Mingyu walked into the office with a coffee in hand and his phone in the other. He was supposed to meet Jeonghan at ten but it was already a good fifteen minutes past their scheduled meeting time. He knew it wasn't professional to keep the man waiting but it wasn't all completely his fault. The morning traffic was horrific and the barista at the coffee shop had forgotten his order. Mingyu quickly headed into the creative department and froze when he caught sight of the brunette.

Yoon Jeonghan was dressed in a navy blue suit that was fitted better than the previous day and his hair was effortless pushed back to reveal his forehead -- Jeonghan had a nice forehead. Mingyu slapped himself mentally, he needed to stop getting distracted by the man's looks. As Mingyu approached the older man he noticed Jeonghan was talking to someone just inside one of the meeting rooms. A taller man with fox-like eyes and round wire-rimmed glasses said something that made Jeonghan laugh. Mingyu frowned.

"Can I help you there?" The taller man's fox-like eyes fell on Mingyu.

Jeonghan also turned.

"Sorry I was late," Mingyu aplogised to Jeonghan.

"I'll see you at lunch, Wonwoo," Jeonghan said to the man with the fox-like features before he walked over to the boss's son.

"See you," Wonwoo said, the man gave Mingyu a look that was a mix between curiosity and caution.

"Follow me, Mingyu," Jeonghan said.

They walked over to one of the other meeting rooms where Jeonghan stepped aside to let Mingyu through first before he also entered. The brunette shut the door behind him and promptly urged for Mingyu to come closer. Mingyu did as he was told and just like yesterday, Jeonghan fixed his tie. As the brunette fiddled with the fabric, Mingyu couldn't help but sniff the man's hair, the smell was addictive.

"There are many ways you can do a tie," Jeonghan said. "But the only one I want you to do is a Windsor knot, no half-assing, Kim Mingyu."

"Why does that even matter? Isn't it good enough that I have a tie on?" Mingyu asked.

"Something as simple as the way you tie a tie makes all the difference between a professional and an amateur," Jeonghan explained. "Trust me, you'll thank me later."

"You mentioned we needed to set some ground rules yesterday, didn't you?" Mingyu asked as Jeonghan stepped over to take a seat at the table.

"Yes," Jeonghan nodded. "Take a seat, Mingyu."

Mingyu sat opposite the brunette.

"First and foremost, I'm just going to say this; I'm stubborn, I don't like sharing authority and I don't appreciate having decisions made without my approval," Jeonghan said. "My methods may sound rigid but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to take on ideas, I'm just doing what I can to benefit the company and if it means I have to burn some bridges to achieve it, I will do so accordingly."

"So basically you're in charge," Mingyu frowned.

"Correct," Jeonghan nodded. "But since your father insisted on your participation I'm willing to take a backseat in certain areas, I want to give you experience but I'm not going to hold your hand or spoon feed you, let me make that clear. This is a cutthroat business, Mingyu."

"Where do I start?" Mingyu asked, he was determined.

"The new footwear venture," Jeonghan pointed at the large magnetic board on the right side of the room. "This is the inspiration for the collection so far."

Mingyu stared at the colour and fabric swatches and noted the lack of colour on the board, it was just shades of muted beige and greys with a touch of black here and there. It was unoriginal, predictable and almost...boring. Jeonghan must've noticed the younger boy's face as he also frowned.

"Boring, isn't it?" Jeonghan cocked his head.

"Sorry to say but yes, it's...nothing special," Mingyu admitted.

"How would you do things differently?" Jeonghan asked.

"The minimalist aesthetic is really in right now, it's usually the footwear that makes a statement in an outfit nowadays. Having something so...bland just wouldn't really appeal to the demographic we're selling to."

"Great," Jeonghan clapped. "Then we're scrapping the current collection."

"What?" Mingyu's eyebrows shot up into his hairline.

"This'll be our first project," Jeonghan said. "You'll get to learn everything from square one."

"Aren't you being a little brash? I was just giving you an opinion," Mingyu's foot tapped nervously under the table.

"I had the same thought regarding the collection and your input just solidified my position," Jeonghan said. "Changes happen all the time, Mingyu. The spring collection from last year was one of our most successful projects to date and it was put together one month before the set release date. All because I wanted to change up the fabrics we used. You have to be willing to take risks."

"That's a little too risky," Mingyu said. "Does my dad know about this?"

"Of course he does," Jeonghan didn't like Mingyu's tone. "I wouldn't do something like that behind his back. I've built a great amount of trust with your father and I'd appreciate it if you didn't try and ruin that."

"Sorry," Mingyu said. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"Does that apply to everything you said yesterday as well?" Jeonghan cocked a brow.

Mingyu felt the vein on his forehead twitch.

"Moving on," Jeonghan turned his attention back to the board. "Since these ideas have been scrapped I think we'll have to decide on what new direction we want to take."

"Well isn't menswear the obvious choice? The male demographic are easier to appeal to, just slap on a passable design and a high price tag. Men are visual creatures, they'll buy it as long as it looks good," Mingyu said.

"I disagree," Jeonghan immediately retorted. "Our demographic have always been uni but our biggest buyers have always been women. Where as menswear is easier to produce it also lacks in opportunity for expansion. There just isn't as much of a variety in mens footwear and I doubt the average conforming heteroual male would wear a strappy heel in his daily life."

"Didn't you say that profit was our main priority? With the mens footwear we would save on production costs if they're all in the same uniform style."

"You're right in that regard but again, it would be repetitive and with repetition comes a loss of interest, why do you think our company does so well? We're constantly creating things that other brands don't have, we might not be a luxury brand but we have originality. It's what separates us from your average retailer."

"I stand by my opinion," Mingyu's tone was firm, he didn't study for six years only to be told no.

"I also stand by mine," Jeonghan countered.

"Then why don't you two boys put your heads together and do a uni line?" Kim Sanghoon's low voice made both men turn their heads.

Jeonghan got out of his seat and bowed. Mingyu didn't bother, he gave his dad a curt nod as the older man came to sit in one of the empty chairs.

"Sir, with a uni line we'd have to outsource another manufacturer to meet the demands and the release of this venture is scheduled for spring, that would mean we have to finalize everything earlier than the premeditated date," Jeonghan furrowed his brow.

"Then you should start as soon as possible," Sanghoon said, the man didn't look at all phased.

"Dad, that's asking a lot," Mingyu's hand formed a fist under the table -- that was too much.

"I don't think so," Sanghoon protested. "You're working with one of the brightest minds at our company plus this'll be the opportunity to see what that prestigious ivy league education can do."

"Sir," Jeonghan felt his migraine coming back.

"I wish you both the best," Sanghoon got out his seat.

"What if it doesn't end up being a success?" Mingyu asked.

"I'm not accepting failure," Sanghoon gave his son a look over his shoulder before turning his attention to Jeonghan. "Especially from you, Yoon Jeonghan."

The two men watched the CEO disappear down the hall before they showed their true colours. Mingyu slammed his hand on the table causing several papers to fall on the ground. Jeonghan ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes before massaging his temples. The brunette pulled out his phone and speed dialled a number.

"Hello?" The deep voice on the other end answered.

"I'm cancelling for lunch, sorry Wonwoo," Jeonghan said.

"Why?"

"I have to perform a miracle," Jeonghan simply replied as he hung up, he dropped his phone on the table and turned to Mingyu.

"How do we do this?" Mingyu didn't look the least bit happy.

"Care to tell me your ideas?" Jeonghan asked, he had to push through -- he was a professional.

"The market's completely dominated by outlandish designs, I think we should put wearability before anything else," Mingyu said. "What's the point of aesthetic appeal if it isn't multifaceted?"

"Our demographic are the kind of people who are out to make a statement, they don't want something everybody else already has at the bottom of their closet or something they can find at a department store," Jeonghan argued.

"But the consumer also needs functionality," Mingyu retorted.

"I never said we couldn't produce something functional, I just think we should find a design first," Jeonghan narrowed his eyes.

"Why did you bother asking me if you weren't going to take any of my ideas on board?!" Mingyu shouted -- he'd reached the peak of his patience.

"Because none of your ideas are all that great, Kim Mingyu," Jeonghan answered.

"According to you," Mingyu narrowed his eyes.

"Don't take this personally, I have the company and the consumer's best interest in mind," Jeonghan stood from his seat. "I have some other responsibilities to attend to, so excuse me. We'll pick up from where we le