^ irrelevant ^

warnings: invasion of privacy; sungjong's loss of wonder; betrayal; bribery... this should be a fun chapter, right?

hello! so, disappointing news: no double update this weekend. (maybe. most likely. writer sister got extremely lazy and slept instead of wrote. brain sister did not help to keep me awake because she's recovering from her colds. but, yeah, thanks a lot.) also, speaking of brain sister, i included her on the authors area. heck yea. as for the chapter, it's not as serious as the warning implies it to be. nor does the title help. enjoy reading! :D

“I have half a mind to kill you, Howon,” Sunggyu says spitefully.

“Do what you want,” Howon sighs and leans more than sits at the edge of Sunggyu's desk, a piping hot cup of coffee in one of his hands and papers in the other, “Your son enjoyed his time at mine.”

“Myungsoo was puking ice cream when he got back home,” Sunggyu hisses under his breath, getting up from his seat to slap Howon upside the back of his head. The slap shoves Howon forward slightly, droplets of his black coffee falling onto the carpet beneath him. Howon curses but thanks the Gods that not one drop made its way on his evidence papers, “He had a stomach ache! I had to rub his stomach until he got better—and then there's the medicine, and the hot water. And Myungsoo sounded like he was in agony. God, Howon, you're so irresponsible!”

“You say that as if taking care of your son is a burden,” Howon drinks some of his coffee, “To be fair, I didn't know the kids sneaked out of the room. I made sure to tuck them in and I assumed that they would be sleeping right away. They probably waited until I was asleep before they did anything, so it wasn't my fault that your son suffered his first food coma.”

“Well your son probably initiated it,” Sunggyu spits, “It still roots from your irresponsibility.”

“That's very offensive,” Howon says flatly and nonchalantly, “But then again, you're uptight. Myungsoo should enjoy his boyhood while he's still young, and my sons just helped him out. Think of it as a learning experience.”

“Ugh. I hate you,” Sunggyu says and sinks back into his seat.

Howon chuckles, “You can hate me because it seems like you're liking someone,” he says teasingly. He doesn't have to turn around to know that Sunggyu's face is bright red, because he can practically feel the heat of his blush from where he's sat. Howon looks over to the corner of Sunggyu's office, at the wrapped boxes that lay on the ground. They were wrapped quite cutely, with soft colours on the wrappers and glittery ribbons tied around them. It makes Howon chuckle, “You're going to leave some sort of secret admirer gift at his door, huh?”

“They're Thank You gifts,” Sunggyu mumbles, typing absently on his keyboard regardless of the fact that he didn't even open a program to type into, “Not like you know how to thank anyone.”

Howon scoffs, “I do know how to show gratefulness,” he turns around to look Sunggyu in the eye, “Between the two of us, I'm not the one who bolted out of the door when I was faced with my saviors, was I? No, mine was more like a handshake and a nice dinner.”

Sunggyu huffs, “He probably didn't like your cooking.”

“Shut up, he loved it,” Howon takes another sip, “At least I can cook. What do you and Myungsoo eat at home? Ah, yes. Take out.”

“They're healthy take out!”

“But take out, nonetheless,” Howon snickers. “I might as well adopt Myungsoo. At least he'll get good meals and free time when he's at mine.”

“Oh no, you are not spreading your bad parenting on my son,” Sunggyu tosses a pen at Howon, hitting him on the back of the head. Howon barely feels it. “Just—Just shut up about those gifts, okay? They're not for you to peer into. And I am grateful that he helped me. It's none of your business.”

“So you're just going to let those boxes sit there for a week, or?”

“...I'll find the right time!”

“Sure, sure,” Howon finishes his coffee and gets up and off of Sunggyu's desk. He knocks on the wooden top to catch Sunggyu's attention, the two looking at each other warily, “You and Myungsoo need a ride? I didn't see your car in the parking lot.”

“...Yes,” Sunggyu mumbles almost shyly. “Just... Just this one time again, okay? Then I'm not asking you for any other favours.”

“That's what you said last time.” Howon sighs, “Hurry it up. I'll go put these papers away and I'll wait for you in the parking lot.”

When Howon is out of his office, Sunggyu sighs and sinks into his seat further and further. He spares a look towards the corner of the room, at the boxes sitting on the cold ground, and considers taking them with him on his way to the school—however he decides against it, because he's not quite sure if he's ready to face Mr. Nam yet.

“What's your favourite colour?” Bomi asks, looking down at the notebook she's writing on.

“Oh, that's easy,” Dongwoo smiles and looks down at the notebook as well, “Green!”

“Right, right,” she writes the acquired information down on the proper line and skips over to the next question written underneath it, “What sign were you born under?”

“I was born in the year of the horse and—hmm... I was born on the twenty-second of November, so I think I'm a Scorpio,” Dongwoo looks down at what Bomi is writing, and his eyes drop down to the following questions beneath it. Personal questions that makes Dongwoo a bit nervous, “What is this all about, anyway?”

“Oh, you know, it's just a—well, it's a slam book!” Bomi says cheerfully, showing Dongwoo the rest of the book without really showing him the previous pages, “You get your friends to fill up the questions so that you can get to know them more! It's that sort of thing.”

Dongwoo's face lights up, “My sisters had one of these! I filled it up for them, too,” Dongwoo takes both the notebook and the pencil from Bomi, “I'll fill them out myself.”

Bomi squeals excitedly, “Oh yay! Don't forget to fill out the address and phone number.”

Dongwoo looks at her and giggles, “You know these stuff!”

“Okay, so maybe I do,” Bomi makes a face, “But, you know, just to make sure—also, don't forget to fill up the lovey dovey stuff on the next page.”

Curiously, Dongwoo flips the page and is met with questions that look like they were handwritten by Bomi herself: what type of guy he likes, what type of dates he likes to go on, what sort of present he likes to receive and what type of person he sees himself ending up with. Dongwoo blushes and looks at Bomi, wanting to flick her ear, “Why would such a book have these questions? I know you wrote them yourself!”

“Oh come on,” Bomi whines and pokes at Dongwoo's cheek playfully, “I just want to know, okay? I consider you to be my best friend, and what are best friends supposed to do if they don't know each other's type? I'll tell you: they will be miserable and curious for the rest of their lives. You don't want that happening to us, do you, oppa?”

“Then that works the same for me!” Dongwoo laughs, “You should answer these questions, too!”

“My type? Cute guys with abs. What kind of dates I like to go on? Simple ones, maybe even cliché dates involving walks on beaches and candlelight dinners. Presents? Chocolates—and lots of it. Some flowers, too. What type of person I see myself with for the rest of my days? A guy who can handle my personality and my drop kicks, that's what,” Bomi says and almost runs out of breath by the end. Dongwoo pats her on the head.

“Alright, I'll fill this up,” he sighs in defeat, and Bomi can only clap her hands cheerfully.

“Don't forget to fill up the previous crushes questions! I want details,” Bomi nudges Dongwoo, “Just put in your last boyfriend's name. Why you broke up. Why you got together, in the first place. All that juicy stuff. Don't leave anything out.”

“You're so demanding,” Dongwoo giggles nervously, carefully writing Lee Kiseop where it was appropriate to put his name. And Bomi's looking at him like she was preying on him. Dongwoo clears his throat and pulls away from her, “I'll have this finished by the end of the day. I have to check up on the kids and see if they're finished with their lunches, okay?”

“Okay!” Bomi says and watches as Dongwoo retreats.

“Is he gone?”

“Yes, he's gone,” Bomi taps the shoulder of the child sitting with his back against her foot, and out came three little children from underneath her desk. Sungjong, Taemin and Yein dust themselves off and wrap their arms around Bomi's waist, Bomi patting at their heads.

Sungjong pulls away and hands her the box of chocolates he had promised her, earlier that day; from his own stash of sweets that he often keeps hidden in the drawers in his bedroom. Bomi makes quite the happy noise and begins to unwrap one bar, making a quick work on taking a bite off of it. Sungjong could only smile and pat her on the back, “You did good, Miss Yoon! Like my Appa says to his clients; it was a pleasure doing bus