Love Maze

04 | i think i overdosed on coffee

|| CHAPTER FOUR ;; JUNG JAE-IN
- i think i overdosed on coffee

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"God, Jae, I didn't think you'd have a stalking problem." The judgement oozes from Min Suho's words as the two of them walk down the hallway leading to Jae-In's personal office.

"Hyung, I swear I went to that convenience store to buy Soo-Jin some junk food," Jae-In argues, his back against the door as he pushes the door handle with his elbow. Well, he did go to buy Soo-Jin some snacks, but he got distracted and ended up going home empty-handed.

"But you didn't. Instead, you practically undressed him in your head," Suho reminds him, pushing past Jae-In to enter the room first, a habit of his that the younger boy finds incredibly unnecessary. Jae-In rolls his eyes at the older boy, shutting the door behind him as he joins Suho at his desk.

"Jeez, I'm sorry," he grunts. Suho's lips press tightly together, his judging gaze following Jae-In as he seats himself in his special CEO chair.

"It's been a year since you went clubbing and got wild with people," Suho reminds him without any hesitation. "I know I was drunk a little while ago, but you're the CEO's heir, Jae. Are you sure it's worth it to get caught in a scandal 'cause you can't control yourself?"

"You're saying that as if it's a bad thing," Jae-In mutters accusingly. He rests his elbows on his desk, balancing his chin in the cup of his palm. His chest rises and falls shakily, remembering the somewhat awkward events of last night rather clearly in his head.

He didn't actually mean to take a peek at Nolan Kim's ass (though the sight's a pretty glorious thing to keep in his memories, he has to admit). It was a big accident that wasn't supposed to happen, especially since Jae-In is technically not allowed to interact with the assistants before he sees them today. The whole thing just sits awkwardly in Jae-In's chest, and he wishes Suho won't bother him with the same "don't go back to your old ways" jargon.

Old Jae-In wasn't worthy of being responsible. The tips of Jae-In's fingers thump against his bottom lips. But maybe I can be irresponsible in private? Wait, that's stupid. I have to have self-control.

"Anyways." His best friend snaps him out of his thoughts, his arms reaching above his head as he stretches out the kinks in his shoulders. "Your dad's gonna make that foreign secretary of his bring the six assistants over. I think your father is gonna make an appearance too, so I suggest you don't look at any of them like you're secretly undressing them."

"I'm not six," the younger boy retorts irritatingly. "Plus, that's asking for death, doing that in front of him." Jae-In cringes inwardly when his thoughts instantly go back to the first time he did do that. His dad didn't appreciate it, and he showed it by freezing Jae-In's credit cards.

"Right, right." Suho chuckles, though there's no humor rumbling in his throat. "Don't want to make your dad regret this decision."

Jae-In's at the point where he's done with his old friend's brutal honesty, but before he can snap at him for speaking so freely like that, the door to his office swings open. He closes his mouth, leaning back in his seat as he attempts to pull off an unbothered look while Suho's glares at him rather smugly. Jae-In, on the other hand, ignores him.

"Dad." It almost sounds like a question when Jae-In stands to greet his father, the man only making the situation more tense than it currently is with his mere presence.

Jung Senior is a fairly tall man that looks like an older version of Jae-In except with stubble and salt-and-pepper-colored hair. The man Jae-In calls father barely acknowledges his son as he holds the door open for his petite secretary, the smile that secretly settles on the man's face making Jae-In's forced smile falter and his stomach slightly queasy.

"Jae-In, you know April well, right?" The first thing his father says already has him swallowing back his annoyance.

Jae-In simply bobs his head in agreement, not bothering to hold his hand out to shake the woman's hand. He pretends to ignore the questioning gaze of his father as he side-glances over at Suho, whose head is tilted towards the floor.

"C'mon, son." Jae-In's eyes flicker to his old man's hand, his father obviously flashing the wedding band he wears as an accessory. He does that whenever Jae-In's blatantly uneasy with the women he introduces, but Jae-In brushes it off by begrudgingly greeting April with a brief handshake.

"We have your six assistants waiting in your father's conference room. I'll have Santi bring them to you when you're ready." April's Korean is broken and unrefined but strong enough to get her point across. Jae-In presses his lips together tightly, the smile gone from his lips.

"You know what?" Jae-In pipes up, his voice squeaking subtly, which gains the attention of Min Suho. "I think I overdosed on coffee. May I go to the bathroom?"

His father gives him a quizzical look but nonetheless dismisses Jae-In. The youngest in the room speed-walks past his father, pushing past the door with a grimace on his lips as he practically stumbles into the hallway.

God, that was suffocating. Jae-In stands in the center of the hallway, running his hands stressfully down his face. He knows if he gets caught standing here any longer, his father will give him an ear-full.

Sighing, Jae-In trudges towards the men's room while the whole office's gaze seems to follow the odd sight of Jung Jae-In with his head hung low.