Soonyoung sat impatiently tapping his foot as he sat beside Wonwoo inside the car. Wonwoo had offered to drive the twenty-four kilometres from Seoul to Namyangju and Soonyoung had gratefully accepted, he didn't like the idea of travelling by train -- the uncomfortable chairs did terrible things to his neck and back. The drive to his hometown was relatively quiet with Siwoo asking his father questions now and again about certain things he saw outside the window.

"Why aren't there any big buildings? Why does it look so empty?" Siwoo asked as he looked at the large plots of land.

"Because this isn't the city, bud," Wonwoo explained. "Out here everyone grows things and you can't do that with big buildings in the way."

"Oh," Siwoo acknowledged as he continued to stare outside in pure wonderment.

"You nervous?" Wonwoo reached over to touch Soonyoung's hand.

"A little...okay, a lot," Soonyoung answered.

"You really think they won't like me?" Wonwoo asked.

"Mom will love you, she's an absolute er for a handsome face but I don't know how dad's going to react," Soonyoung admitted. "You're the very first guy I'm actually taking home."

"The first? Really?" Wonwoo looked rather smug hearing Soonyoung's statement.

"I've never liked anyone enough to bring them home to meet my parents," Soonyoung blushed.

"So I'm special?" Wonwoo was still smiling.

"Very," Soonyoung nodded.

Wonwoo turned into the long driveway leading up to Soonyoung's family home and parked behind an old white van. He got Siwoo out of his seat and held his son on one arm while the other carried a duffle bag. Soonyoung lead the way inside. The front of Soonyoung's family home was rather charming, it was a neutral shade of beige with a terracotta tiled roof. Two pairs of gumboots were lined up outside the door and a ceramic statue of a frog sat in the small patch of grass just below the steps leading to the porch. Wonwoo took off his shoes and followed Soonyoung inside. A woman's excited squeal made Wonwoo jump. He immediately bowed when an older woman ran out of the kitchen and engulfed Soonyoung in a hug.

"Soonyoung!" The older woman shouted in excitement.

"Hi, mom," Soonyoung said, his voice coming out thin because of the air being squeezed out of him.

"And this must be Wonwoo and Siwoo?" The woman turned to look at her son's lover and his child.

"Yes they are," Soonyoung smiled fondly at the two.

"My son definitely has my taste, so dashing," Soonyoung's mother said as she walked over to Wonwoo, her attention immediately landed on Siwoo. "And you, sweetheart, are the most handsome little man I've ever seen."

"Thank you," Siwoo said before clinging onto his dad, the compliment made him shy.

"It's really nice meeting you," Wonwoo said. "I'm Jeon Wonwoo and this is my son, Jeon Siwoo."

"Oh I know, dear," Soonyoung's mother smiled, her eyes turning into crescents just like her son. "Soonyoung won't stop talking about how wonderful you are."

"Does he now?" Wonwoo winked at Soonyoung who turned away clearly embarrassed.

"Well make yourselves comfortable, I've prepared the guest room for you upstairs, it's the third door to the left," Soonyoung's mother said. "There's a bathroom on your right and if you need anything just give me a holler."

"Thank you, Mrs. Kwon I know you weren't expecting to have extra guests," Wonwoo apologised.

"On the contrary, dear, I'm excited to finally meet my son's significant other," Mrs. Kwon waved off Wonwoo's apology. "Here I thought my son would be alone forever, this is very exciting."

"Thanks, mom," Soonyoung rolled his eyes as he lead Wonwoo up to the guest room.

"She's lovely," Wonwoo acknowledged as he followed Soonyoung.

"Just wait till you meet my dad," Soonyoung threw over his shoulder.

Admittedly, Wonwoo did feel rather anxious about meeting his lover's father but on the other hand he wanted to see what kind of man managed to raise such a bright human being. If the man could nurture someone as sweet as Soonyoung, he couldn't be that bad of a person right?

"Hey, it's me," Jeonghan said through the voice message. "Just letting you know that I landed safely here in Haneda. I hope you're eating and sleeping enough. I'll be back in a week, you probably won't listen to this but I thought you'd like to know. Bye."

Mingyu slipped his phone back into his pocket and continued staring out the car window. Minghao gave his friend a concerned look out of the corner of his eye as drove, they hadn't had a proper conversation in a while.

"Was that Jeonghan?" Minghao broke the silence.

"Yeah," Mingyu answered, just his voicemail but it was still Jeonghan.

"Care to tell me what triggered you both this time?" Minghao asked.

"Not us, just me," Mingyu replied.

"Let me guess, being the head honcho is more difficult than you thought?" Minghao cocked a brow.

"Bingo," Mingyu nodded.

"So you blew up and took it out on Jeonghan?"

"Yup," Mingyu nodded again.

"It's like an endless cycle," Minghao said as he pulled into the hospital parking lot. "You both always manage to trigger each other in some way, shape or form."

"You're not wrong," Mingyu's disheartened tone muttered.

"From what I see, you both definitely have strong feelings for each other but this lover-coworker dynamic is not working for either of you. Most of the conflict is coming from your relationship in the workplace more than anything."

"What are you trying to say?" Mingyu shot Minghao a look.

"I'm just giving you my two cents, that's all," Minghao said as he parked the car.

"Thanks for the ride," was all Mingyu said before he got out and headed for the hospital entrance.

"Wishing you all the best, man," Minghao called out to his friend before putting his car back in gear.

Mingyu went through all the formalities and headed to his father's hospital room. The man was propped up in his bed holding a plastic fork in his hand, he was prodding at the beige slush that sat on a tray in front of him. The CEO's head immediately ce he saw his son.

"Mingyu," his father acknowledged.

"You doing okay?" Mingyu sat down in one of the plastic chairs.

"As okay as someone can be after a heart attack," the old CEO answered.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Mingyu asked. "Why didn't you say anything about your heart condition?"

"Because I don't like people knowing about my weaknesses."

"So it all comes down to your ego," Mingyu accused. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Jeonghan called me a little while ago," Sanghoon changed the subject. "He says you had him reclaim his position at the office, is that right?"

"Yeah."

"He said you were doing a good job of holding the fort while I'm here."

"He lied," Mingyu interjected. "I'm close to pulling all my hair out, so ing close."

"The higher up you are, the more suffocating it is, isn't it?" Sanghoon asked.

"Yeah," Mingyu hung his head.

There was a long silence before Sanghoon opened his mouth.

"I didn't mean to hurt your mother," Sanghoon set down his fork. "I was around your age when I started 'RQ&S,' it was a tiny startup company that was operated out of an old building that used to be an accounting firm."

Mingyu was silent as he listened to his dad.

"I was so obsessed with pursuing success that it was all I could think about. I convinced myself that I was doing it all for the sake of my family's future but deep down it was just to my own ego. I liked the idea of having money, I liked the idea of having power so I disregarded everything, blocked out anything that could hinder me from getting to my goal."

"And you hurt mom in the process," Mingyu concluded.

"I did, I rarely ever came home, I didn't bother making time for her and I ended up pushing her away. All the money I'd transfer into her account was left untouched, now that I think about it maybe it was her way of telling me that it wasn't the money that she needed -- she needed her husband."

"You must really regret not treating her better," Mingyu frowned.

"I do," Sanghoon nodded. "Everyday."

"Even though you were a bad husband, she still wanted to see you when she was sick."

"Which is exactly why I can understand your less than favourable opinion of me," Sanghoon said.

"We have all the time in the world right now