Warning(s): angst
Length: 6.2k words

“Taeyong, what the ?” Baekhyun scowls at his assistant. Between Mark and Taeyong, Taeyong was always the more reasonable one. Now that Mark is gone, however, it seems like Taeyong has taken on Mark’s role of being the village idiot. “I’m not hiring anymore people,” Baekhyun hisses in a whisper so Taeyong’s recruit—a wide-eyed, pink-haired boy named Na Jaemin—doesn’t overhear their conversation. “Where the hell did you even find this guy?”

“He was good friends with Mark,” Taeyong insists, raising his palms in defense. “Mark helped him fix his car, and they’ve been friends for a long time, so I thought—” When Baekhyun rolls his eyes, Taeyong increases the urgency of his voice. “He knows you, boss, as Lux. He’s not some nobody who doesn’t know anything. He can be really helpful to us, and—”

“How old is that kid anyways?”

“He’s—I don’t know—18 or 19 maybe?”

, am I just a babysitter now? Baekhyun sighs softly and pinches the bridge of his nose. While Jaemin is standing awkwardly outside the garage, Ange is sitting on the hood of her Porsche, swinging her legs as she bites into a sandwich for her lunchbreak. The sight of the two of them is so innocent that Baekhyun feels horrible that they’ve found their way to him—arguably the worst kind of influence they could be around.

“I’m not hiring him,” Baekhyun states. “No way. He’s a kid.”

“Boss,” Taeyong pleads, “come on. He doesn’t have a job, his best friend his dead, and he doesn’t have anywhere else to go.” Taeyong’s eyes have become puppy-like, eroding Baekhyun’s stance on a firm no. “You can have him do all the dirty work like washing your cars or changing the oil.”

“Taeyong, I can’t.” Baekhyun pulls Taeyong aside and whispers to him. “I can’t be responsible for another kid’s death.”

“He’s not gonna die, boss,” Taeyong responds coolly. “I’ll make sure of it. I-I’ll be his supervisor. I’ll teach him everything so you don’t have to. I’ll even…”

Baekhyun tunes out Taeyong for a moment to look at Jaemin again. In a strikingly familiar way, Jaemin reminds Baekhyun of a smaller, kinder, brighter-eyed version of himself from years ago. Once upon a time, Baekhyun also dyed his hair neon colors—blond, blue, pink (he even gave himself a mullet at one point)—and he was also just as skinny and short Jaemin is now. Physical appearance aside, Baekhyun also remembers what it was like to be 20 and alone and afraid of what the world would bring. He remembers it distinctly—not knowing if he would have enough money to last the week, not knowing what to do to make the loneliness go away.

When Baekhyun’s brother died, it was just as sudden when Mark died too. No one told Baekhyun when it would happen and what it would feel like when it did. It all happened so fast that it seemed like he got whiplash from how quickly he fell to his knees. Yes, it , and yes, under normal circumstances, Baekhyun would tell the kid to it up and go, but there are no normal circumstances present today.

“He’s a good worker,” Taeyong continues to blubber, “and he’ll do anything without questioning—”

“Fine,” Baekhyun interrupts in a curt tone. “He’s hired.”

Taeyong stares at Baekhyun for a second, his mouth open in an unfinished statement. “Wait, huh? Wait, I—really?”

Baekhyun shrugs and wipes his greasy hands on a rag that he has tucked into a belt. Life is already awful for everyone; he shouldn’t make it worse by rejecting some kid of a job. He figures that if Mark trusted Jaemin—and now Taeyong—then he mustn’t be so bad.

“Yeah, really,” Baekhyun confirms. “I mean, you weren’t going to stop begging until I agreed to it, so why not?” He narrows his eyes at Jaemin who has directed his attention towards Ange—who, in turn, continues eating her sandwich, unaware that someone is watching her. Baekhyun looks at Jaemin and then at Ange again. “I need you, though,” he says to Taeyong. “You already know all the routes to my suppliers, and you’d just be wasting your time trying to teach that kid anything.”

“So what do we do, boss?” Taeyong queries. “Are we—” He stops himself short. “Ange?”

Baekhyun nods in approval of his own plan. “It’s time for promotions. Come on,” he says, nudging Taeyong with a shoulder. “Let’s go tell him who his supervisor is.”

Jaemin immediately draws his attention to Baekhyun when the latter approaches. He visibly straightens his back and clears his throat multiple times before uttering a shaky, “H-Hel-lo, s-sir.”

“It’s Lux,” Baekhyun states dismissively, “but I’m your boss now, so that works too.” He gives Jaemin a onceover for added intimidation—to let him know that he means business. “I’m gonna trust that you know who I am and what I do, so I’m not gonna introduce myself.” Baekhyun raises his brows for emphasis. “I’ll just tell you about your job, what you need to do, and you’re gonna do it, okay?”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Baekhyun crosses his arms and steps aside so Jaemin can get another look of the still-oblivious Ange. She looks out of place in her shorts and tube-top, but she is, in fact, the only person that Baekhyun wants for this part of Jaemin’s new job. “You see that girl?” Baekhyun asks him, and Jaemin nods. “Her name is Ange. She’ll teach you everything you need to know on the ground floor. What to do when you come to work, where to get the tools, how to store them, how to use them—and everything else. You ever worked with cars before?”

“No, sir.”

“Then you’re lucky you’re getting a nice teacher.” Baekhyun steps in front of Jaemin again and stares at the boy with the most serious expression he can make. “She’ll answer your questions if you have any, and she’ll report to me how well you’re doing—and if you’re good enough to stay around.” Jaemin visibly gulps, clearly intimidated by Baekhyun’s tactics. “And before you get any ideas,” Baekhyun says in a low voice, “she’s my girlfriend.” He pauses to observe Jaemin’s face, but the boy is as still as a statue. “I better not see or hear you trying anything,” Baekhyun warns, “or I’ll break your hands—starting with your thumbs. Got it?”

“Y-Y-Yes, sir,” Jaemin stammers, obviously startled. He nods profusely and takes a deep breath. “No funny business, sir.”

“Good. Then that’s all.” Baekhyun nudges his towards the parked Hyundai inside the car garage. He had been working on changing its tires, but now he’ll leave that work to Jaemin and Ange. “Go over there,” Baekhyun instructs, “and wait.”

Jaemin does as he’s told, leaving Baekhyun and Taeyong to look on.

“Would you really break his hands?” Taeyong inquires in a murmur.

“Depends,” Baekhyun replies coolly, “if I’m in a good mood.” He then looks towards Ange’s direction and calls for her. She’s quick to brush the crumbs off her lap and come to him with an expectant gaze.

“Hey,” Ange greets. “What’s up? What do you need me to do?”

“We’ve got a new hire.” Baekhyun glances over at Jaemin who is now standing idly by a car. He looks so miserable and lost that it’s almost pathetic—if it wasn’t so sad. “He’ll need to know the basics, but I can’t have Taeyong teaching him that sort of stuff.”

“So, you want me to—” Ange pauses abruptly. “Wait, you want me? Me, of all people?” she whispers in a surprised tone. “You want me to teach him stuff?”

“You can do that, can’t you?”

Ange stammers incoherently for a moment. “Well, I-I-I, uh, yeah, but…” She stares up at Baekhyun in a sort of childlike wonder. “You think I’m good enough?”

“More than good enough,” Baekhyun reassures her with a smile. “Come on, I know you can do it, and I know you want to,” he teases. “You’re above changing tires and fixing broken spark plugs.” Ange seems to blush at that, making Baekhyun smile even harder. “You’ve come a long way, and you’ve got a future working with cars—you know, if that’s what you want.”

“You learned pretty fast for someone who’s only been learning for less than a year,” Taeyong adds. “You could definitely teach a newbie.”

“Okay, okay,” Ange waves off with a sappy grin. “You’re hyping me up too much. I’ll do it, okay? What’s his name?”

“Na Jaemin,” Baekhyun answers. He debates on whether or not he should tell Ange that Jaemin knew Mark too, but he ultimately decides against it. “He doesn’t have anyone,” Baekhyun says instead. “Or anything, actually.”

“I know the feeling well,” Ange says with a sigh. She cracks her knuckles casually and throws her hair over her shoulder. “Alright. Time to get work then.”

Ange fixes her hair into a ponytail as she walks to the awaiting Jaemin. Baekhyun watches the two of them greet each other with polite bows, and Jaemin cracks a small smile at something Ange says. Even from afar, Baekhyun can tell that they’re going to get along just fine.

“That was easy,” Taeyong remarks when Ange has Jaemin fetching tools from a shelf. “I thought you’d be angrier with me more.”

“There’s no time to be angry.” Baekhyun crosses his arms as he observes Ange and Jaemin get onto their knees to change a tire. Nine months ago, that was Ange and him—with him being the one teaching her what a jack stand was and how it was used to change tires. “Or sad, for that matter,” Baekhyun adds. “I’d rather move on and just deal with it.”

“Stage five.”

“What?”

“The stages of grief,” Taeyong explains. “Stage five is acceptance. Instead of fighting the reality, you start accepting what happened is in the past.” Baekhyun looks over at Taeyong and finds that his face is one of utmost calm. His jaw is surprisingly unclenched and relaxed. “I miss Mark a lot,” Taeyong confesses. “If friends can be soulmates, then he was mine.” He pauses to shake his head. “I know he’d make fun of me for crying at anything, and I also know he’d make fun of me for moping this much, so I have to move on. Be better and all that.”

Baekhyun nods in solemn agreement. He has never realized how selfish he had been due to Mark’s death. His first instinct was to lash out, be angry, and seek revenge. Never did he once think about the others around him felt; he didn’t even call Taeyong once to ask him how he was doing, and he only realized how much pain Mimi felt when he found out from Ange that she had moved back to Vietnam. Though he regrets what he did now, he can’t fix them, so he may as well grow from them.

“Enough moping around then,” Baekhyun breaks the silence. “Fill me in on what’s happening. Any talks on the street?”

“Uh, nothing much, really.” Taeyong straightens his back, shaking himself back to the green-haired “TY”—a ladies’ man and Lux’s assistant. “The next race is in Tokyo, so I’ve already begun making sure your other Supra is going through standard maintenance—changing the brake fluid and all that. Ever since Sehun’s retirement and Loey’s absence, you don’t really have much of a competition.”

“None whatsoever?”

“Well, Jennie Kim isn’t much of a competition, is she? I don’t think she knows how to drift a car properly.”

Baekhyun chuckles at that. The street “race” in Japan is less of a street race and more of like a car-drifting competition. Drivers are expected to finish a course, sure, but it’s a course that requires the driver to be a master of making tight turns and smoky wheels. In all his years of driving, Baekhyun doesn’t know of many people who are on his level at that.

“Right,” Baekhyun agrees. “I guess we’ll be fine then. This might be the most boring race we’ve had all year.”

“Speak for yourself.” Taeyong shakes his head and shoves his hands into his pockets awkwardly.

Curious, Baekhyun turns to him with a frown. “What are you talking about?” he asks Taeyong. “Don’t tell me that you’re starting any drama.”

“Oh, I’m not starting any drama,” Taeyong says. “I’m just saying that Alina’s coming to Tokyo with us, and maybe I’m hoping to get lucky.”

“No ing way.” Baekhyun bites the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing. Apparently, Taeyong is also a lot like Mark when it comes to girls. All this time, Baekhyun thought it was Taeyong who had more game. “Alina’s not coming,” he says. “I told her that we’ll only need her when we go to Europe. She’s not coming to Japan.”

“She is since I asked her.”

“You asked her? How?”

“I got her number,” Taeyong replies with a casual shrug, breaking all of Baekhyun’s expectations. Maybe Taeyong does have game if he could pull Alina’s number. “I asked her to come help out with raising bets, and she said she would.”

“And you think she’ll hook up with you?” Baekhyun asks incredulously.

“I don’t think that at all, but if she wants to, then I’m not gonna stop her.”

Baekhyun finally lets out a snicker because he finds it so hilarious that Taeyong thinks that he has a chance in the first place. “You know,” Baekhyun starts, “you’re not supposed to date your co-workers, right? It could mess things up when things don’t go as planned.”

“Aren’t you dating Ange, though? Or what? The rules don’t apply when it comes to you?”

“That’s different,” Baekhyun retaliates. He looks over at his angel and watches her instruct Jaemin how to undo a lug nut. “She’s not technically a part of Team Lux.”

“But you still work with her, don’t you?” Taeyong raises a brow and smirks. “Don’t worry about it, boss. I’m not Mark. I know how to pull a date and accept rejection.” He shakes his head. “You’re not the only one with game here, boss.”

Taeyong walks away presumably to finish the set of tasks that Baekhyun wanted him to do—leaving Baekhyun smiling.

Things are going back to normal. They’re making ty jokes and laughing again, and it feels…liberating.  

- - - - -

The next Friday, Baekhyun finds himself breaking the very rules that he established. He and Ange had agreed not to spend too much time together prior to a date night—to keep the novelty and romance of going to a date intact. Unfortunately, that proved to be a difficult rule to keep because the two of them are already acting like they already are on a date.

Ange is straddling Baekhyun on his bed, kissing him on the mouth and running her hands through his hair, and he’s not doing