“I came here thinking I’d be offered wine” Minhyun snickers as he put down a glass of iced tea and a cup of coffee on the table. Daniel’s sitting comfortably on his second hand couch, arm resting over some of his brown throw pillows. He got it off a sale while travelling to Jonghyun’s house one day. It’s a sweet deal for him but Minki didn’t like it one bit, said it was too old for his liking. Minhyun never saw it as ugly. It was cheap and they needed a couch so he bought it on a whim.

Well, until now as Daniel sit on it.

It looks very ancient compared to his suit.

“And you said you’re just going to drive me home” Minhyun quips as he sat across him, drinking his coffee. There a basket full of sweets by the table, something he’s used to prepare for guests to munch on. Daniel, surprisingly, is on his 4th pack of jellies by the time Minhyun sat down to have a chat. The younger man seems to have a sweet tooth.

“Don’t look at me like that” Daniel utters out, taking a few jellies from his hand to eat. His eyes are scanning the whole place, from his living area, dining area, kitchen. The apartment is a place he holds near his heart. There’s so many memories made in it and to part from it someday would be devastating. “You seem to be a very sentimental person”

“My roommate and I go back ever since we’re kids. We love to put things that reminds us of our friendship and such” He replies with a loving tone in his voice, eyes landing on the picture that’s hanging just above Daniel’s head. It was a photo of him, Minki, Jonghyun, Dongho and Aron (His sister’s boyfriend) during their University days. They were so young, so full of problems concerning school and now, they jump to the real world where it’s ten times harder.

“I see” That was all Daniel could say and Minhyun suddenly regrets talking about his past. There’s been some talk in the office regarding the Kangs life. The older siblings were strict and cold to their subordinates. Everyone believes they have a hard life under the supervision of their father who is a perfectionist. Daniel, being the youngest, would have a lot of pressure placed on him to catch up to his siblings. “I’ve seen that kind of look of everywhere”

Minhyun clears his throat “What look?” He tries to feign innocence but Minhyun isn’t good at lying. His mannerisms are always a dead giveaway when he’s alone. Minki’s always better at directing him what to do when he lies. So far, lying has caused him nothing but interrogations.

“You don’t have to lie about feeling sorry” Daniel leans back on the couch, eating another pack of jelly like everything that’s happening to him is nothing. “From an outsider’s view, it may look hard but this is how we’re brought up. I’m used to it, no need to feel sorry to me”

“I’m sorry” Embarrassment flood him, cheeks growing warmer.

“I apologize about the earlier situation as well. I didn’t think about my actions but rest assured none of it will get out”

Minhyun takes a deep breath “Well, coming from you that’s a big relief, Thank you”

“No problem” Daniel smiles as he drank his iced tea and silence filled the whole apartment once again. Although feeling better with the turn of events, Minhyun’s still unsure where their conversation’s really taking them. Is this really what Kang Daniel came here for? He could’ve gone home after talking to Minhyun inside the car but he obliged when Minhyun offered for some tea inside. It sounds a little bit fishy.

“What did you really come here for?” He starts, shifting in his place to feel comfortable.

“To apologize” Daniel answers simply. It doesn’t sound very convincing.

“And?” He prods, feeling a little bit unusual. He’s just starting to like his new boss, maybe he’s sane, but there’s an eerie feeling creeping up within him that tells him he’s not at all like that.

“I don’t always see someone like you” Minhyun stops the urge to roll his eyes at such a cliche line. There it is, the true intention coming out of the bag. “I saw you cry that night, although you didn’t mention any names, you were clearly heartbroken”

“What does that have to do with you”

“Let me make a proposal. I want to have fun and you need to forget about him. That night, you were wasted and kept crying. It’s not a very lovely image on you” Daniel walks towards Minhyun, caging him between the couch where he has no chance of escaping. His heart is pounding in his chest, too hard that it might jump out soon. “How about being in a purely ual relationship with me”  

“What?” He must’ve heard it wrong right? Daniel’s swollen cheek is a reminder of Minhyun’s punch earlier and right now, proposing something that’s so ridiculous makes him deserve another punch. Perhaps the earlier events caused the clogs in his brain to shift and lose its rigidity.

“I won't take no for an answer right away” Daniel pulls himself away from the couch, leaving Minhyun to stare at him like he's from out of this world. He's watched a lot of dramas and he enjoys them thoroughly. What he doesn't expect is for his life to be a reenactment of one. “Just think about it”

“I don’t even have to think about it because my answer is no” Minhyun held Daniel’s gaze, trying to look for some kind of joke underneath his words but they were serious.

“Minhyun, you'll need my company on lonely days” Daniels smirks as he grab his coat by the rack “I'll see you on Monday Mr. Hwang”

Minhyun watched as Daniel left the apartment, leaving him to stare at the door dumbfoundedly. A part of him hoped that the words were a joke but the overall conversation was serious. So far, he's able to work on a professional level with the other PR Heads but Kang Daniel may be his future reason for a headache.

 

Monday mornings.

He dreads a Monday morning and to make matters worse, the weather isn't great and Kang Daniel’s starting his first day at work. Minhyun sluggishly walks along the corridor of their office, carrying a cup of coffee in his hands as he's still preoccupied with the events from two nights ago. To be perfectly honest, the question here should be, why is he even thinking about it?

He perfectly understands what kind of person he is and a proposal like that is definitely not him.

Or is it?

“You look like death visited you last night” By this time, Minhyun’s not surprised to Jaehwan’s frequent visits to the office. Since the young and talented producer has nothing to do besides look for inspiration, he goes and bugs his friends.

“I wished death really did visit me” Minhyun replies, slowing down his pace so Jaehwan could catch up.

“I heard you left with Kang Daniel” Jaehwan whispers as he hooked an arm over the older. Minhyun’s coffee threatens to spill over the files in his other hand so he tries to maneuver his way, no energy to protest over Jaehwan’s actions.

“I did, he apologized to me” Minhyun answers, trying to shake off his friend. “And then he said something so ridiculous it’s a wonder I haven’t been fired yet”

“What did he say” Gossips were Jaehwan’s lifeline. He’s not called the master over nothing. Talks from upper levels to the lower levels reaches his ears, as if he’s not working in a different building over all. Aside from Jaehwan, Minki is pretty solid with his sources, too, which makes them quite the dangerous combo in the building.

“It's nothing”

“If you look this distraught then it means something”

“Jjaen just drop the issue. If Jonghyun hears about this, he'll stress over it and won't get around to finish his designs” By the time Minhyun reaches his table, his hair is disheveled from trying to escape his friend's grasp. Jaehwan, being the persistent friend that he is, doesn't stop talking even if they're in front of Daniel's office. It's pretty early, so he doesn't expect his boss to arrive until half an hour later.

His table is quite near Daniel's office, it's in front of it to be exact. Minhyun has a full view of the interior with its large glass paneled windows, sadly, no blinds to keep the demon away. Minhyun would've chosen to have frosted glass during the redecoration if he knew Satan himself would be taking over his last boss. He’d rather feel protected than vulnerable.

“Would you look at that, a full view of a pure blooded Kang once he's in the office. Girls and guys will start to get jealous of you” The younger whistles, leaning on Minhyun's desk. “Your boss looks great in his suit and dirty blonde hair”

“My boss would be great if keeps his mouth shut” Minhyun forces a smile on his lips, pretty accustomed to be in his secretary mode again. Just how many bull can he take from Daniel in one day?

“You haven't even worked with the guy”

“That's exactly the point. We haven't even worked yet and he's already on my bad persons list” Minhyun likes to believe he can be very mature. However, the way Daniel acted at the party and his home really threw him off. How can he separate his personal life from working life when his boss is asking him to have a purely ual relationship with him? By the norm, that's not supposed to happen.

“What exactly did he tell you then? Over the weekend, you told us that you didn't have a one night stand with him. You just ended up being a very whiny 26 yr old male” He sends a glare towards Jaehwan's directions as he fixed his files on the table, making sure that the coffee is out of reach so if it falls, it won't bother the paperwork “I had to find out from Jihoon that Daniel took you home Min”

“It's not something to tell Jae, He just took me home. That's it” Another bad lie.

“Then, where did you talk about that one night stand?”

In our apartment “Inside the car Jjaeni. The drive from the hotel to our apartment is half an hour. That's long enough to become a whining 26 year old male”

“Minhyun, eye candy on a platter and you don't even want to have a piece of it. How are you going to move on from Dongho?”

Minhyun snorts “I have”

“Keep telling yourself that, maybe in ten years it'll end up real” Jaehwan looks at his watch, before pushing himself off Minhyun's table. He maybe looking for inspirations but he still has appointments and interviews to catch up to. “Try to be less alone if you can. It's not good”

“Stop meddling with my love life just because you have one. Say hi to Sewoon for me”

Jaehwan winks back as he leaves, guitar slung over his shoulder with starry eyed ladies look