Chapter Eleven:

“I have to hand it to you, Donghae,” Ryeowook sat back, taking a sip of his wine, “you hired some good people at your company. The two I talked with today are both loyal and devious. They really miss you, too.”

“Who?” Donghae asked, nibbling at his dinner.

They had gathered for a late meal so that Ryeowook could share his findings and tell the brothers what he had learned.

“Baekhyun and Sehun. One is the head of your development team and the other is in marketing, though I have a feeling they both just like to play with toys all day.”

“Sounds about right,” Heechul commented. “Baekhyun’s been there a while. If I remember correctly, he was your junior at Uni and you recruited him as soon as he graduated. Pretty sure Sehun was his junior and he convinced you to bring him on the same way.”

“Are they worried about the company?”

“They are, but not for the reasons you’re probably thinking. And Baekhyun was very helpful in letting me look over all the company records. He put me in contact with your lawyers as well, but I’ll get to that in a minute.”

“Ryeowook,” Donghae interrupted, “I think Min Hyun might be trying to find something. When we went to my house everything had been thrown around, like he was searching for something and couldn’t find it.”

“I imagine he was. But it wasn’t at your house. Baekhyun said Min Hyun had been at the company every day since your accident, going through all the files and demanding that they give up all your current and future design specs. He told them that he had brokered a deal with some distributor and needed to have you authorize it. But since you were in the hospital and weren’t in any shape to handle that, he would take over as soon as he got the proper documentation from the lawyers.”

“Jackass is trying to steal your work,” Heechul grumbled.

“Not exactly,” Ryeowook commented thoughtfully. “But he’s certainly attempting to take over as head of operations. I looked into some of your recent contracts and every single one of them, both for production and distribution, were set up by him. You authorized the deals, but he got a hefty commission from it. Apparently, those contracts were only for a year, but if they’re renewed, he’ll get another percentage. According to your employees, you weren’t happy with the results and were planning to end the contracts when the time was up.”

“Which means he wouldn’t have gotten any money?” Donghae asked cautiously.

“Exactly. Not only that, but he’s pulling a salary from the company itself as an advisor. So basically, you’ve been paying him to set up deals that are benefiting himself while providing a shoddy product for your sales.”

“Could I have found that out somehow?”

“Well, it was right there in the contracts. I assume if you read them you knew what they were about.”

“That’s assuming I read them,” Donghae sighed, slumping back in his seat. “The question is, did I actually read them? Or did I just go along with it because I wanted to make him happy?”

“Baekhyun only knew that you were looking for a new production company to make the toys.”

“So, what about the designs? What was he going to do with them if he found them?”

“That’s where the lawyers come in. I managed to set up a meeting with the firm that represents your company. You have good taste, by the way. I didn’t know you were friends with Choi Siwon.”

“Choi Siwon? That chaebol who’s always in the society columns?” Heechul was surprised, staring at his brother with appreciation.

“I met with Siwon-ssi at the firm’s office. He told me that he and Donghae went way back. Friends from Uni, apparently. He was quite surprised to know that Donghae was doing so well after the accident. Min Hyun had set the appointment trying to establish himself as the legal power of attorney for both the company and Donghae, saying that Hae was incapable of managing his own affairs due to the severity of his injuries. Siwon-ssi told him that Donghae himself would have to approve any transfer, regardless of his mental capability, and if that was no longer possible, then all decisions regarding the business or Donghae’s health automatically reverted to his brother.”

“What?” Heechul shot upright with surprise. “To me? Why?”

“Because I trust you to do what’s right,” Donghae said quietly, knowing it was true.

“,” Heechul murmured under his breath, before giving his little brother an emotional smile. “Thanks kid.”

“Who else?” Donghae asked. “If anything had happened to me, of course I would give everything to you.”

“Well, that’s… I’m just really touched, okay,” Heechul pouted, turning away to hide the fact that his eyes were watering.

“What else did Siwon-ssi say?”

“Just that he hadn’t expected Min Hyun to show up for the meeting, which he didn’t. He called and cancelled last minute.”

“That’s because Hae got away from him,” Heechul grumbled.

“No doubt,” Ryeowook narrowed his eyes and looked at Donghae. “The question is, what has he done that I’m not seeing? Because I’m sure he didn’t set all this into motion without an end game or a contingency plan.”

“What can you do? As a lawyer, I mean. Can you protect the company?”

“Easily,” Ryeowook smirked. “You could even terminate the contracts ahead of time stating poor quality. Your business is going to take a hit, no way around that. But your financials are in good shape, especially once you fire Min Hyun from his advising position. And again, I would need to see his contract, but if he didn’t live up to what was expected of his position you can terminate his employment without remorse. That’s business.”

“And you don’t think there’s any way he can get his hands on my designs?”

“Oh, did I forget to tell you that part? Your team kept them under wraps. They don’t trust Min Hyun either. Baekhyun and Sehun played dumb and led him on a merry goose chase but made sure he wasn’t actually able to find anything.”

Heechul let out a snort of laughter, and Donghae smiled, happy to hear that he had loyal employees looking out for him.

They spent the remainder of the evening going over the papers that Ryeowook had obtained from both the company and its lawyer. Since Choi Siwon appeared to be firmly on Donghae’s side, Ryeowook would work with him to handle the necessary contract negotiations and the termination paperwork for Min Hyun.

“If he decides to challenge any of this, I’m prepared to take him to court. But you said you wanted it all to go away as quietly as possible. Hopefully he’ll tuck his tail between his legs and run, but we’ll need to prepare for him to retaliate,” Ryeowook concluded as they were wrapping things up.

“I think I can handle that part of things,” Heechul stated calmly. “I have people that can make sure he leaves Donghae alone.”

Ryeowook’s eyebrow went up. “Legally?”

“Damn, why does everyone automatically assume I’m going to break the law?”

“Technically your entire career could be considered illegal.”

“Now you have a problem with how I earn my money?” Heechul glared at their younger cousin who showed a tiny flicker of uneasiness before straightening his shoulders and glaring back.

“Have I ever? Your contacts have come in handy. I would never invalidate your choices. I’m just saying, it wouldn’t do to get sloppy. We have no idea what Min Hyun is capable of or who he knows. Let’s make sure we handle things the right way, the legal way, so that he can’t lash back at us later.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Heechul grumbled.

“Hyung, he’s right though,” Donghae added. “Besides, you promised me your friend wouldn’t hurt him.”

“Not that he doesn’t deserve it after everything he’s done to you. But yes, I agreed. Just a warning of what will happen if he bothers Donghae again.”

“I didn’t hear a thing,” Ryeowook shook his head, walking over to his shoes and putting them on.

“Thank you, Wook-a. I really appreciate everything you’re doing for me.”

“It’s a pleasure, Donghae, truly. I know my mom wasn’t always the most supportive person for you two growing up, but she adored your mother. And she told me all about you, even if we didn’t meet until we were older. But I’m happy to have you both as my family. So, you never have to thank me for helping you in whatever way I can.”

Donghae was compelled to walk over and give his slightly smaller cousin a big hug, smiling at him as his happiness overflowed. “I’m happy, too.”

“That’s the Hae I remember,” Ryeowook smiled back, reaching up to cup his cheek. “Keep smiling, please. Everything will be taken care of and you can get back to being happy, I promise.”

Donghae was able to go to sleep that night feeling much more settled. He had people that would protect him from Min Hyun. His business would be safe, even if he still wasn’t sure how he would run it if he couldn’t remember his skills. But most of all, the mess his life had become was slowly getting sorted out and he saw blue skies ahead.

The next few days were a crush of appointments and meetings. First up was his company lawyer, Choi Siwon. The tall, handsome man greeted Donghae like a brother, and had a smile on his face. Flashes of memory kept popping up while they talked with Ryeowook and Heechul about the steps they would need moving forward. Siwon was kind, attentive and seemed genuinely concerned about Donghae’s well-being. He was also quite physical, often touching Donghae’s arm or thigh while they spoke, but never seeming to notice he was doing so. Donghae noticed and wondered if he’d ever had a crush on the man. He could easily see himself falling for him. Apparently, they were good friends and nothing more, and that was all right as well.

In all honestly, he zoned out a lot, the legal jargon flying over his head, and thoughts of Min Hyun and what he had done troubling enough that he automatically moved his mind away to something else. Mostly Hyukjae. He couldn’t stop the thoughts that popped into his head regarding Hyukjae. He still didn’t know what the man looked like, and he had hesitated to ask Heechul to describe him, preferring the fantasy image he had created in his head.

One evening, when Heechul had to go out and take care of some business – a euphemism for visiting Hangeng and ‘thanking him’ for all the help he was providing – Donghae had gone online and spent a few hours researching everything he could about kidney disease and transplants. It sounded scary and his heart hurt thinking of all the pain Hyukjae must have lived through. Especially knowing how cheerful he had been when speaking with Donghae.

But it was heartening to see that transplant success rates were so good. Hyukjae may have to spend a week or two in the hospital after surgery, but he would be able to get up and move around as long as he was careful. There was a shopping list of things he couldn’t do after a transplant, and Donghae studied it carefully, just in case they somehow met again and decided to spend time together.

Physical hygiene was important to reduce the risk of getting sick or having an infection. It was best not to have pets because of the risk of bacteria from their feces or even bodily fluids. Hyukjae would be on medication the rest of his life and have to go for weekly or monthly checkups, always be on top of any minor illnesses like colds or flu. His travel might be restricted due to certain vaccines reacting badly with the transplant drugs. It all sounded enormous and frightening, but the flipside was that even with all that, most people were able to live fairly regular lives. And the farther out from surgery he was, the more things he would be able to do.

At any rate, even if he had been released from the hospital quickly, it was suggested to remain home for at least a few weeks to lower the risk of infection until all the immunosuppressants from the surgery were out of his system. He would probably be with his family, and not at work, until his test results came back clear. Donghae still had time. Right now, Hyukjae would be focused on his recovery and probably not thinking of anything else.

Though Donghae hoped he was being thought about a little bit. Because he couldn’t keep the other man out of his mind.

Min Hyun must have gotten wind of Ryeowook digging around at the company, because when Heechul called to schedule a visit there, he spoke with Baekhyun and confirmed that no one had caught sight of or heard from the man in days. It eased Donghae’s worries enough that he was able to enter the building that housed his company with excitement rather than fear. Just as when he saw his home for the first time, he smiled as he stared at the building. A narrow, three story store-front, crammed between a multitude of random businesses, it had the name East Sea Toy Company blazoned across the front and was decorated colorfully.

“Boss! You’re back!” a young woman leapt up from behind the counter in the reception area, running to Donghae’s side and giving him a big hug.

He returned it awkwardly. He knew that the employees had been informed about his accident and subsequent memory problems, but it still felt weird and disrespectful to not know the names of the people he had hired and worked with for so long. No one seemed to mind, however. He was hugged by, and reintroduced to, the handful of people who were on site. The last two were Beakhyun and Sehun, who were all smiles as they chattered on about everything that had been happening, promising that they had it all under control.

Beakhyun was around Donghae’s height but seemed tiny despite that fact. And Sehun was quite a lot taller and looked like a giant, goofy teddy bear. The two men stuck to one another like glue, enough that it aroused his curiosity. Friends? Or more? Was it possible he had hired other gay men he knew so that he felt more comfortable with his own preference?

They took him on a grand tour of the facility while Heechul parked his in Donghae’s office, explaining that he had seen it all before. And Donghae was torn between recognition and wonder as he explored all the machinery, played with their designs and prototypes, and finally wandered down the hallway outside his office, staring at photos of some of the one-of-a-kind creations that he himself had designed and built.

Staring at the intricate mechanical devices, crafted into all manner of creatures and scenes, he was overwhelmed with regret, wondering if he would ever be able to make something so wonderful again. Blinking away the tears, he entered his office, only to find Heechul playing with something on his desk.

As he walked closer, he saw that it was a flower. A rosebud. Heechul was pressing the leaf at the side, making the flower bloom over and over. His mother’s gift.

“I always wondered what happened to it,” Heechul commented, not looking up. “I’m glad you kept it.”

Donghae felt the tears streaming down his cheeks. He had wanted it to be buried with his mother, but the workers at the mortuary had forgotten to include it in her coffin before she was laid to rest. Donghae had found it among her remaining belongings when he finally got around to opening the package.

“It always made me think of her,” he told his brother, awash in the sudden rush of memories.

Heechul looked up, perhaps hearing the quaver in his brother’s voice. “Hae? Baby, are you okay? Was it too much, coming here?”

Donghae shook his head, not sure how to explain all the thoughts and feelings tumbling around inside his head.

“I’m sorry. Maybe you weren’t ready for this yet.”

“I’m glad I came,” he choked out. “I’m just not… I don’t know how I did all this. Little things come back, but then I see what I made, before, and I can’t imagine doing something like that. What if I can’t design things like this anymore? What if I never remember those skills?”

“Then you find something else that makes you happy,” Heechul stated firmly. “Or you let your staff make the designs and you just worry about managing things.”

“I don’t know if I could do that. And how will we make enough money to keep going without my commissions?”

“We’ll worry about that when we have to, sweetheart,” Heechul pulled him into a side hug. “And my offer of designing adult toys is always open. There’s a lot of money in that.”

Donghae choked on a laugh, seeing Heechul winking at him. “Maybe I’ll accept that offer someday. Then what will you do? You’ll have to come to an office and work.”

“This place is hardly your typical office,” Heechul scoffed. “But you’re right, I don’t think we’d be able to do product testing here. Not for the things I have in mind.”

Letting out a chuckle, Donghae dropped his head, the tension easing. Truthfully, he wasn’t against the idea. But they would certainly need to do some reorganization before releasing toys into the market. He doubted that East Sea Toy Company would stay in business for children’s toys if the public caught wind of what else they were selling.

“Make me a proposal,” he teased his brother. “I’ll crunch the numbers. At least when I remember how to do that.”

Heechul’s grin faded when he looked at his brother. “Wait, you aren’t serious, are you?”

“I don’t know. At this point, why not? It would keep you closeby, at least until you got bored with it. And I could use the help. If I can’t design custom mechanical toys anymore, I’ll need to make money somehow.”

“Damn,” Heechul nodded slowly. “I think I like this new mindset. But I’m sure you’ll figure things out, Hae. It’s coming back, here and there, isn’t it? And you haven’t spent much time at the workshop or home, so those memories aren’t being triggered as much. I guarantee though, one day you’ll sit down with some tools and start fiddling around, just like you did as a kid, and the next thing you know you’ll have some fantastic rotating stage with mechanical fairies dancing on it. That’s just the way you are.”

“I hope you’re right. I think I must have really loved what I did.”

“You loved it so much you used to forget about everything else around you. Even as an adult. There were times I wondered if the reason you rarely dated anyone was because you were too distracted by your creations. I’m glad to know it wasn’t that.”

“It wasn’t,” Donghae agreed.

“You were just a shy little ,” Heechul grinned.

“I am not little!” Donghae snapped back, ignoring the rest of the tease.

“Smaller than me, sunshine,” Heechul kissed him on the cheek and let him go.

“You’re lucky I love you so much,” Donghae pouted, trying to glare at his brother.

It failed when Heechul turned a fond gaze his way and agreed, “I’m the luckiest guy I know because of it.”

“Hyung…”

“You hungry? Maybe we should order food for your crew? You think they’d like that?”

“I think they probably deserve it after everything I’ve put them through.”

“Come on then. Let’s see which restaurants around here are good. We’ll take everyone out to celebrate your recovery. It’ll be good for you, and I could use a drink.”

Donghae did enjoy the impromptu party. They all walked down the road to a chicken place that the employees said was his favorite. The staff at the restaurant recognized him as well. Donghae’s senses still tingled from the strange mixture of memories and blank space in his head, but he relaxed among the group and let himself enjoy it all.

A few days later he found himself signing the contract terminations for the manufacturing company and distributor that Min Hyun had set up. Ryeowook’s experience in the corporate world, along with Siwon’s assistance, had led to definitive legal paperwork that left no path for the companies to seek restitution against Donghae. And there was also a termination of employment for Min Hyun, which included a severance package, as detailed in his original contract, minus the portion of his commission paid out for the two companies he had set up, for the months remaining of the original contract. Ryeowook assured him that everything was iron-clad, and it would be extremely difficult to fight it in court. Doing so would require Min Hyun to hire a lawyer who could go toe to toe with Ryeowook, and no one expected him to cough up the money for that.

It took a while longer for the process server that worked for Ryeowook’s firm to track down Min Hyun and officially present him with the papers, proving that he had received them, and was thus legally notified about the actions that had been taken against him and his subsequent separation from anything to do with Lee Donghae and the East Sea Toy Company.

He wanted to believe that everything was over now. That his life could begin again. There was a deep desire in him to start over fresh. He would need to relearn the business, attempt to reacquaint himself with his skills, and possibly, if all went well, locate Hyukjae.

He wondered if his perfect boyfriend was doing something similar. Living with a terminal illness for so long had to have curtailed the man’s enjoyment of life. Even if he had found Donghae’s company pleasant in the hospital, now that he could go anywhere, do whatever he wanted with few restrictions, perhaps he would forget about their brief, but sweet, romance. Hyukjae would be able to travel again, something he obviously loved to do. What reason could he have to hang around with a humble toymaker whose business may soon be clinging to life by a thread? Would Donghae even have time himself to entertain a new relationship? He had a lot of work to do before his life evened out again. His home was still a wreck. He had gaping holes in his memory. Was it worth it?

Closing his eyes, Donghae brought back the memory of Hyukjae’s hand in his own. The way his soft, gentle voice had soothed away all the worries in Donghae’s heart. The stories Hyukjae had told him might have been fiction, but the emotion, the intent behind them, had seemed real. And Donghae had honestly loved being surrounded by the man’s family. Sora and Yesung had been so funny and caring. Hyukjae’s mother had been so sweet. What would they think about Donghae suddenly reappearing in their son’s life? Would they still welcome him when they got to know the real person he was?

Sighing deeply, Donghae realized that the answers to all those questions would still need to wait. First, he had to finish getting his own life back on track. And then he could try and find Hyukjae. It gave them both time to recover, something he knew he still needed.

Especially once he started getting the cryptic, threatening text messages from an unknown number. He knew it was Min Hyun and didn’t respond to anything. But he was reluctant to show his brother, for fear the older man would call in another favor, and this time it would get someone in trouble. After a few days the messages stopped, and he was glad he had kept them a secret.

Heechul was giving Donghae more space to adapt to the world on his own, and he appreciated the confidence, even when he felt none of it inside. Yunho was still there to take him to the company every day or two, and he was slowly capturing the flow of how things worked there. He took binders full of reading materials home with him every day and spent his evenings going over profit statements, catalogues and design files. He was gaining pride in the man he had been before the accident. Happy that his company had established itself on a mission of helping others, rather than turning a profit. And while he had made money, it was a means to an end. Making specialty toys for rich collectors was a way to platform more accessible toys for children, and adults, to cope with a world that wasn’t always built for their ability level. Their company had also made donations to charities, both at home and abroad, which filled him with joy.

His brother was right. He was a surprisingly good person. There were reasons for others to like him. And he wanted to be that person again and forget about the momentary lapse of self-respect that had nearly brought it all crashing down.