There was a riot outside the office building. People were marching with pickets and protesting loudly. The moment he showed up, they all turned to Daehyun and immediately surged forward towards him.

            “Mr. Jung, can you explain why we have lost our money?”

            The protestors were investors in Mr. Cho’s and TS’ joint venture. That morning, there had been a rumor saying that the company was embezzling and many tried to pull their stocks out. The sudden flux made the remaining holders’ investments crash and people wanted explanations.

            “I promise, this matter will be investigated. Please, be a little more patient, and I apologize on behalf of the company for any pain and grievances that we have caused.” Daehyun bowed and hastened into the building.

            Immediately, he met with Jongup and Junhong to try to figure out the situation. “Hyung, this isn’t looking good. With the losses, our stocks may plummet more.”

            His thoughts turned to his father-in-law. It was his idea to have Hyosung and Yoojae sent into the company. Mr. Im had mentioned the possibility of merging his company with Mr. Cho’s. Could this be the old man’s plan to be larger than TS? His heart constricted when he thought about the snippets of Hyosung’s conversation that he heard last night. Could she be on this?

            Jongup gave him another set of printouts. “It looks like the merger with Mr. Lim also had losses. But the rumor is mainly based on Mr. Cho’s company. I think maybe we should investigate it a little more.” He said this hesitantly.

            “I’d also look at Mr. Lim’s company,” Daehyun said. He’ll be damned if even his closest friends thought he would play favorites because of Hyosung.

            “I’m on it.”

            He was distracted the whole day. The conversation Hyosung had looped in his head until he had every word engraved into his memory. There was a knock on his door and he looked up to see the very person herself. Hyosung smiled winningly at him.

            “Baby, what were you thinking about? I knocked at least five times.”

            Daehyun gave her a strained smile. “Nothing. Just trying to think about our deal with Singertainment. We need to send staff over there and set up headquarters as well.”

            She smiled and slid a hand up his arm. “London was a good place for us.”

            He let out an uneasy chuckle. “Yes.” Before he could lose the courage, he looked at her. “Can I ask you a question?” She raised an eyebrow and waited. “What were you talking about yesterday on the phone?”

            Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “I don’t recall.”

            “Last night, you said you wanted to make sure something was going right.”

            “Ah.” She was quiet for a bit. “You think it’s about what’s going on with the stocks, don’t you?” Already the hurt was evident in her voice.

            “N-no, not at all. I just thought it a little strange. Why, are you planning a surprise for me or something?” He winked at her, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

            “I guess you’ll just have to find out.” And she walked out. Daehyun sighed. Even back when they dated, she always knew how to get him riled up. She knew that all she had to do was show her dissatisfaction and he would be putty in her hands. As much as he wanted to follow her out, he also knew that there were people outside. And he did not feel like adding to the gossip any more than was necessary. Instead, he took a selca and sent it to her, hoping that would be apology enough for now. Maybe he would see her again tonight.

***

            Jinli has had too many conversations with her father the past few days than she’d care to have. This time it was another nasty round of angry yelling and then snide remarks about how she was useless and couldn’t keep her husband from suspecting the family.

            “What is really going on?”

            Her father had laughed. “Someone is trying to ruin my reputation and your dumb idiot of a husband is falling for it hook line and sinker. It is downright humiliating.”

            “Are you really doing things behind Daehyun’s back?”

            And that had ignited another tirade of infuriated yelling. Jinli placed her phone down on her desk and continued to work. It was best to just let him rant it out. “You are an ungrateful young lady. I raise you by myself, and I provide you with a good future. And here you are squandering that opportunity.”

            That was one blow too low and Jinli hung up. She ignored the subsequent calls that followed. If he was alluding to the fact that marrying her off to Daehyun was a blessing to her, he would have to reevaluate and think again.

            Her stomach rumbled and she rubbed her eyes. It was nearly ten, and of course Daehyun was not home. She glanced wistfully at the refrigerator. Eating one bowl of rice wouldn’t hurt. But as she stood up, the front door opened.

            He was drunk and stumbling. The door closed again and she heard faint retching sounds from behind the wooden barrier. Jinli’s nose wrinkled. What was wrong with him that he had to get this drunk on a weekday?

            She opened the front door and watched Daehyun struggle against the porch railing. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before lurching back forward and letting another portion of the alcohol in his body splatter all over the flowers in the yard. Jinli waited patiently. He was shaking and his coat was heavy with the smell of cigarettes. So he had been smoking too.

            When it appeared that he had gotten rid of everything in his stomach, Daehyun slid down onto the porch and groaned. His eyes were watery as he stared at her. “Baby.” She heard him mutter. Automatically her heart rate jumped but she pushed the euphoria away as quickly as it surfaced.

            Squatting down, Jinli gently pulled Daehyun to his feet and supported him into the living room. He collapsed promptly on the couch. She went into the kitchen and filled a glass of water and took out a pill for him. “Here. It’ll help.”

            He took the glass from her and muttered a word of thanks. The liquid sloshed all over him and she sighed. Taking it from him, she gently tipped back his head and held the cup to his lips. When he could swallow properly, she placed the pill on his tongue and let him wash it down with the water too. Keeping in mind that more water might make him throw up again, she let Daehyun catch his bearings.

            “.” He rubbed his temples. “I’m going to sleep here tonight.”

            “Can’t make it up the stairs?”

            He shook his head and she went to their room to gather his blanket and pillows. “Here, sleep sideways. I have a trash can for you too in case an emergency happens at night.”

            His eyes were already closing and he nodded sleepily in acknowledgement. Jinli cast one more look at him and went upstairs.

            When Daehyun woke up in the morning, his throat was dry and his head ached. On instinct, he grabbed his phone and saw, thankfully, that he still had an hour before work. He contemplated calling in sick. His temples throbbed and he knew he would be unproductive anyway.

            “How are you feeling?”

            Jinli was standing in front of him. She placed a bowl of steaming soup before him and he shot her a wry grin. “I must have been a mess last night.”

            She shrugged a little and he noticed that she appeared much thinner. Her shirt dropped off her shoulder and he could see her collarbones very clearly. Maybe it was still the alcohol talking, but she was very pretty. “Not any more than any other drunk person. Drink up. I didn’t have time to let it broil so it might not be so good. But drink and also, forgive me, but I called Yongguk and told him you wouldn’t be in today. You’re in no shape to go.”

            He didn’t even find enough strength in his body to get angry, but strangely he found that he wasn’t. “Thank you.” He recklessly took the bowl in his hands and placed it back down again. “Ow.”

            He swore he saw a tiny smile on her face. She came back with oven gloves. “Here, these might help.” But he knew it was meant to be a joke and so Daehyun laughed. To humor her, he put them on and clumsily started to wave his arms around.

            “Now I’m even more incapable. Feed me.”

            The moment the words left his lips, he held his breath. But Jinli took it in stride and raised the spoon to his mouth. “Then start cooperating.”

            Married life wasn’t so bad when there were moments like this. When he finished the serving, Jinli stood up to wash the dishes. “Go take a shower. You’ll probably feel better if you go sleep on the bed.”

            Daehyun stood up and stretched, feeling his stomach muscles expand. The reflux from last night made his abs a little sore. “Thank you.” He knew she must have been awake early to prepare the soup.

            “Don’t mention it.” And it was Daehyun’s turn to smile. Maybe he did deserve it, the slightly colder treatment she gave him. But it was enough that there were times like this as well. He glanced at her again and wondered wistfully what would have happened if he and Hyosung had not met again.

            The thought reminded him of why he decided to get so drunk last night and he sighed. Even though he would be home, he would have to prepare a public statement and officially announce an in-house investigation of all the newly acquired departments as well.

            On impulse, he turned around. “Are you going into work today?” When he saw Jinli hesitate, he added, “Stay home with me?”

            Her back was turned so he couldn’t see her expression. But he could swear that when she answered, there was a smile on her face. “Yes. Yes I can.”

EXCUSE ME GUYS

CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT SKYDIVE BECAUSE I'M CRYING

LIKE WHAT IS THAT PERFECTION

WHAT IS NOIR THE ALBUM

I'M STILL ON SUCH A HIGH AND THE ALBUM HAS BEEN ON LOOP 

and also Daehyun feels ♥♥♥