Hmm...I'm not really satisfied with this chapter. But it was necessary for the character build-up...

ENJOY

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“OK then, I should get going. It wouldn’t do good to miss my flight.”

“No it wouldn’t. Have a safe flight ma’am.” Jae formally bowed in farewell.

“Bye then. Feel free to contact me anytime should the need arise” she said as she took her leave, with a final dazzling smile just for her favourite worker in this place.

Jae sighed, somewhat unsure of how he felt. It wasn’t like he had any overwhelming feelings for the woman, but she seemed very genuine…and didn’t hurt that he also kind of, sort of liked her. BUT! I have my heart reserved for another special girl, he reminded himself with a silly smile as he thought of his plan after work this evening. Content with his decision to reject Shirota-san’s proposal, he trudged up to his almost forgotten apprentice…emphasis on almost. The goofball wasn’t exactly forgettable. Jae’s brain was still in a frenzy trying to figure out how he’d not recognised him instantaneously!

He rolled his eyes as he saw the goof in question in a deep conversation with Heechul – apparently his recent injury all but forgotten. Hmm, guess I didn’t strike as hard as I’d thought. What a shame.

“What’s so funny, Heech?” Jae asked as the other two guffawed like hyenas.

“Oh JaeJae, you should see this guy! He has the most hilarious sense of humour!” Heechul declared, clasping his hands on Yunho’s shoulders for effect. Jae just looked at the two like he’d witnessed a bird give birth to a cat! Great, he thought. Like one Heechul wasn’t enough to deal with.

“I would really rather NOT witness either one of your senses of humour, Heech. And don’t get too chummy with each other, this is my servant as we speak” Jae venomously declared with a creepy smile directed at his ‘servant’s’ direction. I’ll get him good for all the trouble he’s caused me, Jae vowed to himself.

“Uh, what do you mean” Heechul seemed lost. “He’s a new employee here, Jae.”

“Oh I’m aware of that. But the manager, very conveniently, declared that he is my apprentice” Jae revealed, seemingly enjoying the pleasure he was getting out of Yunho’s Jaw practically on the floor, his eyes bulging out of their sockets.

“Oh, you meant apprentice…?”

“I know what I meant.”

“EXCUSE ME! I’m right here” Yunho finally snapped out of it. He didn’t like being treated like freaking invisible man!

In response, the two shorter men just looked at him sideways before engaging back in their staring contest. Jae finally had enough. “Ugh! Heech don’t you have some poor person to be irritating the crap out of? And as for you, apprentice, follow me. There’s a lot you need to be introduced to and you’d better have your brain on full power. I expect you to remember everything I tell you today. Take it as an introductory training day, the real tuff starts tomorrow.” He swiftly stalked off.

“Eek! What’s gotten his in a knot?” Heechul glared in the direction of the retreating figure.

“Well, I guess I’d better go. I’ll see you around.” Yunho pleasantly smiled and followed Jae into the depths of the building.

***

The inside of 5TAR looked like a billion bucks, was the thought running through Yunho’s head as his eyes explored his surroundings, and they weren’t even in the real vacation spot yet. He mentally took a note to praise the designated team for interior design, they’d done a damn well job in his opinion. There was a very prominent use of marble in the flooring, which contrasted with the sky blue used on the ceiling. If one observed closely, the ceiling’s reflection on the white marble almost made it seem like an ocean was swirling under their feet.

As he followed the petite man around, he was introduced to many employees on the way who cheerfully greeted Jaejoong and warmly welcomed Yunho, some even going as far as to hug him welcome! What Yunho found most amusing though, was how Jaejoong’s glare seemed to have evaporated as soon as he’d engaged in his professional mode. The stubborn look turning into one of content, all smiles for the countless people that high-fived him, hugged him (much to Yunho’s displeasure) or just shared a sweet greeting. Huh. Looks like the evil glares and nasty remarks were specially wrapped up and saved for him only. Oh goody, he thought, dismayed.

Once they’d crossed a set of automatic double doors, they turned a corner and came into another hall, only this one was like the size of a stadium! It was huge. The ceiling was high enough to make you dizzy just by craning your neck to look at it, but once you did look up the view was certainly worth it. The roof was completely see-through, with only a glass covering it – probably in cases of bad weather. The only ornament covering the large expanse of the top was the most magnificent chandelier Yunho had seen, and that was saying a lot considering how many times he’d been made to admire varying types and size of chandeliers. It was mostly made of white crystals, with a little colour splashed here and there to reflect the different objects within the hall. What made it all the more hypnotising was how it gave the illusion that the chandelier was floating in the air; the glass couldn't be seen from certain angles. It was almost like something from the sets of Harry Potter, but not that ancient. 

Yunho felt like he’d never had the opportunity to explore the business before seeing as how everything was awing to him and had him nodding his head in complete astonishment. And maybe a little guilty for not taking more of an interest in the business…

“Extravagant, isn’t it?” Jaejoong, who’d been observing Yunho, was a little confused. Yunho had a weird look on his face, almost like he was proud…?

“I’ll say. Wow” was all he said without evening looking at Jaejoong, too busy staring out of the overhead class into the bright sky outside. The blue was extra inviting from behind the barrier. It made the chandelier crystals twinkle like a million diamonds.

“Ostentatious” grumbled Jaejoong, also staring out the roof.

“You don’t like it?” enquired Yunho, tilting his head to the side.

“I just think it’s a bit too much. But what do I know? Someone who has the money to make this amazing establishment can spend as much as he damn well wants on any stupid thing he wants. After all, it’s all about appearance, right?” There was no bitterness in his words, just an honest opinion.

“Isn’t it always?”

“Yeah, yeah. Enough fan-boying over the beauty of the palace. Anyways, this is the main occasion hall. It’s usually left empty and ready to set up for any request we receive. The reservation could be at day or night, but personally I think it looks really serene at night…you can actually see the stars if you look up…” Unknowingly Jaejoong drifted off into an entire tirade about how pretty the sky was at night, and how the stars twinkled and reflect on the chandelier. Needless to say, Yunho was once again entranced and amused by how cute he was with his weird hand gestures and eyes growing bigger and brighter as he got deeper into his explanation of what he thought it mean when two people looked at the stars through the glass together.

“Jae-yah?” came a charming voice from some corner of the hall, Yunho had no idea where as he turned his head this way and that trying to find the source of the voice.

“Hi Siwon! What are you doing up there?” Jaejoong had stopped talking about his night-sky obsession as abruptly as he’d started, and was now looking halfway up the wall somewhere. Yunho was confused.

“Hi! Oh I’m just measuring angles for the wedding reception we have for tomorrow. Man it’s going to need a lot of work, the bride was quit scarily specific about what she wanted for her perfect night. Anyways, what are you up to? Who’s that?” Yunho was trying to locate the owner of the voice the whole time he was talking, but failed miserably searching one corner of the hall with his eyes, while unknowingly to him, the man in question came up to them from the other direction – where Jaejoong was looking.

“You think it’ll be done by the schedule?” Jaejoong asked Siwon, one of his dearest friends. Yunho quickly turned around, doing a good job of making it seem like he was admiring his surroundings and not looking for the guy in front of him like a headless chicken. And once he was faced with him, Yunho admittedly felt a little threatened. Not in any physical way, but more in terms of looks.

All his life Yunho had been a head-turner and was damn proud of it. But standing next to this guy, it was hard for his ego to not take a hit, especially with the warm way Jaejoong was behaving towards him. Dang it.

“Hi, I’m Siwon. I’m part of the Special Events team. You must be the new employee…?” he extended his hand invitingly leaving Yunho with no option but to play nice and clasp his hand.

“Yunho” was all he said curtly.

“He’s going to be training in the Customer Service team” provided the smallest of the three. Yunho was surprised there wasn’t a snide insult attached at the end.

“Oh, then you’re lucky! Jaejoong-ah will take good care of you” Siwon confidently told Yunho, turning to Jaejoong with the last bit, with a full smile. And he had full confidence in his friend, knowing better than anyone how pure Jaejoong’s heart was, beyond the sometimes snarky bastard he tried to be.

They talked for a while, during which Yunho quickly got over his insecurity thanks to Siwon’s sincere behaviour with not even a hint of arrogance. Yunho would even go as far as to say he’d made a new friend.

“Anyways, I think I should finish at least half the tour before lunch break. Hopefully there are no other pesky distractions in the way. “Jaejoong declared cheekily.

“Yah! I’m not a distraction, shorty!” Siwon advanced on Jaejoong, quickly having him in a playful chokehold. “If I remember correctly, it was your non-existent that came and distracted me in the middle of my assessment!” Siwon bit back teasingly, knowing exactly the effect that would have on his friend.

To Yunho’s amusement, Jaejoong turned beet red in a matter of seconds, hiding his face behind Siwon’s arms, who still had his arms locked around his fragile neck.  Siwon joined Yunho in a goodhearted laughter at his expense which made Jaejoong even more embarrassed. It wasn’t his fault he was flat! And quite frankly it was mean of Siwon to use his insecurity against him like that.

Unfortunately he couldn’t stay mad for more than a couple of seconds. Watching the two men laughing so freely had his lips stretching in a smile; his embarrassment side-lined for the moment.

Once they’d parted ways, Jaejoong led Yunho another flight of stairs and through another set of identical doors before they entered what looked like an entire floor dedicated to offices. Yup, definitely the boring part.

“This is HQ, for all intents and purposes. Most of the things happen here; meetings, discussion boards, if you have questions or enquiries or basically anything else staff related.” Jaejoong nudged Yunho to follow him towards a balcony sort of landing. “You see that?” He pointed to a huge window a little ways away from their side of the building, one floor higher than where they were standing. “That’s the official main office. The one where I picked you up from is the manager’s office. Changmin deliberately had that office refurbished for himself. He says it’s very convenient in terms of managing; it allows quick access to all areas of the building effectively. He’s smart. That’s a really good place for a manager’s office...” he trailed off for a while, gone somewhere in his own world. Yunho turned and waited patiently for him to continue, curious to know more.

“Uhm, yeah. So, you’ve seen the manager’s office. And for the time being that’s the highest authority we have; in essence he’s our boss so I expect you to treat him with the right respect. If you have any problems that you don’t think HQ can resolve then feel free to pop down to his office. Though I’ll warn you, he doesn’t appreciate being disturbed often.” He finished, with a slightly mischievous look in his eyes.

“Ok, now that we have that covered. That room with the blinds drawn, that’s the Big Boss’ office.” He pointed towards said room once again. “No-one goes there. It’s a rule. The only people allowed there are the cleaners every now and then, and Changmin. So, be warned! Don’t go near that place. In fact that entire floor is reserved for the highest authorities. Changmin’s office used to be there before he relocated.” Jaejoong seemed to have forgotten all about their earlier conflict as he went into the tales of the ‘Forbidden Floor’ and all the theories the workers had about it; apparently some even thought the floor was haunted. Like seriously?

“It’s weird. Big Boss was supposed to come to take charge at the start of this week, I haven’t heard anything since then. Changmin was blowing his head so bad! He was coming up with the stupidest things to get me out of sight. Pissh! Like I’m an eyesore…” He pouted, and Yunho swore his heart stopped beating for a second.

“So, if he’d come…what would have happened?” Yunho enquired curious.

“Well, considering he’s…how do I say this…THE BOSS, I think some stuff would have changed. In all honesty, I haven’t heard much positive stuff about the guy.” That perked Yunho’s interest, a little offended.

“WH…what do you mean?”

“Apparently he’s a no good arrogant brat…Don’t tell Changmin I said that.” He immediately ordered after his little unknown stab at Yunho’s pride, with a cute smile playing at the edges of his mouth that made Yunho overlook what he’d just heard about the ‘BOSS’.

“Ah. Rich kids huh?” What!? What did you expect him to say in a situation like this?

“You know, Yunho, now that I think about it Mr Big Boss sounds a lot like you…” he said with a hint of mischief in his voice.

“How so?” Yunho asked a little panicked, not picking up on the light-hearted intent of the comment.

Jaejoong just turned to him in resignation. “Never mind, Moobs” he sighed, walking off.

“YAH!”

***

The rest of the day went by pretty much the same way. Jaejoong quickly realised the ‘M’ was a sore spot for his apprentice and wasted no time in teasing him about it. He claimed it was revenge for him laughing at Siwon’s ‘No-’ comment, and took every opportunity to embarrass him. Even going as far as to introduce him as Moob to some of their colleagues before being elbowed in the gut or kicked in the shin by an angry Yunho – though it was more of a silly game the two were playing.

Yunho was glad to see that as the day progressed, y-Jaejoong was quickly replaced by an easy going cheeky man who could have easily been mistaken for someone a lot younger thanks to his endearing smiles and clumsy actions. He was also highly grateful for Jaejoong not holding him to the Toilet-Duty thing he’d threatened upon their meeting. Yunho decided that Jaejoong’s laugh – although very bizarre – was the most endearing thing he’d witnessed about the man. Not only was it full of joy but Yunho also found it extremely adorable that he’d cover his mouth with the palm of his hand every time he cracked up. Yunho had to literally put his fingers in his mouth to stop himself from pinching his cheeks and cooing at him; Jae’s mood may have been improved but Yunho could sense the cranky side lurking in the background somewhere, waiting to be goaded to the surface.

Lunch time in the staff room was interesting. Most of the people he’d been introduced to were happy to include him in their random topics of conversations, and the ones he hadn’t been introduced to were also pleasant to meet. They included him in their circles like he’d been there all along, Yunho assumed it had something to do with the fact that Jaejoong was loved by all. Having Jaejoong joke and laugh with him immediately drew friendly attitudes from everyone. Heechul made things extra entertaining by revealing his ultra-diva attitude. Yunho was in hysterics as he saw him get into a verbal battle with one of the foreign girls about the importance of colour coordination when putting together an outfit.

All in all it was a fun filled half hour. Though the atmosphere got very awkward when Changmin walked in. Most of the people that were happily engaging in conversations or just making noise for the heck of it immediately shut up and all stood up straight, bowing in respect with a loud chorus of “Manager-sshi”. The way Changmin just nodded nonchalantly proved to Yunho that he’d really reinforced his status, and most of the employees were legitimately scared of him. Most being the key word. Some just ignored his presence, others bowed and went about their ways. Heechul just stared at him like he was trying to figure out a difficult puzzle. And then off course, there was Jaejoong.

Unlike the morning where he’d bowed respectfully and followed every order, now he just stood there with a wicked smile on his face, raising his eyebrows at the disapproving look the manager was shooting his way. From the indifferent attitude of the crowd – who’d all gone back to their own little conversations shortly after being dismissed by the tall figure – Yunho guessed this must be a regular occurrence. Hmm, thought Yunho. From the little snippets of conversation he’d heard between the two he’d assumed they didn’t have a good relationship…but alas he just witnessed how very wrong he was.

Jaejoong offered a drink to the approaching man who extended his hand to accept it. Only he didn’t manage to clasp the bottle before Jaejoong withdrew his hand and chugged down the contents his lips afterwards, and putting on a show of sighing contently. Needless to say, Changmin looked seconds away from slapping the smug smile off his employee’s face. But off course, he couldn’t do that with his own boss present…whatever the others thought he was, Changmin knew his status and wasn’t going to forget it. So to avoid an outbreak of violence, he just reached behind his nemesis and grabbed another unopened bottle.

“So, Jaejoong, how have you been taking care of Yunho?” The way he eyed him showed he knew there was going to be something amiss, he was just hoping Yunho had received a good first impression of the way things were run.

“Uhm…well I think I’ve taken good care of him. Isn’t that right Yunho?” Jaejoong turned towards Yunho, with a clear warning in his eyes.

“Well…” Yunho didn’t want to let him off the hook that easy, seeing as Changmin was the only one who could tell him off and get away with it. And his little trick worked as Jaejoong’s eyes just grew in size, expecting a storm. Great, he thought. I’m so fired if he blabs.

“Well, what? Yunho? Has he done something he shouldn’t have?” Changmin asked hesitantly, sending a glare towards the red-head.

“Ha-Ha! Manager-sshi, you should trust Jaejoong more than this. He’s been a great tour guide and a friendly colleague. Thank you for putting me in his care!” Yunho bowed slightly for effect, again making Changmin uncomfortable.

In his discomfort, Changmin missed the surprised and guilty yet thankful look Jaejoong shot Yunho’s way, and the latter’s sly wink in return.

“I’m glad to hear that. Well done Jae. Keep up the good work. And can you just bring Yunho to my office at the end of the day…I have a couple of things to discuss with him.”

“Sure, Boss. Anything else?”

The boss in question didn’t even spare him a second glance as he swiftly turned around and walked off.

“What was all that about” wondered Yunho, as he leaned his head on Jaejoong’s shoulder expecting to be violently shrugged off. To his surprise, Jaejoong just slumped his posture and took another swig of whatever it was he was drinking diligently. Ignoring the weight on his shoulder…he was trying to convince himself he didn’t like the smell wafting off of said weight.

“Meh. It’s our thing. You’ll get used to it” was all he said before finishing off his drink. It seemed to Yunho like he was charging himself before they went on to finish the rest of the tour. Not that he cared, he was too busy sneakily sniffing his pillow and getting almost intoxicated by the most delicious human scent he’d ever come across.

Nope, he thought. This definitely is worth it, he smiled; ecstatic that he was almost practically hugging his kitten – yes, he changed his mind throughout the day, Jaejoong was definitely a kitten. He was just a kitty that got pissed off easily and could bite. But a kitty nonetheless.

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Why do the chapters seem to be getting longer?

Let me know what you guys think!