Secrets

They just didn't feel like tricks

"You know, if you reverse Hwaseong, it makes Seonghwa."

Seonghwa's head snapped up and his eyes met Hongjoong in an instant. He was so startled to hear his real name in this office. Especially from the person who was supposedly a spy.

"Which means 'to be a star.' That's kind of cool that it means something both ways."

Seonghwa hadn't quite caught his breath. His heart was racing. Was he toying with him? Did he really know his identity?

"I'm glad your mom picked Hwaseong. It's less cheesy."

He sighed. Nope. Hongjoong was just being Hongjoong. But he still wondered if he was trying to gauge his reaction at the name. If so, he would have definitely noticed how quickly Seonghwa started.

He faked a laugh, pretending not to be offended.

"Guess I'm lucky."

"Yeah! If she'd named you Seonghwa you'd have to live up to some grand legacy or something!"

Seonghwa looked at him in annoyance.

"N—not that you can't achieve something great it's just—a lot of pressure for a little boy. That's all."

Seonghwa smiled softly. It honestly was. His whole life was molded to prepare him to be the shining star of his family. From the day he was born, his family expected great things.

Even if Hongjoong had no idea what he was talking about, it felt as if he was letting off some of his burden. It was relieving to know someone could understand.

Seonghwa returned to his work but kept getting distracted by the previous conversation.

He was starting to hope Hongjoong wasn't a spy. Mostly because if he were, then he'd already done a great job of fooling Seonghwa.

But also because Seonghwa could sense that he wasn't a bad person. He was a bit annoying and chatty but sweet. In a real office with a real job, Seonghwa would have loved to work with someone like Hongjoong.

But this wasn't a real job. Not for him. And likely, not for Hongjoong either. He had to keep his head straight.

He could already be falling for his tricks.

They just didn't feel like tricks.

By the end of the day the only notes Seonghwa had for his father were positive. Hongjoong hadn't gone out of his way to please Seonghwa but he also hadn't gone out of his way to bother him either. He was simply creating and maintaining conversation.

And Seonghwa was enjoying it. After all, it wasn't often that he got the chance to talk with someone at the same, casual level. Normally he'd try but they wouldn't drop the formalities.

So it never really felt like a friend.

By the end of the workday, Seonghwa was almost certain Hongjoong was not a spy. He honestly was probably just a worker who'd been fired and now stood out as a red flag to his father.

But if he said that he wasn't worth worrying about, he'd be sent back to his office. To work alone again.

His mission would be over and he'd have no reason to come back.

So maybe, he wouldn't tell him just yet.

"You seemed very pensive today."

Seonghwa looked up to see Hongjoong staring at him, his chin propped up on his palms.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just worried about this project. Working here is tougher than I expected."

He wasn't entirely lying as he didn't normally lead very creative projects. Designing a magazine theme was not something he'd ever had to do before and it was hard.

"Yeah. I actually had a really cool idea I wanted to share with you guys to see what you think."

Seonghwa and San nodded and walked over to see his screen. Seonghwa's jaw almost dropped.

It was fantastic. The color schemes were something he'd never even thought to use. The outfits had been cut apart and different tops had been placed with different bottoms. Seonghwa had thought the outfits were pretty impressive before but seeing them in Hongjoong's reinvention cast a new light on them. They were even better.

Everything about it was incredible and yet he'd only had a day to work on it.

"Hongjoong that's—that's brilliant!"

San's eyes sparkled in awe.

"I mean, it was just the first thing that came to my head. I don't know, it's not that much—"

"It's amazing! I mean it."

Hongjoong's face brightened a bit as he started to feel a bit embarrassed at the attention.

"So what did you guys come up with? We should look at everyone's so we can come up with a final idea—"

"Is there even a point?"

San and Hongjoong turned to Seonghwa who had been the one to speak.

"I mean seriously, this is way beyond anything I could ever do. I couldn't even begin to come up with an idea like this."

"That's not true I'm sure yours is just fine. Let me see."

Seonghwa closed his laptop as Hongjoong reached for it. It wasn't a bad idea but his couldn't possibly compare.

"I choose Hongjoong's."

Hongjoong rolled his eyes and reached for the laptop again.

"All in favor, raise your hand."

He lifted his right arm in the air and turned to San who joined, nodding at Hongjoong.

Hongjoong sighed and pulled his hand back.

"Fine. Thank you guys. But next time, we're all comparing. Okay?"

The other two nodded but both knew they were outmatched.

Seonghwa returned to his seat, his mind muddled with thoughts. If Hongjoong was so good at his job, how could they have fired him?

It was becoming clear that he had been misled.

Clearly, Hongjoong knew what he was doing.

Clearly he was good at his job.

So clearly, he was beyond qualified to be a spy.