Jongin wanted to slap himself. He was glad he would never cheat on Kyungsoo, because it was abundantly clear he would be bad at it and get caught instantly.

Of course Kyungsoo had their joint account set up to receive messages about withdrawals, and, of course, he was going to wonder about such a large sum being moved. If Jongin hadn’t already disliked Hyoen, putting him in this awkward situation of being not quite honest with his mate would have done it.

The only answer was to spend a lot of money on clothes and make Kyungsoo’s guess correct. That wouldn’t be difficult, at least. Several designers were going for an understated, reserved aesthetic this season, and Jongin would never give up trying to make Kyungsoo’s wardrobe less boring and less ready-to-wear. Not to mention Lin-Lee was debuting her line of children’s wear, and he needed to get Soojin one of everything. Their daughter was growing fast and seemed to outgrow her clothes weekly, so he could definitely justify spending too much to keep her wardrobe current.

This did mean he would need to find another source of cash to buy off Hyoen. If it came to it, he’d call his alpha-mother and see about getting money from his trust fund. Since he started working early and earning his own income, it was untouched. Though, he had hoped to leave the fund and transfer it to Soojin and any other children he hoped to have.

“Scowling is not a good look for you.”

Jongin glanced over his shoulder at the sound of familiar voice. When Kyungsoo texted he had been on the balcony getting some air. He needed to go back inside and work the room, remind people he was gorgeous and relevant and they wanted him for their campaigns, runway and print. Instead he was going to shoot the breeze with Taemin.

“That suit isn’t a good look for you,” Jongin shot back as the beta moved to lean on the railing beside him.

“It really isn’t,” Taemin agreed with a grin.

The suit in question was navy blue, pin-striped, and perfectly tailored to show off Taemin’s elegant form. Taemin simply didn’t have a suit personality, and it showed. Casual and couture, he looked fantastic in.

“Am I missing anything important inside?” Jongin asked, nodding back toward the party.

“Not really,” Taemin said as he took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. “Ah. Jessica Jung just showed up.”

“She’s been hush-hush about her new accessories, she’ll be crowded in a for a while,” Jongin said. “How’s it going?”

“Typical,” Taemin said as he held up a hand, shielding the cigarette from a breeze as he lit it. “Could be better, could be worse.”

Jongin smirked and shook his head.

He and Taemin had known each other for what felt like forever. They started out in the same dance troupe, breaking their bodies for the love of motion and barely making rent. Their paths diverged after a few years. Jongin started going by Kai and had a brief flirtation with acting before making a name for himself as a model. Meanwhile, Taemin had a short career as a singer before he started a small entertainment company that was now internationally traded.

Taemin was the first person to really listen to him when Jongin admitted he had an attraction to other alphas. He shuddered to imagine what kind of closeted life he would have led if Taemin hadn’t shrugged and told him it wasn’t a big deal, he should love as his heart guided him. Granted, Jongin hadn’t been thinking with his heart or his head when he met Kyungsoo, but his heart was pretty happy with the results.

“Things going all right with your doctor?” Taemin asked, and Jongin realized he’d zoned out. “You seem stressed.”

“Kyungsoo and I are fine,” Jongin said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“If I said Minho and I are fine the way you just did, would you buy it?” Taemin asked, offering him the cigarette.

Jongin hesitated before accepting. He took a long drag and breathed it out as he handed the cigarette back to Taemin. It was calming. He smoked a lot to stay calm and think when he started modeling. The only reason he stopped was because they were attempting to get pregnant with Soojin. Stopped his drinking, too. He started listening to a nutritionist and started working out regularly with his personal trainer. Kyungsoo that pregnancy had been a trick to get him to fix his bad habits.

He ran a hand through his hair. If Kyungsoo said yes when he asked about having another child, Jongin was willing to fix whatever remaining bad habits he had left.

Of course, he had to ask first.

“I just have a lot on my mind,” Jongin said.

“Anything I can do to help?”

Jongin drummed his fingers on the railing as he looked out at the lights of Singapore. “I want another child,” he said. There, now his best friend and his mate’s mother both knew. Eventually he would work up to the mate he wanted to have a second child with.

Taemin didn’t look surprised. “You’re cute with Soojin. What’s Kyungsoo say?” Jongin wasn’t sure what expression he had, but his friend in a breath. “Ah. You haven’t talked to him about it yet.” He picked up an ashtray from a nearby table. “If I didn’t know how hard it was for you last time, I’d say to just get pregnant on accident and handle the consequences.”

“Some of us aren’t that lucky,” Jongin said with a knowing smirk.

“Hey! Getting pregnant with Kibum was a legitimate accident,” Taemin said, flushing. “Not being mad doesn’t mean it wasn’t.”

“How is the kiddo? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

Taemin smiled. “Fascinated with fashion and disinterested in sports, but Minho keeps trying. Kibum’s a good kid. We should set up a play date for him and Soojin.”

“Last time he nearly cut off all Soojin’s hair.”

“They were playing hairdresser and the pixie cut was in,” Taemin argued. “The six of us should at least do dinner soon.”

“I’ll see if I can trick Kyungsoo into it,” Jongin said as he pushed away from the railing, adjusting his clothes.

He could see slivers of the party between the curtains. It was still PG for an after party. Soon people would start leaving for other events. Kai had other appearance to make himself, but showing up before midnight would be unfashionable. He was getting too old for this. All he wanted was to be at home with his mate and daughter and not dealing with bull.

“I hate Kyungsoo’s alpha-father,” just slipped out of his mouth, like he’d been holding it back for hours. Years, really.

“Ah,” Taemin said, not sounding the least shocked. “The real cause for all the sighing.”

Jongin exhaled. “He’s looking for money again, and I don’t want him anywhere near Kyungsoo. I’m trying to handle it.”

“Surprised Kyungsoo wanted you to handle it,” Taemin said, narrowing his eyes and them grimacing. “He doesn’t know, does he? Jongin, you are asking for trouble hiding something like that from your mate.”

“He doesn’t need to know,” Jongin said.

Taemin shook his head. “There are two major problems. First, you cannot hide you’re hiding something from anyone you care about worth a damn. Second, everything I’ve heard about Kyungsoo’s alpha-father says he . So he’ll either sell you out for more money the second he realizes he can or he’ll pretend he never got cash from you and hit Kyungsoo up, and you will have to admit you gave him money on the down low to stop Kyungsoo from paying him off a second time.”

Jongin rubbed his temples. “I don’t suppose you have any advice?”

“Tell your mate while he only has reason to be annoyed and figure it out with him.”

Taemin didn’t understand how frigid Kyungsoo was when Hyoen was an issue. “I just don’t want to deal with the problem of that old alpha in our lives right now,” he said, letting a frown pull on his features. “Not right now. Not... now.”

“Then all I can do is offer you somewhere to stay when this blows up in your face. And it will, Jongin.”

He didn’t get a chance to respond as the door of the balcony slid open and a resplendent Jessica Jung stepped out to join them. “Ah ha! I’ve found where the handsome males are hiding,” she said as she hitched up her long dress and walked over. Her entourage trailed a respectful distance behind. “Indulging vices?”

“My mate has me on a short leash and hates when I smoke at home,” Taemin said. “Have to get my pack in when I’m out of Korea.”

“Leashes.” Jessica scoffed and motioned for a cigarette. “Number one reason to fool around and avoid a formal mating.”

“I don’t think the cigarette is a good look for your clean cut brand image,” Jongin said as Taemin obliged her.

“Krystal would say the same thing,” she agreed as she held the cigarette to her lips and Taemin lit it. “However his mate isn’t here and neither is my sister.”

“If she asks, I’m tattling on you,” Jongin teased as he leaned on the railing in a way that looked casual but showed his form to its fullest. Jessica Jung was a client, after all.

“You better not,” Jessica said with a wink as she took a drag and coughed. “Terrible.” She looked between them. “Did I interrupt?”

“No,” Taemin said with that corporate smile of his.

Jessica ground out the cigarette in the nearby ashtray. “Excellent,” she said as she walked over and linked arms with Jongin. “I’m going to Ming Si’s salon to meet Krystal, and it would be perfect to show up with the face of my male alpha line on my arm.”

That was ideal. It was Kai’s next stop anyway. “You just let me know when you’re ready to leave,” he said with his best smile. He would have to worry about Hyoen later, after he bought a bunch of clothes.