The elevator up to the director’s office had been silent. Sungmin was embroiled in his thoughts, fingers tracing mindlessly over the gold embossed wallpaper as casual stereotypical elevator music floated in the background. This was supposed to be his dream right? The prestigious scholarship, the honor it brought, the opportunities it would give him, those things were everything he had worked towards.

But now he wasn’t so sure anymore.

He knew it wasn’t a coincidence. Even though Sungmin knew next to nothing about his father, the man’s face had appeared on enough papers and magazines over the years to know that this man left nothing to chance. Everything had been planned out.

And just like that, Sungmin was like a helpless bug entangled in a spider’s web, in too deep to escape.

Walking out of the private elevator, he walked into the top most floor of the company, the floor sectioned off privately for the company’s president’s use only. The walls and décor reeked of luxury and high class temperament, Sungmin gingerly stepping on the plush carpeting as he made his way to the lone office directly to his front. Taking a deep breath, he knocked once, the soft sound amplified by the empty still surroundings.

“Come in.”

Sungmin swung open the door slowly, eyes scanning over the room as he stepped inside. The office was laid out in a modernistic style, sleek chrome and glass everywhere with a few white accents. A ceiling to floor glass window gave the room a stunning view of the city of Seoul while the minimalistic furniture gave the room quite the impersonal feeling.

There were no family photos, no vacation shots, and the desk was kept clean of clutter. A white desk top computer was opened on the center of the glass table with a white nameplate next to it, embossed in gold.

“Hello Sungmin, how are you?”

The man behind the desk had looked up from the pamphlet he had been examining. Jaejoong really appeared quite young for his age. His face hardly showed the lines of wear that someone his age and experience should have. The man was quite fit and the tailored designer suit made him look every bit the rich politician he was. His easy smile revealed the confidence he had, the confidence that Sungmin lacked.

Yes, he had faced down his father before, but this time, Jaejoong was more than just a blood relative. He was Sungmin’s direct superior and every ounce of hard work he had put into this scholarship could disappear in a snap of Jaejoong’s fingers if the man chose. Bowing down respectfully, Sungmin held back the fear that had suddenly blossomed in his chest.

“I’m well sir.”

Lips curling up slight, Jaejoong motioned for his son to sit down on the chair across of him.

“So, have you thought about my offer from the last time we met?”

Sungmin bit his lips anxiously. Could he keep this scholarship if he refused? After all, he needed this right? He couldn’t succeed without it. But was losing himself worse? His thoughts were a blur right now, each option resulting in a dead end.

Sungmin’s life had always been about planning. Growing up with not the most ideal conditions, he figured out quickly that in order to stay on top of the game, he had to have a plan. He had to be prepared for every curveball life threw at him. He had always found ways around the disparity between him and his classmates, some alternate plan that still let him beat the odds.

But this. Sungmin was not prepared for the sudden intrusion of his father into his life. He had no plan for it, no emergency backup route he could take.

Jaejoong chuckled at his son’s tense expression.

“It’s alright. Take your time. I know you’ll see my way in the end.”

Nodding tersely, Sungmin folded his hands in his lap as broke out of his stupor.

“Well, today is your first day at this internship. Your position as my personal secretary involves handling paperwork as well as aiding me in all aspects of my work. You will attend all the functions and meetings I attend and will be responsible for taking notes.”

Handing over a leather bound planner, Jaejoong turned to today’s date.

“Starting from today, you must keep track of my schedule. Since you are still attending school, you are only obligated to attend those events that are outside school hours unless it is a major function in which I will pull of our interns out of class for.”

Sungmin felt much more comfortable hearing this. This was back to the structure he was used to. Biting back a bitter laugh, he supposed he had unwillingly inherited this trait from his father whether he wanted to or not. Picking up a stack of papers that were addressed to the CEO, he proceeded to organize them, fingers deftly sliding the documents into the correct files to be read by Jaejoong at his discretion.

Sitting back in his chair, Jaejoong let out a sigh as he ran his fingers through his slightly long hair. He was really due for a haircut soon, the bangs almost grazing his eyelashes now. The man hadn’t had time recently, not with the upcoming elections and all the events surrounding it.

Unnoticed by the young blonde, the father had been observing his teenage son the whole time that the boy believed the man to be reading emails on his computer. His son was every bit the hard-working young man he had expected him to be. He was like the splitting image of himself when he was that age. Unlike the lazy stereotype that ades teenage culture these days, Sungmin was diligent and determined, two traits essential in the political world.

Jaejoong unconsciously smiled at the image of his son’s pouting face as the boy filed paper after paper, an odd sense of warmth spreading deep inside him. Was this pride? He hadn’t seen his son in so long, hadn’t interacted with the boy ever outside that meeting at Heechul’s.

Glancing down, his eyes caught the silver band on his fingers and froze. No, he decided, as his jaw tightened. Sungmin was just a great asset to Jaejoong’s campaign and could only raise his undefeatable status even more in the public’s eyes. Nothing more. Turning his eyes back to the boy, he scrutinized the boy’s features. Sungmin had inherited his delicate features and stunning smile, but the later could rarely be seen on the elder’s face anymore. His eyes gave off an innocent and naïve aura, the same way Yoona’s did when they had first met so many years ago. But those eyes had changed.

They both did, he supposed, a wry grin on his lips as he stretched his fingers against the keyboard.

Tapping his watch, Jaejoong stood up from his chair and strode towards the door. Opening it slightly, he turned to Sungmin before heading out.

“You may go have lunch with the rest of the interns as soon as you finish documenting the rest of the invoices. I will be there also.”

He always had lunch with the new workers in his company. It was a good way to observe them and see just what kind of upbringing they had. Today though, Jaejoong had a different motive in mind.

Groaning from the strain of carrying uncountable stacks of heavy papers, Sungmin leaned tiredly against the elevator wall as he pressed the button to go to the 3^rd floor where the employee lunch room was located in. To be honest, he really didn’t mind the work. One always had to start from the bottom right? Anyways, reading the documents had helped him familiarize himself with the company and exactly what kind of issues it dealt with, as well as the other major players in the business and political world that he needed to understand in order to efficiently do business with them. It was good training and he begrudgingly admitted that Jaejoong knew exactly what he was doing with his company.

Clutching his messenger bag tightly, he grinned at the prospect of seeing Henry and Kyuhyun again at lunch. He had made them both lunch as a surprise and packed it away in little tupperware containers. Eagerly striding towards the lunch room as he exited the elevator, Sungmin reached out a hand to pull open the door. His hand froze on the door handle as he paused before the clear glass door.

His father was sitting at the head of the rectangular table, casually making small talk with Henry who sat to his right. Victoria was directly opposite of Henry and besides her sat Kyuhyun. It seemed like both had already gone out together to purchase lunch for the whole group as all of them had identical containers of takeout. Twirling her fork expertly, Victoria brought up the small bundle of pasta to her lips and wiped with a napkin. Henry smiled appreciatively at the young lady as he eagerly ate his ravioli.

“Victoria noona, thank you for getting us the Italian food. It’s really good. Kyu hyung, thanks too.”

Smiling indulgently at the younger boy, Victoria waved off his remarks.

 “It’s no problem Henry. I’m glad you like it.”

Distracted, Kyuhyun paid no attention to the young chipmunk as he scanned the room with an air of anticipation.

“Have you seen Sungmin?”

Victoria tapped a finger against her chin pensively.

“I actually haven’t. But I noticed during the orientation that you too seem very close. “

Henry opened his mouth to speak mid-chew before realizing where he was. Closing his mouth and chewing rapidly, he swallowed his food to answer.

“Of course they are. They’re practically boy-“

Kyuhyun gave Henry a vicious kick under the table. He glared at the boy, then glanced at Jaejoong. Kyuhyun could feel the man’s eyes on him even though he appeared to be solely invested in his food. This was not the place to publicize his feelings for the boy whose father controlled their future careers.

Clearing his throat, Kyuhyun turned to Victoria.

“Ah, we are a classmate that’s all. Close acquaintances I would say.”

Victoria nodded in understanding, an almost invisible smirk on her face as she watched the figure behind the glass door slowly turn away.

This game is almost too easy. 

AN: I AM FINALLY BACK <3 gone for a month unfortunately because of SAT testing and APs and finals and all that jazz :'( but school is done for me and now summer <3 except I have summer school in 2 weeks. sigh. But i will update as much as I can to make up for my hiatus! Thanks for everyone who subscribed and commented <3 I love hearing back from you guys about the story!

WHO ELSE IS EXCITED ABOUT TRAP BECUZ I AM DYING *.* henry and kyuhyun = oh my flipping gawd