Kyungsoo stirred, groaning a little. His throbbing temples threatened to split his head open.

Yesterday was a disaster. Kyungsoo had called the photoshoot location an hour later, after he had sent Chanyeol off by taxi, and they confirmed that his tall tutor had indeed given them a visit.

“When we told him that we had not seen his coat, the young man cried,” the crew member had informed Kyungsoo.

“He cried?” Kyungsoo had echoed in disbelief, regret seeping into his insides.

“Well, he did not sob out loud, Do Kyungsoo-ssi, but there were definitely tears shed while he bowed and then simply left.”

Kyungsoo still felt terrible today, even after a dreamless, shallow slumber that did nothing to take his mind off Chanyeol.

And the worst part? People in the cafe captured that dramatic moment when Chanyeol was returning the trenchcoat to him and walking out without another word, captioning their videos and photos with the hashtags #TroubleInParadise and #DoKyungsooBoyfriendTrouble

How to explain this to Chanyeol-ssi now?

Was he aware that he was getting [in]famous because of Kyungsoo at the moment?

He had to find the coat, somehow.

He grabbed his phone and called his secretary, who took a couple of minutes to answer.

“Yeobo-saeyo?” came Heechul’s sleepy voice.

“Heechul-ssi, you need to come with me.”

Heechul squinted at the time on his phone as he turned over to his side, trying to collect enough brain cells for the numbers 6:12 a.m. glaring on his screen to register. It was a Saturday, for crying out loud. “Where are we going?” Heechul yawned, reluctantly getting up from bed now.

“To Itaewon.”

Heechul was about to go back to sleep when he heard his teenage boss saying:

“Please.”

That woke Heechul up.

So Kyungsoo-ssi did know how to say “please”, after all. First, he used it with Chanyeol-ssi and now...

Hang on... was it because of his tutor?

Heechul had to grin as he murmured his agreement. “Araseo, Kyungsoo-ssi. I’ll meet you in Itaewon in an hour.”

Kyungsoo was already waiting inside the coffee shop of the building where the photoshoot was held a couple of days ago, looking pensive, when Heechul arrived. He hurried to his employer’s side, approaching nervously. “K-Kyungsoo-ssi. Have you been waiting long?”

The teenager only frowned and sighed. “What time does this building open?”

“I’m not sure,” Heechul replied. “It is a Saturday, so maybe 9 or 10 a.m.?”

Kyungsoo clucked his tongue impatiently and then glanced over at the overhead menu of the cafe. “Want some breakfast?”

Heechul chuckled. “Sure. What would you like?”

Kyungsoo wanted to have an English muffin and a latte, and told Heechul he could get what he wanted. Just as Kyungsoo was about to hand Heechul his black card, his secretary shook his head.

“This one’s on me, don’t worry,” Heechul said happily, and grinning at him to boot, which Kyungsoo found a little unnerving.

They were silently eating their breakfast when Heechul noticed Kyungsoo scowling at his phone. “Is there something wrong?”

“Sunbae has continued to ignore me since last night.”

“You mean, he doesn’t answer your phone calls?”

“I don’t have his cell phone number!” Kyungsoo retorted, glaring at Heechul, who looked greatly amused. “I’ve been messaging him through Instagram! And my messages haven’t even seen! Is he really that mad at me?”

Now, Heechul understood what getting up early this Saturday was all about. “Don’t worry, I could check the clothing factory where the discarded wardrobe are stored and where alterations are made, to see if they received a batch of clothes from us last Thursday.”

Kyungsoo suddenly looked up to his secretary, b with hope.

“I think they’ll open by 8 a.m.” Heechul glanced at his wristwatch. They still had about 20 minutes. “For now, just eat.”

Kyungsoo dug in to his fluffy, freshly baked muffin, now with a lighter heart.

When 8 a.m. rolled around, Heechul gave the clothing factory a ring and thankfully, one of the managers confirmed that they had received five batches of clothing from Gravity last Thursday. Kyungsoo was even smiling now as he finished his breakfast, and even prompting Heechul to hurry so they could go to the factory.

They arrived there around half an hour’s time, and the factory was already in full operation. The manager that Heechul had spoken to was there to meet them. Heechul immediately explained the situation.

The manager appeared to be thinking hard, as if trying to recall such a coat, as described. “Oh, yeah, I think I remember what you’re talking about. That coat was quite old, maybe around the 70’s era. The material is quite sturdy and heavy, but there are some unraveling of the threads.”

Kyungsoo was nodding eagerly. “De, Yesung-ssi! Where is that coat?”

“Oh.” Yesung swallowed, glancing apologetically at the young Gravity boss. “Well, since it was mixed along with the other Gravity clothes that were sent here, we thought it was there by mistake, so we... sold it, along with the other clothes that Premiere picked up yesterday.”

“Premiere?” Kyungsoo echoed, completely bewildered.

“It’s one of the largest vintage, thrift clothing chain in Seoul,” Heechul informed him with dread. He quickly researched online how many branches there were in the city. “They currently have 12 stores.”

Kyungsoo’s face drained of color.

“I’ll call their stores whether they have a coat of that description...” Heechul recommended. “Hopefully not sold yet.”

“Araseo, while you do that, should we go to the nearest Premiere branch here?” Kyungsoo suggested, shifting into take-charge mode. He didn’t want to waste any time. “Kamsa-hamnida, Yesung-ssi.”

And with that the teenage Gravity founder turned to his heel, with Heechul running after him.

The Premiere branch in Seolleung was not that big, and the morning crowd was only starting to mill in. Still there were rows and rows of coats, shirts and even jeans filling the entire shop, with neon cards flashing 20% off everywhere.

Kyungsoo had no prior knowledge that such a place existed, or that 2nd hand clothing could still be sold and bought. He certainly had closets full of unused, discarded, out-of-season items that perhaps he could still market.

But then that was an idea for another day. He needed to concentrate on the task at hand, which was to find his sunbae’s treasured coat.

With Heechul-ssi still making his calls, Kyungsoo began to go through the black and white coats and scrutinized them one byone but found nothing anywhere near Chanyeol’s trench coat.

He went over to the cashier, who was busy checking receipts. “Uh, excuse me?”

The lady looked up at him and only blinked.

Kyungsoo waited if he would be recognized. He and the woman spent a good five seconds staring at each other.

“Yes?” The slightly older woman asked him, somewhat impatiently.

“Do you happen to have a black-and-white plaid wool trench coat, about XXL in size, fit for a man of over six feet?” Kyungsoo enumerated in a rush as the cashier assessed him with her eyebrows raised.

“So, obviously, it’s not for you?”

Kyungsoo scowled. If this wasn’t such an urgent matter, he wouldn’t have bothered. He was taking responsibility here! “No, it’s...” He chewed on his lower lip. “It’s for a friend of mine.”

“Well, we have everything on display here. If you don’t see it, then I’m sorry.”

Heechul had to step in, as Kyungsoo’s eyebrows were beginning to knot together, as they did just before the onslaught of a full-blown tirade came on. He squeezed his young employer’s shoulder, which rightfully earned him a glare, but it was to indicate that he would be handling this.

“Um, aghassi. Is it possible to check with other branches if they might have it?” Heechul glanced at the cashier’s nametag. “Please, Momo-ssi. It’s really important.”

The pretty woman’s gaze softened, but only on Heechul, and paid Kyungsoo no mind.