A/N: Unbetad chapter. Decided to just wing it. Hopefully this can cheer some of you during lockdown. Enjoy~

Chapter 1.
the meeting... 

Bored.

Hakyeon was bored. He had just finished attending a Seoul Fashion Week and he was frustrated. Nothing had enticed him. The things that seemed good were way out of his company’s market range. He had to cough up a proposal for next year’s Spring and he wanted something fresh but lately nothing has inspired him. He felt the Jellyfish’s release the past year had been lukewarm and he wanted to find a new designer to inject something fresh. Thankfully, Jaehwan had matured enough to take over some of his jobs so his boss had allowed him to focus on the latest proposal. His boss had always been lenient with him anyway - his bigger proposals have always been successful. However, 2 months have passed but he hasn’t find a designer that piqued his interest. 

Hakyeon stopped in front of a cafe. He had skipped the after party, not having the spirit to mingle around and especially not talk to the designer. The designer was new but he had ideas that seemed recycled from his alma mater. Hakyeon could tell the rinse and repeated designs that came from a certain fashion college. He sighed and resorted to get a nice caramel latte before heading home. The cafe had nice decor and having some cake might cheer him up. 

“Welcome!” 

Hakyeon beamed at the owner and headed to the cake display. He settled with a strawberry tart and scanned the cafe for a seat. He decided on the plush chairs by the window which overlooked the park opposite. He pulled out his tablet to get some notes done and catch up with some reading. When the cake and coffee arrived, he noticed the man on a table next to his. The man quickly looked away and Hakyeon’s eyes narrowed. As he continued to focus on his reading, he had the unnerving sense that the man was staring at him. When he looked at the man from the corner of his eyes, Hakyeon noticed the man kept scribbling in his notepad. Hakyeon felt uneasy. 

He got up, straightened himself and headed towards the table, “may I help you?” Hakyeon crossed his arms in front of him. The man was startled, not noticing that Hakyeon had approached him. He scrambled to hide his notepad which Hakyeon noted was actually a sketchbook, “what’s this?” Hakyeon’s hand reached out to grab it but the sketchbook got pulled away, “hey what gives, you were clearly checking me out. I have the right to check out what you have in that sketchbook of yours or else I’m reporting you,” Hakyeon grumbled. Honestly he was really interested in it. He had seen sketches, and the sketches seemed promising.

“I-uh…” the man stammered and Hakyeon flinched at the softness of the man’s voice, “I -uh… I’m sorry,” the man’s ears were bright red.

“I’ll consider it after you show me that sketchbook you’re hiding from me,” Hakyeon demanded. The man stared at Hakyeon timidly but hesitantly dropped the pad into Hakyeon’s hand. Hakyeon beamed with success. He glanced at the sketches. It was him, and a detailed sketch of his watch and shoes, “may I…?” Hakyeon peeled the pages up before asking for more permission. Receiving a nod, Hakyeon flipped through the rest of the sketchbook, filled with croquis and detailed sketches of watches, shoes, accessories. “Are you a fashion designer?” Hakyeon took a good look at the man now, noting his various accessories and chic style. 

“Not exactly,” the man said softly, head hung low, “I design jewellery,”

Hakyeon’s ears perked and he felt excitement bubbling, “are you now? Hold on,” Hakyeon placed the notepad on the table and rushed to his table, picking up his belongings before returning, settling it onto a seat and taking the other seat next to the man. He pulled out his name card and presented it to the man before him, “Cha Hakyeon, a buyer for Jellyfish,”

The man blinked at the card. Jellyfish was a fashion retailer that was trendy in Seoul. He knew it, but he had never bought from it. “Jung Taekwoon,” the man picked up the namecard.

“Do you have a brand you’re affiliated with, Mr Jung?” Hakyeon beamed his all too familiar business smile. 

“Ah, no. I sell my own designs under JTW accessories,” Taekwoon scanned the namecard.

Silence.

“Mr Jung, this is the part where you show me your portfolio,” Hakyeon smile did not falter.

“Oh,” Taekwoon lost the focus he had on the card, “yes. Hold on,” Taekwoon scrambled for his phone and opened his website and handed it to Hakyeon.

Hakyeon scanned through the pages, noting the JTW’s brand aims and also its products. “Uni jewellery huh,”

“I’m more interested in male jewellery but when I started selling I realise it got received well by females as well,”

“Your designs have that intricacy that female like but sure enough, I can see how it can be uni. No fashion pieces?” Hakyeon noted that Taekwoon also covered leather accessories and stud work. 

“Not commercially,”

“Hm? By commission?” Hakyeon looked up and took notice of Taekwoons top that he had layered on top of his plain tank top. 

“Only personal,” Taekwoon’s head hung again in embarrassment.

Hakyeon’s arm stretched out to tug at Taekwoon’s sleeve.

“This top?”

“Ah, yes… I made it,” and Taekwoon had never wanted to curl up in embarrassment to hide from Hakyeon’s piercing stare. He had sewn the oversized top out a sheer fabric had had chanced upon and tore it in some places and sometimes used his accessories to accent the ripped openings. He loved the top but in front of someone like Hakyeon who has probably seen one after another of professionally made designs, he felt bashful.

“I like it,” Hakyeon beamed happily and Taekwoon noticed that this smile was sincere, “I’ve seen your sketches, you should work on your fashion design more. How old are you?”

“29…”

“Oh, we’re the same. You’re still young. You should give it a try before it becomes too late,” Hakyeon passed Taekwoon’s phone back, more interested in his sketchbook, “Jellyfish doesn’t really focus on male accessories, and the ones we have are really limited and really bland. Personally, I wouldn’t buy them,” Hakyeon closed the sketchbook down and took his phone out, opening the calendar app, “I like your work Jung Taekwoon and would like to discuss with you more about getting some of your items into Jellyfish if you don’t mind,”

“Jellyfish…? But aren’t my designs not really suited for Jellyfish?”

“Why would you say so?”

“My designs are quite… unique… and production may be a bit costly,”

“Tsk tsk tsk, Mr Jung Taekwoon. You have no idea about the powers of marketing and mass production. You’re a newbie in this industry aren’t you? We can provide a few ranges and maybe your more delicately designed items can be priced higher but we will work on simplifying some designs to value engineer your work. As for marketing, you should change your approach. It shouldn’t be uni. You should market it as couple accessories. That way, you’ve open a wider niche,”

Taekwoon was taken aback. He had never looked at his works in that way before. 

“Ah, but of course, I’ll do a proposal first then we can discuss further. I know designers such as you often view the mass production market unfavourably but personally, as a buyer, I’m more interested in bringing the best you can offer to the market,”

Taekwoon scowled. He was unused to this. He knew he wasn’t market savvy but Hakyeon was a whole new level. And, Taekwoon couldn’t help but be pulled by Hakyeon’s magnetic aura especially when he was this excited.

“Do you have an agent?” Hakyeon asked suddenly.

“No. I’m independant,”

“Ah, that makes sense why you’re so hesitant. Listen, I’ll hand you a proposal first thing tomorrow and I’ll let you decide if you want to go ahead with it,” Hakyeon checked his calendar to check his availability, “also, Taekwoon-sshi,”

“Hm?”

“You should have more confidence in yourself. You have beautiful ideas and I don’t mean only your jewellery,”

Taekwoon went scarlet. His friends had told him the same before but hearing a buyer say it, Taekwoon felt a sliver of pride.

“Okay, I will take my leave now Mr Jung. I will work on a proposal you won’t be able to resist and the next time we meet, we will be working as partners,” Hakyeon packed his belongings, he hadn’t been this excited in a log while, “Ah, right. Your number!” Hakyeon pulled his phone out, handing it to Taekwoon. Taekwoon keyed in his number and handed it back to Hakyeon. Hakyeon pocketted his phone and extended his hand to Taekwoon. “I look forward to working with you, Jung Taekwoon,”

Taekwoon stared at the hand. He chuckled, amused by Hakyeon’s antics, “likewise, Cha Hakyeon.”

Authors note

The whole plot timeline is done so I just need to clock in the hours to... fill it up. 
I have so many drafts but this one was one that's actually complete so since the covid thing is going about, thought I'd try to relieve my anxiety with this. Also, I know all of us are vixx deprived. 

As always, comments will be much appreciated and do give my other stories a read <3

Stay safe everyone~