#infboreum

FEW things can instantly spread that sensation of discomfort on Hangyu like the notification flashing on his phone screen. He’s not exactly the type to busy his mind with mindless worries, or conceive possibilities of events yet to unfold, but there are exceptions to every rule. This is no simple case of foreboding; he has conjured an entire set of evidence strongly suggesting he should be readying himself for a talk he’d rather avoid.

It’s a simple text, when he reads it. Innocuous as the messages piling on his inbox will get. A straightforward request to meet up, sparingly worded. But the sender is what propels the situation into delicate territory, which is definitely more sobriety than expected for a contact name that’s only a snake figure.

Something about the oxymoronic trail of thought puts a smile on his face.

A moment of honesty: Hangyu would rather do a number of universally unpleasant things (dying not excluded) before he meets with Boreum under the current circumstances. The message, the timing (his teachers have also begun scheduling the bigger assignments), the history. He knows exactly where this is going, doesn’t need a compass to see an inch ahead of his nose -- and he hates it.

He’s still making his way to the narrow alleyway behind the gardens. Running a few minutes late, possibly, but he’s rarely ever on time. The words of his father ring somewhere in the back of his head. Frozen accounts, mass firing. They got a massive lawsuit on them. He’d rarely seen the man that worked up about a single case, the age marks he had on him seeming infinitely denser as Hangyu sat across from him on his office.

Boreum is there, as expected. Gorgeous and blonde as he remembers, and a frown that seems dangerously worse than the one she sports on a daily basis. It reads, approach with caution.

Hangyu is not much of a reader.

“Oh, yikes. You really should work on that greeting face of yours.” He feigns a shiver, but he grins, torso swaying slightly as he leans close, teasing. “I’m sure you’ve heard of a smile. How about putting that theory to practice, princess?”