belle

“He walked you to your car?” Seungkwan repeats on the other line. Hansol just laughs. Your head hits your pillow as you tug your blankets up around your face.

Dubu doesn’t waste a second to curl onto your chest. You put your phone on speaker, then set it beside your head so you can give your cat some extra love for staying late at work. When she starts to purr, you let out a dramatic sigh. 

“He walked me to my car and complimented my work.” You correct. “I think it was just the late night, though. I mean, it’s not like it could be anything else.”

They’re both quiet for a moment before Hansol chimes in, “I don’t really know, though.”

“No,” you close your eyes, shutting down whatever crazy thought he was about to spew your way. “He said he hated me today, Hansol. Just because he does one single nice thing for me in the seven years I've known him does not mean that he’s suddenly changed his feelings.”

“I’m not saying he changed his feelings.” Hansol clarifies. “I’m saying that maybe he just doesn’t hate you as much as you thought he did?” 

There’s a pause before you and Seungkwan burst out laughing. Wonwoo? Somewhat tolerating you? That’s about as believable as the concept of pigs flying. Or world peace. Tonight was a one-off, and you already know that tomorrow things will go back to normal. 

“That’s a good one, Hansol,” Seungkwan says as his laughter slows. “No offense, but you’re not here anymore. You don’t see the kind of arguments they get into. Wonwoo isn’t the same as he was when you worked here.” 

“Don’t remind me,” Hansol mutters. “Europe sucks. They’ve barely got any good food here. I mean, beans on toast? What is that?” 

“There’s more than that; you’re just being dramatic.” You chime in. “I thought it was pretty good when we came up to see you.” 

“Yeah, but you also have the weirdest taste in food.” Seungkwan remarks. “Remember that time you brought a, what, peanut butter, pickle, and mayo sandwich?” 

As the two of them laugh, you scoff despite your own smile that plays on your lips. “Wonwoo didn’t let me hear the end of that one.” 

“He didn’t let anybody hear the end of it.” Seungkwan corrects through his laughter. “But rightfully so! Who even does that?” 

“Hey, I thought this conversation was to hate on Wonwoo!” You retort as your own laughter bubbles out. “Don’t turn this on me!”

After a few more minutes of bickering, the laughter finally slows, and the three of you fall into a comfortable silence. God, you love them. You don’t know where you’d be without either of them, truthfully. Hansol made your university experience so fun, and Seungkwan constantly keeps you on your toes with whatever nonsense will come out of his mouth next. They’re your ride or dies, and you know they feel the same. 

It’s nice knowing where you stand with someone. 

“Really, though, what do you think prompted Wonwoo to do that tonight?” 

You sigh, sinking lower into your mattress as you flick off the lamp beside your bed. “I don’t know, Seungkwan. But is there any point in dwelling on it?” 

“Hm,” he hums, “probably not.” 

Your theory is proven correct the second you walk into work the next day. Wonwoo is already at your workstation, hunched over his laptop. He looks up briefly, so you smile. 

“Good morning, Wonwoo.” You say.

His eyes flick back to his screen. “Sure.”

As you toss your things down, you glance over to Seungkwan as if to say ‘I told you so’. Seungkwan shrugs, then goes back to his own work. Before you get a chance to fully settle, Wonwoo is sitting next to you. 

“Do you think you’ll have some animations done today?” He asks, not bothering to peel his eyes away from the screen in front of him. “Now that a good chunk of the coding is done, we need to make sure throwing animation on top of it isn’t going to screw with anything. How detailed are you planning on making everything?”

“Oh, thanks for asking, my morning is fine.” You sneer as you boot up your tablet. “Let my coffee kick in first, Wonwoo. I just woke up.”

He glances over at you quickly, before returning his attention to his code. “Yeah, I can tell.”

You roll your eyes as you boot up your software. While you’re grabbing your stylus, you can hear Wonwoo’s typing become increasingly louder by the second. It’s not necessarily aggressive, but it’s fast–almost flustered. Deciding to ignore it, you open up a new project, titling it after the name of the video game from Seungcheol’s notes: FORGOTTEN REALMS - MOCKUP. 

You’re cross-referencing your sketches as you work, making sure to trace and transfer every detail that you can. You’re starting with the animal companions, since those will be easier to get done. That way, you can relax whatever nerves Wonwoo has worked up right now. Something must’ve gotten under his skin this morning to make him behave so…erratically? Is that the right word?

In your peripheral vision, you see him pull out his phone. He scoffs at something, then stands. Without saying anything else, he’s holding the device to his ear and disappearing down the hallway. 

“Someone made him mad this morning,” Seungkwan mutters from behind you. “Who do you think that is?”

You shrug, continuing your work. “Don’t know, and can’t be bothered to care. Whatever is pissing off Wonwoo can stay between him and the cause. I’m not about to get involved in it.”

Seungkwan hums. “Well, if I had to guess, I think it’s his ex.”

“You’re only guessing because you can’t keep your nose out of other people’s business,” you laugh, glancing at him over your shoulder. “Kwan, does it really matter what’s pissing him off? Public enemy number one, remember?”

“It does!” Seungkwan hurriedly defends himself. “I mean, think about it, he’s stuck in here working with us. If someone is making him mad, won’t that make us his first targets? We’re his least favorite coworkers. Well, you are, anyway.”

He isn’t necessarily wrong, but it’s also Seungkwan: AKA diva incarnate. You’ve learned over the years to take his reactions with a grain of salt. This is definitely one you will be doing that with. 

“He’s an adult,” you respond, looking back to your tablet. Leaning back in your chair, you sigh. “If he’s still taking his emotions out on other people at thirty years old, then I think there’s bigger things to worry about.”

Before Seungkwan has the opportunity to say anything to that, the door opens again, and Wonwoo is sinking back into his chair. Now, his typing is fast and aggressive. But he’s quiet. And you suppose that’s better than anything else. 

You turn your focus back on your project, trying to get in the zone. But it seems like the more lost you’re getting in your work, the louder that Wonwoo types. Setting your stylus down, you slowly turn to face him. He is either ignoring you or hasn’t noticed. But the vein in his neck is back, and he looks pissed. 

“Wonwoo,” you start slowly, “I’m not sure what kind of morning you’re having, but can you please either work somewhere else or slow down?” 

“My computer is still broken.” He replies tightly. “Nowhere else to work.”

“And that’s fine,” you draw in a deep breath, “but your typing is loud. I can’t focus. Do you want me to accomplish anything, or not?” 

Wonwoo scoffs. “You have headphones. Use them.”

Dragging a hand down your face, you try to ground yourself so you don’t start to get mad. He’s so impossible sometimes. You’re even being nice, and he’s still not leveling with you. Like, headphones? Why do you have to tune him out? It’s your department! 

“No.” You reply. “This is my office, Wonwoo. You can chill out. Stop abusing your keyboard, or work somewhere else.”

Wonwoo rolls his eyes, but doesn’t seem to argue. It takes a few minutes before you hear him draw in a deep breath, and the typing becomes a little less angry. It’s not fully quiet, but it’s better than before. You figure it’s the best you’re gonna get for the time being. 

As you’re working through some basic movement animations, Wonwoo’s phone rings. You blink a few times before looking over to him. He’s already standing before you get the chance to see his expression. 

Once again, he disappears down the hall. 

“Definitely his ex.” Seungkwan nods. “Absolutely his ex.” 

The rest of the workday is awkward, to say the least. Wonwoo leaves a few more times with phone calls, seemingly coming back each time appearing even more upset than the last. You can feel the curiosity gnawing at you, desperate to know who is getting under his skin so badly. The fact that there’s someone in his life besides you who is doing it is so fascinating. 

Unfortunately for you, though, this is the one area of gossip Seungkwan knows nothing about. 

He’d informed you last week that Wonwoo had a messy breakup. But during lunch today, he revealed that he didn’t know anything else. According to him, Wonwoo kept the relationship pretty low-key. Only a few people knew about it more than Seungkwan, but they were all other engineers who you didn’t talk to or know well enough to ask. 

And when you and Wonwoo are the only two left in the office again, you can’t help but feel slightly nervous at how angry he is. You chew on your bottom lip, daring a look at him. His face is red as he stares at the screen across from him. He stopped typing a few minutes ago, now, which was unnerving to say the least. 

“Okay.” You sigh, setting your tablet down. You figure the only way you can get him to talk about it is through a method you like to call ‘old reliable’. AKA poking the bear while he’s mad. “What the fuck is your deal today?” 

“Excuse me?” Wonwoo’s head snaps over to face you. 

Leaning back in your chair, you fold your arms across your chest. “You heard me, geeksquad. You’ve been throwing a tantrum all day. It’s annoying. What’s wrong?” 

“Why should I tell you?” He fires back. “Alternatively, why do you care?” 

“I care because I have to share a workspace with you.” You argue. “If you’re going to loudly and angrily type all day like you’re a preschooler, then I feel like I deserve to know what’s pissing you off.” 

Rolling his eyes, he faces his computer again. But instead of some ridiculous comeback or petty remark, he says, “My ex has been bothering me all day.” 

You’re surprised. Jeon Wonwoo is opening up to you, like it’s not a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. You, of all people. Biting back your shock, you lean forward, resting your elbows on the desktop. 

“Okay.” You reply evenly. “While I understand that exes can suck ass, why was this enough to almost make you burst a vein?”

Wonwoo just scoffs as he leans back in his own chair. “I’m not—“ he glances over to you, where you’re watching intently. His jaw tightens as he flicks his gaze to his screen. “I’m not telling you that.” 

You shrug. “Whatever. Just get over it before tomorrow, because if you don’t, I’ll become an even bigger issue for you than her. Or him?” 

“I don’t doubt that,” Wonwoo mutters under his breath. Then quickly adds, “Her. It’s a girl.”

“Congratulations.” You quip. “Now can we please move on so we can wrap up for the day?” 

When you both fall into silence again, his typing is calmer. It’s not so forced, and seems to slow like it usually does when he’s working any other day. On your tablet, you play back the animation sequence you had been plugging away at. 

You’re pretty proud of it, despite how simple it was. You went with the dragon model, and animated a short few frames of it flying in a downward motion, swooping back up, and blowing fire out of its mouth. Given Wonwoo’s current state and the fact that it was already late again, you figure you can just show it to him in the morning. 

You’re praying he’s in a better mood, then. 

Wonwoo is, in fact, not in a better mood the next day. 

Actually, his mood is so much worse that you’re quite sure you’ll commit a felony in the next hour if he keeps nagging you. 

First, it was that your animation was too detailed and the FPS didn’t match the delta time (which you’re not even sure is your fault), and now he’s complaining that you haven’t done more. He’s barely letting you get in a single word to try and explain why there isn’t more done, as he’s rambling about a process he doesn’t even understand. Off to your right, Seungkwan is cowering behind his own tablet like he knows you’re about to explode. 

“You spent eight hours on that yesterday,” Wonwoo remarks for the nth time. “I mean, eight hours? Just for a dragon to fly and blow fire out of its mouth? Do you even realize how much of the mechanics I’ve completed? We’re on a deadline, Picasso–”

“Shut up!” You finally shout over his ranting. You stand up, grabbing your tablet and your things. “Jesus Christ, Wonwoo. I don’t know what kind of high horse you’re on right now, but your stupid ex-girlfriend is not my fucking problem. Get yourself in check, or I will.”

Wonwoo scoffs, standing with you. “Where are you even going?”

“The bathroom, for all I care!” You dramatically throw your arms up in defeat. “The bathroom, or the breakroom, or the fucking parking lot. Anywhere that isn’t near you.”

As you begin to walk away, you hear Wonwoo trip over something before he hurries behind you. You feel the adrenaline continue to boil as you pick up speed, desperately heading for the elevator. Before you can hit the leave button, Wonwoo slides between you and the panel. 

“Just stop.” He sighs. “Wait a second, okay?”

“Why should I?” You bark back. “You’ve done nothing but piss in my cereal all morning, dude. I shouldn’t have to listen to you right now.”

Wonwoo grimaces. “Piss in your cereal?”

“That is not the point.” You stick an accusing finger in his face, which he promptly pushes away. “The point is, Wonwoo, is that you’re dealing with this…person…like it’s the rest of the world’s fault she’s so shitty to you. How is that even fair?”

When he doesn’t say anything, you take that as permission to keep going. 

“I know we’ve never liked each other,” you add, “but just because you hate me doesn’t mean you can automatically make me your punching bag when things don’t go your way. That’s fucked up.”

You reach behind him and press the elevator button. Your arm brushes his for a moment, and you feel him stiffen at the sudden contact. Brushing it off, you step to the side while you wait for the doors to open. When you step on, you watch as Wonwoo makes his way back to the workstation. As the doors close again, you sigh, leaning back against the wall. 

The lump in your throat is unexpected. It’s not like it’s the first time he’s been a piece of shit to you, obviously, but usually it’s not a full day of berating like it was today. You’re tough, but not that tough. At the end of the day, you’re still a person with feelings, and today was just more confirmation that Wonwoo was never going to be a fan of you. You’d come to peace with that a while ago, but as silly as it seems, a small sliver of hope was inside of you after the other night. 

You suppose this is the reality check you needed. A few hours working away from him will be good, too. You can get some distance to calm down before you head back to your workstation. And hopefully, maybe, you got under his skin enough where he feels inclined to back off–even if it’s just a little bit. 

When you glance at the clock, it’s an even later night than the one before.

10:36 pm.

You spent your time away from your workstation crying instead of working, so you needed to stay to catch up on that time you could’ve been animating. By the time you got back to your workstation, Wonwoo’s things were packed up, and Seungkwan informed you his computer was ‘fixed’. 

Still, the light in engineering is on when you stand to pack up your things. You begin to wonder if maybe Wonwoo was waiting for you, but you almost laugh to yourself the second the thought crosses your mind. He would never. Monday was an off day, and you’re going to leave here alone like you usually do. 

Slinging your bag over your shoulder, you wander down the hall. Wonwoo doesn’t even have the code pulled up on his screen, as he’s casually watching some anime you’d never seen before. You roll your eyes before lightly knocking on the door. He jumps for a second before turning to look at you. It looks like his expression softens for a second before he quickly deadpans again. 

“I’m heading out.” You announce, your voice soft and hoarse from crying most of your afternoon. “Just thought I’d let you know. Have a good night.”

“Wait.” Wonwoo turns his computer off, and you realize his things are already packed, and his jacket is on. “I’ll walk out with you.”

Your jaw tightens. “Wonwoo–”

“Don’t.” He quickly cuts in, his voice stern. He turns the lights off as he stands across from you. “I told you the other night that I wouldn’t let you walk out alone.”

Neither of you move for what feels like an eternity. The only sounds in the office are the ticking of the clock at the end of the hall and the heat kicking in. Wonwoo draws in a deep breath. 

“I’m sorry.” He says. “I shouldn’t have treated you like that today. I know there isn’t any excuse, so I’m not going to try to make one.”

You blink a few times before turning on your heel and making your way towards the exit. Wonwoo scoffs, following behind you. 

“That’s it?” He asks. “Look, I’m trying to fix this–”

“Fix what?” You cut in, turning to face him again. “Wonwoo, there’s never been something to fix here. If you wanted to fix whatever is going on between us, you shouldn’t have been an ass to begin with. I mean, seven years. You can’t just undo that overnight.”

He takes a step closer to you. “I’m not expecting it to be overnight. I’m also not expecting to be best friends with you, either. You drive me crazy, but I’m sick of arguing every day.”

You chew on the inside of your cheek. Then say, “Why remedy anything when you’re leaving, anyway?”

“How do you–”

“Seungkwan heard it from Soonyoung and Seokmin.” You quickly reply. “If you’re planning on taking the job, then why do you care about what kind of relationships you have here?”

Wonwoo’s quiet, as his gaze drops to the ground. You’d kill to know what’s going on in his mind right now, but you don’t exactly hold that kind of privilege in his life. You don’t want it, either. The less you know about him, the easier it is to hate him. Because deep down, you’re worried that if you let your guard down even a little bit, he’ll just bulldoze it all over again. 

“The truth is,” he sighs, lifting his eyes to meet yours again, “I haven’t really decided yet.”

Oh. 

“Why stay here?” You frown. “That job pays better, doesn’t it?”

“The pay isn’t really a determining factor for me.” He admits. “I’m pretty well off right now. Uh, I guess I was only thinking about taking it because it meant that–” he pauses, like he’s weighing whether or not he should tell you. You notice a visible shift as his posture relaxes and he says, “I was trying to run away, I guess.”

Pressing your brows together, you gently push Wonwoo away from you. His expression twists, and before he can ask why, you pinch your own arm. “I’m just making sure we’re both still real and that I’m not dreaming.” You explain. His jaw tightens, and you bite back a smile. 

“Forget it.” He mutters. He turns to leave when you grab his arm. 

“No, hey,” you giggle. “I’m sorry, but can you blame me for being surprised?”

The corners of his mouth twitch. “I guess not.”

Glancing behind him, you notice the breakroom is still open from the custodial staff. You gesture to see if he wants to sit, and he begrudgingly accepts. Flicking on the lights, the two of you dump your things at a random table and slump into the chairs. It’s quiet for a few minutes before he speaks again. 

“For the most part, I’m really good about separating my work and personal life,” Wonwoo states. “This, uh, breakup, though, has been kind of a shit show. When I applied for the position in the States, I thought it would be a way out of it. But Seokmin kind of helped me realize that I can’t let her determine what I do with my life, you know? That running won’t solve anything.”

You hum to let him know you’re listening. 

“Anyway, I’ve just been bitter for so long.” He continues. “Sometimes I wonder what it’s like to be like Seokmin or Soonyoung. God, they get along with everyone.”

You shrug lazily. “They’re also not full of as much pride as you.” Before he can argue, you further explain, “You have every right to be prideful, Wonwoo. You’re incredibly smart. But there’s a balance between being prideful and being humble. You can have both in a healthy way.”

“Yeah, I guess.” He leans back in his chair, and you feel his knee brush against yours under the table. Your heart rate spikes as you pull your legs away from his. Wonwoo doesn’t seem to notice, though. Blinking, you try to shake your head to pull yourself out of it. 

“Well,” you clear your throat. “I think Seokmin is right, for what it’s worth. Running isn’t ever the answer. If it was, I would’ve quit a long time ago.”

He makes a face. “Why?”

“Because of you, geeksquad.” You retort, but your tone remains playful. It prompts a real smile from Wonwoo, as his head rolls back to look at the ceiling. “I always said hello to you in my first year. When I took Hansol’s job, you were so rude. Like, all the time. Hansol and Seungkwan talked me into staying. They still do, most weeks.”

Wonwoo’s jaw tightens. “God, you just talked so much.” He reminisces. “You still do. I thought you were so annoying, and I hated that you took Hansol’s job. I just hated that he left in general.” He lifts his head back to face you. “You’re so opinionated about everything.”

“Damn, I get it.” You grumble. “Anyway, I think it’s good to be opinionated. Having opinions means you care, I think. I mean, what, are you just neutral in everything that you do?”

He shrugs. “Not with video games.”

“Exactly.” You sit up straighter. “That’s because you care about them. Having an opinion doesn’t always equate to being annoying, Wonwoo. Having feelings isn’t annoying.”

“It is to me.” He says softly. It’s so soft that you almost miss it entirely. Wonwoo pushes his glasses up, then stands. “Anyway, we should both get home. It’s getting late, and we still have two more days of work this week.”

“Oh, thanks Captain Obvious.” You tease as you follow him out of the breakroom. 

When you both step onto the elevator, you can hear how heavily Wonwoo is breathing beside you. It almost seems like he’s nervous about something, but you can’t really tell what that would be. If anything, that was a great conversation. You truly didn’t think Wonwoo was capable of holding one, but he’s successfully proven you wrong. 

As he walks you over to your car, you notice he’s parked next to you this time. Your stomach flips a little at the thought, and it feels like your cue to go to sleep. Bed has never sounded nicer, and you’re already dreaming about Dubu and your sweats when you unlock the door. 

“Listen,” you glance at Wonwoo over your shoulder, “for what it’s worth, I think staying with Carat would be good. We both know engineering would tank without you, anyway. Who else knows how to put up with me besides you?”

He’s quiet as he watches you open your door. When you turn to say goodbye to him, you realize he’s stepped closer to you. Close enough, in fact, that you can smell his cologne from under his jacket. A bitter breeze sweeps through, causing you to shiver and pull your coat tighter around you. 

Offering him an awkward smile, you ask, “Is everything okay?”

Wonwoo leans in, and you’re so scared that he’s about to do something you really don’t want him to do. But when he brings his hand up to brush something off your cheek, he’s taking a step back and stuffing his hands into his pockets. Your heart is pounding so hard against your chest that you feel like he can hear it from where he stands. 

“Eyelash.” He explains. “Uh, but yeah. Everything is fine. Drive home safe, Picasso.”

You’re frozen, hardly even able to mutter a simple ‘goodbye’ in response. Wonwoo climbs into his own car and drives off–leaving you to wonder what the hell just happened. 

By the time you get home, Wonwoo’s touch still burns on your cheekbone. When your door closes, you lean back against it, holding your face with your hands. The memory keeps replaying, like it’s some twisted joke that he just played on you. The way he leaned in, the earnest look on his face, his touch, him—god, you couldn’t breathe. 

This is Wonwoo. Like, the same Wonwoo who makes you want to blow your head off every single day. The same Wonwoo who made you cry earlier. The same Wonwoo who criticizes every single thing you do, and tells you that even your breathing is too loud. So why is he getting to you so much? Truly, you didn’t think Wonwoo could even be capable of being soft like that. Now that you know he can, you feel sick. But you don’t think it’s in a bad way, and that scares you a little bit. 

You manage to push yourself off your door, and trudge further into your apartment. Dubu is lying on the couch, watching you like she knows something is wrong. When you collapse beside her, you pull out your phone to call Seungkwan. It may be late, but he never sleeps, it seems like. Sure enough, it rings only a couple times before he answers. 

“Are you just now getting home?” He scolds. 

“Wonwoo touched me.” You quickly say. You pause, then rephrase it, “Sorry. I mean, he touched my face.” 

Seungkwan is dead silent before he replies, “What the fuck?”

Your friend doesn’t swear often. He seems to save it for special occasions, which you know in this case, it definitely warrants one. 

“I know.” You lower your voice, like you’re scared somebody will hear you. “I don’t know, it was so weird tonight. He stayed late just because I did. I mean, he wasn’t even doing work, Seungkwan. He was just there because I was still there. Then we talked and he, like, got vulnerable and shit. When he walked me to my car, I thought he was going to kiss me, but he just wiped away an eyelash instead.”

“Did you want him to kiss you?”

“No.” You answer a bit too quickly. You can feel your cheeks warm at the thought, though. Wonwoo kissing you. Blinking a few times, you push the thought away as much as you can. “Seungkwan, I don’t know what’s happening. Like, he’s mean and closed-off during work, but after hours he’s nice?”

Seungkwan hums, like he’s thinking about what could be happening. “Jeon Wonwoo is a very confusing man.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” You mutter. “Like, what, do I bring it up to him tomorrow? Do I confront him?”

“Absolutely not.” Seungkwan states. “This is Wonwoo. If you try to point it out, he’ll probably backpedal and claim nothing happened. Just wait it out. See if anything else happens. I think he needs to be the one to address it first, though. Clearly he isn’t very in tune with his emotions.”

Yeah, you think to yourself, clearly.

Wonwoo, on the other side of town, has been lying in bed, staring up at his ceiling like that will erase what happened tonight. He doesn’t know what came over him, truthfully. You were just…there. And nice. So nice that it pisses him off just thinking about it. Because after everything that’s happened between the two of you, you’re still nice. Of course you are. 

He rolls onto his side, grabbing his phone. He’s got over twenty missed calls from Haeun that he’s ignored. He started ignoring them after you called him out earlier in the day. After each phone call is a series of text messages that make him cringe to read:

Hae: Seriously, Wonu? That’s it? You’re just going to ignore me?

Hae: You know, you’ve always been like this. You always shut me out when all I’m trying to do is help you.

Hae: Do you even realize that you wouldn’t be where you are now without me? Your whole career and your whole life is based on me. You should be thanking me. 

Hae: I know we can work this out and when we do, you’ll just see how stupid you’re being. 

Hae: You’re stupid. This whole breakup is stupid. And when you finally realize it, you’re going to feel how stupid and embarrassing all of this was. And I’ll be there to rub it in your face and tell you I told you so. 

Soonyoung told him several times to block her, but for some reason, Wonwoo couldn’t. He feels guilty, but he knows he shouldn’t. For crying out loud, it’s Haeun. She sucks, and she always has. 

Wonwoo first met Haeun in high school. They started dating right before graduation and dated through university until a few months ago. She’s always been this way towards him: verbally and emotionally abusive. Wonwoo just didn’t realize that’s what was happening until Seokmin and Soonyoung arranged an intervention right before he broke up with her. And as much as he hates her, she’s ultimately right.

Wonwoo wouldn’t be the engineer he is today without her. She’s the one who told him to study computer engineering, and she’s the one who helped him apply for and get the job at Carat. It’s part of the reason he applied for the job in the States: it meant cutting all his remaining ties with her. ‘Being rid of her for good' is how he worded it to his friends. 

But you? You scare him. 

Not in the same way as Haeun, of course, but in a way he hasn’t totally figured out yet. He’s always hated you, because to be quite frank, you’re loud. Opinionated, just like he told you. You stick your nose into people’s business, thinking you have some kind of right to be there and in people’s space. In hindsight, maybe you do–more than he would care to admit. People seem to like you a lot more than they like him, which is another reason he hates you. 

But since being put on this project together, you’ve been so constant and steady that it’s making Wonwoo feel a little insane. The fact that everybody was right to like you definitely hurts his pride, because that means he’s been wrong about you this whole time. And Wonwoo hates being wrong. 

He lets his thought process lead him to your Instagram profile. He’s still following you, and he’s not sure why. But he can’t help giving in to ‘casually stalking’ you, as you had worded it to him the other night. Your posts are clean, organized, and perfectly reflect the kind of person you are. Which Wonwoo has come to learn is silly, nice, and optimistic. He hates it. He hates you. But the more he tries to remind himself of that, the less it begins to feel true. 

Wonwoo forgets that you and Hansol are close. The reminder makes him laugh to himself because he and Hansol are also close. He’s actually called Hansol a few times to bitch about you, which feels pretty ironic now, given the circumstances. As he closes the app, he quickly looks up the time in England. With his luck, Hansol will be getting off of work right about now. Or just about to. 

The phone rings a few times before he hears his muffled, familiar voice answer, “Wonwoo?”

“Hansol.” He drags a hand down his face. “I think I’m screwed.”

When Wonwoo is late to work the next day, you and Seungkwan immediately wonder if it has something to do with the night before. You’re sitting at the shared workstation, watching him speed-walk to engineering. He doesn’t even glance towards art, but you weren’t expecting him to. He looks disheveled, with his hair slightly tousled and his glasses sitting crooked on the bridge of his nose. He’s dressed a bit more casual than usual today, with his button-down untucked and the absence of a tie or blazer of any kind. Beside you, Seungkwan leans over. 

“He looks about as bad as you sounded yesterday.” He whispers. “You think it got to him as much as it did you?”

“Absolutely not.” You scoff, turning your attention back to your tablet. “Wonwoo probably doesn’t even think about what happened last night. Besides, it’s not like we can ask him. You said so yourself.”

Seungkwan shrugs, and it takes all but thirty minutes before you’re getting an email from the man himself: 

From: Jeon Wonwoo To: Y/L/N Y/F/N, Hong Joshua, Choi Seungcheol Subject: FORGOTTEN REALMS - Status Updates Good morning,  I wanted to provide a few updates on how the process has been going for the game demo. I’ve attached some notes on the completed coding, as well as video recordings of the animations completed thus far.  If anything needs to be changed or adjusted, please let us know so we can take prompt action.  Thanks,  Jeon Wonwoo 

When you click on the attached file to view his notes on coding, it all feels like a foreign language to you. None of it really makes sense, but the formatting looks nice, and you can tell Wonwoo spent a lot of time organizing his things. When you click on the file for your animation, though, your heart practically stops. Because what’s attached isn’t your current animation, but your scrapped drafts. You quickly open up a chat box with Wonwoo, your fingers frantically gliding across the keyboard as you type. 

You: What is your deal?! Those were my deleted drafts! I sent you the updated file yesterday! 

Wonwoo: I’ll fix it, don’t worry. Was in a rush this morning and forgot about the updated file. 

You: Is everything okay? 

He doesn’t reply, but you’re not surprised. Maybe you’ll hear about it tonight, when the two of you are alone again. After a few minutes, the updated email comes through your inbox: 

From: Jeon Wonwoo To: Y/L/N Y/F/N, Hong Joshua, Choi Seungcheol Subject: RE: FORGOTTEN REALMS - Status Updates My apologies,  I was late to work this morning and attached the incorrect file for the animation. Please find the current one in this email.  Thanks,  Jeon Wonwoo 

You let out a sigh of relief and sink into your chair. Usually you’re better about not changing things after you've already sent them, but the particular file he attached wasn’t one you were perfectly sure about. You toyed with it during the day yesterday while you worked late, and ended up on a version much better than you had initially drafted. It was some animations on character interactions with each other - general conversations, touch, reactions, etc. Since the game has a ‘choose your own path’ style of gameplay, you wanted to mess around with character dynamics. You drew a lot of inspiration from the drama you’ve been watching, so most of the interactions are romantic. 

Just as you shift your attention back to your tablet, you see another chat box notification pop up from Wonwoo:

Wonwoo: To answer your question, no. Things are not okay. I was up late last night. I had a lot on my mind after our conversation and couldn’t sleep. 

You: Do you want to talk about it?

Wonwoo: No, not with you. I just felt like I owed you an explanation. 

You: I see. Well, have a good day today, then. Thanks for fixing it to the correct file. 

Wonwoo: No problem. And you too. 

Sometime around four, Wonwoo came over to art with his laptop to work at your workstation. Around six, when the building is empty, Wonwoo shifts in his seat, flicking his eyes up towards you. You barely notice it, but when you catch it, you raise an eyebrow at him. 

“Everything ok?” You ask. “We can call it an early night if you need to. We were here pretty late yesterday.” 

Wonwoo hesitates. “Maybe an early night will be good.”

You hum in response and begin to go through the motions to shut down your workstation. When you’re almost done, you notice that Wonwoo hasn’t moved yet. 

“Dude, earth to Wonwoo?” You wave your hand in front of his face, prompting him to look up at you. “Are you coming?”

“Yeah.” He scrambles to his feet, pushing his glasses up as he does so. When he hesitates again, you fold your arms across your chest. Then, he asks, “Would you want to grab something to eat?” 

You’re sure your brain short-circuits for a moment. 

There’s no way that Jeon Wonwoo just asked if you wanted to grab food. Right? No, this has to be a dream. Did you fall asleep at your desk? 

You meet Wonwoo’s gaze, and when you see him looking at you the same way he did last night, you feel your heart stumble over itself. 

“Did you…” You stop. Taking a deep breath, you say, “Wonwoo, did you just ask me to get food with you?” 

He shrugs, like he’s unaffected by it—as if he wasn’t just buffering a few minutes prior. “I mean, I haven’t had anything to eat. I’m hungry, and I’m sure you are. There’s a good local place nearby.”

“Oh.” You nod, slinging your bag over your shoulder. “Uh, but this means nothing, right?” 

The corners of his mouth twitch. “Yeah, nothing. I still hate you.” 

“Ok,” you grin. “I hate you, too.” 

Once he gathers his things, the two of you quietly walk out to the elevator and climb inside. For some reason, the ride down feels far longer than it normally does. You’re acutely aware of his presence beside you, and a few times you forget how to breathe. Why is this making you so nervous? It’s just Wonwoo. 

“I can drive us.” He announces. 

“We’re carpooling?” You frown as you stop just before the exit. He looks at you over his shoulder, his glasses softly reflecting the light in the lobby. 

“It’ll be easier, won’t it?” He counters. “Plus this place doesn’t have great parking. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” You press your brows together as he walks outside, with you trailing behind. When you get to his car, he stops and opens the door for you. When you hesitate, he smirks. 

“I’m not going to kill you, Picasso.” He comments. “But I am very hungry. So if you take any longer, then I might.”

You all but scramble into the passenger seat as he closes the door behind you. Once he slides into the driver's side, you observe the interior of his vehicle. It’s very…Wonwoo. It’s all black, with literally no decorations except for a League of Legends air freshener. It’s surprisingly spotless, though, and smells like a healthy combination of a new car and Wonwoo’s signature cologne. 

As he starts to drive, you feel yourself relax a bit into your seat. His phone buzzes in the center console, and you can’t help as your eyes wander to the screen:

Haeun: So that’s just it, then? You’re seriously done? 

Haeun: I’m not picking up my stuff. You’ll come back. This isn’t done. 

You quickly flick your attention back to the window, pressing your tongue to the inside of your cheek. Haeun seems fun. You grimace slightly to yourself. Even without the full story, you have an idea. Based on those two texts alone, you can piece together why she’s irritating Wonwoo so much. 

Thankfully, the awkward silence between the two of you comes to an end as he pulls his car to a stop outside of a very small building. There isn’t a sign on it of any kind as far as a name goes, but you see the ‘Open’ sign flickering in the window. You unbuckle before sliding out of the car, just as Wonwoo is walking to your door. Once it closes behind you, he locks it, and you both walk inside. 

“Uh, Hansol and I would come here a lot when he worked at Carat.” Wonwoo suddenly explains. “I haven’t had it since he left. I’ve been craving it, though. We usually come here after bad days.” 

“Was today bad?” You ask as he grabs hold of the doorknob. Wonwoo draws in a deep breath, then looks over to you. 

“This whole week has been.” He admits. “I just didn’t want to come alone. It’s not the same alone.” 

You hum. “That makes sense.” 

He holds the door open, nodding for you to go in first. When you step inside, you’re greeted with a warm, comforting smell of kimchi jjigae. It feels like a hug, honestly. Then, you feel Wonwoo’s hand on your back, slowly guiding you further inside. 

“It’s seat yourself.” He explains before you can even look over to question him. 

You both find a booth in the far-back corner, tucked next to a window with a perfect view of the city behind the building. You shrug off your coat as Wonwoo passes you a menu. 

“This place is cute.” You observe, looking over to him. “It’s cozy. I see why you guys like it. I’m surprised Hansol never mentioned it to me before.”

Wonwoo shrugs. “We were gatekeeping it. Nobody else ever came with us.”

“Did you, uh,” you clear your throat, “ever bring your ex here?”

You’re prepping yourself for him to get mad as the tips of his ears turn pink. But, much to your surprise, he just slowly shakes his head. 

“No.” He answers. “She didn’t really like smaller restaurants like this. She’s very materialistic. Everywhere she ate had to be some higher-end bullshit.”

You snicker, turning your attention to the menu in front of you. “She sounds miserable. Some of the best food I’ve had is from small shops like this. You know, there’s one in Ilsan that has the best ramyeon. It’s owned by an older man in his seventies and his wife.” 

Wonwoo chuckles across from you as he lifts his menu. “I’ll have to go sometime. I don’t get to Ilsan very often.” 

“It’s cool,” you shrug. “I have cousins that live there.”

Soon enough, an older woman comes by, and you each say your orders: you with some bibimbap, and Wonwoo with japchae. She brings the two of you some hot tea, and you sit in silence. You look outside the window, where the snow has slowly begun to fall. Winter is your favorite, which Seungkwan always teases you for. But it’s so hard not to fall in love with it. You love the snow too much to not love winter. It’s so pretty when it falls, dusting over all the buildings and streets like a blanket. 

“I, uh, didn’t realize you and Hansol went to school together?” Wonwoo suddenly speaks, drawing your focus back over to him. “We talked on the phone last night.”

It's your turn to smirk as you take another sip of your tea. You set the cup down with a soft thud before replying, “You were talking about me?” Despite your trying to play it cool, you could feel the nerves boiling in your stomach. 

“Don’t let it get to your head.” He deadpans. “You just came up in conversation.”

“Right.” You roll your eyes. “But, yeah. We’ve known each other for a long time. He and Seungkwan are my best friends.”

“I knew about Seungkwan,” Wonwoo mutters. You can’t help but laugh at his reaction, which prompts him to meet your gaze. 

“Damn, what do you have against Seungkwan?” You ask between fits of laughter. Wonwoo’s face burns red as he sinks back into his seat. 

“Nothing.” He clarifies. “I just saw on Instagram that–”

Your eyes widen as you cut in, “You stalked my Instagram!”

“No, no.” That gets him to sit up. “I just noticed when I followed you back.”

“Oh, my god.” You’re laughing harder now, leaning over the table. “Who’s the one casually stalking now, Wonwoo?”

Before he can try to defend himself, the older woman from earlier brings out your food, and the two of you fall into a comfortable silence while you eat. There’s a moment under the table when his knee bumps into yours, but neither of you move away this time. 

The rest of the meal flows really nicely, and as much as it weirds you out, you begin to feel comfortable with Wonwoo. As you each finish eating, Wonwoo quickly pays for both of you. When you look over to him, he says, “Just consider it a thank you for coming with me. And letting me rant yesterday. But don’t turn it into a whole thing.”

After another quick drive, you see the office come into view. Wonwoo puts his car into park when you’re back at Carat, and the two of you sit like you’re both scared to say goodbye first. You’ll never mention it out loud to him, but you had fun tonight. Like, a lot of fun. It feels like the more time you spend with Wonwoo, the easier it is to talk to him. You’re not sure if that scares or excites you that you don’t entirely hate him anymore. 

“Well,” you grin, looking over to him, “thanks again for the food. That restaurant is really nice. We should, uh, go again sometime?”

“Yeah.” Wonwoo looks over to you. “And it’s no problem, really.”

You stare at each other for a moment before you force yourself to unbuckle and open the door. You feel like there's a swarm of butterflies in your stomach, but you don’t know why. It’s Wonwoo. You need to remind yourself that he’s nothing special, and he’s been nothing but mean to you over the years. 

When you close the door after climbing out, you fumble a bit with your keys, trying to calm yourself down as you unlock your own car. You hear Wonwoo roll the window down behind you as you finally manage to get your door open. 

“Hey, Picasso.” He calls. You glance back at him. “Drive home safe.”

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Your bags are sitting at the end of you bed still only half packed. You loved packing, the meticulous nature of it was everything you loved. Sometime for big trips you even made yourself a list before hand so that you could get the thrill of crossing the packed items off. But with this trip the packing process had not gone as planned, you kept putting it off, until the very last minute. The night before your early morning flight to Seoul. You were ecstatic to have the opportunity but the excitement did not ease the ever growing nerves bubbling over in your stomach.

Your cell rings loudly through your small apartment, but nevertheless you still cant find the device. Sorting through your closest, dresser and sheets and still you cant find the where the sound is coming from. Finally you the low moon light reveals your phone on your bed side table - where you always keep it- It's your boss Danielle — Dani to you and her friends — Dani was calling most likely to scold you for not being packed. She most definitely knew of you delay with the project, as she is the person you go to in any sort of crisis. She didn't have to give you grief but as the closest thing to a mother figure in the city she took it upon herself as soon as she hired you as her assistant. 

Most people roll their eyes and feel bad for you mention your job. But its not as bad as. the movies make it out to be at least not with Dani. She was always so sweet and supportive. She even made sure that you were working on you own career. You had just graduated fashion school and were looking for any entry level job that had anything to do with fashion, designing, or styling. So when almost 3 months had gone by and you were still eating on tables at a crumby dinner you broke and put out an add as a personal assistant. You never thought you'd get lucky enough to think that Danielle Morrison would reply asking you to come in for an interview and offer you the job on the spot, but here you were a year and a half later getting her phone call at eleven pm. 

"So how long till your fully packed?" She asks dismissing the idea of starting a conversation with 'hello'. "Because I know you well enough to know that you pack my bag before you packed your own." She laughs taking a drink of her red wine. You may not be able to see her but its definitely what she's drinking. 

"About an hour." You answer putting the phone on speaker and throwing it down on the duvet with a small thud.

"Ugh, well were gonna be gone for almost two months so don't forget to over pack. Better to have to much than too little." You can hear the thump of her heels on her desk. 

" I am aware of the length of out stay, considering I booked our hotels and flights." You giggle reminding her of who really should be bossing around who. "Okay well I think I can lock in and get this done pretty quick if I'm not distracted. So bye! I love you and I'll see you in a few hours for our flight. The car is picking you up at 5:30 sharp. Please set your alarm for earlier I know its gonna take you longer than 20 minutes to wake up unlike you claim. " Yup laugh and end the call before she can scold you again. 

The morning light is barely visual when you wake up in the morning. Your coffee has already start brewing sending the magical sent of caffeinated perfection your way. The hot beverage burns the roof of your mouth but you keep drinking knowing that you won't have much time for a proper breakfast. 

As expected the car arrives much to quickly for your liking. Popping your ear buds in and shuffling your favorite pop punk playlist- All American Rejects might now be for everyone at five am its always been prefect for you- you head down the three flights of stairs with your 4 separate bags. Some people may have considered it over packing but you worked in fashion so to much was probably not enough. Henry, Dani's and by association, your driver took your bags and stuffed them in the back of the black SUV. you hopped in the front and closed your eyes. Early morning traffic always seemed to be worse when you were heading to Dani's so you thought there may be a chance for a minute or two extra of sleep. 

Dani's building was a lot nicer than yours. With tall glass walls and all the amenities a person could dream of, it was by far one of the nicer complexes in Manhattan. Not only do you call her but you also make sure to buzz her apartment and send her more than one text before you finally receive a response of a simple 'one minute' text from your boss. After twelve and a half minutes of waiting she finally greets your and henry with a cheesy grin followed by a mean glare. You and henry take the bags from the door man and load them into the car with you own. Her six bags give you a sigh of relief at your own luggage situation. 

You don't speak a word to Dani the whole car ride. You learned the hard way that she is not a morning person. Even after three cups of coffee she would still give you the death glare if you spoke a word to her before noon. 

Henry parks the car and unloads the ten bags onto and cart and even pushes it to the the checking station for you. You check all of the bags and direct Dani to security in silence. You would think that 6 am would be a slow time at the airport but after living in new york for 5 years you realize that the saying is true even for the airport the city really never slept. Waiting in the endless TSA line was something you had gotten used to over the last year and a half. You traveled with Dani a lot and really did enjoy it but sometimes your heart ached to stay home and cuddled in your bed with a scary movie. But in order to live your dreams you've learned that there will not only be sacrifices but a lot of them. 

You get through TSA and head straight for the only good coffee shop in the airport knowing you'll meet Dani at the lounge with her own coffee order and breakfast. 

the coffee in one hand and ham and cheese croissant ,sending heavenly cheese smells to your nostrils, you scan your boarding pass and make your way into the airport lounge. Out of all the perks of your job this may just be your favorite. You had always thought that time at the airport was such a waist. With all the noise and people you were never able to get any work done. And with the fact that you were never technically off the clock the waisted time at the airport always made you feel a little guilty. So when Dani finally hit 75,000 a year on her credit card you knew you had to bite at the opportunity to get yourself some much earned you time while still at waiting for your plane. 

You set the flat white in front of Dani and pull our her croissant. She smiles from behind her laptop and bites into the sandwich. You think she might orgasm from the smell alone but thankfully her mind and body stays fully intact. You pull out your tablets and keyboard and begin to edit the document containing Dani schedule for the next two months. You had meticulously planned every single minute of the work trip, just as she had asked you to. 

Before you know it you are boarding the plane and settling in your seat. With such a long flight you had booked your self in first class and and Dani at the absolute front of plane, just like she liked. She much preferred to be the first to be served on a flight. You were in the middle with another seat on the left of you. You went to activate the thin vinyl separator in between the seats but it wasn't going up. You wave down an attendant and ask her if you had done something wrong. She informs you that unfortunately there had been a malfunction with this seat and the wall couldn't go up. She apologies and offers a complimentary drink and snack for the inconvenience. You take up her offer and ask for a mimosa and fruit. Who said morning drinking was out?

The plane has gone still and quiet when the tall stranger sat in the seat across from you. He immediately closed the shade on the window and settles into his seat. He flips off his hood to reveal the perfect strawberry blonde hair cropped right over his ears and falling in his eyes. He sports Ray Bans and large head phones. He glance over to find you staring and smiles with a small wave, you take a drink of your mimosa and focus back to your tablet. 

Once you're in the air you start to work on your own designs knowing that you'll need to have this dress done by the time you are back to the states. Your sister had asked you to complete it a few months ago for her senior prom. You had sketched out the skirt and top but the design and colors just weren't coming to you. 

"Wow you look determined." The low voice says next to you. On your left the owner of the voice stares at you with a small smirk. 

"Oh yeah, I'm just working on a sketch." you say, forming my lips into a thin line. 

"Oh your an artist. Can I see what your working on?"

"Oh, well I'm really in to the middle of something and it not even close to done." you push out a pitiful laugh and play your music again. 

"Oh come on, I'm sure their great! Just give me a peak!" He insists practically reaching over the separator to look at your tablet. you scoot over and pull the tablet close to your chest. "Seriously? Don't be humble. I'm sure its not that bad!" 

"Dude she obviously doesn't want to talk to you much less show you her work. Just fuck off man." A different softer voice says above you. The voice belongs to the sunglasses wearing man on your right. He's standing over you glaring at the man on your left. The first speaker rolls his eyes and presses play on his film subsequently leaving you alone. You look up to the second man with a soft smile and mouth a thank you. He quickly turns and heads to the front of the plane for the restroom. You focus back onto the sketch you were previously working on but your head keeps taking you back to the voice of the man to your left. The soft easy nature of it with the hint of a Korean accent. You hadn't gotten a great look at his face but you knew just from the little interaction that he had to have been beautiful. 

You give up on the sketch and decided that stretching your legs using the restroom would be the best option. You head over the restrooms and enter the small cabin. Washing you face and hands you open the cabin door with a jolt almost bumping into the man in front of you. Which much to your relief is the man sitting on your left. You see now that you assumption was correct. With high soft cheek bones and the most perfect lips he smiles taking a step back. 

"Sorry, I thought the lavatory was empty." He laughs letting out his easy going voice once again. 

"You're fine. Its all yours now." You grin holding the door for him. 

"Thanks, your the girl sitting next to me aren't you?" He asks keeping you tethered to the conversation. 

"Yeah, thanks again for telling that guy off. I appreciate it!" You thank him again attempting to slide back to your seat he grabs your attention again. 

"Do you wanna switch?" You give him a questioning look. "Seats I mean. switch seats. So that you don't have to sit next that dick." He explain himself further. 

"Oh no, its fine he really hasn't bothered me much. but thanks anyway." You wave him off. 

"Okay well if you change you mind just give me a look and we can switch right away." He smiles stuffing himself into the small restroom cabin. 

You sit back at your seat and are immediately greeted by the other man grinning at you possessively. You turn away from him and decide that you might as well take the offer that you were previously given. 

When the man on the left comes back to his seat you look at him with much dismay in your eyes. He doesn't even sit down. Just grabs his orange juice and lets you slide into his seat. He slides himself into yours and hands you your water across the the aisle. 

"So, do I get a name?" You ask bravely. Letting the blush hit your ears. He looks over to you with a sweet smile. 

"Yeonjun." His name sounds like sunshine in a bottle and describes him perfectly. You give him your name and fall into a perfect set of conversation. Finding out that he is from Seoul but was in New York for work. He listens intently when you tell him about your preparations for Seoul fashion week and that you'll only be in the city for two months. He jokes at showing you around the city and a blush creeps along his cheeks when you said you would take him up on it. After what seems like 15 minutes and not nearly seven hours hours the plan lands in Seoul. Yeonojun slips his sunglasses back on and his hood back up and stays in his seat. 

"It was nice to meet you." He looks up as you throw your bag over your shoulder. 

"It was nice to meet you too Yeonjun." 

With the flight behind you and a surge of confidence after your brief flirtatious conversation you take Seoul in with a large deep breath. The air is sticky from recent rain but you don't mind. Rain was something you missed so much from Washington. 

Dani and you meet right outside of the gate and trade brief pleasantries before heading straight to baggage claim. Pushing your joint bags up what seemed to be a 70 degree angle had to be the hardest thing you had done in your life. You love Dani but sometimes she can be a bit oblivious to the task at hand. 

You find the car picking you up load everything into the trunk. Its smaller than the SUV you usually take but you don't mind just thankful you won't have to figure out the Seoul Metro system. Its nearly four PM hear but its only three AM back home. So your hotel bed immediately envelopes your body as soon as you walk into you chilly room. 

After hours of sleep and a glorious shower you head down to the complimentary breakfast to start you day. Dani has not broken her slumber so you make a note to wake her in a hour. Knowing she will thank you for getting a head start on her day even if she does not want to be woken right away. 

With the day schedule revised, Dani's coffee order in hand, you march to the second floor neglecting to take the elevator simply because you know you can use the steps. Your own iced vanilla latte practically slips out of your hand when you make your final decent. You take a thirsty gulp and press a light knock on Dani's door. No sound comes from behind the door. You wait and are utterly disappointed but not surprised when you only hear silence. You pull out your last option and swipe the key card you had printed for her room.

"Wakey, wakey! Sorry but your sweet dreams have come to end no you just get me and the perfect 50 degree weather." You shout setting her coffee down on the side table. She turns over in her bed and gives you one of the worst glares she's ever laid on you. "The no talking before noon rule was revoked when we got to Seoul Dani. So get your ass up and dressed. I already had your out fit steamed and pressed." You say handing her the garment bag. She takes a large deep drink of her coffee you think there isn't a way she didn't burn her entire mouth in the process but that's the thing about Dani, she's practically not human.

After Dani is dressed and properly caffeinated you head to to the office you'll be working out of for the next two months. Originally the directors of Seoul fashion week told Dani she didn't need to come out so early to prepare but her being the stubborn goat, she was insisted.

The company had set aside an office for Dani to work and already had it fully accustomed to her liking. The fact that you didn't have to run around like a chicken with its head cut off making her office perfect gives you a sigh of relief and saves a good 45 minutes of your day. 

You dive into you work going through emails, sending emails, proofreading emails. You could've practically been an email genius by now! But after some time you notice the clock tick a little past twelve. Putting in a lunch order and an additional soda for your boss you tell her you'd be heading out for lunch. Dani smiles and waves you off, to engrossed in her own designs and work to notice you leave. 

You push the elevator doors to open and walk in attempting to balance your computer, tablet and every other random items in your large leather bag. The Elevator moves down two floors and the doors open again. You turn to the side leaning farther in to your phone. Unfortunately this causes a domino effect and all the items you've been attempting to keep stable tumble out of you bag and onto the floor. 

Leaning down and picking up your items the man next to mirrors your motions. Only when he looks up from the ground do you notice you've met before. 

"Yeonjun." You speak. The blonde boy looks up quickly and lights up the cabin with his smile. 

"Hi." He lets out breathless. "What are you doing here?" he adds a curious look on his face. 

"This is where me and my boss are working out of for our stay. We got here this morning." You chime with a little more giddiness than you would like to admit. He smiles back but doesn't offer you a reply. His stupid sunglasses sit on his nose as if untouched from the first time you saw him. 

"So you're getting ready for fashion week, but that's not for another six weeks. Why come so early?" He asks leaning against the back wall of the elevator. You laugh and explain the reasoning for Dani's need to be ahead of the rest of the designers on the runway for fashion week. He simple nods along keeping eye contact. 

"So what are you doing here? You never told me what you do?" You enquire hoping to gain a little more information about the man next to you. At the exact moment you finish you question the elevator doors open again and invite a large group of men and women into the small space. You're quickly shoved up against the wall with Yeonjun in toe next to you. He smiles and looks down at his feet as if ready to kick every other person in the elevator out and down the the shaft so he can answer you. But nevertheless he stays silent with that damn grin plastered across his face. He close enough that you can smell his cologne, leather, the deep sweet smell that is distinctly the soft pliable fabric. You think that it may be the best thing you've ever 

The doors open up and lets the large group of people and yourself out onto the first floor. 

"I'll see you round Chanel!" He calls as he heads the opposite direction. You smile and wave politely. The nickname came from a conversation you had only yesterday. When you mentioned working in fashion, he attached himself to the one brand he knew 'Chanel'. You found it endearing that he even remembered your conversation. 

Out on the street you notice a large crowd of people gathering at the sidewalk across fro the building. Many of them being held back by a metal barrier and multiple security guards. You wave the thought aside and head in the direction of the restaurant. 

By the time you get back to work your stomach has been angry for too long and fingers are starting to shake from hunger. You devour the sandwich chips and soda you had ordered. You even indulged in a cookie from the restaurant after more than one patron recommended it. 

Dani sits in her office unaware of the rest of the world. You slip in as quiet as possible as to not wake the beast. 

"You've barely touched your lunch, can I get you something different? Something you'd enjoy more?" You request, leaning against her desk. The low light of her office brings a relaxing feeling to your stomach the pale light from the window makes you want to take a seat in the plush chair in front of her desk and simply just chat with her. 

"No, I'm okay, just not super hungry. My stomach has been acting weird all day." She admits looking up at you earnestly. You push her comically large water bottle a little closer to her and give her a stern look. She take along drink and lets out a refreshing 'ahhhh'. You at her and head back to your desk and laptop. Taking your own advice and sipping on your water. 

Time seems to slow as the afternoon lulls on. Many people go in and of you temporary space, some meeting with you others speaking with Dani, but it mostly just turns to a blur of bodies and voices. 

The sun starts set letting a golden ambiance into your space. You attempt to shoo your boss out of her office and back to the hotel for dinner and bed, but she insists on staying a little longer to finish her project. Sitting in your chair with your tablet in your lap you scratch away at the over done design in your hands. You're about to erase the entire thing when a soft voice breaks you from your dazed state. 

"Hey Chanel." Yeonjun flirts the blush evident on his cheeks but but his confident smile eases the color. 

"Hiya!" You shout already seeming to excited to be in his presence him again. The thing about talking with Yeonjun was that the world seemed to speed up and slow down at the same time. It was like you were the only people in room and no one else mattered. Its funny to think that you are already so comfortable with him considering the short time you've known him. And it wasn't only his words but his presence and his scent, god his scent drove you crazy. 

"What are you doing here?" You shake away the thoughts of his cologne from your head and nostrils. Wanting to simply be here. 

"Wanna to talk to you, actually!" He smiles leaning against your desk. You can already feel the color strike your face, you must look like a freaking lobster after Yeonjuns words.

"Me?" you ask pathetically as if he was asking the potted plant behind you. 

"Yeah." He laughs. "I wanted to ask if you wanted to joining me for dinner tomorrow?" He breathes letting his chest fall. He must have been nervous because after the words fall from his mouth because you can hear that his breathing is a little more even now. 

"Oh." You practically tip over in you chair. "Why?" you let, out embarrassed at the idiotic response. "I mean, not why, I don't know. I- sorry. I'm just shocked." You stop before you let more words out. Of course you had been flirting with him, he had been a cute guy you most likely would never see again, running into him today was never part of your plan. The plan which was more of a unstructured idea of fun and whimsy. And getting asked out on your second day in Seoul was also not part of your plan. Or your unstructured idea of fun and whimsy. You didn't mind, but god you were only here for 2 months, 8 weeks! You cant go out with a guy who lives half way across the world. You just cant, its not realistic. You rub slow circles over your arm. attempting to push your stomach down from your throat. 

"Well," he laughs again stopping himself mid sentence. " I thought you were into me." He states plainly. And of course it was plain. You were into him. He was your airport crush. The guy you make googly eyes over, maybe get he chance to flirt with once and then have a wet dream about three weeks later. Not the guy that actually asks you out. "But I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry." He waves standing from your desk and starts to go back the other way. 

"Wait!" You shout leaping out of your seat. Grasping at his wrist. He turns back to you and gives you a wry smile. "Its not that I'm not into you. I was just wasn't expecting it is all." Your out of breath by the time your up and next to him. " I am definitely into you." he smiles at your addition making him radiate pure sunshine. " But I still cant go out with you." Your voice breaks with the realistic truth. Yeonjums face falls and its as if a large storm cloud has passed over his entire being. 

"Oh, well can I ask why not?" He's kind about the question and you almost don't provide him an answer but with the heart breaking frown on his face you give in.

"I mean I'm only here for two months and I really don't do casual. Or at least I try not to. I just don't want to start something neither of us can finish. You know?" The answer seems good enough to perk him back up but his face stays turned down in the moon cast light. 

"I understand. Thanks for being honest though. An hey if you end up changing you mind take this." He bends over your desk stealing a pen and sticky note, writing 10 numbers down. "text me anytime." He hands you the note and proceeds on his way. " Goodnight Chanel!" He waves, his lips finally turning up the slightest bit 

After effectively pushing Dani out of her office and tucking her in you roll into bed yourself. But you are one unlucky bastard because instead of being blessed with the perfection of a dreamy sleep you lie awake thinking about none other than Yeonjun. You wished you could've said yes, could've indulged in a date with him, but your entire life is in New York. I mean you were based there with Dani and you apartment was there. Which was really it but that's still a lot you argue. What if you end up really falling for him just to be dragged back to the US and have him stay here in Korea. It just wasn't feasible but realism doesn't keep you from dreaming about what you would wear to dinner and how he would drape coat around you when its cold. About how he would hold you hand and walk you on the inside of the street. How his hand would feel on you waist, on your hips. How your lips would feel when he finally closes the distance between you. How his body would feel flush against yours. How his hand would feel between your thighs. How his soft voice would sound in your ears praising you for how you were behaving. You practically moan at the thought. 

The next morning your surprised to find a text lighting up your phone. 

Dani ✨: Please dear god bring me water!?!? I cant stop throwing up 😭

You: OMG I'll be right there!!!!!!!

You sprint down to the lobby and grab three bottles of water and the best anti nausea medicine they have. You then heave yourself back up the stairs and don't even bother with knocking. You find Dani hanging over the toilet with a horrible pout. 

"Oh my god! What the fuck?" You gasp at the disgusting sight of your boss sitting on the bathroom floor actively beginning to vomit again. You drop the bottles and medicine and pull her hair out of her face. Coughing and dry heaving for another 2 minutes you keep your hand on her back attempting to soothe her in any way possible. She sits up after this round puking seems to be over. 

"I haven't thrown up like this since i was still clubbing and drank like a maniac." She laughs still effortlessly charming even when sick. You coax some water and meds into her and after it seems that she wont be throwing up at least for a little while longer you move her to her bed. You tuck her in and grab the ice bucket lining it with a bag just in case. She attempts to shoo you off saying she doesn't want to get you sick, but you insist on taking care of her. You sit on the opposite side of her and turn on the TV. 

"Wait, I really don't want to watch cable television." She cries grasping at the remote. 

"Okay well I know you well enough to know you are gonna get bored sitting here." You laugh pushing a strand of her hair out of her color drained face. 

"You're right! So tell me about your day yesterday! We barely talked. I already miss gabbing with you!" She gushes laying herself farther into her pillows. You roll your eyes. 

"My day was boring, nothing even happened." You say turning towards her. Even though that was technically a lie you keep the whole Yeonjun situation to yourself knowing she will only force you to go into explicit detail and then torture you until you go to dinner with him. She knew you hadn't been on a date in a long time and would definitely be using it against you. 

"That's a lie ma'am. You have a tell. I saw you talking with someone yesterday evening!  Who was it?! He looked cute!" She wiggles her eyebrows. 

"I do not have a tell!" You roll your eyes again and proceed to easily give in. "But I was talking with someone." Blushing you tell her everything from the plane ride to the the embarrassing encounter and prompt rejection by you. 

"You said no?!?!?" She screams practically bursting your ear drums. "Why would you say no? He sounds like your dream guy! And he works in fashion! He sounds like a fucking catch!" She beats you with a pillow. You dodge the blow and take the pillow from her 

"You're right he does. But I live in New York. Not Seoul." You remind her. The silence sits thick between you. You know shes thinking of a way to convince you to go on this date. But you ignore her wishes and turn the TV on anyway. Flipping through channels of commercials and cheaply made movies. 

You start considering the date in your mind. Rolling over the idea of what it would mean to go out with Yeonjun. I mean would it have to mean anything? You think. Maybe not? But again it could mean a lot and then you'd leave after 2 months and you would be completely heart broken. You did want to go but you didn't want to end up back in New York hating yourself

"Okay, why is that such a bad thing though. This doesn't have to be serious! Like you could just go on a date some quick dick and then head out! I mean lets be honest how long has it been since you got hot and heavy with someone?" She asks prodding the questing even further. "And no your vibrator does not count." She laughs. You take the moment to hit here back with the pillow and ignore her accusations. 

With HGTV in the background you think to yourself how long it has actually been. Over a year is what you guess. The end of your relationship with Marcus, your former boyfriend, was anything but hot. But that's another reason not to go! You might not be ready for a date, even something casual. 

"Oh my god! I can feel your brooding from here!" Dani shouts. Breaking you from said brooding. "Please just jump in head first and go out with him. I wouldn't be where I am if I didn't take risks and jump with out looking. And In my opinion my life is great!" She brags pumping out her chest. Rolling your eyes for umpteenth time today you simply glare at her. "As I am your boss, I will be making the decision for you. You are going on this date. in fact I'm gonna take you shopping right now. No work today only date preparations!" she squeals sitting up in her bed. 

"Dani, no way! You were just violently throwing up like an hour ago! Besides going on a date right now would only distract me. This is a work trip after all. " 

"Who cares if its a work trip?! You should go even if its just to have a nice meal and get to dress up. And now I feel a million times better anyway. Please! I wanna go shopping so bad." Shes basically on her hands and knees begging you. You let out a huff and cross your arms over your chest. 

"Then go shopping for yourself Dani. I don't need to go on a date. I shouldn't go on a date." 

"Okay fine. i wasn't gonna pull out this card but we've gotten to the point where i need to." Dani stature suddenly becomes serious. More serious than you've seen her in a long time. You think the only you've seen her this serious was her own wedding, you had just began to work for her. Many of her bridesmaids had warned you 'she usually isn't this quiet. you're in for a real treat.' they joked. now you thought maybe the only things she took seriously were the people she loved. 

"you haven't been the same for a little while. I'm not sure exactly what it is but i can tell something is up. I don't think a date could solve all of your problems but I think it could get your mind off of the things that you shouldn't be focusing on." Her words are honest and laced with care. You can tell she really does want the best for you. 

"Fine. Let me text him quick." 

Shopping with Dani wasn't like shopping with anyone else. It was more ritualistic. And much more expensive. It turns out that her pleading wasn't entirely selfless. That's how you find yourself in a locked room of the top floor of the Seoul Hermes. Wishing to yourself you had never said yes to a shopping spree or a date with Yeonjun. You had accompanied Dani to many quota bag appointments. So the mysterious nature of the whole tryst wasn't foreign to you. You had seen your fair share of the New York Hermes and even owned a few products, kindly given to you for Christmas by your boss of course. 

With your second glass of champagne in hand the navy loveseat dips dips under your weight. Across from you Dani leans over the orange box a small woosh sounds as she lifts the lid . Practically oozing over the leather item, she speaks with the sales associate and shakes her hand. The box is slid into a matching orange bag. 

With bags strewn across you shoulder you finally get to the shop that you can afford with a few more dress you like. The shop is small nothing like the shops that Dani frequents. It smells like sweets. It wafts through the air giving the store a homey atmosphere. You flip through the options and pull out few, setting them aside to try on. Dani reminds you to go out of your comfort zone. She pulls a few dresses you would never wear in the light of day but you add them to your pile nonetheless, simply to please her. 

With soft pop playing in the over had speakers you start with a baby blue floor length dress that you and Dani immediately decide washes you out too much. You then move onto a short yellow dress but the sequins are scratchy seemingly leaving a little rash on your thigh. After ten more dresses, four different pairs of heels. A few tours of the jewelry case and the citrus scent of many top shelf perfu,es still lingering in the air. You decide on a short sleeveless black dress with white fringe on the edges. It hugs your curves gently and falls right at the middle of your thigh. Dani pairs it with a strappy black heel with silver hardware. She also insists on getting you a new black clutch to go along with the outfit. 

Sitting with Dani in her hotel room was a chaotic unlike her shopping tendencies this was completely off the wall. Loud R&B fills the bathroom bouncing off the walls and back to your ears as Dani paints your face with red lip stick, its the third one she's tried tonight on you. And she finally found a winner. Squealing through the music she basically leaps into the air. 

"You look incredible, girlie!" She screams playing with your perfect curls. You stand and take a look at yourself in the mirror the dress extenuates everything it needs to. The make up leaves you speechless, your eyes pop perfectly with the dress and the silver shimmer Dani applied and the red lipstick is truly the exact right color. Yeonjun had texted you back saying he would pick you up at 6:30 it was now 6:00 and you were trying to get over the nervous feeling in your belly.

You head back to you room and grab the clutch from the dresser putting your phone, wallet, and, a few other things in there you might need. In your own bathroom you spritz on your Chanel No 5. You almost always saved it for special occasions but you convince yourself to use the one Chanel product you own. If only to use it as a conversation starter. At 6:24 exactly a soft knock lands on your door. 

You open the door and find Yeonjun with a light blue and white striped shirt with a black blazer over top. He's holding a bouquet of blush pink peonies. His eyes go wide when he takes you in. 

"Wow, you look," His sentence falls off as his eyes roam down your body. "incredible." He finishes,limply handing you the flowers. You can smell them from your side of the door, fresh and faintly rainy "For you. I wasn't sure what your favorite was but these looked nice." He offers, 

"Thank you, that's sweet." You smile taking the flowers, you step deeper into the room. You find a glass and fill it with water. Peeling the paper off the flowers you slip them into the glass and look up. Yeonjun is watching you from the door way in complete awe.

"Ready?" You ask walking closer to him. He nods and closes the door behind you. You walk to the elevator in silence. It's not the stiff silence but a kind , soft, silence. In the elevator he hovers his hand over your shoulder leading you out of the cabin. He slides his sun glass over his eyes and pushes you to the door. A black SUV waits outside the hotel. Yeonjun holds the door for you and then offers you a hand up to the vehicle. Yeonjun and the driver speak briefly in Korean and the car sets off into the city. 

"So where are you taking me?" You tease, crossing you legs in the seat. 

"Just a restaurant uptown. I hope you like traditional Korean food because that's all they serve." He smiles. 

"Well I love the Korean spot in my neighborhood back home so I can imagine how amazing this will be." You card a hand through your hair and turn back to the view of the city. 

The SUV has the perfect new car smell, clean, comfortable. Even the vehicle Henry drives doesn't smell this good. The ride isn't long, only a few minutes from your hotel. Yeonjun again helps you from the car but instead of letting go of your hand when you make your decent he holds it tight and leads you into the restaurant. 

The dimly lit dinning room is covered with maroons and golds. You can smell the salt and spice from the hostess table. The entire space reeks of money. Yeonjun gives the hostess his name and she leads you both to a secluded booth near the back of the restaurant. You pick up a menu and scan over the options.

"Ok, well unfortunately I speak no Korean so I think it would be wise for you to just order and i'm sure i'll love it!" You laugh looking up from your menu to find Yeonjun already smiling at you. He nods and waves over the waitress. He speaks with her quickly and hands her the menus. 

"I hope you like bokbunja?" He leans in. You look at him dumb founded as the word is nothing but a jumble of letters to you. " Its blackberry wine." he explains. 

"Oh, fuck yeah!" You exclaim, his face falls. "Oh my god, were at this beautiful restaurant and I just dropped the f bomb. I'm so sorry." You apologize letting your head fall into your hands. 

"Don't apologize I was just surprised. You don't seem like a girl who would curse." He eases himself into his chair . 

"Yeah, that what people say a lot, but in all honesty I kinda have the mouth of a sailor." 

"Hell fucking yeah." He states calmly. His voice has that perfect sway the it always does. The slight hum that he adds after each of his sentences makes you smile. His smile widens a laugh spilling from his lungs. "So you grew up in Washington. Why New York?" 

"Fashion lives in New York. There isn't a better place for it besides maybe Milan." 

"Seoul is pretty amazing for fashion. I think at least." 

"Yeah, I will say there is nothing like the style here. So did you go to school here?" 

"I uh studied entrainment at Global Cyber ​​University. Where did you go to school?" 

The conversation flows easily, you eventually let your guard down. Something you haven't done with any body but Dani in a long time. The discussion moves from small talk to something much deeper. You learn the little things, hes an only child, among other things, he adores mint chocolate chips ice cream. 

After your third glass of bokbunja the sweet drink begins to inebriate your senses. You laugh at another one of of Yeonjuns jokes which simply sets you over the edge. You slap the table and look up at the man across from you. 

"Would you like dessert?" Yeonjun speaks you shake you head letting him know that you are completely full.

"Thank you though, this was an amazing meal and the company wasn't horrible either." You blush pushing a curl behind your ear. "I think that maybe we should do this again." You admit, giving him a sweet smile. 

"Well if you want. My flat isn't far. We can keep chatting have some coffee." You can see that he does really want to talk to you more so you agree and head out of the dimly lit restaurant. 

In the car ride back to his flat Yeonjun continues to listen to your stories of New York. He laughs and scoots closer to you. 

"So how did you get in fashion? I don't think I ever asked." He asks taking your hand and leading you out of the car. 

"I always knew I wanted to do something with clothes. I mean every girl runs around the house playing dress up but I was meticulous about it. Everyone of my friends had to be color coordinated and have the perfect accessories. All my friends hated that I wouldn't let them wear missed matched dresses and pants. And then when I got to high school I took a home ec class and learned that I loved sewing and one thing lead to another and before I knew it I was in New York for fashion school." There was a lot more to the story than just that but even if you did feel comfortable with him Yeonjun didn't need to know everything about your life. Not right away anyways. 

His home reflects him with beautiful with marble floors and wooden accents. Yeonjun definitely has taste. It even has his perfect deep leather smell. You immediately notice the low lighting, perfect for an after date rendezvous. 

You both slip off your shoes and walk farther into the home. His couch is in the middle of the apartment, sitting in front of a large TV. On the couch left is a slab of wood carved into a table with plush cream chairs surrounding it. His kitchen is on the other side of the dining table. 

"Would you like something to drink? I have soju or water or I can make coffee." Yeonjun opens the fridge, loetting the garlicy scent waft over you. He must have made an incrdibly rich dish for the entire kitchen to smell so pungent. 

"I would love some water." Leaning on the counter, you feel oddly bare with out your heels on. Yeonjun hands you a bottle of water and you sip it slowly. 

"Wanna sit?" He's already half way to the couch when he makes the suggestion. You sit on the lush couch and tuck your legs under you. With your dress slideing up your thigh and you don't move to pull it back down to entranced in the story Yeonjun is telling you. You scoot closer to him with out thinking, you fingers make thoughtless circles around his bicep. The action obviously goes straight to his head because his shit grin is plastered back on his face. 

You lift a hand to push your hair out of you face but Yeonjun beats you to it. Fingers linger down your jaw line and the feeling is ice cold. You both go quiet not wanting to break the tension. And for a horribly long minute Yeonjun sits as close to you as possible. His eyes wander from your eyes to your lips and back. You mirror his actions taking in his own soft lips with you eyes. They are the best shade of pink, the cupids bow connecting at the top of his mouth. 

He finally closes the distance between the two of you. You kiss him back falling into his chest. His hand moves from your cheek to you waist and he pulls you closer to him. You breath him in wishing to tug him closer. His other hand has made its way to the back of you neck, he moves you slightly to deepen the kiss. Your lips slowley part letting his open with them. His tongue glides over yours delicately. He withdraws from you, taking in a deep breath. You smile at him for a minute before diving back into his mouth. He tastes like the wine you've been drinking, perfectly sweet with an aftertaste of a sour bite. It seems almost sweeter coming off him. You moan into him while you lift yourself out of a seated position and onto his lap, a leg on either side of his waist. You let your weight fully fall on him and find the friction near your core even more enticing than the messy kiss. You paw at his jacket attempting to shove it off of him. He breaks the kiss and looks at you earnestly for a moment. 

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asks face full of honesty. 

"Yes definitely." You connect your mouths again and finally push off his jacket. He grabs at your ass pulling you flush against him. You grind down further searching for any sort of friction. Before you can protest Yeonjun grabs your waist and picks you up off the couch. Wrapping you legs around his waist you look at him with wonder. 

"I haven't given you a proper tour. Why don't I show you my bedroom." He quips laying a light kiss on your neck. Moaning at the contact. He walks you both from the couch to the bed room with relative ease. He closes the door behind him and leans against it.With you still in his arms he begins to kiss at your neck again. He begins to suck and bite right wear your neck and shoulder connect. 

"Yeonj," The name falls of your tongue but is interrupted by the soothing feeling of his own tongue on the bitten spot undoubtedly leaving a purple mark. He toys with the zipper of your dress and snags it down. With your body press completely to his chest keeps the fabric up right. 

He continues to the bed and promptly drops you onto the matteress with a bounce the top of you dress falls down revealing the black and pink set you picked out to go under. Yeonjun marvels at you. You think he might as well be comatose and he hasn't even seen you naked yet. Taking this time you sluff off your dress the rest of the way to showing off the full set. You blush at his reaction, seemingly dumbfounded. 

"Are we gonna continue or are just going to stand there with your jaw on the ground?" You tease with a silly smile. He immediately falls to his knees and begins kiss the inside of your thighs. Instantly your hand find his strawberry blonde hair. He begins to do what he had done to your neck earlier, leave obvious marks and bites. After a torturously long time he finally lands right where you need him. His fingers yank at the fabric between him and your core. He slides them down past your knees and throws them god knows where. 

He's back and attached to you again in a moment. He laps up the wetness that has emerged from your core. He grunts into you like a man starved. His tongue rolls over your folds and teases your hole. 

"Jun, please don't tease." You cry pulling his face closer to your ever heating cunt. You grind down on his face feeling his nose bump your clit. At the contact you moan out his name again. He notices the reaction and redirects his attention to the neglected bud. With precise circles of his tongue he slowly makes you unravel. He replaces his tongue with his thumb and continues his previous task. Slowly he begins to fuck your hole with his tongue. In and out at the perfect pace, his thumb doesn't slow down either, simply keeping up with his tongue. 

"Oh my god, I'm close!" You cry out begging for more. He obliges by quickening his pace and eating every ounce of arousal around his mouth. He rips his hand away from your clit and quickly start to suck on it. His finger speedily replaces his tongue as he thrusts up into you, your plush walls convulsing around him. When he adds a second finger you break, the tense knot in your belly breaks and your orgasm runs over you. Yeonjun continues to fuck you with his fingers dragging out your high. 

When his hand leaves your throbbing core you sit up to look at him. His face is a bright red obviously out of breath. His shirt has yet to come off. You quickly stand to your knees ignoring the pain that comes with the motion. You unbutton his shirt as he continues to kiss your neck. You push off the fabric and let it drop to the ground. His under shit is slight see through with all the sweat that its absorbed. 

He rips it off and to reveal a perfectly sculpted body. Your hands fall from his neck to his pecs. Much like earlier you make aimless cirles on his skin. He begins to kiss you again lying you down on his bed. Your hands blindly find his belt buckle and begin to undo the loops. While you work on his belt he lift up your chest and snaps off your bra letting your tits fall free. He pulls back from the kiss and has the same look he had on his face before. 

"What do you think? As amazing as you imagined?" You quip finishing off his belt and throwing it to the side with your own discarded clothes. He simply laughs and nods in regard to your question. His hand finds your breasts and makes aimless shapes around them kneading them in his palms. He begins to focus on your nipples with his thumbs. You scratch at his back letting your nails almost break the skin. His hands move from your nipples to you waist. He kisses down your neck connecting his mouth to your chest. His tongue circles the erect bud, sucking tediously. He pulls you closer and farther into his mouth. He slides from one to the other making sure to give treat each equally. The slickness of your breast from Yeonjuns mouth goes unnoticed by you. More concerned about the wetness in between your thighs. "Please Jun. I need you in me." You beg your hands moving to his pants. 

"Just wanna make my baby feel good." He mumbles drunk on your skin. 

You push his slacks down to his knees. His boxers have a small damp patch letting you know that you are not the only one affected in the situation. You move to push down his boxers but he pulls back.

"Shit!" He exclaims. You give him a questioning look. "I don't have protection." He speaks, dragging a hand down his face. 

"Seriously?! You don't keep a box of condoms by your bed what kind of man are you?!" You shout crossing your arms over your bare chest. The area sticky from saliva. "God I have to do everything don't I. Go grab my clutch by the door I have brought a pack." You direct. He sprints out the door leaving you to sprawl across the vast bed. He back in an instant holding the foil in his hands. He leaps on to the bed over your sprawled body. He plants a quick kiss on your lips and sticks his thumb in his boxers pushing them down to let out his heavy length. . You pull him closer beckoning him into another kiss. His head runs over your folds before penetrating your hole. You take his length in your hands and make a few hurried strokes. You can feel every vein. He twitches underneath your touch. Your thumb falls from his shaft to his head right over his sensitive slit, your spread around the pre cum letting the thick liquid help your hand slide up and down his length. You take it in both your hands making usre to give extra attention to his crown. 

Your hands fall, opening yourself back up to him. He takes the condom and rips the packaged open. Rolling it down his cock he lines up with your entrance. You lift your hips begging for him to fill you. He obliges and slips his head in.

The stretch is immense. You breathe through the pain and focus on the pleasure to come. He pushes in a little farther letting out a small grunt. Your arms wrap themselves around his neck to anchor you. Your legs attached to his waist. 

"Fucking hell, you are tight." He rasps after hes fully bottoms out. 

You breath raggedly, "Please I need more." You beg scratching at his back. 

He slowly begins pull out and thrust back in, each time hitting your sweet spot. And every time he does you moan louder. Letting out broken screams of his name. "Ugh! Just like that!" You scream. "Jun! Fuck!" You screach with your hands in his hair you pull him into a languid kiss, nothing but teeth and tongue. 

His hand flies between you and starts to rub precises circles around your clit again. This makes your moans loader and your screams whiner. 

"God Jun I'm so close!" You shout as your hips jut up into his. After your confession he begins to quicken pace not only chasing your high but his as well. He then pulls completely out only to slam back into you an instant later. With a yelp of his name you cum, the knot in your lower belly breaks. The more you moan through your orgasm the more you feel the pulsating of Yeonjuns length. The sweat beads down on his forehead dripping onto the fabric beneath you. "Oh Jun." Th mumble of his names sets him over. 

He thrusts harder lengthening both of your highs. You kiss him as he does running your fingers through his hair and down his back again. He slows lettign you breathe in the deep thick air. YOu can practically taste the sex, the scent surrounds you.

You feel his length softening inside as you come down from your extreme high. He pulls out of you and discards of the condom in the bathroom. He reapers with a damp towel and begins to clean off your legs. 

"Thank you." you whisper sitting up. He nods and smiles wordlessly. 

"Do you wanna hop in the shower before me? I am more than happy to wait." He lets out walking closer to you from the bathroom. 

"Oh no, its fine you go ahead." He slumps himself into the bathroom and you hear the water begin to fall. 

You search for your bar and dress while he showers admitting to your self that is probably better to shower at your hotel. The hunt for the clothes takes longer than you would like it to. Yeonjuns room is quiet large with many spaces a bra could slide under. When you finally slip on your undergarments and find your dress you hear the water turn off and Yeonjun come out. With his towel wrapped around his wait and body still shimmering with water he simply look ethereal. 

"Oh good! Do you mind zipping my dress back up? I can't get it." 

"Why? You're not gonna sleep in that are you?" He laughs stepping toward you. 

"Well no but I cant exactly get a cab ride back to my hotel naked." You laugh looking up at him. 

"Oh, well I was hoping you would maybe sleep here tonight." He grins sheepishly "So that I make breakfast in the morning " He says wrapping his arms around your waist. "Even maybe get to talk more. Or I don't know repeat some of the event from tonight?" You give him a knowing glare. "Please." He gives you the biggest boba eyes ane even pouts his lip. "You begged all night long. Now its my turn." His fingers rise and fall over your bare spine. 

"I'll need something to sleep in because I'm not one to sleep naked. And you should change the sheets while I'm in the shower." You command walking to the bathroom and stepping under the hot water

Waking up in Yeonjuns bed alone wasn't what you expected this morning. It wasn't like you cuddled all night a you wanted to be woken up with kisses. But waking up in an empty bed was never a great feeling. Standing from the mattress , you walk over to the bathroom continuing your usual morning routine. 

"Noooooooo!" Yeonjun shouts from the bedroom. You step out to find him clutching a tray with eggs bacon and toast, with a large glass of water sitting atop it. "You were supposed to be asleep so  I could wake you up with the smell of breakfast in bed!" He whines. You give him a sweet smile and walk over to take his wrists in your hands. 

"You are the sweetest." You smile. "Go back out and come back in. But wait like thirty seconds!" You exclaim shooing him out of the room. 

"Why? I still wanna have breakfast with you!" He yells from behind the door. You run back to the bed and tuck yourself under the covers. Closing your eyes feigning sleep. The crack of the door alerts you He walks over wafting the smell of fried meat and eggs into your nostrils. "Good morning!" He whispers bent down with the tray at your face. You open you eyes and dramatically stretch your arms up over your head. 

"Wow that smells amazing!" You beamed with wonder in your eyes. The smirk doesnt go unnoticed by Yeonjun, but he wipes it off you with a sly kiss. "I'm really hungry." You mumble into his mouth."But I'm a little type A and I will not eat in bed. Ever. So lets eat in the dinning room." You request. 

"Okay, give me just a minute. I'll be right back." Yeonjun coos his breath barely above your mouth. You stay in bed playing with the makeshift shorts he gave you last night. The boxers are soft on your legs and his shirt smells so much like him it seeps into you nose and you never really want it to leave. Yeonjun slides back into the bedroom slipping through the door way on his socks. He races over to the bed and picks you up in fell swoop much like he did last night. You wrap your legs around his waist in order to pull yourself closer to him. With your lips hovering over his you close the distance. Unlike last night the kiss breaks and he leans forehead against yours. He sets you down on the smooth fabric of the cream chairs surrounding the wooden table. 

"What was that for?" You question, sipping on water from the tray. 

"Well, personally I think that a princess like shouldn't ever touch her feet to the ground." He states simply. 

"Are you calling me high maintenance?" You snicker playing offense. 

"No, but last time I check Chanel is a high end brand." He quips wiggling his eyes brows. The flirting is nonstop the entire meal. With his jokes and your laugh both of you think that you could stay here for ever.

Falling down onto the sheets sweat beading on each of your foreheads. The thick smell of sex surrounds you and Yeonjun once again. 

"God! That was amazing. " You breathe your chest rising and falling with difficulty. 

"Hell yeah. I could get used to that!" Yeonjun hoots. 

"What? Me riding you?" You retort. He kisses your neck over the obvious hickies he left only last night. "Jun, stop! I don't think I could do a third round." You object, but his mouth stays connected to your neck. "Also. I haven't even texted Dani yet and I'm sure she is wondering where I am and what the hell the plan is for today." You exhale brushing his hair out of his face when he finally looks up from his trail of kisses. 

"Ugh, fine but I do want to see you again. Soon." He states standing and retrieving the discarded clothes. "Do you want something else to wear? So you don't have to be in your dress again?I have sweats and a tee you can even where some slippers of mine." His tone is neutral as if you had done this a hundred times. You nod and sweep on the shirt and sweats he'd lends you. "Besides you'll have to return them sometime. So maybe this is more for my gain."He chimes, wrapping his arms around your waist. 

"I'll make sure it all gets back to you." You tease letting go of his frame and ushering yourself to the door. "I'll see you around. Okay Jun?" You close the door behind you.

"So in conclusion I had the best time. And it was really the greatest date I've ever been on. So thank you I guess." You confess to Dani laying your head in her lap. 

"I told you!" She yelps back practically jumping in her seat. "Oh my god! You are so lucky! I've heard Korean guys treat their wives like literally royalty!" 

"Ugh! stop I'm not gonna marry this guy!" you exclaim beating her with a pillow. "But getting that kind of head every night would be amazing." You sing falling back into the mountain of pillows and blankets. 

"You are so in love!" Dani exclaims hitting you in shoulder. You simply roll you eyes and continue to scroll on your phone. 

Monday morning comes to quickly, but you don't mind knowing you will most likely get to see Yeonjuns face today. You hope you run into him in the elevator again. Maybe he'll hit the emergency stop and take you right there. 

Unfortunately you get a text fromYeonjun saying he isn't in the office today but he'll gladly pick you up for drinks at his house. You giggle at the thought, making your stomach stir sweetly. 

Dani and you take he elevator to the 10th floor of your temporary office. That's when you notice it. The poster a young intern carries with her. The distinct strawberry blonde hair catches your eyes first but then its the glint of the eyes. 

"Who is that?!" You pry. She rolls out the poster to its full length to show the man slouching in a clean shirt and shorts. 

"Its Choi Yeonjun, he's a part of TXT. The biggest boy group right now." The intern explains. 

"Oh. That's cool." You feign nonchalance and walk out of the elevator cabin whispering to Dani "We need to talk right now please." 

It was a quiet evening, with nothing but the sound of the cars below the terrace passing by every several minutes. This time of night was your favorite, because it meant the noise of the world was off. Most people hated being alone with their thoughts, but it was the only way you could cope with the insomnia that usually took over your nights. Thinking, processing—working through whatever the day has given to you. 

You are hugging your knees against your chest, feeling the cold metal of the fire escape against your bare neck as you lean your head against the brick of your apartment building. There is a warm breeze passing through. Closing your eyes, you feel it fan your cheeks as you draw in a deep breath. 

Today wasn't much different than any other day, other than the fact that you received an invitation to a wedding you didn't want to attend. 

Which, fine, in hindsight, that made the day pretty shitty. 

It was one thing when your ex broke up with you, but for him to have the audacity to send you that invite just crushed you. You'd known he had moved on for a while, now. Seungcheol was never shy about showing off his significant others online, as you were once familiar with. When he began posting with his new girlfriend (Yuna, you think her name was), it was easy to deal with because he didn't live near you anymore. But then that pretty little envelope was stuffed into your mailbox today, and you weren't even sure why he felt inclined to send the invite. Did he feel bad for you? Was it some kind of pity invite, seeing as life hadn't been as kind to you since the breakup that it was to him?

When you open your eyes again, you hear a slight rattling coming from above you. Turning your head up, you notice your upstairs neighbor, Chwe Hansol, climbing out of his window. You'd never spoken to him much outside of a quick nod in the hallway, or typical "weather" small talk in the elevator. But you did know that he was a fellow insomniac. This had become an unspoken routine between the two of you: you'd climb out first, spend a few minutes alone. Hansol would follow suit, light a cigarette, and offer you one. Then you'd just...sit in silence. You were always the first to leave, the second that dawn started to break. Hansol always stayed a few minutes after you left before retreating to his own apartment. 

Your gaze turns back to the alley below, and you can hear the flicker of Hansol's lighter. When the smell of the smoke invades your senses, you hear him cough slightly. 

"You want a cigarette?" He asks hoarsely. He had either just woken up or been crying before joining you. You don't know him well enough to make a verdict, however. 

You push yourself to your feet and begin climbing up the stairs to the landing by his apartment. He passes you a cigarette, then quietly lights it.  When you press the butt to your lips, you sit. Your legs hang off the landing as you lean forward against the rail. 

"You look rough," Hansol observes aloud. 

You take a slow drag of the cigarette, then look over to him. "What happened to silence?"

"I don't want silence tonight." He answers. "Is that a problem?"

"I guess not." You shrug. The smoke curls out of your nostrils as you exhale and look ahead again. "Yeah, it was a rough day. What about you?"

"Same." Hansol presses his lips into a thin line. 

The silence returns, and in a way, you're thankful for it. It's not that you had anything against Hansol, but this was unfamiliar. Talking wasn't something the two of you ever did, so why now?

You take another drag of the cigarette, letting the breeze take the smoke away with it. After a few moments, Hansol sits next to you. His shoulder bumps yours momentarily before he quickly moves away. 

"What's your name?"

You laugh, flicking the ash off the end of your cigarette. It falls through the fire escape as you look over to him. 

"I know your name."  You comment. "All these months of living next to each other, and you never figured it out?"

"I guess I never paid attention before." He admits. 

Rolling your eyes, you give him your name. Hansol repeats it, like he's engraining it into his memory. 

"Pretty." He mutters. "It suits you."

You choose to ignore the compliment. "Hansol suits you. I guess, as much as I can assume."

"I guess," Hansol repeats as a smile creeps up onto his face. "You want to talk about your shitty day?"

The truth was, talking about it would be really nice. But you didn't know Hansol well enough to feel like you could dump your issues onto him. So you opt to keep things vague. At least for now. 

"I heard from someone today." You spoke slowly. "I, uh, haven't heard from them for a while. It kind of felt like a slap to the face, you know?"

He hums in agreement. "I get it. Did you say anything back?"

"It wasn't like that." You clarify. Sighing, you decide ‘fuck it’. "My ex is getting married. He sent me an invitation, and I don't know why."

That gets Hansol to look at you. His eyes are widened in amusement, and you almost want to wipe the dumb grin off his face. 

"Fuck," he laughs in disbelief. "What an ass. I'm sorry."

You shrug. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Why was your day shitty?" You clarify. "You can't expect me to share and think you'll get away with not sharing as well. You're the one who wanted to talk."

"Right." He mutters. He reaches behind the two of you, grabbing the ashtray. You both put your cigarettes out, then turn your gazes back to the alleyway. "My girlfriend broke up with me. Work sucked, too. I guess the universe has it out for me right now."

"For both of us." You grunt. "I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about the breakup?"

"Not really." He says casually. It's like he's unaffected by it, which seems odd to you. You push the thought away, though. "It was a matter of time. We weren't good for each other. I guess I was expecting to do it before she did, though."

You scoff at that. "What, you got a bruised ego now?"

"So what if I do?" Hansol retorts. "Besides, it seems like you're not much better off. Your ex invited you to a wedding–one that isn't with you, by the way."

It's quiet for a second, and then you laugh. It catches Hansol by surprise, but you couldn't help it. It bubbles out of you before you have the chance to stop it.

"Fuck." You manage through your laughter. "What a bunch of losers we are, huh?"

That elicits a laugh from Hansol. "Well, she called me a scumbag, but loser works, too."

"They're interchangeable." You fire back as you look over to him. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry you had a shitty day."

"Yeah." Hansol sighs, meeting your gaze. "You too."

The two of you fell back into your normal routine after that night. A week passed without any conversation, but there was a shift in the air: like you both understood each other a little bit more, now. 

Meanwhile, the RSVP on your table remained. It is gradually approaching the date to send it back, and you aren't yet sure which path to take. The idea of asking Hansol his thoughts left as quickly as it came. You weren't sure if the conversation from last week warranted a pass to ask him for life advice–especially when it was about your ex. 

The rattling of a window pulls you from your thoughts. You glance at the clock on your stove.

6:43 pm.

He was early...eight hours early. Your feet begin to move before you can think twice about it. The window sticks a moment before you get it fully pushed up. You're greeted by Hansol walking down to your window, looking flustered and angry.

"Can I rant?" He asks, a bit winded from making the descent to your apartment. 

You blink a few times. "Sure."

Stepping to the side, Hansol hesitates before climbing into your apartment. As you close the window again, you catch him studying the inside of your home. You're suddenly very aware of the fact that you let a stranger into your living room, and begin to pace back to your kitchen table. Back to the invitation.

"Nice place." He comments. 

"Thanks." You mutter. You like to keep things minimal. The place consists mostly of white decor and furniture, with a few pops of color here and there. Everything is always kept clean, and clutter is always tucked away. 

Hansol clears his throat before collapsing onto your couch. "I'm sorry for just showing up. I don't really have any friends in the area anymore, and I just need to get this out of my system."

"Don't worry about it." You wave him off. "Do you want something to drink?"

He thinks for a moment. "What do you have?"

You pad into your kitchen, then open the rickety door on your fridge. It squeaks slightly as you peek inside. 

"I have sparkling water." You announce. "I also have soju and–"

"I'll take the soju." He quickly cuts in. Then adds, "please."

Grabbing two bottles, you kick the door closed again, then meander back towards him. He happily takes the drink from you as you sit on the opposite side of the couch. You both drink in silence, almost as if the two of you were allowing the space to be made before approaching the topic. When Hansol pulls the bottle away from his lips, you see his Adam's apple bob as he swallows.

"My ex called me today." He finally says. "Not for any reason. Just to pick an argument."

"Over what, exactly?" You glance at him. He runs a hand through his hair, then takes another drink. 

"I still have some of her shit at my apartment." He explains, meeting your eyes. "I told her last week to come get it. When she ignored my texts about it, I stuffed it all into a garbage bag. I didn't want to look at it anymore, you know?"

You nod to let him know you're listening. He continues.

"Anyways, she finally came over about three hours ago to get it." His gaze shifts down to his lap. "She called me fifteen minutes ago to accuse me of throwing one of her stupid shirts away. Then, she went on a whole tangent about how I never took care of her things and how careless I am. She told me that my carelessness was what drove her away from me, and some other bullshit after that. She barely let me get a word in, and just hung up before I could say anything."

"Jesus." You grumble, taking a sip of your drink. 

"Yeah." Hansol scoffs. 

The silence returns, and this time, you're not sure if you should offer him anything else. He's sunken lower into your couch, like he's trying to be swallowed whole by the cushions. His expression is blank, and you're not entirely sure what to make of it or him right now. You take another swig of your soju, then set your half-empty bottle on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Um, I know we don't really know each other," you lean back, looking over to him. His attention is still on his lap. "But I think it's good you're not in that relationship anymore. Not that it's my place to say, but you shouldn't be with someone who talks to you like that."

Hansol lifts his head towards you, then takes another drink as he holds eye contact. When he pulls the bottle away again, he drags his tongue across his bottom lip. You're not sure you like the way he's looking at you. There’s something behind his eyes that you aren’t quite sure how to read. Shifting slightly, you decide to change the topic. 

"If it's any consolation, things aren't much better for me, either," you laugh bitterly. "I have to RSVP by the end of the week for my ex's wedding."

Hansol laughs. "You're considering going?"

"I don't know." You say softly. Your shift in tone causes his laughter to slow, as he realizes that the thought was actually weighing on you. You groan, then lean back against the cushions. "I just feel like he's expecting me not to be there. He knows that I've been dealt a shitty deck of cards since he left, but my pride wants to prove that things aren't as bad as they really are."

"So, what, you want to go pretend like things are okay?" Hansol questions. 

"Maybe?" You roll your head to look at him. He is already staring at you. "I don't know. I don't care if everyone else knows how bad things are, but I just want him to think they're good. Kind of like rubbing it in his face that I'm fine without him."

Hansol pauses. "You're not?" 

"Obviously not." You roll your eyes. 

Your voice catches slightly, so you will yourself to look up at the ceiling. You were not about to cry in front of a man you hardly knew. It's Hansol's turn to be quiet. The gears in his head were practically audible; you could tell he was trying to think of something to say. You didn't necessarily need advice, but talking about it helps. Even if you're not sharing the full story. 

"Would it help if you had someone go with you?" He finally asks. 

You hadn't thought about that. Even if you did, though, you didn't exactly have friends to ask. There was Jun, your cubicle neighbor. You've gotten coffee with him a few times, but never enough to call him a 'friend'. Aside from that, your best friend, Joshua, recently moved back to the States to be with his family. Between the two of them, you were pretty isolated.

"Maybe." You respond. "But, much like you, I don't really have anyone around here. I don't have anyone I could ask."

He shrugs. "I could go with you, if you want?"

It's your turn to laugh. You sit up, then shift your body so you're facing him. He quickly sits up in response. 

"As far as I know, you could be a serial killer." You quip, grabbing your soju again. 

"Please," Hansol scoffs, but there's hardly any bite to it. Instead, a coy smile is painted across his face. "If I were a serial killer, I would've killed you by now."

"Hm," you hum as the soju trickles down your throat. You swallow, then rest the bottle in your lap. "Not a coaxing type, huh?"

"Nah," he shakes his head. "I think I'd be right to the point about it. I mean, why coax if I'm just gonna kill you anyway?"

The smile that creeps its way onto your face is easy. If you'd known Hansol was this fun, maybe you would've taken the chance to talk to him sooner. Then again, maybe that was just the alcohol talking. You were starting to feel the slight buzz as you took another drink. 

"I mean it, though." He adds. "I know it's, ah, weird to go with someone you just met, but, I dunno, we could play it up, I think."

You press your brows together. "What do you mean?"

Hansol clears his throat, then shifts his body to face yours. "Well, you want to make it seem like you've got your shit together. Right?"

You nod. 

"So, if I go with, we could both clean up real nice," he explains. "I could pretend to be your new boyfriend for the weekend. It gets me away from my ex, and paints a pretty little picture for yours."

The words don't form right away. It wasn't exactly a bad idea, but would it even work? You haven't really been secretive about the fact that you've been a sinking ship for the past couple of years, but you've also never been one to post your relationships online–so it could work in that capacity. 

Would Seungcheol even buy it? 

As if Hansol is reading your thoughts, he leans in slightly. Your knees brush. "You're overthinking it. It'll be foolproof. I'm a great actor, you know?"

"In case you’ve forgotten, we just met." You deadpan. "Plus, don't you think it'll be, like, weird traveling with someone you don't know?"

"Only if you make it weird." He shrugs. "It's obviously your call."

You take a moment to absorb Hansol's appearance. Part of you was really questioning if he truly could clean up well–you'd only ever seen him wearing the same pair of ratted, grey sweatpants and matching hoodie. You were also pretty positive the beanie he tends to wear had never been replaced. Did he own any other clothes? Now that you really thought about it, what did he even do for work? Hobbies? Obviously, he's had at least one relationship before. If you decide to take him up on his offer, you guys would really have to get to know each other.

Because right now, you knew nothing. 

Finally, you ask, "What's your favorite color?"

He falters for a moment. "Why?"

"If you're supposed to be my fake boyfriend, I need to know you." You counter. "I don't know you, Hansol."

"Oh, right." He nods. He tosses the last of his soju back, then sets the bottle down on the table. "Um, well, I like all colors, truthfully. I guess I lean towards red and black the most."

You don't even realize you're making a face until he smiles in amusement. 

"What's wrong with those?" He argues. "What’s yours?"

"Pink." You answer quickly. "I like blue, too. But pink has always been my favorite."

"Pink." He repeats. "I could've guessed that."

"Oh yeah?" You quip. "On what grounds?"

Hansol kicks his legs up, making himself at home on your couch. Without hesitation, he stretches his legs across your lap, as if he'd done it a million times prior to this moment. You should be weirded out, but much to your own surprise, you don't mind it too much. You find yourself warming up to Hansol's easy personality as you finish off your own soju and set the bottle beside his. 

"You're always wearing something..." he trails off, folding his arms across his chest, "...pretty."

"Pretty?" You raise your eyebrows at him. 

His eyes widen momentarily. "No, not like that. I just mean, you're always wearing something so girly."

You hum. "I am a girl, you know."

"I know." He groans. "God, I just mean that your wardrobe is so frilly and bright. Do you even know how surprised I was when I found out you smoked?"

That was an argument you couldn't counter. He wasn't wrong: your wardrobe has always consisted primarily of dresses or skirts. God forbid a girl likes to dress nicely. Even your pajamas, which Hansol often found you in, were 'frilly', as he worded it. You like matching sets and very seldom wear mismatched clothes. Nighttime was no exception to that. Even now, sprawled across your couch, you were donning a tank top and pants set you had gotten from a small boutique a few weeks ago. 

"I'm a woman of many surprises." You wink as you kick your own legs up onto the coffee table. "I got into smoking back in high school. I guess I thought I could try a rebellious phase, but it didn't work. The nicotine addiction ended up staying, though. Seungcheol hated it."

"Seungchoel?" Hansol frowns. "Is that your ex?"

"Yeah." You sigh. "But you'll meet him later. You're not missing out on anything exciting, really."

Hansol perks up at that. "Later?" He asks. "So, we're doing this?"

You stare back at him, silently cursing yourself for the slip of tongue. But really, it couldn't be all that bad. Conversation seems to flow easily with him, and this trip could be a good opportunity to get the closure you fully need. Having company would be nice to handle any fallout that might happen afterward, too. 

What's the worst that could happen?

"What the hell?" You sigh. "Sure. You can be my date to this wedding."

Hansol bites back a smile. "Cool."

You were juggling a handful of groceries when you felt your phone vibrate in your back pocket. You curse slightly before dropping everything onto your kitchen table, not even caring that your new bag of apples just fell onto the floor. You push the door shut with your hip, then pull your phone out.

Seungcheol.

He must've gotten the RSVP. Your breath hitches as you hold the device to your ear. "Um, hello?"

"Hey." He exhales, like he wasn't sure if you'd really answer. You couldn't blame him for that, though. You weren't even sure when you last spoke to him. An awkward silence fills the air between the two of you, as you try to debate whether you let him talk himself silly, or if you try to manage a conversation. He beats you to the decision. 

"Uh, Yuna and I got the RSVP!" He exclaims a little too loudly. "A plus one, huh? Is Joshua coming?"

"No, he moved back to California." You answer. "I'm bringing my boyfriend."

There's no response. You smirk in victory as you begin to clean up your groceries and put them away. There's a light tap on your window, where Hansol is waving back at you. You silently wave him in, as Seungcheol draws in a deep breath. 

"You're seeing someone?" He questions. "That's...wow. Nice."

"Yeah, I am." You respond as Hansol walks over to you. He's carrying something under his arm, but you can't tell what it is. It looks like some kind of clothes. He gestures to your phone, and you mouth 'Seungcheol' to him. He chuckles.

"What's his name?" Seungcheol asks. 

You roll your eyes. "It's on the RSVP, Cheol. Hansol. If you don't need anything else, he just got here. I'd like to spend time with him."

"Oh, sure." He almost sounds disappointed, but you don't let yourself dwell on it. "Yeah, uh, we'll see you in a month, then."

"See ya." You hang up before he can try to say anything else, then toss the phone onto your table. 

"No pajamas?" He gestures to you. 

"Hansol, it's only four." You reply. "I just got off work. I see you’re already comfy, though."

He grins at that. "Yeah, I had the day off. I found some old suits, and I didn't know what you were wearing. I figured we needed to match." 

"What do you even do for work?" You question, carrying a handful of bags into your kitchen. Hansol hesitates before grabbing the remaining bags and following behind you.

"I manage a skate shop." He answers. "The one downtown? It's next to that coffee shop that Mrs. Lee owns."

"Oh, I think I know what you're talking about." You nod, picturing it in your head already. The downtown area has always been pretty worn and grungy-looking, but it's also one of the oldest strips in the city. You wouldn't have imagined Hansol owning his own business, but you were pleasantly surprised with that answer. A skate shop suited him, too. 

"What about you?" He asks, setting his bags down on the counter beside him. He begins to unload the groceries as you put them away. You fall into a good rhythm before you look over to him. 

"I don't do anything exciting." You grin. "I'm a secretary for a law firm."

"Gross." Hansol teases. "Have you always wanted to do that?"

You shake your head. "Not necessarily. But it pays well, and I get my weekends off."

He nods as he watches you put the last of the items away. You pat down your dress, then look over to him. He's staring absently, like he isn't sure what to say next. 

"So, uh, your suits?" You remind him. "What do you have?"

"Oh." He looks under his arm, where the clothes were still neatly tucked away. "Right. Yeah, I haven't worn these in forever. I hope they still fit."

"I can alter them if you need." You shrug. "My mom taught me how to sew, you know."

The two of you make your way to the living room again, settling on the same couch you sat in several nights ago. 

"I didn't know that." Hansol comments. "But I guess I could see it. It fits you."

When you were a kid, your mother was a firm believer in teaching you basic life skills. You’d learned everything between cooking, sewing, gardening, baking–whatever she deemed would be necessary to live in case of emergencies. 

"Okay,” Hansol announces as he unfolds and lays out the clothes, “I've got two options. I have this plain black-and-white one, or a tan suit jacket with matching pants. I could wear a white button-up under it?"

You lean in closer, running your hand along the material of each outfit. They both look fine, but you hadn't even taken inventory of your own closet yet to find something to wear. It was almost endearing how eager he was to go on this trip. You push the thought away. As you try to make a decision, you remember a nice cocktail dress you had bought shortly after your breakup with Seungcheol: it fell just above the knees, and was a very nice shade of brown. An elegant color that complemented your skin tone nicely. If you remember correctly, Seungcheol's invite also had a dress code. Earthy tones. 

"Let's go with the tan one." You look up at him to find him watching you intently. You scoot away from him again. "I have a dress that will match."

Hansol clears his throat. "Yeah, cool."

The two of you fall into your usual silence. Hansol glances out the window, where you notice the faintest shimmer of silver dangling from his ear. You gasp, playfully shoving him. 

"An earring?" You ask as he turns to look at you. "I didn't know you had your ears pierced."

"All these months of sitting next to each other, and you're just now noticing?" He smirks. "Yeah, I've had them for a while. Will I need to take them out for the wedding?"

You quickly shake your head. "No, no. They're fine. I was just surprised to see them, I guess."

"I am a man of many surprises." He winks. "What're your plans for the rest of the evening?"

Really, you hadn't thought that far ahead. You figured your usual terrace-time (as Hansol has now dubbed it) would be on the agenda, as it was every night. They were enjoyable now, too. The new conversations are always enjoyable, but now, the company is growing on you, too. It was funny how Hansol already had a slot in your day-to-day life, but somehow managed to fit himself into it even more. Not that you were complaining. You were nowhere near complaining. 

"Not much." You answer. "I mean, probably change and make some dinner. Then, of course, terrace-time."

Hansol laughs. "Uh, how would you feel about skipping terrace-time?"

"What, why?" You frown. 

"I was thinking," he draws in a deep breath, "since we have to play these...roles...what if we just hung out today? Like, a normal hangout. No wallowing on the fire escape and smoking. I'm talking about proper conversation. I can make dinner."

You stare back at him, a little taken aback at the suggestion. If you didn't know any better, that would sound an awful lot like a date. But you knew it wasn't. It was strictly business, of course. It was probably smart, too. You knew the two of you needed to come up with a fake story about how you met and how long you'd been dating... you'd need to flesh out any details now so it didn't bite you in the ass later. 

"Is that too much?"

You blink a few times, realizing you spaced out on him. You quickly shake your head, then push yourself to your feet. 

"No, sorry." You smile at him gently. "I'm just tired. I think that would be a good plan, though. The more we know about each other, the better. Right?"

"Right." He quickly agrees.

You hesitate for a moment when you realize you're still in your work clothes. 

"Um, I'll change, then." You announce awkwardly. "If you want to get the stuff for dinner...?"

Hansol's eyes widen. "Oh, right." He quickly gathers the suits again. You watch as he retreats back out the window and disappears up the fire escape.

By the time the dreaded weekend rolls around, the realization that you’re seeing Seungcheol again settles like an unwelcome guest in the pit of your stomach. You’re sitting on the airplane beside Hansol, who is bobbing his head along to whatever music plays through his headphones. 

The only plus side is that, within the last month, you and Hansol have gotten fairly close. You’ve learned a lot about him, and you guys came up with the perfect cover story for your fake relationship. You’ve both recited it a million times by now: you’d run into each other one day when you were both coming home from work. When you found out you were neighbors, you started spending more time together, and Hansol finally asked you out. 

You were just hoping the story would be enough to get through this weekend. 

As you sink lower into your chair, you feel Hansol tug on the sleeve of your hoodie. You roll your head to look at him, and he takes his headphones off. 

“You okay?” He asks. 

Shrugging, you look back out the window. “I haven’t seen Seungcheol in almost five years. I’m just nervous about what kind of emotions I’ll feel when I see him again. It’s been easy to avoid him since we didn’t live near each other, but now…” You trail off. Below, the sky is clear and blue. 

“You won’t be alone, though.” Hansol nudges you gently. “I’ll be there with you. Besides, we can make fun of how gross the food is and how fancy everything will be compared to our shitholes of apartments.”

You snort at that. “Knowing Seungcheol, the whole place will probably be dripping in his parents’ money.” You sit up to face him again, and his body is already facing yours. 

“God, to have that kind of money.” Hansol clicks his tongue. “You think I’ll ever reach that point selling skateboards?”

“Highly unlikely.” You respond. You don’t remember when the two of you got closer, but you don’t mind. His knee occasionally bumps your leg as you talk. “But it’s okay, because I won’t make that much answering phones, either.”

He laughs, laying his head back against the headrest. “Damn, we won’t have terrace-time this weekend.”

“Hm,” you sigh, “what’re the odds our hotel room has a balcony?”

Hansol crosses his fingers as he turns his attention back to his phone. He doesn’t move away from you, though, as he gently leans against your shoulder with his own. You close your eyes, trying to get comfortable. Having Hansol here may actually be really nice, you think. 

And maybe, hopefully, having him with you means this weekend will be manageable instead of intolerable. 

Good news: the hotel room has a balcony.

Bad news: it only has one bed.

You and Hansol have been standing in the entryway for a few minutes now, unsure of what to say or do. You couldn’t exactly fault Seungcheol for booking it this way, though, because he was under the assumption that you were coming with your boyfriend. You just didn’t account for the fact that hotel rooming would be an issue until now. 

“Okay,” Hansol finally speaks, taking a few steps into the room, “we can be mature about this, right?”

“Right!” You reply, but the way your voice wavers hardly hides the fact that this makes you nervous. Maybe if you just slept really close to the edge of the bed, it wouldn’t be noticeable that your friend was only a few feet away from you.

Hansol tosses his suitcase into the chair in the corner of the room. You watch as he opens up the blinds, then steps onto the balcony. Trailing behind, you set your suitcase on the bed and flop down beside it. 

“Damn, who knew that Hawaii would be so…” Hansol trails off. “Hm. Hot?”

A laugh bubbles out from you as you hear him wander back inside. He flops beside you onto the bed. 

“What were you going to say?” You ask, turning your head to look at him. He shrugs, then brings his hands up behind his head. 

“I was going to say cool, but we’re supposed to hate this trip, right?” He replies. “Or, at least hate the person who booked it and invited you.”

You hum. “I don’t think Hawaii needs to catch our smoke because I’m mad at my ex.”

“True.” Hansol agrees, then shouts, “Sorry, Hawaii!” Out the window. 

You playfully smack his side before sitting up, but Hansol is laughing. When you glance down at him, his laughter slows and something shifts. 

It wasn’t noticeable immediately. It starts with your stomach flipping at the way he is looking up at you. Then, your heart quickens and you can feel your smile falter. It seems like Hansol feels it, too, because you see the corners of his mouth twitch and the tips of his ears turn pink. 

In all the months you’ve known him, you’ve never realized how attractive he is. Sure, you always thought he was decent-looking. But right now, as he stares up at you with his soft eyes and messy, brown hair, it really registers to you that Hansol is beyond cute. Beyond handsome. You’re not sure you have a word to describe it. 

You clear your throat and stand, quickly pushing whatever that feeling is out of the way. It has to just be the change of location, right? Don’t people usually have flings when they go on vacation? You’re nervously tucking your hair behind your ears when you hear him stand from the bed. 

“Um, do we want to shower and go check out the beach?” You ask, not daring yourself to look at him just yet. Your cheeks feel hot, and you’re not even sure why you’re blushing. Nothing happened. He just looked at you, and you feel a bit ridiculous for letting it fluster you so much. “I think I want to freshen up, but then I figure we can explore? There’s supposed to be a bar somewhere in here.”

“Sure.” Hansol says, his voice low. “Uh, you can shower first. I think I need a smoke break after the plane ride.”

God, you’d kill for one, too. But you think you need the distance from Hansol more, as you slide into the bathroom to start the shower. 

Yes, distance will be good. 

You’re finishing off your second margarita as you and Hansol sit in the sand. The waves crash against the shore, bringing a refreshing breeze with it. Beside you, Hansol is pressing the butt of his cigarette to his lips and inhaling slowly. When he pulls it away again, he glances over to you. 

“You know, I think this beats our fire escape by a long shot.” He states. “The air here feels more fresh.” 

You set your empty glass in the sand next to you, then lay back. Your hair fans out behind you. “That’s because the air pollution in Korea is so much worse than here.” You pause. “Plus, we’re on vacation. I think everything feels better on vacation.” 

Hansol sighs, and your usual silence falls between you once again. It’s a clear evening, making the stars totally visible from where you lay. You can make out a few constellations like the big dipper and orion’s belt. As the alcohol settles in your system, you can feel the tequila catching up to you as your head begins to feel light. 

The shower earlier helped, and you think that fleeting moment in the hotel room was just a combination of exhaustion and all the extra time you’ve spent with Hansol. The rest of the night has felt normal, and you were grateful for it. It’s not like you have anything against him, but you’d be lying if you said a portion of you wasn’t nervous to get involved in anything romantic again. 

Assuming that was what Hansol felt too, anyway. 

“Hey,” he says as he stretches out and lays beside you, “you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to but…what happened between you and Seungcheol?” 

You shift slightly. “Oh.”

“Sorry if that’s crossing some kind of boundary.” He quickly adds. “I was just curious. It seems to be weighing on you a lot, so—“

“It’s okay,” You reassure him. “I don’t care that you asked. I just haven’t talked about it in a few years.”

Hansol is quiet, as if to give you the space you need to either share more or stop the conversation all together. You draw in a deep breath. As if the margarita has made a decision for you, you begin to feel the words spill out before you can stop them. 

“Seungcheol and I first met at university.” You explain. “He was going for law, and I was going for business. We shared a few classes, and started going out in our second to last year of our undergrad programs.”

Hansol is quiet, so you keep going. 

“Things were fine for a while,” you continue as you fold your hands across your stomach. “We dated for three years. I guess somewhere along the way he decided that he didn’t love me anymore. He just forgot to tell me that before he started seeing someone else.”

You hear Hansol sit up beside you. You turn your head to find him frowning. 

“He cheated on you?” He asks. 

“More or less,” you shrug. “Anyway, the girl he’s marrying is who he did it with. That’s why this whole invitation has felt like some sick joke.”

Hansol’s jaw tightens, as he looks out at the ocean in front of you both. “What a dick.”

“That’s a nice way of putting it.” You scoff. “But, yeah. I’m really appreciative that you offered to come with me, though. It’s only been eight hours, but I’m having fun so far.”

When he turns to look at you again, you feel the same shift as you did back in the hotel room. With the tequila in your system, though, the feeling is a lot more intense. His features seem amplified in the moonlight as the breeze sweeps through his brown hair. 

“I’m having fun, too.” He replies as a smile teases at the corners of his lips. “It’s easy to have fun with you. I haven’t had that for a while.”

Your breath catches in your throat. “Oh. Well, good. I’m glad. Me neither.” 

Hansol stays like that for a beat before laying down again beside you. You’re suddenly very aware of how close his arm is, and how it brushes against yours when he moves or shifts in the slightest. You don’t move, though, and neither does he. 

Desperate to break the silence this time, your tipsy mind begins to scramble for a topic change or something else to bring up entirely. You try to swallow down your nerves, but it doesn’t do much. 

“Uh, Hansol?” You turn your head to look at him. “Why do you think it took us so long to finally talk to each other?” 

“Hm,” He muses, stretching his arms out before folding them across his chest. It’s his turn to stare up at the stars, and you wonder if he sees the same constellations you had a few minutes ago. “Well, do you want the truth?”

“Depends on what the truth is.” You mumble nervously. 

Then, completely serious, he says, “I was coaxing.”

You blink, not understanding initially. When Hansol turns his head to face you, it’s obvious he’s trying (and failing) to hold in his laughter. That’s when you remember the serial killer joke you’d made to him when you first met. You gasp, and the laugh practically bursts out of him. 

“I knew you’d be the coaxing type!” You exclaim, quickly scrambling to sit up. “You’re too nice to kill right away. You know? I think you’d need to warm up to the idea first before giving yourself enough courage to do it.”

His laughter slows as his smile falters for a moment. “Yeah,” he says, his tone softer than before, “I’d definitely need the courage, first.” 

“Just, do it in my sleep, okay?” You tease as you push yourself to your feet. “If I need to go out, I’d rather not be awake for the whole suffering part.”

Hansol hums. “Noted.”

The morning sun seeps through the curtains in the hotel room, and you’re unbelievably warm. As you shift to push the blankets off of you, you begin to register the fact that half of Hansol’s body is currently draped over you. Your legs are a tangled mess, and he has his arm strewn over your stomach with his head in the crook of your neck. 

It takes all but sixty seconds to fully process its Hansol before your breath catches in your throat. You freeze, unsure if you should move or not. You definitely did not fall asleep this way–in fact, you were so close to falling off the bed when you first got in last night, that you were wondering if it would actually happen. Not this. Not the exact opposite.

When Hansol shifts slightly, you feel your heart drop completely. He lifts his head enough to look down at you. You watch as he goes through the same motions you just had: letting his eyes adjust, realizing where he is, and registering the position he’s waking up in. His eyes widen as he quickly scrambles back. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” He says, his voice low and groggy from waking up. “I did not mean to–”

“No, it's fine.” You sit up. “Um, it just surprised me is all, you know?”

Hansol nods, running a hand through his messy hair. The silence is awkward as you both sit across from each other, unsure of what to do next. You dare a quick look at him, as he is distracting himself with his phone. He’s got bags under his eyes, and you wonder how long it has been since he got a full night’s rest like that. You knew for yourself it had been a while. More specifically, since Seungcheol left. 

You didn’t even remember falling asleep last night. The last thing you remembered was laying on the edge of your side of the bed, and laughing at some horrible reality show that Hansol had put on the TV in the room. When you laid down, you were out cold. The craziest part is you slept really well. It was a heavy kind of sleep that made you actually feel well-rested and not just more tired. 

Glancing at the digital clock on your bedside table, you realize just how long you guys had slept. 

11:38 am.

You got into bed around nine o’clock last night, which means you slept for fourteen hours. The thought makes you laugh before you fall against the mattress again. Hansol’s attention shifts towards you as he lowers his phone into his lap. 

“What?” He asks, laughing lightly with you. 

“It’s just been forever since I’ve slept.” You reply, looking up at him. “Did you even see what time it was?”

The corners of his mouth twitch. “Yeah, uh, I did.” He says. “We missed breakfast, though.”

“Do you usually eat breakfast?”

He grins at that. “Nope.”

You laugh again as Hansol lays beside you once more. The screen door to the balcony was left open last night, and you can hear the sounds of people talking outside and cars driving past. Something about the laziness and simplicity of the morning makes you feel light–like you were getting everything with Hansol you could’ve had with Seungcheol. 

You’d talked with Seungcheol in the past about moving in together. Sleeping in like this or wasting the day away in bed were the things you used to daydream about with him, but here you were, sharing it with your next door neighbor instead. Truthfully, though, Hansol was now past the point of ‘just your neighbor’. He was more, but the capacity of which wasn’t fully clear to you. If you’d asked the week prior, you’d say platonic in a heartbeat. But now, you weren’t sure. It was muddy. You wondered if Hansol felt the same. 

“You know what I’d love, though?” He blurts.

You look at him, and he’s already staring back at you. “What is that?”

“I’d love some terrace-time.”

After each taking a quick shower, you and Hansol find yourselves comfortable on the loveseat that sits on the balcony. Hansol is leaning back against the wall behind you, while you’re leaning forward, looking at the view of the beach below. Despite the atmosphere being a bit more cozy than the fire escape, you almost miss the rickety stairs and sketchy landing outside of his apartment. 

“What time is Prince Charming’s dinner tonight?” Hansol muses as he finishes off his cigarette. He tosses the butt into the ashtray, then lifts his head to look at you. 

You glance at him over your shoulder. “I think he told guests to be there at five.”

“So, we’ve got some time?” He checks the time on his phone. “They have rental bikes at the beach. I was looking at them last night. How would you feel about a bike ride around the island?”

You smile, pressing your own cigarette into the ashtray. “Is this more coaxing?”

“Oh, well, of course.” Hansol nods. “Gotta get your guard down.”

“I guess a bike ride could be fun,” you hesitate, “but I haven’t rode one in years.”

He laughs, then leans forward with you. His knee bumps yours, and your heart skips a beat. “You gonna crash and burn on me, or do I need to teach you how to ride one all over again?”

This is flirting, right? This has to be flirting. Or maybe you were reading too much into the past twenty four hours. You aren’t even sure anymore. Your thoughts are moving faster than your brain is able to catch up, at this point. Deciding to test the waters, you choose to tease him back. 

“Maybe I’ll need you to teach me.” You say lightly, trying to match his tone. “I think I’ve forgotten all of it.”

Hansol clicks his tongue as a smirk plays on his lips. “Tragic. I guess I’ll have to, then.”

When he leans back again, you feel your face warm. Hansol is flirting. Chewing on your bottom lip, you turn your attention back to the beach. 

You find out very quickly that you definitely did forget how to ride a bike, as your foot is planted firmly on the ground beside you. As embarrassing as it is, you’re terrified to push off and the worst part is Hansol can tell. 

Once his helmet is on, he glances back at you, trying to hold back any laughter that might come out. You groan. “Seriously, I don’t even want to hear it.”

“I didn’t say anything.” He replies, his grin becoming more apparent. 

“You were thinking about it.” You pout, sitting down on the seat. “I mean, I’m almost thirty and I can’t ride a bike. That’s a little pathetic.”

“Nah,” Hansol waves you off as he props the stand, then rests his bike on it. He walks over to you, patting the helmet on your head. “We’ve all got our quirks.”

You roll your eyes. “Okay, what’s yours, then?”

He thinks for a moment, then says, “I’m allergic to peanuts.”

“That’s not a quirk, that’s just a fact.” You argue. He laughs as he walks behind your bike, then leans forward. 

“If you’re done, I’m ready to get this show on the road.” He announces. “You wanna put your hands on the handlebars?”

“Not really.” You sheepishly admit. You shift in your seat, feeling how close he is as his black t-shirt gently brushes your back. You swallow nervously, feeling grateful he can’t see the blush creeping up onto your face. 

“It’s okay, I’ve got you.” He reassures you. “I won’t let go until you’re ready.”

After a few grueling seconds, you lean forward to grab the handles. At the same time, Hansol leans forward, resting his hands on yours. Your heart skyrockets at the touch, and you wonder if you’ll go into cardiac arrest on the spot. The two of you sit like that momentarily, before he clears his throat. 

“Okay,” he says, “when you push off, I want you to pedal. I’ll keep you upright and help you steer, so don’t worry about that.”

“What if I’m already worrying?” You turn to look at him, when you about bump your head into his from how close he was. It clearly catches you both off guard, as Hansol blinks a few times. Then, he manages to give you a smile. 

“Just trust me, okay?” He replies. “I’m not going to let you get hurt.”

The statement feels like it carries more weight to it than just riding a bike. You feel it settle deep inside of you, like it’s trying to make a home in the parts of your heart that still haven’t healed from Seungcheol. All you’re able to muster is a meek nod, as you look ahead at the sidewalk again. 

“Ready?” Hansol asks. 

“Ready.” 

Drawing in a deep breath, you push off and bring your feet to the pedals. The bike wobbles at first, but Hansol keeps it steady like he said he would. You go slow at first, when slowly the motions start to come back to you. 

As you gain a bit more confidence, Hansol says, “the left handle is your break. You want to try stopping?”

He gives your hand a gentle squeeze, which does nothing to calm the nerves that have been brewing since you got here. You do as he says, though, and slowly press down on the break. The bike comes to a stop, prompting you to sigh in relief. 

“You did it!” He exclaims. You look up at him, unable to contain the smile on your face. He returns it, then sticks his hands into the pockets of his joggers. “Told you I’ve got you.”

“Yeah,” you laugh a little breathlessly. “That wasn’t too bad.”

“Want to try it on your own?” He hums. “I’ll stay right by your side for the whole ride.”

This time, it feels easier to believe him. So, you quickly nod, already prepping to push off. 

“Ready when you are.”

You and Hansol sit outside of the restaurant when you arrive as you stall for time before walking in. Just beyond those doors was Seungcheol and the same girl he left you for five years ago. You hadn’t faced either of them since, and you were feeling a bit sick to your stomach. Thankfully, Hansol was in no rush as he stood beside you. 

The two of you cleaned up, and put on some nicer clothes before coming here. Contrary to your initial doubt, Hansol cleans up very well. It was almost weird to not see him in his usual comfy clothes as he wore some nicer jeans and a button-down top. His hair was pushed back slightly, but still had the endearing messier look that you’ve grown fond of. It was true to him, and familiar to you. Kind of like a nice reminder that despite the facade, this is still the same Hansol you’ve sat next to for almost a year and spent all your sleepless nights with. 

“How are you feeling?” He asks as he leans against the wall behind the two of you. 

“Sick.” You laugh. “I don’t really know what to expect when we go in, you know?”

He hums, then holds his hand out. “Good thing you’re not alone, remember?” He reminds you coyly. “Just think about it this way: the faster we get this over with, the faster we can go back to the hotel for some much needed terrace-time. Maybe another reality show–?”

You make a face at that. “God, no more reality TV. But terrace-time sounds nice.”

Tentatively, you put your hand in his. Hansol smiles down at you before giving it a squeeze, then leading you both into the restaurant. It’s a nicer venue, with dim lights and light jazz music playing. The hostess directs you to the back party room, where the rest of the wedding guests are already mingling and drinking. Hansol pulls you closer to him as the two of you navigate towards an empty table to sit. Your eyes begin to wander, when you find Seungcheol at the front of the room. He’s laughing with Minghao, one of your mutual friends. 

“That’s him,” you lean towards Hansol, tugging on his sleeve. He follows your gaze towards Seungcheol, and his jaw tightens. He mutters something under his breath, but you don’t have time to register it before your ex notices you, and begins walking over. 

Your eyes widen, and Hansol is quick to throw his arm around you, pulling you into his side. Seungcheol offers an awkward smile as he looks between the two of you. He looks the same as he did five years ago, only his age is beginning to show on his face a bit. 

“Hey,” he breathes, “you made it!”

“I did RSVP.” You reply, forcing a smile. “Uh, Cheol, this is my boyfriend, Hansol.”

Seungcheol takes one look at Hansol, and his demeanor changes instantly. He straightens his back a bit, then extends a hand towards him. 

“Hey, man, glad you could make it.” He says evenly. You almost laugh. 

Hansol shakes his hand, and is quick to drop it. “Yeah, congrats.”

“Well, we aren’t married yet.” Seungcheol laughs awkwardly. “But, uh, I’ll take the early congrats. Thanks. So..how long have you two known each other?”

Before you have the chance to reply, Hansol cuts in, “almost a year. We live in the same apartment building.”

“Ah,” Seungcheol’s expression twists as he looks over to you, “is it still that shitty place near downtown?”

“Well, not all of us can live off our parents’ wealth.” Hansol retorts. “Besides, it’s not that terrible. You know, if you’re humble enough to acknowledge that it’s a roof over your head.”

Oh god, you want to hide. You’re not sure what kind of stand-off these two were starting, but you did not want to be in the middle of it. You can feel Hansol’s grip on your shoulder tighten slightly. Seungcheol folds his arms across his chest. 

“You’re right.” He nods curtly. “I should be more mindful of the fact that I’ve grown up a bit more privileged than others. Sorry to offend.”

His tone doesn’t quite match the words he’s saying, and Hansol seems to notice. You don’t want to give either of them the opportunity to keep arguing, so you decide to butt in. 

“I’m sure you have a lot of people to catch up with.” You say with a gentle smile. “You know, people you know better than us? I mean, Hansol and I are here all weekend. We can talk more later.”

“Yeah,” Seungcheol sighs, glancing between the two of you again as if to size Hansol up. Then, he returns your smile. “Really, I’m happy you could make it. I’ll just…see you around, then?”

He hesitates before leaving, but once he does, you sink into Hansol’s side and let out a breath you didn’t even realize you had been holding in. Your head rests against his shoulder. Hansol stiffens slightly at the gesture before relaxing. 

“Well,” you announce, “that was fun.”

Hansol laughs, sinking lower into his chair. “He sucks.”

You can’t help but laugh in response as you pull away from him. He looks over to you as the annoyance washes off his face, turning into a lopsided grin instead. 

“I think we need some drinks.” You comment. “I’d definitely like to drink.”

“Awesome.” Hansol quickly nods. “I’m right there with you.”

“Whoooaa,” Hansol steadies you as you both stumble back into the hotel room. 

You’re laughing and everything feels good. Your head has the perfect amount of buzz, and you feel warm and happy and the stress of the weekend is miraculously gone. As you flop onto the bed, you kick your heels off and stretch. 

“They made some good cocktails,” you hum. “Really strong.”

“A little too strong.” Hansol teases as he sits beside you. “You should drink some water.”

“I’m fine.” You slur, rolling your head to the side to look up at him. His focus is on his shoes as he slides them off, but the only place your drunken mind can wander to is how good he looks.

You think about how nice he’s been, and how fun it was riding bikes today, and waking up beside him, and how hot it was when he stood up to Seungcheol. You tug lightly on his sleeve, prompting him to look back at you. 

“What is it?” He asks, leaning back on his hands. “You want me to go grab you some from the front desk? I think they’re selling water bottles. I thought I saw some Gatorade, too–”

“You’re so pretty.” You coo happily, cutting him off from his sentence. “You’re so nice, too. So nice to me.”

His smile falters for a second, like you caught him off guard. He laughs a little breathlessly. “You’re so drunk.” 

“Mmm but I think that when I’m sober, too,” you muse. “I wish we talked sooner.”

“Yeah.” Hansol mumbles. His gaze softens. “At least we are now, right? Better late than never.”

Your eyelids begin to feel heavy as the alcohol threatens to let sleep take you over. Bringing your hands to your eyes, you attempt to rub away the fatigue. It doesn’t work. 

“Can we sleep together again?” You ask as you sit up. 

Hansol blinks. “Like, what, cuddle?” 

You nod as you push yourself to your feet and stumble towards your suitcase for some pajamas. As a yawn slips past your lips, you look back over to him. 

“It was comfy,” you hum. “The only time I've ever slept well was with you.”

Hansol hesitates as he watches you close your bag again. Finally, he clears his throat and says, “Yeah. That’s fine.” 

After clumsily changing in the bathroom, you drag yourself into bed, where Hansol already sat, watching the TV. He changed into his familiar sweatpants and hoodie combo that you usually saw him in, and you felt your heart flutter. The longer you were around him, the more he began to feel like home. 

Though, maybe in a way he always had been. 

The headache you wake up with is violent, and out to seek vengeance on you for the amount you drank the night before. The sunlight in the room is too bright, the soft whirring of the AC is too loud, and you want nothing more than to hide and stay in the room. 

Beside you, Hansol’s presence is warm and grounding. He’s still snoring lightly, with his arms lightly wrapped around your waist. Your face is cozy against his chest, and he smells like a linen closet. No overbearing cologne like Seungcheol would always wear, just fresh and clean and comfortable. 

You softly grab ahold of his hoodie, pulling yourself closer to him. If you could live like this for the day, you’ll be content. But then Hansol stirs, and your heart breaks a little that it’s over already. When you don’t lift your head immediately, you feel Hansol’s grip tighten just the slightest. 

“How hungover are you?” He mumbles, his voice low and gravelly from waking up. 

“Too much.” You groan. “I hope I didn’t do or say anything stupid yesterday.” 

Hansol is quiet. Then, “You don’t remember anything?” 

“I remember leaving the restaurant.” You yawn, accompanied with a shrug. “I don’t really remember coming back here, though. It’s a bit fuzzy.”

“Oh.” Hansol says. 

You frown, then finally lift your head to look at him. “Why did something happen? Did I say something horribly embarrassing?”

The corners of his mouth twitch before he finally smiles. It doesn’t fully reach his eyes, though. But you figure it’s probably because he’s still waking up. “Nah,” he reassures you. “Nothing too crazy.”

Before you can ask what he means, he’s pulling away and it almost hurts when he does. Hansol rolls onto his back, then reaches for his phone on his bedside table. You sigh, then follow suit, grabbing your phone from under your pillow. It’s already almost ten, and the wedding starts in three hours. 

“I’ve been sleeping so well since we got here.” You announce, glancing over to Hansol. He’s scrolling on his phone mindlessly. 

“Yeah, uh,” he looks at you briefly before his attention flicks back to his phone, “me too.”

You discard your phone again, then roll on your side to face him. “What do you think our sleeping habits will be like when we get home?” You ask. “I’m holding out hope they’re going to get better.”

“I don’t think they will,” he admits with a laugh. “Besides, what’ll we do with terrace-time if our sleep schedules get fixed?”

“Damn,” you click your tongue. “Can’t give that up. It’s too precious to me.”

You’re staring at him, hoping for something–anything. A reaction, an agreement…you begin to wonder if maybe the vacation was just getting to you both. You’ve heard countless times of friends falling into weird situationships when they’re away from home, so maybe you’ve clung onto Hansol since he’s here with you and it’s easy. Except, the amount of times you try to tell yourself that, it doesn’t fully feel true. 

“I think I’ll shower and start to get ready.” He states, setting his phone down again. “Unless you want to go first?”

You shake your head, rolling onto your back. “No, you can go. I think I need a little bit longer to wake up.”

He says something else to you, but you don’t register it. Instead, you absentmindedly watch as he gathers his suit, then disappears into the bathroom. Once the water turns on, you bury your face in your hands. 

Maybe you just need to get over it. It’d be embarrassing if you tried to push the matter further only to find out Hansol never reciprocated those feelings. Besides, now that you knew each other beyond terrace-time, you didn’t want to lose him completely over some silly feelings from the adrenaline of vacation. He’s a good person, and good people have been hard for you to come across lately. That’s something you didn’t want to take for granted.

Poking your head around the corner, you see Hansol smoking on the balcony. His suit jacket is draped over his shoulder, as he stares out at the beach below. You can’t get your dress zipped and you feel a little embarrassed by it, but you also can’t exactly show up with your bare back on display and the risk of the dress falling off. 

“Uh, hey Hansol?” You meekly call out. He glances over his shoulder towards you. “I, uh, need help with my dress.”

He tosses the remainder of his cigarette into the ashtray, then meanders over to you. After draping his suit jacket onto the bed, you push the door open slightly. You’re holding the front of your dress up with one hand, giving a lopsided smile. 

“I can’t get it zipped.” You laugh nervously. 

Hansol doesn’t say anything at first. But his eyes drag over your body before meeting your gaze, and you feel your face flush. He swallows. 

“Yeah, okay.” He nods. “Um, you need to turn around, though, so I can zip it.”

“Oh!” You chirp. “Right. Sorry.” 

You spin to face the mirror across from you in the bathroom. Hansol hesitates before grabbing your waist with one hand, and the zipper in the other. His knuckles are cold as they gently brush against your spine while he zips. You hold your breath when he’s done, and neither of you move for what feels like several minutes. His hand is still at your waist, and you wonder if he can hear how loud your heart is beating.

“Hansol–” You stop, not really sure what you were going to even say. He lifts his head, meeting your gaze in the mirror. 

“Yeah?” He whispers, his breath hot behind your ear. 

“I, uh,” you shake your head, like that’ll snap you out of it. You settle on giving him a smile. “Thanks.”

He returns your smile. “All I did was zip your dress.”

“No, I mean,” you turn to face him, “thanks for coming with me. This definitely wouldn’t have been as fun without you.”

“Oh,” he nods. “Yeah, for sure. It’s been great. It’s nice having a new friend gained from all of this, you know?”

Friend. “Yeah.” You agree. “Although, I do miss our own spaces. I think terrace-time at the beach feels a little too luxurious for me, you know?”

“Definitely.” He gives your waist a quick squeeze, before dropping his hand at his side. “What do you think, should we get this wedding over with?”

“Please.” You groan, following him out of the bathroom. “Do not let me drink as much tonight, okay? Unless something horribly awful and dramatic happens, then I’ll probably want to forget it.”

“Heard.” He nods, slipping on his suit jacket. “Only getting plastered in case of an emergency: you got it.”

The venue is about as lavish as you were expecting it to be. There’s a gorgeous, floral archway at the end of the aisle, and elegant green, beige, and white decorations everywhere. The second that Seungcheol is in Hansol’s sight, he grabs your hand and tugs you closer to him. 

You take your seats towards the back, and settle as the last of the crowd trickles in. Despite being out of his line of sight, Hansol keeps your hand in his as he traces lazy circles on the back of yours with his thumb. His hand is larger than yours, but seems to mold perfectly against it. 

“What kind of food do you think will be at the reception?” Hansol asks, leaning close to you. 

You snicker, turning to look at him. “Probably something fancy that I’ve never heard of.” You whisper back. He’s close and your heart is beating at a million times per second, you’re pretty sure. You wonder if he can tell. 

“I just hope it’s something edible.” He grins, his voice low. “I’m a picky eater. What if there’s peanuts?” 

“If there’s peanuts, then I guess I’m killing you first.” You comment. “I’d have the high ground.” 

Hansol’s eyes widen. “I thought I was the one doing the killing here?” 

Instead of saying anything, you give him a wink and face forward again as you hear music begin to fill the venue. Hansol squeezes your hand gently, but doesn’t bother letting go. Not yet, anyway. But you’re really hoping he doesn’t. You like the way it feels in yours—warm and grounding. 

The two of you watch the families shuffle into place along with any remaining guests who have yet to sit. A few minutes pass before the ceremony begins, and everyone stands. The wedding party seems to take their sweet time walking down the aisle, couple by couple, until finally Yuna begins to walk with her father.

She looks beautiful. Even prettier in person, and seeing her eyes light up when she sees Seungcheol makes you feel…at peace, almost. You let your gaze follow hers to where Cheol is standing, with tears threatening the corners of his eyes. They look so happy. And a sudden feeling washes over you that since meeting Hansol, you haven’t spent your nights thinking about Seungcheol anymore. You realize that seeing them commit to each other like this was the exact closure you needed. 

But you also realize that you’re pretty sure you have feelings for Hansol. 

You forget his hand is in yours until he lets go and begins to lightly rub the small of your back. For a moment, you wonder if he thinks you’re hurt by the scene playing out before you. But when you glance back at him, whatever expression you’re wearing seems to clear it up for him. He smiles as everyone sits again, then shifts his arm so it’s wrapped around your shoulders. 

You like Hansol. 

Whatever the officiant is saying quickly becomes background noise, as your mind begins to spiral. This whole time you’ve been trying to write it off by the amount of time you’ve spent together, but you’re truly not sure if that’s the case anymore. He’s kind, and funny, and seems to know how to cheer you up despite you not ever verbally telling him. You glance over to him, but his attention is on the ceremony. As if he can feel your gaze on him, he looks over briefly, then smiles. 

‘What?’ he mouths. 

You grin, shaking your head. ‘Nothing’ you mouth back. 

After some obligatory introductions to some of Seungcheol’s family and friends, you and Hansol wander outside of the venue for a smoke. The butterflies in your stomach have not left since your realization during the ceremony, and part of you really wants to ask Hansol his thoughts about…well, everything. Getting closer to each other, this trip, and every interaction in between–you know in your heart that there had to have been something simmering this whole time. 

“I’m almost sad to go home tomorrow.” Hansol suddenly says as he leans against the wall beside you. “This trip has been a lot of fun. Quick, but fun.”

You hum, flicking some of the ash off your cigarette. “It’s been…” you trail off, not really sure where you were going with your sentence. Finally, you say, “Hansol, are things going to go back to normal when we get home?”

“What do you mean?” He asks, pushing himself off the wall to stand in front of you. “Define ‘normal’.”

You shrug. “Like, not seeing each other or hanging out everyday. Terrace-time being quiet…” you clarify. “I just–I guess I don’t really want to leave here and lose all of that when we get home.”

Hansol studies you for a minute, and you feel your cheeks warm. He presses the butt of the cigarette to his lips, inhaling slowly, before pulling it away again. When he exhales, he offers you a gentle smile. 

“To be quite frank, I don’t think I can even try to force myself to go back to that.” He admits. “Uh, but I would like to ask you something. I just need to know if it’s true or not.”

“Anything.” You reply quickly, suddenly growing nervous. 

He presses his tongue to the inside of his cheek, clearly nervous as well. “When you were drunk last night, you told me you thought I was pretty.”

“Oh my god–”

“Hey, I’m not done,” he laughs, tossing his cigarette into the ashtray beside the two of you. “You said you would say it sober, too. When you said you didn’t remember anything from last night, I kinda wondered if it was true or not.”

At this point, your face is probably bright red. Hansol seems to notice as he bites back a smile, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his slacks. 

“Jesus,” you laugh nervously, turning your head down towards your heels. “Uh, that’s really embarrassing on my part but…yeah. I do.”

When he doesn’t reply right away, you’re scared he’s going to reject you or tell you he thinks of you only as a friend. You force yourself to look up at him when a few moments pass, and his smile is gone, replaced by a much softer expression. 

“Good.” He finally says, taking a step closer to you. “Because I think the same thing about you.”

“Wait, really?” You straighten your posture, putting the rest of your own cigarette out in the ashtray. “Oh my God, I thought I was imagining things.”

Hansol presses his brows together. “You knew?”

“No!” You quickly say. “Not really. I mean, I thought you might’ve been flirting with me this whole time, but I was kind of worried it was just because of the fact we were on vacation and had spent a lot of time together. I didn’t think you really–”

You barely have time to register the fact that his lips are on yours before he’s cupping your face, and backing you into the wall. Your eyes flutter closed as you melt into his touch almost immediately. His lips are soft as they move against yours, slowly and carefully like he’s savoring every moment of it–like he’ll never get the opportunity again. 

But, really, you’d like to do this every second of every day with him now that you know what kissing him feels like. 

Hansol pulls away momentarily, prompting you to open your eyes. His chest is quickly rising and falling from the adrenaline of suddenly kissing you. His own cheeks are flushed, but the way he’s looking at you makes you weak in the knees. It’s in a way that not even Seungcheol has looked at you: with so much adoration. 

“So,” he sighs, his breath fanning against your face, “do you want to be my real girlfriend or whatever?”

You shrug lazily, trying to be nonchalant with him. But your giddy grin gives you away when you say, “I mean, I guess I will. Or whatever.”

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Your bags are sitting at the end of you bed still only half packed. You loved packing, the meticulous nature of it was everything you loved. Sometime for big trips you even made yourself a list before hand so that you could get the thrill of crossing the packed items off. But with this trip the packing process had not gone as planned, you kept putting it off, until the very last minute. The night before your early morning flight to Seoul. You were ecstatic to have the opportunity but the excitement did not ease the ever growing nerves bubbling over in your stomach.

Your cell rings loudly through your small apartment, but nevertheless you still cant find the device. Sorting through your closest, dresser and sheets and still you cant find the where the sound is coming from. Finally you the low moon light reveals your phone on your bed side table - where you always keep it- It's your boss Danielle — Dani to you and her friends — Dani was calling most likely to scold you for not being packed. She most definitely knew of you delay with the project, as she is the person you go to in any sort of crisis. She didn't have to give you grief but as the closest thing to a mother figure in the city she took it upon herself as soon as she hired you as her assistant. 

Most people roll their eyes and feel bad for you mention your job. But its not as bad as. the movies make it out to be at least not with Dani. She was always so sweet and supportive. She even made sure that you were working on you own career. You had just graduated fashion school and were looking for any entry level job that had anything to do with fashion, designing, or styling. So when almost 3 months had gone by and you were still eating on tables at a crumby dinner you broke and put out an add as a personal assistant. You never thought you'd get lucky enough to think that Danielle Morrison would reply asking you to come in for an interview and offer you the job on the spot, but here you were a year and a half later getting her phone call at eleven pm. 

"So how long till your fully packed?" She asks dismissing the idea of starting a conversation with 'hello'. "Because I know you well enough to know that you pack my bag before you packed your own." She laughs taking a drink of her red wine. You may not be able to see her but its definitely what she's drinking. 

"About an hour." You answer putting the phone on speaker and throwing it down on the duvet with a small thud.

"Ugh, well were gonna be gone for almost two months so don't forget to over pack. Better to have to much than too little." You can hear the thump of her heels on her desk. 

" I am aware of the length of out stay, considering I booked our hotels and flights." You giggle reminding her of who really should be bossing around who. "Okay well I think I can lock in and get this done pretty quick if I'm not distracted. So bye! I love you and I'll see you in a few hours for our flight. The car is picking you up at 5:30 sharp. Please set your alarm for earlier I know its gonna take you longer than 20 minutes to wake up unlike you claim. " Yup laugh and end the call before she can scold you again. 

The morning light is barely visual when you wake up in the morning. Your coffee has already start brewing sending the magical sent of caffeinated perfection your way. The hot beverage burns the roof of your mouth but you keep drinking knowing that you won't have much time for a proper breakfast. 

As expected the car arrives much to quickly for your liking. Popping your ear buds in and shuffling your favorite pop punk playlist- All American Rejects might now be for everyone at five am its always been prefect for you- you head down the three flights of stairs with your 4 separate bags. Some people may have considered it over packing but you worked in fashion so to much was probably not enough. Henry, Dani's and by association, your driver took your bags and stuffed them in the back of the black SUV. you hopped in the front and closed your eyes. Early morning traffic always seemed to be worse when you were heading to Dani's so you thought there may be a chance for a minute or two extra of sleep. 

Dani's building was a lot nicer than yours. With tall glass walls and all the amenities a person could dream of, it was by far one of the nicer complexes in Manhattan. Not only do you call her but you also make sure to buzz her apartment and send her more than one text before you finally receive a response of a simple 'one minute' text from your boss. After twelve and a half minutes of waiting she finally greets your and henry with a cheesy grin followed by a mean glare. You and henry take the bags from the door man and load them into the car with you own. Her six bags give you a sigh of relief at your own luggage situation. 

You don't speak a word to Dani the whole car ride. You learned the hard way that she is not a morning person. Even after three cups of coffee she would still give you the death glare if you spoke a word to her before noon. 

Henry parks the car and unloads the ten bags onto and cart and even pushes it to the the checking station for you. You check all of the bags and direct Dani to security in silence. You would think that 6 am would be a slow time at the airport but after living in new york for 5 years you realize that the saying is true even for the airport the city really never slept. Waiting in the endless TSA line was something you had gotten used to over the last year and a half. You traveled with Dani a lot and really did enjoy it but sometimes your heart ached to stay home and cuddled in your bed with a scary movie. But in order to live your dreams you've learned that there will not only be sacrifices but a lot of them. 

You get through TSA and head straight for the only good coffee shop in the airport knowing you'll meet Dani at the lounge with her own coffee order and breakfast. 

the coffee in one hand and ham and cheese croissant ,sending heavenly cheese smells to your nostrils, you scan your boarding pass and make your way into the airport lounge. Out of all the perks of your job this may just be your favorite. You had always thought that time at the airport was such a waist. With all the noise and people you were never able to get any work done. And with the fact that you were never technically off the clock the waisted time at the airport always made you feel a little guilty. So when Dani finally hit 75,000 a year on her credit card you knew you had to bite at the opportunity to get yourself some much earned you time while still at waiting for your plane. 

You set the flat white in front of Dani and pull our her croissant. She smiles from behind her laptop and bites into the sandwich. You think she might orgasm from the smell alone but thankfully her mind and body stays fully intact. You pull out your tablets and keyboard and begin to edit the document containing Dani schedule for the next two months. You had meticulously planned every single minute of the work trip, just as she had asked you to. 

Before you know it you are boarding the plane and settling in your seat. With such a long flight you had booked your self in first class and and Dani at the absolute front of plane, just like she liked. She much preferred to be the first to be served on a flight. You were in the middle with another seat on the left of you. You went to activate the thin vinyl separator in between the seats but it wasn't going up. You wave down an attendant and ask her if you had done something wrong. She informs you that unfortunately there had been a malfunction with this seat and the wall couldn't go up. She apologies and offers a complimentary drink and snack for the inconvenience. You take up her offer and ask for a mimosa and fruit. Who said morning drinking was out?

The plane has gone still and quiet when the tall stranger sat in the seat across from you. He immediately closed the shade on the window and settles into his seat. He flips off his hood to reveal the perfect strawberry blonde hair cropped right over his ears and falling in his eyes. He sports Ray Bans and large head phones. He glance over to find you staring and smiles with a small wave, you take a drink of your mimosa and focus back to your tablet. 

Once you're in the air you start to work on your own designs knowing that you'll need to have this dress done by the time you are back to the states. Your sister had asked you to complete it a few months ago for her senior prom. You had sketched out the skirt and top but the design and colors just weren't coming to you. 

"Wow you look determined." The low voice says next to you. On your left the owner of the voice stares at you with a small smirk. 

"Oh yeah, I'm just working on a sketch." you say, forming my lips into a thin line. 

"Oh your an artist. Can I see what your working on?"

"Oh, well I'm really in to the middle of something and it not even close to done." you push out a pitiful laugh and play your music again. 

"Oh come on, I'm sure their great! Just give me a peak!" He insists practically reaching over the separator to look at your tablet. you scoot over and pull the tablet close to your chest. "Seriously? Don't be humble. I'm sure its not that bad!" 

"Dude she obviously doesn't want to talk to you much less show you her work. Just fuck off man." A different softer voice says above you. The voice belongs to the sunglasses wearing man on your right. He's standing over you glaring at the man on your left. The first speaker rolls his eyes and presses play on his film subsequently leaving you alone. You look up to the second man with a soft smile and mouth a thank you. He quickly turns and heads to the front of the plane for the restroom. You focus back onto the sketch you were previously working on but your head keeps taking you back to the voice of the man to your left. The soft easy nature of it with the hint of a Korean accent. You hadn't gotten a great look at his face but you knew just from the little interaction that he had to have been beautiful. 

You give up on the sketch and decided that stretching your legs using the restroom would be the best option. You head over the restrooms and enter the small cabin. Washing you face and hands you open the cabin door with a jolt almost bumping into the man in front of you. Which much to your relief is the man sitting on your left. You see now that you assumption was correct. With high soft cheek bones and the most perfect lips he smiles taking a step back. 

"Sorry, I thought the lavatory was empty." He laughs letting out his easy going voice once again. 

"You're fine. Its all yours now." You grin holding the door for him. 

"Thanks, your the girl sitting next to me aren't you?" He asks keeping you tethered to the conversation. 

"Yeah, thanks again for telling that guy off. I appreciate it!" You thank him again attempting to slide back to your seat he grabs your attention again. 

"Do you wanna switch?" You give him a questioning look. "Seats I mean. switch seats. So that you don't have to sit next that dick." He explain himself further. 

"Oh no, its fine he really hasn't bothered me much. but thanks anyway." You wave him off. 

"Okay well if you change you mind just give me a look and we can switch right away." He smiles stuffing himself into the small restroom cabin. 

You sit back at your seat and are immediately greeted by the other man grinning at you possessively. You turn away from him and decide that you might as well take the offer that you were previously given. 

When the man on the left comes back to his seat you look at him with much dismay in your eyes. He doesn't even sit down. Just grabs his orange juice and lets you slide into his seat. He slides himself into yours and hands you your water across the the aisle. 

"So, do I get a name?" You ask bravely. Letting the blush hit your ears. He looks over to you with a sweet smile. 

"Yeonjun." His name sounds like sunshine in a bottle and describes him perfectly. You give him your name and fall into a perfect set of conversation. Finding out that he is from Seoul but was in New York for work. He listens intently when you tell him about your preparations for Seoul fashion week and that you'll only be in the city for two months. He jokes at showing you around the city and a blush creeps along his cheeks when you said you would take him up on it. After what seems like 15 minutes and not nearly seven hours hours the plan lands in Seoul. Yeonojun slips his sunglasses back on and his hood back up and stays in his seat. 

"It was nice to meet you." He looks up as you throw your bag over your shoulder. 

"It was nice to meet you too Yeonjun." 

With the flight behind you and a surge of confidence after your brief flirtatious conversation you take Seoul in with a large deep breath. The air is sticky from recent rain but you don't mind. Rain was something you missed so much from Washington. 

Dani and you meet right outside of the gate and trade brief pleasantries before heading straight to baggage claim. Pushing your joint bags up what seemed to be a 70 degree angle had to be the hardest thing you had done in your life. You love Dani but sometimes she can be a bit oblivious to the task at hand. 

You find the car picking you up load everything into the trunk. Its smaller than the SUV you usually take but you don't mind just thankful you won't have to figure out the Seoul Metro system. Its nearly four PM hear but its only three AM back home. So your hotel bed immediately envelopes your body as soon as you walk into you chilly room. 

After hours of sleep and a glorious shower you head down to the complimentary breakfast to start you day. Dani has not broken her slumber so you make a note to wake her in a hour. Knowing she will thank you for getting a head start on her day even if she does not want to be woken right away. 

With the day schedule revised, Dani's coffee order in hand, you march to the second floor neglecting to take the elevator simply because you know you can use the steps. Your own iced vanilla latte practically slips out of your hand when you make your final decent. You take a thirsty gulp and press a light knock on Dani's door. No sound comes from behind the door. You wait and are utterly disappointed but not surprised when you only hear silence. You pull out your last option and swipe the key card you had printed for her room.

"Wakey, wakey! Sorry but your sweet dreams have come to end no you just get me and the perfect 50 degree weather." You shout setting her coffee down on the side table. She turns over in her bed and gives you one of the worst glares she's ever laid on you. "The no talking before noon rule was revoked when we got to Seoul Dani. So get your ass up and dressed. I already had your out fit steamed and pressed." You say handing her the garment bag. She takes a large deep drink of her coffee you think there isn't a way she didn't burn her entire mouth in the process but that's the thing about Dani, she's practically not human.

After Dani is dressed and properly caffeinated you head to to the office you'll be working out of for the next two months. Originally the directors of Seoul fashion week told Dani she didn't need to come out so early to prepare but her being the stubborn goat, she was insisted.

The company had set aside an office for Dani to work and already had it fully accustomed to her liking. The fact that you didn't have to run around like a chicken with its head cut off making her office perfect gives you a sigh of relief and saves a good 45 minutes of your day. 

You dive into you work going through emails, sending emails, proofreading emails. You could've practically been an email genius by now! But after some time you notice the clock tick a little past twelve. Putting in a lunch order and an additional soda for your boss you tell her you'd be heading out for lunch. Dani smiles and waves you off, to engrossed in her own designs and work to notice you leave. 

You push the elevator doors to open and walk in attempting to balance your computer, tablet and every other random items in your large leather bag. The Elevator moves down two floors and the doors open again. You turn to the side leaning farther in to your phone. Unfortunately this causes a domino effect and all the items you've been attempting to keep stable tumble out of you bag and onto the floor. 

Leaning down and picking up your items the man next to mirrors your motions. Only when he looks up from the ground do you notice you've met before. 

"Yeonjun." You speak. The blonde boy looks up quickly and lights up the cabin with his smile. 

"Hi." He lets out breathless. "What are you doing here?" he adds a curious look on his face. 

"This is where me and my boss are working out of for our stay. We got here this morning." You chime with a little more giddiness than you would like to admit. He smiles back but doesn't offer you a reply. His stupid sunglasses sit on his nose as if untouched from the first time you saw him. 

"So you're getting ready for fashion week, but that's not for another six weeks. Why come so early?" He asks leaning against the back wall of the elevator. You laugh and explain the reasoning for Dani's need to be ahead of the rest of the designers on the runway for fashion week. He simple nods along keeping eye contact. 

"So what are you doing here? You never told me what you do?" You enquire hoping to gain a little more information about the man next to you. At the exact moment you finish you question the elevator doors open again and invite a large group of men and women into the small space. You're quickly shoved up against the wall with Yeonjun in toe next to you. He smiles and looks down at his feet as if ready to kick every other person in the elevator out and down the the shaft so he can answer you. But nevertheless he stays silent with that damn grin plastered across his face. He close enough that you can smell his cologne, leather, the deep sweet smell that is distinctly the soft pliable fabric. You think that it may be the best thing you've ever 

The doors open up and lets the large group of people and yourself out onto the first floor. 

"I'll see you round Chanel!" He calls as he heads the opposite direction. You smile and wave politely. The nickname came from a conversation you had only yesterday. When you mentioned working in fashion, he attached himself to the one brand he knew 'Chanel'. You found it endearing that he even remembered your conversation. 

Out on the street you notice a large crowd of people gathering at the sidewalk across fro the building. Many of them being held back by a metal barrier and multiple security guards. You wave the thought aside and head in the direction of the restaurant. 

By the time you get back to work your stomach has been angry for too long and fingers are starting to shake from hunger. You devour the sandwich chips and soda you had ordered. You even indulged in a cookie from the restaurant after more than one patron recommended it. 

Dani sits in her office unaware of the rest of the world. You slip in as quiet as possible as to not wake the beast. 

"You've barely touched your lunch, can I get you something different? Something you'd enjoy more?" You request, leaning against her desk. The low light of her office brings a relaxing feeling to your stomach the pale light from the window makes you want to take a seat in the plush chair in front of her desk and simply just chat with her. 

"No, I'm okay, just not super hungry. My stomach has been acting weird all day." She admits looking up at you earnestly. You push her comically large water bottle a little closer to her and give her a stern look. She take along drink and lets out a refreshing 'ahhhh'. You at her and head back to your desk and laptop. Taking your own advice and sipping on your water. 

Time seems to slow as the afternoon lulls on. Many people go in and of you temporary space, some meeting with you others speaking with Dani, but it mostly just turns to a blur of bodies and voices. 

The sun starts set letting a golden ambiance into your space. You attempt to shoo your boss out of her office and back to the hotel for dinner and bed, but she insists on staying a little longer to finish her project. Sitting in your chair with your tablet in your lap you scratch away at the over done design in your hands. You're about to erase the entire thing when a soft voice breaks you from your dazed state. 

"Hey Chanel." Yeonjun flirts the blush evident on his cheeks but but his confident smile eases the color. 

"Hiya!" You shout already seeming to excited to be in his presence him again. The thing about talking with Yeonjun was that the world seemed to speed up and slow down at the same time. It was like you were the only people in room and no one else mattered. Its funny to think that you are already so comfortable with him considering the short time you've known him. And it wasn't only his words but his presence and his scent, god his scent drove you crazy. 

"What are you doing here?" You shake away the thoughts of his cologne from your head and nostrils. Wanting to simply be here. 

"Wanna to talk to you, actually!" He smiles leaning against your desk. You can already feel the color strike your face, you must look like a freaking lobster after Yeonjuns words.

"Me?" you ask pathetically as if he was asking the potted plant behind you. 

"Yeah." He laughs. "I wanted to ask if you wanted to joining me for dinner tomorrow?" He breathes letting his chest fall. He must have been nervous because after the words fall from his mouth because you can hear that his breathing is a little more even now. 

"Oh." You practically tip over in you chair. "Why?" you let, out embarrassed at the idiotic response. "I mean, not why, I don't know. I- sorry. I'm just shocked." You stop before you let more words out. Of course you had been flirting with him, he had been a cute guy you most likely would never see again, running into him today was never part of your plan. The plan which was more of a unstructured idea of fun and whimsy. And getting asked out on your second day in Seoul was also not part of your plan. Or your unstructured idea of fun and whimsy. You didn't mind, but god you were only here for 2 months, 8 weeks! You cant go out with a guy who lives half way across the world. You just cant, its not realistic. You rub slow circles over your arm. attempting to push your stomach down from your throat. 

"Well," he laughs again stopping himself mid sentence. " I thought you were into me." He states plainly. And of course it was plain. You were into him. He was your airport crush. The guy you make googly eyes over, maybe get he chance to flirt with once and then have a wet dream about three weeks later. Not the guy that actually asks you out. "But I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry." He waves standing from your desk and starts to go back the other way. 

"Wait!" You shout leaping out of your seat. Grasping at his wrist. He turns back to you and gives you a wry smile. "Its not that I'm not into you. I was just wasn't expecting it is all." Your out of breath by the time your up and next to him. " I am definitely into you." he smiles at your addition making him radiate pure sunshine. " But I still cant go out with you." Your voice breaks with the realistic truth. Yeonjums face falls and its as if a large storm cloud has passed over his entire being. 

"Oh, well can I ask why not?" He's kind about the question and you almost don't provide him an answer but with the heart breaking frown on his face you give in.

"I mean I'm only here for two months and I really don't do casual. Or at least I try not to. I just don't want to start something neither of us can finish. You know?" The answer seems good enough to perk him back up but his face stays turned down in the moon cast light. 

"I understand. Thanks for being honest though. An hey if you end up changing you mind take this." He bends over your desk stealing a pen and sticky note, writing 10 numbers down. "text me anytime." He hands you the note and proceeds on his way. " Goodnight Chanel!" He waves, his lips finally turning up the slightest bit 

After effectively pushing Dani out of her office and tucking her in you roll into bed yourself. But you are one unlucky bastard because instead of being blessed with the perfection of a dreamy sleep you lie awake thinking about none other than Yeonjun. You wished you could've said yes, could've indulged in a date with him, but your entire life is in New York. I mean you were based there with Dani and you apartment was there. Which was really it but that's still a lot you argue. What if you end up really falling for him just to be dragged back to the US and have him stay here in Korea. It just wasn't feasible but realism doesn't keep you from dreaming about what you would wear to dinner and how he would drape coat around you when its cold. About how he would hold you hand and walk you on the inside of the street. How his hand would feel on you waist, on your hips. How your lips would feel when he finally closes the distance between you. How his body would feel flush against yours. How his hand would feel between your thighs. How his soft voice would sound in your ears praising you for how you were behaving. You practically moan at the thought. 

The next morning your surprised to find a text lighting up your phone. 

Dani ✨: Please dear god bring me water!?!? I cant stop throwing up 😭

You: OMG I'll be right there!!!!!!!

You sprint down to the lobby and grab three bottles of water and the best anti nausea medicine they have. You then heave yourself back up the stairs and don't even bother with knocking. You find Dani hanging over the toilet with a horrible pout. 

"Oh my god! What the fuck?" You gasp at the disgusting sight of your boss sitting on the bathroom floor actively beginning to vomit again. You drop the bottles and medicine and pull her hair out of her face. Coughing and dry heaving for another 2 minutes you keep your hand on her back attempting to soothe her in any way possible. She sits up after this round puking seems to be over. 

"I haven't thrown up like this since i was still clubbing and drank like a maniac." She laughs still effortlessly charming even when sick. You coax some water and meds into her and after it seems that she wont be throwing up at least for a little while longer you move her to her bed. You tuck her in and grab the ice bucket lining it with a bag just in case. She attempts to shoo you off saying she doesn't want to get you sick, but you insist on taking care of her. You sit on the opposite side of her and turn on the TV. 

"Wait, I really don't want to watch cable television." She cries grasping at the remote. 

"Okay well I know you well enough to know you are gonna get bored sitting here." You laugh pushing a strand of her hair out of her color drained face. 

"You're right! So tell me about your day yesterday! We barely talked. I already miss gabbing with you!" She gushes laying herself farther into her pillows. You roll your eyes. 

"My day was boring, nothing even happened." You say turning towards her. Even though that was technically a lie you keep the whole Yeonjun situation to yourself knowing she will only force you to go into explicit detail and then torture you until you go to dinner with him. She knew you hadn't been on a date in a long time and would definitely be using it against you. 

"That's a lie ma'am. You have a tell. I saw you talking with someone yesterday evening!  Who was it?! He looked cute!" She wiggles her eyebrows. 

"I do not have a tell!" You roll your eyes again and proceed to easily give in. "But I was talking with someone." Blushing you tell her everything from the plane ride to the the embarrassing encounter and prompt rejection by you. 

"You said no?!?!?" She screams practically bursting your ear drums. "Why would you say no? He sounds like your dream guy! And he works in fashion! He sounds like a fucking catch!" She beats you with a pillow. You dodge the blow and take the pillow from her 

"You're right he does. But I live in New York. Not Seoul." You remind her. The silence sits thick between you. You know shes thinking of a way to convince you to go on this date. But you ignore her wishes and turn the TV on anyway. Flipping through channels of commercials and cheaply made movies. 

You start considering the date in your mind. Rolling over the idea of what it would mean to go out with Yeonjun. I mean would it have to mean anything? You think. Maybe not? But again it could mean a lot and then you'd leave after 2 months and you would be completely heart broken. You did want to go but you didn't want to end up back in New York hating yourself

"Okay, why is that such a bad thing though. This doesn't have to be serious! Like you could just go on a date some quick dick and then head out! I mean lets be honest how long has it been since you got hot and heavy with someone?" She asks prodding the questing even further. "And no your vibrator does not count." She laughs. You take the moment to hit here back with the pillow and ignore her accusations. 

With HGTV in the background you think to yourself how long it has actually been. Over a year is what you guess. The end of your relationship with Marcus, your former boyfriend, was anything but hot. But that's another reason not to go! You might not be ready for a date, even something casual. 

"Oh my god! I can feel your brooding from here!" Dani shouts. Breaking you from said brooding. "Please just jump in head first and go out with him. I wouldn't be where I am if I didn't take risks and jump with out looking. And In my opinion my life is great!" She brags pumping out her chest. Rolling your eyes for umpteenth time today you simply glare at her. "As I am your boss, I will be making the decision for you. You are going on this date. in fact I'm gonna take you shopping right now. No work today only date preparations!" she squeals sitting up in her bed. 

"Dani, no way! You were just violently throwing up like an hour ago! Besides going on a date right now would only distract me. This is a work trip after all. " 

"Who cares if its a work trip?! You should go even if its just to have a nice meal and get to dress up. And now I feel a million times better anyway. Please! I wanna go shopping so bad." Shes basically on her hands and knees begging you. You let out a huff and cross your arms over your chest. 

"Then go shopping for yourself Dani. I don't need to go on a date. I shouldn't go on a date." 

"Okay fine. i wasn't gonna pull out this card but we've gotten to the point where i need to." Dani stature suddenly becomes serious. More serious than you've seen her in a long time. You think the only you've seen her this serious was her own wedding, you had just began to work for her. Many of her bridesmaids had warned you 'she usually isn't this quiet. you're in for a real treat.' they joked. now you thought maybe the only things she took seriously were the people she loved. 

"you haven't been the same for a little while. I'm not sure exactly what it is but i can tell something is up. I don't think a date could solve all of your problems but I think it could get your mind off of the things that you shouldn't be focusing on." Her words are honest and laced with care. You can tell she really does want the best for you. 

"Fine. Let me text him quick." 

Shopping with Dani wasn't like shopping with anyone else. It was more ritualistic. And much more expensive. It turns out that her pleading wasn't entirely selfless. That's how you find yourself in a locked room of the top floor of the Seoul Hermes. Wishing to yourself you had never said yes to a shopping spree or a date with Yeonjun. You had accompanied Dani to many quota bag appointments. So the mysterious nature of the whole tryst wasn't foreign to you. You had seen your fair share of the New York Hermes and even owned a few products, kindly given to you for Christmas by your boss of course. 

With your second glass of champagne in hand the navy loveseat dips dips under your weight. Across from you Dani leans over the orange box a small woosh sounds as she lifts the lid . Practically oozing over the leather item, she speaks with the sales associate and shakes her hand. The box is slid into a matching orange bag. 

With bags strewn across you shoulder you finally get to the shop that you can afford with a few more dress you like. The shop is small nothing like the shops that Dani frequents. It smells like sweets. It wafts through the air giving the store a homey atmosphere. You flip through the options and pull out few, setting them aside to try on. Dani reminds you to go out of your comfort zone. She pulls a few dresses you would never wear in the light of day but you add them to your pile nonetheless, simply to please her. 

With soft pop playing in the over had speakers you start with a baby blue floor length dress that you and Dani immediately decide washes you out too much. You then move onto a short yellow dress but the sequins are scratchy seemingly leaving a little rash on your thigh. After ten more dresses, four different pairs of heels. A few tours of the jewelry case and the citrus scent of many top shelf perfu,es still lingering in the air. You decide on a short sleeveless black dress with white fringe on the edges. It hugs your curves gently and falls right at the middle of your thigh. Dani pairs it with a strappy black heel with silver hardware. She also insists on getting you a new black clutch to go along with the outfit. 

Sitting with Dani in her hotel room was a chaotic unlike her shopping tendencies this was completely off the wall. Loud R&B fills the bathroom bouncing off the walls and back to your ears as Dani paints your face with red lip stick, its the third one she's tried tonight on you. And she finally found a winner. Squealing through the music she basically leaps into the air. 

"You look incredible, girlie!" She screams playing with your perfect curls. You stand and take a look at yourself in the mirror the dress extenuates everything it needs to. The make up leaves you speechless, your eyes pop perfectly with the dress and the silver shimmer Dani applied and the red lipstick is truly the exact right color. Yeonjun had texted you back saying he would pick you up at 6:30 it was now 6:00 and you were trying to get over the nervous feeling in your belly.

You head back to you room and grab the clutch from the dresser putting your phone, wallet, and, a few other things in there you might need. In your own bathroom you spritz on your Chanel No 5. You almost always saved it for special occasions but you convince yourself to use the one Chanel product you own. If only to use it as a conversation starter. At 6:24 exactly a soft knock lands on your door. 

You open the door and find Yeonjun with a light blue and white striped shirt with a black blazer over top. He's holding a bouquet of blush pink peonies. His eyes go wide when he takes you in. 

"Wow, you look," His sentence falls off as his eyes roam down your body. "incredible." He finishes,limply handing you the flowers. You can smell them from your side of the door, fresh and faintly rainy "For you. I wasn't sure what your favorite was but these looked nice." He offers, 

"Thank you, that's sweet." You smile taking the flowers, you step deeper into the room. You find a glass and fill it with water. Peeling the paper off the flowers you slip them into the glass and look up. Yeonjun is watching you from the door way in complete awe.

"Ready?" You ask walking closer to him. He nods and closes the door behind you. You walk to the elevator in silence. It's not the stiff silence but a kind , soft, silence. In the elevator he hovers his hand over your shoulder leading you out of the cabin. He slides his sun glass over his eyes and pushes you to the door. A black SUV waits outside the hotel. Yeonjun holds the door for you and then offers you a hand up to the vehicle. Yeonjun and the driver speak briefly in Korean and the car sets off into the city. 

"So where are you taking me?" You tease, crossing you legs in the seat. 

"Just a restaurant uptown. I hope you like traditional Korean food because that's all they serve." He smiles. 

"Well I love the Korean spot in my neighborhood back home so I can imagine how amazing this will be." You card a hand through your hair and turn back to the view of the city. 

The SUV has the perfect new car smell, clean, comfortable. Even the vehicle Henry drives doesn't smell this good. The ride isn't long, only a few minutes from your hotel. Yeonjun again helps you from the car but instead of letting go of your hand when you make your decent he holds it tight and leads you into the restaurant. 

The dimly lit dinning room is covered with maroons and golds. You can smell the salt and spice from the hostess table. The entire space reeks of money. Yeonjun gives the hostess his name and she leads you both to a secluded booth near the back of the restaurant. You pick up a menu and scan over the options.

"Ok, well unfortunately I speak no Korean so I think it would be wise for you to just order and i'm sure i'll love it!" You laugh looking up from your menu to find Yeonjun already smiling at you. He nods and waves over the waitress. He speaks with her quickly and hands her the menus. 

"I hope you like bokbunja?" He leans in. You look at him dumb founded as the word is nothing but a jumble of letters to you. " Its blackberry wine." he explains. 

"Oh, fuck yeah!" You exclaim, his face falls. "Oh my god, were at this beautiful restaurant and I just dropped the f bomb. I'm so sorry." You apologize letting your head fall into your hands. 

"Don't apologize I was just surprised. You don't seem like a girl who would curse." He eases himself into his chair . 

"Yeah, that what people say a lot, but in all honesty I kinda have the mouth of a sailor." 

"Hell fucking yeah." He states calmly. His voice has that perfect sway the it always does. The slight hum that he adds after each of his sentences makes you smile. His smile widens a laugh spilling from his lungs. "So you grew up in Washington. Why New York?" 

"Fashion lives in New York. There isn't a better place for it besides maybe Milan." 

"Seoul is pretty amazing for fashion. I think at least." 

"Yeah, I will say there is nothing like the style here. So did you go to school here?" 

"I uh studied entrainment at Global Cyber ​​University. Where did you go to school?" 

The conversation flows easily, you eventually let your guard down. Something you haven't done with any body but Dani in a long time. The discussion moves from small talk to something much deeper. You learn the little things, hes an only child, among other things, he adores mint chocolate chips ice cream. 

After your third glass of bokbunja the sweet drink begins to inebriate your senses. You laugh at another one of of Yeonjuns jokes which simply sets you over the edge. You slap the table and look up at the man across from you. 

"Would you like dessert?" Yeonjun speaks you shake you head letting him know that you are completely full.

"Thank you though, this was an amazing meal and the company wasn't horrible either." You blush pushing a curl behind your ear. "I think that maybe we should do this again." You admit, giving him a sweet smile. 

"Well if you want. My flat isn't far. We can keep chatting have some coffee." You can see that he does really want to talk to you more so you agree and head out of the dimly lit restaurant. 

In the car ride back to his flat Yeonjun continues to listen to your stories of New York. He laughs and scoots closer to you. 

"So how did you get in fashion? I don't think I ever asked." He asks taking your hand and leading you out of the car. 

"I always knew I wanted to do something with clothes. I mean every girl runs around the house playing dress up but I was meticulous about it. Everyone of my friends had to be color coordinated and have the perfect accessories. All my friends hated that I wouldn't let them wear missed matched dresses and pants. And then when I got to high school I took a home ec class and learned that I loved sewing and one thing lead to another and before I knew it I was in New York for fashion school." There was a lot more to the story than just that but even if you did feel comfortable with him Yeonjun didn't need to know everything about your life. Not right away anyways. 

His home reflects him with beautiful with marble floors and wooden accents. Yeonjun definitely has taste. It even has his perfect deep leather smell. You immediately notice the low lighting, perfect for an after date rendezvous. 

You both slip off your shoes and walk farther into the home. His couch is in the middle of the apartment, sitting in front of a large TV. On the couch left is a slab of wood carved into a table with plush cream chairs surrounding it. His kitchen is on the other side of the dining table. 

"Would you like something to drink? I have soju or water or I can make coffee." Yeonjun opens the fridge, loetting the garlicy scent waft over you. He must have made an incrdibly rich dish for the entire kitchen to smell so pungent. 

"I would love some water." Leaning on the counter, you feel oddly bare with out your heels on. Yeonjun hands you a bottle of water and you sip it slowly. 

"Wanna sit?" He's already half way to the couch when he makes the suggestion. You sit on the lush couch and tuck your legs under you. With your dress slideing up your thigh and you don't move to pull it back down to entranced in the story Yeonjun is telling you. You scoot closer to him with out thinking, you fingers make thoughtless circles around his bicep. The action obviously goes straight to his head because his shit grin is plastered back on his face. 

You lift a hand to push your hair out of you face but Yeonjun beats you to it. Fingers linger down your jaw line and the feeling is ice cold. You both go quiet not wanting to break the tension. And for a horribly long minute Yeonjun sits as close to you as possible. His eyes wander from your eyes to your lips and back. You mirror his actions taking in his own soft lips with you eyes. They are the best shade of pink, the cupids bow connecting at the top of his mouth. 

He finally closes the distance between the two of you. You kiss him back falling into his chest. His hand moves from your cheek to you waist and he pulls you closer to him. You breath him in wishing to tug him closer. His other hand has made its way to the back of you neck, he moves you slightly to deepen the kiss. Your lips slowley part letting his open with them. His tongue glides over yours delicately. He withdraws from you, taking in a deep breath. You smile at him for a minute before diving back into his mouth. He tastes like the wine you've been drinking, perfectly sweet with an aftertaste of a sour bite. It seems almost sweeter coming off him. You moan into him while you lift yourself out of a seated position and onto his lap, a leg on either side of his waist. You let your weight fully fall on him and find the friction near your core even more enticing than the messy kiss. You paw at his jacket attempting to shove it off of him. He breaks the kiss and looks at you earnestly for a moment. 

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asks face full of honesty. 

"Yes definitely." You connect your mouths again and finally push off his jacket. He grabs at your ass pulling you flush against him. You grind down further searching for any sort of friction. Before you can protest Yeonjun grabs your waist and picks you up off the couch. Wrapping you legs around his waist you look at him with wonder. 

"I haven't given you a proper tour. Why don't I show you my bedroom." He quips laying a light kiss on your neck. Moaning at the contact. He walks you both from the couch to the bed room with relative ease. He closes the door behind him and leans against it.With you still in his arms he begins to kiss at your neck again. He begins to suck and bite right wear your neck and shoulder connect. 

"Yeonj," The name falls of your tongue but is interrupted by the soothing feeling of his own tongue on the bitten spot undoubtedly leaving a purple mark. He toys with the zipper of your dress and snags it down. With your body press completely to his chest keeps the fabric up right. 

He continues to the bed and promptly drops you onto the matteress with a bounce the top of you dress falls down revealing the black and pink set you picked out to go under. Yeonjun marvels at you. You think he might as well be comatose and he hasn't even seen you naked yet. Taking this time you sluff off your dress the rest of the way to showing off the full set. You blush at his reaction, seemingly dumbfounded. 

"Are we gonna continue or are just going to stand there with your jaw on the ground?" You tease with a silly smile. He immediately falls to his knees and begins kiss the inside of your thighs. Instantly your hand find his strawberry blonde hair. He begins to do what he had done to your neck earlier, leave obvious marks and bites. After a torturously long time he finally lands right where you need him. His fingers yank at the fabric between him and your core. He slides them down past your knees and throws them god knows where. 

He's back and attached to you again in a moment. He laps up the wetness that has emerged from your core. He grunts into you like a man starved. His tongue rolls over your folds and teases your hole. 

"Jun, please don't tease." You cry pulling his face closer to your ever heating cunt. You grind down on his face feeling his nose bump your clit. At the contact you moan out his name again. He notices the reaction and redirects his attention to the neglected bud. With precise circles of his tongue he slowly makes you unravel. He replaces his tongue with his thumb and continues his previous task. Slowly he begins to fuck your hole with his tongue. In and out at the perfect pace, his thumb doesn't slow down either, simply keeping up with his tongue. 

"Oh my god, I'm close!" You cry out begging for more. He obliges by quickening his pace and eating every ounce of arousal around his mouth. He rips his hand away from your clit and quickly start to suck on it. His finger speedily replaces his tongue as he thrusts up into you, your plush walls convulsing around him. When he adds a second finger you break, the tense knot in your belly breaks and your orgasm runs over you. Yeonjun continues to fuck you with his fingers dragging out your high. 

When his hand leaves your throbbing core you sit up to look at him. His face is a bright red obviously out of breath. His shirt has yet to come off. You quickly stand to your knees ignoring the pain that comes with the motion. You unbutton his shirt as he continues to kiss your neck. You push off the fabric and let it drop to the ground. His under shit is slight see through with all the sweat that its absorbed. 

He rips it off and to reveal a perfectly sculpted body. Your hands fall from his neck to his pecs. Much like earlier you make aimless cirles on his skin. He begins to kiss you again lying you down on his bed. Your hands blindly find his belt buckle and begin to undo the loops. While you work on his belt he lift up your chest and snaps off your bra letting your tits fall free. He pulls back from the kiss and has the same look he had on his face before. 

"What do you think? As amazing as you imagined?" You quip finishing off his belt and throwing it to the side with your own discarded clothes. He simply laughs and nods in regard to your question. His hand finds your breasts and makes aimless shapes around them kneading them in his palms. He begins to focus on your nipples with his thumbs. You scratch at his back letting your nails almost break the skin. His hands move from your nipples to you waist. He kisses down your neck connecting his mouth to your chest. His tongue circles the erect bud, sucking tediously. He pulls you closer and farther into his mouth. He slides from one to the other making sure to give treat each equally. The slickness of your breast from Yeonjuns mouth goes unnoticed by you. More concerned about the wetness in between your thighs. "Please Jun. I need you in me." You beg your hands moving to his pants. 

"Just wanna make my baby feel good." He mumbles drunk on your skin. 

You push his slacks down to his knees. His boxers have a small damp patch letting you know that you are not the only one affected in the situation. You move to push down his boxers but he pulls back.

"Shit!" He exclaims. You give him a questioning look. "I don't have protection." He speaks, dragging a hand down his face. 

"Seriously?! You don't keep a box of condoms by your bed what kind of man are you?!" You shout crossing your arms over your bare chest. The area sticky from saliva. "God I have to do everything don't I. Go grab my clutch by the door I have brought a pack." You direct. He sprints out the door leaving you to sprawl across the vast bed. He back in an instant holding the foil in his hands. He leaps on to the bed over your sprawled body. He plants a quick kiss on your lips and sticks his thumb in his boxers pushing them down to let out his heavy length. . You pull him closer beckoning him into another kiss. His head runs over your folds before penetrating your hole. You take his length in your hands and make a few hurried strokes. You can feel every vein. He twitches underneath your touch. Your thumb falls from his shaft to his head right over his sensitive slit, your spread around the pre cum letting the thick liquid help your hand slide up and down his length. You take it in both your hands making usre to give extra attention to his crown. 

Your hands fall, opening yourself back up to him. He takes the condom and rips the packaged open. Rolling it down his cock he lines up with your entrance. You lift your hips begging for him to fill you. He obliges and slips his head in.

The stretch is immense. You breathe through the pain and focus on the pleasure to come. He pushes in a little farther letting out a small grunt. Your arms wrap themselves around his neck to anchor you. Your legs attached to his waist. 

"Fucking hell, you are tight." He rasps after hes fully bottoms out. 

You breath raggedly, "Please I need more." You beg scratching at his back. 

He slowly begins pull out and thrust back in, each time hitting your sweet spot. And every time he does you moan louder. Letting out broken screams of his name. "Ugh! Just like that!" You scream. "Jun! Fuck!" You screach with your hands in his hair you pull him into a languid kiss, nothing but teeth and tongue. 

His hand flies between you and starts to rub precises circles around your clit again. This makes your moans loader and your screams whiner. 

"God Jun I'm so close!" You shout as your hips jut up into his. After your confession he begins to quicken pace not only chasing your high but his as well. He then pulls completely out only to slam back into you an instant later. With a yelp of his name you cum, the knot in your lower belly breaks. The more you moan through your orgasm the more you feel the pulsating of Yeonjuns length. The sweat beads down on his forehead dripping onto the fabric beneath you. "Oh Jun." Th mumble of his names sets him over. 

He thrusts harder lengthening both of your highs. You kiss him as he does running your fingers through his hair and down his back again. He slows lettign you breathe in the deep thick air. YOu can practically taste the sex, the scent surrounds you.

You feel his length softening inside as you come down from your extreme high. He pulls out of you and discards of the condom in the bathroom. He reapers with a damp towel and begins to clean off your legs. 

"Thank you." you whisper sitting up. He nods and smiles wordlessly. 

"Do you wanna hop in the shower before me? I am more than happy to wait." He lets out walking closer to you from the bathroom. 

"Oh no, its fine you go ahead." He slumps himself into the bathroom and you hear the water begin to fall. 

You search for your bar and dress while he showers admitting to your self that is probably better to shower at your hotel. The hunt for the clothes takes longer than you would like it to. Yeonjuns room is quiet large with many spaces a bra could slide under. When you finally slip on your undergarments and find your dress you hear the water turn off and Yeonjun come out. With his towel wrapped around his wait and body still shimmering with water he simply look ethereal. 

"Oh good! Do you mind zipping my dress back up? I can't get it." 

"Why? You're not gonna sleep in that are you?" He laughs stepping toward you. 

"Well no but I cant exactly get a cab ride back to my hotel naked." You laugh looking up at him. 

"Oh, well I was hoping you would maybe sleep here tonight." He grins sheepishly "So that I make breakfast in the morning " He says wrapping his arms around your waist. "Even maybe get to talk more. Or I don't know repeat some of the event from tonight?" You give him a knowing glare. "Please." He gives you the biggest boba eyes ane even pouts his lip. "You begged all night long. Now its my turn." His fingers rise and fall over your bare spine. 

"I'll need something to sleep in because I'm not one to sleep naked. And you should change the sheets while I'm in the shower." You command walking to the bathroom and stepping under the hot water

Waking up in Yeonjuns bed alone wasn't what you expected this morning. It wasn't like you cuddled all night a you wanted to be woken up with kisses. But waking up in an empty bed was never a great feeling. Standing from the mattress , you walk over to the bathroom continuing your usual morning routine. 

"Noooooooo!" Yeonjun shouts from the bedroom. You step out to find him clutching a tray with eggs bacon and toast, with a large glass of water sitting atop it. "You were supposed to be asleep so  I could wake you up with the smell of breakfast in bed!" He whines. You give him a sweet smile and walk over to take his wrists in your hands. 

"You are the sweetest." You smile. "Go back out and come back in. But wait like thirty seconds!" You exclaim shooing him out of the room. 

"Why? I still wanna have breakfast with you!" He yells from behind the door. You run back to the bed and tuck yourself under the covers. Closing your eyes feigning sleep. The crack of the door alerts you He walks over wafting the smell of fried meat and eggs into your nostrils. "Good morning!" He whispers bent down with the tray at your face. You open you eyes and dramatically stretch your arms up over your head. 

"Wow that smells amazing!" You beamed with wonder in your eyes. The smirk doesnt go unnoticed by Yeonjun, but he wipes it off you with a sly kiss. "I'm really hungry." You mumble into his mouth."But I'm a little type A and I will not eat in bed. Ever. So lets eat in the dinning room." You request. 

"Okay, give me just a minute. I'll be right back." Yeonjun coos his breath barely above your mouth. You stay in bed playing with the makeshift shorts he gave you last night. The boxers are soft on your legs and his shirt smells so much like him it seeps into you nose and you never really want it to leave. Yeonjun slides back into the bedroom slipping through the door way on his socks. He races over to the bed and picks you up in fell swoop much like he did last night. You wrap your legs around his waist in order to pull yourself closer to him. With your lips hovering over his you close the distance. Unlike last night the kiss breaks and he leans forehead against yours. He sets you down on the smooth fabric of the cream chairs surrounding the wooden table. 

"What was that for?" You question, sipping on water from the tray. 

"Well, personally I think that a princess like shouldn't ever touch her feet to the ground." He states simply. 

"Are you calling me high maintenance?" You snicker playing offense. 

"No, but last time I check Chanel is a high end brand." He quips wiggling his eyes brows. The flirting is nonstop the entire meal. With his jokes and your laugh both of you think that you could stay here for ever.

Falling down onto the sheets sweat beading on each of your foreheads. The thick smell of sex surrounds you and Yeonjun once again. 

"God! That was amazing. " You breathe your chest rising and falling with difficulty. 

"Hell yeah. I could get used to that!" Yeonjun hoots. 

"What? Me riding you?" You retort. He kisses your neck over the obvious hickies he left only last night. "Jun, stop! I don't think I could do a third round." You object, but his mouth stays connected to your neck. "Also. I haven't even texted Dani yet and I'm sure she is wondering where I am and what the hell the plan is for today." You exhale brushing his hair out of his face when he finally looks up from his trail of kisses. 

"Ugh, fine but I do want to see you again. Soon." He states standing and retrieving the discarded clothes. "Do you want something else to wear? So you don't have to be in your dress again?I have sweats and a tee you can even where some slippers of mine." His tone is neutral as if you had done this a hundred times. You nod and sweep on the shirt and sweats he'd lends you. "Besides you'll have to return them sometime. So maybe this is more for my gain."He chimes, wrapping his arms around your waist. 

"I'll make sure it all gets back to you." You tease letting go of his frame and ushering yourself to the door. "I'll see you around. Okay Jun?" You close the door behind you.

"So in conclusion I had the best time. And it was really the greatest date I've ever been on. So thank you I guess." You confess to Dani laying your head in her lap. 

"I told you!" She yelps back practically jumping in her seat. "Oh my god! You are so lucky! I've heard Korean guys treat their wives like literally royalty!" 

"Ugh! stop I'm not gonna marry this guy!" you exclaim beating her with a pillow. "But getting that kind of head every night would be amazing." You sing falling back into the mountain of pillows and blankets. 

"You are so in love!" Dani exclaims hitting you in shoulder. You simply roll you eyes and continue to scroll on your phone. 

Monday morning comes to quickly, but you don't mind knowing you will most likely get to see Yeonjuns face today. You hope you run into him in the elevator again. Maybe he'll hit the emergency stop and take you right there. 

Unfortunately you get a text fromYeonjun saying he isn't in the office today but he'll gladly pick you up for drinks at his house. You giggle at the thought, making your stomach stir sweetly. 

Dani and you take he elevator to the 10th floor of your temporary office. That's when you notice it. The poster a young intern carries with her. The distinct strawberry blonde hair catches your eyes first but then its the glint of the eyes. 

"Who is that?!" You pry. She rolls out the poster to its full length to show the man slouching in a clean shirt and shorts. 

"Its Choi Yeonjun, he's a part of TXT. The biggest boy group right now." The intern explains. 

"Oh. That's cool." You feign nonchalance and walk out of the elevator cabin whispering to Dani "We need to talk right now please." 

Your bags are sitting at the end of you bed still only half packed. You loved packing, the meticulous nature of it was everything you loved. Sometime for big trips you even made yourself a list before hand so that you could get the thrill of crossing the packed items off. But with this trip the packing process had not gone as planned, you kept putting it off, until the very last minute. The night before your early morning flight to Seoul. You were ecstatic to have the opportunity but the excitement did not ease the ever growing nerves bubbling over in your stomach.

Your cell rings loudly through your small apartment, but nevertheless you still cant find the device. Sorting through your closest, dresser and sheets and still you cant find the where the sound is coming from. Finally you the low moon light reveals your phone on your bed side table - where you always keep it- It's your boss Danielle — Dani to you and her friends — Dani was calling most likely to scold you for not being packed. She most definitely knew of you delay with the project, as she is the person you go to in any sort of crisis. She didn't have to give you grief but as the closest thing to a mother figure in the city she took it upon herself as soon as she hired you as her assistant. 

Most people roll their eyes and feel bad for you mention your job. But its not as bad as. the movies make it out to be at least not with Dani. She was always so sweet and supportive. She even made sure that you were working on you own career. You had just graduated fashion school and were looking for any entry level job that had anything to do with fashion, designing, or styling. So when almost 3 months had gone by and you were still eating on tables at a crumby dinner you broke and put out an add as a personal assistant. You never thought you'd get lucky enough to think that Danielle Morrison would reply asking you to come in for an interview and offer you the job on the spot, but here you were a year and a half later getting her phone call at eleven pm. 

"So how long till your fully packed?" She asks dismissing the idea of starting a conversation with 'hello'. "Because I know you well enough to know that you pack my bag before you packed your own." She laughs taking a drink of her red wine. You may not be able to see her but its definitely what she's drinking. 

"About an hour." You answer putting the phone on speaker and throwing it down on the duvet with a small thud.

"Ugh, well were gonna be gone for almost two months so don't forget to over pack. Better to have to much than too little." You can hear the thump of her heels on her desk. 

" I am aware of the length of out stay, considering I booked our hotels and flights." You giggle reminding her of who really should be bossing around who. "Okay well I think I can lock in and get this done pretty quick if I'm not distracted. So bye! I love you and I'll see you in a few hours for our flight. The car is picking you up at 5:30 sharp. Please set your alarm for earlier I know its gonna take you longer than 20 minutes to wake up unlike you claim. " Yup laugh and end the call before she can scold you again. 

The morning light is barely visual when you wake up in the morning. Your coffee has already start brewing sending the magical sent of caffeinated perfection your way. The hot beverage burns the roof of your mouth but you keep drinking knowing that you won't have much time for a proper breakfast. 

As expected the car arrives much to quickly for your liking. Popping your ear buds in and shuffling your favorite pop punk playlist- All American Rejects might now be for everyone at five am its always been prefect for you- you head down the three flights of stairs with your 4 separate bags. Some people may have considered it over packing but you worked in fashion so to much was probably not enough. Henry, Dani's and by association, your driver took your bags and stuffed them in the back of the black SUV. you hopped in the front and closed your eyes. Early morning traffic always seemed to be worse when you were heading to Dani's so you thought there may be a chance for a minute or two extra of sleep. 

Dani's building was a lot nicer than yours. With tall glass walls and all the amenities a person could dream of, it was by far one of the nicer complexes in Manhattan. Not only do you call her but you also make sure to buzz her apartment and send her more than one text before you finally receive a response of a simple 'one minute' text from your boss. After twelve and a half minutes of waiting she finally greets your and henry with a cheesy grin followed by a mean glare. You and henry take the bags from the door man and load them into the car with you own. Her six bags give you a sigh of relief at your own luggage situation. 

You don't speak a word to Dani the whole car ride. You learned the hard way that she is not a morning person. Even after three cups of coffee she would still give you the death glare if you spoke a word to her before noon. 

Henry parks the car and unloads the ten bags onto and cart and even pushes it to the the checking station for you. You check all of the bags and direct Dani to security in silence. You would think that 6 am would be a slow time at the airport but after living in new york for 5 years you realize that the saying is true even for the airport the city really never slept. Waiting in the endless TSA line was something you had gotten used to over the last year and a half. You traveled with Dani a lot and really did enjoy it but sometimes your heart ached to stay home and cuddled in your bed with a scary movie. But in order to live your dreams you've learned that there will not only be sacrifices but a lot of them. 

You get through TSA and head straight for the only good coffee shop in the airport knowing you'll meet Dani at the lounge with her own coffee order and breakfast. 

the coffee in one hand and ham and cheese croissant ,sending heavenly cheese smells to your nostrils, you scan your boarding pass and make your way into the airport lounge. Out of all the perks of your job this may just be your favorite. You had always thought that time at the airport was such a waist. With all the noise and people you were never able to get any work done. And with the fact that you were never technically off the clock the waisted time at the airport always made you feel a little guilty. So when Dani finally hit 75,000 a year on her credit card you knew you had to bite at the opportunity to get yourself some much earned you time while still at waiting for your plane. 

You set the flat white in front of Dani and pull our her croissant. She smiles from behind her laptop and bites into the sandwich. You think she might orgasm from the smell alone but thankfully her mind and body stays fully intact. You pull out your tablets and keyboard and begin to edit the document containing Dani schedule for the next two months. You had meticulously planned every single minute of the work trip, just as she had asked you to. 

Before you know it you are boarding the plane and settling in your seat. With such a long flight you had booked your self in first class and and Dani at the absolute front of plane, just like she liked. She much preferred to be the first to be served on a flight. You were in the middle with another seat on the left of you. You went to activate the thin vinyl separator in between the seats but it wasn't going up. You wave down an attendant and ask her if you had done something wrong. She informs you that unfortunately there had been a malfunction with this seat and the wall couldn't go up. She apologies and offers a complimentary drink and snack for the inconvenience. You take up her offer and ask for a mimosa and fruit. Who said morning drinking was out?

The plane has gone still and quiet when the tall stranger sat in the seat across from you. He immediately closed the shade on the window and settles into his seat. He flips off his hood to reveal the perfect strawberry blonde hair cropped right over his ears and falling in his eyes. He sports Ray Bans and large head phones. He glance over to find you staring and smiles with a small wave, you take a drink of your mimosa and focus back to your tablet. 

Once you're in the air you start to work on your own designs knowing that you'll need to have this dress done by the time you are back to the states. Your sister had asked you to complete it a few months ago for her senior prom. You had sketched out the skirt and top but the design and colors just weren't coming to you. 

"Wow you look determined." The low voice says next to you. On your left the owner of the voice stares at you with a small smirk. 

"Oh yeah, I'm just working on a sketch." you say, forming my lips into a thin line. 

"Oh your an artist. Can I see what your working on?"

"Oh, well I'm really in to the middle of something and it not even close to done." you push out a pitiful laugh and play your music again. 

"Oh come on, I'm sure their great! Just give me a peak!" He insists practically reaching over the separator to look at your tablet. you scoot over and pull the tablet close to your chest. "Seriously? Don't be humble. I'm sure its not that bad!" 

"Dude she obviously doesn't want to talk to you much less show you her work. Just fuck off man." A different softer voice says above you. The voice belongs to the sunglasses wearing man on your right. He's standing over you glaring at the man on your left. The first speaker rolls his eyes and presses play on his film subsequently leaving you alone. You look up to the second man with a soft smile and mouth a thank you. He quickly turns and heads to the front of the plane for the restroom. You focus back onto the sketch you were previously working on but your head keeps taking you back to the voice of the man to your left. The soft easy nature of it with the hint of a Korean accent. You hadn't gotten a great look at his face but you knew just from the little interaction that he had to have been beautiful. 

You give up on the sketch and decided that stretching your legs using the restroom would be the best option. You head over the restrooms and enter the small cabin. Washing you face and hands you open the cabin door with a jolt almost bumping into the man in front of you. Which much to your relief is the man sitting on your left. You see now that you assumption was correct. With high soft cheek bones and the most perfect lips he smiles taking a step back. 

"Sorry, I thought the lavatory was empty." He laughs letting out his easy going voice once again. 

"You're fine. Its all yours now." You grin holding the door for him. 

"Thanks, your the girl sitting next to me aren't you?" He asks keeping you tethered to the conversation. 

"Yeah, thanks again for telling that guy off. I appreciate it!" You thank him again attempting to slide back to your seat he grabs your attention again. 

"Do you wanna switch?" You give him a questioning look. "Seats I mean. switch seats. So that you don't have to sit next that dick." He explain himself further. 

"Oh no, its fine he really hasn't bothered me much. but thanks anyway." You wave him off. 

"Okay well if you change you mind just give me a look and we can switch right away." He smiles stuffing himself into the small restroom cabin. 

You sit back at your seat and are immediately greeted by the other man grinning at you possessively. You turn away from him and decide that you might as well take the offer that you were previously given. 

When the man on the left comes back to his seat you look at him with much dismay in your eyes. He doesn't even sit down. Just grabs his orange juice and lets you slide into his seat. He slides himself into yours and hands you your water across the the aisle. 

"So, do I get a name?" You ask bravely. Letting the blush hit your ears. He looks over to you with a sweet smile. 

"Yeonjun." His name sounds like sunshine in a bottle and describes him perfectly. You give him your name and fall into a perfect set of conversation. Finding out that he is from Seoul but was in New York for work. He listens intently when you tell him about your preparations for Seoul fashion week and that you'll only be in the city for two months. He jokes at showing you around the city and a blush creeps along his cheeks when you said you would take him up on it. After what seems like 15 minutes and not nearly seven hours hours the plan lands in Seoul. Yeonojun slips his sunglasses back on and his hood back up and stays in his seat. 

"It was nice to meet you." He looks up as you throw your bag over your shoulder. 

"It was nice to meet you too Yeonjun." 

With the flight behind you and a surge of confidence after your brief flirtatious conversation you take Seoul in with a large deep breath. The air is sticky from recent rain but you don't mind. Rain was something you missed so much from Washington. 

Dani and you meet right outside of the gate and trade brief pleasantries before heading straight to baggage claim. Pushing your joint bags up what seemed to be a 70 degree angle had to be the hardest thing you had done in your life. You love Dani but sometimes she can be a bit oblivious to the task at hand. 

You find the car picking you up load everything into the trunk. Its smaller than the SUV you usually take but you don't mind just thankful you won't have to figure out the Seoul Metro system. Its nearly four PM hear but its only three AM back home. So your hotel bed immediately envelopes your body as soon as you walk into you chilly room. 

After hours of sleep and a glorious shower you head down to the complimentary breakfast to start you day. Dani has not broken her slumber so you make a note to wake her in a hour. Knowing she will thank you for getting a head start on her day even if she does not want to be woken right away. 

With the day schedule revised, Dani's coffee order in hand, you march to the second floor neglecting to take the elevator simply because you know you can use the steps. Your own iced vanilla latte practically slips out of your hand when you make your final decent. You take a thirsty gulp and press a light knock on Dani's door. No sound comes from behind the door. You wait and are utterly disappointed but not surprised when you only hear silence. You pull out your last option and swipe the key card you had printed for her room.

"Wakey, wakey! Sorry but your sweet dreams have come to end no you just get me and the perfect 50 degree weather." You shout setting her coffee down on the side table. She turns over in her bed and gives you one of the worst glares she's ever laid on you. "The no talking before noon rule was revoked when we got to Seoul Dani. So get your ass up and dressed. I already had your out fit steamed and pressed." You say handing her the garment bag. She takes a large deep drink of her coffee you think there isn't a way she didn't burn her entire mouth in the process but that's the thing about Dani, she's practically not human.

After Dani is dressed and properly caffeinated you head to to the office you'll be working out of for the next two months. Originally the directors of Seoul fashion week told Dani she didn't need to come out so early to prepare but her being the stubborn goat, she was insisted.

The company had set aside an office for Dani to work and already had it fully accustomed to her liking. The fact that you didn't have to run around like a chicken with its head cut off making her office perfect gives you a sigh of relief and saves a good 45 minutes of your day. 

You dive into you work going through emails, sending emails, proofreading emails. You could've practically been an email genius by now! But after some time you notice the clock tick a little past twelve. Putting in a lunch order and an additional soda for your boss you tell her you'd be heading out for lunch. Dani smiles and waves you off, to engrossed in her own designs and work to notice you leave. 

You push the elevator doors to open and walk in attempting to balance your computer, tablet and every other random items in your large leather bag. The Elevator moves down two floors and the doors open again. You turn to the side leaning farther in to your phone. Unfortunately this causes a domino effect and all the items you've been attempting to keep stable tumble out of you bag and onto the floor. 

Leaning down and picking up your items the man next to mirrors your motions. Only when he looks up from the ground do you notice you've met before. 

"Yeonjun." You speak. The blonde boy looks up quickly and lights up the cabin with his smile. 

"Hi." He lets out breathless. "What are you doing here?" he adds a curious look on his face. 

"This is where me and my boss are working out of for our stay. We got here this morning." You chime with a little more giddiness than you would like to admit. He smiles back but doesn't offer you a reply. His stupid sunglasses sit on his nose as if untouched from the first time you saw him. 

"So you're getting ready for fashion week, but that's not for another six weeks. Why come so early?" He asks leaning against the back wall of the elevator. You laugh and explain the reasoning for Dani's need to be ahead of the rest of the designers on the runway for fashion week. He simple nods along keeping eye contact. 

"So what are you doing here? You never told me what you do?" You enquire hoping to gain a little more information about the man next to you. At the exact moment you finish you question the elevator doors open again and invite a large group of men and women into the small space. You're quickly shoved up against the wall with Yeonjun in toe next to you. He smiles and looks down at his feet as if ready to kick every other person in the elevator out and down the the shaft so he can answer you. But nevertheless he stays silent with that damn grin plastered across his face. He close enough that you can smell his cologne, leather, the deep sweet smell that is distinctly the soft pliable fabric. You think that it may be the best thing you've ever 

The doors open up and lets the large group of people and yourself out onto the first floor. 

"I'll see you round Chanel!" He calls as he heads the opposite direction. You smile and wave politely. The nickname came from a conversation you had only yesterday. When you mentioned working in fashion, he attached himself to the one brand he knew 'Chanel'. You found it endearing that he even remembered your conversation. 

Out on the street you notice a large crowd of people gathering at the sidewalk across fro the building. Many of them being held back by a metal barrier and multiple security guards. You wave the thought aside and head in the direction of the restaurant. 

By the time you get back to work your stomach has been angry for too long and fingers are starting to shake from hunger. You devour the sandwich chips and soda you had ordered. You even indulged in a cookie from the restaurant after more than one patron recommended it. 

Dani sits in her office unaware of the rest of the world. You slip in as quiet as possible as to not wake the beast. 

"You've barely touched your lunch, can I get you something different? Something you'd enjoy more?" You request, leaning against her desk. The low light of her office brings a relaxing feeling to your stomach the pale light from the window makes you want to take a seat in the plush chair in front of her desk and simply just chat with her. 

"No, I'm okay, just not super hungry. My stomach has been acting weird all day." She admits looking up at you earnestly. You push her comically large water bottle a little closer to her and give her a stern look. She take along drink and lets out a refreshing 'ahhhh'. You at her and head back to your desk and laptop. Taking your own advice and sipping on your water. 

Time seems to slow as the afternoon lulls on. Many people go in and of you temporary space, some meeting with you others speaking with Dani, but it mostly just turns to a blur of bodies and voices. 

The sun starts set letting a golden ambiance into your space. You attempt to shoo your boss out of her office and back to the hotel for dinner and bed, but she insists on staying a little longer to finish her project. Sitting in your chair with your tablet in your lap you scratch away at the over done design in your hands. You're about to erase the entire thing when a soft voice breaks you from your dazed state. 

"Hey Chanel." Yeonjun flirts the blush evident on his cheeks but but his confident smile eases the color. 

"Hiya!" You shout already seeming to excited to be in his presence him again. The thing about talking with Yeonjun was that the world seemed to speed up and slow down at the same time. It was like you were the only people in room and no one else mattered. Its funny to think that you are already so comfortable with him considering the short time you've known him. And it wasn't only his words but his presence and his scent, god his scent drove you crazy. 

"What are you doing here?" You shake away the thoughts of his cologne from your head and nostrils. Wanting to simply be here. 

"Wanna to talk to you, actually!" He smiles leaning against your desk. You can already feel the color strike your face, you must look like a freaking lobster after Yeonjuns words.

"Me?" you ask pathetically as if he was asking the potted plant behind you. 

"Yeah." He laughs. "I wanted to ask if you wanted to joining me for dinner tomorrow?" He breathes letting his chest fall. He must have been nervous because after the words fall from his mouth because you can hear that his breathing is a little more even now. 

"Oh." You practically tip over in you chair. "Why?" you let, out embarrassed at the idiotic response. "I mean, not why, I don't know. I- sorry. I'm just shocked." You stop before you let more words out. Of course you had been flirting with him, he had been a cute guy you most likely would never see again, running into him today was never part of your plan. The plan which was more of a unstructured idea of fun and whimsy. And getting asked out on your second day in Seoul was also not part of your plan. Or your unstructured idea of fun and whimsy. You didn't mind, but god you were only here for 2 months, 8 weeks! You cant go out with a guy who lives half way across the world. You just cant, its not realistic. You rub slow circles over your arm. attempting to push your stomach down from your throat. 

"Well," he laughs again stopping himself mid sentence. " I thought you were into me." He states plainly. And of course it was plain. You were into him. He was your airport crush. The guy you make googly eyes over, maybe get he chance to flirt with once and then have a wet dream about three weeks later. Not the guy that actually asks you out. "But I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry." He waves standing from your desk and starts to go back the other way. 

"Wait!" You shout leaping out of your seat. Grasping at his wrist. He turns back to you and gives you a wry smile. "Its not that I'm not into you. I was just wasn't expecting it is all." Your out of breath by the time your up and next to him. " I am definitely into you." he smiles at your addition making him radiate pure sunshine. " But I still cant go out with you." Your voice breaks with the realistic truth. Yeonjums face falls and its as if a large storm cloud has passed over his entire being. 

"Oh, well can I ask why not?" He's kind about the question and you almost don't provide him an answer but with the heart breaking frown on his face you give in.

"I mean I'm only here for two months and I really don't do casual. Or at least I try not to. I just don't want to start something neither of us can finish. You know?" The answer seems good enough to perk him back up but his face stays turned down in the moon cast light. 

"I understand. Thanks for being honest though. An hey if you end up changing you mind take this." He bends over your desk stealing a pen and sticky note, writing 10 numbers down. "text me anytime." He hands you the note and proceeds on his way. " Goodnight Chanel!" He waves, his lips finally turning up the slightest bit 

After effectively pushing Dani out of her office and tucking her in you roll into bed yourself. But you are one unlucky bastard because instead of being blessed with the perfection of a dreamy sleep you lie awake thinking about none other than Yeonjun. You wished you could've said yes, could've indulged in a date with him, but your entire life is in New York. I mean you were based there with Dani and you apartment was there. Which was really it but that's still a lot you argue. What if you end up really falling for him just to be dragged back to the US and have him stay here in Korea. It just wasn't feasible but realism doesn't keep you from dreaming about what you would wear to dinner and how he would drape coat around you when its cold. About how he would hold you hand and walk you on the inside of the street. How his hand would feel on you waist, on your hips. How your lips would feel when he finally closes the distance between you. How his body would feel flush against yours. How his hand would feel between your thighs. How his soft voice would sound in your ears praising you for how you were behaving. You practically moan at the thought. 

The next morning your surprised to find a text lighting up your phone. 

Dani ✨: Please dear god bring me water!?!? I cant stop throwing up 😭

You: OMG I'll be right there!!!!!!!

You sprint down to the lobby and grab three bottles of water and the best anti nausea medicine they have. You then heave yourself back up the stairs and don't even bother with knocking. You find Dani hanging over the toilet with a horrible pout. 

"Oh my god! What the fuck?" You gasp at the disgusting sight of your boss sitting on the bathroom floor actively beginning to vomit again. You drop the bottles and medicine and pull her hair out of her face. Coughing and dry heaving for another 2 minutes you keep your hand on her back attempting to soothe her in any way possible. She sits up after this round puking seems to be over. 

"I haven't thrown up like this since i was still clubbing and drank like a maniac." She laughs still effortlessly charming even when sick. You coax some water and meds into her and after it seems that she wont be throwing up at least for a little while longer you move her to her bed. You tuck her in and grab the ice bucket lining it with a bag just in case. She attempts to shoo you off saying she doesn't want to get you sick, but you insist on taking care of her. You sit on the opposite side of her and turn on the TV. 

"Wait, I really don't want to watch cable television." She cries grasping at the remote. 

"Okay well I know you well enough to know you are gonna get bored sitting here." You laugh pushing a strand of her hair out of her color drained face. 

"You're right! So tell me about your day yesterday! We barely talked. I already miss gabbing with you!" She gushes laying herself farther into her pillows. You roll your eyes. 

"My day was boring, nothing even happened." You say turning towards her. Even though that was technically a lie you keep the whole Yeonjun situation to yourself knowing she will only force you to go into explicit detail and then torture you until you go to dinner with him. She knew you hadn't been on a date in a long time and would definitely be using it against you. 

"That's a lie ma'am. You have a tell. I saw you talking with someone yesterday evening!  Who was it?! He looked cute!" She wiggles her eyebrows. 

"I do not have a tell!" You roll your eyes again and proceed to easily give in. "But I was talking with someone." Blushing you tell her everything from the plane ride to the the embarrassing encounter and prompt rejection by you. 

"You said no?!?!?" She screams practically bursting your ear drums. "Why would you say no? He sounds like your dream guy! And he works in fashion! He sounds like a fucking catch!" She beats you with a pillow. You dodge the blow and take the pillow from her 

"You're right he does. But I live in New York. Not Seoul." You remind her. The silence sits thick between you. You know shes thinking of a way to convince you to go on this date. But you ignore her wishes and turn the TV on anyway. Flipping through channels of commercials and cheaply made movies. 

You start considering the date in your mind. Rolling over the idea of what it would mean to go out with Yeonjun. I mean would it have to mean anything? You think. Maybe not? But again it could mean a lot and then you'd leave after 2 months and you would be completely heart broken. You did want to go but you didn't want to end up back in New York hating yourself

"Okay, why is that such a bad thing though. This doesn't have to be serious! Like you could just go on a date some quick dick and then head out! I mean lets be honest how long has it been since you got hot and heavy with someone?" She asks prodding the questing even further. "And no your vibrator does not count." She laughs. You take the moment to hit here back with the pillow and ignore her accusations. 

With HGTV in the background you think to yourself how long it has actually been. Over a year is what you guess. The end of your relationship with Marcus, your former boyfriend, was anything but hot. But that's another reason not to go! You might not be ready for a date, even something casual. 

"Oh my god! I can feel your brooding from here!" Dani shouts. Breaking you from said brooding. "Please just jump in head first and go out with him. I wouldn't be where I am if I didn't take risks and jump with out looking. And In my opinion my life is great!" She brags pumping out her chest. Rolling your eyes for umpteenth time today you simply glare at her. "As I am your boss, I will be making the decision for you. You are going on this date. in fact I'm gonna take you shopping right now. No work today only date preparations!" she squeals sitting up in her bed. 

"Dani, no way! You were just violently throwing up like an hour ago! Besides going on a date right now would only distract me. This is a work trip after all. " 

"Who cares if its a work trip?! You should go even if its just to have a nice meal and get to dress up. And now I feel a million times better anyway. Please! I wanna go shopping so bad." Shes basically on her hands and knees begging you. You let out a huff and cross your arms over your chest. 

"Then go shopping for yourself Dani. I don't need to go on a date. I shouldn't go on a date." 

"Okay fine. i wasn't gonna pull out this card but we've gotten to the point where i need to." Dani stature suddenly becomes serious. More serious than you've seen her in a long time. You think the only you've seen her this serious was her own wedding, you had just began to work for her. Many of her bridesmaids had warned you 'she usually isn't this quiet. you're in for a real treat.' they joked. now you thought maybe the only things she took seriously were the people she loved. 

"you haven't been the same for a little while. I'm not sure exactly what it is but i can tell something is up. I don't think a date could solve all of your problems but I think it could get your mind off of the things that you shouldn't be focusing on." Her words are honest and laced with care. You can tell she really does want the best for you. 

"Fine. Let me text him quick." 

Shopping with Dani wasn't like shopping with anyone else. It was more ritualistic. And much more expensive. It turns out that her pleading wasn't entirely selfless. That's how you find yourself in a locked room of the top floor of the Seoul Hermes. Wishing to yourself you had never said yes to a shopping spree or a date with Yeonjun. You had accompanied Dani to many quota bag appointments. So the mysterious nature of the whole tryst wasn't foreign to you. You had seen your fair share of the New York Hermes and even owned a few products, kindly given to you for Christmas by your boss of course. 

With your second glass of champagne in hand the navy loveseat dips dips under your weight. Across from you Dani leans over the orange box a small woosh sounds as she lifts the lid . Practically oozing over the leather item, she speaks with the sales associate and shakes her hand. The box is slid into a matching orange bag. 

With bags strewn across you shoulder you finally get to the shop that you can afford with a few more dress you like. The shop is small nothing like the shops that Dani frequents. It smells like sweets. It wafts through the air giving the store a homey atmosphere. You flip through the options and pull out few, setting them aside to try on. Dani reminds you to go out of your comfort zone. She pulls a few dresses you would never wear in the light of day but you add them to your pile nonetheless, simply to please her. 

With soft pop playing in the over had speakers you start with a baby blue floor length dress that you and Dani immediately decide washes you out too much. You then move onto a short yellow dress but the sequins are scratchy seemingly leaving a little rash on your thigh. After ten more dresses, four different pairs of heels. A few tours of the jewelry case and the citrus scent of many top shelf perfu,es still lingering in the air. You decide on a short sleeveless black dress with white fringe on the edges. It hugs your curves gently and falls right at the middle of your thigh. Dani pairs it with a strappy black heel with silver hardware. She also insists on getting you a new black clutch to go along with the outfit. 

Sitting with Dani in her hotel room was a chaotic unlike her shopping tendencies this was completely off the wall. Loud R&B fills the bathroom bouncing off the walls and back to your ears as Dani paints your face with red lip stick, its the third one she's tried tonight on you. And she finally found a winner. Squealing through the music she basically leaps into the air. 

"You look incredible, girlie!" She screams playing with your perfect curls. You stand and take a look at yourself in the mirror the dress extenuates everything it needs to. The make up leaves you speechless, your eyes pop perfectly with the dress and the silver shimmer Dani applied and the red lipstick is truly the exact right color. Yeonjun had texted you back saying he would pick you up at 6:30 it was now 6:00 and you were trying to get over the nervous feeling in your belly.

You head back to you room and grab the clutch from the dresser putting your phone, wallet, and, a few other things in there you might need. In your own bathroom you spritz on your Chanel No 5. You almost always saved it for special occasions but you convince yourself to use the one Chanel product you own. If only to use it as a conversation starter. At 6:24 exactly a soft knock lands on your door. 

You open the door and find Yeonjun with a light blue and white striped shirt with a black blazer over top. He's holding a bouquet of blush pink peonies. His eyes go wide when he takes you in. 

"Wow, you look," His sentence falls off as his eyes roam down your body. "incredible." He finishes,limply handing you the flowers. You can smell them from your side of the door, fresh and faintly rainy "For you. I wasn't sure what your favorite was but these looked nice." He offers, 

"Thank you, that's sweet." You smile taking the flowers, you step deeper into the room. You find a glass and fill it with water. Peeling the paper off the flowers you slip them into the glass and look up. Yeonjun is watching you from the door way in complete awe.

"Ready?" You ask walking closer to him. He nods and closes the door behind you. You walk to the elevator in silence. It's not the stiff silence but a kind , soft, silence. In the elevator he hovers his hand over your shoulder leading you out of the cabin. He slides his sun glass over his eyes and pushes you to the door. A black SUV waits outside the hotel. Yeonjun holds the door for you and then offers you a hand up to the vehicle. Yeonjun and the driver speak briefly in Korean and the car sets off into the city. 

"So where are you taking me?" You tease, crossing you legs in the seat. 

"Just a restaurant uptown. I hope you like traditional Korean food because that's all they serve." He smiles. 

"Well I love the Korean spot in my neighborhood back home so I can imagine how amazing this will be." You card a hand through your hair and turn back to the view of the city. 

The SUV has the perfect new car smell, clean, comfortable. Even the vehicle Henry drives doesn't smell this good. The ride isn't long, only a few minutes from your hotel. Yeonjun again helps you from the car but instead of letting go of your hand when you make your decent he holds it tight and leads you into the restaurant. 

The dimly lit dinning room is covered with maroons and golds. You can smell the salt and spice from the hostess table. The entire space reeks of money. Yeonjun gives the hostess his name and she leads you both to a secluded booth near the back of the restaurant. You pick up a menu and scan over the options.

"Ok, well unfortunately I speak no Korean so I think it would be wise for you to just order and i'm sure i'll love it!" You laugh looking up from your menu to find Yeonjun already smiling at you. He nods and waves over the waitress. He speaks with her quickly and hands her the menus. 

"I hope you like bokbunja?" He leans in. You look at him dumb founded as the word is nothing but a jumble of letters to you. " Its blackberry wine." he explains. 

"Oh, fuck yeah!" You exclaim, his face falls. "Oh my god, were at this beautiful restaurant and I just dropped the f bomb. I'm so sorry." You apologize letting your head fall into your hands. 

"Don't apologize I was just surprised. You don't seem like a girl who would curse." He eases himself into his chair . 

"Yeah, that what people say a lot, but in all honesty I kinda have the mouth of a sailor." 

"Hell fucking yeah." He states calmly. His voice has that perfect sway the it always does. The slight hum that he adds after each of his sentences makes you smile. His smile widens a laugh spilling from his lungs. "So you grew up in Washington. Why New York?" 

"Fashion lives in New York. There isn't a better place for it besides maybe Milan." 

"Seoul is pretty amazing for fashion. I think at least." 

"Yeah, I will say there is nothing like the style here. So did you go to school here?" 

"I uh studied entrainment at Global Cyber ​​University. Where did you go to school?" 

The conversation flows easily, you eventually let your guard down. Something you haven't done with any body but Dani in a long time. The discussion moves from small talk to something much deeper. You learn the little things, hes an only child, among other things, he adores mint chocolate chips ice cream. 

After your third glass of bokbunja the sweet drink begins to inebriate your senses. You laugh at another one of of Yeonjuns jokes which simply sets you over the edge. You slap the table and look up at the man across from you. 

"Would you like dessert?" Yeonjun speaks you shake you head letting him know that you are completely full.

"Thank you though, this was an amazing meal and the company wasn't horrible either." You blush pushing a curl behind your ear. "I think that maybe we should do this again." You admit, giving him a sweet smile. 

"Well if you want. My flat isn't far. We can keep chatting have some coffee." You can see that he does really want to talk to you more so you agree and head out of the dimly lit restaurant. 

In the car ride back to his flat Yeonjun continues to listen to your stories of New York. He laughs and scoots closer to you. 

"So how did you get in fashion? I don't think I ever asked." He asks taking your hand and leading you out of the car. 

"I always knew I wanted to do something with clothes. I mean every girl runs around the house playing dress up but I was meticulous about it. Everyone of my friends had to be color coordinated and have the perfect accessories. All my friends hated that I wouldn't let them wear missed matched dresses and pants. And then when I got to high school I took a home ec class and learned that I loved sewing and one thing lead to another and before I knew it I was in New York for fashion school." There was a lot more to the story than just that but even if you did feel comfortable with him Yeonjun didn't need to know everything about your life. Not right away anyways. 

His home reflects him with beautiful with marble floors and wooden accents. Yeonjun definitely has taste. It even has his perfect deep leather smell. You immediately notice the low lighting, perfect for an after date rendezvous. 

You both slip off your shoes and walk farther into the home. His couch is in the middle of the apartment, sitting in front of a large TV. On the couch left is a slab of wood carved into a table with plush cream chairs surrounding it. His kitchen is on the other side of the dining table. 

"Would you like something to drink? I have soju or water or I can make coffee." Yeonjun opens the fridge, loetting the garlicy scent waft over you. He must have made an incrdibly rich dish for the entire kitchen to smell so pungent. 

"I would love some water." Leaning on the counter, you feel oddly bare with out your heels on. Yeonjun hands you a bottle of water and you sip it slowly. 

"Wanna sit?" He's already half way to the couch when he makes the suggestion. You sit on the lush couch and tuck your legs under you. With your dress slideing up your thigh and you don't move to pull it back down to entranced in the story Yeonjun is telling you. You scoot closer to him with out thinking, you fingers make thoughtless circles around his bicep. The action obviously goes straight to his head because his shit grin is plastered back on his face. 

You lift a hand to push your hair out of you face but Yeonjun beats you to it. Fingers linger down your jaw line and the feeling is ice cold. You both go quiet not wanting to break the tension. And for a horribly long minute Yeonjun sits as close to you as possible. His eyes wander from your eyes to your lips and back. You mirror his actions taking in his own soft lips with you eyes. They are the best shade of pink, the cupids bow connecting at the top of his mouth. 

He finally closes the distance between the two of you. You kiss him back falling into his chest. His hand moves from your cheek to you waist and he pulls you closer to him. You breath him in wishing to tug him closer. His other hand has made its way to the back of you neck, he moves you slightly to deepen the kiss. Your lips slowley part letting his open with them. His tongue glides over yours delicately. He withdraws from you, taking in a deep breath. You smile at him for a minute before diving back into his mouth. He tastes like the wine you've been drinking, perfectly sweet with an aftertaste of a sour bite. It seems almost sweeter coming off him. You moan into him while you lift yourself out of a seated position and onto his lap, a leg on either side of his waist. You let your weight fully fall on him and find the friction near your core even more enticing than the messy kiss. You paw at his jacket attempting to shove it off of him. He breaks the kiss and looks at you earnestly for a moment. 

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asks face full of honesty. 

"Yes definitely." You connect your mouths again and finally push off his jacket. He grabs at your ass pulling you flush against him. You grind down further searching for any sort of friction. Before you can protest Yeonjun grabs your waist and picks you up off the couch. Wrapping you legs around his waist you look at him with wonder. 

"I haven't given you a proper tour. Why don't I show you my bedroom." He quips laying a light kiss on your neck. Moaning at the contact. He walks you both from the couch to the bed room with relative ease. He closes the door behind him and leans against it.With you still in his arms he begins to kiss at your neck again. He begins to suck and bite right wear your neck and shoulder connect. 

"Yeonj," The name falls of your tongue but is interrupted by the soothing feeling of his own tongue on the bitten spot undoubtedly leaving a purple mark. He toys with the zipper of your dress and snags it down. With your body press completely to his chest keeps the fabric up right. 

He continues to the bed and promptly drops you onto the matteress with a bounce the top of you dress falls down revealing the black and pink set you picked out to go under. Yeonjun marvels at you. You think he might as well be comatose and he hasn't even seen you naked yet. Taking this time you sluff off your dress the rest of the way to showing off the full set. You blush at his reaction, seemingly dumbfounded. 

"Are we gonna continue or are just going to stand there with your jaw on the ground?" You tease with a silly smile. He immediately falls to his knees and begins kiss the inside of your thighs. Instantly your hand find his strawberry blonde hair. He begins to do what he had done to your neck earlier, leave obvious marks and bites. After a torturously long time he finally lands right where you need him. His fingers yank at the fabric between him and your core. He slides them down past your knees and throws them god knows where. 

He's back and attached to you again in a moment. He laps up the wetness that has emerged from your core. He grunts into you like a man starved. His tongue rolls over your folds and teases your hole. 

"Jun, please don't tease." You cry pulling his face closer to your ever heating cunt. You grind down on his face feeling his nose bump your clit. At the contact you moan out his name again. He notices the reaction and redirects his attention to the neglected bud. With precise circles of his tongue he slowly makes you unravel. He replaces his tongue with his thumb and continues his previous task. Slowly he begins to fuck your hole with his tongue. In and out at the perfect pace, his thumb doesn't slow down either, simply keeping up with his tongue. 

"Oh my god, I'm close!" You cry out begging for more. He obliges by quickening his pace and eating every ounce of arousal around his mouth. He rips his hand away from your clit and quickly start to suck on it. His finger speedily replaces his tongue as he thrusts up into you, your plush walls convulsing around him. When he adds a second finger you break, the tense knot in your belly breaks and your orgasm runs over you. Yeonjun continues to fuck you with his fingers dragging out your high. 

When his hand leaves your throbbing core you sit up to look at him. His face is a bright red obviously out of breath. His shirt has yet to come off. You quickly stand to your knees ignoring the pain that comes with the motion. You unbutton his shirt as he continues to kiss your neck. You push off the fabric and let it drop to the ground. His under shit is slight see through with all the sweat that its absorbed. 

He rips it off and to reveal a perfectly sculpted body. Your hands fall from his neck to his pecs. Much like earlier you make aimless cirles on his skin. He begins to kiss you again lying you down on his bed. Your hands blindly find his belt buckle and begin to undo the loops. While you work on his belt he lift up your chest and snaps off your bra letting your tits fall free. He pulls back from the kiss and has the same look he had on his face before. 

"What do you think? As amazing as you imagined?" You quip finishing off his belt and throwing it to the side with your own discarded clothes. He simply laughs and nods in regard to your question. His hand finds your breasts and makes aimless shapes around them kneading them in his palms. He begins to focus on your nipples with his thumbs. You scratch at his back letting your nails almost break the skin. His hands move from your nipples to you waist. He kisses down your neck connecting his mouth to your chest. His tongue circles the erect bud, sucking tediously. He pulls you closer and farther into his mouth. He slides from one to the other making sure to give treat each equally. The slickness of your breast from Yeonjuns mouth goes unnoticed by you. More concerned about the wetness in between your thighs. "Please Jun. I need you in me." You beg your hands moving to his pants. 

"Just wanna make my baby feel good." He mumbles drunk on your skin. 

You push his slacks down to his knees. His boxers have a small damp patch letting you know that you are not the only one affected in the situation. You move to push down his boxers but he pulls back.

"Shit!" He exclaims. You give him a questioning look. "I don't have protection." He speaks, dragging a hand down his face. 

"Seriously?! You don't keep a box of condoms by your bed what kind of man are you?!" You shout crossing your arms over your bare chest. The area sticky from saliva. "God I have to do everything don't I. Go grab my clutch by the door I have brought a pack." You direct. He sprints out the door leaving you to sprawl across the vast bed. He back in an instant holding the foil in his hands. He leaps on to the bed over your sprawled body. He plants a quick kiss on your lips and sticks his thumb in his boxers pushing them down to let out his heavy length. . You pull him closer beckoning him into another kiss. His head runs over your folds before penetrating your hole. You take his length in your hands and make a few hurried strokes. You can feel every vein. He twitches underneath your touch. Your thumb falls from his shaft to his head right over his sensitive slit, your spread around the pre cum letting the thick liquid help your hand slide up and down his length. You take it in both your hands making usre to give extra attention to his crown. 

Your hands fall, opening yourself back up to him. He takes the condom and rips the packaged open. Rolling it down his cock he lines up with your entrance. You lift your hips begging for him to fill you. He obliges and slips his head in.

The stretch is immense. You breathe through the pain and focus on the pleasure to come. He pushes in a little farther letting out a small grunt. Your arms wrap themselves around his neck to anchor you. Your legs attached to his waist. 

"Fucking hell, you are tight." He rasps after hes fully bottoms out. 

You breath raggedly, "Please I need more." You beg scratching at his back. 

He slowly begins pull out and thrust back in, each time hitting your sweet spot. And every time he does you moan louder. Letting out broken screams of his name. "Ugh! Just like that!" You scream. "Jun! Fuck!" You screach with your hands in his hair you pull him into a languid kiss, nothing but teeth and tongue. 

His hand flies between you and starts to rub precises circles around your clit again. This makes your moans loader and your screams whiner. 

"God Jun I'm so close!" You shout as your hips jut up into his. After your confession he begins to quicken pace not only chasing your high but his as well. He then pulls completely out only to slam back into you an instant later. With a yelp of his name you cum, the knot in your lower belly breaks. The more you moan through your orgasm the more you feel the pulsating of Yeonjuns length. The sweat beads down on his forehead dripping onto the fabric beneath you. "Oh Jun." Th mumble of his names sets him over. 

He thrusts harder lengthening both of your highs. You kiss him as he does running your fingers through his hair and down his back again. He slows lettign you breathe in the deep thick air. YOu can practically taste the sex, the scent surrounds you.

You feel his length softening inside as you come down from your extreme high. He pulls out of you and discards of the condom in the bathroom. He reapers with a damp towel and begins to clean off your legs. 

"Thank you." you whisper sitting up. He nods and smiles wordlessly. 

"Do you wanna hop in the shower before me? I am more than happy to wait." He lets out walking closer to you from the bathroom. 

"Oh no, its fine you go ahead." He slumps himself into the bathroom and you hear the water begin to fall. 

You search for your bar and dress while he showers admitting to your self that is probably better to shower at your hotel. The hunt for the clothes takes longer than you would like it to. Yeonjuns room is quiet large with many spaces a bra could slide under. When you finally slip on your undergarments and find your dress you hear the water turn off and Yeonjun come out. With his towel wrapped around his wait and body still shimmering with water he simply look ethereal. 

"Oh good! Do you mind zipping my dress back up? I can't get it." 

"Why? You're not gonna sleep in that are you?" He laughs stepping toward you. 

"Well no but I cant exactly get a cab ride back to my hotel naked." You laugh looking up at him. 

"Oh, well I was hoping you would maybe sleep here tonight." He grins sheepishly "So that I make breakfast in the morning " He says wrapping his arms around your waist. "Even maybe get to talk more. Or I don't know repeat some of the event from tonight?" You give him a knowing glare. "Please." He gives you the biggest boba eyes ane even pouts his lip. "You begged all night long. Now its my turn." His fingers rise and fall over your bare spine. 

"I'll need something to sleep in because I'm not one to sleep naked. And you should change the sheets while I'm in the shower." You command walking to the bathroom and stepping under the hot water

Waking up in Yeonjuns bed alone wasn't what you expected this morning. It wasn't like you cuddled all night a you wanted to be woken up with kisses. But waking up in an empty bed was never a great feeling. Standing from the mattress , you walk over to the bathroom continuing your usual morning routine. 

"Noooooooo!" Yeonjun shouts from the bedroom. You step out to find him clutching a tray with eggs bacon and toast, with a large glass of water sitting atop it. "You were supposed to be asleep so  I could wake you up with the smell of breakfast in bed!" He whines. You give him a sweet smile and walk over to take his wrists in your hands. 

"You are the sweetest." You smile. "Go back out and come back in. But wait like thirty seconds!" You exclaim shooing him out of the room. 

"Why? I still wanna have breakfast with you!" He yells from behind the door. You run back to the bed and tuck yourself under the covers. Closing your eyes feigning sleep. The crack of the door alerts you He walks over wafting the smell of fried meat and eggs into your nostrils. "Good morning!" He whispers bent down with the tray at your face. You open you eyes and dramatically stretch your arms up over your head. 

"Wow that smells amazing!" You beamed with wonder in your eyes. The smirk doesnt go unnoticed by Yeonjun, but he wipes it off you with a sly kiss. "I'm really hungry." You mumble into his mouth."But I'm a little type A and I will not eat in bed. Ever. So lets eat in the dinning room." You request. 

"Okay, give me just a minute. I'll be right back." Yeonjun coos his breath barely above your mouth. You stay in bed playing with the makeshift shorts he gave you last night. The boxers are soft on your legs and his shirt smells so much like him it seeps into you nose and you never really want it to leave. Yeonjun slides back into the bedroom slipping through the door way on his socks. He races over to the bed and picks you up in fell swoop much like he did last night. You wrap your legs around his waist in order to pull yourself closer to him. With your lips hovering over his you close the distance. Unlike last night the kiss breaks and he leans forehead against yours. He sets you down on the smooth fabric of the cream chairs surrounding the wooden table. 

"What was that for?" You question, sipping on water from the tray. 

"Well, personally I think that a princess like shouldn't ever touch her feet to the ground." He states simply. 

"Are you calling me high maintenance?" You snicker playing offense. 

"No, but last time I check Chanel is a high end brand." He quips wiggling his eyes brows. The flirting is nonstop the entire meal. With his jokes and your laugh both of you think that you could stay here for ever.

Falling down onto the sheets sweat beading on each of your foreheads. The thick smell of sex surrounds you and Yeonjun once again. 

"God! That was amazing. " You breathe your chest rising and falling with difficulty. 

"Hell yeah. I could get used to that!" Yeonjun hoots. 

"What? Me riding you?" You retort. He kisses your neck over the obvious hickies he left only last night. "Jun, stop! I don't think I could do a third round." You object, but his mouth stays connected to your neck. "Also. I haven't even texted Dani yet and I'm sure she is wondering where I am and what the hell the plan is for today." You exhale brushing his hair out of his face when he finally looks up from his trail of kisses. 

"Ugh, fine but I do want to see you again. Soon." He states standing and retrieving the discarded clothes. "Do you want something else to wear? So you don't have to be in your dress again?I have sweats and a tee you can even where some slippers of mine." His tone is neutral as if you had done this a hundred times. You nod and sweep on the shirt and sweats he'd lends you. "Besides you'll have to return them sometime. So maybe this is more for my gain."He chimes, wrapping his arms around your waist. 

"I'll make sure it all gets back to you." You tease letting go of his frame and ushering yourself to the door. "I'll see you around. Okay Jun?" You close the door behind you.

"So in conclusion I had the best time. And it was really the greatest date I've ever been on. So thank you I guess." You confess to Dani laying your head in her lap. 

"I told you!" She yelps back practically jumping in her seat. "Oh my god! You are so lucky! I've heard Korean guys treat their wives like literally royalty!" 

"Ugh! stop I'm not gonna marry this guy!" you exclaim beating her with a pillow. "But getting that kind of head every night would be amazing." You sing falling back into the mountain of pillows and blankets. 

"You are so in love!" Dani exclaims hitting you in shoulder. You simply roll you eyes and continue to scroll on your phone. 

Monday morning comes to quickly, but you don't mind knowing you will most likely get to see Yeonjuns face today. You hope you run into him in the elevator again. Maybe he'll hit the emergency stop and take you right there. 

Unfortunately you get a text fromYeonjun saying he isn't in the office today but he'll gladly pick you up for drinks at his house. You giggle at the thought, making your stomach stir sweetly. 

Dani and you take he elevator to the 10th floor of your temporary office. That's when you notice it. The poster a young intern carries with her. The distinct strawberry blonde hair catches your eyes first but then its the glint of the eyes. 

"Who is that?!" You pry. She rolls out the poster to its full length to show the man slouching in a clean shirt and shorts. 

"Its Choi Yeonjun, he's a part of TXT. The biggest boy group right now." The intern explains. 

"Oh. That's cool." You feign nonchalance and walk out of the elevator cabin whispering to Dani "We need to talk right now please." 

There’s an unspoken hatred between you and your coworker, Jeon Wonwoo. 

Okay, unspoken is not the right way to word it. The two of you are actually very spoken about it. Being near him for longer than ten minutes is enough to set you off the edge. He’s just so rude. He’s brooding, and grumpy, and never has anything nice to say or contribute to anything. He always thinks he’s entitled to everything, and it makes you want to rip your hair out. You’re thankful every day that you work in different departments, because god only knows how much worse it would be if you had to work together.

See, Wonwoo is a programmer. He works in engineering (AKA a bunch of boring nerds who type numbers all day. Right up his alley). You, on the other hand, are an animator. When you first got hired, you figured that Wonwoo must’ve hated how cool and awesome and talented you were compared to him. Anybody with a lick of common sense (and good taste) could tell you that animation was way more exciting than, what, staring at code? 

That had to be the reason he hated you so much from the start, because nothing else made sense. There was no fight, no argument–nothing to start this boiling feud between you. It was like your existence was reason enough for him to be an asshole.

Unfortunately for you, your departments sat on the same floor. Engineering was right around the corner from art, so it took months of strategy and planning to find ways around seeing him. You’ve memorized his daily schedule so you can avoid being in the breakroom at the same time as him. He takes his lunch around one every day, so you take yours a whole hour earlier. He leaves work a little after five, so you leave a little before. The less you needed to be around him, the better. 

Besides, it was for the good of the whole company, as well: the amount of complaints the two of you had received for arguing so much was embarrassing, to say the least. Wonwoo tried to say you were instigating it, but you wouldn’t even be arguing in the first place if he kept his stupid mouth shut. If it wasn’t one thing, it was the other. Yesterday your food smelled too bad, the day before that your sweater was too bright a color, and the day before that you laughed too loud and he ‘could hear it from the first floor’ (which you know is bullshit because you work on the sixth). 

Needless to say, he is insufferable. 

Today is no exception to that fact. The second you scan your ID to clock in, Wonwoo is side-eyeing you from his employee mailbox. You, being the bigger person you are, stick your nose up and brush past him. You cannot engage with whatever snarky comment he’s thinking of saying, because that will not be good. You already woke up in a bad enough mood today: your alarm went off late, the water in your building got shut off so you couldn’t shower, and your favorite bakery was out of the pastry you get every morning. Part of you almost dared Wonwoo to cross your path today, but you knew that one more argument could land you both in the boss’s office. You did not want to jeopardize your squeaky-clean record on him, of all people. 

“I can smell your lunch from here, Picasso. What is that, fish for the nth time in a row?”

You stop in front of the elevator. You don't bother looking over to him when you say, “Keep your nose to yourself, geeksquad.”

He scoffs, but doesn’t push the matter further. You figure he’s doing the same thing as you–keeping his record clean, that is. As far as you knew, he also had never had any disciplinary marks on his employee profile. Which, truly, is baffling to you. He’s got the worst personality and an even worse attitude at work. How he’s been here for so long is beyond you. Talented or not, you’ve never been able to understand why HR puts up with his snark. Maybe with your luck, he’d quit in the next few years. All he does is complain about work, anyway. 

The elevator door opens, and before you get the chance to step on, Wonwoo slides in front of you. You frown and try to follow him, but then he hits the ‘door close’ button, and you’re stuck in the lobby. 

Because, of course he would do that. Of course he would take your elevator ride and comment on your lunch and do everything in his power to make your Friday miserable. 

Pressing your tongue to the inside of your cheek, you decide that you will not let this get to you. Drawing in a deep breath, you press the button again and wait for the door to open once more. When it finally returns, you can still smell his cologne in the small space; sandalwood is now permanently ruined for you. You grimace as you press the button for the sixth floor, then let your back lean against the wall behind you. 

Above you, the floor numbers flicker slowly as they change, and the elevator comes to a stop. By the time you get to your desk, Seungkwan is already hunched over your shared workstation with his brows pushed together. Seungkwan started at Carat Entertainment around the same time as you, and he quickly became one of your closest friends. Between late-night snack runs, traveling around the world, and questionable nights in town, Seungkwan weasled his way into your life as your ride or die. As much as you enjoy being around him, though, sometimes he can be a tad overdramatic. 

As you toss your bag onto your desktop, Seungkwan looks up and sighs in relief. “Thank god you’re here. I’m having trouble with this build I’ve been working on.”

You hum as you saunter over to him. Peeking over his shoulder, you watch as he attempts to troubleshoot his project. Everything starts normally: you see the start-up menu boot up fine, the character select looks good, but then when he gets into the game mode, the movements of the character begin to lag. When he tries to interact with anything, the lag is even more apparent. 

“Did you check the motion settings?” You ask as you pull a stool up beside him. 

“Yeah, I’ve exhausted everything.” Seungkwan groans. “Motion settings, blend timing…none of it is fixing the issue.”

Shrugging, you take the tablet from him. “Well, if it’s nothing on our end, that means it could be an engineering issue. Specifically a Wonwoo issue. He was working on this with you, right?”

“Uh,” Seungkwan clears his throat, “yeah.”

Just to be safe, you maneuver through the same tests that Seungkwan already ran. If you had to guess, it was probably something in-engine that was causing the issue. His character starts to glitch at a transition point, which means the movement controller is probably fucked. 

AKA: Wonwoo’s problem. Not yours. 

You hand him his tablet again. “I’d bring it up to him, then.”

“Sure.” Seungkwan shifts uncomfortably. You can tell he’s trying not to get caught between another piss-off with you and Wonwoo, so you offer him a reassuring smile. 

“Kwan, we are not doing anything wrong by escalating the problem to engineering.” You reply. “We’ve worked through our tests, and now that we know it’s not us, we need to involve Wonwoo. Besides, I’m not on this project with you guys. It’ll be fine.”

Seungkwan tucks the tablet under his arm. “I guess that’s true. It’s just…you know how he gets when someone tries to say he’s wrong. It’s almost worse than you.”

That elicits a laugh from you. You couldn’t argue with Seungkwan on that fact, though. You may be stubborn, but Wonwoo was even more so. As if he wasn’t egotistical enough, being told he’s wrong was like throwing a cat into a tub full of water. He takes feedback as a personal attack, and it’s a little pathetic. 

“He’s an adult,” you say as your laughter slows. “He’ll live. It’s good character development.”

From: Choi Seungcheol - Lead Developer To: Group: Art Department, Sub-Group: Animation CC: Boo Seungkwan, Jeon Wonwoo Subject: Animation Blends - Investigation Hi team,  I’m forwarding a ticket that concerns animation blending. It’s been brought to our attention that there may be an issue with some in-engine mechanics, and we are investigating it.  Jeon Wonwoo is the programmer assigned to the ticket. If there are any questions, please keep them limited to the ticket thread. For the time being, halt any ongoing animation work for the game. Once everything is cleared, we will let you know.  Thanks, Seungcheol

Well, that escalated. Your advice to Seungkwan has now indirectly involved Wonwoo in your day, and you are considering going home sick. Burying your face in your hands, you let out a dramatic groan. Beside you, Seungkwan leans back in his chair. 

“Well, this sucks.” He announces. “They assigned the grouchiest programmer to the ticket. Do they not realize how shitty our day is about to become?”

You turn to face him. “What did you say to prompt all of this?”

Seungkwan's eyes widen. “Me? Don’t turn this on me! You’re the one who told me to bring it to engineering!”

Before you can argue with him, you see Wonwoo walk into your department. His hands are in his pockets until he gets to your work station and pulls up a chair. He settles into it with the backrest forward as he leans against it. He looks a little too calm right now, and it unnerves you and Seungkwan. You both exchange a quick look when Wonwoo holds his hand out. 

“Let me see the build, Seungkwan.” He deadpans.  

Seungkwan hesitates as he hands the tablet over to him. “It happens at the transition point right after character selection.”

Wonwoo is quiet as he goes through the same motions that the two of you already had. His expression is flat, but you can see his jaw clench in irritation as he works. He has a vein on his neck that is sticking out, which tells you he’s mad. You’ve seen it come out a few times when you argue with him. In the reflection of his glasses, you can see the game begin to glitch, just as Seungkwan told him it would.

After finishing a few tests, he hands the tablet back to Seungkwan. 

“It’s not the animation.” He says simply. His tone is too neutral, and that only adds to your nerves. You can tell how upset he is physically, but the fact that he’s staying so composed is new. It's an unknown territory.

“So, it’s engineering?” Seungkwan asks. 

“I didn’t say that.” Wonwoo stands, then pushes the chair back to where he got it. “I think it’s a shared problem.”

“Shared?” You chime in. 

Wonwoo looks at you briefly, then begins walking away. “That’s what I said, Picasso.”

You were not about to let him leave like that. You stumble to your feet, hurrying after him. At this point, complaints be damned. 

“You just saw that it wasn’t an animation problem,” You retort. “If it’s not us, that clearly means it’s the movement controller. Or something else in the code. The code that you made, by the way.”

Wonwoo stops, and you almost run into him. He turns to face you, then leans down to your level. You hate it when he does this. Holding your tongue, you fold your arms across your chest.

“It’s not an animation problem.” He agrees. “It’s also not an engineering problem. I just said it was shared, but I need to run a few of my own tests to be sure. I don’t just assume.”

You scoff. “I did not assume. I ran through the right process, Wonwoo. I did my own tests, and when those came back fine, I turned it over to engineering. Is that not the right way to handle this?”

“It is.”

“So what are you insinuating?” You press. 

“Am I insinuating something?” He counters. The corners of his mouth twitch like he’s finding this amusing, and you want to punch him more than ever. “I’m just speaking plainly.”

You draw in a deep breath in a final attempt to calm yourself down. Then, you force a polite smile. “Fine.”

“Fine.” He echoes. You watch as he turns and disappears back into the engineering department. 

It takes a whole two hours before you’re getting another email. But this time, it’s only addressed to you. 

From: Choi Seungcheol - Lead Developer To: Y/L/N, Y/F/N CC: Jeon Wonwoo, Hong Joshua - Lead Animator Subject: RE: Animation Blends - Investigation Please find your assigned work order below. If you have any questions, let Wonwoo know.  Thanks,  Seungcheol

Unbelievable. Attached to the email is, in fact, a new work order that’s titled: 

JOINT INVESTIGATION - ANIMATION BLENDS - ASSIGNED STAFF: JEON WONWOO, Y/L/N Y/F/N.

If there is a God out there, you’re sure at this point they have it out for you. This is a personal attack from the universe, and you can’t help but wonder why. Your first instinct is to ask Seungcheol to take you off the ticket, because who in their right mind would think it’s a good idea to pair the two of you together? But you already know the answer, because it’s the same one they give you every time you get stuck on a work order together: “You’re the best in each department. We need the best to figure this out, so figure it out”. 

Which, really, you’re flattered to be considered the best. What you’re not flattered about is the fact that being the best automatically means that Wonwoo is constantly in your orbit. At this point, your department leads are just begging HR to get involved because of the way they keep throwing you two together. 

As if on cue, Joshua, your supervisor, knocks on the door. You push yourself to your feet and grab your tablet. 

“I know, I’m going.” You grumble. “Just know I’m mad about it, though.”

“You always are.” He replies with a hum. “When you’re done with Wonwoo, I do need to see the two of you in my office. Seungcheol is calling a meeting.”

Well, that’s not good. 

“What for?” You ask, turning to look at him. 

He takes a deep breath. “Nothing horrible. We’ll discuss it later. Just fix this animation blend, and I’ll see you soon.”

He disappears back into his office, and you want to slam your head against a wall. Maybe throw yourself into traffic. Whatever it takes to get out of this work order and this surprise meeting. Basically, anything to be away from Wonwoo.

You hesitate before leaving your department, and the walk to engineering feels like torture. When you open the door to their corner of the sixth floor, Wonwoo’s back is to you. He’s already typing rapidly, staring at a screen full of code that makes zero sense to you. The chair next to him is open, so you promptly slide into it. 

He doesn’t say anything. He continues working and is obviously ignoring the fact that you’re here, now. You set down your tablet and clear your throat loudly. Still, nothing. 

“Earth to Wonwoo?” You wave a hand in front of his face, and he pushes it away. 

“I’m working.” He mutters. You roll your eyes. 

“I can see that.” You reply as you boot up your tablet. “Didn’t you see? I’m assigned to help with the work order.”

“Lucky me.”

You both fall into a very angry silence. Wonwoo’s typing becomes a bit more aggressive, which only fuels your fire to tap a bit harder against the screen of your tablet. You can feel the other engineers nervously watching, like the two of you are a bomb that’s set to detonate any second. 

“You’re too close.” Wonwoo suddenly announces. You feel his foot push your chair away from under the desk. “And you’re working too loudly. I can’t hear myself think.”

“I’m too loud?” You drop your tablet into your lap. “I’m on a touchscreen, Wonwoo. You have the loud ass keyboard. Maybe you should get your eyes checked again, because clearly your vision has gotten worse if you can’t see that.”

“Your presence alone is too loud.” He argues, not taking his eyes off his screen. He’s still typing, and that pisses you off even more. “You’re so loud all the time. Your voice, your breathing, your tapping. Just for one day, I’d love it if you would shut up and keep your opinions to yourself–”

You move before you can think, and pull the plug on his computer. Someone gasps from behind you, whereas Wonwoo is quickly standing. He’s pushing you completely out of the way, now, to hurry and plug it back in. As the screen flickers back to life, he finally looks at you. 

“What is your problem?” He asks. “Are you crazy?! None of that was saved! The file is going to be even more corrupt now–”

“My problem?” You stand as well, tossing your tablet aside. “You’re finding any excuse to ridicule what I do. I mean, my breathing, Wonwoo? Really? That’s the best you can come up with?”

“Both of you, stop.”

The two of you turn towards the doorway where Seungcheol is standing. He looks tired and annoyed. He drags a hand down his face, then steps to the side. “Come with me, please.”

Wonwoo doesn’t move immediately, so you grab your things and move first. He trails behind shortly after as you make your way down the hall towards his office. You’ve never had a reason to come in here before, but it looks like how you’d imagine it to. There aren’t many decorations, and everything is either black or grey. He has a single pencil holder on his desk with maybe five pens in it. In his own words, his office is ‘no bullshit’.

Seungcheol is a little intimidating. Way more than your supervisor, that is. He’s nice, but you’ve seen him get mad before, and that was reason enough to try to stay clear of him as much as possible. However, thanks to Wonwoo, you’re about to be at the receiving end of his anger.

Joshua is already sitting in there when you arrive, and he looks equally as tired as Seungcheol. You and Wonwoo take the two open seats in front of Seungcheol’s desk, and then it's quiet. Seungcheol closes the door and sighs. When he sits, you can feel your heart rate quicken. 

“I want to start by saying you two are some of the best employees we have in the agency.” His voice is even, but wavers on the edge of irritation. “However, this kind of behavior has to stop. Joshua and I have been talking, and we think it would be best to try to remedy this before it gets even worse than it already is.”

Neither you nor Wonwoo has the dignity to talk, so he keeps going. 

“We have a new game proposal that has come to our attention from our supervisors.” He explains, leaning back in his chair. “But, in order for it to get funding of any kind, we need to create a mock-up of the game. Just a small, playable version to show what the finished product could look like with full funding. This game has the potential to be a big deal for the company, so we can not mess it up. Which, in turn, means we need our best workers on the project.”

“Since the two of you can’t figure out how to work together on your own,” Joshua chimes in, “we will be requiring you to work together on this project. That means genuine collaboration and communication. No more using Seungkwan as a mediator or opening tickets to try and solve problems.”

You think you might puke. Beside you, Wonwoo is still. You’re both at a loss for words, because why would they think this was a good idea? They just saw how the morning played out with their own two eyes, so they think the appropriate solution is to force you to work together? The whole situation is laughable and ridiculous. So horrifically ridiculous, in fact, that you wonder for a second if this is a nightmare. It’s the only logical explanation right now. 

“What’s the game?” Wonwoo asks. His voice is low, like he’s trying to hide the fact that he’s pissed by being quiet. 

Seungcheol reaches into a drawer and pulls out a manila folder. There’s already quite the stack of papers inside, which makes you wonder how long they’ve been building on this idea before deciding to greenlight it. He passes the folder to Wonwoo, who begins shuffling through the notes. 

“Fantasy RPG,” Seungcheol replies. “They want to make it an open world, with a ‘choose your own path’ style of gameplay. There’s everything between romanceable characters, vast options for customization, and over a hundred different endings to the game. The mechanics are going to need to be pretty impressive for us to get the funding we need.”

The project did sound like fun. It piques your interest enough that the idea of working with Wonwoo almost sounds tolerable if it meant you got to design the characters for it. Almost. Wonwoo closes the folder again and tries to pass it back to Seungcheol, but you reach over to take it from him. He glances at you for the first time since the argument, and your blood boils all over again. His jaw tightens as he turns to his supervisor. 

You flip through the notes, seeing a few rough sketches for concept art. It’s got everything between character names, weapons, armor, and even animal companions. Your mind is already swirling with ideas as you chew on your bottom lip. The vision is painting itself in your mind, making you eager to sketch it all up. You’re thinking of a darker concept, judging by the description of the game. Deep purples, ugly, olive green tones, with maybe a touch of mustard yellow for the ogres–

“We need a final product to present to investors in six months.” Seungcheol continues. You look up at him again. Six months was not that much time. You’d have to start on this, like, yesterday. “I’m anticipating overtime will happen occasionally, so HR has already approved whatever extra hours will accumulate between now and August.”

You glance over to Wonwoo, who is now sitting with his arms folded across his chest. You can’t fully read his expression from where you sit, but you’d kill to know what was going on in his mind right now. As you close the folder and pass it back to Seungcheol, you take a deep breath. 

“Okay.” You manage. Not that you had much of a choice in whether or not you were assigned to the project, but you knew one of you had to at least acknowledge the plan. Clearly, Wonwoo wasn’t going to. “I’ll start on some designs–”

“Don’t tell me.” Seungcheol gestures to Wonwoo. “Tell your partner.”

You feel the tips of your ears heat up. Is he seriously playing mediator right now? Swallowing, you turn to face Wonwoo. He’s still not looking at you. 

Clearing your throat, you finish your sentence, “I’ll start on some designs and color palettes.”

A few seconds pass before Wonwoo looks at you. He stands, then sticks his hands into his pockets. “Sounds good. I’m going to work on gameplay mechanics. I’ll get some demos ready.”

With that, he turns on his heel and exits the office. A tiny part of you hopes the door hits him on his way out, but it doesn’t. It never does. 

When you get home, you sink into your couch and pray the cushions swallow you whole. Your cat, Dubu, comes running from the bedroom and promptly plants herself onto your lap. You watch as she stretches out, then rolls over onto her back. 

Dubu came into your life when you first moved out of your parents’ house. So, five years ago now. Truthfully, you’re not sure where you’d be without her. Dubu has been your lifeline for every long, sleepless night, every breakup, and every hiccup you’ve had involving Wonwoo at work. Today was no different, and you’re certain she can tell when you’re having a bad day. She’s purring loudly, staring up at you like you’ve hung the stars in the sky. For her, you probably did. You just wish you could do it for someone else, too. 

“Oh, Dubu,” you sigh, “what’re we going to do? They’re making Wonwoo and I work together.”

She meows as if she understands. She doesn’t, but you keep going anyway.

“The game is cool.” You hum as you gently scratch her tummy. She blinks slowly. “It’s fantasy. Maybe I could draw some cool dragons in it. Or maybe I could draw Wonwoo and have him get blown to smithereens in the tutorial.”

If only that’s how real life worked, too. Not that you want Wonwoo dead per se, but you wish there was a way to just…re-animate or re-code how things could be. You wonder a lot what must’ve happened to make him such a grouch, or if he came out of his mother’s womb naturally being an asshole. How miserable his life must be if he behaves that way every day. 

Does he even have a life outside of work? You’ve never considered that thought before. Who was Jeon Wonwoo outside of the office? Letting your curiosity get the better of you, you dig your phone out of your pocket and open up Instagram. It takes all but one search for his profile to pop up. 

You want to laugh at how ridiculous it seems. The only semi-accurate aspect about his profile is the fact that he’s barely smiling. Now that you think about it, you wonder if he’s just allergic to smiling in general. Have his friends seen him smile? His family? You want to shudder at the thought of being related to someone so…Wonwoo. Your eyes land on one particular recurring commenter: kimhaeun. She’s calling Wonwoo handsome and saying she misses him, and you barf a little in your mouth. If anyone has seen him smile, maybe it’s her. Poor soul. Dating someone as pretentious as him must be miserable–assuming they’re dating, anyway.

Dubu meows again from your lap, which shifts your attention back to her. Tossing your phone aside, you begin to scratch the top of her head. She paws at your phone playfully, which makes you smile. 

Until her paw somehow taps the ‘follow’ button. 

When you gasp, Dubu jumps off your lap and runs to the other room. You quickly unfollow him, and pray to god he didn’t see anything. You’re not sure you can handle that kind of embarrassment at work on Monday. Besides, who the hell is going to believe your story that your cat followed him?

“Jesus, Dubu.” You exhale as you make sure to fully close out of the app this time. 

You set your phone back down on the couch and wander to the bedroom, where Dubu is hiding under the bed. You manage to coax her out and scoop her into your arms again. As you give her a kiss on the head, your phone dings in the living room. You and Dubu wander back to the couch, and you peer down at the screen. 

wonulikesgames Followed You!

Monday rolls around, and you’re not so sure how you feel about going into work. The only plus side is that Wonwoo isn’t showing up at the same time as you today, so you can peacefully clock in and head up to your workstation. Tucked under your arm is your sketchbook, where you’ve drawn a few mock-ups for character designs. You spent your whole weekend on them and were truthfully pretty proud of the final product. The game was a big inspiration, though. If the project gets the funding it needs, you already knew you would buy a copy once the company finished making it. 

Video games were something you enjoyed from time to time. Honestly, when you got into animation, you were hoping to do something more along the lines of movies or cartoons. It hadn’t crossed your mind to animate for video games until your friend, Hansol, encouraged you to apply for the position at Carat Entertainment. Hansol, much like Seungkwan, is one of your best friends. He went to art school with you, but he left Carat a few years ago to work in an art institute somewhere in Europe. When he lived here, you, him, and Seungkwan were inseparable. You and Seungkwan had even taken a trip to see him a few months ago, and you’d forgotten how fun it was to have the three of you in the same room. 

With Hansol leaving Carat, though, you were promoted to his old position. Going from a concept artist to an animator was a dream come true. 

Well, until it began to involve Wonwoo. 

You’d known of Wonwoo when you were first hired, but your paths hadn’t started crossing until the promotion. Prior to that, you’d smile at him in the hallways, and he’d just ignore it. You figured at the time he was just awkward. When you finally had to work with him, you quickly found out that he just sucked. And as much as he sucked, you despised the fact that he was good at what he did. Like, why do shitty people also get to be talented and smart? It’s a waste, in your opinion. Some of that could go to other programmers you enjoyed, like Jihoon or Soonyoung. They weren’t assholes. Why couldn’t you collaborate with them?

You round the corner towards your workstation, where Wonwoo is spread out with his laptop. Seungkwan is tucked in the corner, looking scared out of his mind that the devil himself is there. Your jaw tightens as you set your things down. 

“Good morning.” You say flatly. 

“Sure,” Wonwoo mumbles in response. “My computer is broken in engineering. Brought my laptop to work here instead.”

“You couldn’t just work on your laptop in engineering?” You question. “You’re taking up too much room. Seungkwan needs to work, too, you know.”

“We’re working on this together, aren’t we?” He counters. “Besides, I have demos to show you. Seungkwan already told me he didn’t need this workspace today.”

Your head snaps up, finding Seungkwan’s gaze immediately. He mouths, ‘Sorry!’. You roll your eyes. Considering there was no way out or around this, you decide that there’s no point in wasting your energy on it. You slide into your chair as you boot up your tablet. 

“Well,” you sigh as you begin to spin, “I have some character designs to show you, too. Glad we both did our work over the weekend.”

Wonwoo is quiet as he types. You’re not sure when he’s planning to show you these demos, so at first you just wait. Your gaze darts back and forth between Seungkwan and Wonwoo, trying to figure out if you should say something else or let Wonwoo approach the topic first. Figuring your colleague wasn’t going to be talking anytime soon, you decide to leave the ball in his court. Spinning in your chair, you face your tablet again. As you begin moving your physical sketches onto the device, you hear a chair get pulled up to your left. You glance, finding Wonwoo there with his laptop.

Of course, he’s ready to show you when you take your attention off him. 

You spin to face him, and he gives you a look. It’s not one you can entirely read, but if you had to guess, it was annoyance. It only makes sense that he would hate someone spinning in their office chair. He probably doesn’t spin in his at all because he’s a fun hater. Just for that, you continue to spin back and forth to piss him off even more. 

“So, I made the mechanics pretty simple as far as the actual combat goes,” he begins as he faces the screen towards you. “I think the focus should be more storyline-based than combat-based, going off the notes. I’ve created a total of fifteen different fighting strategies so far. Obviously, most of them will depend on the weapon type, but I figure we can flesh that out with whatever you’ve drawn so far.”

He begins to play through his demo. You watch as the filler characters (AKA blocks essentially) move through the space. Wonwoo seems focused, and you hate that he’s so aware of what he’s doing. You hate that he’s good at this. But what you hate even more is the fact that the gameplay looks good. Like, really, really good. Once the demo ends, he looks over to you. His expression is deadpan per usual, but it’s slightly softer, like he’s looking for approval of some kind. 

All you can manage to give him is a shrug. “It looks fine.”

“It’s better than fine.” He states. “This is the best combat I’ve made since starting here.”

You know he’s right, but you’re too prideful to give him that justification. You begin spinning in your chair again as you think of what to say that won’t give him any kind of ego boost. Suddenly, his hand grabs the backrest of your chair, promptly stopping you. 

“Would you knock that off?” He asks. “Show me your sketches.”

“Fun hater.” You grumble. You turn your back to him to grab your sketchbook, then pass it to him. “All my sketches for the game are towards the back of the notebook. It’s labeled, so you shouldn’t miss–”

“I found them already.” He cuts in. Then, he goes quiet again as he slowly flips through each page. You watch as his eyes carefully examine every drawing, like he’s genuinely observing it and not just glancing. On one page, you watch him trace over the illustration with his hands. He hesitates for a second, and before you can lean in to see what picture it was, he closes the notebook and passes it back to you. “They’re fine.”

You guess you deserve that. Taking the notebook back, you sigh. “I’m going to work on transferring these over to my tablet, and then I’ll begin on animation.”

“You don’t have to tell me everything you do,” Wonwoo says, as he turns his attention back to his laptop. “As long as it gets done, I don’t care.”

You blink. “This is a collaboration, in case you’ve forgotten. When I collaborate, I personally keep my partner in the loop on the status of each stage. You know, like a normal person.”

“But I don’t think that requires giving me every detail,” Wonwoo argues. “Obviously, updates are good, but I don’t need to know what you’re doing every second of your day, Picasso. Frankly, I couldn't care less what you’re doing with your day.”

You press your tongue to the inside of your cheek. For some reason, his words pack a bit more punch than normal. Dwelling on it, though, wasn’t going to fix anything. When you turn back to your tablet to keep working, you’re expecting Wonwoo to go back to the workstation. Instead, he stays firmly planted at your side, typing away on his laptop as if he didn’t just insult you a few seconds ago. 

Time rolls on, and the two of you are so quiet that after a while, you forget Wonwoo is even there. You bob your head to the music in your headphones and sway in your chair as you shade and finish some character designs. The color palette you picked looks exactly as you envisioned, and it makes you feel a swell of pride. Almost like reassurance that you do know what you’re doing, and your art degree is paying off.

As you’re shading in the last dragon from your sketches, you hear Wonwoo shift beside you. You glance over to him, and he’s stretching his hands above his head. The sleeves on his white button-down fall slightly when he removes his glasses to rub his eyes. When he puts them back on, he glances at the time. It’s already one, which means you missed your lunch. It is, however, time for his lunch. So, you watch him stand. He locks his computer, but leaves it next to you. 

“I’ll be back in an hour.” He announces. 

And with that, he exits the department and disappears towards the breakroom. You drag a hand down your face, as Seungkwan all but trips over himself running over to you. 

“That was so weird!” He hisses, spinning you to face him. “He just…sat there. All morning. Is he coming back? Will it be like this for this whole project?”

You push Seungkwan off of you. “He just said he would be back in an hour, Kwan. Were you even listening? And, no, it’s only like this until his computer is fixed.”

“What is the project they have you working on? Joshua wouldn’t say.” Seungkwan slides into the seat that was previously occupied by Wonwoo. 

“It’s just some new game they’re trying to get greenlit.” You roll your eyes. “They’re making Wonwoo and I work together as a disciplinary action.”

Seungkwan makes a face at that. “So, what, how long are you going to be stuck on this with him?”

“Six months,” You groan, burying your face in your hands. “The only redeeming factor is that the game is so cool. I really want to be part of it, but the fact that it means dealing with Wonwoo–”

“Hey, on the plus side, he’s only insulted you once so far today!” Seungkwan chirps. “He seems to be staying quiet.”

“For now.” You mutter. 

He had a point, though. As much as it pains you to admit it, the morning hasn’t been awful. If the project could stay like this for the duration of the six months, you might actually make it out alive. 

“Besides,” Seungkwan shifts closer to you, “between you and me, I heard he got a job offer somewhere else.”

As if today couldn’t get any better. You gasp, fully turning your body towards Seungkwan. This deserves full attention, so you shut your tablet off to listen. Seungkwan leans in so nobody else can hear. 

“I was in the breakroom an hour ago,” he explains softly. “Soonyoung and Seokmin were in there, talking about how Wonwoo had a meeting with Seungcheol on Friday after you guys left. I guess some big-name company in the States offered him a job, and it pays really well.”

“Do you think he’ll take it?” You ask. 

Seungkwan scoffs. “He’d be stupid not to. That’s what Seokmin said, too. I mean, this could be a big break for him. Besides, he had a messy breakup a few months ago. Like, bad messy. So why would he stay?”

Your mind wanders back to the girl you saw in the comments on his Instagram profile–Haeun. Was that who he broke up with? Maybe that’s why she commented that she wished she were with him on his most recent post. Yikes. Well, really, maybe not yikes. She was now single, so you would count that as a win for her. Maybe she’d see it eventually, too. 

“Oh god, I am praying so hard he takes it.” You say, leaning back in your chair. “Could you imagine life without Jeon Wonwoo?”

“I’d imagine you’d be a lot more delightful to be around.” Seungkwan remarks. 

You kick his leg from under the desk. He winces, then kicks you back. It doesn’t hurt, though. Seungkwan never could put much power behind his physical attacks. He was too nice to do that. 

You turn back to your tablet, then happily sigh. “Maybe that will be my motivation for this project.” You hum as Seungkwan returns to his own desk. “One more day of working with him just means I’m one day closer to never seeing him again.”

You don’t even realize it’s late until you finish transferring your final sketch over. You stretch, then glance up. Outside, it’s dark. The office is quiet except for the sounds of Wonwoo’s typing next to you. Grabbing your phone, you glance at the time. 

8:47 pm

“Oh, my god.” You say, but a yawn slips out instead. You’ve missed lunch and dinner now, it seems. Dubu will be mad at you when you get home. “It’s almost nine.”

Wonwoo, unmoving, replies, “I know, I saw that a few minutes ago.”

You stand and power off your tablet. As you begin to put all your tools and supplies away, you find that Wonwoo begins to follow suit. 

“You didn’t have to stay if you knew it was late.” You comment. “I have a tendency to lose track of time.”

He packs his laptop into his backpack. “I wasn’t staying because of you. I was staying because I had work to do.”

“Right,” you laugh in disbelief. A few seconds pass before you add, “You’re so grumpy all the time.”

Wonwoo looks up at you as he puts on his jacket. “I’m not grumpy. I just don’t like you.”

“Well, that’s been established.” You roll your eyes as you sling your bag over your shoulder. “Whatever. I’m too tired to argue with you right now.”

As you turn to leave, you hear him quickly say, “Wait. You think I’m just going to let you leave alone?”

You press your brows together. Before you have the chance to look at him again, he’s already by your side. As if he could read your thoughts, he clarifies, “It’s late. This side of town isn’t fantastic at night, and I’m not going to just let you leave by yourself. I hate you, but I’m not a complete asshole.”

The two of you begin walking in silence towards the elevator, and you are incredibly unsure of how you’re supposed to feel in this moment. Jeon Wonwoo, the same person who can never be bothered to do anything for anyone, is now walking you to your car. You already know you’re going to have to call Seungkwan and Vernon when you get home to debrief this. They’re always in the loop on your ‘Wonwoo Moments’, as they’ve dubbed it.

When the elevator doors close behind you, Wonwoo leans against the wall. He sighs, then says, “I saw you followed me on Instagram.”

The blood rushes from your face. You bow your head towards the ground to hide the fact, then clear your throat. “Uh, yeah, that was an accident. I unfollowed you.”

“I know.” He replies. “Why were you looking me up?”

“Jesus.” You laugh, burying your face in your hands. “You’re so straightforward, dude. Have you never casually stalked someone before?”

When you lift your head to look at him, he’s already staring at you. He’s deadpan (shocker), but the fact that he was looking at you makes you feel…weird. It’s not bad, but it’s not good. You don’t really know what it is, but your stomach kind of flips over itself. 

“No.” He answers flatly. “I’m not on social media much.”

“I noticed.” You hum. “Your last post was from four months ago.”

“No, I posted last week.” He corrects. You think for a second he’s biting back a smile, but you can’t tell with the dim lighting of the elevator. The doors open, and the two of you are stepping off. 

You scoff, looking away from him. “Whatever. You get my point.”

Outside, the February air is crisp as it hits your face. You wrap your arms around yourself as you both trek across the parking lot towards your vehicles. True to his word, Wonwoo walks you all the way to your small, white SUV. When you stop beside it, you’re not sure why you hesitate. But Wonwoo doesn’t move, either, so you sit in the silence. 

Seoul is still alive around you, with the sounds of cars passing by and the twinkling lights of the city. It starts to snow lightly, and you consider saying something. Anything. But before you get the chance to act on it, Wonwoo is taking a deep breath. 

“Good job today.” He says. “Your designs were really cool.”

“Oh.” You give him a polite smile. “Thank you. You too. I kind of lied earlier. I really liked your combat mechanics.”

Wonwoo laughs, and for the first time in the seven years you’ve known him, you see his smile. His head dips for a second before he meets your gaze again. 

“I figured you did.” He admits. “But, I did, too. So I guess we’re even.”

“I guess so.” You say. “Goodnight, Wonwoo.”

“Goodnight, Picasso.”

Perm Taglist: @bananabelle @aelin-tiny @weasleytwins-41 @codeinebelle @parakissss @toohyperactiveforyou12

There’s an unspoken hatred between you and your coworker, Jeon Wonwoo. 

Okay, unspoken is not the right way to word it. The two of you are actually very spoken about it. Being near him for longer than ten minutes is enough to set you off the edge. He’s just so rude. He’s brooding, and grumpy, and never has anything nice to say or contribute to anything. He always thinks he’s entitled to everything, and it makes you want to rip your hair out. You’re thankful every day that you work in different departments, because god only knows how much worse it would be if you had to work together.

See, Wonwoo is a programmer. He works in engineering (AKA a bunch of boring nerds who type numbers all day. Right up his alley). You, on the other hand, are an animator. When you first got hired, you figured that Wonwoo must’ve hated how cool and awesome and talented you were compared to him. Anybody with a lick of common sense (and good taste) could tell you that animation was way more exciting than, what, staring at code? 

That had to be the reason he hated you so much from the start, because nothing else made sense. There was no fight, no argument–nothing to start this boiling feud between you. It was like your existence was reason enough for him to be an asshole.

Unfortunately for you, your departments sat on the same floor. Engineering was right around the corner from art, so it took months of strategy and planning to find ways around seeing him. You’ve memorized his daily schedule so you can avoid being in the breakroom at the same time as him. He takes his lunch around one every day, so you take yours a whole hour earlier. He leaves work a little after five, so you leave a little before. The less you needed to be around him, the better. 

Besides, it was for the good of the whole company, as well: the amount of complaints the two of you had received for arguing so much was embarrassing, to say the least. Wonwoo tried to say you were instigating it, but you wouldn’t even be arguing in the first place if he kept his stupid mouth shut. If it wasn’t one thing, it was the other. Yesterday your food smelled too bad, the day before that your sweater was too bright a color, and the day before that you laughed too loud and he ‘could hear it from the first floor’ (which you know is bullshit because you work on the sixth). 

Needless to say, he is insufferable. 

Today is no exception to that fact. The second you scan your ID to clock in, Wonwoo is side-eyeing you from his employee mailbox. You, being the bigger person you are, stick your nose up and brush past him. You cannot engage with whatever snarky comment he’s thinking of saying, because that will not be good. You already woke up in a bad enough mood today: your alarm went off late, the water in your building got shut off so you couldn’t shower, and your favorite bakery was out of the pastry you get every morning. Part of you almost dared Wonwoo to cross your path today, but you knew that one more argument could land you both in the boss’s office. You did not want to jeopardize your squeaky-clean record on him, of all people. 

“I can smell your lunch from here, Picasso. What is that, fish for the nth time in a row?”

You stop in front of the elevator. You don't bother looking over to him when you say, “Keep your nose to yourself, geeksquad.”

He scoffs, but doesn’t push the matter further. You figure he’s doing the same thing as you–keeping his record clean, that is. As far as you knew, he also had never had any disciplinary marks on his employee profile. Which, truly, is baffling to you. He’s got the worst personality and an even worse attitude at work. How he’s been here for so long is beyond you. Talented or not, you’ve never been able to understand why HR puts up with his snark. Maybe with your luck, he’d quit in the next few years. All he does is complain about work, anyway. 

The elevator door opens, and before you get the chance to step on, Wonwoo slides in front of you. You frown and try to follow him, but then he hits the ‘door close’ button, and you’re stuck in the lobby. 

Because, of course he would do that. Of course he would take your elevator ride and comment on your lunch and do everything in his power to make your Friday miserable. 

Pressing your tongue to the inside of your cheek, you decide that you will not let this get to you. Drawing in a deep breath, you press the button again and wait for the door to open once more. When it finally returns, you can still smell his cologne in the small space; sandalwood is now permanently ruined for you. You grimace as you press the button for the sixth floor, then let your back lean against the wall behind you. 

Above you, the floor numbers flicker slowly as they change, and the elevator comes to a stop. By the time you get to your desk, Seungkwan is already hunched over your shared workstation with his brows pushed together. Seungkwan started at Carat Entertainment around the same time as you, and he quickly became one of your closest friends. Between late-night snack runs, traveling around the world, and questionable nights in town, Seungkwan weasled his way into your life as your ride or die. As much as you enjoy being around him, though, sometimes he can be a tad overdramatic. 

As you toss your bag onto your desktop, Seungkwan looks up and sighs in relief. “Thank god you’re here. I’m having trouble with this build I’ve been working on.”

You hum as you saunter over to him. Peeking over his shoulder, you watch as he attempts to troubleshoot his project. Everything starts normally: you see the start-up menu boot up fine, the character select looks good, but then when he gets into the game mode, the movements of the character begin to lag. When he tries to interact with anything, the lag is even more apparent. 

“Did you check the motion settings?” You ask as you pull a stool up beside him. 

“Yeah, I’ve exhausted everything.” Seungkwan groans. “Motion settings, blend timing…none of it is fixing the issue.”

Shrugging, you take the tablet from him. “Well, if it’s nothing on our end, that means it could be an engineering issue. Specifically a Wonwoo issue. He was working on this with you, right?”

“Uh,” Seungkwan clears his throat, “yeah.”

Just to be safe, you maneuver through the same tests that Seungkwan already ran. If you had to guess, it was probably something in-engine that was causing the issue. His character starts to glitch at a transition point, which means the movement controller is probably fucked. 

AKA: Wonwoo’s problem. Not yours. 

You hand him his tablet again. “I’d bring it up to him, then.”

“Sure.” Seungkwan shifts uncomfortably. You can tell he’s trying not to get caught between another piss-off with you and Wonwoo, so you offer him a reassuring smile. 

“Kwan, we are not doing anything wrong by escalating the problem to engineering.” You reply. “We’ve worked through our tests, and now that we know it’s not us, we need to involve Wonwoo. Besides, I’m not on this project with you guys. It’ll be fine.”

Seungkwan tucks the tablet under his arm. “I guess that’s true. It’s just…you know how he gets when someone tries to say he’s wrong. It’s almost worse than you.”

That elicits a laugh from you. You couldn’t argue with Seungkwan on that fact, though. You may be stubborn, but Wonwoo was even more so. As if he wasn’t egotistical enough, being told he’s wrong was like throwing a cat into a tub full of water. He takes feedback as a personal attack, and it’s a little pathetic. 

“He’s an adult,” you say as your laughter slows. “He’ll live. It’s good character development.”

From: Choi Seungcheol - Lead Developer To: Group: Art Department, Sub-Group: Animation CC: Boo Seungkwan, Jeon Wonwoo Subject: Animation Blends - Investigation Hi team,  I’m forwarding a ticket that concerns animation blending. It’s been brought to our attention that there may be an issue with some in-engine mechanics, and we are investigating it.  Jeon Wonwoo is the programmer assigned to the ticket. If there are any questions, please keep them limited to the ticket thread. For the time being, halt any ongoing animation work for the game. Once everything is cleared, we will let you know.  Thanks, Seungcheol

Well, that escalated. Your advice to Seungkwan has now indirectly involved Wonwoo in your day, and you are considering going home sick. Burying your face in your hands, you let out a dramatic groan. Beside you, Seungkwan leans back in his chair. 

“Well, this sucks.” He announces. “They assigned the grouchiest programmer to the ticket. Do they not realize how shitty our day is about to become?”

You turn to face him. “What did you say to prompt all of this?”

Seungkwan's eyes widen. “Me? Don’t turn this on me! You’re the one who told me to bring it to engineering!”

Before you can argue with him, you see Wonwoo walk into your department. His hands are in his pockets until he gets to your work station and pulls up a chair. He settles into it with the backrest forward as he leans against it. He looks a little too calm right now, and it unnerves you and Seungkwan. You both exchange a quick look when Wonwoo holds his hand out. 

“Let me see the build, Seungkwan.” He deadpans.  

Seungkwan hesitates as he hands the tablet over to him. “It happens at the transition point right after character selection.”

Wonwoo is quiet as he goes through the same motions that the two of you already had. His expression is flat, but you can see his jaw clench in irritation as he works. He has a vein on his neck that is sticking out, which tells you he’s mad. You’ve seen it come out a few times when you argue with him. In the reflection of his glasses, you can see the game begin to glitch, just as Seungkwan told him it would.

After finishing a few tests, he hands the tablet back to Seungkwan. 

“It’s not the animation.” He says simply. His tone is too neutral, and that only adds to your nerves. You can tell how upset he is physically, but the fact that he’s staying so composed is new. It's an unknown territory.

“So, it’s engineering?” Seungkwan asks. 

“I didn’t say that.” Wonwoo stands, then pushes the chair back to where he got it. “I think it’s a shared problem.”

“Shared?” You chime in. 

Wonwoo looks at you briefly, then begins walking away. “That’s what I said, Picasso.”

You were not about to let him leave like that. You stumble to your feet, hurrying after him. At this point, complaints be damned. 

“You just saw that it wasn’t an animation problem,” You retort. “If it’s not us, that clearly means it’s the movement controller. Or something else in the code. The code that you made, by the way.”

Wonwoo stops, and you almost run into him. He turns to face you, then leans down to your level. You hate it when he does this. Holding your tongue, you fold your arms across your chest.

“It’s not an animation problem.” He agrees. “It’s also not an engineering problem. I just said it was shared, but I need to run a few of my own tests to be sure. I don’t just assume.”

You scoff. “I did not assume. I ran through the right process, Wonwoo. I did my own tests, and when those came back fine, I turned it over to engineering. Is that not the right way to handle this?”

“It is.”

“So what are you insinuating?” You press. 

“Am I insinuating something?” He counters. The corners of his mouth twitch like he’s finding this amusing, and you want to punch him more than ever. “I’m just speaking plainly.”

You draw in a deep breath in a final attempt to calm yourself down. Then, you force a polite smile. “Fine.”

“Fine.” He echoes. You watch as he turns and disappears back into the engineering department. 

It takes a whole two hours before you’re getting another email. But this time, it’s only addressed to you. 

From: Choi Seungcheol - Lead Developer To: Y/L/N, Y/F/N CC: Jeon Wonwoo, Hong Joshua - Lead Animator Subject: RE: Animation Blends - Investigation Please find your assigned work order below. If you have any questions, let Wonwoo know.  Thanks,  Seungcheol

Unbelievable. Attached to the email is, in fact, a new work order that’s titled: 

JOINT INVESTIGATION - ANIMATION BLENDS - ASSIGNED STAFF: JEON WONWOO, Y/L/N Y/F/N.

If there is a God out there, you’re sure at this point they have it out for you. This is a personal attack from the universe, and you can’t help but wonder why. Your first instinct is to ask Seungcheol to take you off the ticket, because who in their right mind would think it’s a good idea to pair the two of you together? But you already know the answer, because it’s the same one they give you every time you get stuck on a work order together: “You’re the best in each department. We need the best to figure this out, so figure it out”. 

Which, really, you’re flattered to be considered the best. What you’re not flattered about is the fact that being the best automatically means that Wonwoo is constantly in your orbit. At this point, your department leads are just begging HR to get involved because of the way they keep throwing you two together. 

As if on cue, Joshua, your supervisor, knocks on the door. You push yourself to your feet and grab your tablet. 

“I know, I’m going.” You grumble. “Just know I’m mad about it, though.”

“You always are.” He replies with a hum. “When you’re done with Wonwoo, I do need to see the two of you in my office. Seungcheol is calling a meeting.”

Well, that’s not good. 

“What for?” You ask, turning to look at him. 

He takes a deep breath. “Nothing horrible. We’ll discuss it later. Just fix this animation blend, and I’ll see you soon.”

He disappears back into his office, and you want to slam your head against a wall. Maybe throw yourself into traffic. Whatever it takes to get out of this work order and this surprise meeting. Basically, anything to be away from Wonwoo.

You hesitate before leaving your department, and the walk to engineering feels like torture. When you open the door to their corner of the sixth floor, Wonwoo’s back is to you. He’s already typing rapidly, staring at a screen full of code that makes zero sense to you. The chair next to him is open, so you promptly slide into it. 

He doesn’t say anything. He continues working and is obviously ignoring the fact that you’re here, now. You set down your tablet and clear your throat loudly. Still, nothing. 

“Earth to Wonwoo?” You wave a hand in front of his face, and he pushes it away. 

“I’m working.” He mutters. You roll your eyes. 

“I can see that.” You reply as you boot up your tablet. “Didn’t you see? I’m assigned to help with the work order.”

“Lucky me.”

You both fall into a very angry silence. Wonwoo’s typing becomes a bit more aggressive, which only fuels your fire to tap a bit harder against the screen of your tablet. You can feel the other engineers nervously watching, like the two of you are a bomb that’s set to detonate any second. 

“You’re too close.” Wonwoo suddenly announces. You feel his foot push your chair away from under the desk. “And you’re working too loudly. I can’t hear myself think.”

“I’m too loud?” You drop your tablet into your lap. “I’m on a touchscreen, Wonwoo. You have the loud ass keyboard. Maybe you should get your eyes checked again, because clearly your vision has gotten worse if you can’t see that.”

“Your presence alone is too loud.” He argues, not taking his eyes off his screen. He’s still typing, and that pisses you off even more. “You’re so loud all the time. Your voice, your breathing, your tapping. Just for one day, I’d love it if you would shut up and keep your opinions to yourself–”

You move before you can think, and pull the plug on his computer. Someone gasps from behind you, whereas Wonwoo is quickly standing. He’s pushing you completely out of the way, now, to hurry and plug it back in. As the screen flickers back to life, he finally looks at you. 

“What is your problem?” He asks. “Are you crazy?! None of that was saved! The file is going to be even more corrupt now–”

“My problem?” You stand as well, tossing your tablet aside. “You’re finding any excuse to ridicule what I do. I mean, my breathing, Wonwoo? Really? That’s the best you can come up with?”

“Both of you, stop.”

The two of you turn towards the doorway where Seungcheol is standing. He looks tired and annoyed. He drags a hand down his face, then steps to the side. “Come with me, please.”

Wonwoo doesn’t move immediately, so you grab your things and move first. He trails behind shortly after as you make your way down the hall towards his office. You’ve never had a reason to come in here before, but it looks like how you’d imagine it to. There aren’t many decorations, and everything is either black or grey. He has a single pencil holder on his desk with maybe five pens in it. In his own words, his office is ‘no bullshit’.

Seungcheol is a little intimidating. Way more than your supervisor, that is. He’s nice, but you’ve seen him get mad before, and that was reason enough to try to stay clear of him as much as possible. However, thanks to Wonwoo, you’re about to be at the receiving end of his anger.

Joshua is already sitting in there when you arrive, and he looks equally as tired as Seungcheol. You and Wonwoo take the two open seats in front of Seungcheol’s desk, and then it's quiet. Seungcheol closes the door and sighs. When he sits, you can feel your heart rate quicken. 

“I want to start by saying you two are some of the best employees we have in the agency.” His voice is even, but wavers on the edge of irritation. “However, this kind of behavior has to stop. Joshua and I have been talking, and we think it would be best to try to remedy this before it gets even worse than it already is.”

Neither you nor Wonwoo has the dignity to talk, so he keeps going. 

“We have a new game proposal that has come to our attention from our supervisors.” He explains, leaning back in his chair. “But, in order for it to get funding of any kind, we need to create a mock-up of the game. Just a small, playable version to show what the finished product could look like with full funding. This game has the potential to be a big deal for the company, so we can not mess it up. Which, in turn, means we need our best workers on the project.”

“Since the two of you can’t figure out how to work together on your own,” Joshua chimes in, “we will be requiring you to work together on this project. That means genuine collaboration and communication. No more using Seungkwan as a mediator or opening tickets to try and solve problems.”

You think you might puke. Beside you, Wonwoo is still. You’re both at a loss for words, because why would they think this was a good idea? They just saw how the morning played out with their own two eyes, so they think the appropriate solution is to force you to work together? The whole situation is laughable and ridiculous. So horrifically ridiculous, in fact, that you wonder for a second if this is a nightmare. It’s the only logical explanation right now. 

“What’s the game?” Wonwoo asks. His voice is low, like he’s trying to hide the fact that he’s pissed by being quiet. 

Seungcheol reaches into a drawer and pulls out a manila folder. There’s already quite the stack of papers inside, which makes you wonder how long they’ve been building on this idea before deciding to greenlight it. He passes the folder to Wonwoo, who begins shuffling through the notes. 

“Fantasy RPG,” Seungcheol replies. “They want to make it an open world, with a ‘choose your own path’ style of gameplay. There’s everything between romanceable characters, vast options for customization, and over a hundred different endings to the game. The mechanics are going to need to be pretty impressive for us to get the funding we need.”

The project did sound like fun. It piques your interest enough that the idea of working with Wonwoo almost sounds tolerable if it meant you got to design the characters for it. Almost. Wonwoo closes the folder again and tries to pass it back to Seungcheol, but you reach over to take it from him. He glances at you for the first time since the argument, and your blood boils all over again. His jaw tightens as he turns to his supervisor. 

You flip through the notes, seeing a few rough sketches for concept art. It’s got everything between character names, weapons, armor, and even animal companions. Your mind is already swirling with ideas as you chew on your bottom lip. The vision is painting itself in your mind, making you eager to sketch it all up. You’re thinking of a darker concept, judging by the description of the game. Deep purples, ugly, olive green tones, with maybe a touch of mustard yellow for the ogres–

“We need a final product to present to investors in six months.” Seungcheol continues. You look up at him again. Six months was not that much time. You’d have to start on this, like, yesterday. “I’m anticipating overtime will happen occasionally, so HR has already approved whatever extra hours will accumulate between now and August.”

You glance over to Wonwoo, who is now sitting with his arms folded across his chest. You can’t fully read his expression from where you sit, but you’d kill to know what was going on in his mind right now. As you close the folder and pass it back to Seungcheol, you take a deep breath. 

“Okay.” You manage. Not that you had much of a choice in whether or not you were assigned to the project, but you knew one of you had to at least acknowledge the plan. Clearly, Wonwoo wasn’t going to. “I’ll start on some designs–”

“Don’t tell me.” Seungcheol gestures to Wonwoo. “Tell your partner.”

You feel the tips of your ears heat up. Is he seriously playing mediator right now? Swallowing, you turn to face Wonwoo. He’s still not looking at you. 

Clearing your throat, you finish your sentence, “I’ll start on some designs and color palettes.”

A few seconds pass before Wonwoo looks at you. He stands, then sticks his hands into his pockets. “Sounds good. I’m going to work on gameplay mechanics. I’ll get some demos ready.”

With that, he turns on his heel and exits the office. A tiny part of you hopes the door hits him on his way out, but it doesn’t. It never does. 

When you get home, you sink into your couch and pray the cushions swallow you whole. Your cat, Dubu, comes running from the bedroom and promptly plants herself onto your lap. You watch as she stretches out, then rolls over onto her back. 

Dubu came into your life when you first moved out of your parents’ house. So, five years ago now. Truthfully, you’re not sure where you’d be without her. Dubu has been your lifeline for every long, sleepless night, every breakup, and every hiccup you’ve had involving Wonwoo at work. Today was no different, and you’re certain she can tell when you’re having a bad day. She’s purring loudly, staring up at you like you’ve hung the stars in the sky. For her, you probably did. You just wish you could do it for someone else, too. 

“Oh, Dubu,” you sigh, “what’re we going to do? They’re making Wonwoo and I work together.”

She meows as if she understands. She doesn’t, but you keep going anyway.

“The game is cool.” You hum as you gently scratch her tummy. She blinks slowly. “It’s fantasy. Maybe I could draw some cool dragons in it. Or maybe I could draw Wonwoo and have him get blown to smithereens in the tutorial.”

If only that’s how real life worked, too. Not that you want Wonwoo dead per se, but you wish there was a way to just…re-animate or re-code how things could be. You wonder a lot what must’ve happened to make him such a grouch, or if he came out of his mother’s womb naturally being an asshole. How miserable his life must be if he behaves that way every day. 

Does he even have a life outside of work? You’ve never considered that thought before. Who was Jeon Wonwoo outside of the office? Letting your curiosity get the better of you, you dig your phone out of your pocket and open up Instagram. It takes all but one search for his profile to pop up. 

You want to laugh at how ridiculous it seems. The only semi-accurate aspect about his profile is the fact that he’s barely smiling. Now that you think about it, you wonder if he’s just allergic to smiling in general. Have his friends seen him smile? His family? You want to shudder at the thought of being related to someone so…Wonwoo. Your eyes land on one particular recurring commenter: kimhaeun. She’s calling Wonwoo handsome and saying she misses him, and you barf a little in your mouth. If anyone has seen him smile, maybe it’s her. Poor soul. Dating someone as pretentious as him must be miserable–assuming they’re dating, anyway.

Dubu meows again from your lap, which shifts your attention back to her. Tossing your phone aside, you begin to scratch the top of her head. She paws at your phone playfully, which makes you smile. 

Until her paw somehow taps the ‘follow’ button. 

When you gasp, Dubu jumps off your lap and runs to the other room. You quickly unfollow him, and pray to god he didn’t see anything. You’re not sure you can handle that kind of embarrassment at work on Monday. Besides, who the hell is going to believe your story that your cat followed him?

“Jesus, Dubu.” You exhale as you make sure to fully close out of the app this time. 

You set your phone back down on the couch and wander to the bedroom, where Dubu is hiding under the bed. You manage to coax her out and scoop her into your arms again. As you give her a kiss on the head, your phone dings in the living room. You and Dubu wander back to the couch, and you peer down at the screen. 

wonulikesgames Followed You!

Monday rolls around, and you’re not so sure how you feel about going into work. The only plus side is that Wonwoo isn’t showing up at the same time as you today, so you can peacefully clock in and head up to your workstation. Tucked under your arm is your sketchbook, where you’ve drawn a few mock-ups for character designs. You spent your whole weekend on them and were truthfully pretty proud of the final product. The game was a big inspiration, though. If the project gets the funding it needs, you already knew you would buy a copy once the company finished making it. 

Video games were something you enjoyed from time to time. Honestly, when you got into animation, you were hoping to do something more along the lines of movies or cartoons. It hadn’t crossed your mind to animate for video games until your friend, Hansol, encouraged you to apply for the position at Carat Entertainment. Hansol, much like Seungkwan, is one of your best friends. He went to art school with you, but he left Carat a few years ago to work in an art institute somewhere in Europe. When he lived here, you, him, and Seungkwan were inseparable. You and Seungkwan had even taken a trip to see him a few months ago, and you’d forgotten how fun it was to have the three of you in the same room. 

With Hansol leaving Carat, though, you were promoted to his old position. Going from a concept artist to an animator was a dream come true. 

Well, until it began to involve Wonwoo. 

You’d known of Wonwoo when you were first hired, but your paths hadn’t started crossing until the promotion. Prior to that, you’d smile at him in the hallways, and he’d just ignore it. You figured at the time he was just awkward. When you finally had to work with him, you quickly found out that he just sucked. And as much as he sucked, you despised the fact that he was good at what he did. Like, why do shitty people also get to be talented and smart? It’s a waste, in your opinion. Some of that could go to other programmers you enjoyed, like Jihoon or Soonyoung. They weren’t assholes. Why couldn’t you collaborate with them?

You round the corner towards your workstation, where Wonwoo is spread out with his laptop. Seungkwan is tucked in the corner, looking scared out of his mind that the devil himself is there. Your jaw tightens as you set your things down. 

“Good morning.” You say flatly. 

“Sure,” Wonwoo mumbles in response. “My computer is broken in engineering. Brought my laptop to work here instead.”

“You couldn’t just work on your laptop in engineering?” You question. “You’re taking up too much room. Seungkwan needs to work, too, you know.”

“We’re working on this together, aren’t we?” He counters. “Besides, I have demos to show you. Seungkwan already told me he didn’t need this workspace today.”

Your head snaps up, finding Seungkwan’s gaze immediately. He mouths, ‘Sorry!’. You roll your eyes. Considering there was no way out or around this, you decide that there’s no point in wasting your energy on it. You slide into your chair as you boot up your tablet. 

“Well,” you sigh as you begin to spin, “I have some character designs to show you, too. Glad we both did our work over the weekend.”

Wonwoo is quiet as he types. You’re not sure when he’s planning to show you these demos, so at first you just wait. Your gaze darts back and forth between Seungkwan and Wonwoo, trying to figure out if you should say something else or let Wonwoo approach the topic first. Figuring your colleague wasn’t going to be talking anytime soon, you decide to leave the ball in his court. Spinning in your chair, you face your tablet again. As you begin moving your physical sketches onto the device, you hear a chair get pulled up to your left. You glance, finding Wonwoo there with his laptop.

Of course, he’s ready to show you when you take your attention off him. 

You spin to face him, and he gives you a look. It’s not one you can entirely read, but if you had to guess, it was annoyance. It only makes sense that he would hate someone spinning in their office chair. He probably doesn’t spin in his at all because he’s a fun hater. Just for that, you continue to spin back and forth to piss him off even more. 

“So, I made the mechanics pretty simple as far as the actual combat goes,” he begins as he faces the screen towards you. “I think the focus should be more storyline-based than combat-based, going off the notes. I’ve created a total of fifteen different fighting strategies so far. Obviously, most of them will depend on the weapon type, but I figure we can flesh that out with whatever you’ve drawn so far.”

He begins to play through his demo. You watch as the filler characters (AKA blocks essentially) move through the space. Wonwoo seems focused, and you hate that he’s so aware of what he’s doing. You hate that he’s good at this. But what you hate even more is the fact that the gameplay looks good. Like, really, really good. Once the demo ends, he looks over to you. His expression is deadpan per usual, but it’s slightly softer, like he’s looking for approval of some kind. 

All you can manage to give him is a shrug. “It looks fine.”

“It’s better than fine.” He states. “This is the best combat I’ve made since starting here.”

You know he’s right, but you’re too prideful to give him that justification. You begin spinning in your chair again as you think of what to say that won’t give him any kind of ego boost. Suddenly, his hand grabs the backrest of your chair, promptly stopping you. 

“Would you knock that off?” He asks. “Show me your sketches.”

“Fun hater.” You grumble. You turn your back to him to grab your sketchbook, then pass it to him. “All my sketches for the game are towards the back of the notebook. It’s labeled, so you shouldn’t miss–”

“I found them already.” He cuts in. Then, he goes quiet again as he slowly flips through each page. You watch as his eyes carefully examine every drawing, like he’s genuinely observing it and not just glancing. On one page, you watch him trace over the illustration with his hands. He hesitates for a second, and before you can lean in to see what picture it was, he closes the notebook and passes it back to you. “They’re fine.”

You guess you deserve that. Taking the notebook back, you sigh. “I’m going to work on transferring these over to my tablet, and then I’ll begin on animation.”

“You don’t have to tell me everything you do,” Wonwoo says, as he turns his attention back to his laptop. “As long as it gets done, I don’t care.”

You blink. “This is a collaboration, in case you’ve forgotten. When I collaborate, I personally keep my partner in the loop on the status of each stage. You know, like a normal person.”

“But I don’t think that requires giving me every detail,” Wonwoo argues. “Obviously, updates are good, but I don’t need to know what you’re doing every second of your day, Picasso. Frankly, I couldn't care less what you’re doing with your day.”

You press your tongue to the inside of your cheek. For some reason, his words pack a bit more punch than normal. Dwelling on it, though, wasn’t going to fix anything. When you turn back to your tablet to keep working, you’re expecting Wonwoo to go back to the workstation. Instead, he stays firmly planted at your side, typing away on his laptop as if he didn’t just insult you a few seconds ago. 

Time rolls on, and the two of you are so quiet that after a while, you forget Wonwoo is even there. You bob your head to the music in your headphones and sway in your chair as you shade and finish some character designs. The color palette you picked looks exactly as you envisioned, and it makes you feel a swell of pride. Almost like reassurance that you do know what you’re doing, and your art degree is paying off.

As you’re shading in the last dragon from your sketches, you hear Wonwoo shift beside you. You glance over to him, and he’s stretching his hands above his head. The sleeves on his white button-down fall slightly when he removes his glasses to rub his eyes. When he puts them back on, he glances at the time. It’s already one, which means you missed your lunch. It is, however, time for his lunch. So, you watch him stand. He locks his computer, but leaves it next to you. 

“I’ll be back in an hour.” He announces. 

And with that, he exits the department and disappears towards the breakroom. You drag a hand down your face, as Seungkwan all but trips over himself running over to you. 

“That was so weird!” He hisses, spinning you to face him. “He just…sat there. All morning. Is he coming back? Will it be like this for this whole project?”

You push Seungkwan off of you. “He just said he would be back in an hour, Kwan. Were you even listening? And, no, it’s only like this until his computer is fixed.”

“What is the project they have you working on? Joshua wouldn’t say.” Seungkwan slides into the seat that was previously occupied by Wonwoo. 

“It’s just some new game they’re trying to get greenlit.” You roll your eyes. “They’re making Wonwoo and I work together as a disciplinary action.”

Seungkwan makes a face at that. “So, what, how long are you going to be stuck on this with him?”

“Six months,” You groan, burying your face in your hands. “The only redeeming factor is that the game is so cool. I really want to be part of it, but the fact that it means dealing with Wonwoo–”

“Hey, on the plus side, he’s only insulted you once so far today!” Seungkwan chirps. “He seems to be staying quiet.”

“For now.” You mutter. 

He had a point, though. As much as it pains you to admit it, the morning hasn’t been awful. If the project could stay like this for the duration of the six months, you might actually make it out alive. 

“Besides,” Seungkwan shifts closer to you, “between you and me, I heard he got a job offer somewhere else.”

As if today couldn’t get any better. You gasp, fully turning your body towards Seungkwan. This deserves full attention, so you shut your tablet off to listen. Seungkwan leans in so nobody else can hear. 

“I was in the breakroom an hour ago,” he explains softly. “Soonyoung and Seokmin were in there, talking about how Wonwoo had a meeting with Seungcheol on Friday after you guys left. I guess some big-name company in the States offered him a job, and it pays really well.”

“Do you think he’ll take it?” You ask. 

Seungkwan scoffs. “He’d be stupid not to. That’s what Seokmin said, too. I mean, this could be a big break for him. Besides, he had a messy breakup a few months ago. Like, bad messy. So why would he stay?”

Your mind wanders back to the girl you saw in the comments on his Instagram profile–Haeun. Was that who he broke up with? Maybe that’s why she commented that she wished she were with him on his most recent post. Yikes. Well, really, maybe not yikes. She was now single, so you would count that as a win for her. Maybe she’d see it eventually, too. 

“Oh god, I am praying so hard he takes it.” You say, leaning back in your chair. “Could you imagine life without Jeon Wonwoo?”

“I’d imagine you’d be a lot more delightful to be around.” Seungkwan remarks. 

You kick his leg from under the desk. He winces, then kicks you back. It doesn’t hurt, though. Seungkwan never could put much power behind his physical attacks. He was too nice to do that. 

You turn back to your tablet, then happily sigh. “Maybe that will be my motivation for this project.” You hum as Seungkwan returns to his own desk. “One more day of working with him just means I’m one day closer to never seeing him again.”

You don’t even realize it’s late until you finish transferring your final sketch over. You stretch, then glance up. Outside, it’s dark. The office is quiet except for the sounds of Wonwoo’s typing next to you. Grabbing your phone, you glance at the time. 

8:47 pm

“Oh, my god.” You say, but a yawn slips out instead. You’ve missed lunch and dinner now, it seems. Dubu will be mad at you when you get home. “It’s almost nine.”

Wonwoo, unmoving, replies, “I know, I saw that a few minutes ago.”

You stand and power off your tablet. As you begin to put all your tools and supplies away, you find that Wonwoo begins to follow suit. 

“You didn’t have to stay if you knew it was late.” You comment. “I have a tendency to lose track of time.”

He packs his laptop into his backpack. “I wasn’t staying because of you. I was staying because I had work to do.”

“Right,” you laugh in disbelief. A few seconds pass before you add, “You’re so grumpy all the time.”

Wonwoo looks up at you as he puts on his jacket. “I’m not grumpy. I just don’t like you.”

“Well, that’s been established.” You roll your eyes as you sling your bag over your shoulder. “Whatever. I’m too tired to argue with you right now.”

As you turn to leave, you hear him quickly say, “Wait. You think I’m just going to let you leave alone?”

You press your brows together. Before you have the chance to look at him again, he’s already by your side. As if he could read your thoughts, he clarifies, “It’s late. This side of town isn’t fantastic at night, and I’m not going to just let you leave by yourself. I hate you, but I’m not a complete asshole.”

The two of you begin walking in silence towards the elevator, and you are incredibly unsure of how you’re supposed to feel in this moment. Jeon Wonwoo, the same person who can never be bothered to do anything for anyone, is now walking you to your car. You already know you’re going to have to call Seungkwan and Vernon when you get home to debrief this. They’re always in the loop on your ‘Wonwoo Moments’, as they’ve dubbed it.

When the elevator doors close behind you, Wonwoo leans against the wall. He sighs, then says, “I saw you followed me on Instagram.”

The blood rushes from your face. You bow your head towards the ground to hide the fact, then clear your throat. “Uh, yeah, that was an accident. I unfollowed you.”

“I know.” He replies. “Why were you looking me up?”

“Jesus.” You laugh, burying your face in your hands. “You’re so straightforward, dude. Have you never casually stalked someone before?”

When you lift your head to look at him, he’s already staring at you. He’s deadpan (shocker), but the fact that he was looking at you makes you feel…weird. It’s not bad, but it’s not good. You don’t really know what it is, but your stomach kind of flips over itself. 

“No.” He answers flatly. “I’m not on social media much.”

“I noticed.” You hum. “Your last post was from four months ago.”

“No, I posted last week.” He corrects. You think for a second he’s biting back a smile, but you can’t tell with the dim lighting of the elevator. The doors open, and the two of you are stepping off. 

You scoff, looking away from him. “Whatever. You get my point.”

Outside, the February air is crisp as it hits your face. You wrap your arms around yourself as you both trek across the parking lot towards your vehicles. True to his word, Wonwoo walks you all the way to your small, white SUV. When you stop beside it, you’re not sure why you hesitate. But Wonwoo doesn’t move, either, so you sit in the silence. 

Seoul is still alive around you, with the sounds of cars passing by and the twinkling lights of the city. It starts to snow lightly, and you consider saying something. Anything. But before you get the chance to act on it, Wonwoo is taking a deep breath. 

“Good job today.” He says. “Your designs were really cool.”

“Oh.” You give him a polite smile. “Thank you. You too. I kind of lied earlier. I really liked your combat mechanics.”

Wonwoo laughs, and for the first time in the seven years you’ve known him, you see his smile. His head dips for a second before he meets your gaze again. 

“I figured you did.” He admits. “But, I did, too. So I guess we’re even.”

“I guess so.” You say. “Goodnight, Wonwoo.”

“Goodnight, Picasso.”

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