Everything happened in a blink of an eye.

One moment, the stranger’s giving him a smug smile, the next, he’s down on the floor clutching his face. The loud gasps and whispers of the guests were drowned by his own fury of emotions. His actions are only brought to his attention when someone held him.

“Minhyun, this is not the right place, right time and definitely not the right person” Jonghyun is holding him back, words bringing him back to reality. Everyone’s looking at them, faces riddled with shock but no one took out their phones, something that gave Minhyun a big relief. This is not a place where someone can simply cause drama and he just did it.

He sees Hyunbin and Seongwu sending him worried looks while Jihoon stood beside them, unsure of what to do. The panic is evident in their eyes. To interfere is hard but Minhyun doesn’t want to put them in a tight position.

“Minhyun is-”

“My apologies, although I was taken aback by what you said, I shouldn’t have punched you” Minhyun cuts off Jonghyun before he could say anything else. It’s not his place to ask for forgiveness. He wasn't the one who punched this rude person. Besides, Minhyun’s conditioned to apologize at this point. You always have to apologize to those who ranked higher than you even when you’re right. Swallow everything. Your pride, your dignity, your identity to please them.

“Daniel are you ok?” He sees someone approach the new face - Daniel, and began to check up on him.

Daniel? Minhyun’s heart shakes in fear. He's Kang Daniel? Out of all the faces in the room, the one he had a one night stand with is the new PR Head? The one he just punched is Kang Daniel? Minhyun couldn't tell the look of horror on his own face but this Daniel had an amused smile on his lips.

Despite being on the floor, there’s not an ounce of anger that passed through Daniel’s eyes as he clutched his wounded face. He doesn’t look embarrassed even when he was punched by someone of lower ranking. It was as if, he's enjoying the moment. Minhyun couldn't tell which one he is. The crazy one or the kind one. Nobody enjoys being punched on the face. Minhyun had that once and it wasn't very good.

“I’m fine” He shakes his head, standing up on his own to dust off the dirt on his pants. The hall grew silent, commotion reaching even the end of the room. Minhyun felt sweat trickling down his forehead as he tuck his sweating hands behind him. Majority of the people in the room were whispering to each other, a common scene that had his stomach turning upside down. Minhyun wants to run away from the scene. Turn around and vomit if he can.

He scans the crowd, hoping none of the higher authorities saw what happened. Thankfully, the gods were on his side this time. They have gone to their respective places which probably happened during the time Daniel walked over towards them. Minhyun remained rooted in place. His eyes watched as the crowd questioned Daniel’s current state. If Minhyun wasn’t the cause of his bruised face, he would’ve probably scoffed. The man is clearly old enough to handle himself.

Unfortunately, he knew the impact of his punch. Gym and boxing sessions with his ex boyfriend really did a great job for him to say the least.

“You know how to throw a punch. I’m impressed” The corners of Daniel’s mouth turned upwards. It doesn’t look like a good sign. A mysterious smile is dangerous and that’s exactly what he’s sending off. Minhyun couldn’t help but pursed his lips, finding comfort in the presence of Jonghyun beside him. Even though Daniel’s on his feet again, the crowd’s attention is focused on them.

He couldn’t tell why they’re so invested in a random fight. Most people he knew in their company would turn a blind eye if they saw something like this happening. It’s not new, just unusual but today, they seemed interested in what Daniel has to say. They look supportive to be honest.

Minhyun tries hard not to frown but there’s a question lingering in his mind as he sneak a glance at Jonghyun. Is he missing something? Is Daniel someone more than just the PR head? Jonghyun doesn’t look very amused at the moment. He’s clenching his jaw, a dark look present in his eyes which only happens once in awhile. His fists are clenched tightly and from across the room, Minhyun can see Minki biting his lower lip in worry.

“Let’s talk about this later, they’re starting the program soon” As if on cue, the hall turned dim leaving Minhyun alone with Jonghyun. In the dark lit room, he could see a few disappointed faces coming from what they call, the gossip group while the majority, followed Daniel as he left.

There’s something fishy with the current happenings.

“I know I’m always late but if this is what I’m gonna see every time then I should start arriving early!” HyunBin excitedly runs over to them, dragging Seongwu by the arm. The older is whining, lips formed to a pout as he tried to fix his necktie that got caught up in Hyunbin's wrist, the chains linked to his cuff, shining brightly even under a dim room. Minki sends a look of disapproval to the statement, pinching Hyunbin's arm ever lightly.

“The last thing I want to happen is for any of us to be involved with the CEO's son” Minhyun’s ears perked up to his friend's words, processing them until they make sense. Minki is sending him a glare, a serious one at that and Minhyun knows it’s not a good sign.

 

“Ok, so let me get this straight, the guy you had a one night stand with is the new PR Head of the department?” Minhyun takes his time to answer, still trying to grasp the gravity of the whole situation. He just punched the PR Head, which happens to be the son of the CEO of the company and after apologizing, their conversation’s cut off in a haste when the event started. After two hours, he’ll be confronted by said man and his fate will ultimately be decided.

Since Minhyun arranged it so nicely, he realized that there’s no way out of it.

Everyone saw the whole scene. Daniel didn’t raise his hand to punch Minhyun (but he did stir Minhyun during verbal conversation which nobody saw, unfortunately) so the only option he has in mind is getting fired or getting suspended.

Getting suspended would be a blessing and a miracle. It’s definitely better than looking for a job this time of year. With summer approaching, his electricity bill’s gone off the roof since Minki demands that the aircon should be open 24/7 because it’s his life. Minhyun doesn’t want to rely too much on Minki, too. That would be abuse of friendship.

Being fired is a different story but he can look at it another way.

He spent four years working in the company, didn’t ask for too much time off and he’s always punctual and organized with his works. Maybe this is a sign from the gods telling him that it’s time to change his pace and start fresh with his life. It’s time to forget all those problems sticking to him to leech and leaves them all in Seoul.

Now, that sounds like a plan.  

“Minhyun, focus on me and stop thinking about being fired!” Minki’s demand for attention is too strong he has no willpower to escape.

“I’m listening! ” Minhyun defends, gulping down his wine in one go.

“You weren’t listening! And since when do you down wine like that?” Minki’s question caught him off guard while their other friends shoot him mixed looks, surprised by the statement. Minhyun didn’t even notice this little change.

“Before this conversation goes on, is there something I’m missing? Minhyun went to Busan, how can he have a one night stand with Kang Daniel in Jeju?” Jonghyun's voice comes out cold, the tense atmosphere sending shivers down Minhyun's spine. The authority Jonghyun holds over their entire group is no joke. A mistake like is always dealt with seriousness and although his best friend's lenient most of the time, these things aren't left alone. He stare doesn't leave Minhyun, demanding for an answer. “Did the two of you lie to me?”

Underneath the table, he felt someone tapping his leg. There's only one person who would do that, considering Hyunbin doesn't know anything about his escapade and he's on Minhyun's left side. He felt like his 10 year old self again when caught in a lie of exclaiming he stole a bicycle. It was a very serious episode of his life. His parents thought it was real and demanded to know everything while his sister remained by the side, laughing secretly as she ate her vegetables. From that time, Minhyun learned when to lie and when not to. Except tonight, that is.

“So, are we just g