‘I’m late, I’m late, I’m late—‘



Donghae groaned at the strain of running up six flights of stairs two steps at a time, but his panic outweighed the crippling burn in his legs. 



It was one of those mornings when fate decided that he, Lee Donghae, was that day’s  of all jokes. He woke up feeling like he had been run over by a freight train, his head pulsing with a slow hangover from what he then realized was a sly, fruity cocktail, a Strawberry Mojako or whatever the name of it was. (That Shindong, he was a dead man walking—) With a grumpy grumble, he was about to pull the covers over himself when the red glare of his alarm clock bluntly notified him it was the very late hour of five to eight. That shocked the alcohol out of his system and made him jump out of bed.  



The rest of his morning played out like a skit in SNL—hot shower not working, missing his bus by seconds, smacking his forehead on the clear glass panel doors—a textbook case of unlucky. The lone, bright spot of his morning was chatting up the bartender to jump the line in the coffee shop near the office, where he picked up his boss’ daily dose of hot Americano. Donghae was frankly amazed he had made it to his office building in one piece.



Donghae's knees were shaking by the time he reached the seventh landing. He pushed open the fire exit doors, his eyes watering slightly at the sleek, fluorescent glow of the glossy-tiled office of SM Publishers, Inc. He tapped his ID on the scanner by the door, and sighed in relief as it registered a nail-biting finish at 8:59AM.



‘Hiiiiiii-ya,’ he groaned tiredly at Ryeowook, SM's receptionist. 



‘Morning, Donghae-hyung,’ Ryeowook smiled. ‘Last night must have been some party, huh? You’re unusually late!’



‘Yeah, big thanks to Shindong-hyung,’ Donghae replied darkly. Ryeowook’s sweet laughter trailed behind him as he rounded the corner to his cubicle at the far end of the office. He almost wept with joy at the sight of his desk, then with pain at the bright sheen of Sungmin’s pink-furnished cubicle beside his. 



He was just a few more steps away from his desk when Shindong came barreling in, causing Donghae to spill one of the cups he was holding.



If Donghae swore, he would've exploded into a million expletives. This day seriously couldn't get any better, he thought grimly. He checked which drink was spilled, and groaned. No surprise there; it wasn't his that did, but his boss' Americano.



"Just the man, I was looking for! How was your night, Donghae-ah?" Shindong smirked.



"Best night and worst morning ever." Donghae muttered. He picked at his sticky, ruined shirt with a grimace. “Make that super worst morning ever. Thanks, hyung.”



"Hahaha, but totally worth it, right? You looked like you were having a blast when you were dancing on stage last night. Wicked moves, man! Ey, what happened to you?" Shindong pointed innocently at the huge stain on his polo.



Donghae sighed. "You did, hyung," he said wearily. He whisked off to his cubicle without saying goodbye, pointedly ignoring Shindong as he stupidly asked, “Huh? What’s eating him?”



It was a good thing he always had a set of extra clothes for the all-nighters they had to render on d-days. He grabbed a fresh polo from his drawer and hurried into the nearby restroom. He winced as he caught sight of his forehead, the spot where he smacked it now a stark red patch on his pale skin. He pulled on the fresh polo, patted down a stray tuft of hair, put on a bright, toothy smile, and returned to his cubicle pretending as if he wasn't having a bad day. 



He spotted Sungmin walking back to his desk, a sheaf of papers in hand. "There you are, Donghae-ah!' Sungmin chirped. 'Congratulations. You made it!" 



"I made it," Donghae huffed with disbelief.



"You made it," said a low voice by Donghae’s shoulder. "But just about."



Donghae’s gut plummeted at the confirmatory look of terror on Sungmin’s face. Of course. The one man he hoped not to see in his panicked, harried and almost-late state, just had to be right behind him.



Donghae turned around, faking calm the best he could. "Good morning, Siwon-sshi," he bowed. "Sorry, I swear I’m early on most days—"



Choi Siwon waved a hand. "I know. You’re always one of the first ones in." His eyes flickered up. "Your forehead’s red."



"Oh, um…" Donghae rubbed at his forehead consciously. "I—I sort of bumped into the glass door downstairs."



"I see," said Siwon, clucking his tongue. His face was unreadable as he scrutinized Donghae intently from head to toe. Donghae swallowed thickly, and prayed the warm burn in his neck and ears didn’t bleed onto his face. 



Without warning, Siwon suddenly reached out for Donghae’s hair, smoothing a warm palm against his scalp. Siwon's hands moved to his neck, fiddling with and straightening out his collar that had apparently rolled up. Donghae couldn’t stop his eyes, however, from roving towards Siwon’s lips, which the man was worrying in concentration.



Finally, he let Donghae go, his face lit up with a bright, dimpled smile. "There," Siwon nodded, his obsessive-compulsiveness satisfied. The smile faltered when he looked up at Donghae’s face, which surely looked either stiff, horrified or —perhaps a weird mix of the three. 



As if coming to his senses, Siwon ducked his head and coughed. "Your hair was sticking out," he explained.



"Oh," said Donghae, quite unintelligently.



"And your collar was all wri… ah, nevermind." He gently tapped Donghae's bruised forehead. "Take care of yourself better, OK? Drop by the office when you’re settled."



And just like that, Mr. y, Free and Single glided out of their cubicle, leaving a stunned Donghae gaping like a goldfish.



"--hae-sshi! Donghae-shiii!" Sungmin called out. 'Man, snap out of it!'



"Oh. Right." Donghae quickly grabbed his notebook, then remembered he had to give Siwon his daily morning coffee. He glared at Siwon’s now empty cup, and with a defeated sigh, picked up his own to give to his boss.



The Executive Director’s office was a glass-paneled room overlooking the Gangnam district. It was stylishly minimalist, the soft light from the tinted windows and the expanse of glass and pearl-coloured flooring adding to the illusion of width and space. Several ebony cabinets lined the wall, most of which contained shelves of books, save for a two-door cabinet where Siwon kept several suits and pairs of polished shoes. Siwon's secretary had these suits dry-cleaned and pressed every Monday for his evening appointments and press events. (Sungmin joked there was probably a switch in that cabinet that opened a secret panel containing a little minibar of bourbons and martinis. It wouldn’t surprise him, to be honest.) A herd of black horse statuettes adorned the topmost shelf, galloping towards the wide, curved ebony desk in the middle. The desk, too, was as meticulously bare as the rest of the room, containing just a standard office phone, a black Mac Air, and a picture frame containing a regal photo of the famous Choi family in their Korea Business Herald best.



And behind the desk was Executive Director Choi Siwon himself, invisible behind a newspaper. He was unnervingly quiet save for the turn of a page, like a lion lounging in its den.



With a deep breath, Donghae gently rapped on the door. "Boss, I brought your coffee," he said.



"Oh, good timing," Siwon mumbled, nose buried in the business pages.



Donghae approached the desk carefully, the unscathed Americano cupped in his hands like some precious treasure. He set the coffee down by Siwon's right as quietly as possible.



"So, Donghae-sshi," began Siwon, as he folded the papers neatly and set them aside. He pulled out his smartphone and flicked through his calendar. "I need you to come with me next Friday to the Seoul Fashion Week press conference."



Donghae froze. "Next Friday’s conference, boss?"



"The 28th, yes." Siwon scratched his cheek. "I need a senior writer on the ground, but Yunho-sshi will be out-of-town for another event. I read your feature on Style Week last year, and you seem to be quite proficient on the subject..."



But Donghae had tuned Siwon out. His head was racing with panic and nerves. 



It was halbae's 78th birthday next Friday. 



Donghae had called in early that week to beg off the party and save up on vacation leaves, but Henry had sighed at him over the phone, and said, "Grandpa will not be happy." The image of his grandfather’s eyes crinkled with sadness kept him up that night. 



"I suppose I don't need to stress upon you that this is a major event. The kind that can make or break a reporter's career.' Siwon sat back and steepled his fingers together. 'The industry expects top-notch coverage from a premier magazine such as as ours. I can expect that from you, of course, Donghae-sshi? Yunho always speaks highly of you, after all."



"O-of course, boss." Donghae breathed deeply. "But, um, you see... my, uh..."

 

Siwon frowned, and what little courage Donghae had shrunk further. "Is something the matter?"

 

"Well, uh, my grandfather. He's turning 78 next Friday, and I was hoping to go home to Mokpo. My hometown. Yunho's too, actually." Stop blabbering like an idiot! he thought desperately.



"Ah. I see." Siwon's tight-lipped pout told Donghae that his boss doesn't see the point at all. "I'll leave your leave approval to Yunho's discretion. But this is a very rare opportunity, Donghae-sshi." Siwon shrugged. "I would hate for you to miss it."



Choi Siwon's leadership of SM Publishers' Devil magazine had been described as 'charming' (Sungmin), 'no-nonsense' (Ryeowook) and 'flat-out ruthless' (Shindong). Donghae wholeheartedly agreed with the first two. He was just now beginning to see the streaks of flat-out ruthless, and then, as Siwon tilted his head in a mocking 'Are you seriously having second thoughts about a golden, once-in-a-career shot at a promotion?', a dash of manipulative.



"I suppose I can pay him a visit the weekend after," Donghae said weakly.



Siwon grinned. "Great! I'm sure your grandfather will understand. I'll have the limo pick us up from the office at around 10AM."

 

"Okay, boss," Donghae bowed. I'm a useless, spineless failure of a grandchild, halbae, he thought miserably. 

 

"Oh, and one more thing, Donghae-sshi," said Siwon. Donghae steeled himself for more work. ‘Do you also drink Americano?'

 

The odd question caught Donghae off-guard. He gave his boss a curious glance before saying a soft, "Yes...?"



"Hm. Must be some barista you've got there," Siwon smirked, and turned the cup. Donghae's face turned beet red at the sight of the barista's loopy handwriting.

 

Donghae-sshi,

Hope you enjoy your coffee! Have a cup with me sometime? :) XXX-XXX-XXX

- Yesung

 

"I, uh…" Donghae trailed off as Siwon raised both eyebrows expectantly. "Earlier, I—"



The pair jumped at the sound of Line's iconic ringtone. Siwon glanced at the caller display on the screen and frowned. "Unusual for him to call this time of day," he muttered. He pointed the phone at Donghae. "Get me a new cup, please. And, though your private life is none of my business, I strongly suggest you don’t call that coffee guy," he said sternly.



Donghae hurriedly retrieved the cup, muttering 'sorry, sorry, sorry' with brisk, panicked bows. Siwon, however, only waved him off, his attention shifting completely to his call. ‘Hey. Yeah, I’m at the office. What? Right now?’



Donghae closed the door behind him as the phone call intensified ('The old man gets a status report every week!'). He sagged back against the wall, his mind racing with the lame excuses he had to make for missing out on his grandfather's party. He was sure none of them were good enough, especially for the likes of his bull-detector older brother Heechul. 



He was ticking off the more obvious excuses (can't get a ticket, lost my wallet) when the door swung open. Siwon peeked out of his office, and clucked his tongue at the empty secretary's desk. "Hyoyeon-sshi still not in yet?" He groused. He startled when he spotted Donghae folded against the wall, looking exactly like a cornered cat shrunk to its haunches. "Oh, Donghae-sshi! I didn't notice you were still outside."



"I was just about to..." and he made a vague, waving gesture with his hand. He really, truly wasn't sure what to do anymore.



But Siwon, like always, was full of purpose. "Guess you'll do," he murmured, and placed a hand on Donghae's shoulder. "I need you to do something for me. The President has called me up for a very important meeting." Donghae noted a slight twitch of the eyebrow. "But I want you to come up after thirty minutes, and remind me that our team has an important meeting with an agency at eleven."



Donghae's mind raced through his day's calendar. "We have a meeting?" he asked.



"No, no!" Siwon was becoming increasingly agitated, but something pitiful on Donghae's face made him rein it in. "I need you to pretend. Can you do that?"



"...Alright," Donghae said nervously. "As long as it doesn't get me fired, I guess."



Siwon clapped his shoulder. "Don't worry, they'll need my endorsement for that."



Donghae's gut churned. He felt then, with inexplicable certainty, that the worst of the day was yet to come. 

 

Donghae paced nervously as he dialed one of his brothers.



"Hey hyung!" Henry, the youngest in the family, picked up.



"Hey, Henry-ah." Donghae's heart lightened at the sound of his brother's voice. "I have bad news. I don't think I'll make it to halbae's birthday this weekend."



"Eh? But hyung, you haven't been home in three months! And you never miss halbae's birthday!"



"I know." Donghae sighed, "But my boss is making me come with him to some event, and I might actually get this promotion if I do so. I promise I'll make it up to you guys. Maybe I can take the next weekend off."



Donghae looked at his watch, and jumped when he realized the thirty minute mark has long been over. After the morning's coffee mix-up, Siwon might strangle him for forgetting to save him from his father's long pep talks "that take an inefficient forever."



"Hey Henry-ah, I need to go now. Please tell omma I'll call her soon."



"Okay, hyung. I'll try to tell them. But don't be surprised if Heechul-hyung or Teukkie-hyung calls you. Take care now." Henry replied.



"You too. Bye." Donghae answered before finally dropping the call.

Siwon entered the lavish office of his father and sat himself on one of the comfortable sofas. He knew his father will likely drag the conversation, whatever this surprise meeting is about. Best to make it relaxing as possible. 

As far as Siwon was concerned, he got all the major events until October listed and partially prepared for, so he shouldn't have missed anything work related. If it's about 'the big one', the press conference for the upcoming fashion week, he already informed Donghae they will be attending. 



"Lee Donghae", Siwon mumbled to himself. Lee Donghae was a bit of a floaty character--someone who never pays full attention, with a part of his mind always drifting. But the man's writing was something else--grounded. On point. Real. Granted, there were times when Donghae ran a sentence or a paragraph too long, or used one too many witticisms, but Siwon found little to complain about one of SM's most promising talents. 



He was one of the rare few who can make drunken after-party conversations with models and celebrities remotely interesting. Siwon can't pay a higher compliment than that.



The door opened, and Siwon stood to respectful attention as the President of SM Publishers walked in. As his father made his way to the lone sofa at the corner, Zhoumi, his father's secretary, came serving them hot cups of tea and some light snacks. Siwon thanked him as he left the room to give them some privacy.



"How are you doing, son?" Choi Kiho started as he sat himself comfortably in his chair.



Siwon raised one of his brows before answering, "Let's just get this over with, abeoji. I know you didn't call me here just to ask how I am. So why am I here?"



Kiho chuckled at his son before saying, "Well, as you may know, I am growing older, and I want to pass down the company to you."



Siwon gave a startled gasp. Although he had a slight idea that he will be handling SM Publishers, Inc., he didn't want to be presumptuous and assume he will be the boss one day.



"I have seen you handle your department, and I must say you are doing a splendid job with your team. However, I also want you to start your own family before I turn the company to you."



"Abeoji, I've told you a dozen times, I don't want to get married yet." Siwon sighed, as he tried to reason with his father.



"Well, obviously you can't get married when you're not in a relationship." Kiho replied.



A tense silence enveloped the room as father and son stared at each other. Siwon's mind was working on overdrive, thinking of ways to avert his non-existent relationship. He didn't think his father needed to know his nightly escapades, nor was he willing to start a so-called permanent relationship with anyone. Well, his father didn't need to know it wasn't permanent-- at least he had relationships of some sort.



"Abeoji, I'm actually seeing someone right now." Siwon said nervously. He can't believe he's actually lying about it.



His father raised a brow, not quite believing his son, but before Kiho could ask any more questions, someone rapped on the door. Zhoumi entered. "Kyuhyun-sshi is waiting outside and is asking to join. Should I let him enter?"  Zhoumi asked Kiho.



"Let him in," Kiho replied to Zhoumi before facing Siwon and saying, "that kid seriously has some sixth sense when it comes to you."



Well, I hope not, or else I'm doomed. Siwon groaned as his brat of a cousin entered the room.



"Sometimes I wonder if I am really Minho's older brother and not Kyu's," Siwon said.



Cho Kyuhyun grinned before plopping himself beside Siwon.  "So, what did I miss?"



"Your cousin being stubborn about marriage, as usual," Kiho said sternly. "Though he now claims there have been... developments."



"Developments?" Kyuhyun turned to Siwon. "You finally made an I-UM account?"



"Of course not! I don't need a dating app!"



"It might help you narrow down your search, hyung. It's more efficient than you going on so many dates." 



Siwon's ears reddened at the revelation. Kiho raised his eyebrows, looked his son in the eye and said, "Siwon says he has found someone."



"Oh really." Kyuhyun said, flatly. When father and son did not answer, his sarcasm turned to genuine curiosity. "Really?"



"Yes," Siwon gritted.



"It's not exactly marriage yet, but at least he's finally in a stable relationship," Kiho replied, as Kyuhyun stared at Siwon.



"Well? What's she like?" Kyuhyun asked, gauging Siwon's reaction.



Siwon was starting to squirm in his seat, but before he could come up with an excuse, they were once again interrupted by sharp knocks.



"Sorry to interrupt again, but Donghae-sshi said you have an important meeting, Siwon-sshi." Zhoumi said.



God bless Donghae and his perfect timing. Siwon wanted to kiss him.



But before Siwon could excuse himself, Kyuhyun smirked at him and told Zhoumi, "Tell Donghae-sshi to join us, this won't take long. Don't think you'll be escaping us, dearest cousin."   



Cho Kyuhyun, you brat! Wait til you come visit Sungmin in my department. Siwon shouted in his head.



Donghae entered the office as slowly as possible. Even Siwon could tell he was nervous as hell, what with the way he shuffled near the door. Siwon felt a pang of guilt upon seeing the misery he was putting Donghae through.



"Mr. President. Boss." Donghae greeted meekly. His face lightened up upon seeing Kyuhyun. "Kyuhyun. Um, I think I'll... stay here." He took a few steps back to the wall, his body curved towards the alcove hidden behind Kiho's massive fortune plant.



"Don't worry, Hae-hyung. You're not in trouble. This won't take too long. Come sit beside me," Kyuhyun gave a small smile as he patted the empty space beside him.



Siwon raised one of his brows. When did Kyu and Donghae become so close that he even gets to call him hyung?



Donghae made his way to Kyuhyun's side, but before he could even reach him, he felt himself being pulled towards the empty space beside Siwon. "You can sit here," Siwon said roughly. Donghae fought away the blush; he didn't think the president would appreciate it.



Well well, that's unexpected. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Siwon-hyung was jealous. Kyuhyun was mildly surprised at Siwon's reaction, but pushed the thoughts away. He needed answers. And he knew Donghae was with Siwon half the time...



Change of tactics.



"So are you going to answer, Siwon-hyung? Or should I ask Hae-hyung?"



"M-me?" Donghae squeaked.



"Don't drag my subordinates into this," Siwon said, the threat coiling in his throat.



"Then man up, boss." Kyuhyun sat forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "Who is it?"



Kiho silently sipped his tea. He knew Kyuhyun has a better chance of interrogating his son than he did. 



Damnit! Siwon looked at his father, then at Kyuhyun, before finally looking at the very nervous Donghae. The poor guy had been frowning the moment he entered the office. His forehead was still a little pink, just a shade lighter than his cheeks...



And then Siwon realized something.



With a drawn out sigh, Siwon grabbed Donghae's hand before saying, "Actually, I'm with Donghae."



Kyuhyun's elbow slipped from his knee.



Kiho almost spat out the tea he was drinking. He stared dumbly between his son and this newcomer.



Well, that shut them up for a change. Siwon cackled to himself, waiting for any reaction.



Siwon held on to Donghae's hand as he felt the other protesting, trying to pull his hand free. Maybe run away. He faced him and softly whispered, "It's okay."



Donghae froze, reading Siwon's expression: Stay still or else.



Kyuhyun cleared his throat. "How long have you been together?"



"We were on and off, but we've been going steady for 3 months," said Siwon casually. "I'm actually meeting his family this weekend. It's halbae's birthday, right, Hae?"



Donghae simply nodded. His brain was struggling to catch up with the bizarre situation. (Siwon, he also realized, was a fantastic liar.)



Kyuhyun slumped into his seat. He knew Siwon wouldn't be willing to meet anyone's family unless he was serious about it. But he was still skeptical about the whole thing.



After a few seconds of tense silence, Siwon stood up with a smug grin. "Well if that's all, we'll be taking our leave," he said, pulling Donghae to his feet.



He didn't bother to let go of Donghae's hand as they rushed past the door--to keep the appearance that they were indeed boyfriends, Siwon reasoned to himself--but Donghae didn't seem to mind. Zhou Mi gave them and their linked hands an odd look as they passed his desk.



Kyuhyun was rubbing his neck as he stepped out of the office. "Kyuhyun-sshi, did something happen between Siwon-sshi and Donghae-sshi?" Zhou Mi whispered.



Kyuhyun only sighed, and watched the pair with a fair amount of suspicion. "To be honest, I'm not sure."

Donghae followed Siwon out of the president's office in a daze. He heard the whispers of his fellow editors and felt their stares as they passed the corridors, heading straight to Siwon's office. He only came to his senses after hearing the door close with a resounding click, indicating he was alone with his boss in his office. Donghae still had some sense to pull his hand out of Siwon's grasp; this time, Siwon let him. 



"What was that?" Donghae breathed heavily. "Seriously. What on earth was that?"



Siwon leant back against his desk, his arms folded. "I'll be honest with you, Donghae-sshi. That was me panicking. But I've got it under control, so you don't need to worry." He flashed a bright, reassuring grin, but Donghae was not fooled.



"Why did you tell them that we're--" and Donghae's flush deepened at the word--"boyfriends?"



"Because that's what my father and Kyuhyun needed to hear." Siwon smiled grimly. "It's a... complicated family matter. And I'm sorry I got you involved. I truly am."



Donghae saw red. "Sorry?" he repeated loudly. "My job, my reputation, is on the line here! 'Sorry, but it's OK' won't do! I need answers!"



The room was deathly still after Donghae's outburst. It took Donghae a few seconds to realize that he had just yelled at his boss--probably now ex-boss, after his shouting antics--but Siwon did not seem angry. In fact, he was sporting an expression that Donghae, in all his years of working with him, had never seen before.



Siwon looked utterly lost.



"Alright," he said, then looked at Donghae sharply. "If any part of this conversation gets out, then it is your job and reputation on the line."



Donghae shrugged. What was there left to lose, anyway? "Fair enough."



Siwon reached for his framed family photo, and fiddled with it quietly for a few minutes. "I love this company, Donghae-sshi. Even before my graduation I knew what I wanted to build here." He grinned wryly at Donghae. "We used to be a  magazine, if you remember."



Donghae remembered Devil as a dirt rag of unfounded celebrity gossip and distasteful paparazzi pictures. He never would have thought of working for the magazine back then.



"A good magazine needs good information, good connections and good people," continued Siwon. "I leaned the industry's business model inside out. I maximized whatever connections I had. We revamped the organization from top-down and hired Yunho and Sungmin, who performed miracles. And the good people kept on coming."



"It took a lot of unglamorous work to get Devil here, but we made it to the top." Siwon's jaw clenched. "And I want to keep it there."



Despite his anger, Donghae felt a surge of newfound admiration for his boss. Siwon was a notorious workaholic, but Donghae thought it was simply who he was. But the man, after all, had a passion for his work.



Siwon pushed himself off the desk. He looked out the window. "My father wants me to inherit SM Publishers, Donghae-sshi."



Donghae gasped. Everyone in the company had seen it coming, but not this soon. "That's... a good thing, right?"



Siwon raised an eyebrow at him. "It is a good thing for me. You're free to have a different opinion, of course."



Donghae waved his hands placatingly. "No, I-I mean, we knew this was going to happen, and I'm sure everyone will be happy, but I wasn't sure if you wanted--"



Siwon burst into laughter, and Donghae realized he was being played. He scowled.



"Sorry, you're always fun to tease," grinned Siwon. Then he added, more somberly, "I was ready to take over the company, whenever my father wanted me to. Until he set a condition."



He looked at Donghae straight in the eye, and said, "He wants me to marry someone first. And that's where you come in."



Donghae froze. "M-Marry?"



"That's the plan," Siwon nodded. "But I need to get to know you better, so your halbae's birthday buys us some time."



"Marry?!"



"If I remember correctly, you live in South Jeolla." Siwon said, not paying the least attention to the nearly-hysterical Donghae. He pulled out his smartphone and keyed in Donghae's hometown. "Mokpo, right?"



Of course you remember everything. Donghae thought to himself as he glared at his boss.



"Hmm, should we take a night trip on Friday or do you prefer to wake up early on Saturday?" Siwon asked Donghae.



"Wait a minute. Why are we heading to Mokpo on Friday?!" Donghae barked, although mildly as Siwon was still his boss.



"Isn't it your halbae's birthday?" Siwon answered.



"Yes. But why are we heading there? I thought we were heading to a conference?" Donghae shot back.



"Change of plans. I'll ask Kyuhyun to cover for us. I'm sure he can manage. Don't you want to see your halbae?"



"Of course, but not with my boss! Which goes back to the question of why am I going with you?"



"Donghae-sshi, if you want our relationship to work, I need to somehow meet your family." Siwon replied gently.



"When did I agree to this?!" Donghae grumbled but before he could further argue, his phone started ringing.



Donghae stared at his phone as if it could blow up any second. Talk about the worst timing ever, as his older brother's name continued to flash on the screen. He knew, though, that he'll be in bigger trouble if he ignored it.



"Go ahead and answer it." Siwon said, curious as to why Donghae looked as scared as he was a few minutes ago.



"I'll come back after this," Donghae replied, answering the call halfway towards the door. "Hey hyung."



"LEE DONGHAE! WHY DID HENRY TELL ME YOU WEREN'T COMING FOR HALBAE'S BIRTHDAY?!"



Donghae winced and pulled the phone away from his ear, but even at some distance, Donghae could still perfectly hear Heechul's furious screaming.



"HALBAE'S BIRTHDAY! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH HE MISSES YOU?"



"THREE MONTHS! YOU HAVEN'T BEEN HOME FOR THREE MONTHS!"



Donghae sighed as his brother continued to scold him for missing the birthday party, but before he could attempt to explain himself again, someone snatched his mobile.



"Hi hyung, this is Donghae's boyfriend. We were having a little disagreement a while ago, but everything's fixed now. We'll definitely make it to halbae's birthday this weekend."



Donghae, who was a head shorter than Siwon, tried to snatch back his mobile to no avail. He could see Siwon nodding and humming to himself as his hyung seemed to have finally calmed down, though he couldn't hear what they were talking about.



"Please don't be angry at Donghae anymore. Sorry for the misunderstanding, but promise we'll be there this weekend!" Siwon said as he ended the phone call.

"That's that then." Siwon said, handing back Donghae's phone with a cheeky smile. "See you Friday, Donghae-sshi," he said, before closing his office doors.



DARN IT! Donghae screamed to himself as he resigned to his fate. He was bringing Choi Siwon, Executive Director and CEO-to-be of SM Publishers, to Mokpo, and introduce him to his family. As his boyfriend.



God forbid the day he finally introduces his boss as his fiancee.