Secrets

That's an invitation

Hongjoong could've sworn his heart was pounding so loudly Hwaseong could hear it. He knew he needed to respond but his mind was entirely focused on the locked door and Hwaseong's warm hands on his shoulders and Hwaseong's soft eyes peering down at him and—how deeply he was falling for him.

He hadn't even registered why they were in this bathroom to begin with and was currently panicking like crazy.

"Hongjoong? You don't have to talk if you don't want to. I—I'm sorry I thought if I took you aside you'd want to open up about it to someone—this was stupid—this is awkward—let's just go back to the—"

"Wait!"

Hongjoong grabbed Hwaseong's hand as it began to slip off his shoulder. He didn't know if it was because he wanted to stop him from leaving or if he just wanted his hands to sit there forever.

"Sorry it's just—why did you bring me here?"

Hwaseong looked at the floor.

"Well, after San shared the news about going to Seoul I was going to celebrate with you but you looked really upset and stressed...I thought maybe you wanted to talk about it?"

Hongjoong felt a rush of butterflies in his stomach. It was so sweet. Hwaseong was worried about him. He didn't even know anyone had caught his panic.

"Oh, Hwaseong," was all he could get out as he stared in awe at the sweetheart in front of him.

"Like I said if it's too personal we don't have to talk about it—"

"It's—it's a little personal. But I think after a drink or two I could share," Hongjoong said with a light smirk.

Hwaseong stared at him in confusion.

"That's an invitation."

"To what?"

"To go drinking with me! Let's just tell San we're hitting it off or something so he'll let us go without questions. What do you say?"

Hongjoong felt his chest tighten as he waited for a response. It was a little rude after all. San had invited them here because they'd ignored him all day. But he didn't really feel up to sitting through an awkward dinner for the next hour or so.

"Okay. I'm in. Whatever I need to do to make sure my friend is happy," Hwaseong smiled and Hongjoong almost melted.

As he followed Hwaseong back to the table his mind drifted back to San's announcement.

If they went to Seoul this weekend, he wouldn't be able to stay back and watch for someone to leave. He would fail his mission. The target could head back early but he suspected the spontaneous work opportunity was just a safety precaution to keep as many eyes off of the to-be CEO's departure from the company.

He could ask to stay back but if he did they would become suspicious again. He wasn't supposed to draw anymore attention. But if he went, he could miss out on figuring out the identity of the CEO's son. He wanted to call corporate for a plan but something else was holding him back. Something he couldn't share with corporate.

His feelings for Hwaseong.

If they were to travel for business, he'd likely have to spend a lot more time with him and he wasn't sure that was a good idea. Well—clearly it wasn't, not for the mission's sake. But for his own sake...Hongjoong wanted that time.

He wanted to bring Hwaseong to his favorite cafes and libraries and go for picnics along the Han river and finally get a chance to explore their relationship without everyone else watching.

Except that being in Seoul meant being less than an hour from corporate at all times.

So there's a big chance that he would be watched by a much larger audience. One that decided the fate of his career.

Seoul was just not the place he needed to be right now. But he couldn't bring himself to say no.

His heart beat out his mind.

And he was okay with that.

Hwaseong was worth the risk. At least, he hoped.

Maybe he would finally figure out if he felt the same way.

"Well? Aren't you going to get going?"

Hongjoong had been so lost in thought that he'd missed the entire conversation. San and Wooyoung stared at him expectantly and he managed a quick nod.

"Yes! Yes, we'd better head out. Sorry again, but thank you for inviting us."

The two of them nodded and Hongjoong was glad to see that they didn't look too upset. When he looked back to wave a last time he could've sworn the two of them were making kissy faces at him.

"Raise a Glass again?"

Hongjoong turned back to Hwaseong, his face flushing at the childish behavior of the two behind him.

"Y—yup! Works for me," he laughed awkwardly and Hwaseong grabbed his elbow.

Hongjoong tried not to squeal.

"You don't mind, right? It's just—you said to tell them we were hitting it off. So I wanted to make it look real."

"No of course! It's totally fine! We should probably keep it up until we get to your car. You know, so we're believable!"

"I agree."

Hongjoong knew it was a poor attempt at subtlety but thankfully Hwaseong didn't pick up on his antics.

The two of them reached the car and hopped in, heading off to grab a drink.