prompt: Enemies to Lovers
length: 7036 words

If Chae Hyungwon had to choose who he hated working with the most, he’d say Yoo Kihyun in a heartbeat.

It seemed like that annoying little marketing genius existed just to annoy Hyungwon to no end. Yoo Kihyun turned everything into a competition. Everything.

Hyungwon was content to stay in his office and work on new designs with his wonderful team members, Lee Minhyuk and Lee Jooheon, but no. Every single morning, without fail, Yoo Kihyun just had to waltz past the design team leader’s office and make some stupid, snarky comment before smugly walking away to his office on the other side of the floor.

It got to the point where just seeing Yoo Kihyun would immediately put Hyungwon into a foul mood, and Minhyuk and Jooheon had learned to tread carefully around their team leader to avoid aggravating him any further. The atmosphere in the design team’s workspace was usually tense after the marketing team leader dropped by; Minhyuk and Jooheon would whisper to each other as they planned new designs while Hyungwon would silently fume as he typed out emails and proposals at his desk.

The design team leader’s mood usually improved by lunchtime—food was the perfect medicine for the soul—and smiles would reappear on his team members’ faces whenever he started making jokes again. It was as if their little utopia had been restored, and Minhyuk would high-five Jooheon any time Hyungwon complimented their work.

But the illusion would shatter as soon as Yoo Kihyun showed up, made a snippy remark, and skipped away while Hyungwon’s expression immediately turned stormy. And then it would be back to complete silence in the office, punctuated by the passive-aggressive energy emanating from the design team leader.

--

“Good morning, Hyungwon!”

The tall male turned from the coffee maker that was currently dripping fresh coffee into the brown paper cup he had placed on the tray and he immediately grimaced when he was greeted with Shin Hoseok’s smiling face. “Shin,” he said curtly before turning back to the coffee maker.

Hoseok’s smile slightly dimmed after Hyungwon’s cold greeting, but he still moved closer to the design team leader while jovially asking, “How’s it going?”

“I’m fine.”

Trying not to let Hyungwon’s clipped answers deter him from having a conversation with him, Hoseok tried again. “Apparently the donuts,” he gestured to the large pink box on the table in the middle of the break room, “are free and we can take as many as we want. Suji from Data Analytics brought them to celebrate being at the company for a year. She sent out an email earlier letting everyone know, so I’m here to grab a few.” Hoseok opened the lid of the box to survey what kinds of donuts were there while Hyungwon silently prayed for the coffee to drip faster. “Ooh, donut holes! I love those. The powdered ones are my favorite. Wow, she even brought twisted donuts! I heard they’re really good,” he rambled on while piling donuts onto a white paper plate he had taken from a stack that was next to the box of donuts. “Oh, Changkyun told me to grab a few glazed donuts for him and Kihyun—” Hoseok immediately paused and his face paled as he slowly turned to look at Hyungwon.

The tall male’s aura was growing blacker by the second and his thin fingers curled tightly around the half-filled paper coffee cup with a loud crunch.

Hoseok squeaked while cramming another handful of donuts onto his plate and then high-tailed it out of the break room.

--

With a deadline to reach that evening, Hyungwon’s fingers flew over his laptop keyboard as he hurriedly typed up a proposal to be submitted for review by the executive board. He was so close to being promoted to the position of creative director; all he needed was one breakthrough project to impress the executive board members and then they’d appoint him as a junior creative director. And if he continued working hard, he’d become a senior creative director and then—if he dared to hope—the executive design manager.

That had been his dream since entering the company almost three years ago.

But he couldn’t just dream of it. He had to actually work towards it. So Hyungwon rolled up his long sleeves and typed as fast as he could. Every so often, he’d call for Minhyuk and Jooheon to send him a design he needed or some supplementary materials that he’d attach to his report, but for the most part, only the sound of keyboard clicking was audible.

On their respective tablets, Minhyuk was finishing a rough sketch that Hyungwon would review later while Jooheon was adding different color layers to previously completed sketches, testing out which color schemes looked best. Jooheon was about to ask Minhyuk what he thought of the layer of emerald he was currently toying with when the door to their office abruptly swung open. “Oh no,” Jooheon breathed when he looked up to see who was here.

“Hm?” Minhyuk also looked up to see what had startled Jooheon and his mouth soundlessly dropped open when his eyes caught sight of the figure standing at the entrance to their humble office.

“Chae!”

Hyungwon was busily writing notes with a red pen on a yellow Post-It note, his gaze flickering between his computer screen and the printed sketch he was referencing.

“Oi! Chae! Chae Hyungwon!”

“What?!” The design team leader swiveled towards the door, annoyance all over his face, expecting a rude, bumbling intern to be there. But when he got the rude, arrogant marketing team leader instead, Hyungwon was tempted to throw his cup of scalding hot coffee at god-awful Yoo Kihyun. “Get out of my office, Yoo. Unlike you and your team, we actually have work that we need to finish.”

“Work?” Kihyun scoffed as he walked to the round table that Minhyuk and Jooheon were sitting at, both of them frozen in place with only their eyes moving as they followed the marketing team leader’s movements. “You think playing on tablets every day is work?”

“Um, actually—” Minhyuk started, his voice timid, before being interrupted by Hyungwon, who suddenly stood up and slammed his palms on his desk.

“I will not have you belittle my team’s work, Yoo,” he spat. “Now get out of my office before I drag you out of here like the trash you are.”

Kihyun laughed derisively as he walked up to Hyungwon, staring up at the design team leader with fire in his dark brown eyes. “At least I’m not an absolute jerk like you are,” he retaliated while jabbing his right pointer finger into Hyungwon’s chest. “Hoseok was just trying to be nice to you this morning, even though you don’t deserve it. And you had the audacity to scare him away. He came back to my office in tears, and Changkyun and I had to spend the better part of an hour trying to console him. All because you,” Kihyun boldly stepped on Hyungwon’s polished black leather shoes, “were an insensitive blockhead.”

The design team leader hissed as he roughly shoved the shorter male off of him. “I’m warning you one last time. Get out.”

“Not until you apologize to Hoseok,” Kihyun answered staunchly.

“For what? I didn’t even do anything to him.”

“Your existence is plenty enough reason for you to apologize, Chae.”

Hyungwon’s expression turned murderous and he lunged for Kihyun, who deftly moved out of the design team leader’s path, causing the taller male to stumble towards the table that Minhyuk and Jooheon were sitting at. The two team members immediately stood up to catch Hyungwon, their faces panic-stricken, but he shook both of them off and turned towards Kihyun again. The marketing team leader was brushing dust off of his suit jacket, his mouth turned up in a smirk.

“That was pathetic, Chae.”

Without warning, a fist flew and there was a loud cracking noise. Kihyun found his back pressed against a white wall, his eyes wide open while he gaped at Hyungwon. “You’re lucky I value my career,” the design team leader said in a low voice, venom dripping from every word. “Now get out of my office before I do something that I’ll regret.”

The marketing team leader knew there was no point in antagonizing Hyungwon any longer. Sending one last glare to the taller male, Kihyun peeled himself off of the wall and dipped out of the office, grumbling under his breath.

After a few seconds of heavy breathing, Hyungwon removed his clenched fist from the wall, leaving behind a deep indentation. His knuckles were slightly scratched up from the impact, droplets of bright red blood forming. “Get back to work,” he said shortly when he caught sight of his two team members staring at him.

“L-let me get you some Band-Aids first,” Minhyuk said, his voice slightly trembling. He had never seen his team leader lose his temper like that, no matter how much Kihyun aggravated him.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about me,” Hyungwon answered, placing his left hand over his scraped right hand as he walked back to his desk. When Minhyuk and Jooheon stayed standing up, looking helplessly as him, he steeled his gaze and his tone as he commanded, “Please return to your work. We have an important deadline to reach tonight and I refuse to let this incident deter us from submitting our proposal. If I find either of you slacking off later, consider yourselves replaced. I will not tolerate incompetence.”

“Yes, Hyungwon,” Minhyuk and Jooheon chorused quietly before gingerly sitting down and picking up their tablets.

The design team leader sighed as he reached for some tissues from the box on his desk and carefully dabbed at the blood on his knuckles. Luckily, the blood flow was light and had mostly stemmed by itself. After tossing the dirty tissues into the black trash can under his desk, Hyungwon blankly looked at his computer screen for several minutes and then shook himself from his stupor to resume typing.

--

“I think the two of you know why I’ve called you here today.”

Neither team leader answered, since they were too busy glaring daggers at each other as they sat across the rectangular conference table from one of the executive board members, Son Hyunwoo.

He exhaled noisily as he folded his hands together while looking down at a paper in front of him. “I’ve continuously gotten complaints about you two disrupting the workplace with your frequent arguments.”

“They’re not my fault—” Kihyun began before Hyungwon immediately cut him off.

“Are you insinuating that I’m at fault, you piece of—”

“Enough!” Hyunwoo stared down both team leaders, who grudgingly kept quiet while still glowering at each other. “As I was saying, your bickering has gotten to the point that your presence at the company is becoming detrimental and the Human Resources department has discussed whether or not it is worth keeping the two of you employed.”

“No!” Hyungwon immediately leaned forward, his expression pleading and his tone frantic. “Executive Son, please don’t fire me. Please, oh please. I’ve been putting my all into designing for this company since I joined. The proposal I just submitted the other week received favorable reviews and I know my team can continue creating spectacular designs for the company to implement.”

Kihyun, not wanting to be upstaged by the design team leader, also spoke up. “My team is also one of the most successful ones. We’ve revolutionized how this company markets its products and we also have great rapport with representatives from our partnering companies. They know me as the point of contact and it would be a huge loss if I were no longer here.”

Hyunwoo held up his hand to stop the two team leaders from rambling on before saying, “I am aware of the pros of keeping you two as employees. Both of you have wonderful work ethic and it would be a shame to boot you without warning. So I am giving the two of you a chance, as the executive Human Resources manager.” Seeing that neither team leader was going to interrupt, their desperate gazes fixed on him, Hyunwoo continued, “You two are going to be working together on an upcoming project. Hyungwon, the proposal you mentioned earlier is going to become the product design for our newest launch and Kihyun will be in charge of promoting it so that it sells well.”

“What?!” the two team leaders shouted simultaneously. “I can’t work with him!” They both pointed at each other, disgust painting their facial features.

“Hyuna knows my product designs best,” Hyungwon argued, referring to another marketing team leader that he regularly worked with.

“And I usually promote the products that Seungyeon designs. They’re way better than Chae’s,” Kihyun added under his breath.

“You take that back!”

Hyunwoo rubbed his temples tiredly before holding up a hand to silence the two team leaders, wanting to prevent another argument from escalating. “In life, you are going to have to learn to work with people who you might not necessarily like. If you cannot be flexible or mature enough to collaborate with each other, especially in a professional setting, then the company would be better off investing our time in individuals who can do so.”

“But—”

“No buts,” Hyunwoo cut in while Kihyun looked downwards. “I am giving you two a second chance, so use it wisely. Your product presentation will take place in front of the executive board in four months. If I hear more complaints about your behavior in the coming weeks, I will take that into consideration when the two of you present and your positions in the company will be jeopardized. Both of you are now dismissed.”

The two team leaders slowly stood up, both wearing grim expressions, and exited the conference room. Hyungwon’s stomached twisted uncomfortably as he glanced at Kihyun, who scowled at the taller male when he caught sight of him staring. Without a word, the marketing team leader stalked off to his office and Hyungwon was left alone to bemoan the situation he had suddenly been placed in.

--

The air was heavy as the two teams sat on opposite sides of the square table in the private meeting room that Hyungwon had booked for their first collaborative meeting.

Kihyun’s lips were curled in displeasure while Hyungwon’s face seemed to be permanently set in a scowl. Hoseok looked terrified whenever he briefly looked at the design team leader, his right hand clutching the fabric of Changkyun’s navy blue dress shirt. Minhyuk and Jooheon were worriedly exchanging glances with each other while silently praying for a peaceful meeting, or at least one that wasn’t wrought with ugly insults being thrown at every possible moment.

“So,” the marketing team leader drew out that first word for several seconds, “it’s unfortunate, but we have been tasked to work with Chae’s team on a possible product launch that will carry through if our presentation is successful.” His gaze hardened as he continued mockingly, “What makes this more tragic is that our livelihood is now at stake, so we’ll just have to hope that Chae’s team is capable of keeping up.”

“Kihyun!” Hoseok reprimanded in a loud whisper while looking fearfully at the design team leader.

Hyungwon clenched his fists tightly, keeping his anger at a simmer since he knew any violent actions would immediately get him kicked out of the company. But it was so difficult with Kihyun smiling haughtily at him, as if daring the design team leader to fight back.

Minhyuk placed his hand on the taller male’s knee to pacify him while Jooheon smiled encouragingly. They were both silently cheering for their team leader, who made an effort to take several deep breaths in order to calm down; they believed in him and their team’s capabilities, so he’d just have to show the other three that this design team wasn’t one they could underestimate.

“My team is very talented, thank you very much,” Hyungwon said, his strong gaze matching Kihyun’s. “We work extremely hard to reach success and I can assure you that we won’t be playing catch-up whatsoever.”

“Oh, really?” The marketing team leader arched an eyebrow in disbelief. “Because everyone in the company knows that the design department is a joke and—”

“Don’t say that!” But this time, it was Hoseok who had stood up and was now staring down at his team leader. “We—we aren’t going to get anything done if we continue antagonizing each other like this. Please, Kihyun, don’t say anything else that could upset anyone here.”

“Shall…we shake hands for a temporary truce?” Jooheon tentatively suggested, glancing between Kihyun and Hyungwon who were still staring each other down.

The marketing team leader’s jaw was clenched, especially after being scolded by his team member in front of everyone, but he was the first to extend his right hand as he grudgingly grunted in agreement.

Seconds passed in baited silence before Hyungwon finally moved his own right hand to grasp Kihyun’s. He almost crushed the shorter male’s hand with his vice-like grip, feeling a modicum of satisfaction when the marketing team leader visibly winced. “Let’s begin,” Hyungwon stated once they let go of each other’s hands.

Kihyun rubbed his now-sore hand, shooting a glare at the taller male, as he said, “Yes. It’s time to begin.”

--

In the weeks following that first meeting, the two team leaders had learned to keep their tempers in check, mostly for the benefit of their innocent team members. The amount of vitriol present decreased significantly when both of them could see that their respective team members were being more productive in a calmer environment. It took tremendous amounts of self-control to not make any biting remarks or sarcastic comments, but the two stubborn team leaders would remember that their careers were at stake if they couldn’t learn to at least treat each other with the bare minimum of courtesy.

As the days passed, Kihyun began to notice that Hyungwon was always the last one in the meeting room, perfecting his designs. The taller male seemed to fall into a trance whenever Minhyuk and Jooheon left for the day, Hoseok and Changkyun usually right behind them, and Kihyun began to take more time packing up to see how long Hyungwon would stay. But he could only drag out stacking up his notes for so long before it became weird and Kihyun would have to call it a day without an answer to his unspoken question.

One evening, despite having already clocked out for the day, the marketing team leader realized that he needed to return to his office to pick up some files that he had planned to work on that night at home. The lights in the company building were dim when he entered, since everyone had already left for the day, so Kihyun moved carefully towards his office. Once he picked up the file folders he needed, he headed back to the exit but stopped himself when he saw bright lights in the meeting room and Hyungwon’s office.

He first peeked into the design team leader’s office, but found no one inside. Shutting the door behind him, he then crossed the hallway to the meeting room and slowly turned the doorknob. There, he found Hyungwon diligently scribbling away on sheets of paper while stacks of designs were messily spread around him and his open laptop on the rectangular table. “You’re still here, Chae?”

The tall male just barely moved his head to see Kihyun standing at the doorway before shifting his gaze back downwards. “Yes. I have some designs to edit and a couple of new ideas that I’d like to flesh out, since they might be worth adding to the presentation.”

“You can always work on them tomorrow. Don’t you need to eat and sleep?”

“I only need seven and a half hours of sleep,” the design team leader answered simply. “If I sleep at midnight and wake up at seven-thirty, I can still arrive at the office at eight-thirty on the dot. All of those hours before midnight would be wasted on television or whatnot if I were at home instead of working here.”

“And dinner? You can’t starve yourself for the sake of working more.”

Hyungwon used his left hand to gesture at the empty boxes of take-out food sitting neatly beyond the piles of drawings. “It’s not the healthiest diet, but luckily, my metabolism works wonders.”

He was right. Kihyun had to grudgingly admit that the design team leader’s tall, slim figure invoked envy. Not one day went by without someone in the company whispering in admiration about Hyungwon’s model-like visuals as he walked past.

Along with his good looks, it seemed like the design team leader’s work ethic was the real deal. Kihyun was impressed; although Hyungwon did seem to be a borderline workaholic, the marketing team leader supposed there was no one else in the taller male’s life to keep him from focusing solely on work. That’s how it was in Kihyun’s life; work was his only companion, but at the very least, he had Hoseok and Changkyun to lean on when work became too overwhelming at times. The marketing team leader wondered if Hyungwon ever depended on his team members for emotional support.

“What are you still doing here?” The taller male’s question interrupted Kihyun’s thoughts. “I thought you had already left for the day.”

“I did. But I decided to come back and finish up some work as well,” he slightly fibbed. While that hadn’t necessarily been the reason the marketing team leader had returned to the company, it didn’t mean he couldn’t make it the reason now. Besides, he couldn’t let Hyungwon take on more work; that just wasn’t ethical. So he asked, “Mind if I work here as well?”

“Be my guest. Just don’t touch any of my papers,” the taller design team leader warned. “It’s very tiring arguing with you and I don’t have the extra energy to care if you’re here or not.”

While it wasn’t the nicest response he could have gotten, Kihyun supposed this civility was the bare minimum he’d receive from Hyungwon, which wasn’t too bad considering they’d usually be throwing insults at each other.

From then on, the two team leaders began spending evening after evening together in the meeting room, silently working on their respective projects while occasionally munching on homemade snacks that Kihyun would bring. He didn’t think it was smart to live solely on fast food, no matter how efficient Hyungwon’s metabolism was.

--

“Oi, Chae.”

Hyungwon looked up from his laptop and found Kihyun standing in front of him, his hands wringing nervously behind his back. “What?”

“Er, Hoseok’s birthday is coming up and the team is going to celebrate this Friday night. We were wondering if you and your team would join us. For bonding, y’know? Hoseok insists on inviting you all.”

“Do Minhyuk and Jooheon know?”

“I think Hoseok invited them already, but I can ask again to confirm.” Kihyun’s palms began to sweat as he waited for an answer. “It’ll be fun.”

Although he’d much rather work that night instead of indulge in frivolous activities, the design team leader didn’t think he would be able to come up with a plausible excuse. Lying had never been a strong point of his. And since his team members had more than likely accepted the invitation, he’d at least have the two of them to keep him company. With a sigh and a slight smile, he answered, “Sure, I’ll come.”

And that’s how Hyungwon found himself in a club on a Friday night with five intoxicated men surrounding him. The design team leader wasn’t much of a drinker, so he had taken the obligatory first shot before tapping out for the night.

Hoseok and Changkyun were conversing with Kihyun, who would look at the design team leader every few minutes, while Minhyuk and Jooheon had disappeared to the dance floor. Hyungwon kept to himself, fiddling aimlessly on his cell phone, as he wished for the celebration to end so that he could return home and knock out on his comfy bed; working non-stop for the past few months had left him completely exhausted and the excruciatingly loud music that pulsed throughout the club didn’t help whatsoever.

Soon, his team members returned to the table for a quick break, their skin gleaning with sweat. “Come dance with us!” Minhyuk drunkenly whined, pulling on Hyungwon’s arm.

“I’d rather not,” the design team leader said while patiently removing himself from Minhyuk’s surprisingly powerful grip. When he did, the drunk male almost collapsed on top of him, his face flush from the alcohol. “Okay, you need to go home.”

“But I don’t wanna,” Minhyuk whined more, his words slightly slurring. He began nuzzling Hyungwon’s neck as he wrapped his arms around the taller male’s shoulders. “I wanna have more fun!”

“Not tonight,” Hyungwon said firmly. “I’m taking you and Jooheon home,” he added while glancing sideways at the younger team member who was now quietly snoring with his head lying against the table.

“But Hyungwon—”

The design team leader shushed Minhyuk as he stood up and carefully shook Jooheon awake. “It’s time for us to leave,” Hyungwon said to Hoseok, whose sunny smile was even brighter this night after he had consumed several shots.

“O-oh, thanks for coming!” Hoseok answered, waving wildly. His unsteady body almost collapsed onto Changkyun, who was luckily sober enough to keep his friend from falling.

“Thanks for inviting us.” Hyungwon then looked at Kihyun before giving the marketing team leader a slight nod. “Goodbye, Yoo.” With that, he walked out of the club while balancing his two inebriated team members against his slim body.

Kihyun, his eyes dark, silently watched as the design team leader left.

--

There was only one month left until the presentation and Hyungwon could feel his already high stress levels continuously rising by the day. He spent more and more time at the company, doggedly working away.

Kihyun noted how pale the design team leader’s complexion had become, but was unsure of how to tell Hyungwon that he needed to rest instead of consuming copious amounts of coffee from the company break room. “Uh, Chae?”

“What?” Hyungwon snapped. However, there was no real bite to his tone, since his voice was laced with exhaustion instead. “I have things to finish, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t needlessly interrupt me.”

At the design team leader’s words, the shorter male bit his lower lip while further observing Hyungwon. He looked like he was about to fall asleep where he was sitting, his head starting to loll forward dangerously as his eyelids began fluttering shut. Intermittent coughs escaped his mouth while his hands shook with fatigue.

Although he didn’t want to, there was simply no other way to go about it. Kihyun had to be straightforward with the taller male, even at the cost of possibly annoying him. “You’re going to burn out like this, Chae. You need a break or else the work that you’re planning to submit is going to end up sub-par.”

“Worry about yourself, Yoo. I—I’m fine,” Hyungwon answered, a loud yawn punctuating his response while he sleepily rubbed his bloodshot eyes.

“Nice try, but you’re not fooling anyone. C’mon, up!” Without warning, the marketing team leader grabbed the taller male’s left arm and hoisted him up. Hyungwon yelped as he clumsily stumbled to his feet, almost falling over if it weren’t for Kihyun securely holding him up. “We’re going for a quick walk outside for some fresh air. We won’t be gone for long, okay?”

Now that he was out of his seat, Hyungwon found that the adrenaline that had been fueling him was almost nonexistent and a new wave of exhaustion washed over him. He had no energy to argue with Kihyun and nodded dumbly, letting the shorter male lead him out of the meeting room and into the design team leader’s office.

“Grab your jacket,” Kihyun directed as he let go of Hyungwon’s arm. “It’s chilly outside and your immune system is probably weak enough to catch a cold right now.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” the taller male said feebly while still complying with the marketing team leader’s instructions. He slipped on his long black trench coat and grabbed his keys, placing them into his right coat pocket.

“Ready to go, Chae?”

Hyungwon hummed in affirmation and then suddenly found himself being pulled out of the room by Kihyun again. After locking the doors to his office and the meeting room, he let the smaller male continue leading him out of the company building. Crisp autumn air hit his nostrils and he inhaled deeply, his lungs expanding as they took in the cold air. The sharp freshness woke him up from his drowsy state and he could feel his mind clearing up as the lethargy gradually disappeared.

“Feeling better?”

The design team leader nodded. “A bit.”

By this time, Kihyun had released his hold on Hyungwon’s arm and the two males were now walking side-by-side in silence.

If he hadn’t been so tired, the design team leader would have thought it strange that he was taking a stroll with Yoo Kihyun. But his brain cells were currently too exhausted to think beyond, It’s a nice day today.

Meanwhile, the shorter male was currently grappling with the tender feelings towards the other team leader that had begun to bloom within him. While he had been able to ignore them before, seeing how comfortable Hyungwon had been with Minhyuk during Hoseok’s birthday party had brought them to the forefront of his thoughts and Kihyun realized how at ease he felt right now, walking next to the taller male.

It was like they were…friends.

Step by step, second after second, the two team leaders leisurely walked around the block for about half an hour until they returned to the front of the company building. The sun was beginning to set, oranges and pinks bleeding into the cloudy indigo sky. They watched the yellow-brown leaves lazily float down from the trees that were planted by the entrance and the autumn breeze gently blew through their hair.

“We should go in,” Hyungwon said quietly after several minutes of tranquil silence.

Kihyun nodded in agreement and followed the taller male inside. Once they were back in the meeting room, Hyungwon tugged off his coat and stretched his arms before rebooting his laptop. As he did, the marketing team leader asked slowly, “How was the walk, Hyungwon?” It felt so foreign saying the other male’s given name for the first time, but it didn’t feel quite right to continue addressing him by his last name either.

Because they were…friends. Or civil acquaintances, at the very least. But Kihyun liked the thought of being friends more.

If he noticed the change in how the marketing team leader was addressing him, Hyungwon didn’t say anything and just replied, “It was a much-needed break. I suppose working non-stop wasn’t the best idea in hindsight. But I’m re-energized now, so it’s time to get back to work.”

With that, the conversation ended and the two lapsed into silence as they worked deep into the night on their presentation.

And every so often, Kihyun would steal glances at an unsuspecting Hyungwon, wondering what it’d be like if they were to progress further than friendship.

--

Hyungwon gulped loudly, reshuffling his notes in his hands over and over again while his lips mumbled the recitation he had prepared for the presentation. Kihyun was switching between twiddling his thumbs and straightening his suit jacket, trying to somehow release the nervous energy that was bottled up inside his small body.

When they were finally signaled to enter the conference room that the executive board was waiting for them in, both team leaders looked at each other, seeking silent encouragement from the other in this vital moment. Although the moment was short-lived, the half-smiles they sent each other provided enough of a boost for the two of them to confidently walk into the conference room and bow respectfully to the stern higher-ups that sat in a line.

A female assistant passed clickers to both team leaders while their presentation was being displayed onto the projector. After letting out deep breaths, the two males plastered on bright smiles and launched into their proposal.

Once Hyungwon and Kihyun finished speaking about an hour later, there was polite applause from the executive board. Hyunwoo smiled at both team leaders, satisfied with their teamwork that had brought about a successful presentation.

“You will be notified of our decision to green-light the project in one week’s time.”

Hyungwon and Kihyun bowed to the executive board members before leaving the room. The taller male immediately let out a deep breath while Kihyun jumped up and down, his smile widening by the second. “It’s finally done,” Hyungwon said in relief.

“Shall we celebrate with some dinner?”

“Not yet,” the design team leader answered, furrowing his eyebrows. “We don’t know if the project is going through yet. But if it does, then I’ll treat both of our teams to a celebratory all-you-can-eat barbeque outing.” Hyungwon grinned and Kihyun almost felt his heart stop; this was the first time he had ever witnessed the taller male’s genuine smile and Hyungwon looked absolutely beautiful.

Even after they parted, returning to their offices to relay the good news to their respective team members, Kihyun couldn’t stop thinking about Hyungwon’s breathtaking smile and wondering if the design team leader’s lips were as soft as they looked.

--

With his briefcase packed up and his desk tidied up for the day, Kihyun was slipping his arms through his suit jacket when the door to his office banged open. He snapped his head upwards and upon seeing Hyungwon at the entrance, he was about to ask why the design team leader was here when he suddenly found himself being embraced.

“They said yes!” Hyungwon cheered as he let go of the shorter male before brandishing a letter from the executive board, stating that their project had been officially green-lit and production would begin the following week. “We did it, Kihyun! We did it!”

Hearing his given name from those lovely lips for the very first time stirred something within Kihyun’s chest and before he knew it, he had planted his mouth on Hyungwon’s and was ardently kissing him.

The taller male’s eyes almost popped out of his head from the sudden action and he stumbled backwards until his body was pressed up against one of the office’s walls. Hoseok and Changkyun had already gone home, so there was no one in the office but the two team leaders. His mind short-circuited as Kihyun continued kissing him and it wasn’t until the shorter male finally detached himself to catch his breath that Hyungwon’s brain finally realized what had just happened. “Y-you—you kissed me!”

“What did you think I was doing? Eating you?” Kihyun snarked as he swiped his thumb across his bottom lip.

The design team leader’s face turned red and he pointed accusingly at the shorter male. “What was that for?! Why—why did you kiss me?!”

“Because I like you and I want you to know that I do.”

There was a pregnant pause before a fake-sounding laugh escaped from Hyungwon’s lips. “You’re—you’re joking. What a funny joke. Real funny.”

“I’m not joking,” Kihyun corrected with his sharp gaze piercing straight into the taller male’s soul. “I would never joke about something so serious.”

The design team leader began muttering, “No, that’s not how it’s supposed. No, no, no. Oh god, no, this isn’t happening. It’s not. No, it’s not.”

“Hyungwon, what’s wrong?”

“I—I need to think about this.” And with that, Hyungwon dashed out of the marketing team’s office before the shorter male could say a word or stop him from leaving. A sheet of paper fluttered to the floor and Kihyun bent down to pick it up.

It was the letter that had brought the design team leader to him in the first place.

--

Awkwardness hung in the air whenever Kihyun and Hyungwon were in the same room.

Any time the marketing team leader tried to approach him in the company break room or a private meeting room, Hyungwon would escape before the smaller male could say anything. He holed himself in his office, not daring to come out unless Minhyuk or Jooheon were with him. Knowing that Kihyun wouldn’t say anything if other people were there, Hyungwon latched onto his two team members more often than usual to use them as shields. They didn’t question their team leader’s behavior, but did sometimes stare curiously at the marketing team leader who couldn’t hide his frustration at being unable to nab Hyungwon alone.

It wasn’t until Kihyun finally had enough of the taller male blatantly avoiding him that he burst into the design team leader’s office one evening before Hyungwon was about to clock out. Kihyun had handed Hoseok and Changkyun a wad of cash to pay for a dinner with Minhyuk and Jooheon, saying that it was their reward for doing well during the collaboration. Once the two design team members had left with the two marketing team members, Kihyun waited several seconds before finally making his move.

And Hyungwon’s already pale face lost even more color when he realized he was cornered.

“Let’s talk.”

“About what? There’s nothing to say,” the design team leader retorted while rocking back and forth on his heels, not caring if his black leather shoes were getting scuffed.

“That’s an absolute lie, Hyungwon, and you know it,” Kihyun shot back. “I’ve given you plenty of time to think about my confession. Now it’s talk for us to talk about this like adults.”

“But there’s nothing to talk about,” the taller male insisted as his heartbeat began accelerating. “I have to go home, so please move out of the way.”

However, Kihyun resolutely stood his ground. “Not until we make it clear what our relationship is.”

“What relationship?!” Hyungwon threw his hands up in exasperation as he continued, his voice gradually becoming higher, “We hate each other. That’s what our relationship is!”

“I don’t hate you,” the marketing team leader said quietly. And Hyungwon’s heart constricted when he heard how sincerely Kihyun spoke. “I mean, I did before, but not anymore. I really, really like you now. I…” There was a pause before he continued in an even softer voice, just barely above a whisper, “I might even be falling in love with you.”

“But how?” the taller male asked in a strangled voice. “We—we were so mean to each other and we hated each other’s guts and…and…and—”

“Does it matter that we hated each other before?” Kihyun replied, locking eyes with Hyungwon who was unable to look away, no matter how much he tried. “What matters is that we’re at least civil with each other now. We worked together for an entire season on a successful project, our team members are now good friends with each other, and all I’m asking for is a response from you. Whether it’s a yes or no, I don’t care. I just need an answer, so we can stop being awkward around each other and you’ll stop avoiding me.”

Hyungwon stayed silent.

The marketing team leader’s gaze softened as he asked, “Did you really feel nothing when I kissed you that time?”

That was the problem. That was the gigantic problem currently facing Hyungwon.

Because he had felt something when Kihyun’s lips had suddenly pressed against his.

Fireworks had exploded in his chest. The sweetness of Kihyun’s mouth had seared itself into Hyungwon’s memory. Strange, unfamiliar feelings had bubbled up inside him.

And then there was that inexplicable feeling of absence when Kihyun had stopped the kiss, leaving Hyungwon completely breathless as he had tried to figure out what had happened seconds before.

None of it had made any sense to him. And it still made no sense to him.

How could he be attracted to Yoo Kihyun of all people? The idea was completely ludicrous.

As Hyungwon internally debated with himself, the marketing team leader gently placed a hand on the taller male’s arm. “May I… May I please kiss you again?” Kihyun’s dark brown eyes were filled with hope and Hyungwon felt his body weaken. “If—if you really don’t feel anything after this second kiss, I’ll take your answer as a no. I… I won’t bother you about this again.”

More seconds passed in silence.

Kihyun’s expression began to fall and just as he was about to remove his hand, a quiet voice said, “Yes, you may.”

His breath quickening in anticipation, the shorter male leaned upwards to gently meet Hyungwon’s velvety lips. The kiss wasn’t as heated as it was the first time; Kihyun was taking his time as he slowly molded his lips against Hyungwon’s, feeling and tasting every inch of him. Instead of fireworks, this time, it was a small flame that was steadily burning brighter with every second that passed.

When Kihyun drew back, gradually releasing the taller male’s soft lips, he affectionately smiled up at Hyungwon and patiently waited for his answer.

And the design team leader could no longer deny that the spark had been lit.

“I guess we can try to make this work, Kihyun,” he said in a breathy voice, saying the smaller male’s first name for the second time. As Kihyun’s eyes brightened, Hyungwon leaned down to recapture his lips and fill the void that had emerged when parting earlier.

It was weird, kissing someone he had wanted to curse several months ago.

But it was a good kind of weird. A wonderfully sweet kind of weird that Hyungwon wasn’t sure he could live without from now on as their kiss deepened while the lights of the company building dimmed around them.

♈♈♈