"Kyu, dear husband, I love you!"

"No, Woonnie, the deadline for that report is still today."

 

 

Jongwoon pouted using all aegyo he had but it didn't shake his husband at all. Kyuhyun still sat at his desk typing gracefully in his laptop. He didn't even look up at the man who pleaded him, so Jongwoon had no choice but grumpily continued to work on his boring report.

.

.

.

"I feel bad for Jongwoon sunbae. How come his husband is so cold with him!"

 

Seulgi complained to her senior Kim Heechul. She had been working here for only two months but she had seen it all. Her favorite senior, Kim Jongwoon, got married to their boss named Cho Kyuhyun for eight years. At first, she thought it was cute how the two males had been together since childhood and steadily fell in love with each other. However, she soon began to doubt why someone as sweet as her senior would marry a cold-hearted, unaffectionate person like boss Kyuhyun. It was a routine for senior Jongwoon to confess his love to his husband every two hours or so. Boss Kyuhyun, on the other hand, never returned those loving words to her senior, not even once in all two months she worked here, not at all, none whatsoever, period. Not only the lack of affectionate words, but boss Kyuhyun is also very strict to her poor senior! She truly wondered what her sweet senior saw in the ice demon! 

 

"Seulgi-ah, I know you're worried about Jongwoonnie but trust me, no one in this entire world loves him more than that so-called ice demon aka his husband."

 

Heechul kindly explained during a search for the documents for Seulgi to study. The beautiful lady frowned and turned to look at her poor senior. Jongwoon was currently multitasking between typing and whining. Even though his husband heard it all clearly, Kyuhyun still made no move offering help to Jongwoon. Seulgi turned back and raised an eyebrow at Heechul.

 

"Heechul sunbae, you call that love? I doubt it. I have never heard boss saying that he loves senior, not at all in the past two months I worked here."

"That's the sign that you're still naive and young. Seulgi-ah, sometimes love and confession are more subtle than you thought. Never saying I love you doesn't mean that he didn't love Jongwoonnie. If anything, Kyuhyun confesses as often as Jongwoonnie does. You just didn't notice it."

 

Seulgi gasped dramatically at what her senior said. Turning to see her senior again, the beauty felt bad just seeing a glimpse of senior Jongwoon's suffering expression. She couldn't help but secretly glared at their boss. Rather than helping his husband, boss Kyuhyun just placed a coffee mug on senior Jongwoon's desk and went back to his seat. Turning back, Seulgi shook her head and looked at senior Heechul.

 

"What confession is better than saying I love you?"

"It's in the smallest things. You just have to carefully observe it and you'll know that I'm speaking the truth. Kyuhyun confesses as often as Jongwoonnie does."

 

Seulgi frowned. She really didn't believe what senior Heechul told her. However, she knew that her senior wouldn't lie to her so she decided to give the cold-hearted boss a chance to redeem himself.

 

***********************************

 

The wall clock's hour hand had already walked past the number nine, but senior Jongwoon still hadn't finished the report yet. Of course, Seulgi hung back and helped her senior as much as she could (though she couldn't do anything much considering that she is still an intern). She wasn't discouraged though, because at least she could keep her senior company. Moreover, she couldn't ask for any better chance to learn about senior Jongwoon and his husband!

 

"Jongwoon sunbae, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead~"

"I'm sorry for being nosy but what do you like about your husband that makes you stay in your marriage for eight years?"

"Oh? You're curious about our relationship?"

 

Jongwoon smiled knowingly and rested his chin on his hand.

 

"Or, more like you want to know how we end up together despite our polar personalities?"

"You got me, sunbae," Seulgi laughed sheepishly, "I've heard of opposite attract but I've never seen any of such couple that stays happy in marriage like yours before."

"That's because we're more alike than you thought! I can be aloof too if I want, especially to people who aren't close to me. The same goes for Kyu! He is actually the kindest and most affectionate man on earth!"

 

Her disbelief probably showed on her face because her senior was laughing his head off now. Senior Jongwoon shed off laughing tears before speaking up again.

 

"I know it's unbelievable but, trust me, Kyu is really kind! Or else he wouldn't have waited eight years for me to get the perfect confession!"

"Eight years?"

"Yep! It took me that ungodly long to confess just the right way to his liking and dated him. He didn't keep me waiting after that though, seeing as he easily accepted my proposal after we graduated from college."

"So... You've been chasing him one-sided?"

"Hmm... Chasing isn't quite right of a word. Kyu never runs away so it's more like I'm stupid for going a roundabout way."

"Why didn't boss just come to you instead of wasting time beating around the bush?"

"He probably enjoys seeing me struggle. That's Kyu for you!"

 

Seulgi didn't understand how her senior still laughed happily as if he didn't just say that his husband had a tendency to see him trying and failing. It was super obvious that senior Jongwoon loves boss Kyuhyun more than the other way around, yet her kind-hearted senior didn't seem to mind at all. The way he smiled fondly when he talked about their stories, the way his black eyes seemed to twinkle whenever he mentioned his husband, all were an evident sign that he deeply, truly loves his husband.

 

 

And Seulgi didn't understand it.

 

 

To her, it felt like boss Kyuhyun just thinking of senior Jongwoon as a toy to kill his boredom. She didn't want to be biased but boss' approval score just dropped to negative. Not only the lack of comforting words but apparently her boss also lacked the basic affectionate gestures! She truly didn't understand what her sweet senior saw in that ice demon!

 

"Excuse me, Jongwoon-ssi, Seulgi-ssi, I brought meals and coffee for you two."

"Huh? But we didn't order anything?" Senior Jongwoon said in utter confusion.

"A man named Cho Kyuhyun ordered them and told me to deliver it to you, Sir. He already paid for everything too."

"Oh! It's from Kyu then!"

 

 

Well, at least boss isn't that heartless.

 

 

While her senior took the plastic bags from the delivery man, Seulgi thought that maybe she should observe boss Kyuhyu more carefully before coming up with a verdict. Because she wanted to be fair, absolutely not because of those pastries from a famous bakery shop!

 

*****************************************

 

Last night, they called it a night at ten in the evening even though the report wasn't done yet. Senior Jongwoon didn't want her to go home late so he decided to continue working on the report at his place and drove Seulgi home. Truly, her senior is the kindest gentleman on earth. It only piqued her curiosity more regarding her senior's choice of a partner. As a result, she swore to pay even more attention to her boss and wouldn't back down until she found the reason.

.

.

.

"Good Morning—"

"Seulgi-ssi, please lower your voice."

 

...Annnd the first thing boss Kyuhyun said to her after she showed up at the office was 'be quiet'. Seulgi was about to subtract a point or two from her approval score but changed her mind within a second. Senior Jongwoon was sleeping soundly at his desk like an angel. He probably wanted to take a short nap before presenting the report to the client. She frowned slightly when she noticed a leather briefcase that her senior used as a pillow and a black suit jacket on his shoulders providing warmth. Wasn't that boss Kyuhyun's briefcase and suit jacket? To confirm her suspicion, Seulgi pretended to stretch her body and sneaked a quick glance at her boss. Kyuhyun in a white shirt was frowning at something on the laptop screen. Neither his suit jacket nor his briefcase could be found at his desk. So, her boss did lend his personal belongings so that his husband had a comfortable rest. That... was actually quite cute and considerate?

 

"I told you, right?" Senior Heechul whispered to her smugly.

"... I admit that he is better than what I give credit to him but that's not enough to change my mind."

 

Seulgi whispered back stubbornly. Although her resolve was weakened a bit more at what she witnessed next— boss Kyuhyun brought a freshly brewed camomile tea to his husband who woke up with an exhausted yawn. Okay, maybe she might start to see the reason why her sweet senior loves that aloof guy so much but it was just a start! She wouldn't give in that easy!

 

********************************************

 

Despite the report was done in a haste manner and senior Jongwoon was really tired giving the presentation, they still impressed their client so much that the meeting couldn't have gone smoother. As an intern, Seulgi's job was to take note while senior Jongwoon and senior Heechul led the meeting. Boss Kyuhyun also joined the meeting but only as an observer. He didn't make any comments, just listening attentively with a stoic face. Soon, the meeting ended and it was the client's turn to comment.

 

"That was a great presentation. Although the number of new customers did increase significantly after we hired you as our marketing team, I couldn't help but notice that it could've been better. Like, make it triple this number by the end of this month, can't you? After all, we did pay you handsomely, too good of a deal for a small company like you, actually."

 

Seulgi frowned disapprovingly. It's true that their company size is small compared to other big-name ones. However, everyone is a skilled and hard-working employee, including those who didn't take part in this project. For their client to say that was just simply very rude. Senior Heechul's smile was really fake and strained while senior Jongwoon quickly tried to placate the client.

 

"I understand your point and it's only natural that you want the best from the money you invest. However, to increase the number in only a week is still quite farfetched, especially when we consider the budget we have—"

"What?" Their client cut in sharply, "are you implying that we're stingy with the budget?"

"Of course not," even senior Jongwoon's smile began to strained too but he kept it professional, "I was merely pointing out that to increase the number in that short span of time, we must come up with more advertisement plans and buy more media which requires a sum of budgets—"

"So you're saying that you can't do it." The client again rudely cut in while senior Jongwoon wasn't done explaining, "no need to give me more excuses. You're Jongwoon-ssi, right? Actually, I've been thinking while listening to your presentation that you're short on the required skills to make this happen. Maybe you should step down and let someone else handle my project, someone who is more capable than yo—"

"We can triple that number in a week."

 

Every eye in the meeting room turned to the man who had been quiet since the meeting started. Kyuhyun tapped his graceful finger on the glass surface of the table while meeting the client's eyes unflinching. His face was as unreadable as usual but Seulgi had a feeling that something was off about her boss, judging from the way her senior staring at his husband anxiously. The rude client nodded at boss Kyuhyun approvingly and spoke up again.

 

"Finally, someone who knows how to do business—"

"However," Kyuhyun coldly ignored the man, "you must increase the payment to triple of what we discussed in the contract too. Can you do that?"

"What? That's ridiculous! Not to say that it's not in the contract too!"

"Neither does that demand of yours. We're not a charity organization so if you can't pay for the service then keep your unreasonable demand to yourself."

 

The meeting room fell into eerily silence from Kyuhyun merciless retort. Seulgi gasped at how bold her boss was while senior Heechul raised an approval thumb behind the client's back. At the same time, senior Jongwoon seemed conflicted between happy and worry. Well, it was understandable that her senior would be worried, considering that his husband just insulted their client. Still, she had to give her boss a point for standing up for his husband. Way to go, boss!

 

"How dare you!? Did you forget that I'm your client!? I can revoke the contract at any moment!"

"The same goes for us. Though we won't revoke it because we're professional enough to follow through the contract."

 

Seulgi almost let out a giggle at her boss (not so) subtle insult. Their client's face constantly changed between ghostly pale and burning red which was an entertaining sight to see. The rude client tried to retort but shut up when they met Kyuhyun's cold gaze. In the end, they gave up on asking for any unreasonable demand and ended the meeting with a scowl on their face. After the client had left, senior Heechul laughed loudly and banged his fist on the table. The diva then raised his thumb at Kyuhyun and smirked approvingly.

 

"Good job boss! Those guys really talk a big load of crap contrary to the money they pay. Glad you were here to put some sense into their empty head."

"Heebongie, you shouldn't encourage him. They're still our client." Jongwoon sighed and turned to his husband, "you too, Kyu, you shouldn't have said that to them."

"I'm not going to let them ridicule your hard work, Woonnie."

 

Boss Kyuhyun said resolutely with a face as stoic as ever. However, his usually aloof gaze was staring at his husband so gentle and soft that it put a fond smile on Seulgi's lips. Senior Jongwoon was stunned at first but soon smiled genuinely. He leaned on Kyuhyun's shoulder and hooked his arms around his husband's arm.

 

"Have I told you that I love you yet? I mean, today?"

"That's the fourth time, actually."

"Really? Make it fifth then! I love you, Kyu."

"I know."

 

Jongwoon grinned and nuzzled his husband's neck. Kyuhyun hummed softly and let the black-haired man do as he wanted. He continued to go over the notes that Seulgi made, still wearing his stoic mask, although the corner of his lips did raise up a bit. Seulgi couldn't help but smile at the couple but quickly removed it when she saw senior Heechul smirking knowingly at her.

 

"I'm not giving up yet. Don't be so smug, sunbae."

 

Seulgi said with a determined pout. Inwardly, though, her approval score for boss Kyuhyun just increased drastically after this event.

 

*************************************

 

Several days later...

 

After what happened at the meeting that day, Seulgi stubbornly admitted that senior Heechul was right. Boss Kyuhyun did confess his love as often as senior Jongwoon did but in a different way. While her senior preferred expressing it by words, his husband did it via actions— small but affectionate actions that, while it wasn't flashy, it spoke love so loud that she wondered how come she didn't notice them before. She didn't admit her defeat to her senior though. Although the result was pretty much guaranteed at this point, she still had the tiniest bit of doubt left so she decided to continue keeping an eye on them.

 

 

Only for her fondness for the couple to grow stronger each passing day.

.

.

.

"I think we should focus more on Instagram for this client. A fine shot of their products will do them wonderful for the advertisement."

"But it'll be boring and too simple. We need more tricks to attract customers."

"Obviously. What do you suggest then, Jongwoonnie?"

"Let's do it like a jigsaw puzzle. Post just some part of the whole thing and keep people curious."

"That's a great idea! I'll talk with the client after this."

 

Seulgi listened to her senior attentively, trying to learn as much as possible. Senior Jongwoon and senior Heechul were debating on the strategies for promoting their client's latest product. While nodding at senior Heechul's suggestion, senior Jongwoon picked up his coffee mug and made to drink from it, but he forgot to take out the teaspoon. Seulgi was about to warn her senior but a hand quickly took the spoon out without her senior's realization. Glancing up, she found out that it was none other than boss Kyuhyun who calmly rescued his husband from a silly accident.

.

.

.

"Now that the first part is done. Let's move on to the next part."

"Influencers, right? Heebongie, how many people do you want for this campaign?"

"Four should be enough but let check our budget again just to be sure."

"Alright, then I'll go over the list and see if anyone fits our campaign theme."

 

Seulgi quickly handed the report she made to senior Jongwoon. He took it with a bright smile and began to flip through pages. While reading it, her senior tilted his chair backward and started to rock it back and forth. At one point, the chair tilted backward so dangerously that she almost had a heart attack. Her senior didn't seem to realize it and kept pushing it back even more. Just when she thought that senior Jongwoon was about to fall off the chair, a strong hand appeared and held on the chair firmly, preventing senior Jongwoon from falling and hitting his head. Again, it was none other than boss Kyuhyun who saved his husband without blinking an eye.

.

.

.

"That should be everything, right?"

"Yep. We already discussed all steps so the meeting is done now."

"Finally! I can take a nap now! Jongwoonnie, I'll inform the campaign schedule to our client after waking up. In the meantime, can you contact the chosen influencers and finalize their schedules for me?"

"Understood. I'll get to work now."

 

Senior Jongwoon was about to make a call but his husband stopped him.

 

"Woonnie, give me ten minutes."

"I can give eternity if it's you." Senior Jongwoon grinned brightly.

"That's unnecessary. I only need ten minutes."

"You never play along with my joke, Kyu," the black-haired man pouted, "I'll forgive you because I love you though. So, what do you need my time with?"

"Your eyes need to rest after staring at the screen for hours. Close your eyes and lean on me."

"Gladly!"

 

Her senior happily leaned on his husband and closed his tired eyes. At the same time, boss Kyuhyun grabbed her senior's small hand and gently massaged it. He kneaded the palm's stiff muscles and pressed his thumb on the wrist, drawing a soothing circle on the pulse. After that, he gently massaged each finger's joints and earned a quiet satisfied moaned from his husband. He repeated the process for a while before moving on to another hand. It was just a massage but somehow it looked so intimate that Seulgi felt like she was invading their privacy by staring at them, not that neither men cared though. Actually, she just noticed that literally everyone in the office was staring at the couple. The meeting room they were in now suddenly had a boom in traffic. People kept walking past the room and stared through the transparent wall into the room while smiling knowingly. Some employees even bumped into each other because they were busy staring at the couple. Despite all of that, neither her senior nor her boss cared about it. Senior Jongwoon kept nuzzling his husband's neck while boss Kyuhyun kept reading the note quietly. Eventually, ten minutes passed and boss Kyuhyun gently peeled his husband off himself. Senior Jongwoon pouted in protest and tried to make his husband stay a while longer but to no avail.

 

"Kyu... Don't go yet."

"I have to meet a client so no."

"But I love you..."

"I know," Kyuhyun smiled, "but I still have to go. See you at home, Woonnie."

 

Kyuhyun said and stood up after packing his briefcase. Before leaving, he brushed his fingers on his husband's cheeks and pinched it while smiling fondly. And Seulgi literally lost her mind witnessing such an intimate gesture. What senior Heechul once told her came back to her again. Senior Heechul had always been right, boss Kyuhyun confessed his love as often as senior Jongwoon did.

.

.

.

"Jongwoon sunbae, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm? Yep, go ahead~"

"How can you keep saying I love you to your husband all the time? Is it because you really love him?"

"I do love Kyu, very much so, but that's not the reason why saying it never tires me."

 

Senior Jongwoon leaned on the table and rested his cheek on his hand. A joyful smile was apparent both on his lips and in his eyes.

 

"It's because I know Kyu loves to hear it, so I try to say it as much as possible."

"He loves it? Did he tell you that?"

"No, I found out myself. Remember when I told you that it took me eight years to confess just the right way? Well, turned out I've been wasting time saying pretty words when all Kyu ever wanted to hear is a simple I love you. It did take me two years in our marriage to find out but after that, I say it at every opportunity and I'll never get tired of it because it makes Kyu happy."

 

 

She gave up. She really lost this challenge with senior Heechul. There was nothing for her to prove here. Everything had been nothing but her own narrow judgment from the beginning. Senior Jongwoon loves boss Kyuhyun and vice versa. Senior Heechul was right, she really is naive and inexperienced when it comes to love. Confession didn't need to be wordy or flashy to carry its heartfelt meaning to the receiver. Feeling guilty for daring to doubt her senior's husband's feelings, Seulgi gathered courage and apologized to the man.

 

 

"Sunbae, I—"

"Ah, sorry, Kyu just massaged me."

 

Her senior checked his phone and raised a brow in suspicion after that. Then, he promptly stood up and grabbed a blue folder that lay unattended on the table. His smile seemed suspiciously upbeat.

 

"Gotta go now. My dear husband unbelievably forgot to take this important document with him. Heebongie, I'll contact the influencers after I come back, alright?"

"Yeah, take your time! I'm going to take a nap after this anyway."

 

With an enthusiastic nod, senior Jongwoon left the room. Senior Heechul quickly shifted to sit beside her and smirked knowingly.

 

"Seulgi-ah, don't you think it's weird that our ever-so-meticulous boss accidentally left behind important documents?"

"I was wondering about that, actually..."

"There's only one answer to that but in two scenarios," Heechul smirked, "one, Kyuhyun intentionally left it here so Jongwoonnie had to fetch it for him. Two, it's not that important of documents so he didn't mind leaving it here as an excuse for Jongwoonnie to fetch it for him."

"Aren't those two basically the same thing?"

"That's why I said that there's only one answer but in two scenarios!"

 

Senior Heechul laughed at his own words then smiled at her. His smile reminded her of the way her parents smiling at her when she was young and would ask silly questions. Seulgi immediately understood what her senior was thinking. She sighed in defeat and obediently admitted her loss.

 

"Heechul sunbae, you're right, I'm naive to judge their relationships at a glance and there really exists a confession without the need of words. I should've believed you..."

"It's better for you to discover yourself. By the way, now that you've come to understand how adorable this couple is, are you interested in joining our church of kyusung?"

"A what?" Seulgi asked, her voice clearly laced with confusion.

"Church of kyusung," Heechul explained, "to put it simply, it's a secret club founding to support Jongwoonie and Kyuhyun's relationship. The current members are everyone in our company minus you, though I suspect that you'll be one of us soon."

"... What are the benefits of the club?"

"How about the front row seats to watch them being lovey-dovey every day? It comes with a price though. You must be their shield whenever someone doubts their relationship or attack them, and turn that person into our ally."

 

 

Dots connected and realization reached, Seulgi's doe eyes widened and stared at her senior in silent inquiry. Heechul nodded wordlessly while raising a corner of his lips, a middle ground between a chuckle and a smirk. She contemplated the offer seriously, a chance to redeem herself and protect her favorite senior's happiness?

 

"Alright, sign me up!"

"I know it! Welcome aboard, comrade!"

 

They exchanged a handshake as if they were negotiating a business deal. Even their smiles looked utterly serious.

 

"Sorry for the wait! I'll get to work— what happened here?"

 

Jongwoon was hit with a wave of questions when he saw his junior and his best friend standing up and shaking hands, pleasantry evident in the air. Both people turned to look at Jongwoon in sync, before taking in Jongwoon's slightly disheveled hair and shirt, then fixing their gazes at his suspiciously cherry red lips and healthily blushing cheeks.

 

""Nothing in particular.""

 

Ignoring Jongwoon's puzzled expression, Seulgi and Heechul replied in unison. Their knowingly smirks perfectly mirrored one another.