His steps were unusually loud, as Sungmin walked down the long hallway towards the main conference room. He had been told by one of the secretaries that most of the higher managers – and most important the director himself – were holding a meeting there at the moment. He had just scoffed at this information though – he knew exactly what they were discussing about. She also said that because of this, Sungmin couldn’t speak with any of those men right now. But unfortunately the singer had the habit of only hearing and understanding the things he needs to know and approves.

He could hear different voices though the door, speaking and laughing loudly. Seems to be a very professional and serious meeting, Sungmin thought with a sarcastic smile on his lips, as he knocked two times on the wooden door. Almost immediately the voices stopped, and after a few seconds a stern voice called him in.

Without a sign of insecurity about his actions, Sungmin opened the door and stepped into the large room. The only furniture was a huge, oval table with chairs around it, and three flat screen televisions. Around the table were currently some of the most important men sitting, looking startled because of the singer’s sudden appearance. Some of them started whispering to each other, most probably knowing perfectly well why Sungmin was there at first place.

“Lee Sungmin-ssi, can we help you?” Mr. Hwang, the boss of the entertainment company Sungmin worked at, asked with his eyebrows raised.

Calming himself down Sungmin simply nodded. “I’d like to speak with you for a moment, sir.” He glanced at the suddenly very busy managers. “Privately, if you don’t mind.”

For a few seconds it seemed as if Mr. Hwang would send Sungmin away, but then the older man let out a little sigh and stood up. “I apologize for this disturbance, gentlemen. This won’t take long, so please – Mr. Jung -” he said to the man at his right “Try to find a solution for this matter we discussed until now, while I’m speaking with Lee Sungmin-ssi.”

Mr. Hwang turned towards a well hidden door at the left side of the conference room and signed Sungmin to follow him. When they were alone, the door closed carefully, the singer couldn’t hold back his anger anymore.

“Mr. Hwang, with all my respect, the decision to fire Cho Kyuhyun because of one stupid, obviously bad researched article which is based on completely wrong information – well, this decision is just not acceptable. I-“

He was interrupted quite rudely by his boss. “Sungmin-ssi, are you gay?”

Sungmin stared at Mr. Hwang, and for a minute he was speechless. “Mr. Hwang, I don’t understand why my uality is even part of this discussion. This is part of my privacy, and I don’t want anyone to interfere with my personal life.”

The older man didn’t seem to even listen to the singer’s words. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’. Is this the reason why you rejected my daughter?”

For the second time Sungmin was left without any words. When he finally answered, his voice was shaking because of the increasing frustration he still tried to hide. “Sir, is this – by any chance – something personal? What happened between me and your daughter shouldn’t… no, it can’t have any effects on neither my work nor your's. Especially when an innocent person like Kyuhyun, who isn’t part of this personal issue at all, is involved.”

It was obvious that Mr. Hwang struggled to keep calm, but Sungmin couldn’t care less. The behavior of the older man was unprofessional as hell, and the fact that something as stupid as him not accepting the confession of his boss’s daughter could end in the resignation of Kyuhyun – to say that he was boiling right now would be the understatement of the year. It wasn’t like he broke this woman’s heart or something like that, or at least she hadn’t seem to be completely devastated. She had asked him out, he had rejected her friendly but firmly – end of the story. Only a few weeks after this incident Sungmin had found out that the woman was actually Mr. Hwang’s daughter. But even if he had known about her family background before, the result would have been the same.

“This isn’t something personal, Mr. Lee” Mr. Hwang said coldly, suddenly using a more formal language. “It is about the impossibility of someone in your position being together with a mere staff member – a male staff member, who isn’t even grown-up yet!”

“My contract doesn’t dictate me whom I’m allowed to date, does it? I’ve got something like a private life too, sir, even if some people here tend to forget that. And I won’t allow anyone, neither some stupid reporter or paparazzi, nor my manager, nor my fans, nor you to interfere with said private life.”

Sungmin glared at the man before him, forgetting about the respect he should show the director. Respect must be earned, that was what he believed in.

He sighed. “And Kyuhyun is grown-up for God’s sake! But this shouldn’t be part of  this discussion at all. Kyuhyun’s name shouldn’t even be mentioned! Just let go of this … craze of firing Kyuhyun and let me do my work! My concert in Beijing will be in a few days and instead of rehearsing all I do is standing here and trying to fix something as stupid as this. Since when did we react so drastically to a single article?”

“Mr. Lee you don’t seem to understand the situation we’re in-“

“Oh no Mr. Hwang, it seems like you don’t understand the situation you’re putting yourself in!” Sungmin interrupted the older, not caring about being respectful anymore at all. The man in front of him had succeeded in making him annoyed as hell, and this was the moment which would decide, if he was a true and somewhat free artist, or a mere marionette of the company.

“I’m not the one to brag about myself, but I am the most successful artist of this company at the moment, and you can’t risk loosing me. So if you don’t want this to end really ugly, you’ll better tell these managers that the problem is solved and no one is thinking of firing Kyuhyun anymore. Or else I’m afraid you’ll not only loose a very capable staff member but me as well.”

Mr. Hwang straightened up and looked at the shorter man in pure annoyance and frustration. “I’ll think about this…”

Sungmin laughed shortly, with no emotions at all. “Oh yes sir, you’ll think about this, and you’ll think about it right now! Make your decision: do you want me to resign, or not?”

His boss sighed in defeat. “No…”

Sungmin smirked. He had known perfectly well that this man wouldn’t let him go. The singer was the source of way too much money for the company to risk loosing him because of something stupid as this.

“So you’ll stop this nonsense discussion and speak with Kyuhyun personally that this article won’t have any effect on his work place at all.”

Mr. Hwang looked as if he’d explode every other second, but he nodded nevertheless. “Of course.”

Sungmin smiled widely, but there were still no real emotions in his facial expression at all. “Great. It’s always a pleasure to speak with you, sir. But I guess you understand when I say that I hope we won’t need to meet too soon again.” With these rather bitter words Sungmin turned around and wanted to leave the office.

Suddenly the voice of the director hold him back again. “Mr. Lee!”

The singer didn’t even try to hid his annoyance as he rolled his eyes and simply looked over his shoulder. “Yes?”

“I won’t allow you to become a second Kim Heechul, Mr. Lee. At the moment your position may seem to be secure, but popularity changes. I’d be careful with my words and actions, if I’d be at your place.” The implied warning wasn’t even hidden; the words were a deliberate provocation.

Sungmin scoffed. “I’ll try to keep it in mind.”

And without another word he left the office.

****

The next day Sungmin wasn’t able to speak with Kyuhyun for almost the whole day. He needed to discuss the concert schedule with Siwon and some organizers, and after this tiring meeting he had to practice some older songs he hadn’t sung for quite some time now. He couldn’t concentrate very well and in the end his vocal coach sent him away, muttering something about ‘pre-debut conditions’ .

It was already the end of the day, when the black haired male spotted Kyuhyun discussing something with another staff member. He didn’t waste another second and quickly approached the two men.

“Kyuhyun-ah!” he called the younger. It was almost embarrassing how clearly you could hear the happiness in his voice, but Sungmin couldn’t care less. He had always been the type of guy to show off his feelings for everyone to see. If he disliked someone he would tell it the person directly. It was way more honest than bashing behind his back about someone. In contrary, if he liked someone, he would show I just as openly.  

His smile grew as Kyuhyun turned his head and he could see the face of the younger lighten up as their eyes met.

“Hyung!” he answered happily, but then he threw a cautious look at the other staff member beside him. It seemed like Kyuhyun was a little  bit uncomfortable displaying their closeness like this. Sungmin tried not to feel hurt by it, in the end Kyuhyun had probably been rather shocked because of the article. Most probably even more than Sungmin himself.

When the singer reached the other men, he grinned widely at Kyuhyun. “It may be a little bit late for lunch, but I hope I can still take you up on your offer…”

Kyuhyun stared at him in confusion for a few seconds, but then the younger seemed to remember his offer of eating together from the day before. Sungmin literally needed to suppress a squeal, as he saw Kyuhyun suddenly blushing madly. There was nothing, nothing cuter in this world as an embarrassed Kyuhyun.

“W-well, of course, I… I just don’t – I mean I need to… the floodlights…”

Kyuhyun’s stammering was interrupted by the second staff member. “Don’t worry Kyuhyun-ah, I’ll take care of the arrangement of the floodlights. I’ll see you tomorrow then, okay? Goodbye Sungmin-ssi.” The man bowed and flashed them a smile before he turned around and walked away quite quickly.

Looking at Kyuhyun again, Sungmin had to force himself to hide his amusement. The younger was obviously nervous, tugging at his clothes and staring at the ceiling, the walls and the floor in turns. Since all of them were painted plain white, Sungmin didn’t really see why it would be so interesting to stare at them. Instead he suspected that the brunet was simply too shy to look at Sungmin. And that was simply adorable.

“Soo….”  Sungmin started, planning to get rid of the one topic which was standing between them like an invisible wall. “Did you read the article?”

Kyuhyun winced but nodded.

“Sungmin sighed. “This is nothing we have to worry about, Kyuhyun, trust me! We’ll just ignore this nonsense and then the rumors will die one by one. Unless you don’t want to be seen with me in the public anymore.”

Kyuhyun immediately lifted his head and shook it determined. “Of course not, hyung! I’m not embarrassed because of it or something like that. I’m just afraid that you’re angry to be paired up with someone like me.”

Lifting one eyebrow, Sungmin stared at the younger. “What do you mean with ‘someone like me’?”

The brunet shrugged. “I’m just a staff member, you know? I’m not an actor or a singer or an entertainer or something like this. In the photobooklet of the DVD of your up-coming concerts my name will be at the very last page, almost invisible. Aren’t you angry to be paired up with someone who is… no one special at all?”

Sungmin’s jaw tensed as he heard the familiar words again. He could only shook his head at the others little to nothing self-confidence.

“We seriously need to get rid of this stupid ‘no one special’!” he muttered as he grabbed Kyuhyun’s hand and dragged the startled other towards the main entrance of the building.  

****

They were sitting in front of each other, between them a small wooden table with nothing but a little bit bread on it. After recovering from his surprise, Kyuhyun had suggested eating at an European restaurant. Since it was a family business, the prices were acceptable. Sungmin had been fine with it, especially after the younger had mentioned the good quality of the restaurant’s wine. They had already discovered two days ago that they both liked wine a lot, and Sungmin was glad to have the opportunity to drink a glass (or two) with the brunet.

The older watched Kyuhyun in amusement, as the latter looked at a piece bread in his hand, shaking his head in confusion.

“I really can’t understand how these Western people can eat this stuff at almost every meal! Doesn’t that get really boring?”

Sungmin laughed. “Well I don’t know either. But they wonder why we’re eating rice for … well, every meal as well.”

Kyuhyun scoffed. “You can’t compare rice to something as plain as bread. It’s so.. dry and… I don’t know. It’s weird.”

Sungmin smiled at the other’s childishness. He loved the way Kyuhyun would behave when they were alone, now that they knew each other better. The younger was still cute as a little bunny colored in every color of the rainbow, but he also seemed to gain some confidence and opened up a little bit more. Maybe Kyuhyun felt more secure because right now, they were equal? They weren’t celebrity and staff member, they were simply two friends eating dinner together.

After they had ordered some food, Sungmin remembered something he really wanted to ask the younger about.

“Kyu…” he started, gaining the attention of the other. They were back at calling each other by their nicknames, and Sungmin enjoyed the closeness it implied. “Yesterday, when I asked you if you could listen to my new song… There was someone with you, a rather tall guy. He called you later on again, his name is Changjin or something like that. Can I ask you how you two met?”

Kyuhyun laughed. “You mean Changmin? Of course you can ask, it’s nothing too private. He’s my best friend, since kindergarten actually. He’s an annoying brat, talks too much and thinks he is the best – but he really is the best friend I could wish for. Together we reduced quite a number of teacher to despair.”

Kyuhyun smiled at his memories, while Sungmin could – again – feel a sting  of jealousy. This time it was because of something else though. He wasn’t jealous of this Changmin himself, but of the time these two had spent together. If he had knew Kyuhyun a little bit earlier… but there was no chance to change the past, so he rather concentrated on the present.

Sungmin chuckled and nodded. “Somehow it reminds me of my best friend, Eunhyuk. Do you know him? He’s one of … well, actually the most famous choreographer of our company. We know each other since forever, and he annoys me more than any other person. But actually he’s really important to me, and I hope he’ll always be a part of my life…. Wow, that sounds way too cheesy.” He laughed. “Nevertheless that traitor doesn’t even have any time for me anymore since he got himself that cute background dancer, Lee Donghae!”

Kyuhyun laughed as well, and Sungmin believed to hear a somehow relieved undertone in the younger’s voice. “It’s great to know that you like each other so much. Especially since you spent so much time together…”

The singer raised his eyebrows. “How can you know about how much time I spent with Eunhyuk?”

Kyuhyun blushed and started tugging at the white tablecloth. This seemed to be one of the brunet’s habits, whenever he was nervous or embarrassed. “W-well as your staff member I… I need to know your schedule. And I just… you have a lot of  dance practice lessons…” He didn’t seem to know how to end the sentence probably, but luckily Kyuhyun was saved by a waitress who brought them their food.

They were chatting comfortably while drinking some red wine, as suddenly Kyuhyun’s phone played the same old song by Sungmin the latter had heard before. The older watched Kyuhyun pulling his cellphone out of his pocket and accepted the apologetic smile with a small nod. He really enjoyed being with Kyuhyun like this. No matter if they spoke with each other (and they always found something to speak about) or if they were just silently sitting together, it was always comfortably. Somehow this really felt just right, and Sungmin hoped that the other felt like this too.   

His thoughts were interrupted as he saw the sudden dark expression on Kyuhyun’s face. The brunet starred at his phone for a few more seconds, until he finally sighed in frustration and threw it carelessly at the table.

Sungmin looked at the other in concern.  “Did something bad happen?”

Kyuhyun shrugged. “Nothing I couldn’t have seen coming. Do you remember what I told you about my parents?”

Sungmin nodded. He clearly remembered the story about Kyuhyun’s first and only boyfriend, and the intolerant behavior of the brunet’s parents.

“Well, it seems like although they’re in China right now, they’ve seen the article as well. And now they believe that we’re … dating.”

Sungmin didn’t really now what to respond to that. They weren’t dating, but Sungmin wouldn’t mind to change that rather quickly. And although Kyuhyun never hinted on something more than friendship, the singer believed to have caught some well hidden signs of some possible feelings of the younger for him. So it wasn’t enough to simply convince Kyuhyun’s parents that they weren’t dating. It was more about bringing them to accept homoual relationships, because Sungmin really didn’t want to destroy Kyuhyun’s whole family with their hopefully-soon-to-be relationship.

“Well…” he started hesitantly. “It would be hard to convince them that the article is just rubbish with them in China and us here in South Korea. Wouldn’t it be easier if we’d meet all together after my concert in Beijing? Then we’ll have enough time to explain the whole situation.”

Kyuhyun nodded slowly, seemingly in deep thought. “You’re right… I’ll try to convince them that this would be the best solution.”

The singer nodded and fought with himself for a few seconds if he should go on or simply end the topic. In the end Sungmin decided that it would be the best to at least clarify this part of their relationship. “But… you aren’t uncomfortable about being seen with me either, right? There’ll be photos about us eating here together as well, and I don’t want to cause troubles…”

The younger quickly shook his head. “No Min, I’m perfectly fin with it. I was a little bit worried about the reaction of our boss though, but he personally talked with me and promised me, that this article won’t have any effect on my work place! So I don’t see why I shouldn’t eat with you, just because there are some people existing who hide in bushes to make a photo of us.”

Ignoring the mentioning of the director, Sungmin grinned, feeling a rush of relief because of Kyuhyun’s confident answer. (And he had called Sungmin ‘Min’!!) "Good, because..." he started, turning his head as if he searched someone. He called one of the waitresses and smiled at her brightly. “Could you please give the guy in this green, really old car a strong café or something like that? He’s a paparazzi, and he sat in this car for about three hours now, so he must be awfully tired…”

This didn't take as long as I thought, so I'm already updating now (it's around 9 am were I'm living) and not in the evening.^^

Although Sungmin didn't literally kicked some asses, I hope you liked this side of him as well. There's y-Min, completely-in-love-Min and adorable-because-of-blushing-and-stuttering-Kyu in this chapter, so I hope you're content with it.

I could babble endlessly about ... well, how FREAKING AMAZING Henry's solo album is, that Eunhae's "I Wanna Dance' MV is definitely just about the two dating each other, that I'm in love with Hyesung and Eric of Shinhwa (although Kyu is still my number 1 XD), that BTS is an amazing rookie group, that the weather in Germany right now and that school is nothing but boring. But I don't think you want to read anything of this, so I'll just update now and go off, trying to write some pages for my German fanfiction.

Bye ^.^

P.S.: I still really like comments. :P