This week, Pilkyo began on a Tuesday. Yesterday’s day-off was mandatory — his boyfriend’s father, Uncle Mun, urged him to take it, “so you could review for the bar!” — and he had no choice to take it. He only managed to do a general cleaning of his part of the bedroom and continued reviewing for his exams.

Alongside the SATs, Pilkyo would also take his bar exams in November — approximately two months from now. He has finished half of the scope, although he curses how complicated the litigation is for cybercrime penalties. Thanks to the day-off, he finally understands it — with the help of his coworker and good friend, Heejoon.

When he arrived at his office, he sadly stares at the stack of work given to him over three days. Uncle Mun promised he would delegate it to either Minwoo or Sunho. Why is it that it’s quietly sitting on his desk? And why does it feel like the day-off is a punishment?

He enters the room and squints when he sees a small pastel blue sticky note on his desk. The handwriting is recognizable, and he suppresses a scoff (or a chuckle, he doesn’t know) while reading it.

I’m sorry for the documents Pilkyo! They’re all for checking. I don’t want to be reprimanded by the higher-ups >_<

Welcome back anyway!

- Minwoo

He should’ve notified Minwoo not to give it back…

Pilkyo closes his eyes, breathes steadily, before putting away his bag in its respective area. He sits comfortably on his office chair, pushing himself towards his desk and read the first document on top of the pile.

If he were to choose between law school and working, he would probably choose the former. He would definitely trade these papers over those thick textbooks and small books about the penal code. Going into law wasn’t on his radar, but he suddenly decided to go with it after one night of enlightenment. These papers could wait, and Minwoo probably needs the work more than he does.

He’s on a roll though. He has a “Do Not Disturb” sign hanging on his doorknob, he’s playing white noise in the background, and the blinds were set in a way the sun won’t burn his eyeballs. Most of the documents handed to him are half-legal and half-business, with Uncle Mun promising him that he would transfer to the legal team once he passes the exams.

“I’m fine with staying in the business division, Uncle,” he said during a lunch meeting with his Uncle and his boyfriend.

“You sure?” Uncle Mun asks while picking up a leaf from the salad, “I’ll hand business documents relating to law and ethics instead. Is it okay with you?” The only thing Pilkyo remembers is that he nodded, and proceeded to slurp his udon noodles.

A faint knock was heard a few hours later, to which he instinctively answers with a “Come in.”

The door opens, footsteps approach him, and he hears his favorite voice.

“I was wondering if you could check Sunho’s report,” his boyfriend hands him a thick bundle of papers aptly titled ShinCom Monthly Financial Report 2020, “I could approve it, but there are some discrepancies. Do you mind checking them?”

Pilkyo flips over the papers, pushing back his eyeglasses falling slowly from his nose bridge, “You didn’t bother to highlight them, Junghyuk.”

“I know you could detect them. There are a lot of it,” Junghyuk says as he snatches the papers back to his hold, flipping through the pages until he opens it to a particular one, placing it in front of his boyfriend, “This one in particular. I don’t remember having that large sum of money for advertisement.”

Pilkyo scans through the paragraphs, his eyes widening as he sees the said sum of money. He softly smiles and grabs the bundle of papers, “I’ll proofread them once I’m finished with the pending ones. Do you need them now?”

“No, not at all,” Junghyuk gestures, “Sunho just managed to give them to me early so that I could ‘double-check’ them.” He raises his hands, doing air quotations.

Pilkyo chuckles before sliding the bundle to the side of his desk. “Anything else to say, babe?”

His boyfriend shakes his head, strutting towards the door, but stops suddenly before reaching the knob, “What do you want for lunch?”

“I bought mine,” Pilkyo points at the lunch box beside his bag, “I’m not in the mood for fast food.”

Junghyuk nods slowly, “I’ll join you instead. Meet you at the cafeteria?”

Pilkyo smiles before sending a flying kiss to his boyfriend, Junghyuk catching the imaginary kiss and putting it in his chest. They don’t display their affections in public most of the time, but it’s the little gestures like these would make Pilkyo swoon out of nowhere.

Fortunately, he finishes the stack of papers after lunchtime. He didn’t see any error on Minwoo’s documents and he managed to highlight all of Sunho’s discrepancies. The next thing he needs to do is to get out of his room and hand them over.

He makes a conversation with his Minwoo hyung, wherein he told him not to return his finished documents to his desk since all of them are perfect and the board liked all of his reports. He couldn’t forget the triumphant grin on his friend’s face, thanking him but still promised to notify him once he’s done.

The office area is quiet but he hears a few typing on their laptops and the photocopying machine printing papers. He enjoys the noise and he made sure to open his door once in a while to welcome the silence.

Junghyuk’s office is located on the top floor, probably so he could get used to it once Uncle Mun hands him the company. Sunho works closely with him, but he tends to let Pilkyo double-check whatever business or financial reports the younger does.

So when he reaches the 50^th floor, he makes his way to Sunho’s cubicle and slapping him gently on the head. “I told you to check the promotions’ shared file about their expenses.”

Sunho rubs his head in pain, “Ah hyung! I’m sorry! Did Eric hyung…?”

Pilkyo chuckles and nods knowingly, “Yes, he did. I was so close to reprimanding you on the phone but I didn’t so you have to thank me for holding back my anger.”

The younger smiles embarrassingly, apologizing for the errors he did. Pilkyo then hands over the thick folder, “I highlighted the wrong amounts and corrected your grammar. And please don’t give your Eric hyung a headache, okay?”

Sunho nods furiously before snatching the folder from Pilkyo’s hands. The latter chuckles and ruffles his friend’s hair and heads to his boyfriend’s office. The door is closed but he could see him standing by the windows, phone on his ear.

When he arrives in front, he notes his boyfriend sitting down and resumed typing on his laptop. He knocks on the door softly and enters when he hears the approval.

Junghyuk looks up and smiles warmly at him, “Hey babe.”

Pilkyo crosses the room and sits on one of the chairs in front of his boyfriend’s desk. “You look like you’re going to cry.”

His boyfriend removes his eyeglasses, rubbing his eyes with one hand, “One of our shareholders wants to pull out, mostly because of the new contract we did. Dad will kill me if he learns about it.”

Pilkyo reaches for his boyfriend’s hand, rubbing it gently, “Then let them do their version. We’ll look over it and discuss with them what we think about it. I don’t think it’s the end of the world, babe.”

Junghyuk nods, surprised that he hasn’t thought of that before. “I’ll let them know about what we think, and probably bring that up to dad.”

“You have to credit me, okay? He might become suspicious — he knows I’m the only one who could suggest that,” Pilkyo teases as he squeezes his boyfriend’s hand tightly before letting it go.

The other sticks his tongue out before straightening his posture on his seat. “I’ll text you once I’m done with my work. Then we’ll go home together.”

Pilkyo nods before bending over his table to place a soft kiss on him. When he pulls back, he sees Junghyuk blushing madly. He winks before strutting his way out of the office. It’s moments like those that Pilkyo swear it would make his heart flutter over and over again.

Do you guys want anything for dinner?

SeokMIN

Chicken hyung!!!

Baby Boo

I won’t be eating at home hyung

@Baby Boo and why is that?!

Gyuzizi

He has tutor again

And he’s on a date with Hansol

Baby Boo

@Gyuzizi HYUNG! IT’S NOT A DATE!

@Hoon @Ravi @SeokJIN do you guys want anything?

Can anyone please answer my question?!

“Haven’t you thought of getting married?” Dongwan asks, which snaps Pilkyo out from his phone. Nobody is answering him properly so it’s best to leave the conversation and let them decide on their own. Junghyuk also messaged Pilkyo that he couldn’t come since he already brought up the issue to his father and they’re talking about the possible revisions with the shareholder.

“Not really. Why?”

“We’re getting old,” the younger deadpans.

“Dongwan, being on our late 20s is not old.”

His younger friend squints, “I’m just saying that it’s been years that you and Junghyuk hyung are together. Aren’t you going to settle down with him?”

“We talked about it,” Pilkyo starts, “but I need to finish my bar exams before giving my answer.”

Dongwan stares at him dead in the eyes, “Jung Pilkyo. Junghyuk hyung has been waiting for you since we all graduated college. He sees his life with you and all you have to say is ‘yes’! What’s stopping you, really?”

Marriage is a life-long commitment. Sure, he’s financially ready, but he’s not yet ready to have his attention being halved. He still wants his younger cousins to finish studying — since he volunteered to pay a quarter or a half of their tuition fees, in exchange to free tutoring, of course — and see them flourish in their own paths. He’s being greedy, but being a part of their success is already a big deal for Pilkyo.

He also doesn’t want someone to pressure him into marrying someone. Relatives from both sides have been asking him non-stop when he and Junghyuk are going to get married. Junghyuk would waive them off, telling them that ‘there’s a right time for everything’.

“You haven’t proposed to Minwoo hyung yet,” Pilkyo scoffs as he finishes his bottle of water. He might have been too harsh on his friend when he sees his face contorting into a blend of anger and embarrassment; he grins triumphantly anyway.

Dongwan shoves the last piece of kimbap in his mouth, “This isn’t about me and Minwoo, Pilkyo. I’m just saying this —”

“God, please chew your food first Kim Dongwan!” Pilkyo exclaims after small bits of food flew from his friend’s mouth. Why in the world Minwoo chose this guy, Pilkyo will never know.

Dongwan chews his food before continuing, “I’m just saying this as your mutual friend for almost 10 years. Please do consider getting married, okay? Propose to him, or he proposes to you, I don’t know! Just…. please consider it.”

Pilkyo swears he’s close to throwing his bottle to Dongwan but he just nods. I don’t think good friends pressure you into getting married, he then thinks as he watches his friend stand up and get back to his cubicle.

His phone kept on vibrating while he and Dongwan were talking, so he grabs it hastily in his pocket. They probably managed to decide their dinner, only to be welcomed with 103 unread messages. He scrolls to find a decent string of replies about dinner, sighing in relief as he sees their requests.

“Do you want to join us for dinner?” Pilkyo enthusiastically asks when his boyfriend walked right up to him. They were, actually, the last employees to leave the building — seeing how empty and how dim the lights are in the lobby.

Junghyuk nods and grabs Pilkyo’s hand, his warmth radiating against the younger, “Let’s buy dinner first. It’s much easier.” The older sure does know what’s in Pilkyo’s mind as if they’ve been sharing the same brain.

They met back in high school, wherein Pilkyo accidentally spilled soda on Junghyuk. The latter was a new student, with rumors circulating that he’s a chaebol — hence his snotty attitude. Everyone doesn’t want to mess or even talk to the new kid, as he looks also scary.

Pilkyo was waiting for the reprimand of his life while repeatedly apologizing when Junghyuk softly told him that he’s okay — in English, so the younger was frozen as he doesn’t know how to respond — and that he has spare clothes in his locker. Who even has time to have extra clothes there?! Pilkyo thinks while helping him wipe the excess liquid dripping.

Ever since that incident, they kept on crossing paths in the cafeteria. Whenever the older is alone, he would sit beside him and he would initiate a conversation. Albeit the initial awkwardness wafting between their conversation, Pilkyo and his natural friendly personality warmed Junghyuk. The younger also offered to be his Korean buddy, as long as the older would also teach him English.

Pilkyo learned that he’s not a scary dude; he’s definitely a chaebol and his father grooms him to become the next heir, but he still has a decent amount of freedom. He doesn’t want to be branded as that snotty, rich kid who flaunts his English. He wants to have friends and to have a normal high school life.

Eventually, Pilkyo introduced him to his other friends. Junghyuk would pick up Korean phrases here and there until he eventually became fluent with it. Although he does converse in English with Sunho, one of their friends. On the other hand, Pilkyo could speak in conversational English, thanks to a bunch of shows the older has recommended him to watch.

They grew on each other, and Pilkyo knew what he’s feeling was far beyond platonic affection. He starts to get this possessive feeling whenever Junghyuk would have dates, or whenever he talks with someone else?! It’s uncanny of Jung Pilkyo to get jealous, as he knows that Junghyuk wouldn’t reciprocate what he’s feeling. However, it made him curious as to why he wants his best friend’s attention to him.

Before graduating high school, Pilkyo confessed to Junghyuk. In straight English. He got a bit of help from Sunho, who gave him a slap on the back after telling him “FINALLY!” Let’s just say that when Pilkyo blinked, he was introduced to Junghyuk’s family immediately — “My boyfriend,” Junghyuk says with so much reverence, and Pilkyo couldn’t forget the genuine look of happiness on the older’s parents.

They make a right and walked straight ahead, “Did you tell them that I’m coming over?”

Pilkyo nods as they stop in front of the chicken place, “They’re excited. Now, what do you want, half-and-half or two boxes?”

“Babe?” Junghyuk asks while he makes a right turn towards the basement. Traffic isn’t that heavy despite the rush hour, much to Pilkyo’s relief. He doesn’t want to stay a little longer on the road.

Pilkyo hums in response, still typing on his phone. “Has Dongwan told you anything?” his boyfriend inquires as he drives around, looking for a vacant spot.

Pilkyo inwardly sighs. Dongwan and his big mouth. “We already talked about it, right? Once I’m done with my exams, I’ll give you my answer.”

In his peripheral vision, he sees how distraught the older is. Probably it wasn’t even in Junghyuk’s radar that he would be getting married. Maybe he was forced to propose that night? Good thing Pilkyo was in his right mind to turn it down, for now.

“I know, I know,” Junghyuk mumbles as he parks the car, “But… you promise, right? We’re going to get married?”

“Yes, babe,” Pilkyo chuckles. He waits until the car has been parked properly before cupping his boyfriend’s face, caressing it softly, “We don’t need to conform to whatever those dudes are thinking. We’re going to get married and adopt kids, or even fur babies if you want.”

He’s lying. He’s lying right then and there. He lied while they were discussing marriage, using the bar exams as his excuse not to answer him immediately. The reason why he hasn’t agreed was because of his cousins. Call him a stage mother or anything, but his family would always come first. Then Junghyuk.

Junghyuk would understand, right? He does know how much his cousins mean to Pilkyo.

Pilkyo then looks at his boyfriend’s eyes, trying to look authentic with his soft and heart-stricken gaze. Junghyuk reciprocates and plants a soft kiss on Pilkyo’s lips, suddenly deepening it and catching the latter off-guard.

They both pull back, giggling after they absorbed whatever happened. “Let’s continue it once the kids are asleep, hm?” Pilkyo teases as he kisses the tip of his boyfriend’s nose. He sees Junghyuk visibly upset, maybe because of the sudden tent in his pants, but he laughs it off.

He could lie a few more times. He just needs to find the right time.

Chapter Notes: I enjoyed writing Hyesung's chapter~ I don't really know anything about office work + I was just inspired by one NamJin fic (CEO!Joon & somewhat star employee!Jin, both of them are single parents!) Next would be another filler chapter and then!! a p.o.v~

Hope you guys enjoyed this update! Comments are very much appreciate >_< Don't be a silent reader!

Follow me on Twitter: @hyesunggyeols (stan) / @codenametitanic (writing)