i reached safe and sound

thank you for accompanying me

Jongin

i really liked your company

...

you called me Sehun

Oh my God, Jongin thinks to himself, did I actually call him Sehun? He places his phone on the dressing table and stares at himself in the mirror; face red. What a fool he is. No doubt, Mr. Oh is acting different since this afternoon. God, Jongin thinks, burying his face in his hands, just let this earth swallow me down.

After last night, when he came home after three in the morning, he couldn’t wake up on time. Jin couldn’t go to school because apparently there was no one to wake him up for school. His alarm rang, but Jongin was sleepy and sleep-deprived and had only thrown the innocent alarm across the room in annoyance. Never mind, the alarm wasn’t even expensive; he could always buy a new one. Jin was asking for that Mickey Mouse alarm clock since forever, Jongin could buy that one.

Sehun hadn’t called until ten in the morning; Jongin believes that the man knew Jongin needed his sleep. Jongin had called back at ten-thirty in the morning, of course, because he was still sleeping. Sehun had asked if he wanted leave for this day since Sehun was the one at mistake so he could give him one without prior notice. Jongin had asked him not to do that and that he would come to the company by twelve in the afternoon.

He arrived at one in the afternoon. Jongin gave Sehun hesitant reasons of how he needed to make sure that Jin had his breakfast by twelve thirty. He was already late, and Jin was only a five-year-old, the kid should always get his breakfast before eight in the morning. Sehun had nodded his head in approbation and then asked Jongin to bring coffee for him since he didn’t have one yet. Jongin then asked why he didn’t have a coffee yet (and because Sehun came up by the same way, he could’ve always stopped for a cup of coffee by himself), Sehun didn’t bother with a reply and repeated his words to his PA once again.

Baekhyun met him by the coffee machine, and he had this smile on his face, a sweet smile on his face with this look in his bright eyes. “What exactly happened, Jongin?” were the exact words Baekhyun had asked him. Jongin had sputtered and shook his head in denial when the man asked him if something was going on. Baekhyun had shrugged and then left him there, saying how much he needed to finish the presentation he was working on since days.

It was Sehun who brought the whole topic of messages and hence left Jongin where he was inside the company washroom dying in embarrassment. They were coming back from the meeting Sehun had with the Choi Industries; Sehun was extra happy. Choi’s were a little hard to crack, and since Sehun had done what even his father couldn’t, it was a day of celebration for the Ohs’, especially for Sehun.

Sehun began with a simple question, asking if he slept well. Jongin replied that he did. Jongin asked if Sehun did (that was only polite), Sehun replied with a smile. Jongin took it as a yes. Then Sehun asked if his son was doing alright (he was almost smooth; the way in which he asked Jongin about Jin. But still, Jongin noticed the hesitation in his tone. Sehun was still clearly hesitating). Jongin replied in a stiffed voice that Jin was doing well. Today it was his school; however, since he didn’t wake up on time, he was absent.

Oh, Sehun had said with a nod, that means he is with your neighbours right now? Jongin replied that yes, with Lucas’s mother. Sehun had again apologized. Jongin had waved him off with a smile.

It was after they reached Sehun’s office that Sehun asked if Jongin had checked his phone, yet.

“I mean, I was just asking if you did or not,” Sehun quickly explained himself when Jongin only passed him a confused look. “I mean, the last night I did... I sent some messages to you. You know, you asked me to message you as soon as I reach and I did. Did you read anything?”

“I didn’t,” Jongin replied with a blush. “I was occupied this morning and didn’t get the time to check my phone, much less the messages.”

Sehun looked disappointed for a second, and then he asked Jongin to read them and bring him a cup of coffee too, Sehun needed one right now. Jongin nodded in confusion but didn’t waste any time and walked back to the elevator and hence to the pantry for some coffee.

It was when he was walking toward the machine that he looked at the messages, felt embarrassed to his core then ran to the washroom to hide his flushed face from everyone’s sight.

Hence where Jongin is standing right now; in the washroom, whining to himself at being such a dumb.

did i actually do that?

did i actually call you

SEHUN??

The messages are sent even before he could understand what he did. Jongin is dying.

Sehun surprisingly replies to him, within a single minute. Why, why did he have to reply back?

where are you right now?

in the men washroom?

are you doubting if you are there or not?

Jongin’s face burns in red. He can imagine the smug expression on his boss’s face.

i am sorry

about what?

about calling you by your name

i apologize sir

i was probably too sleepy to realize what i said or did

please

forgive me

oh

That’s all that Sehun messages. His boss doesn’t message him after that, and Jongin goes back to pitying himself and then wondering how he would show his face to his boss next. He called his boss by his name, okay for once his boss can forget about that. But what about this, these messages that he did out of nowhere? How his boss would react seeing him after this? Would he think that Jongin is just too childish, maybe annoying (annoying?).

The washroom door opens behind him and then closes. Jongin thinks it’s one of his colleagues. Except who he sees in the mirror isn’t his colleague, it’s his boss. Jongin goes red all over again.

“Oh, I didn’t think I would found you here,” says Sehun, walking toward him, “what are you doing here. I thought I asked you to bring me my coffee?”

“Oh,” Jongin says, “I was... washing my hand? I was washing my hands actually; I just came out of the... you know.”

“Ah,” Sehun nods, “washing your hands in the air, I see.”

Jongin sees a hint of a smile on Sehun’s face, and all he wants to do is pout, whine and then bounce up and down on his feet and ask Sehun whyyyyyyyyyy are you smiling so much??!! Do I look stupid? Dumb to you, perhaps like an idiot? Or I am just too cute for you to handle me?

He doesn’t though because that would be unprofessional. And Sehun definitely isn’t Kyungsoo.

So he blushes and quickly turns on the faucet, and places his hands under the running water. “No, I just got surprised and quickly turned it off to see who it was, and it was you, so I completely forgot what I was doing here.” Then as if remembering something, “what are you doing here, sir? You didn’t even go inside.” Jongin says, pointing to one of the stalls.

Sehun flushes red in embarrassment. “I was about to use one; you distracted me. Thanks for reminding, I am going in.” Sehun quickly walks toward one, opens the door, and closes it behind himself. “Wait for me, don’t go anywhere!” Sehun shouts from behind the door.

Jongin looks back in the mirror, turns off the faucet and waits for his boss as the elder had asked him to. Sehun comes back seconds later; Jongin wonders if he did what he came for. No one can finish that fast. He clears his throat and looks aside when Sehun stands beside him to wash his own hands.

“You have to go for coffee after this; you remember that right?” Sehun looks at him through their reflection.

Jongin hums but doesn’t look back. “I will go right after this.”

“So, let’s go?” Sehun prompts, wiping his hands then pointing Jongin to the door. Jongin quickly turns around and walks out of there almost robotically. Sehun follows him, humming a little to some song that Jongin can’t bother to remember to. Jongin squeaks when he stumbles on his own feet, Sehun catches him quickly with a hold around his wrist. Jongin apologizes with red cheeks; Sehun waves him off with a smile. Then asks him if he’s alright; Jongin replies that he is.

“You take the lift first, sir, then I will go after that.”

“We have two lift, Jongin,” Sehun remind with a chuckle, “don’t worry, we will go in the same. I will go to the pantry with you.”

“I can do that alone—”

“That’s my coffee, Jongin, let me do this. You can tag alone.” Sehun walks inside the lift and then points Jongin to follow him in. “That’s not a request, that’s an order.”

“I figured that out,” he answers in a mumble, a smile playing on his lips.

After arriving at the pantry, bringing Sehun a cup of his coffee, Sehun asks Jongin if he wants to spend some time in the pantry. Jongin worries his bottom lip then shrugs because Sehun really looks like he needs some time off from his office work with what the dark circles are visible under Sehun’s eyes. “You didn’t apply the eye cream?” Jongin asks, pointing to his own eyes. Sehun is a CEO of a giant company, he is in the entertainment business, people are always all around him, and Sehun needs to look after these small things.

“Forgot,” Sehun answers then as if remembering something, quickly shows Jongin his hand. “Look, I cut myself in the morning, on the fingers, so I couldn’t apply it.” A part of Sehun wants Jongin to fret over his cuts; it’s nothing serious, just a few cuts here and there on his fingers. Sehun, at the age of twenty-nine, does not know how to properly and safely use a knife.

Jongin does, and it’s cute; the way he frets over such little thing. Then his PA goes all parent-like on him and repeats the incident that had happened with his son a few weeks back. “That kid, I told him not to touch anything sharp. He still did! He cut almost half of his palm open, and I had to take him to the doctor. It was that serious.” Then looking at Sehun and passing him a disappointed look, he speaks, “If you don’t know how to use a knife then don’t use. What if something happened? Like something serious? You have parents and a big family to look after—”

Jongin keeps babbling, and Sehun keeps staring. It’s only when the head of one of the many departments announce their presence in the pantry that Sehun quickly shushes Jongin, nods at the head of the Marketing Department, Mrs. Lee, and then asks Jongin to follow him out hence to the office.

“You look after him; there’s no one else?”

“Him, Jin, are you talking about Jin?”

“Yeah,” Sehun hums, quickly settling on the chair of his office. “Your son, I mean.”

“Ah, yes. I am the only one. My whole family is in the US; we two are the only ones who came back here—to Busan. They insisted I stay there with them, in the US I mean, because that’s safe. Everything is secured there; the whole family lives there; we are familiar with everything there. Busan, no one actually came back here in recent times from my family side or from Kyungsoo’s side.” Then shaking his head, he changes the topic, “so I am the only one who looks after him, he is my child after all. Do you remember that boy that I told you about—” Sehun hums here, however, visibly distracted “—so he and his mother are the two other people who look after my son in my absence. Our neighbourhood is friendly too, so that’s a plus point.”

Sehun hums. Jongin asks him if he’s alright; Sehun replies that he’s fine. Jongin shrugs and then tells Sehun about his schedule. When he finishes his long list, Sehun clears his throat and looks up from where he was looking down at his phone with a smile. Jongin wonders if Sehun heard what he said all this time or not, Jongin wishes he did. Jongin doesn’t have enough energy to repeat such a long schedule again. He is still feeling sleepy after all.

“Who is Kyungsoo?” Sehun asks, out of the blue being an understatement. Jongin visibly stiffens, but Sehun is too distracted by his own bubbling confusion and curiosity to notice that. “I mean, I never heard of him from your mouth. Must be someone important with how you spoke his name earlier.”

“How...”

“In a fond type of way,” Sehun’s expression hardens. Sehun barely notices his own reactions. “Loving kind of way?”

Jongin gulps; Sehun notices that. “Yeah, he was important—he still is.” Then Jongin looks down. Sehun’s eyes follow Jongin’s gaze on the younger’s ring finger. “My husband, my late husband, I mean.”

“Oh,” returns Sehun and then furiously apologizes for his inconsideration. Jongin tells Sehun that he does not need to apologize; Sehun didn’t know about it so that’s alright. Sehun passes a heavy breath to Jongin and then with another apology, looks down at the papers kept in front of him. “What do I have to do with these?” He asks as if Jongin didn’t spend five long minutes explaining him about the files, about the papers, etc just five minutes ago.

“You have to read them, sign them and then pass them to the IT head,” Jongin answers, from where he was leaning over the computer kept in Sehun’s office.

“Oh,” says Sehun. He knows Jongin only gave him a brief answer and that he will need to read these papers again, understand them, sign them, and then give them back to the IT head. Sehun is almost disappointed.

“Oh, sir,” Jongin says five minutes later.

“Yeah,” Sehun answers, still going through the papers in his hands. “What is it?”

“I want an early leave for today; by five in the evening.”

“Why?” Sehun looks up, facial expression set into something that Jongin can’t quite pinpoint.

“Tomorrow’s parents’ day,” Jongin begins, “I have to go out with Jin. We have some shopping to do.” When Sehun only passes him a confused look, Jongin begins again. “Jin didn’t tell me until this morning. He needs to dress up like me. Tomorrow is the day and we haven’t prepared anything. I need some time to buy him one.”

“Oh,” Sehun replies and then looks down at the watch around his wrist, “its five-thirty already.”

Jongin quickly gets up from where he was sitting. “Oh no, sir, please give me leave for now. The shopping will take quite a lot of time and I need to prepare for everything.”

“That’s okay? Go, I will handle all of these on my own.” Then he points to the files kept on the table. Jongin apologizes to him. “Jongin, remember the next time you need one, tell me beforehand. This is the first and the last time, okay?”

Jongin nods, bows to him and then quickly walks out of the office, to the elevator and hence, within minutes, out of the company building.

“Don’t leave my hand no matter what happens, alright?’

“Yes, papa,” Jin repeats what he has been repeating for the past one hour, his small figure shaking with excitement.

“I still don’t understand how you forgot to tell me about this.” Jongin shakes his head in disappointment, the bags heavy in his hand.

“I did!” Jin says, petulant. “I did tell you, you forgot!”

Jongin burns red at all the attention they get after Jin’s sudden outburst. He bows to people all around him, mumbling apologizes all along. “Jin, behave.”

“But you’re lying! I told you a long time ago, but you forgot. You did wrong. I didn’t do anything.”

“Do Seokjin—”

“Papa is lying!”

Oh God, Jongin thinks to himself, practically dragging Jin to the shoe department, Jin has always been a good boy. But sometimes, he acts like a rebel. Why can’t he behave??

“Why can’t you behave?” He voices out his concern (concern?)

Jin passes him a look, and he looks cute; like a puppy. “I behave all the time; you just don’t love me anymore.”

Jongin rolls his eyes at his son’s dramatic antics. He is such a drama queen, just like me. “Behave, we are going to buy your shoes, if you didn’t, then I will not buy you one.” Jongin thinks he should let his son act like a five-year-old; it’s only fair for his small baby.

“Then you will not buy me one pair of shoes, but two!” Jin laughs at his own joke; the cute laugh of his brings a smile to Jongin’s face.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, laugh as much as you want. Everything is in Papa’s control anyway.” He teases, patting the pocket where his purse lies. Jin pouts at him before looking ahead at the store in sight with bright eyes. Jongin can never deny him, no matter how hard he tries to.

They reach the store and Jongin has to double calculate the money that he remembers keeping in his purse. The shoe department is full of branded shoes; Jongin is still struggling with money. A part of him tells him to cut this short and buy the least expensive one from here; it just needs to be Jin’s size only anyway. But there’s this part of him which tells him to not do that.

Jin never asks for things unless he really needs it. It’s almost as if he understands the struggles of his single parent with money. Besides, tomorrow is a big day; Jongin wants his son to shine between other cute students. So with a determined thought in his mind that he will buy whatever his son asks for this day, he walks further inside the aisles of branded shoes, pointing to every cute one to his son.

His son chooses a black one. Of course, he will choose a black one. The black shoes will suit Jin on his black suit (his son’s choice, Jongin has to admit, about suits is good). They walk out of the department with another bag and Jongin feeling the lightness of his purse in his jeans pocket. He sighs internally, desperate for the month to end so that he can get his first salary. He doesn’t want to ask his parents or his in-laws for money.

“What do you want to do now? It’s only eight-thirty, our shopping is done. What else, baby?”

“Are you tired?” Jin asks instead, looking at his face. Jongin replies that he’s not; he puts a bright smile for emphasis on his words. “Then ice-cream and can we go to eat dinner out today? Or tomorrow since tomorrow is such a big day?”

“Tomorrow, then let’s go tomorrow. We will come back from the function, and then will have dinner at whatever restaurant you want. Okay?”

“Okay, aaannndddd now, ice-cream!”

Jongin laughs and nods at him, nudging him to the ice-cream shop on the other side of the busy mall. “I think the crowd is heavier than before, don’t leave my hand—Jin, where are you?”

If this is how sweating to one’s bones and desperateness feels like then Jongin is definitely feeling the same. His eyes scan the heavy crowd around him, searching for a familiar face among hundreds of unfamiliar ones. “Jin? Seokjin, where are you?” He calls, pushing past the people and looking everywhere.

A few people stop by his side and ask if he’s alright. What happened? Is he looking for someone? Jongin nods at them and wipes his tears and then with a broken voice speaks whatever he could. If Jongin were in their place, he wouldn’t have understood what he has spoken, keeping in mind how his words are just a garbled mess, a bunch of incoherent words spoken between tears and loud sobs.

“M-my son, p-please find him. P-please, I... I don’t know how I lost him!” He repeats.

“How does he look like?” Someone asks. It’s an old lady, Jongin realizes through his blurred eyes. Jongin then tells her and everyone in a high-pitched voice about his son; he is five-year-old, small looking for someone of his age. He is wearing a red t-shirt and blue faded jeans, and shoes. He has big doe eyes, fair skin tone and he has this bandage on his hand.

Some of them promise to help him and go around looking for the said kid; some of them stay there giving him consolations that he need not worry.

Oh, oh, oh, but Jongin is worrying because Jin is His son. They won’t understand because Jin isn’t their son.

He sobs, looks around himself, trying to catch a familiar figure. The problem is, most of the people here are adults; they are tall, big and looking for a lost five-year-old is almost like looking for a needle in a haystack. He clutches the phone in his hand tighter, hoping Jin would ask for someone’s help to call his father.

“I think you should look somewhere where you two were going,” a man says, eyes reassuring, “maybe after losing you in the crowd, he went there? You could check there.”

“Oh my God, why didn’t I think of that b-before—thank you, thank you so much.”

“Hope you’ll find your son, buddy!” The man shouts from behind him, giving Jongin hope that not all people are bad. Maybe whoever found Jin is trying to return his son to him. With that positive thought in mind, he quickly pushes past people and toward the ice-cream stall that both of them were about to go. People around him part easily too, with how he’s crying pathetically, so that’s a plus point.

Upon reaching there, he shouts his son’s name, again and again. No one, however, answers. It’s only when he’s coming back from the other ice-cream stall to the previous one that he catches sight of a very familiar crying frame.

Oh, finally.

“Oh my God, Jin; where were you?” Jongin breathes heavily through his mouth and gets on his knees to hug his son’s small crying frame. “I have been searching you all through these—”

“I didn’t know he was your son; I would’ve made it quick.” A very familiar voice comes from somewhere in front of them.

Jongin looks up from where he was burying his face in son’s chest and at the man. “Mr. Kim, did you find him?”

Junmyeon nods and gets close to them. He is in casuals and looking as handsome as ever. “I saw him crying in front of one of the doors; the crowd was gathering around him and, of course, he was getting scared. So I brought him where he asked him to, to this place.” Junmyeon passes them a smile. “I didn’t know he is your son.”

“God, thank you so much, Mr. Kim.” Jongin presses kiss to his son’s face then shows Jin an angry look. “I told you its crowded today; I told you to not leave my hand. Don’t you listen to me, Jin?”

Jin flinches and breaks into a fit of fresh tears. He apologizes to his father and then hugs him when Jongin opens his mouth to speak something again.

“Um,” Junmyeon begins, “you should not scold him now, Jongin. Let him breathe first, and when he stops crying then—”

“Sir, with all due respect, I know what I am doing. I am raising him all these years, and I know what I am doing.”

Junmyeon flinches at the harsh tone of Jongin; he doesn’t say more. When Jongin drags Jin out of the department, he follows them. It’s quiet between them, except the occasional hiccups of Jin and Jongin’s repeated scolding to his son. It’s only when they step out of the mall that Jongin turns around to look at Junmyeon.

Jongin bites his lower lip, facial expression showing how embarrassed he is for what he did earlier. “I am sorry, Mr. Kim. I-I just got scared, that’s all. We are still new to this place, we don’t know anyone, and we have never really been to this mall before. I just got scared that I lost him somewhere in the crowd. I am sorry.”

“I can understand that Jongin,” Junmyeon says with a smile. It’s admiring how Junmyeon is so forgiving; maybe not. Jongin has regularly heard tales of Junmyeon’s ruthlessness in the business area since he met Junmyeon. “I believe that’s how every parent would act. If he were my son, I would’ve done the same.”

Jongin looks down at Jin’s crying frame. He must be scared, Junmyeon was right. With a sigh, he crouches to Jin’s level, placing the bags beside them. “Hey, look at me.”

Jin shakes his head, looking down at the ground, big fat tears rushing down his chubby cheeks.

“Jin, look at Papa. I am not angry, not anymore,” he places both of his hands on his son’s cheeks, nudging him to look at him. The most heartbreaking scene to Jongin has always been seeing his son cry. Tears don’t suit his son, at all. “Papa lost you, you were there with Papa and then suddenly,” he stops, gulping down the bile down his throat, “suddenly you were not there with me. I got scared, you know, so scared. I thought I lost you somewhere and Jin if something had happened to you—”

Jin places a kiss to his cheek. “I promise I will not do this again.”

“Promise, I-I can’t handle this Jin. You are my only family, please don’t do this again.”

“Jin will be a big boy and behave. Promise, Papa.”

Junmyeon laughs from behind them, Jongin notices the man wiping a tear with the back of his hand. “This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Please, you two always stay in love.”

Jin, as if realizing Junmyeon’s presence then, quickly runs toward Junmyeon to hold his leg. “Papa, this uncle is so cool!”

Junmyeon shakes his head in embarrassment. “I am not cool.”

“Don’t lie, Papa don’t like people who lie. Don’t lie, that’s bad manner.”

“Okay, if that’s the reason then I won’t.”

Jongin, with a blush, stands up. He doesn’t understand what Junmyeon meant by that, but something in him tells him that Junmyeon was talking about him.

“May I help you?” Junmyeon asks, taking bags from Jongin’s hand before he could refuse. “I will take this as a yes.”

“You didn’t need to.”

“Papa, ice-cream,” Jin reminds with a hopeful voice. “I promise I won’t do this again. Let it go for today.”

“Fine, fine,” he answers with a wave of his hand. “Hold my hand.” Jin does.

“Papa, can this uncle come too?” Jongin looks up at Junmyeon, eyes questioning and cheeks reddening. Kids speak so much. “Uncle,” Jin looks at Junmyeon, “would you come with us; as a thank you gift.”

“If your father doesn’t have a problem, then sure,” Junmyeon answers with an unsure smile.

“I have no problem. Please come with us, Mr. Kim.”

One month working under Sehun passes like a blur; something unexpected but not entirely unpleasant. His life improves a little too, with what the huge amount of salary he is given (something Jongin thinks he wouldn't have accepted a reality if it wasn't his salary).

With the good experiences, however, come the bad ones too. Like gossips and rumours between the other employees; most of them concern Sehun and him, something like a sweet fairytale love story where Jongin brings bright and much-needed light in the monochromatic life Sehun is living in; just like a sweet, beautiful little fairy.

How the employees keep wondering about Jongin’s 'service’ at the company for Oh Sehun (since it's almost a surprising thing of how someone stayed beside Sehun for so long) is still a mystery to Jongin. Ridiculous assumptions of something going on in between Sehun and him are running through the veins of each and every employee at the company; Jongin being Sehun’s sugar baby; Jongin being an ; Jongin this and Jongin that. Oh, only Sehun hasn't heard anything.

Other than that, everything is pleasant.

Except Sehun gets some mood swings whenever Kim Junmyeon is anywhere near the company or more specifically somewhere near Do Jongin.

Not that Jongin has noticed that or something, he just wonders why Sehun gets so pissy and so… reserved, bossy, arrogant and all authoritative all of a sudden. One day, out of the blue and mostly because of his curiosity, he’d ended up asking Baekhyun if Mr. Oh was suffering from some kind of mental disease. Baekhyun had only cackled and probably told Sehun about what Jongin had asked him. Sehun had replied with “focus on your work, Jongin, and nothing else”. Jongin had only blushed in embarrassment.

There are those moments when Sehun keeps staring at him (“he ogles at you, haven’t you noticed that yet?” Baekhyun asks), not that he has noticed or something. Others did, and these type of things only fuels up the rumours about something going on in between Sehun and Jongin more. There comes a few moments when he’s offered modelling contacts out of the blue and Jongin believes that it’s all his boss’s doing. When he asks his boss, he only replies with a shrug and then “haven’t you said that you don’t want to model? Why would I do that after what you said?”

(Jongin can’t help but notice the slight twitch of his boss’s left eye; whenever his boss lies, that happens.)

I am thinking about changing the name of the story. do you have any suggestions? any of you?

Oh you can always go around to check this baekai story i am about to start. not anytime soon though. i have a lot of commitments right now.