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Sehun rushes through the automatic doors, trying to walk as fast as possible without actually running.

Traffic had been particularly bad today because there was an accident on one of the roads. By the time Sehun had managed to drop Sowon off at his daycare, it was already time Sehun should be in the office, brewing coffee, not starting to catch the next bus to the main Kim Foundation building.

Should’ve asked Chanyeol to give me a ride, Sehun berates in his head. He should look into getting a driver’s license soon, but… there is the issue with buying a car and money…

He’s so caught up in his mullings he doesn’t realize he’s charging ahead when someone is in front of him until he runs smackdab into the person.

“Ah―” Sehun yells, recoiling from the impact and about to fall backward when hands shoot out and grabs onto his arms, steadying him onto his feet once again.

“Wow there, careful,” a voice says from above, and Sehun hazily looks up and feels his heart wither inside his chest. “You really are a very clumsy person, aren’t you?”

“P―President Kim!” Sehun gasps, trying to scramble backward but the grips on his arms won’t let him, and there are poundings in his ears from how close together they are right now―Sehun can feel Jongin’s chest firm against his own! “I―I’m so sorry, I didn’t see―”

“No need to freak out, it was an accident,” Jongin chuckles, setting him to straighten up easily like one would a child. “But be more careful next time, or you’re going to hurt yourself again.”

Sehun wilts in front of him, knowing the other is referring to more than what happened just now―he’s referring to the coffee incident last month, too. “Yes… I’m sorry…”

“That kicked little kitten look again,” he hears the other mumbles, but when he blinks up, Jongin is already walking away. “Come on.”

“W―What?”

“We’re heading towards the same destination: the top floor, right? You can come take the VIP elevator with me. That way, you won’t have to wait for interruptions as other people get off on their respective floors.”

“I―It’s okay!” Sehun protests, gaping. “I wouldn’t want to trouble you―”

“Sehun,” Jongin calls out, levelling him with a look. “You’re already late. No need to make yourself more late.”

“I’m sorry,” Sehun repeats for what is probably the millionth time now, feeling shame bubble up inside him. “There was an accident and one of the roads closed… I know I shouldn’t make excuses, but I really didn’t mean to be late…”

“It’s alright. Accident on the road before Gyeongin Expressway, right? I was stuck there, too. Notice how I’m late like you?”

When Jongin turns to him as they step inside the VIP elevator, Sehun feels his heart flutter again at the teasing smile on the other’s face, mischievous yet not malicious at all, so like Kai back then―

You need to stop doing this, Oh Sehun, he scolds at himself, eyes squeezing shut. Stop being so taken by everything Jongin does, he doesn’t―

And then there’s a crashing sound, the ground beneath him thumping hard, and when Sehun opens his eyes, all he can see is still darkness.

“What’s happening, is this―”

“Looks like the elevator malfunctioned,” Jongin announces grimly, staring up at the ceiling. There’s a few seconds of silence before a speaker resounds on a corner of the place.

“Mr. Kim?” a static voice rings through. “We’re terribly sorry about this. It seems one of the wires short-circuited and it caused a chain reaction in the system―”

“Can you get it fixed?” Jongin interrupts.

“Yes, of course,” the voice answers. “But, umn… It might… take awhile… since this isn’t a power failure so we can’t use the back-up generator, but rather have to manually jumpstart or replace the circuits themselves….”

There’s a sigh from Jongin before he replies, “Just do it as quickly as possible.”

“Yes sir!” A clicking can be heard, which Sehun is guessing the staff had disconnected on them.

“I told you to take this elevator to save time, but it looks like this is costing us more time instead, huh?” Jongin speaks up, and Sehun blinks, turning towards him.

It’s fairly dark, but his eyes have adjusted well enough to see t