“Two of our smokeless grills have been recalled. The sales team, QC team and production team are working tirelessly to correct the error and avoid loss of goodwill.” Yugyeom briefs Jinyoung at their company office the next morning. Jinyoung is perched on the edge of his desk while Yugyeom is standing in front of him.

“What time does my meeting with the Star Player Entertainment’s MD start?”

Yugyeom checks his wrist watch. “In exactly 57 minutes.”

“Then Let the production team know that I’ll go and check on the situation in about two hours.”

“Yes sir.”

“Have you contacted Im Jaebeom regarding the contract?”

“Yes I have. Like you said, I advised them to take two days to look it over closely then give us feedback. I set up a meeting for Thursday morning.” 

“You made sure Im Jaebeom is the one coming to the meeting, right?”

Yugyeom pulls his lower lips between his teeth to hold back a smirk. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good.” Jinyoung nods slowly, mulling over this.

“Shall I schedule a date for you two?”

“Not yet.” Jinyoung dismisses. For the sake of his pride and his very bruised ego, Jinyoung could end there with this story; but Jaebeom’s rejection has Jinyoung far too discombobulated not to talk to someone about it. Lucky for Jinyoung, Yugyeom also doubles as his good friend. It’s still working hours, so Jinyoung gets straight to the point intending on keeping the conversation about Jaebeom short. “I asked Jaebeom out on a date and he said no.”

The smile on Yugyeom’s face slips and it’s not because he feels bad for Jinyoung but because he’s not sure he ever witnessed anyone say no to Jinyoung. “Are you sure?”

Jinyoung shoots his assistant a deadpan look. “Quite certain.”

“But how?”

Jinyoung shrugs. “Beats me. I was hoping you could provide me with some answers.”

“Apart from the obvious which is that you’ve finally joined normal human nature where people get rejected?”

“I don’t give a about human nature. I want Im Jaebeom.”

Yugyeom’s smile comes back to life, even brighter than before as he takes a closer look at Jinyoung and notices how sore he looks. “He said no, so maybe it’s in your best interest to move on. Finding another object of your affection is usually easy for you.”

“Not until I understand what Jaebeom dislikes so much about me.”

“Maybe you are just not his type.”

“That’s what he said. Can you believe that?”

“Yes. These things happen.”

Jinyoung shakes his head in denial. “I’m everyone’s type.”

Sure that Jinyoung isn’t looking at him, Yugyeom steals a moment to roll his eyes fondly at how irrationally pompous Jinyoung can be. “Okay, what do you intend to do now?”

Jinyoung crosses his arms against his chest and pulls his lower lip between his lips in thought. “I’m going to continue pursuing him. I think that’s the obvious choice.” He says it like it’s something Yugyeom should know.

A chuckle escapes Yugyeom before he can hold back and he earns himself a glare from Jinyoung. He quickly rearranges his facial expression. “Sorry. It’s just that I’ve never seen you actively chasing after…anything.” And the image Yugyeom has in his head doesn’t look pretty. Jinyoung is a very tenacious person. Between his looks and his money, he always successfully gets what he wants. “You failed to charm Im Jaebeom with your looks and your charm. Are you going to buy his affection?”

“If it comes to that then yes.”

Yugyeom’s eyes widen in surprise at how serious Jinyoung looks saying something so ridiculous. Now a lot more seriously than just a few moments ago, Yugyeom asks. “Do you like him that much?”

“Don’t you think he’s worth the effort?”

For a few seconds Yugyeom ponders about the Im Jaebeom he met and he shrugs one shoulder. “He is handsome and nice enough I suppose, but I still can’t see what you like so much about him. You’ve never dated a man who has such a style. The long hair, the piercings…..”

A warm smile touches Jinyoung’s lips at the thought of Jaebeom’s piercings alone. “Not to sound corny or anything but there is something about him that touched me in a way no one else ever has.”

“Wow. He sounds like the one.” Yugyeom teases with a huge grin, except Jinyoung isn’t kidding at all.

“He might be.” Jinyoung ponders

“You’ve encountered a lot of handsome people. How is this one different?” Yugyeom puts his diary aside to give this a proper listen.  

“Jaebeom is so easily charming and alluring. I can feel his kindness even if we just met. He doesn’t seem to have a single malicious bone in his body. I don’t think I’ve met someone like that.”

“I agree he is a pleasant guy…at first. We barely know the guy.”

“Do you think it’s strange that I’m already thinking about moving him to my house and keeping him there forever?”

Yugyeom’s eyes widen. “Yes. How can you be so sure you’ll be happy with him? At the risk of sounding redundant, you barely know the guy. Your first impression of him could be totally wrong.”

Jinyoung hums just to let Yugyeom know that his point has been taken note of and agreed with. “More than my own happiness, I want to make Jaebeom happy.”

Yugyeom is just entirely speechless now.

*********

Jaebeom meets Jinyoung at the café three days later on a Thursday morning at 10AM sharp for the contract signing. They both sit down on opposite ends of one of the two-seater tables in the café. 2 days ago Jinyoung’s assistant contacted Jaebeom to tell him he has two days to take a careful and closer look at the contract before making a decision. In that time Jaebeom and his team consulted a lawyer to help them understand some of the bombastic business jargon.

Now he can confidently say that sitting in front of Jinyoung as his own and his team’s representative, Jaebeom is ready to discuss the terms and hopefully snag this deal.

As usual Jinyoung is clad in an excellent grey three-piece suit and from head to toe he is a picture out of a trendy office fashion magazine.

On his way here, Jaebeom got a call from Jinyoung’s assistant Yugyeom, and it was to ask what kind of coffee Jaebeom likes. That’s why he isn’t surprised to see two coffees at the table for himself and for Jinyoung.

“Thanks for the coffee.” Jaebeom says.

“You are welcome.” Jinyoung smiles, watching Jaebeom’s every gesture, even the way the fingers of his able, big hands curl around his coffee cup. It’s been exactly three days since Jinyoung saw Jaebeom and it’s a little ridiculous but he actually missed him. This morning Jaebeom is considerably dressed a little more formally than the last time with a light brown blazer over a black t-shirt and blue jeans. The strawberry blonde hair is tucked behind Jaebeom’s ears. It’s not as cute as when he pulls it up into a bun, but it’s a sight good eno