Mr. Hong stayed in the study long after Mr. Lee had left, the tension still clinging to the air like smoke. He loosened his tie, rubbing his temples with a weary sigh. He loved his son more than anything but god, Eunjae could be exhausting when he was angry. And he had every right to be… but still, sometimes love wasn't enough to bridge pride and pain.
He stood, about to go talk to him again, but the hallway was already quiet.
Eunjae had stormed off, locked himself in his room, and wasn't coming out.
Meanwhile…
In a crowded restaurant across the city, Taemin was sprawled in a booth, aggressively redialing Juwon's number like an obsessed ex. His expression was dramatic, like he was being personally victimized by the lack of attention.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
"Pick up, pick up, pick up—"
Finally click.
"What?"
Juwon's voice was flat, obviously annoyed. He was in the middle of work at Park Associates, dressed in a sleek suit, standing in front of a glass wall with his phone pressed to his ear and barely concealed irritation on his face.
Taemin perked up like a puppy. "Juwonieee~ Come see me. I'm bored. I'm hungry. I'm dying—"
"No."
"Wha—? Why???"
"Because we just met.....And I'm working. Go home."
Taemin pouted hard enough to make it audible through the phone. "If you don't come out, I swear I'll show up at your company—"
Click.
Juwon hung up.
He thought that was the end of it.
Spoiler: it was not.
Exactly twelve minutes later, the guards at Park Associates were struggling outside with a tall, annoyingly pretty man holding two giant boba teas, shouting at them like he owned the building.
"I KNOW JUWON! I'M NOT A STALKER—I MEAN I KINDA AM BUT NOT IN A SCARY WAY—HEY DON'T TOUCH THE BOBA!"
One of the security guys was already calling upstairs. Juwon got the call, stared blankly, then let out the slowest, most painful sigh of his life.
"Let him up," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.
When Taemin stepped into his office, still holding the drinks like peace offerings, Juwon didn't even greet him he just glared.
"Are you seriously insane?" he snapped. "Do you know how bad this looks? Barging into a corporate office? Yelling at my staff? Why are you even here?"
Taemin just grinned like a menace, kicking the door shut behind him. "Because I missed you."
"We met once."
"Yeah. And you were hot then too."
Juwon looked ready to combust. "Taemin—"
Taemin handed him a drink. "Look, I even brought you brown sugar milk tea. No ice. Less sweet. Just how you told the waiter yesterday."
Juwon stared at the drink… then at Taemin.
"…You remembered that?"
"Of course I did." Taemin leaned against his desk, looking way too smug. "You're cute when you're mad, but you're cuter when you're flustered."
Juwon blinked. "I'm not flustered."
His ears were definitely red though.
Taemin grinned wider. "Uh huh."
Juwon let out a long, dramatic sigh, finally taking one of the drinks and plopping down in his chair. He stared at Taemin across the desk with the same tired expression teachers give to students who won't stop acting up in class.
"Alright, you delivered your tea. Now leave," Juwon said firmly. "You've already caused enough of a scene."
But Taemin wasn't even listening.
He was busy scanning the office with lazy, curious eyes like a cat looking for a place to nap.
"…I heard CEO offices usually have secret rooms," Taemin said suddenly, totally off-topic.
Juwon blinked. "What? Why do you even care?"
Taemin yawned like he hadn't slept in a week. "I'm tired. I was clubbing all night. My legs are dead. My soul is dead. I need to sleep or I'll literally die on your couch. And you wouldn't want a hot guy dying in your office. Bad PR."
Juwon groaned. "You're unbelievable."
But he also knew Taemin was annoyingly stubborn. And if he didn't give him somewhere to sleep, the man would absolutely just pass out in the middle of the hallway or do something even worse.
So, reluctantly, Juwon stood up, walked to the back wall of his office, and opened a sleek panel revealing a small, private bedroom attached to the suite.
"There. Go crash. Then leave."
"Wow," Taemin grinned, hopping up instantly. "You do have a secret room. Sexy."
Juwon rolled his eyes and turned to walk away, but before he could even step back, Taemin grabbed his wrist and dragged him inside.
"What the hell—"
"Cuddle with me," Taemin mumbled, already kicking his shoes off and flopping onto the bed like he owned it.
Juwon yelped, trying to pull free. "You insane rat! Let go! I'm not—ugh!"
Taemin just pulled him down, arms already wrapped lazily around Juwon's waist.
"Stop fighting it," he mumbled, snuggling in closer. "You're warm. It's fine."
"I will scream," Juwon growled, squirming and swatting him with a pillow.
During the struggle, his nail accidentally scraped Taemin's cheek not deep, but enough to make the man freeze in place.
"Ow."
Juwon stiffened. "I.. I'm sorry"
Taemin touched his cheek dramatically, then gave Juwon the smuggest smirk possible. "You scratched me. Now you have to cuddle me as an apology."
Juwon stared at him like he just declared war.
"You're literally a menace."
Taemin grinned. "A cute menace."
Juwon groaned, gave up, and just flopped beside him with a muttered curse.
Taemin wrapped an arm around him instantly, settling in like this was the most natural thing in the world. "See? Not so bad."
"…Shut up."
Back at the Lee estate, Rinwoo sat beneath the large elm tree tucked away at the back of the garden the one spot that still felt untouched by time, by cold eyes, by everything that had gone wrong.
The medicine from earlier had dulled the fever, but the ache in his chest? That never really went away.
He curled his fingers into the soft grass, eyes half-lidded as the breeze swept through the garden. The wind smelled like wet earth, cut grass, and distant blooming roses. Familiar. Comforting. Safe, in a way he hadn't felt in years.
And just like that… the memories returned.
He was small again. Maybe ten. Clothes a bit too big, shoes scuffed from running errands for the estate. His mom was working the kitchens that day, telling him to stay out of trouble. And Rinwoo always curious, always quiet wandered out to the garden.
That's when he saw him.
Taekyun.
Sitting cross-legged on a blanket under the same elm tree, sunlight flickering through the leaves above him, casting golden patches across his open textbooks. His hair was shorter back then, messier. He wore a school uniform even on weekends. Rinwoo didn't understand why rich kids studied so much but still, he was drawn to it. To him.
He watched from behind the tree, peeking, eyes locked on the thick textbook Taekyun flipped through with ease. Words Rinwoo couldn't read. Letters he'd never learned.
He was staring so hard, he didn't realize Taekyun had looked up.
"Hey."
Rinwoo froze. His heart shot into his throat.
"You spying on me or what?" Taekyun grinned, brushing hair from his eyes. There wasn't even a hint of mockery in his voice. Just playful curiosity.
"I—I wasn't," Rinwoo stammered, half-hiding behind the trunk.
"Then come out."
"…My mom'll scold me if I get in the way."
"You're not in the way."
Rinwoo stepped out slowly, like a stray cat unsure if the hand reaching toward him was safe. He kept glancing at the book.
"You wanna read it?"
Rinwoo nodded before he could stop himself embarrassed by his own eagerness.
Taekyun held the book out. "Here. You can keep it."
Rinwoo's eyes widened. "No, no, I can't… my mom will scold me if I take stuff from the family."
"Then don't take it," Taekyun shrugged, scooting over to make space beside him. "Just sit and read with me."
"…I don't know how to read," Rinwoo admitted, voice barely above a whisper.
Taekyun blinked. "Then I'll teach you."
Rinwoo's face turned bright red.
But he sat down.
And for the first time, someone read for him.
"'The fox jumped over the fence.' Easy sentence," Taekyun had said, pointing word by word. "Say it with me."
Rinwoo repeated each word, slowly. Fumbling syllables. Pausing too long. But Taekyun never laughed. Never sighed. Just waited.
Patient.
Encouraging.
That day, Rinwoo learned to read his own name.
"R-I-N-W-O-O," Taekyun had said, writing it out in a notebook. "See? Now it's yours."
Back in the present, Rinwoo let out a shaky breath, a sad little laugh bubbling in his throat. He looked down at his hands, palms open like he was still holding that memory.
So much had changed.
That boy who taught him letters and smiled under the sun was now a man who barely looked his way. Who couldn't even ask if he was okay when he collapsed.
But even so… Rinwoo couldn't forget.
He pressed a hand gently to his chest.
Because somewhere, buried under all the silence and hurt…
He still remembered how Taekyun once reached out not with duty, not with bitterness, but with kindness.
And that version of him… Rinwoo missed the most.
At the Park Association building, the afternoon light had faded into a soft golden hue, washing the windows in a sleepy glow.
Juwon blinked his eyes open slowly, confusion flickering across his face.
He was… still in the office?
He sat up quickly, the blanket slipping off his shoulders a blanket he didn't remember pulling over himself.
Then he remembered.
Taemin.
That annoying, clingy idiot who barged in with boba, caused a scene at the entrance, then crawled into bed like he owned the place and somehow, despite all logic, despite every strict rule Juwon held about professionalism and boundaries…
He had fallen asleep.
In that man's arms.
Juwon rubbed his face with both hands, mortified. "What the hell is wrong with me…"
He looked around. The bed was empty now. Taemin was gone. No chaos. No teasing. No perfume that smelled like overpriced cologne and late-night clubs.
Just silence.
He sighed.
Then to his own betrayal a small smile crept onto his lips. The kind you try to hide even from yourself. The kind you don't want to mean anything… but it does.
There was something oddly comforting about the way Taemin had clung to him. Like he was afraid Juwon would disappear. Like he needed him.
It was stupid.
It was dangerous.
And yet… it felt good.
Juwon stared out the window for a second, letting that unfamiliar warmth settle in his chest before the horror of time hit him.
"Shit—!" he cursed, checking his watch. "It's almost dinner?!"
He scrambled off the bed, fixing his shirt, hair a mess, tie completely undone. He couldn't believe he'd slept this long. During work. He never did this.
Taemin, that walking disaster of a man, had literally made him break every rule he lived by.
Juwon grabbed his phone, still no message from him. Of course not. Taemin was probably off somewhere, dragging another poor soul into his nonsense. Or—
He stopped mid-thought.
No. He didn't want to think about that.
He shook it off, grabbed his blazer, and rushed out of the private room, ignoring the amused glances from a few employees outside. No one dared ask where he'd been. They knew better.
As he stepped into the elevator, he checked his reflection in the mirror-like wall. There was a faint crease on his cheek from the pillow. His hair a little tousled.
And for a second, he imagined how it must've looked the two of them, tangled up like that, Taemin's arms around him, Juwon's head resting in the crook of his neck like some lovesick idiot.
He frowned and tightened his tie, as if that would fix whatever this was.
It didn't.