There is a rumor going around. Sunggyu isn't sure who started it, but he isn't happy either way. His credible sources (aka Woohyun and Hoya) say the employees have been saying that he's gotten soft. While he can admit that he's changed a bit over the last month or so, he definitely wouldn't say he's gotten soft. Sure, he doesn't yell as much and he actually acknowledges his subordinates' presence and he's even been known to crack a smile or two. But soft? That is a bit excessive.

As odd as it seems, Sunggyu actually liked his previous reputation. He liked that people were scared of him and were never sure how to act around him. But now they were getting too friendly and that just wouldn't do; he needed to remind them of who he is.

He makes the decision one random morning to go down to the offices to check up on everyone's progress. They had started a new project and it was important that everything was in order, even in the early stages. As the elevator doors open Sunggyu schools his face into his signature scowl, his eyes scanning the vicinity for anything out of place. A wave of dread seems to wash over the entire office upon his entrance, a sea of pale faces in its wake. Sunggyu feels a small glimmer of delight race down his spine; he is only now realizing how much he enjoys striking fear into the hearts of others.

He makes his rounds with scrutinizing eyes and caustic comments, sparing nothing and no one. He reaches the interns and he tries not to be too obvious as he searches for a particular face that he has secretly been dying to see. Although he is visibly disappointed by Sungjong's absence, he hides it well enough as he threatens to fire everyone. The lack of order in the office is absolutely appalling; he makes a mental note to give Woohyun a serious talking-to.

Certain that he has put that rumor to rest, Sunggyu heads back to the elevator. He has a satisfied smile on his face as he pushes the up button when he notices someone approaching from the corner of his eye; it's barely a glance, but he already knows exactly who it is. He's smiling for a completely different reason now, turning to the young intern who looks just as happy. "Hi."

"Hello sir." Sungjong still refuses to speak to him more comfortably at work, even though Sunggyu continuously assures him it is quite alright. "What are you doing down here?"

"Just keeping an eye on things. Where are you coming from?"

"I had to make some copies," Sungjong replies, showing off a small stack of papers.

The elevator arrives just then, saving Sunggyu from the awkwardness that is sure to ensue. They have been talking for a month or so, but somehow he still gets nervous and unsure. Which is ridiculous because he never gets nervous and, if anything, he has too much confidence— except apparently when it comes to Sungjong. Giving the younger male one last smile, he steps into the empty carriage. "You should get back to work."

Sungjong looks as shy as ever, his eyes fixed somewhere below the director's chin as he hugs his papers to his chest. He bites his lip and finally meets the older man's eye. "I like your tie."

"I like you."

It slips out before Sunggyu has a chance to stop himself and, unfortunately, the elevator chooses that moment to close, punctuating the shocked silence with a loud ding. Perhaps it's for the best— Sungjong didn't look all that thrilled. But then again it was all rather sudden, he was probably still processing. Either way, Sunggyu is not going back; he is absolutely mortified.

Pushing the floor button a bit too aggressively, he leans against the wall and tries very hard not to freak out. They've said a lot of words to each other, but never those words and he just blurts it out like an idiot. Sungjong probably thinks he's some creepy old man now (not that he's that much older). He isn't doing a very good job of not freaking out, but he tries to keep it together as he gets off the elevator and heads to his office. Thankfully, Hoya is nowhere to be found; his secretary is much too perceptive (more like nosy) for his liking.

Once he is in the safety of his office and in the comfort of his chair, he proceeds to over-think the whole situation. Slouching in his seat, Sunggyu glares down at the dark blue and white striped fabric around his neck. He wants to blame everything on his stupid tie, but, it’s really all his fault. It’s not that he didn’t mean it, he just wants to be sure first. Does Sungjong even like him? He wouldn't have spent so much time with him if he didn't, but maybe he doesn't like Sunggyu as much as Sunggyu likes him. Thinking back, that seems like a very good possibility. He was always the one to initiate things, with the younger male following along slowly.

What seems to be a few minutes later, Hoya enters telling him it's almost time for his meeting. Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Sunggyu stands up, smoothing out his jacket and straightening his tie. His hand stills for a second on the striped garment and he feels his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. This is the kind of stuff that makes people think he's gone soft.

Hoya is watching him with a curious expression, but if he has anything to say he, thankfully, decides to keep it to himself. Not finding it necessary to explain himself, Sunggyu steps out of his office and leads the way down to the conference room. He needs to focus on his job right now; he can (and most definitely will) worry about his pitiful love life later. But he can't quite forget about it and he ends up (sort of) bringing it up to Hoya as they're riding the elevator.

"Are you dating anyone?" Sunggyu figures he should ease into it to save himself from any unwanted suspicion.

That plan seems to backfire quickly, if the secretary's puzzled stare is anything to go by. "I don't think that's a question a boss should be asking his employee."

"Just answer the question," the director snaps, his eyes shrinking into slits as he glares pointedly at the younger man. He forgot how snarky the other gets by mid-morning; he would usually toss him a snack to keep him from becoming a total .

"I'm happily single." Unaffected by the older man's harsh glare, Hoya crosses his arms with a smirk. "Why— do you want to set me up?"

Sunggyu should've known better than to come to Hoya for advice; he is a decent assistant, but a lousy friend. Stalking out of the elevator when it opens, he tries to drop the subject. "Never mind. Just forget it."

"I know I don't get out much, but I think I do pretty well for myself," Hoya states, rushing to catch up to his boss.

"You know, you really put the '' in assistant."

"And you put the '' in dictator."

"That doesn't even make sense."

"I thought we were just insulting each other for fun."

Sunggyu really wishes he could smack the infuriatingly smug grin off of Hoya's face, but they are already in front of the conference room and the door is made of glass. He turns to enter the room, but spins back around suddenly as a thought occurs to him. "Wait, do people call me a dictator?"

"Of course not," his secretary replies much too cheerfully for it to be true. Even if Sunggyu had a response he has no time to say it as Hoya is already opening the door and ushering him inside.

Taking a seat toward the head of the long table, Sunggyu scans the room wondering how long the meeting will be. Almost immediately his eyes land on a certain intern sitting a few seats down on the other side of the table. He had no idea Sungjong would be here and now the next hour or so has just become that much more unbearable. It's not that he doesn't want to see the younger man, he just needs more time.

As if sensing his eyes on him, Sungjong looks over and meets his gaze, the corners of his lips curving slightly. Sunggyu manages a weak smile in return before he has to look away, the room suddenly feeling a few degrees warmer than a minute ago; he isn't sure if it is some sort of reply to his earlier confession or if the young intern is just teasing him. And it is that uncertainty (as well as the fact that he just likes seeing the kid's face) that prompts him to look over again, his heart beating a bit too loudly for his liking. Sungjong is still smiling at him, although it's more of a smirk— a smirk filled with mischief. Sunggyu doesn't know what to expect from that expression, which only makes it that much more surprising when the young intern looks him right in the eye and mouths something that looks suspiciously like "nice tie".

Trying not to let his jaw drop too far, Sunggyu glances around to see if anyone else saw what just happened, but everyone seems focused on more important things. He should be relieved, but he kind of wants some sort of confirmation of what he saw; it looks like Sungjong isn't quite as innocent as he thought. When he looks back across the table the young intern is no longer looking at him, instead he appears to be in deep discussion with another intern. Sunggyu tells himself he isn't jealous of the pair's close proximity or their conspiratorial whispers; it's not like they're together or anything and, more importantly, he doesn't get jealous. So what if this other kid is really handsome (like, ridiculously handsome)? Sunggyu has a nice face too, there's no reason to feel inferior. But that does nothing to stop the uncomfortable feeling that settles deep in his stomach at the way the other intern looks at Sungjong with utter adoration— like he is the only other person in the room.

It would be an understatement to say Sunggyu is relieved when the meeting finally starts and the two interns stop invading each other's personal space. This is the part where he should follow their lead and focus on the topic at hand, but he decides his time would be better spent staring at Sungjong, willing the young intern to look at him. There are so many things he wants to ask him and even though he can't really say much with so many people around, Sunggyu likes to think he can probably find most of the answers in the other's eyes. His heart nearly leaps out of his chest when Sungjong finally meets his gaze; if he didn't know any better he would think the kid had heard his thoughts. Oddly enough, there aren't any answers in his eyes, only questions— well, just one question. It is almost as if he can hear Sungjong's voice in his head asking "what the hell are you doing?" And he soon realizes there is more than one pair of eyes on him; it turns out he has the entire room's attention, everyone waiting for him to say something. So preoccupied with his possibly unnecessary (but totally justified) task, it had briefly slipped his mind that he was expected to speak.

Clearing his throat, Sunggyu swipes a finger across his fringe before standing to address the group; as embarrassed as he is, he is still a professional. Momentarily forgetting about everything (and everyone) that is distracting him, Sunggyu dives into a slightly unprepared speech, making sure not to look anywhere near Sungjong. Right now he needs to be thinking as a director, not as a... boyfriend? Potential love interest? Eventually, he runs out of things to say and is more than happy to no longer be the center of attention. 

Now that it is someone else's turn to talk Sunggyu sees no harm in taking a small peek in Sungjong's direction; he thinks of it as a reward for not embarrassing himself further. The young intern returns his gaze with a teasing smirk that could mean so many things— nothing good comes to mind, though. He gets the chance to prove his suspicions when the meeting thankfully comes to an end, everyone slowly gathering their things to leave the room. Trying not to look too rushed, Sunggyu leaves Hoya to collect his papers and positions himself outside the door, waiting for the small group to filter out.

He wants to feel irked when Sungjong comes out with that unnecessarily handsome intern attached to his side, but the smile that lights up the younger boy's face when he sees him dries up any ill feelings he may have had. Reigning in his excitement, he puts on a passive expression as Sungjong sends his friend on his way before coming nearer.

"We seem to be running into each other a lot today." Sunggyu figures he should work his way up to what he really wants to say; if he isn't careful he might run the risk of saying something stupid— again.

"If I didn't know any better I'd think you were following me."

"Does that mean you don't like seeing me around all the time?"

"Of course not; I don't mind at all."

"Good." Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Sunggyu hopes he looks calmer than he feels. His insides have started a frenzied dance that shows no sign of stopping. "I don't either."

With his arms pulled behind his back, Sungjong leans toward the director, that troublesome smirk back on his face. "Because you like me?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," the director stammers, his nonchalant act faltering under the young intern's amused stare. While he knew it would come up sooner or later he had been pushing for later.

"That's funny; I swear I heard you say you did earlier."

"I didn't mean it. I mean, I did— just not then."

"Well, I really do like your tie." Sungjong shouldn't be allowed to frown, Sunggyu thinks, because it's making him feel crappier and crappier with every passing minute. But the worst part is how ridiculously cute he looks— it's just not fair. "It's cute— just like you."

Sunggyu doesn't know if it's the way the young intern whispers the last part or the cheeky smile tugging on his lips (or maybe it's all of it), but his brain is having some trouble formulating a response. However, he should be grateful because if he tried to speak now it would probably be utter gibberish, or worse, he might confess again. With his mouth hanging open and his eyes just as wide, the older man resigns himself to stunned silence as Sungjong flashes a totally innocent smile before sauntering off down the hall.