Summary: Kihyun disappeared from your life just as quickly as he rode into it. You fell for him, hard, and he left you to put yourself back together after him. And you tried. But what will you do when he comes back into your life and into your company?
You glanced at the photo frames on Hyungwon’s desk as he looked over the papers you just handed him. Cherub cheeked smiling faces looked back at you, much like the round cheeks Hyungwon had. Hyungwon’s children, whom you had met several times and even bought Christmas presents for.
“Miss y/n, are you busy this weekend?” Hyungwon asked, without looking up from his papers.
“Aside from your party, no. Was there anything you needed?”
“Yes, actually,” he said, finally looking up at you. “Go on a date.”
You looked back at him, confused. “Oh um I wasn’t aware you were…”
“Of course it’s not for me,” he groaned. “It's for you. I want you to go on a date this weekend.”
You had a similar conversation with the two Mr Lees on the executive team. Currently, you three were milling about in the break room.
“Y/n, when are we getting invitations for your wedding?” Lee Minhyuk asked.
“I don’t know, how much notice do you require?”
Minhyuk groaned and Lee Hoseok laughed at your reply.
“Y/n, the only notice we’ve been getting is how badly your dates fail,” Hoseok said.
“Yeah, y/n, live life a little bit,” Minhyuk said while he raised his coffee mug in a toast.
Minhyuk and Hoseok had recently become architectural directors after being at your company for as long as you can remember. But in the time they climbed the corporate ladder, you jumped up several rungs when you inherited a majority share holding in MX Property Development. Prior to that, you were the head of legal affairs, but now you dealt with all the executive jobs your mother left you after she jetted off to the Seychelles or French Curacao or somewhere.
Mr Son, another member of the MX executive team, drifted into the break room.
“Hi there y/n,” he said as he reached for some protein powder in a nearby cabinet.
“Damn, Hyunwoo, you’re hitting the gym that early today?” You asked as you pointed at the microwave clock.
Hyunwoo shrugged. “Yeah why not? Plus, if you join me, I could introduce you to someone who could be your date this weekend.”
You groaned. “Did Hyungwon tell everyone about that?”
Hoseok, the older of the two Mr Lees, laughed. “The entire executive team knows the only time you got close to marriage was looking at my son’s prenup.”
Minhyuk smirked and added, “And the time you hit on that fashion designer shamelessly after a meeting is probably the second closest you’ve ever been to marriage.”
“YAH!!!” You cried and smacked him. “I’ve been in long term relationships before, okay?”
Another voice floated to the break room as Hyungwon walked in. “With all due respect y/n, six months sleeping with some biker when you were nineteen is not a long term relationship.”
The others in the room chortled loudly at that.
“You’re lucky my mother hired you, and not me,” you growled, even though you knew Hyungwon meant no harm.
“You can’t fire me anyways, when I’ve already handed in my retirement notice,” Hyungwon chuckled. “You better bring a date this weekend okay?”
“50 bucks says she doesn’t,” Minhyuk giggled and Hoseok muttered “deal” in response.
You rolled your eyes. “Sometimes I wonder if I should do some restructuring at this firm.”
As you rode home that night, on your motorcycle, your mind wandered to thoughts about the biker Hyungwon mentioned. That biker was the man who ruined all other men for you. You first met him while walking through some of the outer piers at the harbour, lined with abandoned, rusting warehouses. He had refurbished one to use as his garage and tinker on bikes with. It had been several years since then, and the warehouses had been replaced by restaurants and a bustling marina which you (or rather your mum’s firm) owned after redeveloping it. The marina and some remnants of the old harbour could be seen from the windows in your office at MX Property Development. You’d be lying if you said you never stared out of the windows for extended periods of time.
Today, you stopped by your favourite restaurant at the marina. The business had changed owners a few times, but each owner and their staff got to know you quickly. They knew your usual order (hot chips with aioli, and keep it coming), and your favourite seat (by the window, in the westernmost corner). So naturally, you were ushered there, your food was brought out within minutes, and you began pondering what Hyungwon said today.
The Past
It was the summer after graduating high school, and you accompanied your mother on a site visit to an area she was considering redeveloping. You were tired of staying home doing nothing, and your university classes wouldn’t begin for another 3 months. While your mum spoke with surveyors, analysts and other stakeholders, you wandered off on your own, headphones in. You barely heard the sound of engines and wheels skidding somewhere in front of you, until you saw a boy with orange hair on a bike, with smoke coming from the tires.
“Kihyun, we told you not to go so fast!” Someone called, and you saw two more boys running towards the orange haired Kihyun from inside one of the warehouses.
Kihyun let out some heavy breaths, then his gaze fell on you. “We got company,” he said towards the warehouse entrance.
Two heads popped out, one with black hair and one with red hair in spacebuns.
You stared back at Kihyun, your head cocked to the side, studying him as he studied you. He wore black leather pants and some sort of faux leather jacket with various patches attached.
Kihyun looked at you in your pale pink sheath dress. Clearly, you didn't belong anywhere near here.
“Hi, can I help you?” He asked as he got off his bike and approached you.
You removed your headphones and stood still.
“I promise I won’t hurt you,” Kihyun said.
“I was just uhh walking around. I came here with some people, but then we got separated so uh yeah, here I am I guess?” You replied.
You were smiling so sweetly and innocently that Kihyun almost forgot what he wanted to say next. But once he gathered himself, he asked, “Do you need directions back or anything?”
You continued smiling and shook your head. “Nope, I am completely okay. My mum is probably busy with the investors anyways.”
Kihyun nodded, not quite processing what any investors had to do with you visiting an abandoned warehouse.
“Were you also supposed to be at that meeting today? You don’t exactly look like you’re dressed for work in these warehouses,” Kihyun asked, gesturing at you dress.
“Oh right,” you said while absentmindedly smoothing the sides of your dress.
Kihyun’s eyes followed the movements of your hands and he couldn’t help but notice the way the dress hugged your hips.
“I’m just on vacation now before uni begins, and my mum thought it would be nice to take me to work with her since we all know I’ll end up working at her company in the end,” you explained.
Kihyun slowly shook his head as he processed your words. “So your mum is the one who’s been buying up parts of this harbour?”
“Yeah,” you replied.
Kihyun watched as you lifted your hair from your neck and fanned yourself. Of course, it’s summer, the UV index is through the roof, and you’re standing in the sun.
“Hey uh, would you like to come in? The sun’s kinda warm,” Kihyun said, and gestured towards the warehouse.
“Wow really? Thank you, that would be lovely,” you replied and walked past Kihyun to move inside.
Kihyun watched you with some confusion as he followed you in, your gait being strangely sure and confident. “I assure you we won’t hurt you. There’s some drinks in the fridge, feel free to sit by the fan.”
“That’s very kind of you, thanks,” you replied as you looked around the warehouse.
Several bikes littered the space, some with their parts removed and lying on the ground. There was a faint smell of grease, and shelves filled with toolboxes and spare parts.
“So you’re a mechanic,” you said, with a hint of awe in your voice.
Kihyun came and stood beside you. “Yes. And you’re MX Development’s CEO’s daughter.”
You hummed in agreement.
“Did you ever think its a bad idea revealing information like that to someone you just met?” Kihyun asked.
When you turned to face him, Kihyun wondered if your doe eyes could possibly look more innocent.
“Well uhh, I can see why it would be bad but, everybody at school knew, and many people figure it out pretty quickly,” you replied.
“Are you sure that’s not because you mention your mum’s job in the first few seconds of meeting someone?” Kihyun teased.
Your gaze turned sharper as you turned to face him. “Actually, it’s because I can provide decent property investment advice myself. I know how real estate markets work, and how property prices change with mining booms, migration, government policy and other things.”
Kihyun smirked. “That’s impressive. Is that all on your resume then?”
You shook your head and a small pout formed on your lips. “No, I just have my school marks and the degree I’ll be studying.”
“Which is?” Kihyun asked.
“Law,” you replied.
Kihyun didn’t ask anything more. He motioned for you to take a seat on a couch and headed to a fridge at the back of the studio. He returned a few seconds later with two chilled water bottles. He loosened the cap of one and gave it to you. You both silently took several sips as Kihyun sat on the opposite side of the couch to you.
“What about you then? I feel like motorcycle rider isn’t really a job,” you said.
“Do you think a job is all there is in life?” Kihyun asked.
You glanced up at the ceiling as if in thought. “Well, no, but you do spend a great deal of your life working, so it definitely contributes to a person’s character.”
Kihyun chuckled and replied, “Well you’re right about that. I am a motorcycle mechanic actually, and this is where I modify my bikes for races and things.”
“I thought that type of thing only happened in movies,” you mused more to yourself than him.
“Something tells me there’s a lot of things you’ve only experienced in movies,” Kihyun smirked.
You narrowed your eyes at him. “What are you implying there?”
“I wasn’t implying anything. I just think its funny that someone like you would be getting comfortable on my ratty couch.”
The Present
The event you promised to bring a date to was Hyungwon’s retirement party. Held at the Four Seasons, your admin staff had invited the whole firm as well as some big names and allies in the industry. You wore a long sleeved pink dress that reached just above your knees, with your regular diamond hoop earrings that you wore daily since you were 20.
“So who’s replacing Hyungwon as your head of investments?” Somin from Kard Investments asked while you both served yourselves food from the buffet.
“Why? Tired of being just an associate?” You joked.
“Well, from what I gather, head of investment at MX pays just as much with less hours. It’s a good position,” Somin shrugged.
“So apply,” you replied. “I’m not joking, Somin. The position won’t necessarily be filled internally so you have a shot.”
Somin placed a hand on your arm, silently telling you to be quiet. She moved you to sit down at a table, and only spoke once you had both started nibbling at your food.
“The reason I asked is because a buddy of mine applied,” Somin said in a low voice. “He’s been making waves recently for bagging some good deals, but he’s always said he will end up at MX someday.”
“Huh, wonder what his story is,” you said as you started eating.
Somin glanced around the room as if checking whether someone was listening. “He said there was someone he knew at MX. And that he wanted to find her before it was too late.”
The Past
The second time you saw Kihyun was about a week after the first time. You were back at the harbour, though you didn’t come with your mother’s entourage. This time, you were mindful of any fast moving motorcycles as you made your way to the warehouse where you first met Kihyun. The door was partly open when you arrived, so you slipped inside.
“Ki-kihyun? You in here?” You called as you walked in side. You dropped your bag on the ratty couch you had sat on last week. The lights were on, and tools were scattered around like someone left in a hurry. You walked further in, until you saw a ladder leading to a loft. Perhaps against your best judgement, you climbed up to it, and found a neatly made bed and a table full of skincare products, including many of the brands you used.
You heard the door to the warehouse being pushed open so you climbed down from the loft. A tall boy with yellow and orange hair was standing at the entrance. Did all of Kihyun’s friends have unnatural hair colours?
“Oh I haven’t seen you before,” the boy said. “Where did Kihyun go?”
“I don’t know, I was hoping you knew,” you replied, still not sure who this boy was.
“I don’t know, I’m not the one coming down from his loft,” the boy said with a shrug.
“Well you’re welcome to wait for him with me,” you said, and gestured to the couch. While he got comfortable, you went to the fridge to get a bottle of water for him like Kihyun did for you.
When you returned with the water bottle and stood in front of the boy, he looked you up and down. “You don’t look like Kihyun’s type… you’re too pretty.”
You rolled your eyes and shoved the bottle towards him. The boy smirked, nestling further into the couch and sitting with his legs spread wide. After a good gulp of water and a resounding gasp, he asked, “So how did you get involved with Kihyun?”
“We uh crossed paths?” You offered. It was true in a literal sense.
“And now you’re so close he lets you up to his loft huh?” The boy smirked.
“No, we’re just acquaintances, it’s not like we do anything together,” you replied. “Honestly, I’m not even sure he likes me.”
The boy’s jaw dropped open. “Wow I never thought he was that kind of guy.”
“Why? What’s Kihyun like?”
The boy scratched his hair, looking a little confused. “He doesn’t really bring girls here. But he also isn’t the type to lead someone around like this.”
You stared at the boy for a few seconds before exclaiming, “Wait you thought we were dating?”
The boy made an annoyed face. “Well it’s never just fucking where Kihyun is considered.”
“Uh wow okay, good to hear,” you said, taking a step away from the boy, slightly taken aback by his language. You turned around, wondering whether you should pretend you needed to go to the fridge or something, but then you caught site of a motorcycle helmet clad figure in a familiar jacket covered in patches emerging from somewhere at the back of the warehouse.
“Princess, is everything okay?” Kihyun asked as he took off his helmet.
Your breath hitched at the pet name. You didn’t think it would have an effect on you, but you liked it. Still, why would Kihyun say that when he’d met you once?
Behind you, the fire haired boy was laughing. “I knew you could never just hook up, man. You’re already calling her princess.”
Kihyun walked past you to the boy, and said through gritted teeth, “I meant you, Princess Mingi. What are you doing in my garage? Were you hoping to find out what I’ve prepared for this weekend?”
Mingi placed the water bottle down and smirked. “Your girl doesn’t like being called princess? Why not? She’s very pretty.”
Kihyun followed Mingi’s gaze to where you stood, fidgeting with your watch. Today, you were wearing denim shorts that were hidden beneath an oversized sweater, creating the illusion you had no pants on. It was hot, and Kihyun suddenly wondered if you’d look like that wearing his oversized clothes too.
Kihyun returned his attention to Mingi. “You should leave. I’ll see you this weekend.”
Mingi chuckled and got up. When he reached the door, he turned around and winked at you, then left.
Kihyun fluffed his hair and turned to face you, asking, “What can I help you with?”
“Oh I was just in the area and wanted to say hello. I didn’t mean to intrude or anything, but then your friend came in and I talked to him for a bit,” you stuttered out, then added, “I will leave if this is a bad time.”
Kihyun sighed. “No, don’t, you can stay a bit, I’ll order us some pizza or something.”
Kihyun joined you on the couch and handed his phone to you, indicating for you to pick what pizza you wanted.
“So what did Mingi ask you?”
“How we met, our relationship status, things like that,” you said while scrolling Kihyun’s phone.
“He’s not my friend, just so you know,” Kihyun said.
“Oh,” you let out. “Well I didn’t tell him anything sensitive. I just said we crossed paths, if that makes you feel better.”
“No, don’t worry about it,” Kihyun said again with a sigh.
You looked up from the phone at him. His shoulders were slumped, his head hung down.
“Is something bothering you? Is it me? I can leave if you want to be alone. I really just wanted to say hi while I was in the area,” you rambled.
Kihyun lifted his head up quickly. “What? No, nonono, it’s not that. It’s just that Mingi is my rival, and we’re racing this weekend.”
“Ah so you’re stressed. That’s okay, happens to the best of us,” you replied, handing the phone to Kihyun with your pizza choices inputted.
Kihyun hummed in agreement as he finished making the payment. After a beat, he said, “Next time you’re here, be careful okay?”
“Be careful of what?”
“Of who,” Kihyun corrected. “Not everybody who comes to this warehouse will treat you well. I know Mingi wouldn’t do something as disgusting as hurting you to get to me, but some bikers might. I don’t want you to run into someone like that.”
“Oh,” you let out meekly. “I never really thought about it that way.”
“Honestly y/n, in the two times I’ve met you, I learned you never think about safety,” Kihyun said, and you couldn’t tell if he was disappointed in your behaviour or just concerned.
“Well, nothing has ever happened to me, so I just assumed what I am already doing keeps me safe,” you replied, a small pout forming on your lips.
“Mingi was right about you,” Kihyun said as he took in your adorable pout. “You really are a princess.”
That word again. It made something clench inside you. You swallowed and asked, “Why am I a princess, Kihyun?”
“Your life is peaceful. Your family own some of the most lucrative real estate in this state. You go to good schools, get good grades and buy nice things. People don’t have a reason to hurt you.”
“Wow.” You said in shock. “Just wow.”
“Was I wrong, princess?” Kihyun asked, emphasising the last word.
“Don’t call me that, it does something to me,” you said with a scowl.
“I know. That’s why I said it,” Kihyun grinned.
“Fuck you,” you muttered. “I am not a princess. You just shoved me into strain and opportunity theories on crime occurrence.”
Kihyun blinked. “Crime? I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. You literally just explained why my life lacks strains conducive to criminality then linked it to the idea that crime is highly opportunistic,” you replied.
“Y/n, I’m still lost. Unlike you, I didn’t learn these things at school,” Kihyun said, his jaw tight.
“Don’t worry, most people don’t. I learned this stuff myself,” you said with a proud smile. Kihyun thought it was cute.
“Ah, so the princess has a library?” He teased.
“Stahp!! I am not a princess, I do crazy things too,” you whined as you gently shoved his shoulder and laughed.
“Really? Like what?” Kihyun asked intrigued. “What’s the craziest, wildest thing you’ve done?” He caught your hand on his shoulder and place it down on your thigh, holding it slightly longer than necessary.
You took a deep breath before answering. “What I have planned to do this weekend.”
The Present
You and Somin finished eating quickly before going to mingle around. You approached your executive team who were all huddled up drinking. Minhyuk handed you his half finished bottle of beer when you joined. You briefly flashed him a look of annoyance but took it anyways. It wasn’t like you to pull rank to remind him you were his superior and weren’t going to drink his leftover beer. As the night went on, different figures approached Hyungwon to congratulate him and wish him well. A select few approached you to congratulate you on inheriting the CEO position, though it was something you had always expected your mother to do eventually.
And even though you did not agree with most of the decisions your mother made for you, you weren’t stupid enough to pass up on decisions that would unilaterally benefit you.
“What are you staring at?” Hoseok asked.
You didn’t realised you had been zoning out.
“Did someone catch your eye?” He asked while taking a sip from a soft drink can.
When you didn’t reply, Hoseok followed your gaze to find a man with orange hair in a suit. The man’s back was to you, and he was talking quite animatedly with a group of investment bankers. Or so you assumed since the whole group was Kard Investments’ trading floor.
“Do you know him?” Hoseok asked you.
“No, but the hair…” you said, more to yourself than him.
“Oh for sure, he needs to get rid of that before he comes into work on Monday.”
“Monday?” You asked, eyes widening.
“Yeah, didn’t Hyungwon tell you? That’s the guy that’ll take over for him,” Hoseok replied.
“When did HR confirm that? Who did the hiring? Why wasn’t I notified?” You thought aloud.
“Now those are all valid questions and best left to Hyunwoo. He met with the guy last week to finalise things so he knows him best,” Hoseok said.
“So our new hire is from Kard?” You asked, nudging your chin towards the congregation of Kard traders.
“Yes, but you know what’s funny is that he’s always said he wants to work at MX,” Hoseok mused.
You and Hoseok stared after the orange haired man some more.
“I don’t suppose you happen to know his name?” You asked Hoseok.
Kihyun walked into the investment department, with orange hair.
“Oh my god, its finally happening,” Wooyoung giggled.
“What’s finally happening? You growing up?” Seonghwa asked without looking up from his work.
“If you're waiting for that, I'd give up,” San added. “What Woo meant was that our boss is finally wooing his soulmate.”
“You don’t woo soulmates, it just happens,” Seonghwa said.
“Yeah but most soulmates don’t sell their property to your own company and disappear,” Wooyoung retorted. “Kihyun's got a lot of making up to do.”
“And it seems he’s started with trying to return to the past with his orange hair,” Seonghwa finally concluded.
“Gentlemen,” Kihyun shouted from his office. “I can hear you talking about my hair. If it's really your concern, just know the CEO said it’s okay.”
Kihyun didn't add that you had dyed it yourself in your garage, although San would discover quite soon when he saw you in the break room.
“Holy hell what happened to your fingers?” He asked while you stood there eating a muffin.
“My boyfriend happened,” you smiled coyly as you examined your orange stained fingers.
“I thought your boyfriend is the one who's supposed to get his fingers dirty, not you,” San said, checking that nobody else was around.
“YAH!! What the fuck man???” You shouted, mouth still half full of your muffin.
From outside in the hallway, Hyunwoo smiled to himself as he heard you shouting. He hadn't told you about how he knew to contact Kihyun for an interview all those months ago, but he was happy with the outcome because you were happy. Finally, the sole source of your happiness was with you.
———
“I didn’t think there was another packet of these here,” Kihyun said to you as he opened a packet of his favourite biscuits in the break room at MX.
“I happened to have a spare at my house,” you replied without looking away from the microwave where you were heating up the two lunch boxes.
Kihyun had returned to preparing food for you when he learned you were still incompetent in that department. You leaned back into Kihyun’s chest as you waited for the lunch boxes to heat up, and he planted a kiss on your temple. When the microwave dinged, you removed two lunch boxes and gave one to him.
“Sorry I can’t eat with you, honey, I have a meeting,” Kihyun said as he took it.
“I know, San mentioned it,” you replied and started walking out of the break room.
“No, wait,” Kihyun called after you, making you stop in the doorway.
“Yes?”
“If we finish up everything by 5, I can take you to that repair shop this afternoon?”
“Sounds good,” you replied to him and blew a kiss.
Back in the meeting room of the investment department, San picked up his phone to see a message from you: how long will your meeting be today?
San replied: I know why you’re asking, you just want to see Kihyun
You: shut up
San: don’t worry, ill take care of it
He turned to Seonghwa and Wooyoung and said, “Whatever happens today, make sure Kihyun leaves the building at 5.”
The two men nodded, understanding perfectly.
When you had asked Kihyun to come with you to get your car fixed that day, he wasn’t expecting to end up at the Fix On and On Garage.
“Why does that sound like Mingi?” He muttered as he stepped out of your car.
You did the same, and walked into the shop without even bothering to lock up your car. “Hey Mangi!” You shouted into the space.
A tall man with hair bleached white walked out. Mingi.
“Hey if it isn’t my favourite CEO,” he said with a high five to you. Then looking past you, he saw Kihyun. “Damn, it really happened huh?”
“Yeah,” you said, glancing back at Kihyun and waving with a smile.
“Not Yoo Kihyun shacking up with the boss!!” Mingi hollered.
You snorted and smacked his stomach for that.
“Oh careful there. Kihyun just might kill me,” Mingi said as Kihyun walked up to you two.
You giggled and whispered with mock seriousness, “Don’t wait to find out, just get started on the car.”
“So, when were you going to tell me you were friends with Mingi?” Kihyun asked as you two drove back home.
“Since you finally asked about why I have no tools in my house but make modifications to my cars and bikes,” you explained. “I started meeting him because I genuinely needed help with my car back in university, but then Mingi eventually taught me how to ride and do other things myself.”
“Princess, I hope the only riding he showed you was on a motorbike or else I’m going to…” Kihyun growled.
“Yes, yes, kill him. Mingi’s been telling me that for years,” you said dismissively. “Anyways, do you want dinner at that fish and chips place?”
“You mean the seafood place? Honey’s Restaurant? Near my old warehouse?” Kihyun asked.
“Yeah, that place. They know me really well.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. It would be weirder if they didn’t know you,” Kihyun said, messaging somebody on his phone and smiling coyly to himself while you drove.
“Miss y/n, Mr Yoo, the owner would like to greet you after your meal,” a waiter at Honey’s Restaurant said to you and Kihyun.
“Of course, I’d love to chat with him,” you replied.
“I still can’t believe you haven’t met the owner of this restaurant,” Kihyun said.
“I just did the contract. Hyungwon handled the talking,” you explained.
“That explains a lot. I wonder if you would have changed the contract if you knew who the owner was.”
“Well I guess I am about to find out today. Do you know why he wants to see us?” You asked.
“I have some ideas,” Kihyun replied, looking out the window and not meeting your gaze.
You nodded, not really understanding what he said, until somebody’s loud voice grabbed your attention.
“Hyung!” Someone shouted behind you. The restaurant wasn’t crowded so it was easy to pinpoint the source of the voice: a very familiar man with dimples and a radiant smile.
Kihyun stood up from the table and approached the man, pulling him into a hug and patting his back. “Hey, how have you been, Jooheon?”
When they broke apart, Jooheon walked over to your table. “Hi noona,” he said when he stood in front of you.
“Oh my god, Honey? You're the owner?” You said, standing up in awe.
Jooheon laughed shyly. “Yep. Joohoney, there’s only one Honey,” he said and opened his arms to offer you a hug as well.
You gladly accepted, holding him tight. “God, I can't believe you actually bought the restaurant you kept asking me about that one afternoon.” You pulled back and examined is face. “I see you gave up the space buns and racing?”
Joohoney also kept his arms around you as you spoke, ever the cuddle bug. He was probably the only person Kihyun wouldn't be jealous of. “And I can’t believe you actually wrote in the fish and chips clause in to the contract. God you two really are the cutest couple I know.”
———
“You know, this is the first time we’re shopping and I don't need to have all my things delivered to my place,” you said to Kihyun as you walked through the familiar shopping mall.
“It’s also the first time I can commission jewellery pieces for you,” Kihyun replied as he pushed open the door to Yunho’s jewellery store.
“Oh babe, it’s cute you think you can buy jewellery for me when you don’t even know what pieces I own,” you said while you waited for a staff member to appear from somewhere within the store.
“That’s funny coming from someone who seems only wear one particular pair of sapphire earrings,” Kihyun said as he flicked the drop earrings and watched them sway.
“At least I own other pairs,” you said with an eye roll. “But none of them match your cufflinks.”
Soon after, Yunho walked in through the “staff only” door. “Y/n darling I knew I heard your voice,” he chirped as he closed the door and turned around, only to stop and stare at the couple before him. “Y/n, is that… him?”
You giggled and clung to Kihyun’s arm. “Uh huh. It’s him.”
“Him? That’s all you two call me?” Kihyun asked, eyeing you and Yunho’s exchange.
“You did create quite a bit of work for me when you ended things with y/n, you know,” Yunho said tersely to Kihyun. “Man the number of pieces she wanted redone almost broke my heart as much you broke hers.”
You could feel Kihyun growing nervous beside you so you said, “Calm down, Yunho, and don’t pretend you didn’t enjoy playing around with all the gems I gave you.”
“True, but you’re the true gem, darling. You’re my favourite customer,” Yunho replied with a wink, making you chortle.
“Well if I’m your favourite customer, I hope you don’t mind my new order because it’s pretty big.”
“Alright, hit me with it,” Yunho said, grabbing his notebook.
“I want you to create matching cufflinks for all the earrings I’ve bought from you in the past six months.”
Both Kihyun and Yunho stared at you wide eyed.
“Honey, that’s too much, I can't let you do that,” Kihyun said first.
“Honey, listen to your boyfriend because at the rate you’re going, I am going to have to hire more workers,” Yunho added.
“Pretty sure I pay you enough for that,” you said. With that, you paid, signed the order form and thanked Yunho.
You saw Kihyun regularly throughout the semester, usually a couple times a week. Most afternoons, he would pick you up after classes and bring you to the warehouse where you'd study. Saturday nights remained for racing. Kihyun and Yunho had also gotten much more familiar now since Kihyun often went to pick up your custom jewellery orders. Occasionally, you’d try placing orders for Kihyun too, but Kihyun somehow kept convincing Yunho to cancel them and use the money to add something a little extra to whatever piece you ordered for yourself.
But watching you wear these jewellery pieces, with a series of dresses as colourful as your personality, always made Kihyun feel a twinge of insecurity. Every couple of weeks you went to networking events, sometimes for your mother’s firm and sometimes with other law school classmates. Many of these classmates were dating other university students too. You always offered to take Kihyun as a plus one, which was half the reason you kept ordering extra pieces (usually lapel pins or brooches to match your outfits), but after a couple events, Kihyun began declining most of them.
He would make up excuses about needing to work on his bikes more, but the real reason was that he wasn’t good enough for you. Someone like you - beautiful, educated, well-liked - couldn’t be with someone like him - a grease-covered biker whose biggest achievement was staying alive while racing at inhuman speeds. The solution to his dilemma came in the form of a meeting he’d never expected to have: a meeting with MX Property Development’s Executive Team. None of the names or faces in that meeting room were particularly memorable, aside from the CEO and the chief engineer, Son Hyunwoo, who offered Kihyun an ultimatum.
“Mr Yoo, I will say that your relationship with my daughter has not influenced my decision to buyout your warehouse for our redevelopment,” the CEO said. Noting Kihyun’s shocked face, she added, “I‘ve known for quite some time actually. My daughter isn’t subtle when she is happy, so I knew she was seeing someone. All I had to do was check the CCTV footage in the city to find out exactly who you were.”
Kihyun gulped. This woman was terrifying. No wonder you kept saying you needed to feel safe.
The CEO continued. “Now lucky for you, I did consider your relationship with my daughter when I decided on the pricing.” She slid a sheet of paper across the conference room table to Kihyun with a sum written on it that was so high Kihyun nearly fell out of his seat.
“Let me be frank, Mr Yoo. Even though you make y/n happy, I don't think you’re the man for her. She’s young, she’s starting out in life, and she needs someone of her calibre. Now the money I’ve given you is what my analysts think will be enough for you to turn your life around and become someone worthy of my daughter.”
A small smile started to break out on Kihyun’s face.
But the CEO’s next words quickly dashed it. “However, this sum is conditional. If you leave y/n, without a single word, I will personally wire this money to you,” she said while tapping at the sheet of paper. “However, should you choose to stay with her, I will only give you the legally required amount of compensation.” The CEO sighed and finished with, “Simply put, I do not want to see you with my daughter until you are a respectable man.”
The Past (y/n focus)
Finally, the last day of semester. Almost two months of vacation awaited you, meaning almost two months of non-stop Kihyun time. It was Friday, Kihyun was probably adding the final touches to his bike before the race tomorrow. Excited, you went to the warehouse, like you did every Friday night.
“Ki, baby, it’s the holidays!” You shouted happily as you tried pushed the door, but your voice died down quickly, as did your strength.
The warehouse door was chained shut and couldn’t be opened fully. You pushed it enough to peek inside and saw that it was dark.
“Kihyun? Honey, are you in there?” You called into the dark, but got no answer. You fumbled for the flashlight on your phone to shine it through the door. Maybe he was asleep or something. You guided the light around, looking for the familiar couch but didn’t see it. You shifted the light some more to see if there were any bikes around, but there were none.
The place was cleaned out.
“K-Kihyun?” You said, much quieter, your lips quivering.
Suddenly the wind whooshing around the harbour felt cold. All those little pathways throughout the harbour were suddenly unfamiliar and scary. And to think you walked here by yourself. You sat on the ground by the warehouse door, hugging your knees while tears slowly dripped down your face. You dialled Kihyun’s number, heard it ring, but got no answer. You tried several more times but still got no answer.
Then you tried another number - Joohoney’s. Kihyun used your phone once to call him, so it was probably in your history.
To your surprise, Jooheon actually answered. “Hello y/n.”
You sniffled and returned the greeting, then asked, “Where’s Kihyun?”
You heard Jooheon sighing on the other end. “He said you guys broke up. We don’t really know where he is either.”
“What??” You gasped. “But we literally spoke yesterday. I was going to come see him after class but he’s not here. Who said we broke up?”
“Kihyun did. He said you broke up today,” Jooheon repeated.
“How even…” you murmured, your crying intensifying. You then cleared your throat and asked, “Could you send me your address please? Maybe I can wait for Kihyun at your house?”
There was a pause, and you heard shuffling and muttering on the line before Jooheon spoke. “I am sorry y/n, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Dejected, you said goodbye to Jooheon and ended the call.
The Past (Kihyun focus)
“Are you happy now, hyung?” Jooheon asked bitterly when he put the phone down.
Kihyun groaned from his bed. “You know I didn’t have a choice.”
“Well have you at least thought about what you’ll do with the money?”
“Yeah a bit,” Kihyun replied, sniffling away his own tears. “I’ll go to university, I’ll get whatever goddamn degree I need, and find her again.”
“If you’re that sure about her, why didn’t you stay and fight for her?” Changkyun said from the doorway to Kihyun's bedroom.
“I know she is everything I want in life. But I want to become everything she will ever need or want in life. There’s a difference there and currently, I am not what she needs or wants.”
“Eh judging by how much your phone has been ringing in the living room, she probably needs and wants you pretty badly,” Changkyun said with a shrug and walked away.
The Past (y/n focus)
There was one more person you could contact. Kihyun wouldn’t like it, but it was his fault you were in this mess anyways. You had found Mingi on Instagram once, so you searched for his account and DM’d him, hoping for a response.
You: Hi Mingi, it’s y/n here. If you’re free I’d love a favour.
He replied about 10 minutes later.
Mingi: Well this is a surprise
Mingi: What can I do for ya?
You: Can you pick me up from Kihyun’s warehouse? I will explain when you get here
Mingi: Oooh mystery
Mingi: I like it
Mingi: Be there in 5
True to his word, Mingi arrived in 5 minutes. He even had the decency to bring a spare helmet for you. Since the last time you had seen him, he had changed his hair to black with blue highlights.
“Hello y/n. What did you need? Can’t lie, I am shocked you texted me,” Mingi said, walking up to your huddled form by the warehouse door. When you looked up at him with your swollen, red eyes, Mingi hurriedly pulled his helmet off and crouched down in front of you.
“Oh no, what happened? Was it Kihyun? Did he dump you? Do you want revenge? Did he hurt you? Are you lost? Did something happen to Kihyun?” The words tumbled out of Mingi who wasn’t exactly sure what favour you could possibly want but never expected to find you like this.
You tried nodding, since one of those guesses were right, but you started crying before you could form any words. Mingi watched you for a few seconds, unsure of what to do, then stood up and walked away back to his bike.
“No wait, Mingi, please don’t leave, please, just stay” you called after him, your voice cracking between your sobs.
Mingi turned to look at you, his gaze being the softest you’d ever seen him. “Relax, y/n, I’m just going to grab that helmet for you,” he replied.
He returned with the helmet, and placed it over you, gently trying to push it on to your head. You noticed he was struggling, probably worried about hurting you by pushing to hard, so you pulled the helmet on yourself. “Are you taking me somewhere?”
Mingi bit a finger while he looked you up and down. “I was hoping you could tell me. You look like you’re dressed for something nice.”
“Oh…” you looked down, smoothing the business dress you’d worn today. It was white, and probably stained now. It also fit very, very tightly over your hips, and would almost certainly ride up the second you got on that bike. “I had things on today,” you said in explanation.
“Things?” Mingi asked. “You look like you were supposed to go to a wedding or something.”
You giggled at that, and Mingi smiled with you. At least you weren’t crying on the ground anymore.
“I just dress nice for my classes. Law school and stuff, y’know?” You offered as an explanation.
“Oh boy, law school,” Mingi said with a low sigh. “Kihyun really won the fucking lottery with you huh? Though considering how you’re stranded here, he probably doesn’t realise it.”
Your face immediately turned into a scowl. “Mingi, I get enough shit about that from everybody else alright?”
“Right, right, sorry, touchy subject, I see,” Mingi said, pursing his lips.
You sighed, stood up and hoisted your bag over your shoulder. “I texted because I need a ride home. I’ll give you money for the petrol when you drop me off.”
Mingi blinked confusedly. “And I presume Kihyun can’t take you home?”
“Mingi,” you said his name with gritted teeth. “Are you dense? Did you not notice he’s gone? The warehouse is empty?”
“Huh???” Mingi’s jaw dropped open. “No fucking way,” he said as he walked past you to peek into the darkened warehouse. “Shit, you’re right.”
“So then, can you take me home? I can tell you the way,” you asked after giving Mingi a few moments.
“Yeah, alright.”
You followed Mingi to his bike and got on behind him. He almost snorted when he felt you hands ghosting over his waist, unsure whether to hold on or not.
“Y/n, all bikers understand. You hold on for safety. Kihyun won’t kill either of us.”
You sniffled behind him but eventually wrapped your arms around his middle. “Kihyun would never hurt anybody.”
Mingi revved up his bike. “No, what you mean is Kihyun would never let anybody hurt you. He’s always been incredibly protective of you, did you know?”
“Sorta,” you mumbled. “Turn left here.”
Mingi did as you said. “Did you know he won’t even tell most of the other bikers your name?”
“Wait what?” This was news to you.
“Yeah, one day he came up to me and had me swear to never reveal your name to other people. I assumed he was just being a jealous possessive asshole, who thinks with his dick and not his head…”
You smacked Mingi’s shoulder for that, making him laugh. Eventually, he continued. “But I started to suspect there was another reason a few months ago when I dropped by the warehouse one time and heard you telling Jooheon about why he shouldn’t buy a restaurant in a particular suburb. It really sounded like you knew your shit.”
“Are you trying to tell me you’ve never met a person who understands the property market? Also, enter the highway over there.”
“No, it wasn’t that, there was one more thing,” He said as he changed lanes. “I heard you say something about a company like you almost owned it.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I feel like I’m hitting something here. There is a connection between that company and why Kihyun doesn’t want people to know your name, right? Also which exit do I take?”
“The one in 3 kilometres. And yeah, I guess you’re right about that company,” you replied.
Mingi was quiet for a few seconds, focused on reading the signage for the exit. He then asked, “So since I already know your name, will you tell me the whole story?”
You sighed. “Yeah alright. It’s not like my identity wasn’t known by my whole school or something. But, you’re right, I do technically own a portion of a property firm. Have you heard of MX?”
“MX? Bloody hell who hasn’t? Don't they own all those fancy apartment buildings? Fuck y/n, who even are you?” Mingi cried out, shocked, then said calmly, “Also, did I miss the turn to your street?”
“No, it’s the next road on your left. And maybe when you drop me off, you’ll see MX’s CEO,” you replied.
“I can’t tell if you’re joking there.”
“I’m not. She’s my mum. Also, stop over there, that’s my house,” you replied.
Once Mingi killed the engine, you climbed off his bike and gave him back his helmet.
“Thank you for the ride,” you replied as you rummaged through your purse and pulled out some cash. “This is for the petrol.”
Mingi took the money and stared at it, scrunching his face. “Man I feel strange taking money from you. Like you’re Kihyun’s girl, and you’re you know… that,” he said with a nod towards your house.
You pouted and shook your head. “No, I’m just y/n. And I’m not Kihyun’s girl anymore.” Your voice cracked at the last word of your sentence.
“Oh hey hey, no more crying. He fucked up, not you, alright? And I know we only said hellos at the weekly races but you seem like a nice person. You’ll find someone better, okay?” Mingi said, squeezing your shoulder gently.
“Mingi you used to ask about my week and try flirt with me to piss off Kihyun,” you replied.
“And somehow you always dodged the flirting and told me about what you were studying instead. It’s how I figured out you’re probably a cool person, and…” Mingi paused, unsure whether you’ll cry again. “…and I saw very quickly that you only had eyes for Kihyun.”
“Thanks for that,” you said with a sad smile. “But you won’t be seeing me at the racetrack anymore, so good luck to both you and Kihyun for tomorrow. I’ll get going now.”
“Thanks y/n. See you around.”
The Past (Kihyun focus)
“Hey asshole, you mind explaining why you left y/n stranded at your empty warehouse last night?” Mingi said he pulled on his racing gear beside Kihyun in the change rooms.
“Stay away from y/n,” Kihyun said through gritted teeth.
“I dunno man, she asked me to pick her up and I found her crying on the ground. She said you broke up,” Mingi continued.
“Yeah we did,” Kihyun said without meeting Mingi’s gaze.
“Can’t believe you fumbled that. She’s pretty, she’s smart, she practically owns MX, what more could you want?”
“For you to not have the hots for my girlfriend?” Kihyun said with gritted teeth.
“Didn’t you just say you dumped her?” Mingi scoffed.
“Shut up or else I’ll throw something at you.” Kihyun grumbled. Then he asked, “Hold up, what do you mean MX?”
“I mean exactly what you’re thinking. I know who she is,” Mingi replied nonchalantly, while folding some clothes into his bag.
“Mingi,” Kihyun said sternly, “how the hell did you find that out? I swear man if you did something to her…”
“Jesus Christ Kihyun, you really do think the world’s out to ruin your relationship huh?”
“Shut up, you don’t know the half of it,” Kihyun said as he slumped down onto a bench.
“And neither does she, I bet. Did it ever occur to you to actually speak to her before breaking up via Joohoney’s phone, you dumb fuck?”
“Listen Mingi, can we cool it with the criticism? I am sure she called me a bunch of names too,” Kihyun said, glaring up at Mingi.
Mingi shook his head, keeping his voice calm. “No, she actually tried to tell me you’re a good person who would never hurt anyone. But then you left her crying at an abandoned warehouse. She trusted you to do nothing more than love her, and you failed.”
The Present (Hyunwoo Focus)
With Hyungwon’s departure from MX Property Development, Hyunwoo was tasked with finding the replacement. He looked through the applications with Hyungwon, until one caught his attention: Yoo Kihyun. The name was admittedly familiar, and a look at the candidate’s LinkedIn profile picture showed he was precisely the young man from several years ago, all the way down to the orange hair. And he wasn’t a bad candidate either with a stellar record of negotiating some very lucrative deals.
Hyunwoo slept on his thoughts for a few days - would you even want to work with Kihyun? By and larger, Kihyun was the best candidate, so Hyunwoo eventually told Hyungwon the story of your past. Hyungwon already knew about how your little first year uni student self fell in love with a biker, but he had no idea this biker’s workshop was part of an MX acquisition, or that your mother paid him off to leave you. Hyunwoo and Hyungwon were both pleasantly surprised that after Kihyun disappeared, he really did become the kind of man you were supposed to be with.
Hyungwon was the first to suggest an interview with Kihyun. Even without you two being star crossed lovers, he was still the best candidate, and maybe it wouldn’t hurt to finally give their lovely new CEO the happiness she needed right? But what if Kihyun had already moved on?
Luckily, Hyungwon had an answer to that. He went down the good old personal friends route. You’re school friends with Somin of Kard, who was Kihyun’s supervisor and also happened to be his reference. A quick phone call and mention of your name was all she needed to explain that Kihyun was currently single. So Hyungwon advised Hyunwoo to invite Kihyun for an interview. The two decided to hold the interview away from you, so the Friday before Hyungwon’s retirement, Hyunwoo invited Kihyun to MX’s gym of all places. Still, he did let slip there was a potential party date waiting for you at the gym that day.
The Present (y/n focus)
Having you, his boss and the love of his life bring up all the ways he unintentionally hurt you while standing in a deserted parking lot was not how Kihyun thought his evening would go. But your voice had gone from practically spitting venom to something introspective. Both of you were still holding each other’s hands too.
“Y/n,” Kihyun began. “I know I fucked up. Everyone around me who knew you made sure I knew that every single day.”
You hung on your head, looking down at your interconnected hands. “Kihyun, I just don’t understand why you did it. If you just wanted to be sponsored, you could’ve asked the company. If you wanted to keep dating while you got your degree, you could’ve. But why did you have to leave?”
“It was your mother, y/n. She paid me to when I gave up the warehouse,” Kihyun said, somewhat worried for your reaction.
“Are you saying you left because you were angry my mother’s company wanted to buy your warehouse?” You asked, looking up at him confusedly.
“What? No!” He said a little too quickly while pulling your hand, finally bringing your bodies together.
You let out a small cry at the impact, and stared up at Kihyun, your faces inches away from each other.
Kihyun looked at the ceiling, trying to keep his calm and collect his thoughts. With a long exhale, he said, “What I meant is, your mother personally paid me to become a man worthy of you.”
You rolled your eyes at that. Even after all these years, you were stuck at this one question. “Jesus fucking Christ Kihyun, you still don’t get it,” you said, laughing to yourself. “You keep forgetting that I was happy with you. You gave me the affection I wanted, the support I needed and everything in between.”
Kihyun shook his head. “No, that’s not true, y/n. You deserve to live like a princess, and as much I wanted you to have that life, I couldn’t give it to you.”
You moved your hands to hang around his neck as you spoke. “But wasn’t I your princess?”
Kihyun leaned down to press a kiss on to the inside of your arm. “What if I still want you as my princess?” He murmured into your skin while his arms loosely circled your waist.
You smiled at his words. “You know, the moments when I felt most like your princess was when you simply took care of me and tried to make me happy.” You started tangling your fingers into his hair as you spoke, your eyes looking dreamy and distant as you reminisced. “Stuff like packing a lunchbox for me so I could sleep more, picking me up from all my events because I wanted to drink. And more recently, how you’ve been restocking my fridge at work without telling me.”
Kihyun’s eyes widened at that. “I didn’t know you knew that,” he said sheepishly, looking to the side, away from you.
You giggled at his reaction. “Minhyuk dobbed you in.”
Tentatively, you leaned your head down on his chest. Almost immediately, his arms tightened around your waist. Your heart felt like it would burst out of your chest, and you knew your cheeks would begin to hurt soon with how much you were smiling. Being in Kihyun’s arms again felt like home. You felt like every bit of tension you had carried, every worry, problem and fear, had all disappeared.
You weren’t sure how long you stood there, wrapped up in Kihyun’s arms until he spoke. Playing with your earrings, he said, “You kept them. I am surprised.”
You took his hand and kissed it. “Why is that?”
“Yunho told me you returned most of the jewellery you had ordered,” Kihyun replied.
“Oh.” It was true. Since Kihyun kept getting Yunho to add a little something extra to all the pieces you commissioned during your relationship, you ended up returning everything and having them remade. Despite this, you had one question. “How did you find out?”
Kihhyun traced his finger down your neck to your scarf, playing with the material. “When I went to order more pearl cufflinks to match all my suits.”
You plucked his hand off your scarf to examine the cufflinks. It was the same design as the earrings you gave him. The giddiest smile crept on to your face seeing that and Kihyun smiled with you. “Does it really make you that happy?” He asked.
“Yes,” you replied, pressing yet another kiss to his hand. “It shows we are together.”
Wait did you really say that? You hadn’t even talked about it yet. Did you and Kihyun want to be a couple again? Like sure he was holding you like this and talking about the past but what if this was just a random moment?
“Uhh what I meant was…” you began.
“Do you actually want to give me a second chance?” Kihyun asked quickly.
“Um well,” you tried again.
“Please y/n.”
“Ki…” you sighed. “Just… I don’t know. Do you want to try again?”
Kihyun cradled your face in his hands. He couldn’t believe what you were asking. “God y/n, you’re like an angel. I would try absolutely anything in the world if it meant I could be with you. I am not letting you go again, not without fighting.” Kihyun’s own tears threatened to spill as he said this, so you stood up on your tip toes and kissed his jaw.
“Yes. Let’s try again.”
His tears finally fell. But they were happy, relieved tears. Everything he ever achieved in life, it was all for you. Returning to you had been his only purpose in life for several years, but he could finally step up and realise his dream: loving you again.
As your university semester drew nearer, the number of worries you had about the future began escalating. Kihyun could see it on your face every time you grew quiet and turned your gaze downward as if you literally didn’t want to see what was lying ahead of you.
Today, Kihyun had taken you shopping at your favourite mall. This mall included a number of high end stores, and with you being you, it was a given that you would always be more comfortable spending money than Kihyun, so you usually didn't ask him to accompany you. Hence why today, you were surprised when Kihyun called in the morning and told you to get ready to go shopping.
So now here you were, trying on what’s probably the 6th dress in the newest release of designs while Kihyun sat on a couch and waited for you to show your outfit. Kihyun liked to think he had the patience of a saint, but he had come here with a plan today. There was a store he wanted to take you to and he wanted to get there before the end of the day.
Finally, you came out of the dressing room with all the outfits you tried. “I don’t know which one I should get,” you said with a frown.
Kihyun chuckled and shook his head. “I know even if you don’t buy it today, you’re going to go home and order it, or just wait until next weekend to come here again. Just buy all of it.”
Satisfied with his response, you paid for all your items and asked the store to deliver them to your house since the bags would never fit on Kihyun’s bike. Then you left the store with Kihyun, holding his arm as he steered you to the store he had in mind.
“You know, when I get my first car, we’ll finally be able to bring our shopping home,” you mused.
Kihyun tapped your nose. “I think you mean your shopping, princess. Anyway, we’re here.”
Kihyun took you into a high end jewellery store, heading straight for the counter. This was unlike him, he didn’t wear a lot of jewellery. Kihyun walked up to the very tall young man at the counter and explained he was there to pick up an order.
The man looked up, flicked his gaze between Kihyun and you, and his features contorted to shock when he saw you. “Miss y/n, is that you? It’s been a long time!”
Kihyun looked at you confused. You laughed and patted his arm before replying to the man, “Yeah it has been, Yunho, I didn’t have any events the last few months.”
“So I take it the order is for you then?” Yunho asked looking between you and Kihyun.
Kihyun cast a desperate look at Yunho. You were not meant to know about this until next weekend when you leave for university.
But to your credit, you laughed it off and told Yunho, “No, it’s my boyfriend’s order.” You leaned your head down on Kihyun’s shoulder and smiled brightly.
Yunho’s lips curled into a teasing smile. “Boyfriend huh? Cute, very cute.” Yunho spoke while shuffling behind the counter to grab Kihyun’s order. “Does your family know yet?”
Kihyun felt your grip on his arm tighten. He didn’t need to look at you to know your jaw was tensed as you spoke. “Uhh no, they haven’t met.”
Yunho slid a small bag across the counter with a sad smile. “Perhaps it’s for the best, eh?”
“Well I mean, didn’t your parents accept your decisions finally?” You offered weakly.
“Oh y/n,” Yunho said. “I chose to become a jewellery designer instead of a doctor. Being around diamonds and being with a diamond in the rough are two very different things.”
Later that night, as you and Kihyun were lying in bed at his house, Kihyun continued thinking about what Yunho said. He stared at the ceiling, one hand behind his head and the other drawing patterns on your back while you lay your head on his chest. Speaking more to the room than you, he asked, “Are you happy with me, y/n?”
You lifted your face up from his chest and answered quickly with no hesitation. “Of course I am. Why would I not be?” You furrowed your brows as you scanned his face. “Where is this coming from, baby?”
“Nothing,” Kihyun mumbled without meeting your eyes.
You drew yourself up onto your elbows and crawled up higher so you and Kihyun could be face to face. “Does my family bother you?”
“What? No,” Kihyun replied.
You smiled softly down at him as you brushed some hair off his forehead. “You’re not very convincing… but tell me this. Have you ever seen my parents in the house? Have you ever seen me interact with either of them?”
“No…” Kihyun answered slowly.
“Exactly. They don’t pay that much attention to me. But you on the other hand,” you paused to kiss his forehead, “give me all the attention I want, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Kihyun smiled and picked up your hand from his hair to kiss it and held it above his heart. He then said, “I am glad you feel that way y/n. I want to be able to make you happy. Every single day.”
“And you do. You make sure I eat, you reassure me when I am studying and can’t understand something. Plus you always turn up for all the boring errands I have to run. I don’t think there’s much else I could ask for,” you said while your fingers drummed against his chest soothingly.
You scooted back down to lie on his chest and continued your explanation. “Above all else, you make me feel protected.”
“Um princess, just because I am a biker, doesn’t mean I fight like one,” Kihyun replied.
You smacked his chest lightly. “You know that’s not what I mean. Besides, wasn’t it you who said I have absolutely no regard for my physical safety?”
“Babe, I think everyone who has ever met you would say the same,” Kihyun teased.
“Yeah ok fine.” You rolled your eyes. “But what I meant is that I feel like nothing bad could happen to me when I'm with you. And if something has gone wrong, being with you just makes everything better. It’s like you keep me away from all the bad things in my life.”
Kihyun ran his fingers through your hair while he worked through his thoughts out loud. “I don’t think I deserve praise like that. I don’t even know if I deserve to be with you.”
You buried your face into the crook of his neck. “Don’t say that. I don’t need you to give me everything in life. I just need you to keep loving me.”
The Present
Minhyuk, San and Wooyoung were all seated on the couches in the CEO’s office now. So far, you had explained all the good things that ever happened with Kihyun.
“So he was your first love then?” Minhyuk asked.
“More like her only love,” Wooyoung retorted.
“No, she actually had a pretty good run with Jongho. Her mother even started telling her to invite him on vacations,” Minhyuk explained.
Wooyoung rubbed his hands together. “Man that dinner with the navy is going to be good. Kihyun and Jongho going toe to toe…”
San smacked Wooyoung’s shoulder. “Bro she’s still your CEO, don’t say shit like that.”
Minhyuk ignored the two and asked you, “So how did you and Kihyun end things? We know it wasn’t on good terms but what happened?”
“He left me. Simple as,” you replied with a shrug.
“Left you? What, were you two married or something?” Wooyoung asked giggling.
“No, he just stopped talking to me one day,” you replied.
“Damn. That is cold. And low,” San said.
“No wonder you can’t even look at him during our meetings now,” Wooyoung said.
Minhyuk nodded along and added, “Glad someone else noticed.”
Everyone was quiet for a minute, until San said, “You should wear your sapphire earrings tonight and mess with his head, especially after what Wooyoung pulled in the elevator.”
The other two men turned to you for an explanation.
The Past
The night before your first classes, you and Kihyun were at his loft, spooning on his bed.
“I can’t take you to your first class tomorrow morning, but I know you’re going to do fine,” Kihyun said.
“I hope you’re right. But hey at least I studied over the holidays right?” You said.
Kihyun placed a couple kisses along your shoulder. “Honey, you know you didn’t have to do that. At this rate, you’re going to be able to write your exam with your eyes closed.”
You turned around in his arms to face him. Kihyun’s gentle, content smile faded when you pouted and asked, “What if you forget me while I am gone?”
Kihyun tucked a piece of your hair behind your ear. “Princess, why would you think that?”
“Because you’ll keep working and racing, but I am going to study. You’re going to live your life independently, while I intern at my parents’ company,” you replied.
“But there's nothing bad with that, is there?” Kihyun asked. “You know you can come to my warehouse any time, except…”
“Except when I have class, I know,” you sighed.
Kihyun chuckled and continued. “If I am free, I can take you to class, or pick you up after? We can still do everything we’ve done all summer.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” you said a little dejectedly and nuzzled your face into Kihyun’s chest.
Kihyun ran his fingers through your hair. “Don’t fall asleep baby. I still need to take you home.”
You whined and wriggled in his hold. “Can’t we just stay like this?”
“Alright. Just a little longer then, my love,” Kihyun said and pulled you in tighter.
When Kihyun did take you home, the time you spent saying goodbye outside your house was longer than the ride there. You were sitting sideways on his parked motorbike as he braced his hands on either side of your hips. You looped your hands around his shoulders, content to just stare at his beautiful face.
“I can see your roots now,” you giggled when you saw the streetlight fall on Kihyun’s hair.
“Mmm, remember that time you tried to dye it for me and got Cheeto fingers?” Kihyun grinned.
“I can’t believe you wanted a photo of me like that,” you said, smiling while looking down at your feet.
Kihyun placed his hands on your waist and said, “Hop down for me.” Once you did, he reached behind you to open the under-seat compartment of his motorcycle and took out a photo album. “This is for you.”
Curious, you took the album and started flicking through it. Pictures of you filled the pages, including the one of you with Cheeto fingers. Eventually the pages turned blank.
As if reading your mind, Kihyun said, “I left that section blank so you could add your favourite photos. Do you like it?”
“Kihyun… this is…” you gasped, struggling with your words. “Just… come here.”
You hooked your hand behind his neck and pulled his lips down to yours. As you sucked on his lower lip, he pushed his hips toward yours to hold you against his motorcycle. He leaned down further into the kiss, causing you to momentarily lose your footing. Your little surprised squeak was lost within the kiss as Kihyun entered his tongue into your mouth and made slow movements along the inside of your lips while you arched your back and practically clung to his shoulders.
When you both broke apart, breathless with puffy lips, Kihyun traced your cheekbone and the shell of your ear with his hand, his thumb finally reaching the little pearl earrings you were wearing.
“Pretty,” he breathed as he played with them. “There’s something for you at the end of the album.”
You opened the album again, leaning it against Kihyun’s chest while you flicked to the back. There was a thick envelope attached. Opening it, you found a pair of earrings with teardrop shaped blue stones.
“Will you put them on for me princess?” Kihyun asked as he tried to peer down at your face to gauge your reaction.
You nodded, and pulled out the little card the earrings were attached to.
“Can I take these off you?” Kihyun asked as he lifted his fingers to your pearl earrings.
“Okay.”
Kihyun gently pulled the clasp off each, and tucked the earring into his palm before fitting your new ones on you. When he was done, he scanned your face, admiring your new look. “You look amazing, just like always.”
When Kihyun took your hand to place your old earrings in them, you stopped him. “Keep it. Get Yunho to make them into cufflinks or something.”
The Present
As you got ready for the dinner, you thought over San’s suggestion. Eventually, you gave in and removed your diamond hoops to slide on Kihyun’s sapphire drop earrings before driving your car to the restaurant. The other executives were already waiting at the restaurant for you when you arrived.
Minhyuk waved you over once he saw you. “Miss y/n, you changed your earrings,” he said with a coy smile.
You smiled at the ground and nodded. Leave it to Minhyuk to cause just the right amount of chaos.
“Whoever picked them had a good eye eh?” Minhyuk said, glancing at Kihyun.
Kihyun’s eyes locked with yours at that moment, both of you searching each other’s faces for a reaction that neither of you were willing to give. Kihyun looked away first, and played with the cufflinks of his suit jacket.
“Shall we go in then, Miss y/n?” Kihyun asked and you nodded.
Kihyun walked beside you, looking straight ahead as he led you and the other executives through to the restaurant.. It was the closest you’d stood to him in a long time, so you took the opportunity to give him a sidelong glance and take in his features. Simply put, you were staring, until you eventually got lost in his beauty.
“You look good, y/n.” Kihyun whispered, more to himself than you.
“Hmm what huh?” You blinked, your reverie disrupted when you saw Kihyun speak but didn’t quite catch his words.
Kihyun turned, scanned your face for a few seconds, then smiled. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
He pushed open the door to a private room at the restaurant where the navy officers were already waiting, seated at the table. You immediately recognised Jongho but found another familiar face beside him.
“I.M.?” You gasped to yourself.
Changkyun stood up and walked around the table to you. “Yes noona, it’s me. Technically, it’s Commodore Im now, but you can call me Changkyun. IM was just my racing name.”
“I had no idea you went into the navy! And you’re an officer now? That’s amazing,” you gushed, happy to see a familiar face.
Behind you, Hoseok said to Kihyun, “Looks like your friend is hers now. She really does know everyone who is a someone.”
Kihyun clenched his jaw, but nodded. It’s not like he was worried Changkyun was flirting with you, but the fact that you were gushing over someone from your racing past while acting like you didn’t even remember Kihyun when he first saw you, was irking him off. He walked up to you and Changkyun and touched your arm to get your attention.
Noticing Kihyun’s hand on your arm, Changkyun said, “Hyung, I didn’t know you got back together with noona.”
Instead of saying what he needed to, you and Kihyun sprang apart with his hand jolting off your arm. You knew Jongho at the table saw that. As did the rest of your executive team. You cleared your throat and spoke first, trying to reduce the awkward tension. “We’re not. He’s my investment director.”
“And she’s here on business today. Call her Miss y/n,” Kihyun told Changkyun, his voice growing steadily colder as he held Changkyun’s gaze.
You left Kihyun and Chankgyun to stare down at each other, moved toward the table and pulled out the chair at the middle to sit down. Your executive team followed suit and filled in the spaces beside you. Once they were comfortable, you turned to Minhyuk on your right. “Can you get things started?”
So Minhyuk opened a portfolio and took the navy officers through the architecture department’s designs. Hoseok stepped in each time a question was asked so Minhyuk wouldn’t have to lose his train of thought. The cost related questions were always directed to Kihyun. Hyunwoo and you sat observing it all. Finally, Minhyuk closed his portfolio and looked to you. It was your turn to grill the officers.
And usually, you would go about this in a calm, professional manner, but today, that was proving to be difficult.
“In order to proceed, my firm will need confirmation on by the end of the week,” you stated.
“And you’ll get it,” Jongho said without looking up from his notepad. You noted his insignia was that of a lieutenant.
You pursed your lips. “That didn’t sound reassuring,” you accidentally muttered out loud.
Thankfully (or not), Kihyun heard you and told Jongho, “MX can scrap the tender if we don’t receive confirmation.”
Jongho scoffed and pointed at you with his pen. “No you won’t. That one could never pass up a good deal.”
Your executives could sense the tension. Hyunwoo’s jaw was clenched, Kihyun’s eyes were narrowed and Hoseok was rubbing his knuckles together. Beside you, Minhyuk scrawled something on a sticky note and slid it over to you: stay calm, we’ll handle it. You looked between your executive team and nodded.
“MX has always made the most of resources its been given. Surely you can’t blame us for that,” Hyunwoo began, diplomatically.
“If you’re such a successful company, why would you need a government contract?” Another officer asked. His insignia said he was a commander.
You knew that question was intended for you as the CEO. The answer was simple: profit. But what’s a tactful way to say “military contracts pay big bucks?”
You opened your mouth to speak but Minhyuk tapped your wrist. Wait, he was silently telling you.
Just then, Hoseok stepped in. “MX is looking to expand the range of projects it takes on. Our portfolio is currently very heavy on commercial property.”
“Think of it as a defensive portfolio,” Minhyuk added, ever the mood-maker.
Kihyun rolled his eyes at the pun. Changkyun watched as you stifled a giggle and smirked, looking between you and Kihyun.
He then leaned down the table and asked, “Commander, is your question satisfied?”
“Yes, Commodore,” the lower ranked commander responded.
“Any more questions?”
“Yes, actually,” Jongho said, licking his lips as he spoke. “How does our y/n plan to handle any personal conflicts of interest during this project?”
“Excuse me?” Kihyun hissed, cocking his head. Minhyuk and Hoseok exchanged a worried glance.
You exhaled sharply through your nose and asked. “Is there a conflict of interest you’d like to expand on, Lieutenant? Or perhaps the Commodore?” You asked, looking between Jongho and his superior, Changkyun.
“I see no conflicts,” Changkyun shrugged.
“Commodore, are you aware the CEO of this firm has had two personal relationships with people on this table?” Jongho asked.
Now Changkyun looked confused. Two? Changkyun only knew of Kihyun.
Hyunwoo cleared his throat, hoping to be the peacemaker. “Miss y/n has many close relationships with industry figures. Its simply a byproduct of her schooling.”
“Oh y/n, how many men did you go through?” Jongho shook his head and cackled to himself.
“Lieutenant,” Changkyun warned. “This matter is not relevant.” He bowed his head to you. “I deeply apologise, Miss y/n.”
You heard the slamming of papers beside you from Kihyun. He was seething. “If there is anyone here that cannot handle past personal relationships, its you. This whole meeting, you have not once addressed Miss y/n properly. Instead, you demean her for a series of personal, non-business related, and need I say harmless, choices from her past. I think it’s very clear that this contract…”
“Yoo Kihyun,” you warned, getting him to stop his tirade before he said something you knew your company would regret.
“Oh this is hilarious. Y/n finally found the man who would protect her. Is that why you hired him? And not just him but that blondie too, passing you notes like it’s 4th grade?” Jongho mocked.
“Mmmm, alright, I see how it is,” you rolled your eyes and drawled.
Hoseok nudged Minhyuk almost excitedly. They knew this voice was reserved for when you were going to tear someone apart.
So you loosened a breath and began. ”Alright, Jongho, let’s talk about my personal relationships. If you and I ever had a meaningful personal relationship, then you would know that I draw the line with you insulting my staff. My architecture heads can cover projects in every single architectural discipline. My head engineer has had recruiters seek him out internationally. And my head of investments, the one you say I have a personal relationship with, has handled deals totalling more than this entire state’s military budget. But since you didn’t know any of that, it looks like we never had a meaningful personal relationship.”
Minhyuk smiled openly and proudly while watching you. Kihyun snickered behind his hand.
Taking a breath, you delivered the final blow. “Now Jongho, let me show you what a personal relationship looks like.” You faced Changkyun, and said in a sickly sweet voice, “Changkyunnie, will you do your noona a favour and get her ex-boyfriend to leave?”
Even the calm Hyunwoo’s jaw dropped open when he heard that. Several officers’ eyes widened too.
Changkyun held you gaze, smirking proudly while he spoke. “Lieutenant, you’re dismissed.”
The meeting wrapped up quickly after that. Chankgyun apologised several more times for his lieutenant’s behaviour and the remaining officers didn’t even make eye contact with you. Minhyuk would say that’s equal parts because of your speech and because of Kihyun glaring at anyone who looks your way. At the end of the meeting, Changkyun agreed to review your tender and forward you the contract to look over and sign if you still wished to proceed.
Outside the restaurant, the executives all headed to their own cars, making small talk as they went.
“What’s everyone’s weekend plans?” Hyunwoo asked while stretching his arms in the parking lot.
“My son’s visiting,” Hoseok replied. “His wife is pregnant now actually.”
You gasped excitedly. “Hoseok, that’s wonderful to hear. Let me know when to send something for the baby shower okay?”
Minhyuk laughed at that. “Look at you y/n, living vicariously through us. If you just want to buy small cute things, say that.”
“You know…” Hoseok began with a glint in his eye. “Y/n might not need to live vicariously anymore. I think she has someone, eh?”
“What? No, no, it’s not like that,” you laughed, a little awkwardly since you weren’t sure who the someone Hoseok was referring to was. To move things along, you prompted the others to share their weekend plans as well.
“I'll just work on my bike probably,” Kihyun said with a shrug.
“Bike? Did you know y/n is into that as well? She has a whole garage actually,” Hyunwoo said.
Kihyun’s interest piqued at that. Since when did you have your own garage? You never did any work on bikes back when you were 20. When did you start?
“Well I am just going to sleep. Maybe get lunch with Hyungwon,” Minhyuk added, while rummaging for his keys. By now, all five of you had reached your vehicles, all of which were parked close to each other.
“Sounds fun,” you said with a nod as you watched Minhyuk get into his horrendously yellow car that matched his sunshine personality.
Hoseok did the same, moving to his black Range Rover. As he unlocked the door, he turned round and said, “I almost forgot y/n. Enjoy your date this weekend.”
“Uh sorry, date?”
“Ah so it’s still the early stages then? That’s okay, you two will make a cute couple,” Hoseok said, while getting comfortable in his car.
Hyunwoo, who never kept up with the gossip, looked at you incredulously. “Oh have you met someone recently? What’s he like?”
“Didn’t you know? It’s Wooyoung from investments. You know, that boy that’s always hanging out with San,” Hoseok explained to Hyunwoo while he started his engine.
“Ahhh, I see, so you finally allowed San to set you up with someone. I’m sure he’s a very handsome fella then, just like San,” Hyunwoo replied as he too got into his car.
You didn’t get a chance to explain before both Hoseok and Hyunwoo closed their car doors, waved goodbye and drove away.
This left you and Kihyun in the parking lot.
Kihyun cleared his throat, and approached a motorbike that had been hidden behind the cars earlier. As Kihyun was putting on his helmet, he said, “I’ll get going then, y/n. See you…”
“I am not dating Wooyoung,” you blurted out, cutting off Kihyun.
Kihyun paused. So then what had he seen on the elevator during lunch? Kihyun swallowed and tried to speak tactfully. “I see. It’s okay. If this is about what Jongho said during dinner, don't worry, nobody is mad at you.”
You looked down at you feet to collect you thoughts before speaking. “I didn’t quite mean it like that but… oh well, doesn't matter.”
“Yes it does. I wish it went smoothly today. Then you wouldn’t have to be humiliated by Jongho like that,” Kihyun said with an edge to his voice. “I should have looked into it more when you said he was in the military.”
“Aww Ki, it’s not your fault,” you said gently, taking a step closer to him. Kihyun almost second guessed it when he heard the cute nickname, but you didn't seem to have noticed what you said as you continued speaking. “I am still grateful you had a contact.”
Kihyun chuckled softly. “Well, I think my so-called contact liked you more than he liked me.”
“True. I never thought your contact would be someone I’d recognise. Plus, we got lucky that Changkyun is a commodore,” you mused.
“Yeah he joined the navy sometime around when I sold the warehouse,” Kihyun added as he leaned against his bike, content to continue what was probably the longest conversation you two had shared so far.
You cocked your head, processing his words. “Wait, sold the warehouse? When was that?”
Kihyun’s eyes widened realising his mistake. “Uhh what I meant is I sold a warehouse, but it wasn’t mine.”
He pushed off his bike and stood up straighter while you made quick strides to him and closed the distance between you two. He didn’t make an attempt to move away from you. You stood so close you could could’ve caged him with you arms if they weren’t occupied by your bag.
He studied your face as you looked up at him with your brows scrunched. Kihyun wasn’t sure what you were about to do, and he was shocked by how cold your voice was when you spoke., “But you did sell your warehouse. The one we always met in.”
Kihyun didn’t reply. Neither could he meet your gaze at that.
You gave a mirthless chuckle and continued. “Did you honestly think I wouldn’t find out? It took one day, one fucking day and a report my colleague handed me to find out what happened. To find out exactly who you sold that warehouse to.”
You were angry. You were hurt. Kihyun could see the tears pooling in your eyes and how you were clenching your fists. “Y/n, it’s not what you think,” he began.
You stepped even closer to him, chests almost brushing. “I am not an idiot Kihyun. That warehouse was private property, your property, and MX acquired it. My firm. You’ve seen me study property law so you know I know what that means.”
You started accentuating words with your fist so Kihyun clasped both of your clenched hands gently and brought them to his chest. “Y/n, baby, I was just trying to protect you.”
“What were you trying to do? Make me chase you by leaving the rights to that entire plot of land under my mother’s company? Was it to stake some claim so you could come crawling back one day?”
“Please, y/n, it’s not like that,” Kihyun said, biting his lip and looking down.
“Do you honestly expect me to believe that?” Your voice became lower, punctuated with angry hisses. “You fucking sold your warehouse to my mother’s company, and disappeared without another word to me, asshole.”
“You’re right, princess, and you have every right to be mad at me,” Kihyun moved your closed fists to one hand and reached out to cup your face with his other hand, but you stopped him.
You loosened one of your hands from his grasp to grab his wrist and push his hand away from your face. “You don’t get to call me princess, not after what you did.”
“Baby, please believe me, it was the only way I could protect you,” Kihyun pleaded. He still kept one of your hands on his chest, while you brought his hand down to his side and lightly linked your fingers together.
In a more measured voice than earlier, you said, “Do you know what it was like to walk into that warehouse and find it empty? Do you know how it felt when the first project they gave me at MX was to redevelop your warehouse like it meant nothing to me?”
You fell on to your bed dazed. Had you really just said yes to dating a biker? Yes, you did, because he made butterflies erupt in your stomach like nobody else ever had. You were at the warehouse each day now. Usually, you brought something to keep yourself entertained with while Kihyun worked. Occasionally, he’d ask you to grab him tools or snacks from his kitchen. Each time he asked you for something, he’d call you princess, baby, sweetheart, love and so many other pet names.
———
You were on the couch, doing some prep work for your university classes (yes, you’re that studious) but kept getting distracted by Kihyun who was working on a bike in the warehouse. His oversized t-shirt draped like a cloud over his body, and you kept wondering what it would be like to slip your hands under his clothes. You’d only been together for a week now, and he kept his touch minimal, but you were getting antsy.
“Ah fu- where did I put those nuts?” Kihyun muttered as he stood up from his crouched position beside a bike and looked along the shelves lining the workshop.
You smiled to yourself, knowing which set he was referring to because you’d noticed it a few days earlier. You got up off the couch, walked to stand beside him and took his hand to point out the correct box. Kihyun took it down, and you saw there were some grease smudges and stains on his clothes and skin. Even though the fans were switched on, the heat was making his skin glisten with sweat.
“Thank you, love,” he said, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and placing a kiss to your temple.
You spun to face him, and his arm fell to your waist while he balanced the box of nuts, bolts and whatnot in his other hand.
“Yes, baby?”
You wrapped your arms around his shoulders. “Can you kiss me again?”
Kihyun smiled softly at you. “Can you give me a second to clean up, baby? I don’t want to get grease on you.”
“Grease can be washed off right?” You asked while playing with the neckline of his t-shirt.
Kihyun hummed and lifted his hand to cup your cheek but stopped when he noticed the grease on his fingers. “Are you hungry princess?”
“No, I just want you to kiss me,” you pouted.
Kihyun chuckled. “So you are hungry, but for me. God you’re adorable.”
He leaned down and ghosted his lips over yours, testing for your reaction. When you tightened your hold around him, he started moving his lips, kissing you properly. That was your first kiss together.
———
When Kihyun found out that you either ate out or ordered food to the warehouse because you couldn’t cook, he started making lunch each day because he wanted to make sure you ate healthy. When you did go out for a meal, Kihyun insisted on paying, even though you told him you have your own money and can take care of yourself. You still had a couple months until your university classes started, so you were trying to make the most of it by spending every waking minute with Kihyun.
———
It was New Year’s Day, and you asked him if he wanted to go down south to see the fireworks. You had also been eyeing a new seafood restaurant in that region for months. That day, you would discover exactly how much Kihyun hated seafood. You didn’t think it necessary to inform him beforehand, but he handled it like a champ. Unfortunately, while you ate a literal seafood platter, he had to satisfy himself with chips and aioli.
After a dinner which was satisfactory for only one of you, it was time to watch the fireworks at the beach. Kihyun came prepared with a blanket. You sat down between his legs with your back against his chest. He’d run his hands over your arms to warm you up whenever the sea breeze hit. Sometimes he would press kisses to your neck and shoulders, murmuring in agreement each time you said the fireworks were pretty.
You two sat there even after the fireworks finished. By now, Kihyun was placing wet kisses along your shoulders, dragging his tongue on your skin and letting the sea breeze do its work making you shiver. You leaned your head back, giving Kihyun more access. He complied dutifully, sucking hard on one particular spot.
You fingers dug into his thighs as you moaned his name. “Oh Kihyun, oh baby, what are you doing?”
“Getting you warmed up,” he replied as one of his hands trailed up and down your thigh languidly. He was teasing you, taking his hand so close to the centre between your legs before dragging it away again.
Finally, you took his hand and guided it to the waistband of your pants. Kihyun didn’t resist when you slipped it inside. You guided his finger through your folders then started rubbing your clit with it.
“Oh fuck baby,” Kihyun groaned, gently biting your shoulder. He kept circling your clit while you dipped your finger lower to collect some of your wetness on your fingers.
“Wanna taste?” You asked him as you held up your fingers.
Kihyun leaned down and licked your fingers. “I can’t wait to go home and devour you.”
His own fingers started probing your hole as he gently pushed one in. He pumped it in a few times before adding a second one and you squeezed his thighs again as you felt the stretch.
“Kihyun… are you sure you can wait until we get home?” You said in between breaths.
“Do you want to test my patience princess?” He replied tauntingly.
His thumb pushed down harder on your clit.
“Ah fuck!” You cried, throwing your head back to rest against Kihyun’s shoulder. He slid other hand under your shirt to knead at your breasts, and his thumb rubbed circles over your nipples that were still covered by your bra. Your breaths steadily quickened, fanning his ear and jaw.
Kihyun smirked when he felt your shoulders pushing into his as you started lifting your hips up to buck into his fingers. “Getting close princess?”
You let out unintelligible groans, until…. mmm…nnnn…ahhh…
You let your head roll until you nuzzled Kihyun’s neck. Your breaths became calmer and deeper. Kihyun removed his hand from under your shirt, and adjusted it for you. He then gently removed his fingers from you, and wiped them off on some tissues he had in his bag. He moved aside a little, placed his arm on your back and slowly guided you down on to the beach towel.
“Lay down sweetheart. Will you let me clean you up?” He asked as he grabbed some more tissues. You looked up at him, with half lidded eyes and a slightly flushed face, and nodded.
Once you were clean, Kihyun lay down facing you. “Hey,” he said as he pulled you towards his chest.
“Hi,” you giggled. “Guess you’re not that patient huh?”
Kihyun placed his fingers under your chin and asked with a twinkle in his eye, “What makes you say that?”
“You couldn’t wait until we got home,” you replied.
“Oh gorgeous,” Kihyun smiled smugly. “There are so many things I am waiting to do with you. If I told you what they were, we won’t be going home for a long time.”
You whined and buried your face into his chest, making Kihyun laugh.
———
Another routine fixture of your relationship was the Saturday night race. Kihyun had bought you your own riding gear now, and he added Kikibebe patches to all of it too. But you kept wearing Kihyun’s own Kikibebe jacket, especially since you were his darling, the exact definition of a Kikibebe. Having gone to several races now, people were starting to recognise you, and you had even made a couple friends. It was an entirely unique social circle, much unlike the circles your well to do family ran in. The latest financial news was never the topic of conversation and people didn’t know whose child you were. You liked that anonymity.
You were just Kihyun’s girlfriend, here to support him during a championship qualifier race. The other partners of racers were going all out cheering as the last few laps started. You zeroed in on Kihyun. He wasn’t slated to win today despite being a fan favourite, but still, you could hope right? Plus he didn’t have to win to qualify if his lap time was decent. You watched as Kihyun overtook a few racers during the last lap. The finish line was there, just within reach. And he crossed it second place, losing first to an older, seasoned, biker.
You ran out of the stands towards the section of the race track that racers and their close friends or family would gather in after the race. You leaned against the fence there and watched as Kihyun took off his helmet and shook hands with the other racers before seeking you out. First Kihyun looked up into the stands, brow furrowing when he didn’t see you. It was cute.
You called out to him and waved. Kihyun’s face broke into the biggest smile ever as he jogged to you and practically crushed you into a hug.
“You did so well my love,” you said softly.
Kihyun pressed his lips to your temple. “Thank you for coming today.”
You pulled back slightly and brushed some of his sweaty hair off his forehead then leaned back in to press a kiss to his nose. “I’m proud of you.” Your fingers reached for the zip of his motorcycle jacket, but Kihyun wrapped a hand around yours and stopped you.
“Now what exactly are you doing there?”
You rolled your eyes. “Just let me hold you closer.” You sharply tugged down the zip, opening his jacket, before slipping your arms inside to wrap around his waist.
Kihyun chuckled as he felt your fingers tracing his toned muscles under his compression shirt. He let you hug him tighter, and snuggle your face into his chest.
“Baby,” Kihyun began as he smoothed down your hair. “You do need to let me go so I can get up on that podium for a few minutes.”
You grumbled something incoherent, making Kihyun laugh. He reached behind you to pry your hands off him.
“Hey, look at me?” Kihyun said so that you would lift your face up. “Give me 5 minutes to finish things off here, then we can go home and cuddle okay?”
Kihyun made good on that promise, but not in the way he thought he would. While riding back into the inner city suburbs, you asked Kihyun to drive to his house and pick up some clothes so he could stay the night at your house.
“My bathroom is that way, feel free to use any of my products. If you want anything else, let me know,” you said as you unlocked your front door and walked in. Kihyun paused in the doorway as he comprehended where he was.
“Are either of your parents here today?” Kihyun asked.
“No, thankfully. My mum has a meeting in another state.” You led Kihyun through your house until you reached the him bathroom. “Bath or shower?” You asked.
“Bath,” Kihyun answered.
You nodded and walked over to turn the tap on. You heard Kihyun slide off his jacket and place it on the sink counter. Smirking to yourself when you heard more fabric rustle, you turned away from the bathtub to watch as Kihyun took his shirt off and dropped it to the floor. But your smirk was soon replaced by equal parts awe and lust as you stared at Kihyun’s sculpted chest and abs. You slowly walked up to him, letting your gaze wash all over him.
Kihyun smirked when he caught you staring, and said, “Baby, stop drooling.”
“I can’t help it,” you murmured as you wrapped your arms around his neck and looked up at him. You pressed a kiss to his jaw and leaned your head down onto his shoulder. “Why’d you stop?”
Your trailed your fingers down to his chest to rest your hand there, gently drumming your fingers on the muscle.
“Stop what, darling?” Kihyun asked as he picked up your hand off his chest and kissed it. He encircled his other arm around your waist and gently swayed.
“Taking off your clothes,” you replied quietly, listening to how your voice would bounce off the bathroom tiles.
Kihyun didn’t reply immediately and continued swaying you. “I was waiting for you to leave,” he then admitted. “I wasn't sure if you would be comfortable with that.”
“Oh Kihyun,” you sighed, lifting your head up and smiling coyly as you cupped his cheek. “Let me show you exactly how comfortable I am.”
Holding his gaze, your dragged your hands down to his pants, undoing the buttons and zip before you reached inside. Holding his gaze and watching for his reaction, you closed your fingers around his shaft and pumped him slowly. Kihyun hissed at your touch, and his fingers on your waist dug into your skin, making you smirk in satisfaction.
“Relax baby,” you cooed and dropped to your knees. You roughly pulled his pants down and took the tip of his cock in your mouth.
You swirled your tongue along his tip then took in more of his length, until finally your nose grazed his pelvis. Kihyun threw his head back and swore as his hands came to grip your hair. When you pressed your tongue deep into the underside of his cock, and flicked his frenulum, his knees buckled and his fingers twisted further into your hair.
“Ohhh, uhh, y-y/n…” Kihyun spoke in between breaths. “Baby… if you keep… keep doing that… I am going to cum.”
You hummed as you took him into your mouth again, not really registering the meaning of his words.
“Oh, y/n, please, fuck, ugh!” Kihyun hissed and tugged on your hair to pull your mouth off him.
You looked up at him with adorable doe eyes and wet lips while Kihyun picked up the shirt he’d dropped on the floor to cum on it.
“What’s wrong?” You asked Kihyun in a small voice, still kneeling and feeling a little shy.
“Nothing baby. You’re perfect, I just didn’t want to overwhelm you. But I want to return the favour,” Kihyun replied as he helped you stand up. Then he looked over your shoulder. “Also, that bathtub looks like its about to overflow.”
You let out a small exclamation and ran to turn the tap off. While you did that, Kihyun kicked off his pants and walked towards you. Standing behind you, he ran his hands up and down your arms and leaned his chin down on your shoulder.
“Y/n,” Kihyun said in a low voice. “Turn around darling.”
You spun around, with Kihyun’s arms hanging loosely around your waist. You braced your hands on his chest. Kihyun’s face was a little flushed, and you could feel his semi-hard member against your leg.
“You should wash up baby. You had a hard race today,” you said.
Kihyun twirled a piece of your hair around his fingers. “There’s something I gotta do first.” He pushed the neckline of your top aside to place a kiss on your collarbone. “Aren’t you going to let me return the favour, love?”
Kihyun continued kissing your neck and shoulders, his kisses becoming harder and more frantic, sometimes sucking on the skin. You brought your hand to the back of his head, tangling your fingers into his hair.
Kihyun tightened his hands around your waist when he felt your legs shake a little. Kihyun unlatched his lips from your neck and moved you so your hips touched the bathroom counter. “Honey, sit up here.” With some support from Kihyun, you climbed up, and Kihyun slotted himself between your legs.
He then attacked your lips fiendishly, and you sank into the kiss. You wrapped your legs around his waist to pull him closer, and felt the heat from his body seep through the motorcycle clothing you were still wearing.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” Kihyun said between kisses. His hands which had originally been pushing down on the counter moved to undo your pants. You lifted your hips up, letting Kihyun pull the leather off, together with your underwear. You briefly gasped when the cold countertop touched your bare skin, but that was forgotten when Kihyun slipped his hands under your hips and pulled you to the edge. He let your legs hang off his shoulders, and you’d barely balanced yourself on your forearms when you felt Kihyun’s lips on your inner thigh, placing small kisses and working his way up to your core.
Kihyun could taste your juices the instant his tongue touched your outer lips. You let out shuddering breath and a low groan when you felt his tongue on you. You had been growing wetter since Kihyun started stripping and you knew you’d only leak more as Kihyun’s tongue continued probing your folds.
Your legs tried to jerk closed when his lips enclosed around your clit but his hands dug into your inner thighs, holding you in place. Kihyun then tucked an elbow near your thigh to free one of his hands. He continued his ministrations on your clit, alternating between sucking at your clit and stroking your folds with his tongue, and with his free hand he plunged two fingers into you. The squelches from your cunt mixed with your reverberating moans that only seemed to make Kihyun more eager to please. If the man had one goal, it was to have you drenched, and you knew the countertop would need wiping down afterwards. Eventually, your breathing began to tremble, much like your legs. You felt the tension in your stomach release, and if it wasn’t for Kihyun’s hold on you, your body would have crumpled even further onto the bathroom counter.
Kihyun gave you a few moments to catch your breath.
“Feeling good, love?” He asked and you nodded. “Can I lift you up?” He asked as he helped you sit up. You gave a breathless “okay.”
Kihyun slipped his hands under your hips to bring you closer to him. “Hold me tightly,” he said and you looped your arms around his shoulders and tightened your legs around his waist.
“I’m taking you to the bath,” Kihyun said as he carried your koala self to the bath tub. “Can you stand baby?” He asked as he set you down. He kept his arms around you to make sure you didn’t falter. When you seemed stable, he helped you discard your remaining clothes and helped you into the bathtub. Once you sat down, Kihyun walked around the bathroom, picking up the clothes strewn all over the place.
“Kihyun?” You called as you watched him.
“Yes sweetheart?” He replied without looking at you while he grabbed some tissues to wipe the counter space.
“Aren’t you going to join me here?” You asked. “The bath was supposed to be for you in the first place."
Kihyun looked up at you, his hand stopping mid-air in between wipes. “Would you like me to?” He asked with a nervous swallow.
“Do you not want to?” You asked, scrunching your eyebrows.
“Believe me, darling, I would love to, but I thought you would want privacy,” Kihyun replied.
“Really? Privacy?” You scoffed. “That’s funny coming from the man walking around naked in my house after he just had his face between my legs.”
Kihyun stared at you, unsure about whether you were annoyed or just teasing him.
You rolled your eyes in amazement. “Just get in. I want you with me.”
Kihyun grinned. “You don’t need to tell me twice.”
———
You rolled over and sat up on Kihyun’s bed, groaning when the sunlight hit your face. “It’s too early for this,” you mumbled.
Kihyun smiled, waving woken up from your movement. “You’re always welcome to sleep more. I don’t have any clients coming in.”
You smiled to yourself at his morning voice. “Hmm, but I have class soon.”
Kihyun sat up behind you and gently rubbed your shoulders. He placed a kiss on your neck and said, “I’ll make breakfast and drop you off then."
He slid out of bed while you remained there seated, stretching your arms. Letting out another groan, you fell back on to the pillows. “Why did I even stay up so late last night?"
From somewhere you couldn’t see, Kihyun replied a little distractedly, “I don’t know, darling, but this time it wasn’t my fault. Also, stay right there, just like that.”
You lifted your neck up, looking around the room, and saw Kihyun holding his camera, pointed at you. “I look like garbage, what are you doing?"
“Never, I repeat, never, say that about yourself,” Kihyun said as he snapped a photo of you. “You’re my whole world y/n.”
You cracked a wide smile at that and Kihyun snapped another photo. “God, how did I get this lucky? To be able to wake up next to you?”
You sat back up on the bed, clutching the blanket to your chest, amused at Kihyun.
He took a few steps closer to you. “Look towards that window,” he said and took another photo of you. Checking it, he said, “How is it that when you’re around everything else disappears? You look unreal in that light.”
He had lowered his camera now, so you tugged on his hand to get him to come closer to you.
Kihyun reached out to trace your face, and his voice dropped to a whisper. “You’re like an angel y/n. And I am so scared you’ll leave."
You smiled back and replied. “I love you, Yoo Kihyun. Why would I ever leave?"
You didn’t try to rile Kihyun up any further for the rest of the night, and as promised, he took you back to the warehouse at the end of the race. You still clung to him as you both rode, but your grip was looser, and you’d occasionally lift yourself off his back to look around. When he stopped his motorcycle outside the warehouse, Kihyun began taking off his helmet, and you took that time to trace the patches on his riding jacket, which included the same patch on your jacket.
“Kihyun, what does it mean to be a Kikibebe?” You asked as your fingers kept circling the same patch.
Kihyun got off the motorcycle and offered you a hand to help you off. “It means Kiki’s baby, or Kiki’s darling. It’s my fan club.”
“I see. You know, someone came and asked me if I am a Kikibebe because of your jacket, ” you said as you as you waited for Kihyun to help unbuckle your helmet as well.
“And what did you tell them?” Kihyun asked, an intrigued smirk on his face as he removed your helmet for you.
You scoffed. “Don’t look so smug, I said yes so they wouldn’t question why I was wearing your jacket.”
You walked ahead of Kihyun as he moved to open the warehouse.
“Even if you said that, they were all still questioning it, weren’t they?” Kihyun replied.
You folded your arms and watched as he pushed open the warehouse. “You tell me. Is it normal for the entire audience to stare at me?”
Kihyun walked inside the warehouse first, and took a seat on the couch. “I suppose it was something to be expected. You did turn up wearing my jacket, after all.”
“Yeah but I look like any other fan. Are you sure they weren’t staring because you chose to interact with me?” You asked as you sat beside him on the couch.
Kihyun shrugged as he turned to face you. “That’s also one reason. But its more the first reason.”
“Because I wore your jacket?” You raised your eyebrows at him. “Are Kikibebe’s that rare?”
Kihyun shook his head, smiling like he knew a secret. “No, its because you wore my jacket.”
You narrowed your eyes at him. “What are you talking about? It’s just a jacket with a patch right?”
“Yes and no,” Kihyun replied. “To anyone who didn’t see you when we arrived together, you would look like a normal Kikibebe. But to everyone who saw us together, you are the literal definition of a Kikibebe. As in, you’re mine.”
You scoffed. “I didn't realise that stereotype about bikers being possessive was true.”
Kihyun bowed his head down slightly and replied, “Its one of the few stereotypes that are true, including for myself, as much as I don’t want to admit it.”
You nodded in understanding and asked, “So now the whole biking world thinks I am yours?”
“Uh yeah, pretty much.”
You took off Kihyun’s jacket and spread it out to trace the patch again. “So what happens if I wear someone else's patch next time? Like, I don’t know, Mingi’s?” you asked, looking at Kihyun through your lashes.
Kihyun didn’t miss the opportunity to tease you. “Then maybe I have to make you mine again. Can’t let Fix On get his hands on you.”
“Oh really?” You asked as you shifted closer to Kihyun on the couch. “How does a biker do that? How will you make me yours?”
Kihyun’s cheeks heated up slightly at your words. “Maybe you can find out next time you come to a race.”
Your hand moved to his shoulder and you began tracing the stitching on Kihyun’s jacket. “But imagine the chaos if I come on your bike wearing Mingi’s patch. Or worse, his jacket?”
Kihyun chuckled, even though his eyes were fixed on your fingers trailing down his arm. “Oh Mingi would love that. He thrives on attention.”
You hummed. “I am sure he would. But what about you? What are you going to do when your Kikibebe is wearing somebody else’s patch?”
Your fingers had reached the end of his sleeve and were working their way back up his arm. Kihyun swallowed and glanced at his phone. “It’s getting late, y/n. I should take you home.”
Your hand stopped at his shoulder and your adorable doe eyes looked at him. “Guess those are questions for next time then.” You smiled your signature soft smile and stood up from the couch, grabbed your things, and walked to the door of the warehouse. “Bye Kihyun.”
Before you had even managed to push open the warehouse door, Kihyun scrambled after you. He had just realised how he would make you his.
The Present
Hyunwoo led Kihyun to the investment department and introduced him to the team. Then the two men walked around to the other departments for Kihyun’s self-introductions, before Hyunwoo ended the tour at the break room. But throughout it all, Kihyun’s brain was a on autopilot. Instead, all he could think about was you in that meeting room a few hours earlier.
You were still just as headstrong and knowledgable as he remembered. You even dressed the same in diamond earrings and pretty pinks. Although… Kihyun didn’t know why it disheartened him, but you weren’t wearing the goodbye gift he bought for you all those years ago.
Kihyun handed over the NPV question from today’s meeting to a group of investment analysts who included the department’s resident clean freak, gossip machine and hottie. And they all had an interesting story to tell Kihyun about you, the new CEO.
Seonghwa, the clean freak, explained that you had been on countless dates, but you never seemed to date the same man for more than a few months. Your reasons for ending things would include terrible cooking, not protecting you enough and finally bad sex. Seonghwa could understand all of those reasons except “not protective enough,” which is where Wooyoung, the gossip machine, stepped in. He heard you telling one of the secretaries that only one man has ever made you feel like all your worries don’t matter. You had said you didn't need physical protection from anything - which Kihyun struggled not to laugh at because he knew how little regard you had for safety when you were younger - but instead, you stressed you wanted emotional protection. The closest things you had found to emotional protection was in the form of San, the department hottie. After a particularly rough breakup, you went through a crazy exercise phase, which is how you met San in the office gym and became best buds. The most confusing aspect of this friendship however, was that San relied equally on you for emotional support, and you were absolutely immune to the charms of the office hottie.
“I will clarify that emotional comfort means y/n would console me back when I was a hopeless intern,” San said.
“Maybe she didn’t want to date San back then coz he was a lost cause and she was the star of the legal department,” Wooyoung laughed.
“That’s around the same time y/n had her heart broken. Can't believe that in the time San worked his way up from intern to associate analyst, she still hasn’t recovered from whatever asshole she dated,” Seonghwa said.
The trio’s words took Kihyun back to a time he would rather forget: the second time he said goodbye to you, only he never gave you the chance to say it back to him. It didn’t take much thinking to know that the terrible breakup you went through was Kihyun. It was just after your first semester of university, when your mum sent you to MX to rotate through the departments and pick up some skills so that you could eventually take over the company. Kihyun knew you had been looking forward to that vacation, but he also knew it became a time you’d rather forget because of the project MX ended up handling back then.
It was eventually time for the afternoon meeting with the investment department. The ‘pirates,’ as this particular investment team was affectionately called, were already waiting and ready to present in the conference room when you arrived.
“Hey Sannie,” you chirped as you walked in. “Wooyoung, Seonghwa,” you nodded and smiled. Then with a deep breath, almost as if it pained you, you said, “Kihyun” and sat down.
This interaction didn’t go unnoticed by San, and San’s concerned expression towards you caught Wooyoung’s attention.
“Miss y/n, would you like to begin?” Seonghwa asked calmly, while eyeing his teammates with a silent order to behave. You nodded for him to continue.
The NPV calculation was positive. The DoD job would be profitable regardless of what type of contract your firm might be handed. So you instructed the pirate trio (and Kihyun) to begin checking the numbers for working capital and capital expenditure for any designs the architects would draw up in the coming days. The admin/marketing team should finish the application for the tender tomorrow morning.
“Then do you want the numbers by the end of the week?” Wooyoung asked.
“I expect them as soon as possible once the architects release a preliminary drawing. I also specifically want unlevered free cash flow so that the legal team could try adding some tax clauses,” you explained.
“Miss y/n, I can get started on the FCF tonight if you want,” Kihyun offered.
You could feel San's gaze on you as you answered. "Architecture probably won’t finish up for another day so you’ve still got time. I am actually more concerned with meeting your contact.”
Kihyun smirked as he played with his pen. “You’ve met Im Changkyun before.”
You sucked in a breath sharply. Yes, the name did ring a bell, although you hadn’t quite figured out from where, so you said, “I’m sure I met him back when I knew Jongho.”
At this, San gasped. “Wait you’re gonna meet Jongho? Didn’t he almost crash your car?”
“Relax dude, I won’t be meeting him in a car, I’ll be safe,” you replied, well aware Kihyun’s curiosity had been piqued.
And Kihyun’s curiosity would be satisfied when Wooyoung asked you, "What's the deal with this Jongho fella? If he nearly crashed your car, he’s an ex right?”
You pursed your lips and nodded. “He couldn’t understand why I knew so much about cars and engines and stuff. He insisted on driving this one time, and he refused to turn on manual when we were going down hills.”
You didn't notice but Kihyun’s fist tightened around the pen he was fidgeting with.
“Why do you know so much about cars?” Seonghwa asked. “Especially considering I've only seen you use a motorcycle before.”
Kihyun’s head shot up to look at you. He didn't remember ever showing you how to ride a motorcycle. When did you end up learning?
You laughed as you responded to Seonghwa. “Our last CEO was a mechanical engineer remember? I picked up some things from her but…” you flicked your gaze to Kihyun before continuing, “somebody else taught me some things and they stuck.”
“Are you going to feel safe meeting Jongho? Do you want me to come with you?” San asked.
Before you could answer, Kihyun spoke up. “Miss y/n is meeting Changkyun, not Jongho, and I am going with her. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”
San looked at you, saw your equally shocked face, and decided not to say anything.
Wooyoung grinned as he looked between you and Kihyun. This entire meeting, you had tried to pretend Kihyun didn’t exist, to the point that even though he sat across from you, your shoulders were twisted towards the ‘pirates.’ Meanwhile Kihyun never managed to meet your gaze and Wooyoung was ready to bet his entire fortune that Kihyun actually snapped the pen he was holding when Jongho’s little car crash was mentioned. The office was going to get interesting very quickly.
Later that night, in the quiet of your house, that you lived in alone and ate catered food in, you pulled out the photo album that was hidden in the drawer you kept bed linen in. The album was full of photographs, mostly of you. Some photos were intimate, like the one of you covered by a simple blanket early in the morning, with a sleepy smile on your face as you reached out to the photographer. Some photos made you laugh, like the one where you held up orange tinted hands at the camera after trying to dye someone’s hair. Sometimes you weren’t even facing the camera, like one where you were lying on the couch pulling a face while you typed out your assignments.
But then the style of the photos changed from camera quality to selfies. Some were taken over home cooked dinners, many more were taken while sitting behind someone on a bike, and a few others included orange hair peeking out from somewhere behind you while you were lying down.
Then at the very end of the book was a little envelope. Inside it was a pair of blue sapphire earrings that you wore all throughout first semester, until one day you couldn’t bear to wear them anymore.
The Past
“Don’t go alone,” Kihyun called as he ran after you. “I promised I would keep you safe, and that includes getting you home safely.”
You gave him an amused smile. “I thought we agreed I don’t pay attention to my safety.”
“Yeah well we didn't agree whether I do the same,” Kihyun retorted. “And I don’t.” Kihyun reached over to grab one of the helmets hanging by the door and gave it to you. “Put this on and wait for me outside.”
As caring as he was, his voice carried a finality to it that you didn't plan to argue with, so you waited as Kihyun brought his motorcycle out of the warehouse and locked up again. Then like before, you both got on.
Kihyun let you get comfortable then said, “I’ll ride a little slower, and you can guide me to your house okay?”
It wasn’t a long drive, maybe 15 minutes. The roads were mostly empty at this time too. Kihyun was driving slow enough for you two to make conversation.
“Kihyun, do you live in the warehouse or somewhere else?”
You could hear the smile in Kihyun’s voice. “I have an apartment elsewhere. I share it with Changkyun and Jooheon.”
You squeezed his waist in acknowledgement, then asked, “So what’s the bed in the warehouse for? Mingi said…”
“Never mind what Mingi said. And it’s a bed. You sleep on it,” Kihyun said somewhat gruffly.
You chuckled and rubbed your fingers against stomach. “Relax. It’s your space, do as you please.”
“Y/n, I can't relax when you keep stroking my stomach like that,” Kihyun said.
“What? This?” You asked as you trailed one hand down his side towards his thigh.
Noticing that you only had one arm wrapped around him, Kihyun revved his bike a little, enough to make you grip his waist tightly again so you wouldn't fall off.
“Not so confident now are we?”
You made a small fist and hit his stomach to show your annoyance.
Kihyun laughed. “Don’t worry princess, I know how to ride, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
This time, your mouth was close enough to his ear that he heard your sharp intake of breath, and he felt the way your arms squeezed him and pressed closer.
“Princess? Does that do something to you?” Kihyun asked again.
You mumbled a no and tried to bury your face in his back.
Kihyun laughed. “Be honest, princess. I felt the way you squeezed me.”
You whined and hit his stomach.
“Use your words, princess. Are you touching me like that because you want me to touch you?”
Kihyun felt your arms tighten around him again when you admitted, “Ok fine, maybe I like being called princess.”
“Well I am glad we cleared that up.”
It wasn't long before Kihyun stopped his bike in front of your family’s house. Like before, he got off first before helping you down. He placed his hands under your chin to get you to look at him while he loosened your helmet.
“Y/n, there's one more thing I want to ask you.” His fingers finally unclasped the helmet buckle. “You’re not seeing anyone are you?”
You shook your head. Kihyun lifted the helmet off you.
“Well then, princess,” he said as if testing the word on his tongue, “will you go out with me? Will you let me call you my princess?”
The Present
It had been several days since Kihyun began work, and he still couldn’t get over the chaos of the early morning executive meeting. Today’s meeting had ended well before 9 and, Lee Minhyuk was browsing the Internet to help you pick an outfit to meet the naval officers later in the evening.
“Hey Kihyun, what’s your friend’s favourite colour?” Minhyuk called across the room to Kihyun who was reading some financial reports.
“Purple,” Kihyun replied without looking up. “Why?”
“So y/n can look pretty for him,” Minhyuk giggled.
Kihyun had never slammed a report down fast enough. You didn't even have to try to look pretty, you’d always been pretty. And why would you dress up for Changkyun of all people, especially when your ex might be joining too. Kihyun walked over to stand behind you and Minhyuk to look over your shoulders at the website.
Minhyuk clicked a purple top and you scrunched your face to say no. He found a purple blazer and skirt combo which you were ambivalent to. Then he found an off shoulder purple dress and you nodded aggressively.
“Oh she likes it eh?” Minhyuk said looking up at Kihyun.
“Don’t wear that one,” Kihyun said sharply, prompting you to turn around and look at him.
“Why not? It’s pretty,” you said, trying not to think about how Kihyun’s arm was bracing against your chair. If you leaned back, you’d rest your head against his torso.
“Wear something longer, you’ll get cold,” Kihyun said.
“It falls to my knees though,” you muttered as Minhyuk kept scrolling. He stopped at a bright purple scarf.
“Y/n, why not this with regular businesswear,” Minhyuk said. Then turning to Kihyun, he added, “And she’ll be warm too.”
Kihyun rolled his eyes at Minhyuk, but said, “Yeah that looks good, but wear it with your oversized black blazer,” He didn’t wait for you or Minhyuk to respond and walked to the door.
“Hey hold on, how do you know she even has that? I don’t think she’s worn a black blazer once this whole month,” Minhyuk called after him.
Kihyun turned around and smirked, his eyes boring into you. “Just something I remembered.”
You were so screwed. The blazer? That was Kihyun’s blazer you once wore to the office. You’d slept over at his place one night and woken up late. You thought you couldn’t go to work in your denim mini skirt and black singlet, until you looked in Kihyun’s closet and found the blazer. It was quite a surprise a biker like him owned something like that, but you weren’t complaining. You put it on and practically ran to your car in his driveway. But now the problem was, you didn’t have that blazer anymore because you returned it to Kihyun’s closet, and you thought you did so before he even knew you wore his blazer.
Still inside the conference room, you pulled out your phone and rang San.
“Yo what’s up?” He answered.
“I need you to find out Kihyun’s shirt size,” you said.
“Like now? Or for like Christmas?”
“Like now now. He told me to wear a black blazer in his size,” you answered.
“And why would he do that? If you’re just after a men’s blazer, half this office could probably help you,” San replied. You heard some hushed voices before San added, “Actually Wooyoung begged me to say you can borrow one of his.”
You laughed at Wooyoung’s antics but then considered. Wooyoung and Kihyun were roughly the same height. “If it fits, I’ll take it. Wooyoung has the CEO’s permission to get me a black blazer in his size as long as he gets it to me before the office closes.”
“He says he’s got one at home and he’ll have someone grab it for him,” San said.
“Thank you so much you two. I owe you one, Wooyoung,” you said.
“Buy me lunch!” Wooyoung practically shouted into the phone and San started shushing him.
“Alright, I’ll take you to lunch and we’ll call it even.”
You met with Wooyoung outside the building several hours later to drive to a nearby Mexican restaurant, and let him pick whatever he wanted. To his credit, and your surprise, he picked the cheapest option there. Afterwards, Wooyoung drove you two to a nearby building where his housemate, Yeosang, was waiting with the blazer. You waited in the car as Wooyoung grabbed the bag which happened to be from a women’s clothing store.
When you saw that, you groaned and asked, “I thought I said I needed a men’s blazer?”
Wooyoung chuckled. “It's there, I promise. Yeosang probably just used the first bag he saw. I didn’t tell him it was for you or anything.”
“Oh good, because the entire investment industry finding out I am using my underlings clothes will definitely end well,” you replied sarcastically.
"You say that but what about the fact your underling Kihyun basically ordered you to wear this?” Wooyoung replied.
“He didn’t order me, he suggested it,” you scoffed.
“Uh no, the gossip goes he told you to cover up and wear a purple scarf with a black blazer that’s oversized.”
“God where do you even hear these things?” You rolled your eyes. “Still though, putting that in a women’s clothing store bag wasn’t a bad idea. Kihyun won’t know I am wearing your clothes, right?”
Wooyoung pulled his car into MX’s parking lot. He switched off the engine and turned to face you. His usual teasing voice was replaced by a serious one. “Miss y/n, I need to know what’s happening between you and Kihyun. He’s acting weird.”
“Weird? That doesn’t seem like Kihyun.”
Wooyoung sighed. “I can’t tell if you don't see it because of how hard you try to ignore him but Kihyun was uncomfortable - no, furious - hearing about Jongho. He’s also struggling to keep a straight face if you so much as smile at San. I don’t think I need to tell you why men behave like that considering how many dates you’ve been on…”
You smacked Wooyoung’s shoulder at that.
Wooyoung continued. “But Kihyun wants your attention. He is into you. And if you’re willing to go to this much trouble for him, I’d say you feel a little something too.”
You looked down at your lap, at the bag you were holding. You stayed silent.
“Y/n…” Wooyoung said gently. “I am asking this as your friend. Did something happen between you and Kihyun?”
You finally looked up at him. “Yes.” You said in a small voice.
Wooyoung nodded. “Is he the one who made you hate your first project at MX when we changed those warehouses into the marina?”
You nodded. Your lips were quivering too much for you to ask Wooyoung how he even made these connections.
“And I am guessing he's also the reason you keep going to that restaurant at the marina? And even demanded that regardless of who the owner was, they had to serve chips and aioli?”
“Look I was stupid okay? I had just gotten rejected by that fashion designer KHJ and needed an outlet,” you groaned.
“No, it’s actually pretty romantic. Eating the food that reminds you of Kihyun for so long,” Wooyoung mused.
“God I really feel sorry for that owner. Maybe I should speak to him someday and tell him he can get rid of that from his menu if he wants,” you said, rubbing the tears off your face.
Wooyoung grabbed your hand to stop you from damaging your skin from excessive rubbing. “Don’t do that, just uhh… tell you what. There’s no one around right now, so let’s get you inside, grab San or Minhyuk, and talk about this okay?”
Wooyoung helped you out of the car, carried your bag and walked you to the elevator, where he waited with you for it to come down. You had your back to the entrance of the building, so you didn’t see Kihyun and Hoseok walking in, but Wooyoung did, and a mischievous thought formed in his head.
“Hey Miss y/n, don’t hate me for this, but I have a plan. Do you trust me?”
You sniffled. “Sure Woo, it’s not like this could go worse right?”
Wooyoung watched the elevator coming down, and said to you in a low voice, “You're going to get on and go to your floor. I’ll take the next one up. And then, you're going to let me say whatever I want…”
“You already do that,” you retorted.
“Right, but to the people behind us.”
You started to turn your head but Wooyoung grabbed your jaw and held you still. “Don’t do it. Don’t look.”
The doors opened and Wooyoung guided you inside with a gentle hand on your shoulder. He then spun you around, which is when you saw Kihyun and Hoseok standing behind you. Hoseok looked at you questioningly while sipping bubble tea, but Kihyun was watching Wooyoung with his fists clenched. With your attention elsewhere, Woyooung had to physically close your fingers around the bag when he handed it to you.
Then in a louder than necessary voice, Wooyoung said, “You’re going to look so beautiful, I can't wait to see you in that.”
He walked off laughing just as the elevator doors closed, and the last thing you saw was Hoseok’s amused face beside Kihyun’s jealous one.
Minhyuk was already waiting at your office when you arrived, and he was holding the purple scarf you wanted delivered. He must’ve noticed your troubled face, because he started explaining.
“Don’t worry. Wooyoung dropped by architecture. I swear that man is like my spirit animal though, he was thinking exactly what I thought,” Minhyuk said as you opened the door to your office. Minhyuk took a seat on your couch while you gazed out of your window towards the marina.
“Then I presume you know who Kihyun is to me?” You said without looking at Minhyuk.
He sighed and adjusted his sleeves. “Look, I knew something was up between you two. You are so determined to not look at him that you twist your entire body away from him. Which means the rest of us have to watch as Kihyun practically commits every square millimetre of you to memory any time you’re in the same room. Point is, one of you never looks and the other is always looking.”
“But that doesn’t tell you he’s that person from my school to university days,” you replied, still looking out your window.
You heard Minhyuk standing up and walking towards you. “No, but we could tell he knew more about you than the regular person. I’ve worked here since your were an intern, and I like to think we’re good friends who know each other well, but Kihyun seems to know your soul.”
You turned around, looking at Minhyuk with a tear stricken face. “What do you mean?”
Minhyuk smiled softly. “Did you know Kihyun’s the one restocking that aioli sauce in the break room that you eat with practically everything? Although you should know he uses it just as much as you.”
You giggled at that. “Did you know that one time I begged him to go to this seafood restaurant, and he came even though he hates seafood? The only thing he was able to eat was hot chips.”
Minhyuk smiled when he noticed the way your eyes sparkled as you talked about Kihyun. He checked his phone. “Woo and San will be here soon. How about you tell us the whole story when they get here?”
“Are you absolutely sure about this?” Kihyun asked you for what must be the 5th time that evening, as he handed you a helmet.
“Yes, my answer isn’t going to change from last time!” You cried out, your patience beginning to wear thin.
The last time you referred to was when you had pizza with Kihyun, in his warehouse garage. You told him you were interested in going to the motorcycle race on the weekend, and needed the details. It would be the craziest thing you’ve ever done, and with more than 3 months of vacation until university, you were ready to try something different.
Kihyun shut you down almost immediately.
“It’ll be too dangerous. It’s not your scene. Tickets are expensive too,” he tried giving a million excuses.
And you foiled him at each one. “How can I know whether it’s my scene or not if I’ve never been? And did you forget my family owns most of this harbour now?”
“No comeback on the danger part though?” Kihyun said, raising his eyebrows.
You hummed in thought then answered, “Voluntary assumption of risk.”
Kihyun couldn’t stop himself from groaning at your response. You pulling out some legal term (he didn’t need to know the Civil Liability Act didn’t apply in this situation and you were just pulling his leg) was precisely why you needed to stay away from this place. You were destined for greater and brighter things, and Kihyun couldn’t understand how a mind as brilliant as yours failed to see it.
But then he thought, maybe you truly didn’t know. Maybe you truly didn’t understand the dangers of the biking world. Maybe he could safely expose you to it all, and finally you would understand.
Which is how Kihyun ended up trying to get you dressed in motorcycle appropriate gear on a Saturday evening. But having you put on his leather jacket over your pink baby tee, and exchanging what were probably overpriced but well-made jeans for his sweatpants was having an unexpected effect on him.
You walked out of Kihyun’s bathroom dressed in your new outfit and a slightly sour look on your face.
“I can’t have you falling down and damaging your skin,” Kihyun said.
“Well I was counting on you being a good rider that wouldn’t drop me when you mentioned also being a racer,” you countered.
“I am not holding you when I ride. You’re holding me. It’s your responsibility to not fall off,” Kihyun said sternly.
For a second, anxiety flashed across your face. Without saying anything more, you walked over to Kihyun who was holding a helmet. You took it from him, and pulled it on wordlessly, then began fiddling with the straps.
Kihyun watched your fingers fumble, sighed and put his fingers under your chin. “Let me,” he said, and you did.
Once the warehouse was locked, Kihyun climbed on his bike and waited for you to join him. Just like in the movies, you swung your legs over the seat and wrapped your arms around Kihyun’s waist. Then you placed your head down on Kihyun’s back, catching him by surprise.
“You good there, princess?” He asked, hoping his voice didn’t betray him.
“I am ready, let’s go,” you answered, oblivious to the effect you were having on him.
It was a quiet ride, about an hour, until you had left the city limits. Kihyun spoke only to warn you when he might speed up or when there were sharp turns. You hummed in acknowledgement each time he spoke. Sometimes you would wriggle and readjust yourself in his seat, and Kihyun swore all he felt was you pressing yourself closer to him, but astoundingly, he didn’t mind. He almost missed the way you felt pressed against him once he stopped the bike and you loosened your grip. You had arrived at a motorplex you didn’t even know existed in your state. It was teaming with people, some in biking gear, some in what you assumed were costumes, and others in regular clothing. Kihyun exchanged a quick and customary hello to a few riders nearby as he got off his bike, then offered a hand to you. Even with his riding gloves on, he was hyperaware of your hand in his.
“So listen, I need to go to registration, maybe say a couple hellos, but there’s food trucks over that way and since it’s still early, you should be able to get a good spot in the stands,” Kihyun explained.
You nodded and started unzipping the jacket he lent to you, but he placed a hand over yours to tell you to stop.
“Keep it. You might get cold.”
You nodded again and asked. “Will you take me home as well? If so, how will I find you?”
Kihyun’s eyes widened in shock and maybe even offence. “Did you really think I’m the kind of guy to leave you stranded like that? I brought you here so you leaving safely is my responsibility.”
A soft smile spread over your face. Even with his prickly personality, his words still carried care. “Thank you,” you said.
“I’ll come and find you after the race okay? Cheer for me, yeah?”
Once Kihyun left, you went to the food trucks and bought yourself twisty potato skewers, some knockoff pad Thai, and frozen yogurt with 75% of the available toppings before heading to the stands. You found a spot at the front by the railing and began eating.
“Mind if I sit here, Kikibebe?” Someone said behind you.
You turned around, your cheeks full of your inauthentic pad Thai, to find a girl with the most impressive cat eye makeup you’d ever seen.
“No, go ahead,” you managed to say in pout form.
The girl giggled and sat beside you. “I don’t think I have seen you here before, so how long have you been a Kikibebe?”
“Sorry, Kikibebe?”
“Kihyun’s fan club. You’re wearing his patch and only his patch, so I’m guessing you’re new to racing?” The girl offered.
“Um yeah, I guess you could say that,” you said with a tight smile.
About the time you finished your noodles, the racers came out. The noise from the crowd almost made you drop your frozen yogurt, but you quickly joined in the cheering. You could easily see Kihyun’s orange hair as he waved to everyone with a cosmically dazzling smile. You also briefly saw Jooheon with his red space buns, and Mingi with his fire hair. At one point, you thought you saw Kihyun catch your eye from the racetrack.
But then the race began, the crowd became even louder, and the atmosphere was all consuming. People were standing and leaning against the railing, screaming and crying from shock, awe and anger if they lost their bets. At one point, Mingi overtook Kihyun, and the girl beside you grabbed your arm for comfort. But then on the last lap, Kihyun slipped past him to win, and you and your new buddy were jumping for joy. At the end of the race, when Kihyun waved and bowed to the crowd, he looked towards you again, only this time, your new friend caught him and all but swooned. You found her reaction comedic, even though Kihyun’s smirk at the end of the race, the way his hair clung to his sweaty skin, and the way his hands looked while he pulled his gloves off were all making your mouth dry.
Quite literally, you were thirsty… for Kihyun.
The Present
Returning to work on Monday brought more surprises than anyone bargained for. The first surprise came in the national news. Tenders were open for a contract with the Department of Defence to build infrastructure for a newly acquired nuclear submarine fleet. Everyone knew defence contracts were lucrative, so the whole firm was abuzz. You already had people with backgrounds in naval architecture, and civil, chemical and mechanical engineering at the firm. It also didn’t hurt that the firm had past experience with waterfront projects. The stars had aligned just for you, it seemed.
But then the second surprise came. The tenders would be viewed by the actual naval officers assigned to the new base, and your stomach dropped when you saw one of the names: Choi Jongho, who was simultaneously your first serious relationship and the worst ex you ever had.
“Hoseok, you were in the PR side for a bit. Tell me, do I have to put my name on the tender?” You asked during the daily executive meeting.
Hoseok took a bite of his oatmeal. “You were on the legal team, so you already know the answer. You’re acting CEO now, you sign off on everything.”
“Yeah but… I just don’t want to deal with him, you know?” You said, hanging your head in frustration.
“Then don’t. Send one or even all of us to the meeting. Half the architects in this building report to me, and the other half report to Hoseok. Hyunwoo handles the engineers, and I hear our new head of investments has an engineering degree too,” Minhyuk said while he squeezed some moisturiser on to his hands.
“Speaking of our new man, where is he?” You asked, looking pointedly at the empty seat in the conference room while you attached some press-on nails.
“Ah Miss y/n, that’s my fault. I told him to arrive at 8, and it is not 8 yet,” Hyunwoo said sheepishly. He was the only one in the room who was not doing some sort of personal grooming.
"Well at least we can expect Kihyun to turn up ready for the day like all the other engineers,” Minhyuk quipped as he packed away his skincare products.
There was a good reason for this bizarre meeting. Your mother, the past CEO, always held the daily executive meetings between 7 and 9 am to plan the day before regular employees arrived. Each division in your firm had their own timetables. Much like your mother, who was an engineer by trade, the engineering department started work at 9 on the dot, and could usually leave work in time to eat dinner at home. The legal department didn’t fire up until at least 10am (lawyers were divas), but could always go out for late night drinks (lawyers are alcoholics). Then the architecture department fell in the middle: they began work after the engineers and before the lawyers, but nobody really knew when they left the building. Lastly, the investment team was in the building all day every day in some capacity. Considering all this, you made the early morning executive meeting a casual affair - food, pyjamas and skincare routines were welcome. The only thing not tolerated was non-attendance without a reason.
Though you’d give Kihyun a free pass this time around when he eventually arrived and became the third surprise of your morning. But for now, your thoughts were racing. Would he recognise you? Would he remember you? Would he be awkward? Would he still be as protective of you as he used to be? If given the chance, would he try to heal all your old wounds? Or would his appearance tear open the wounds he never knew he left?
Because that’s precisely the problem. You never knew why he left you.
The Past
After Kihyun's race was over, he sent you a text message saying he’ll come find you at the grandstand. You didn’t see it since you were watching the other races while occasionally chatting with the girl beside you. Eventually, Kihyun decided to make his way over without waiting for your response. He could almost feel the audience’s gaze swivelling to him as he walked through the grandstand to where he last saw you.
Kihyun found you laughing about something with an audience member who saw Kihyun before you did. Her eyes widened in recognition and she tapped your arm hurriedly to let you know. When you found Kihyun weaving his way through the audience, you waved hello with a bright smile, and Kihyun couldn’t help but return the smile as he quickly walked to you.
“So, did you enjoy your first race?” Kihyun asked.
“Yeah, it was interesting, and congrats on the win,” you said. “Wanna sit?” You gestured to the space beside you.
Kihyun shuffled his feet before replying, “Actually, there’s something else I want you to check out. It’s got a better view than here.”
You shrugged and stood up. “Ok, let’s go.”
Kihyun reached over to grab some of the food wrappers you were carrying, and you let him take them from you. But then he wrapped his hand around yours. “Don’t trip,” he said, and began leading you out of the grandstand.
Even though you followed him, you saw people watching you two.
“Kihyun, people are watching,” you said softly to him. “Kihyun, are you famous or something?”
“Don’t worry about it, just follow me,” Kihyun replied without looking back at you and leading you out.
He didn’t let go of your hand even after you left the grandstand. Kihyun led you out of the racing complex, past more people, all of whom continued to stare after you both. Not minding them, Kihyun took you out into the bushland (dry forest for you non-Aussies) surrounding the racetrack.
“Kihyun, why are we out here? What about your bike?” You cried, trying to pull your hand out of his.
Kihyun still didn’t let go. “Relax, they’ll be safe, but there’s something I want you to see.”
He led you up a small sandy hill, using either the illumination from the racetrack as a guide, or simply his own familiarity with the path, you didn’t know. Eventually, you reached a clearing, with some solid ground and grass instead of sand under your feet. Kihyun stopped here and let go of your hand. He turned to face you and placed both hands on your shoulders.
“I promised you I wouldn't hurt you, and I meant that,” he said with conviction as he looked directly into your eyes. He then spun you around so you could see the racetrack again.
At first you were doubtful about whether this was a better view. You could see the whole complex illuminated against the dark of the bush, but parts of the track were obscured .
“So uh, what am I looking for right now?” You asked Kihyun.
“Just give it a minute. Take a seat, actually,” he replied and sat on the grass with his legs stretched out and hands behind him for support.
You joined him, hugging your knees into your chest, and kept your eyes trained on the racing complex in silence.
“You know, this is one of those places where people won’t hear you scream,” you said, breaking the silence.
“Y/n, I can’t tell if you’re joking, but I swear that’s not what this is,” Kihyun said from beside you.
“Yeah but you literally just took me to the kind of place someone would hide a body,” you replied.
Kihyun bit his lip nervously as he drew in his legs to sit cross legged. “I mean, if you’re uncomfortable, I can take you back?”
You shook your head and smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Just be happy that for once, safety crossed my mind.”
Kihyun groaned. “That was a terrible joke. Hopefully the motocross event is more entertaining than your jokes.”
“Motorcross?”
Kihyun smirked. “I brought you here because motocross is loud and hectic in the stands, especially for someone who’s there for the first time. But from here, you can see all the tricks with less noise.”
Just then, you heard revving and cheering, much louder than any previous segments. A motorcycle practically leaped into the air soon after. Kihyun watched your reaction as you breathed out a soft wow and became a little starry eyed.
“Do you like it?” He asked.
“Mmm, I do,” you replied without taking your eyes off the motorcycles doing flips in the air. “I also have another joke for you.”
“I don’t have high expectations but go on…” Kihyun chuckled.
“Another benefit of being in a place where people can’t hear you is that you can scream as loud as you want,” you said with a smirk, even though you kept your eyes focused on the racing complex.
Kihyun was silent for a few seconds, then asked, “Why would you randomly scream loudly?”
“Coz you’re enjoying yourself?” You offered, turning to face him. When you saw his confused expression, you asked, “You don’t get it?”
“No.”
“Huh, you’re cute,” you giggled and turned back.
“Well if you're screaming because you’re enjoying the race, you can do that while in the stands, so yeah, I don’t get this joke either. Honestly y/n, you’re really bad at this,” Kihyun said.
You fully turned to face him. “I didn’t take you for an innocent person, Kihyun, especially considering the things you said about this crowd.”
“And I didn’t take you for a terrible communicator considering how eloquent you usually are,” Kihyun retorted.
“Leave me alone, eloquence and jokes don’t mix, okay?” You grumbled with a pout as you turned away.
Kihyun gave you a sidelong glance. “Hm. You’re cute when you’re grumpy.”
You sighed and rolled your eyes.
Kihyun’s lips curved into a devilish smirk and he leaned in closer to you, his lips almost brushing your ear. “And actually, I knew exactly what you meant. I can’t believe I thought you were an innocent person the first time I saw you.”
You spun your head towards him, your faces being inches from each other. Your gaze flitted to his lips, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by him.
"Is there something you want to tell me?” You asked, your mouth going dry once again.
Kihyun pulled back, grinning. “Nope, I just like messing with you.”
You were grateful he wouldn’t see the flush spreading across your cheeks, but you weren’t going to let him win. “So you like messing with people, but not messing around with them?” You asked.
"What's the difference?” Kihyun replied.
You smiled gleefully as you replied. “Looks like Mingi was right. You mess with people because you don’t have the balls to mess around with them.”
Kihyun’s eyes narrowed, and suddenly you wondered if you’d taken it too far. Even if his words were suggestive, his voice was dripping with something like anger when he replied, “Are you sure it’s not because you don’t have what it takes to mess around with me?”
But you wouldn’t back down. “Maybe you should mess around and find out.”
The Present
As expected, Yoo Kihyun arrived in the meeting room at 8 on the dot. His hair was a natural brown, instead of the bright orange you saw on the weekend.
Hyunwoo made the introductions. “Ah Kihyun, welcome to the team. This is Minhyuk and Hoseok, they handle the architects, and this is Miss y/n, she handles the legal team but she’s also acting CEO.”
Minhyuk and Hoseok both stood up and shook Kihyun’s hand. You remained seated until Kihyun approached you.
“Miss y/n, I look forward to working with you,” Kihyun said.
It took a second for your etiquette training to kick in: never shake someone’s hand seated. You stood up sharply and offered your hand to Kihyun, who shook it gently. You swore you felt electricity brush through you in that moment.
“Now that Kihyun’s here, let’s talk budget for the new contract,” Hoseok said.
“Are you familiar with defence contracts?” Minhyuk asked Kihyun.
“I read up on them last night. My understanding is that there will be various subsidies, or reduced competition depending on the contract,” Kihyun replied.
“Good, that’s a start,” you said appreciatively. “But to be specific, this contract will probably be a cost-plus contract where the DoD covers project costs and provides a certain profit margin. However, there is no exclusivity, and I want MX to take on as much of this project as possible. My thinking is that if we reduce the project costs, we can find a way to expand that profit margin.”
“But we can’t sacrifice funding for our current projects, just to take on as much of this new project as we can,” Kihyun replied.
“That’s where you come in,” Hyunwoo replied. “Get investments to look at the return on equity and investment (ROE and ROI) for similar naval projects in similar firms.”
“Also, just do a preliminary check on the net present value (NPV). Logic tells us the profit margin clause will mean its a positive NPV, but let’s be sure,” Minhyuk added.
“Good, good, that can all be arranged,” Kihyun replied while he wrote down some notes.
“But Miss y/n, what if the project isn’t cost-plus? Was if it’s IDIQ or prime?” Hoseok asked.
“Surely if it’s IDIQ, we do exactly that? Indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity?” Minhyuk proposed.
“To be honest, that worries me,” you said. “Can we calculate an NPV on an indefinite timeline?”
You looked at 3 of your 4 executives for an answer, since you weren’t sure if you could keep a straight face when you looked at Kihyun.
But despite your lack of attention towards him, Kihyun answered, “It’s okay, you don't need to be worried.”
His gentle voice had the rest of the room melt away as you finally focused your attention on him.
“I can calculate the NPV as a perpetuity, and I’ll index it to the consumer price index (CPI) so we have a preliminary growth value,” Kihyun reassured you.
He still sounded the same as all those years ago, back when you would tell him all your worries with tears in your eyes, and he would rub your back, tuck your hair behind your ear and kiss your forehead.
And now, you would do those things to yourself when you needed reassurance, like how just now, you tucked your hair behind your ear before responding. “That sounds good. Please do the same for a prime contract possibility too.”
“Yes ma’m,” Kihyun said, almost smirking.
“Miss y/n,” Hyunwoo’s calm, deep voice brought your attention back. “Do you have any contacts in the navy you could ask?”
Before you could answer, Hoseok spoke up. “Hyunwoo, she doesn’t want to talk to him, remember? We’ve all heard the Jongho story and you know it gets messy.”
“My apologies, Miss y/n, it slipped my mind,” Hyunwoo said, bowing his head towards you.
“Don't worry about it, he’s not important,” you said, with your eyes cast down and acutely aware there was one person in the room who didn’t know the Jongho story.
And that one person had to speak up just now. “Actually, I have a contact in the navy. He’s called Im Changkyun, and he mentioned being assigned to a new base recently. I’ll see if he knows anything.”
The rest of the executive team looked at Kihyun. Hoseok spoke first and with pride, “I think we just found Miss y/n’s match.”
After the meeting, the five of you separated, with Kihyun going with Hyunwoo who was his assigned mentor for the week so he could get settled in. Minhyuk and Hoseok followed them to go to the elevator while you walked next door to your office.
“I see you changed your hair,” Hoseok said to Kihyun.
“Yeah, it was in the employee policy document,” Kihyun replied.
“You know, if you mentioned it to y/n, she probably would have let you keep your orange hair,” Minhyuk said. “She allows me to do my skincare during our morning meeting.”
“No, it’ll be unprofessional. I have to be presentable and ready for the day,” Kihyun replied.
“Spoken like a true engineer, eh Hyunwoo?” Minhyuk laughed as Hyunwoo hummed in agreement.
“Wonder if y/n will like you,” Hoseok mused. “She was very curious about you during the weekend.”
This was news to Kihyun. “Did she say anything?”
“Not that I remember,” Hoseok replied, honestly, since he truly didn’t. “But she went to school with Somin of Kard, who I believe was your coworker?”
Kihyun nodded.
“Oh who are we kidding? Y/n went to school with everyone who is a someone now. Guess that’s what happens when you’ve been gifted all your life,” Minhyuk laughed.
Kihyun frowned at that. “Do you always talk about Miss y/n so flippantly? She’s your CEO.”
The atmosphere in the elevator changed. The regular banter that was common among the executive team during off-duty moments seemed to have missed the mark.
Hyunwoo decided to calm everyone. “We’ve known y/n since she was an intern here, and you’ll soon learn she is very open about everything. Her knowing someone everywhere is truly an asset, even if we tease her for it and she’s actually a very understanding boss who wants the best for this company, even if the company wasn’t what she always wanted.”
Kihyun didn't mention that he already knew this about you. He knew how friendly you were and how you never suspected a person of ever having ill intent, as much as he disliked that trait. He also knew the reason you made the pragmatic decision to become a lawyer and eventually CEO for MX, even if it meant letting go of what you called your sole happiness.
