The two males head for the theatre within the mall. Soonyoung speaks up as he stands in front of the posters lined up against the wall, "Is there anything you want to watch?"

"Anything is fine with me really."

"If you say so. Hmm... Let's watch that one then!" Soonyoung pointed to one of the posters on the wall. 

Jihoon followed Soonyoung's finger and his eyes fell on a large poster of a giant black door with a single pale hand gripping the edges. 'Behind closed doors' it read. He gulped. Horror did not sit well with him. "Yeah, sure."

Soonyoung nodded "You can wait here while I get the tickets then."

Jihoon was ed. 

~

The theatre was playing advertisements and trailers before the movie started. Jihoon could hear Soonyoung munching on popcorn beside him. The lights dimmed, indicating that the movie was starting and Jihoon visibly shrunk into his seat. This isn't scary. Just stay calm. Something will always pop up somewhere. It's predictable. Just stay calm Lee Jihoon. His heart pounded in his chest as one hand gripped the armrest and the other shielded his eyes from the scenes playing before him. 

Every single time something popped onto the screen, Jihoon jumped in his seat. So much for horror movies being predictable. Horror was never his thing. He could do all genres, even the sappy romance stories. Just not horror. But the sparkle in Soonyoung's eyes as he pointed to that stupid poster made it impossible for him to say no.

Halfway through the movie, Soonyoung looked over at Jihoon and smirked. The shorter was pushed so far back into his seat and his hands were white from gripping the armrest. Jihoon wasn't even watching the movie, eyes pointed to anything and everything but the screen in front. Being the gentleman that he was, Soonyoung reached over and pried Jihoon's hands off the armrest and intertwined their fingers together, gripping his cold hands. Thumb rubbing comforting circles as he whispered, "Don't be scared Jihoonie. I'm here."

Jihoon glanced up at Soonyoung and rolled his eyes but his hand tightened its hold.

~

"You should have told me you were afraid Jihoon. I wanted us both to enjoy the movie."

"I wasn't afraid per se. The ghosts appeared too suddenly. I was simply surprised."

Soonyoung shook his head and chuckled. "If you say so Jihoonie. If you say so."

Jihoon pouted. Soonyoung was definitely not buying it. The two of them wandered around the mall, simply chatting and enjoying each other's presence. Ever since the movie, Soonyoung's hand never left Jihoon's. Neither of them noticed that both their hands were clasped tightly around each other and that their steps fell into a common rhythm. 

~

Jihoon stepped out from his shower, humming to random songs. He picked up his phone when he heard a 'ding', a message from Soonyoung appearing on his screen.

I'm home safely, showered and clean.

Good to know. Thanks for today. You're not all that bad.

It was surprisingly fun! I thought you would be really boring,

Go to hell. I am an amazing date.

I can't disagree to be honest.

Goodnight Soonyoung.

Goodnight Jihoon.

That night, Jihoon fell asleep with a smile adorning his face. It was definitely not because of his date with Soonyoung. It was because of some other reason, not the date, something else.

~

Jihoon sits in his office the next morning, desk covered with proposals and paperwork. He skips out on work for one day and he is instantly buried up to his neck. Why did he even agree to Soonyoung's proposal? Plus he had to meet Soonyoung's family in three days time. Three freaking days. Things were happening so quickly but it was a good thing that they had decided on a story over dinner last night. At least something came out from that stupid date. They had come to a consensus to try to keep everything as true as possible and that included their first meeting four years ago. 

~

Four years ago~

~

Jihoon was an absolute greenhorn in the industry when he was accepted into Kwon advertising. His dream company. Today was his first day on the job and he could already feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins. He reported to the creative department and greeted everyone with a 90 degree bow. "Good morning! I am the new intern Lee Jihoon! Please take good care of me!"

"Ah the new intern! I am Director Park. Soonyoung! Come here and guide the new intern here." Director Park absentmindedly waved his hands before entering his office. 

Jihoon noticed a blonde scurry over to him and before he knew it , the blonde started shoving stacks of files into his arms. "New intern, go and copy these files, get the coffee and give them out to everyone. The order is on the post-it on the top file. Oh yeah. You're now basically the dog of the department." With that, the blonde left Jihoon fumbling with the files, feeling absolutely lost.

The first day in the creative department was to say the least. Jihoon could not work the printer and when he tried getting help, everyone was just too busy to deal with him. He got the coffee orders mixed up and was told off by some of the sunbaes for such a stupid mistake. The blonde, who he later found out was called Soonyoung was an . The worst really. Not only did he not help Jihoon at all despite being the more experienced intern, he acted all high and mighty around him. So much for camaraderie amongst interns. This was war. 

The first opportunity presented itself to Jihoon two months into slaving for the department. He was instructed to join the team for the latest project and their very first meeting was occurring that morning. Jihoon was the first person in the meeting room and he started organizing the loose files on the tables. This came naturally by now. Slowly, people started streaming into the room, including Soonyoung. Jihoon glared, he should have seen this coming. 
~
One of the seniors was seating at the head of the meeting table and was resting his head on his palms. "So people, now that you know the theme, I would like to hear some ideas. Shoot me with them."

Jihoon nibbled on his lips. It was his time to prove his worth and he could not afford to set a bad first impression. He meekly raised his hand and spoke up. "Erm, I was thinking that we could have one of the actresses walking through a large field with flowers on a mountain. You know, to represent the freedom and being carefree."

"That's so generic and boring. Seriously, what kind of idea is that? Anyone who sees that would roll their eyes at its cheesiness."

Jihoon grit his teeth and stared at the blonde. The nerve of him! The senior nodded, "I agree with Soonyoung. It's a little boring and predictable." Jihoon clasped and unclasped his fist. The is his problem!
~

The meeting had ended and Jihoon was fuming. Kwon Soonyoung was acting all high and mighty again and he has had enough of his rubbish. Clenching his fists, he marched up to the blonde, "What the hell is wrong with you! Do you have something against me? What the hell did I ever do to you?"

Soonyoung scoffed, "Look new intern, you gave a stupid idea and I simply stated my opinions. If you feel so offended, think before speaking the next time. If there even is a next time."

"The did you say!"

"Woah woah woah Jihoon stop." Seungjin, a senior intern grabbed onto Jihoon's arms. 

Soonyoung rolled his eyes and left the meeting room. 

"Sunbae! He's obviously picking on me! Why doesn't anyone ever say anything to Kwon Soonyoung?"

"Jihoon, have you not realised by now? Kwon Soonyoung? Kwon advertising? Do you not see a link?"

Jihoon gaped, ". No way." 

Seungjin shook his head. "There's a reason why no one dares to mess with him."
~

A month had passed with Jihoon working on the project with the rest of the team, including Soonyoung. He had tried at all costs to avoid Soonyoung, or at least have minimal contact with him. Jihoon knew he had stepped on the wrong foot. Of all people in the world, the foot had to belong to the President's son. But Jihoon had an ego, and that ego refused to let him apologise, so he just lived everyday like as if he did not know Soonyoung. The moment the project ended, Jihoon requested to be transferred to the B team, unable to deal with the blonde in the A team. The transfer went on smoothly and Jihoon was sure his career would pick off.

~

And pick off it did. Jihoon quickly rose in the ranks with his sharp tongue and quick wit. If anything good came out with his interactions with Soonyoung, it would have to be fact that Jihoon now did think before speaking. Gone were the days where he would just sputter out the first thing in his mind. Now, he would ponder and contemplate. There was no room for stupid, generic, boring ideas.

One year had passed in a blink of an eye and without knowing, Jihoon had lead several projects, needless to say, they were very successful. One morning, Jihoon was called into the office of the Director of the B team.

The old man sat in his seat, wrinkles covering his face and a file in his hand.

"You called for me Director Choi?"

"Ah yes Jihoon. Sit sit. I have another project for you."

Taking a seat in front of the desk as instructed, Jihoon frowned. "Don't you just hand me the files for the project? What makes this one so special that I have to be called in?"

"It is a huge project. The client is La' Zelle, and this is the first time they are outsourcing their advertising. If everything goes smoothly, La' Zelle would probably ccome back to us again, so the President himself has emphasised that this project has to be of the best quality possible."

"Of course. I have never been half hearted with any of my projects, whether big or small."

"You won't be leading this project alone this time Jihoon. This would be a collaboration with A team. Kwon Soonyoung will be working with you. I'll leave this project in your hands, don't let me down."

~

Jihoon was pacing in the lounge. No way. No way. NOOO! After a year of successfully avoiding Kwon, must the Gods play with him like that? He plopped down onto the nearest couch and sighed, face buried into his palms.

"Fancy meeting you here. Why aren't you avoiding me today as well?"

Jihoon froze. He sees a pair of feet stepping into his peripheral vision, but he knows that voice. He absolutely loathes it. "Whatever are you talking about?"

"It's fine, doesn't matter anymore. Have you heard about La' Zelle? I'll see you soon for a meeting Lee. Let's work well with each other." Soonyoung grabbed onto the cookies on the table and left the lounge. Jihoon deflated into the couch, arms lifting to cover his eyes.

~

The meeting room was tense and cold air filled the place. Jihoon and Soonyoung were each sitting on either ends of the meeting table, glaring at each other. Something was definitely going to combust.

"No. One week is too long. Just for ideas? That's ridiculous."

"What is ridiculous is setting the deadline in two days. I remember telling you to think before you speak, obviously you haven't listened."

"We have a proposal to deliver, brainstorming cannot take up a quarter of that time. And two days is absolutely fine. Haven't you heard of the Parkinson's law? Work expands to fill the time available for its completion. My boys can make it happen, I'm not too sure about yours. Must be busy playing around in that one week you give them." Jihoon deadpans.

"Lee Jihoon, you-"

"Wow okay. I think we could settle for three days or maybe four? Let's not kill each other before the work even started now." Seungkwan spoke up from his seat beside Jihoon. Jihoon had taken amazing care of Seungkwan the moment he entered the B team as an intern, and naturally, Seungkwan had stuck to Jihoon like glue.

"Fine. Three days, thats as far as I can go."

"Fine. Meet me in my office later Jihoon." And with that, Soonyoung got up from his seat, eyes never leaving Jihoon's. He turned his back and left the room. The other teammates from the A team followed suit. Jihoon sighed. He totally forgot he had to brainstorm with Soonyoung. At least it was three days and not a week, he would have died otherwise.

~

The brainstoming had went well by Jihoon's standards. Soonyoung sat at his desk while Jihoon worked on the couch in Soonyoung's office. The only sounds that could be heard were the clacking of the keyboard and the occasional sigh. But other than that, no small talk was made and the two men simply worked in each others presence. When someone did have an idea, he would speak out and the other would nod their head appreciatively and state their opinions. They were both pretty mature about everything and they had a synergy that could only be described as frienemies at that moment. It was the second day of brainstorming when Jihoon had an epiphany. He was lying on the same couch, in the clothes he was wearing yesterday. He shot up from his seat and started typing furiously in his laptop, afraid the moment he stopped typing, everything would fly out of his head. Soonyoung who had been snoozing in his seat, lifted his disshelved head to the sound of fingers hitting the keyboard and lifted the files covering his eyes. He sees Jihoon who has dark eyebags and had ed the top three buttons of his dress shirt, revealing his collarbones. 

"You're up Kwon? I have just had the eureka moment."

Soonyoung chuckled, "Oh yeah? Hit me."

~

The two leaders of the project had arranged for a meeting with La' Zelle to show them their current proposal. If everything went well, they would be able to start the production of the advertisement in no time, and that would also mean the completion of most of their work. Two weeks to churn out a proposal had to be a record.

Both Jihoon and Soonyoung sat waiting in the meeting room, files laid out in front of them, nervously waiting for the Directors of La' Zelle. Soonyoung taps his fingers on the table as Jihoon nervously shakes his legs. 

"It will be fine Lee. The idea is great, and the team worked hard the past two weeks."

"I know Kwon. We were amazing. But will this be enough for them?"

Just then, someone rasps on the door and it opened to reveal two men and a very well dressed lady. Jihoon shoots up to bow to the Directors and hears Soonyoung muttering beside him, "Guess we will find out soon."

Its game time.

~

"Good morning Directors of La' Zelle, my name is Soonyoung, and this here is Jihoon. Together we worked on the proposal for the advertisement. In the files in front of you is the detailed storyline and the script. But for today we would like to focus on the emotions we would like to deliver to the viewers. We understand that the catchline for La' Zelle is 'Simple yet elegant', and that has always been something La' Zelle is famous for. Simple and beautiful jewellery but at the same time, classy and elegant. We want to reinforce this image. Jihoon will be telling you more."

"As Soonyoung has mentioned, we want to tap on what La' Zelle is famous for. It is a simple storyline. A girl is about to get married. As everyone knows, the wedding day is one of the biggest days for any girl, the most magical day. And the day before her wedding, the girl gets called into her mothers' room. Together they sit on the bed, and the mother takes out a blue velvet box from her safe. She opens the box to reveal a La' Zelle necklace. It is their family's heirloom. The necklace had been passed down from her grandmother, to her mother and now finally to her daughter. The mother puts on the necklacce for her daughter and she tells her that she is now passing on her second most precious treasure to her and tells her to take care of it."

The Directors flip through the file in their hands and the lady gestures, urging Jihoon to continue.

"We cut to the scene of the wedding. The girl is waiting anxiously to walk down the aisle in the waiting room, hands fidgeting with the necklace on her neck. The heirloom worn proudly. Her mother walks in to see her daughter and smiles, hugging her. Both women remain embraced for a long time. Once again, we cut to the scene where the girl is standing by the altar, and she shares a sweet kiss with her new husband. She searches for her mother in the crowd and sees her, hands touching her heart, tears falling down her face. The daugher bursts into tears as she looks into her mother's eyes. Her mother mouths 'Don't cry sweetheart.' The  girl then thinks back to the time in the waiting room just before walking down the aisle. In her mother's embrace, she hears her mother tell her, "I gave away my second most precious treasure to you yesterday, and today I will be giving away my most precious treasure to your husband. Take care of yourself and I will always, always be here for you. Whenever you need me, touch the necklace and think of me, and I will come running to you my precious girl." 

Jihoon peers at the lady, who seemed to be the most important person in the room. She was nodding, uninterested. He gulped. Soonyoung who sat beside him nudged him with his foot, and Jihoon took a deep breath in.

"We will then cut to the future, where  the same girl who got married previously is now aged and it is almost like deja vu. She sits her daughter down now and takes out the same blue velvet box and repeats the same words her mother tells her."

Soonyoung then picks up from where Jihoon had stopped. "Basically, we want to show that some things remain forever, like family. It is not the amount of diamonds or gold that makes an item precious, but the meaning and the love that determines it. We tried to embody the simple yet classy idea into it. So... Do you have any questions?"

~

The Directors had left the meeting room and exited the building. It had been a good ten minutes and the two team leaders were still inside the meeting room. The team had been waiting anxiously outside. Seungkwan was pacing up and down, ". I  don't think it went well. The guys from La' Zelle just left like that and Jihoon and Soonyoung are still in there! Do you think they are wallowing in self pity? We put in so much work I thought I was going collapse from exhaustion!"

"Relax Seungkwan. They will come out soon and we will know then."

"Seokmin, they-"

Just then the meeting room door swung open and everyone held their breaths, heart in their mouths.

Jihoon looks at them with a blank face. Everyone was mentally preparing themselves for the worst. Soonyoung then breaks out into a smile. Seungkwan freaks out, "Mr Kwon is smiling! Wait, does this mean what I think it means? Jihoon?"

Jihoon allows himself to finally relax. After two weeks of blood, sweat, tears and sleepless nights, he finally heaves a sigh of relief. "Good job guys. You have worked really hard."

The team cheers and high-five each other. It was going to be a night for celebrations, that was for sure.

~

The two men remain seated in their chairs, heads in their hands. Jihoon started chuckling, Soonyoung quickly following suit. Both were extremely relieved. It had been a long two weeks.

"We did it. We really did it."

"We did didn't we. You did good Jihoon. That idea of yours hit the home run."

"You're the one who thought of the heirloom stuff. Don't give me all the credit. The team worked real hard too." Jihoon looks up at Soonyoung beaming beside him. He smiles back, eyes curling into tiny crescent moons. The first genuine smile shared betweent the both of them. 

"You're not too bad Jihoon."

"Your're not too bad yourself, Soonyoung."

Maybe it was not too late to form a camaraderie.

~~~~~

Author's note: 

Hey everyone! I'm sorry for such a late update but I was away on a trip. Hahah! This is a really long chapter my my standard and this length most probably will not happen all too often. I felt bad that I had been gone for so long, so voila~ Tell me what you think about it! I love feedback. 

Tidbit!! The jewellery company was not supposed to be called La' Zelle. It was originally something along the lines of Courtier. Haha but then La' Zelle hit me and I was like YASSSS. Coming back from France could have inspired me.

Hope you like the chapter and I will see you soon! :)