Having dinner was fine, having dinner with the CEO and his son wasn't. Yoon Jeonghan took a sip of wine from his glass to help ease his discomfort and crossed his legs under the table. The launch of their footwear collection had been more than successful, the manufacturers were barely keeping up with demands and the waiting lists were in the thousands. Jeonghan had been on the verge of a mental breakdown leading up to the launch date and it had really taken a toll on his overall health. Yet he still had so many things to do.

"I'm very impressed," Kim Sanghoon had the server pour Jeonghan more wine. "I knew I could trust you, Jeonghan."

"Thank you, sir," Jeonghan said -- his voice sounded tired even to his own ears.

"You're looking a little pale these days, my boy," Sanghoon noted.

"Just some lack of sleep, sir," Jeonghan lied, he couldn't outright tell the CEO that his deteriorating health was due to the responsibilities he was given by the man himself.

The brunette opened up his menu and quickly scanned through all the options. Nothing really caught his eye, he was the type to eat out of necessity and not enjoyment. He picked the first thing on the menu and handed it back to the waiter. A quiet Mingyu looked over at Jeonghan's bony wrist and frowned, his coworker looked so...frail. Yoon Jeonghan wasn't exactly the most built individual but over the last couple of weeks the man had gone from being relatively slim to paper thin. Of course Mingyu couldn't even ask the brunette if he was alright since they barely even crossed paths. Jeonghan was so busy flying back and forth between Japan and Korea that he was lucky to even steal a glimpse of his hyung in the hallways.

Originally, Mingyu had thought Jeonghan was making excuses and using his workload as an excuse to push him away but he'd quickly learnt that that wasn't true. Jeonghan really did have a lot on his plate, too much. Mingyu chewed on the chapped skin on his bottom lip as he watched Jeonghan stare at the plate in front of him. The brunette poked and prodded at his food, he pushed it around and took the occasional nibble but otherwise he didn't seem to have any interest in eating. No wonder he'd gotten so thin.

"I honestly had some reservations when I paired you and my son together for this little project but you two have proven me wrong," Sanghoon said while swirling his whiskey on the rocks. "I've noticed you're doing quite a bit of travelling nowadays between the Tokyo and Seoul office, it must be quite tiring right Jeonghan?"

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't," Jeonghan admitted.

"Then how about I make things easier for you?" Kim Sanghoon took a long swig of his beverage. "I can relocate you to Tokyo permanently, you'll assume the COO position for our Japanese branch. Pick your accommodation and I'll make it all happen, my gift to you."

"Sir," Jeonghan's face fell.

"Mingyu can take over for you here in Seoul," Sanghoon looked over at his son with a straight face. "I think it's time for him to fend for himself, he's been under your wing for a little too long."

"You can't spring something like this on us without any prior notice," Mingyu was not happy. "Jeonghan can't just uproot his entire life and ship it over to Japan, he's the one who keeps everything in order."

"And that kind of order is what is needed in our Japanese branch, they need a better infrastructure and Jeonghan can provide that infrastructure," Kim Sanghoon didn't look all too concerned by his son's spark of anger.

"Are you doing this to spite me?" Mingyu scowled at his father.

"Whatever do you mean?" His father played dumb.

" you, old man!" Mingyu flung his napkin onto the table and stormed out from the room.

"Sir," Jeonghan had some questions -- questions with answers he wasn't ready for.

"My son isn't very good at hiding his feelings, Jeonghan. I'm thankful for all the guidance you've given him over the course of this new venture but I think it's best if you refrain from getting any more involved with him. I don't want you to resent me but I don't want to have my only child having a relationship with someone who holds such a high position at this company. He'll hate me, well, he'll hate me even more after this but I think it's the best thing for him. He needs to focus on his job and not romance."

Jeonghan felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"I understand, sir," Jeonghan lowered his gaze.

"You're a smart man, Jeonghan," Sanghoon gripped Jeonghan's shoulder. "I would hate to terminate you over something like this, please understand. Go find yourself someone else, someone who isn't my son. Take up my offer, your accommodation will be paid for by the company and you'll receive a significant increase in your salary, my boy."

"I can't refuse, can I?" Jeonghan asked sadly.

"It's either take the offer or termination, son," Sanghoon said with a firm nod.

"I thought so," Jeonghan ran a hand through his hair.

"This is a huge opportunity, Jeonghan," Sanghoon added. "Think about it."

"Will do, sir," Jeonghan said with a curt nod before he too took his leave.

As he approached the car park, Jeonghan could already make out the outlines of Mingyu's silhouette leaning against the side. Jeonghan already knew he wasn't going to be able to get into his vehicle very easily.

"You're not going to just up and leave, right?" Mingyu looked up from the asphalt.

"I'm not exactly in a pick and choose situation, Mingyu," Jeonghan breathed. "I need to follow the boss's instructions, don't I?"

"You're just going to roll over and show your belly just like that? You're not even going to fight it? What happened to the headstrong Jeonghan? Where'd he go?"

"I don't think me getting a promotion is the real problem, is it?" Jeonghan accused.

"Well obviously," Mingyu kicked ground beneath his feet.

"Your dad knows about us, Mingyu," Jeonghan announced. "He's known for a while."

"Of course he does," Mingyu scoffed looking away. "He has to know everything about my business, why I am even surprised?"

"I know this wasn't what you and I wanted to hear after the things that happened between us but I don't think I can back out from this, Mingyu," Jeonghan reached out to touch Mingyu's hand.

"You're going along with it?" Mingyu yanked his hand away. "You're actually considering it?"

"I either I take your father's offer or I find another company, Mingyu," Jeonghan hung his head. "I don't exactly have a wide range of options. You and I aren't even together anymore, don't make it harder than it already is."

"Why are you so calm?! How can you say these things to my face without even blinking?! Do I mean nothing to you?!"

"You mean a lot to me, which is exactly why you should get it in your head that I am bad for you!" Jeonghan shouted in return. "I'm just going to keep hurting you the longer you try to hold on! You may have issues but I'm the literal definition of an issue!"

"So we're just going to part ways like this?"

"If it makes it easier for you," Jeonghan said.

"You're unbelievably cold, Yoon Jeonghan," Mingyu finally said as he walked back in the direction of the restaurant. "So ing cold."

"I know," Jeonghan mumbled to himself. "Learn from this, don't let someone like me ever hurt you again."

"Breathe, Wonwoo, breathe," the man chanted to himself as he walked hand in hand with Siwoo into the cafe he'd agreed to meet up in.

"Dad, that lady's looking at me," Siwoo whispered as they walked past several tables.

"It's okay, bud," Wonwoo ruffled his son's hair as they approached the said woman.

"Hi," the woman's voice greeted once they were seated in the circular booth.

Wonwoo nodded once. The woman who he once called a girlfriend was dressed in a beige pantsuit, her dark brown hair was cut into a sleek bob and an obvious wedding ring adorned her finger. The woman's eyes drifted from Siwoo and Wonwoo with curious eyes, Siwoo looked at the woman with just as much curiosity.

"Siwoo, this is Lee Hyosung," Wonwoo said.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Siwoo," the four year old said to the woman, his chubby fingers gripped the hem of his dad's shirt.

"You're such a polite little thing," Hyosung cooed and reached out to touch the four year old's cheek.

Siwoo flinched but let it happen, he was slightly on edge.

"Thank you for meeting with me," Hyosung turned her attention to Wonwoo.

"What did you want to say to Siwoo? I would like to get this over with as soon as possible," Wonwoo's tone was more than a little hostile, he was extremely nervous seeing the woman interact with his son.

"I understand," Hyosung gave a sad smile. "I know you don't owe me anything."

"Why did you leave me and my dad?" Siwoo suddenly asked.

"Pardon?" Hyosung looked a little taken aback.

"Why did you leave me and my dad?" Siwoo repeated.

"I had things that I wanted to do," Hyosung answered. "Things that being