Sooyoung was very nervous, nothing to do with the game, he trusted his team and their hard work, his nerves came from the fact his father had insisted on attending. That meant his “fiance” and their parents were all attending, and he would have to pretend to be the nice compliant daddy’s little boy and loving fiance for society to see. If both families were seen together, there was bound to be some media coverage, and that was really a bother to everyone else, this was just a simple first game and now they will make the headlines and he’d have to fake interest in that dreadful woman he was bound to.

Sure, the engagement was being undone behind the scenes, but apart from the two fathers, everyone else still believed it was completely official and the wedding was to happen. Their companies depended on the world still believing they were bound together, mr Kim and mr Park were working to make the ‘break up’ as seamless as possible, but that took time and a lot of work with their investidors. For now, Sooyoung would have to put up with Taeyeon a little longer, and neither could know their engagement was just a front already, else everything would fall apart.

“Do I have to be here?” Taeyeon complained for the nth time that morning.

“Yes, and you will pose for the cameras.” Mr Kim cut his daughter’s whining. “This is publicity and you will play your part, don’t forget who you are.”

“I am Kim Taeyeon and do not want to be here. I should be sleeping for tonight’s party.”

“And you will do well to remember you might not even leave the house if I decide you won’t, so play your part.” Mr Kim says with finality.

Sooyoung knew he would have to go and greet them at some point before the game, Joohyun and Seulgi had been great, trying to get his mind off his worries, and coach Choi even allowed Seungwan to slip in and give him some treats he had baked that morning, to which Joohyun pouted and whined a little until his boyfriend told him something and then he stopped instantly. Probably that there were more at home and Sooyoung’s dad was looking like he just killed someone so support your friend or no kisses.

“Coach, can I be excused for a few moments?” Sooyoung asks quietly.

“Sure thing, kid.” The coach allows, there was still a good hour before going out to warm ups. “Just don’t hurt yourself, alright?!”

“I’ll try, coach.” 

Coach Choi knew about his captain’s situation, mr Park himself had come and talked to him a while back, few days after Sooyoung was chosen captain. He was sympathetic to the boy, it’s cruel to have your life decided for you and to know only unhappiness was waiting for him. He also knew the boy had severe depression and was being treated, but could have some episodes here and there, so coach Choi tried his best to help without being too obvious. Choi Yujung was a hard man, but he was also a very caring and very compassionate man, he loved his boys and would do his best to help them along.

Sooyoung goes back to his locker and grabs his jersey, the team was already half dressed, only waiting to get their upper body gear on when the game would start, warm ups weren’t done with them anyways, and headed out to the bleachers. It wasn’t hard to spot his family, his parents stood out like a sore thumb and the Kims were there as well, the whole gathering looking entirely ridiculous, with five people dressed for a lunch at the country club at a highschool football game. Taeyeon was looking like she’d rather die then be there, he knew he was about to hear some choice words from the woman about her presence in this useless public stunt.

“Good morning, sir, ma’am.” Sooyoung greets the Kims, his parents were busy. “Miss Taeyeon.”

“Good morning, son.” Mr Kim greets enthusiastically, stopping the boy from bowing so formally. “How have you been.”

“I’ve been doing fine, sir.”

“No need to be so stiff, sweetheart.” Mrs Kim pats the boy’s cheek with a motherly smile.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Sooyoung says, just to say something. Then he turns to Taeyeon. “It’s good to see you, miss.”

“Wish I could say the same.” The young woman gets reproving glares from her parents. “Not like you all don’t know how I feel about this.”

“I’m sorry you had to be bothered like this, miss.” The boy answers automatically. “If you excuse me, I should greet my parents as well.”

“Of course.” Mr Kim dismisses, cutting his daughter who was about to say more.

The boy moves to his parents with a small bow to the Kims, mr Park was doing his best to school his expression, the sound of the shutters had grown exponentially after his son arrived, and Taeyeon’s little tantrum was already going to be plastered over the front pages all over, neither family could afford much else, but it was a calculated stunt between the two patriarchs, they had been feeling the pressure for anything on their children to be announced, this would shut them up for a while. They were still in business with each other after all.

“Father, mother.” Sooyoung greeted, very stiff as he always were with these public appearances.

“Son.” Mr Park greeted back. “I see you already talked to the Kims.”

“It is only natural that I greet my future in-laws.” The boy was clearly uncomfortable with all this.

“Sweetheart, you don’t have to be nervous.” Mrs Park tries to soothe her boy, giving him a warm hug. “It is just the first game.”

“I’m not nervous about the game, mother.” The boy swallows dryly. “But thank you. I should get back to the locker room, we should be heading out for warm ups soon and I must talk to my teammates.”

“Of course.” Mr Park dismisses him. 

Sooyoung gets a kiss from his mother and bows to both respectfully before leaving, Mrs Park knows her husband is as sad as she is, and she also understands why they were there, the woman could only hope that her son won’t be too put down today. Sure, what is happening might me a ruse between mr Park and mr Kim, but it’s not like the woman was blind to it all, she was the director of her own company, never having stepped down for her husband to take over, and mr Park found it only natural that she did. She was very well aware of everything that happened with her family, under her roof or not.

The game goes by smoothly, Sooyoung’s team was clearly better prepared, and won with a comfortable advantage, they might not have played with everything they had, but it was more than enough, besides, it’s wise to not reveal all the secrets at once. Mrs Park noticed a face in the bleachers she hadn’t seen in a while, her husband’s nephew, ever since the younger Park had been disowned and had his ties cut by old man Park she hadn’t seen the boy. He had grown so much, got so handsome and looked exactly like his mother, she saw the boy was sporting the school’s jersey, with his name on the back, so she figured he had become an athlete as well. 

Mrs Park poked her husband, who looked at her curiously, she moved for him to be subtle (the cameras were still on them) and guided him to where the boy was sitting, cheering loudly for the school team with his friends, the man felt his eyes tear up a little, but the years under scrutiny helped him keep things under control. The boy was beautiful, and he wished he could have been there to see him grow, mr Park hadn’t talked to his brother ever since their father threw him out, that was about ten years before, and the man wondered what else he had missed all these years.

The Parks observed more of their nephew than the game, although they did cheer for their son, they were mostly following the crowd, their attention was on the face they could recognise anywhere despite the manly looks settling, the shade of a beard and the muscles he had developed during the time they had been shut out. Mrs Park felt her heart warm and break with the boy, she noticed a smaller boy beside him, looking like they had something for each other, but she knew it couldn’t happen, and just vowed to double her efforts to free the innocent people who had already lost so much.

By the time the game ended, the Kims and the Parks made their way down the bleachers and started chatting, while waiting for Sooyoung to come out so they could pose a little more and head to dinner in whatever restaurant mr Kim had reserved for them. The boy didn’t take long, only a few others had come out by then, interestingly, a pale boy with pitch black hair came out, headed directly to the lost nephew and was kissed by the one mrs Park was certain was dating him, weird. They didn’t linger much longer after that, their ride for the evening was already waiting for them once they reached the parking lot, and Sooyoung hated every second of that over-the-top display of power, he figured it must have been mr Kim’s doing, as he was told the man was the one planning the evening.

Once the group arrived, mr Kim told the hostess about his reservation and they were guided to one of the ‘private tables’, this restaurant didn’t have private rooms, despite its status with two Michelin stars, but some tables offered more privacy than others. Sooyoung noticed a table in particular, at the center of the restaurant, with a completely different setting from the ones around it, and a mini counter behind it, when he pointed it to his mother, she guessed it might be the chef’s table. That got both Sooyoung and mrs Park wondering, mr Kim was certainly the type to insist on getting the best places, that would include the chef’s table, but neither mentioned it, saving the information for later.

“If you need anything, please call.” The hostess said once the group had settled. “You just have to press this button and a waiter will be with you shortly. Excuse me.” She pointed to a button on the table before leaving.

“Kim, this is a really nice place, I hear the waiting line is quite big, however.” Mr Park remarks.

“It is, but I called a few favors. Too bad we couldn’t get the chef’s table.” Mr Kim sighs.

“And why would that be, dear?” Mrs Kim asks, genuinely curious.

“Looks like the chef picks the guests for that table personally, and tonight there were others already scheduled for it.” The man is a little dejected.

“Maybe you could talk to the chef personally and convince them to change their mind?” Mrs Kim tries.

“That’s an idea.” Mr Kim agrees and presses the button.

Not much longer a waiter arrives, a very sharp looking and well built young man, his uniform neatly pressed, hair combed back and clean shaved, Taeyeon had some ideas on how to get his crisp white shirt ruined in the employees’ lounge. 

“How may I serve you tonight?” The young waiter asked.

“I would like to talk to the chef, please.” Mr Kim requested. “My wife just gave me the idea of trying to convince them to place us on the chef’s table in person.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible, sir.” The waiter apologises. “The chef isn’t present at the moment, and the chef’s table has already been settled. I’m sorry, but we can’t place you there this evening, maybe some other time. Is there anything else I may help with?”

“Can you bring us your Alter Ego AOC Margaux? Two bottles to start, please.” Mr Park intervenes quickly.

“I’ll be back shortly. Excuse me.” The young man bows and leaves to fetch their wine.

Sooyoung could only pray this evening would be over quickly, if there was something he hated more than to be forced to interact with his fiance, it was to be forced to endure the Kims need to be extravagant and show off their supposed influence. Taeyeon was already more interested in their waiter, and the boy knew she would certainly slip him her number and they would be warming each other up before the evening was over. He really just wanted to not be here, maybe still be at school, cheering on the first greco-roman match that would have taken place that afternoon. All he got was a stressful morning and a lunch he wasn’t even going to taste anyways.