Groaning into his pillow when the doorbell rang for the second time, Donghae heaved his body out of bed and stomped through the corridor of his apartment. Ready to bark at whoever dared to wake him up so early in the morning, he ripped the front door open only for bright sunlight to hit him right in the face.

"Morning," the person outside greeted.

Donghae squinted through the sunlight, his face falling. "What are you doing here?"

"Picking you up?" Hyukjae said as if it were matter-of-factly.

"To where?" Donghae scratched his neck as he tried to remember anything about the situation.

Hyukjae raised an eyebrow. "Uh, the mall?"

"Why?"

"You wanted to get a gift for my parents, remember? We talked about it just yesterday."

"We did?" Donghae asked, mind still blank.

Hyukjae sighed. "Yes, we did. Right after I told you that you would get this day off."

Donghae felt something within his brain click. "Oh. I stopped listening to you after that," he confessed.

"Great to know how much you care about the words I say," Hyukjae said, a smile tugging on his lips. "Will you sort yourself out then? Because I ain't taking you anywhere in your current state."

"Eh, can't I just stay in while you get the present? I know nothing about your parents anyway," Donghae pointed out and drove his fingers through his tangled bed hair.

"Yeah, well, I know nothing about parents-in-law and gift-giving," Hyukjae retorted.

"And I do?" Donghae scoffed at him. 

He shrugged. "It was your idea."

Donghae squeezed his eyes shut and let out a brief whine before he stepped away from the door in surrender.

"You can wait in the living room."

Hyukjae wore an accomplished grin as he walked inside. "Thanks."

Grimacing behind his back, Donghae followed and passed by to led him to the living room.

"You can sit down if you want, I won't take long," he said, picking up a few cushions that had fallen on the floor to throw them back to the sofa. "And no snooping around while I'm gone," he then warned and gave his boss a pointed look.

Hyukjae's grin widened. "Sure thing."

"Good."

The latter heaved a breath and headed for the bathroom. Hyukjae didn't listen though and strolled through the room once Donghae disappeared behind the bathroom door.

It had been the first time that he was at his secretary's home, his grin turning into a slight smile while he scanned over the living room and open kitchen and its rather simple furnishings. The apartment seemed not all too spacious but not too small either, a collection of photo frames on the wall and other personal touches like a Nemo plushy lying in the armchair and Marvel figurines sitting on top of the windowsill making everything homey.

Donghae also owned a lot of books and Hyukjae bit his tongue when he noticed they were all work-related. The coffee table was barely visible, covered by papers and folders and files. A plant standing in the corner of the room and looking as if hadn't been watered in weeks served as another piece of evidence that Donghae probably didn't have much else on his mind other than work. Not to mention that he had hardly any time off from said work.

Hyukjae went to have a closer look at the photographs and chuckled at those that showed Donghae as a child and during his awkward teenage years. Cho Kyuhyun, one of his subordinates, was in almost all of them as well. Hyukjae knew that he and Donghae had been close friends even before they joined the company, but he wasn't aware that they went back that far.

He tried to ignore a stinging feeling in the very pit of his stomach when one photo caught his attention in particular. Donghae and Kyuhyun, still very young, had their arms around another's shoulder and grinned happily into the camera, behind them standing who he guessed were Donghae's parents and Mr Cho. Hyukjae did a double take to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, but that person and his cold stare that radiated pride and arrogance was without a doubt their company's supervisor.

"Surprised?"

Hyukjae flinched at the sudden voice and turned around, gaping at Donghae who wore a decent outfit and had a towel around his neck.

He snorted at Hyukjae's expression. "Jumpy much?"

"Is that really Mr Cho?" Hyukjae asked, wanting to be completely certain.

"Sure is," Donghae replied and half-heartedly dried his hair with the towel before throwing it aside. "Since we said we should learn more about each other I guess I should tell you about him, too," he said, coming to stand next to Hyukjae and staring at the photo.

"My mum and Kyuhyun's aunt have been friends ever since university. Kyuhyun went to live with her and his uncle when he was five after his parents passed away in a car accident. We pretty much grew up together since then."

"I didn't know," Hyukjae said quietly. "I've never seen you and Mr Cho talk, though. Shouldn't you be close?"

Donghae scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes glimmering with sadness. Hyukjae watched him carefully.

"My parents lent them a hand every now and then because they never had a child before and weren't sure how to handle the situation. Mr Cho was unemployed at the time so he asked for money a few times. We weren't exactly well off either but my dad had always been a softhearted person. 

"When Mr Cho first managed to get a job at your company it took him years to pay us back. You'd think that after living like that he would appreciate his possessions but he only grew greedy. His promotion to department head changed him completely. Or maybe it brought out what was always inside of him. He and my dad fought a lot, I don't remember much because I was still young but there was a certain night where I heard them scream at each other outside of our house. I sneaked out of my room and saw my mum sitting below on the staircase crying heavily. The next morning my parents told me that my dad had to quit his job because he was sick."

Hyukjae swallowed loudly, fearing what the other would say next. Donghae chanced a look at him.

"For a while, we lived on my parents' savings while my mum went to pick up serval part-time jobs to pay for my dad's hospital expenses and treatment costs. My mum and I were debt-ridden after my dad died, Kyuhyun's aunt who had taken Kyuhyun and moved town after she divorced Mr Cho was kind enough to help us pay the funeral. 

"Mum and I both worked throughout my high school years to save up for my university and luckily I managed to score a scholarship as well. Kyuhyun and I came up with this childish plan to work for Sapphire Company so we could get revenge on his uncle."

Donghae smiled fondly at the memory.

"When we applied we never dreamt of actually getting in. But we did. And it would have been stupid not to accept such a chance of a lifetime, so that's how we ended up working there," he chuckled and looked at Hyukjae. "You should have seen Mr Cho's face when he saw the two us."

There was a moment of silence, Hyukjae holding Donghae's gaze until the younger broke it and walked away.

"Do you happen to like Marvel? There is a new movie in the cinemas so maybe we could check it out and-," Donghae's words trailed off when something soft landed on top of his head and blocked his vision, slender fingers wrapping around his wrist and pulling on him to make him turn around.

He stared at Hyukjae's feet as the latter came close and stood in front of him.

"It's freezing today, you shouldn't be going out with damp hair," Hyukjae simply said, using the towel from before to ruffle Donghae's brown hair.

"Can't afford missing work, can I?" Donghae joked drily.

"Is he giving you a hard time at work?"

Feeling his eyes burn at Hyukjae's question, Donghae put on a small smile. "You're worse."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

He heard Hyukjae laugh quietly so he raised his head to face him. Hyukjae looked back at him with a smile.

"Do you want to grab breakfast before the movie?"

After

"Can you stop ogling me as if I was the most precious thing in the world?"

"Oh, but you are."

"Go to hell."

"Can't I go to heaven? I want to meet more angelic beings like you."

"You're disgusting."

"Why the harsh words?"

"Because you pretending to be all smitten by me is purely gross."

"Maybe I'm serious?"

"I'm trying to enjoy my ice cream here, don't make me vomit." 

"Fine, you win!" Hyukjae groaned in defeat and sniffed in annoyance. "You're no fun. Can't we flirt at least a tiny bit?" he asked but earned a stinging smack against his cheek.

"Wake up, Monkey. I think you're mistaking me for somebody else," Donghae grunted flatly, the other wrinkling up his nose. 

"I don't think I am or did I miss something like we got a divorce and me getting married again? The last time I checked you were my husband," Hyukjae stated, making the brunette roll his eyes and face him.

"Where are we going with this conversation, huh?" Donghae questioned straightforwardly. 

"Share you ice cream with me," the elder replied with a childish grin, taking the other by surprise.

"You just had your own," Donghae pointed out and Hyukjae pouted.

"But it's gone already."

"That's your fault for bolting down your food like a freaking vacuum cleaner. I told you to slow down but you won't listen to me."

"Oh come on, just one ! I wanna know what vanilla tastes like."

"Then why didn't get vanilla yourself?" Donghae glared at his noisy boss, feeling annoyed to no end. 

"I always take two balls of strawberry, I don't want to betray it," Hyukjae reasoned, making the other scoff.

"You're ridiculous," the brunette replied but instead of saying anything else he handed the elder his candy who creepily chuckled in victory. 

Just as Hyukjae's tongue dared out of his mouth to the sweet ice, a click was heard and got followed by what seemed like hundreds more. 

Donghae snapped his head up to the direction of the sound, noticing a man wearing a black trench coat and holding a big camera within his hands. The brunette gasped as the male looked right into his eyes and before Donghae could utter a word the man hurryingly ran off.

"What the actual..." his words trailed off, him being completely flabbergasted. 

"Your face is hilarious!" Hyukjae suddenly bursted out of laughter, causing the younger to flinch at the loud roaring next to his ear.

"The hell is wrong with you and why are you laughing? Didn't you just saw the man who- wait a minute, you knew!?" Donghae gaped in disbelief as realization hit him.

"Of course I did! Why else would I behave like I just did?" Hyukjae confessed, wiping a tear away while trying to calm down from his cackling.

"B-but who w-was that?" the brunette stammered, still taken aback.

"I have no idea. Maybe my parents or Mr. Cho send him, maybe he's a random dude who seeks for gossip," the black haired male answered with a casual shrug of his shoulders. 

"Then you did that for this public affection again?" Donghae asked and pointed to the melting ice cream in Hyukjae's hand.

"What a clever boy you are," the latter crooned, patting his brown hair while grinning. 

Lost of words, Donghae blankly blinked at the male next to him. He came to think of reporters, the press, articles and magazines. It wasn't something new to him, in those years he worked for Hyukjae he often got squished between a bunch of people and even received bruises by harsh shoves every now and then. Hyukjae always was the center of attionen when they were outside but now it wasn't only the CEO of Sapphire Company those beasts were after. No, now they also were interested in him—Lee Donghae.

"Feels weird, huh?" Hyukjae's voice pulled Donghae out of his thoughts and the younger just nodded, ignoring the drift of his brain as he asked himself for a moment whenever his boss could read minds or not. "But you will get used to it soon. You have experience in dealing with reporters after all," the taller added, giving him a small smile in encouragement.

"Yeah, that's true," the brunette mumbled in agreement and he himself allowed a smile to reach over his lips.

"And you know another thing?" Hyukjae started, Donghae eyeing him curiously. "We just had an indirect ."

" you, Lee Hyukjae. you and your cocky, narcissistic, crappy, gross and erted mind."

"Can you stop this?" hissed the elder as the brunette beside him impatiently tapped his foot against the ground of Hyukjae's Audi R8.

"I don't think I can do this," Donghae mumbled lowly, chewing on his lower lip that Hyukjae feared it would bleed soon.

The latter sighed at the younger's comment and pulled the car over to turn left as a metal gate opened for them, him parking in the middle of a huge garden and right infront of a luxury mansion. 

Donghae's breath hitched for a moment until he let out a pitiful wail similar to this of a pleading puppy. "Seriously, Hyukjae. How do I survive this?" the brunette cried, facing the said male who rolled the eyes and patted his shoulder.

"Come on now, I told you it won't be all too bad," he said which wasn't very encouraging for Donghae.

"It won't be all too bad" the latter mimicked and slapped the other's hand away while giving him an unamused frown. "It's your fault if I die so take responsibility for my mom!" he demanded, swinging the door open and heaving his body out of the car. 

"Don't be an overdramatic here, it's not like my parents will eat you alive," Hyukjae snorted as they walked up to the front door which he quickly opened and once in he led the younger down a long corridor.

"I beg to differ," Donghae whispered childishly, gawking around the expensive looking house.

"Well aren't you an optimist," Hyukjae mocked with a grin and took the other's sweaty hand to drag him along. "Damn you really are nervous, huh?" he stated, being surprised that instead of a snarky remark Donghae actually tightly clung onto his hand.

Sending the taller one a no--sherlock-expression, Donghae intentionally dug his nails into the elders's skin who cringed at the gesture.

"Don't you ever dare to die before I get the chance to kill you. If you do, I swear to lord and satan—I will personally bring you back to life just to torture your pathetic being and kill you all over again," the brunette threatened, causing an icy shiver to run down Hyukjae's back (yes, ladies and gentlemen, Lee Donghae was the living proof that a three year old kid could be very frightening).

A moment later the two males arrived at the living-room, Hyukjae intertwining their fingers and giving Donghae one last squeeze before they stepped in and the elder greeted his parents which were seated on the black leather couch. 

"My baby son!" shrieked the latter's mother with a squeaky voice, jumping onto her feet and literary throwing herself onto the black haired male. "I missed you so much!" she bitterly wept as she suffocated her son in a tight hug.

"M-mom, can't b-breathe" Hyukjae stuttered, trying to free himself out of her strong hold. 

Wiping tears and snot with the sleeve of her shirt away (and earning a silent eww by her husband) Mrs. Lee chuckled at her behaviour. "I'm sorry, I was a little overwhelmed seeing you after such a long time and-" she suddenly cut her words when her gaze met Donghae's. "Oh. Right. You're here, too," she bluntly said, her face doing a 180 degree flip with eyes narrowing and lips turning downwards. "So you're the one who stole my son's heart and made him go all insane to marry you?" she added and with that the room fell into a painful silence. 

Donghae wanted to jump off a cliff under the spiteful stare of the woman in front of him and he felt himself becoming smaller and smaller. Hyukjae sensed the younger's tension and was about to say something to finally break the ice but his mother beat him by a second.

"How fancy meeting you!" the woman then bursted out in fake-enthusiasm, hysterically laughing and throwing Mr. Lee a hard glare who flinched and instantly laughed along with a roaring voice and clapping his hands like a seal.

Motioning her husband that he was overdoing it, the man slowly calmed down from his oh so naturally acting and ended the laughing session with a hum. "That was really funny, Honey," he awkwardly commented, voice going up and down as if he was going through puberty once again.

"Oh why thank you," Mrs. Lee waved him off with giggling.

Donghae could only watch the whole secne as he wondered in just what kind of asylum he landed while Hyukjae stared at his parents in disbelief and shock.

"I didn't expect you to be so... excited to meet him," the son of the two elderies pointed out, making the woman smile widely.

"He's your husband after all, of course we are!" she replied but her eyes said otherwise as she scanned the brunette from head to toe. "Will you introduce him to us?" 

"Lee Donghae is the name, Ma'am! I'm 24 years old and have been working as you son's secretary for three years now! My parents owned a bakery but when my father died nine years ago they had to close it down so currently my mother works as a sewer for stuffed animals and peels chestnuts for the restaurant in her street!" Donghae blurted out before somebody could even breathe. 

"A-ah, I s-see," Mrs. Lee's smile cracked slightly, her expression transforming into a scowl.

Deciding that it was time to finally get into action, Hyukjae grabbed Donghae's arm to pull him closer and wrapped an arm around the shorter one's shoulder. The brunette looked up to him in horror while his eyes screamed don't you ing dare. Smirking slyly, Hyukjae leaned down to him and mouthed a watch me before he planted a peck on Donghae's hairline. 

The dramatic gasp by Mrs. Lee and the loud snort by Mr. Lee was ignored by the two younger males, Donghae's whole body freezing into a halt and Hyukjae lowly chuckling in satisfaction.

"See?" he whispered against the brunette's ear, raising a challenging eyebrow.

"Bastard," Donghae hissed back, biting his lower lip in hesitation.

Then—after finding the bravery to man up, he threw his arms around Hyukjae's waist and snuggled against his chest while hiding his face into the crook of the taller one's neck and caressing the skin with his nose.

Donghae was aware that Hyukjae challenged him on purpose and he knew he just made it more than clear that he accepted this damn thing.

My pathetic excuse for the late update: I got a throat infection with fever (a little sympathy here please) and I was busy reading Dengeki Daisy since that bastard friend of mine introduced me to this manga.

And what a sentimental first scene in this chapter. But then there goes the ending with EunHae getting touchy... Smooth, Mimi, smooth.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading and as always—thank you for the positive feedback, I never thought this story would receive so much love from you guys♥