was the kind of person you could trust without having to think about it twice. If he devoted himself to someone, he would be always honest and caring. In a word, he was perfect.

He quickly pried away Myungsoo’s hand from around him.

“Where are you going in a hurry after ignoring me?” Myungsoo whined sadly.

“I’ll be back. I need to set up my stupid brother with someone who’ll actually be good for him for once.”

---

They stayed the night at the honeymoon suit at Ritz. Myungsoo’s patience was wearing thin towards the end of the party anyway, so the moment the door closed behind them, his lips latched onto Sungjong’s. The younger kissed him back eagerly – he must have been as frustrated as he was since he had been teasing him throughout the wedding. Even though they had a flight to catch early in the morning, they stayed up the whole night.

After all, you have only one wedding night.

Suffice to say, it was the best night of their lives. As a result, the moment they boarded the flight, they fell asleep, heads resting on the comfortable headrests of the business class seats.

Myungsoo was the first to wake up. He found Sungjong’s head resting on his shoulder, his hands tightly wound around his upper arm. The younger had explained that he was afraid of flying and had shut his eyes and gripped his arm tightly when the plane had taken off. He must have fallen asleep just like that.

“I’ll protect you,” he whispered softly, kissing his fringe.

In the present state, if he moved at all, he would run the risk of waking the younger up. So he stayed really still, watching his chest rise and fall evenly and his eyelashes hooding his eyes. He looked so peaceful sleeping that he felt his heart slow down at the sight. After a while, he touched Sungjong’s exposed collarbone, slowly running his fingertips over his smooth skin.

Myungsoo’s seatbelt was digging into his side and his legs were falling asleep, but he dared not move, lest he made the younger uncomfortable.

On one of the rare occasions his father had expressed an opinion of his own, he had said that love is sacrifice. Even though he knew he could sacrifice anything for Sungjong, he hadn’t understood what his father had meant until now. It wasn’t only the big things, but the small things too, like how he’d rather have his legs cramp up and the seatbelt leave bruises on his sides than move and risk waking Sungjong up. He would always put Sungjong’s comfort before his own, and there lay one of the mysteries of love. Even here, in the plane, Sungjong was the most important thing to him and he chanted it with every breath.

When the plane landed at Taiwan, it was 3 pm local time. They were both exhausted. There was an opening ceremony that Myungsoo had to attend from 6 pm, so after showering quickly, he took a small nap while Sungjong unpacked their suitcases.

Since he had an extra guest pass, he asked Sungjong to come along. It would be poor treatment to just leave Sungjong by himself while he took care of business. The younger had never been to any such event so he was understandably curious. Myungsoo tried to explain to him how the fashion week worked - the opening ceremony was a chance to mingle with fashion designers, models, and magazine editors from all over the world. Unsurprisingly, a lot of business took place here; deals were made and connections established.

Sungjong looked thoroughly fascinated as Myungsoo interacted with the other people. He could understand the confusion – the younger knew him as a quiet person who didn’t spare an extra word. But years of experience had taught him that he couldn’t just get away with a handshake and a smile if he wanted his company to succeed. It was important to talk to the right people and make sure he had friends in high places to help the company plough through. Even though he didn’t waste words, he knew how to secure a deal.

Sunggyu had accompanied them to Taiwan as well. Under usual circumstances, Minho and Sunggyu both would have come, but since Minho was still on sick leave, they had to replace him with Niel and Mijoo.

For some reason, Sungjong recoiled at the sight of Sunggyu. The executive editor had come to consult with him for a few minutes before disappearing in the crowd. He tried to ask the younger what was wrong but he only shook his head and continued staring all the models in the room.

If Myungsoo spoke to twenty people, Sunggyu would cover double the number within the same time, such was his ability. Extremely efficient and polite, he closed deals within minutes of starting to converse with a person. He was grateful to have Sunggyu as the second-in-command.

The only thing that didn’t make sense was the surprisingly long conversation that Sunggyu had with Kim Kibum, the chief editor of Royals. Surely, there couldn’t be anything that two rival companies would have to speak about. Later on, when Kibum passed by, he sported an unnerving smile.

“I think you will find that Royals has outdone themselves this year,” Kibum said after a perfunctory greeting.

Myungsoo smirked.

“Star has a few surprises as well.”

Kibum only sneered, then turned around rudely and started talking to someone else. Myungsoo chuckled. Sungjong, who had excused himself earlier to go look at another model from up close, came to stand beside him.

“What’s funny?” he asked, looking at him.

Myungsoo shrugged.

“It when you’re not the best.”

He was not really the cocky type but with the Royals' editor, he had no patience. Kim Kibum was absolutely pretentious and a sore loser - both of which he disliked. He turned to look at Sungjong, who had a mystified gaze in his eyes. He was wearing figure-hugging jeans and a loose, almost see-through top that Myungsoo really approved of. If he didn't have to attend this, he could spend his time on a more pleasurable adventure.

"You know what else - working on your honeymoon."

"But you're not really working," Sungjong commented nonchalantly.

He pouted immediately - he had expected some assurance or consolation for tonight but instead, he was totally dismissed by him. Watching his expression, Sungjong smirked. Patting him gently on the head, he whispered, "Come on, let's get back to work. That way, you'll have earned your reward tonight."

So there will be a reward tonight, he thought with satisfaction.