Hey, it's been a while. I actually started this months and months ago, but then I got stuck and wrote some other things instead. The next chapter may or may not be the last one; I still have to figure out exactly what's happening. Anyway, enjoy ^_^

Sunggyu isn't one to over-think things. Well, he never used to be, anyway. Normally, he wouldn't bat an eye at something as simple as hiring new employees; there used to be a time when he could be completely objective and made decisions based solely on capability. But it isn't so easy anymore— there are things like emotions to consider now. It is because of those emotions (more specifically, his immense affection for a certain intern) that he spends a majority of the week driving himself half-crazy trying to make up his mind.

The director knows he should hire Sungjong. The kid is smart and talented and more hardworking than most of the people that have been in the company for years. He would be a fool to let him go— of course, he obviously doesn't want to do that. But he also doesn't want anyone to think he hired the younger boy because the two of them are dating. Not that they would know. That doesn't stop him from worrying, however, which makes him rather irritable. His signature scowl returns along with his short temper leading most of the employees to believe the recent rumors weren't true after all; a select few seem convinced he got dumped. Sunggyu can't be bothered with any of that, though, he has a serious dilemma that doesn't look like it wants to be resolved.

In the end, the matter is settled quite simply once Hoya advises him to get over himself and stop being so dramatic. The director doesn't necessarily agree with his assistant's word choices, but he does agree that he should stop thinking about himself. Before he can change his mind or over think it even more than he already has, Sunggyu decides to hire Sungjong; it's what he wanted all along, he was just being an idiot.

With that issue finally out of the way he feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders (even though he was the one who put it there in the first place). He's back to his old self— well, new-old self— much to everyone's confusion, not that he really notices. The director is in such a good mood he offers to take Woohyun to lunch, fully knowing he will have to pay. And he doesn't even get upset when the younger man invites his boyfriend as well. He does get a bit annoyed, however, when Hoya decides to tag along, but he lets it slide this time.

The four men are now gathered around a table at a restaurant near the office, their meals having just arrived. For a few minutes only the sounds of clinking silverware and chewing can be heard as they eagerly dig in. It might be the food, but Sunggyu actually feels like he's enjoying himself— or maybe it's because Woohyun isn't bugging him like he usually does.

"You're welcome, by the way," Woohyun declares, just as he has that thought.

Looking up from his bowl, the older man finds his best friend gazing steadily at him, his lips quirked in a self-satisfied smirk. He has no idea what the younger man is up to, but he already knows he won't like it. "For what?"

"For helping you and Sungjong get together." Woohyun is more than happy to enlighten him, his grin growing with every word. "This is your way of thanking me, right?"

"And what makes you think you had anything to do with us getting together?"

"You wouldn't have asked him out if I hadn't made you."

That may be true, but there's no way Sunggyu will admit it. Biting his lip, he insists, "I was already planning on asking him out."

"Yeah, right." Hoya chooses that moment to join the conversation, though he is still mostly focused on his food.

"I was." Even though he knows it's pointless, the director can't help being defensive.

"Look, hyung," Woohyun begins, his expression turning somber. He even puts his chopsticks down, which means he must be serious. "Just thank me already so we can move on."

Sunggyu glares at his friend, his words failing him for a moment; he shouldn't have expected the younger man to say anything important. Woohyun doesn't look like he's ready to back down, however, as he holds the older man's gaze. Sighing heavily, Sunggyu finally gives in— well, sort of. "Fine. Thank you, Woohyun, for telling me to do something I was already going to do. Are you happy now?"

It's Woohyun's turn to glare now, his eyes shrinking to mere slits. He seems poised for a sarcastic rebuttal until Dongwoo rests a hand on his shoulder and he pulls back somewhat reluctantly. Smiling rather warmly, the mail boy says, "For what it's worth, I think you and Sungjong look really cute together."

Feeling his face heat up at the other man's words, Sunggyu ducks his head in a poor attempt to hide the shy smile creeping across his lips. He would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little flattered by the unexpected (but certainly not unwelcome) compliment. He really needs to make Dongwoo his best friend already; he is so much more supportive than his other so-called friends.

"Oh my god, are you blushing?" Hoya looks caught between wonder and disgust, his spoon frozen halfway to his gaping mouth.

They would all know he's lying if he denied it, but he can't admit it either— they would never let him forget it. The director decides to go with the third option of saying nothing, his eyes never leaving his bowl. There's no way he can incriminate himself if he doesn't open his mouth.

"You know, I've never seen you like this before," Woohyun observes, his eyes scanning the man in front of him. He smirks a moment later, as if he's figured something out, and asks, "You really like this kid, don't you?"

Sunggyu really doesn't want to answer that; it is already painfully obvious how he feels about the younger boy. Once again, he opts out of giving a reply, but instead of staying silent he nearly begs, "Can we please talk about something else?"

"Fine," Woohyun huffs, rolling his eyes. For a second it seems like he might actually let it go until that smirk returns, a sure sign he is up to no good. "Do you love him?"

Although he is a tad thrown by the sudden question, Sunggyu tries not to let it show as he clears his throat and meets his friend's gaze; he refuses to be intimidated by the younger man. "I don't think that's any of your business."

"That didn't sound like a 'no'."

"It wasn't a 'yes', either."

"But it still wasn't a 'no'."

Woohyun seems to think he's just made the greatest argument ever, his expression infuriatingly smug. Sunggyu wants nothing more than to wipe that look off his face and he knows the perfect way to do it. Turning to the mail boy, he whines, "Dongwoo, your boyfriend won't shut up."

Dongwoo looks up from his meal with a nervous laugh, his eyes traveling between the two men before settling on the younger man next to him. "You should listen to Director Kim— he's your boss."

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side." The smile falls from Woohyun's face in record time, utter betrayal clouding his features. The heartbroken look he's giving his boyfriend doesn't appear to be working, though; the older man just laughs and tells him to eat his food.

And just like that Sunggyu's good mood returns in full force. He had been wondering why he thought it was a smart idea to invite his loudmouth friend to lunch, but now he can happily focus on enjoying the rest of his meal. He really wishes he had met Dongwoo a long time ago; the younger man has a talent for getting Woohyun to shut up that the director kind of envies. He should ask him about it sometime.

~*~

Sungjong can't say very much has changed since he was hired as a full-time employee. Aside from the slight pay raise, it's all pretty much the same; he's still running errands for his seniors and he's still stuck with Sungyeol and Myungsoo. He can't complain, though, since he actually likes his job. The fact that he's dating his boss might be an important part of it too. Of course, Sungjong hasn't seen the older man in at least a week so he isn't all that sure about the status of their relationship anymore.

He is contemplating going up to the director's office instead of doing his work when one of his coworkers comes rushing in, his eyes wide with panic. Still trying to catch his breath, he pants, "H-he's coming."

With just those two words, chaos erupts throughout the office as everyone scrambles to make themselves look busy; there's no need to elaborate— they all know who he is. Even Sungyeol and Myungsoo stop pretending not to flirt with each other and start acting like they are actually getting work done. Unsurprisingly, Sungjong is the only one not freaking out. He has always been rather levelheaded, but now he remains calm for a completely different reason.

Not even a minute later, the director finally walks in and the entire room falls silent as he scans the frightened faces before him until his eyes land on one particular employee. If he wasn't already staring intently at the older man, Sungjong might've missed the way Sunggyu's signature scowl falters almost imperceptibly when their eyes meet. But he does notice and he finds himself smiling despite the fact that they are surrounded by a room full of people. Sunggyu's flustered reaction makes it all worth it, though, his gaze shifting nervously as he hastens his steps toward the team leader's office. The younger boy barely manages to hold his laughter in until the director disappears; he loves how easy it is for him to break through the older man's stoic façade.

While everyone else is breathing sighs of relief and giving prayers of thanks, Sungjong is busy smiling to himself and thinking of how he'll tease his so-called boyfriend later. He can already imagine his tongue-tied response (probably because he's so much). A hand suddenly appears in front of his face, waking him from his daydream, and he hears Myungsoo's voice beside him.

"Hello? Earth to Sungjong."

Blinking rapidly, Sungjong turns to his friend, his expression etched with confusion. "Did you say something?"

"Not really." Myungsoo chuckles and ruffles the younger boy's hair; his friend could be too cute sometimes.

Sungjong laughs as well, a bit embarrassed about being caught daydreaming. "I'm sorry, I was just—"

"Fantasizing about Director Kim?" Sungyeol helpfully supplies from his desk next to the younger boy.

"No, I wasn't." He had no idea it was that obvious, but there's no way he's going to admit it— especially not to that loud giant.

"It's okay." The older boy gives what he probably thinks is a reassuring smile, his hand landing softly on his shoulder. "We won't judge you— even if you say you love him."

"Wait, you love him?" Myungsoo exclaims almost too loudly, choosing that moment to jump back into the conversation. His eyes are like saucers as they bore into the younger boy's; it would be amusing if it weren't so unnerving.

Sungjong isn't really in the mood to discuss his feelings for his boss— especially not around so many other employees. Clearing his throat, he brushes Sungyeol's hand off his shoulder and says, "Why don't you guys try actually getting some work done instead of minding my business?"

"No way," Sungyeol argues, his grin full of nothing but mischief. "This is a million times more interesting."

Myungsoo nods excitedly in agreement and Sungjong wonders, not for the first time, how he ended up with these two idiots as friends; it's really unfair that he's stuck with two people who have literally argued over the best flavor of ramen. Sighing heavily, the younger boy buries his head in his hands, willing time to move faster so he can leave. A sudden hush falls on the room that makes him look up to find Director Kim marching through the office, looking particularly irritated. An icy gust seems to blow in his wake, chilling the employees all the way down to their souls. There are bound to be a slew of new rumors by the end of the day now.

While everyone else is reeling from the boss' frigid departure, Sungjong stands up and follows after the older man, his steps heavy with determination. This is probably the best opportunity he'll get to talk to Sunggyu without having to hunt him down. By the time he walks out of the room, the director is already halfway to the elevators and he rushes to reach him in time. He gives up pretty quickly and decides to call out to him instead.

"Director Kim!"

The older man whips around at the sound of his name, his expression quickly shifting from annoyance to surprise then even quicker to delight; he seems to have forgotten where they are and who they are supposed to be to each other at the moment. His child-like excitement is ridiculously adorable, but Sungjong won't be distracted— he has quite a few things he wants to say.

"You know, you're really hard to find lately." He's going for composed yet amused with only a faint smile as he steps closer, his gaze never leaving the director's face. Smiling just a little wider, he notes, "If I didn't know any better I might think you were ignoring me."

Scoffing at the accusation, Sunggyu props his hands on his hips and demands, "Why would I ignore you?"

"That's what I want to know." The look the director is giving him is probably supposed to be intimidating, but Sungjong finds it too cute to really be affected. Crossing his arms, he puts on a similar expression. "I mean, first you ask me to be your boyfriend, and then I don't see or hear from you for a week. How could I not think you were ignoring me?"

The older man is silent for a moment as he considers the young employee's words before acknowledging him with a short nod. "You're right," he admits, his smile apologetic. "I was ignoring you, but I wasn't doing it on purpose— I've just been really busy. It's a terrible excuse, but it's true."

Sungjong only needs to take one look at Sunggyu's face to know he's being sincere; now that he has said all that he wanted to say, he doesn't feel quite so upset anymore. He almost feels like he's giving in too easily, especially after having spent the past week brooding over his boyfriend's absence. But the fact of the matter is he's missed the older man a lot more than he will ever admit and that's making it really hard to stay mad at him. "It's okay."

Sunggyu looks unsure of what he just heard, though a tiny glimmer of hope starts to shine in his eyes. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Sungjong confirms, smiling genuinely for the first time; it's times like these when he almost forgets who is the younger one between the two of them.

The director doesn't seem completely convinced, however, so the younger boy reaches out and gently takes his boss' hand in his. The grin he receives is almost too much for him to handle, the pure affection in it making his heart beat far too erratically for his liking. Sungjong didn't think one look could affect him so much. Perhaps that's why he leans over and places a soft kiss on the corner of Sunggyu's mouth— he isn't really thinking clearly right now.

"What was that?" Sunggyu looks understandably surprised, his eyes doubling in size as he looks around the hallway for any other employees.

Instead of giving a real explanation (partly because he doesn't really have one), the younger boy decides to tease his boss by simply replying, "You're too cute."

Even though they are running the risk of being seen by just about anyone, Sungjong finds it absolutely worth it to see the director's cheeks flush the most adorable shade of pink.

~*~

Sunggyu should have known Sungjong would be the death of him. He was so blinded by the younger boy's cute smile, he didn't even see it coming— but he should have. It was so obvious all those months ago when the kid snuck up on him while he was eating his daily cupcake and very nearly ended his life. And now he's done it once again, this time with a much-too-friendly kiss for two people who aren't supposed to know each other in the middle of a potentially busy hallway. Sunggyu has no idea how he didn’t spontaneously combust right then and there.

But he has to admit it was a little exciting. Although the risk of being caught was extremely high, that just made it even more intriguing. More than anything, though, the director is glad to know Sungjong still feels the same way about him; he hasn’t been the best boyfriend over the past week. Sunggyu still blushes at the thought of his boyfriend's soft lips on his skin, his mood exceptionally brighter than it was at the start of the day. He doesn't even bat an eye when Hoya calls him an idiot who acts like he's never been kissed before (but he does make a mental note to threaten to fire him later).

The rest of the day seems to move at a snail's pace until it's finally time to leave. Sunggyu eagerly rushes out of his office, his desire to see Sungjong overpowering his usually composed façade. He actively ignores the knowing look his secretary throws at him and instead contemplates where he should meet the younger boy. Going down to the office would be the easiest option, but then he would have to worry about nosy employees— the worst of them being Woohyun. He decides it would be less suspicious if he waited in the lobby; it's a big enough space that no one would give him a second glance.

Once he gets there, the director blends into the bustling crowd of employees going out, coming in, or just milling around until he finds a decent spot by the doors to wait for Sungjong. Sunggyu realizes a bit belatedly that he doesn't even know if the younger boy has left yet. Which is probably something he should have made sure of to avoid looking like a fool. Hoping he isn't too late, he sends him a quick message to meet him in the lobby. He's just starting to think he really did miss him when he spots Sungjong coming out of the elevator a few minutes later in the middle of what appears to be a very engaging conversation with another employee. So that's why he didn't get a reply…

Sunggyu can't say he's thinking rationally as he marches over to the pair, a frown darkening his features. If he has to be honest, he might say he feels just a little bit jealous; he thought he had gotten over that, but the all too familiar unpleasantness churning in his stomach is proof enough that he still has a long way to go. He wants to believe he's doing a decent job of remaining calm, despite the storm raging inside him at the ridiculously smitten look the other boy is giving his boyfriend. Sunggyu would laugh if he wasn't trying so hard to keep himself composed.

Sungjong notices him almost immediately as he approaches them, but the director is still focused on his companion, his gaze just short of murderous. The other boy, a rather plain-looking kid with dark hair and glasses, finally peels his eyes away from Sungjong and goes pale at the look the older man directs his way. He seems to be radiating pure terror as he scurries away, nearly tripping over his feet trying to bow and walk at the same time.

Watching the kid's hasty retreat, Sunggyu finds his sense of humor again, an amused smirk melting away his icy scowl. That is, until his eyes land on Sungjong. The younger boy is staring at him in understandable confusion, but he decides to play dumb. "What?"

"What was that all about?"

"What?"

"You were glaring at Kangsoo like you wanted his head to explode; what did he ever do to you?"

"That's ridiculous— I don't even know him."

The director is committed to pretending nothing happened, even though he is internally dying of embarrassment from how he acted just moments ago. He still has his pride, after all.

But Sungjong isn't buying any of it, his expression skeptical as he continues to stare at the older man. His eyes light up suddenly— as if he's just figured something out— and he steps closer to the director, a teasing smile slowly spreading across his face. "Are you jealous?"

"Of course not." The older man is quick to deny the obvious truth. He can admit it to himself, but he'll be damned if he ever says anything that might resemble an admission out loud. Knowing what happened the last time they stood so close in such a public place, he puts a little distance between them and attempts to take control of the situation. He clears his throat and hopes there is some authority in his voice as he says, "We should go; it's getting late."

Sungjong seems ready to argue a bit more, but changes his mind at the last second, letting out a quiet laugh instead. "Fine, but you can leave first. I want to check on Kangsoo and make sure he isn't crying in a corner somewhere."

It's almost like the kid is testing him or something, Sunggyu is sure of it. Still, he tries his best to keep his cool, giving the younger boy a small smile before they go their separate ways. He is actually surprised to find he feels significantly less upset than he did a few minutes ago; he's starting to think he might really kick this jealousy thing. His good mood has returned in full force by the time he reaches his car and it only gets brighter when Sungjong joins him a minute or two later.

"Are you ready?" The young employee's adorably eager expression is more than enough to set the director's heart aflutter, his grin growing to nearly-painful proportions.

Something about his boyfriend's excitement and the semi-seclusion of the dim parking garage fills Sunggyu with an unexpected boldness he readily embraces. Without a second thought, he moves closer and takes the younger boy's face in his hands before capturing his lips. He starts off light, but soon deepens the kiss, putting everything he's feeling at the moment into it; this might be his favorite way of showing how much he likes Sungjong.

Ok, it's definitely his favorite way. Especially when the kid starts clinging to his jacket and kissing him back with the same intensity (or perhaps even more). But the director doesn't have time to dwell on it, he has more important things to worry about— like breathing. After a few more seconds, Sunggyu reluctantly pulls away and takes a much-needed breath. He isn't sure if the lightheadedness he's feeling is from a lack of oxygen or from kissing Sungjong; one look at his boyfriend's flushed cheeks lets him know he isn't the only one.

It's times like these that Sunggyu realizes he has no reason to be jealous.