Chapter Text
"You look good, just don't stand so stiffly," Seonghwa said. This only seemed to make Hongjoong stand more stiffly.
Another 2 weeks came and went, passing by similarly to the weeks prior. Seonghwa still spent nearly all his time in his hotel room working around the clock, with short breaks for eating, sleeping, and smoking respectively.
The only face to face interaction he'd had in the last 4 weeks was with Yeosang and Wooyoung, as well as the various hotel staff that brought him his meals.
Which was probably why it felt a bit awkward to have Hongjoong standing in his living room as they prepared to go to the shareholders’ meeting.
The last time Seonghwa had seen him was when he cleaned out Hongjoong's filing cabinet. He hadn't heard from him since and wondered if Hongjoong forgot he was staying at Ateez at all.
"You need a tie," Seonghwa said while looking diligently over Hongjoong's outfit. Hongjoong had done well to dress professionally, as Seonghwa had requested a month prior. His hair was combed back, and he wore a sleek light gray suit. "You didn't bring one?"
"I don't have one," Hongjoong looked off to the side petulantly.
Seonghwa was a little surprised when Hongjoong was ready to go at 7AM, he'd knocked on Seonghwa's door very punctually. He figured he would have to beg Yunho to track down Hongjoong and drag him to the meeting.
"You can wear one of mine," Seonghwa started rifling through his limited supply of ties. He probably had over 100 back home, but with his limited wardrobe he'd had his tailor purchase only about 15. He pulled out two, and held them next to Hongjoong's face to see which color matched better. There was a jade green, and light blue with stripes.
"Green... Or blue…" Seonghwa contemplated quietly to himself as he went back and forth to compare them with Hongjoong's complexion. Hongjoong impatiently started shifting his weight from foot to foot.
"Can you just pick one!" Hongjoong abruptly barked.
"Alright, blue it is," Seonghwa pressed the striped tie against Hongjoong's chest for him to take it. "Mine is going to be blue as well, I think it's better if we're matching anyway," Hongjoong spluttered at that with an eyebrow raised, and mouth open in disgust.
Seonghwa walked over to the mirror hanging in his hallway to put the finishing touches on his own outfit. He expertly tied his own tie he'd pre-picked out last night. It was a similar shade to the one he'd selected for Hongjoong, but with no stripes. His own suit was his favorite dark gray, the one he'd been wearing when he first arrived at Ateez. His hair was perfectly combed and slicked back, though he noticed it was getting a bit long.
He walked back over to see Hongjoong struggling with his tie. He seemed to be getting frustrated, even pulling it roughly as if that would make the tie behave and do what he wanted it to do. Seonghwa swallowed a laugh, he knew it wouldn't be good to rile up Hongjoong right now.
"Here," he batted Hongjoong's hands away. He untied the pathetic and uneven knot that Hongjoong had done. He carefully popped Hongjoong's collar, and gently slid the tie into place to make it even.
He was surprised when he looked at Hongjoong's face to see he'd closed his eyes. He was breathing very evenly, if not a little too hard, his nostrils were flaring a bit. Maybe he was trying to control his anger. Seonghwa was grateful, Hongjoong would do well at the meeting if he kept his self-control like this.
Seonghwa began tying a Windsor knot, it was a little difficult tying it from this angle since he was used to only tying it on himself. He moved a bit slower and more deliberately to make sure he got it right, he knew Hongjoong's patience only lasted so long. Over, back, around, through. Hongjoong tilted his head back to give Seonghwa better access. Seonghwa watched as Hongjoong's Adam's apple gulped silently.
Finally finished, Seonghwa tightened it up carefully. Perhaps he was leaning in too closely to inspect it, because his gaze caught on how Hongjoong's long lashes looked against his cheeks. He dropped his eyes back to the tie and smoothed it down, then reached his fingers to fold down the shirt collar. He grabbed the lapels of Hongjoong's suit and pulled them forward, then smoothed down the fabric over his shoulders.
"Looks good," he finally nodded to himself, proud of his own work. When he looked back at Hongjoong's face, his eyes were open and his jaw was clenched. Seonghwa expected him to say something, but he didn't.
"You ready?" Seonghwa asked while grabbing his bag. Hongjoong nodded once, tightly, in response.
They walked out of Seonghwa's room and rode the elevator to the lobby. "Do you have any drivers on standby? Yeosang is busy today."
Hongjoong looked at him incredulously, "What? You don't know how to drive?"
"I know how to drive," Seonghwa pouted. "But usually I have someone else drive me."
Hongjoong very dramatically rolled his eyes. "I'll drive, princess."
"We can take my car," Seonghwa said as they walked through the lobby and headed outside towards the valet.
Shortly after, the valet pulled up with Seonghwa's Lamborghini. It had been so long since he'd seen it. He smirked a little when he saw Hongjoong's impressed expression.
Hongjoong made a coo of appreciation when he sat in the driver's seat. "I bet this thing can fly," he marveled.
They took off to head towards the Park Inc. main corporate office. Apparently Hongjoong already knew where it was since he didn't ask for any directions. Seonghwa was amused by how much Hongjoong seemed to enjoy driving his sports car. He definitely was driving a little faster than necessary, weaving in and out of traffic easily.
Seonghwa briefly wondered about Jaenan, and whether or not he should feel concerned about leaving Ateez. It was the first time he's stepped foot into the outside world since running here to hide all those weeks ago. It seemed Jaenan were currently focused on building up their new partners - the Gyeong group - and heavily relying on the managers to turn coat against Seonghwa, rather than on a revenge hunt against Seonghwa himself.
Once they arrived in the building's parking garage, Seonghwa felt his anxiety start to float up again. He wanted to keep it hidden in front of Hongjoong, but this was the moment he'd been both preparing for and dreading for over a month.
When they got out of the car, Seonghwa instinctively reached again to smooth out the lapels of Hongjoong's suit, and tighten his tie ever so slightly. Hongjoong didn't say anything, just put his hands in his pockets and let Seonghwa do as he pleased. He was so grateful Hongjoong wasn't fighting with him today, he had enough to worry about. Maybe Hongjoong knew that, and was staying silent for that reason.
"How do I look?" Seonghwa asked without thinking.
Hongjoong flinched and looked at him with a startled expression. He then looked away. "Fine," was all he said.
The two of them walked into the building, and rode the elevator up to the 14th floor. Seonghwa hadn't been there in so long, he almost forgot what a soulless corporate wasteland it was. Walking through the hallways and attractions of Ateez felt so exciting and comforting, meanwhile everything here in comparison seemed so monotonous and bleak.
They arrived early, with over 30 minutes to spare. Credit to Hongjoong's unnecessarily fast driving. The two of them waited in a nearby sitting area. Feeling a bit restless, Seonghwa got up to seek a coffee machine. Since he used to work in this office multiple times a week, he knew exactly where it was.
While he was making coffee, his shoulders tensed when he heard "Seonghwa-ssi, is it really you!?"
He turned to see Nam Hana, the head manager of the leasing branch. She had worked at Park Inc. for nearly 20 years. Seonghwa wasn't sure if she was one of the managers being paid off by Go In-Su or not.
"Hana-ssi, it's good to see you," Seonghwa gave a polite bow, although she should really be the one bowing to him considering he was now her boss.
"I was sorry to hear about your father," She said, not sounding sorry at all. "I wasn't sure if you'd ever come to the office again!"
Seonghwa gave a polite fake smile, he really had no desire to converse with her. In any case, they'd both be in the shareholders meeting. He grabbed the two cups of coffee he made and walked back to the table to sit with Hongjoong. Hana seemed confused why he didn't make any schmoozy water cooler talk with her, as was pretty typical here.
He slid a cup towards Hongjoong.
"What's this?"
"Coffee," Seonghwa stated while sipping his own cup.
Hongjoong stared down at it like it was an indecipherable object, or maybe a bomb.
"Anyway," Seonghwa began. "In the meeting, just introduce yourself when I cue you. Beyond that, you don't have to talk. If someone asks you something, you can just deflect to me. The meeting will probably take a couple hours. It will probably be pretty boring to you, so just don't fall asleep. Remember what you said about standing there saying 'how awesome Park Inc. is'?"
Hongjoong finally took a cautious sip of his coffee, "Yeah, yeah, I've got it."
---
"Hello, my name is Kim Hongjoong. I am the owner of the Ateez hotel. I am very glad to start a partnership with Park Inc. and Seonghwa-ssi," Hongjoong tried very hard to make his stiff, uncomfortable smile seem genuine. He took a seat after he said his one line, exhausted.
Seonghwa immediately launched into the presentation he had been preparing all month. He greeted the shareholders by name, as well as his treacherous top brass managers who were sitting in.
Hongjoong tried to pay attention to Seonghwa's slideshow and speech, but a lot of it was Park related corporate jargon that he didn't even want to comprehend. He was most interested in Seonghwa's projections and future plans. He mentioned that in a few years time with the success of their Ateez partnership, they planned to open other hotels under the Ateez name as a franchise. Seonghwa had never mentioned it to Hongjoong, but he didn't hate the idea. In fact, the more he thought about it the more he saw dollar signs in his head. Seonghwa said they wouldn't even need to purchase new properties, considering they owned several empty apartment complexes that could be easily transformed into glamorous hotels.
Hongjoong was admittedly impressed. Seonghwa spoke clearly with good annunciation, never seeming nervous. When a shareholder or manager interjected with a question, Seonghwa flawlessly answered like he was already expecting everything they asked.
Hongjoong watched as long fingers pointed to different bullet points and blueprint maps. He watched as Seonghwa gave calculated striking smiles to iterate his points. After a while, Hongjoong completely zoned out while staring at Seonghwa's face. Bright, pretty eyes... Full lips... Striking nose, silky thick hair, good height,... He really would have made a great idol. Hongjoong never had a chance to openly stare for so long before.
He didn't realize he'd been biting his nails and staring extremely intensely until a shareholder apparently asked him something.
Everyone in the meeting turned to him, including Seonghwa. He sat up straight, "Sorry, what?" He panicked a little, hoping Seonghwa didn't notice.
"I said," an older woman on the opposite side of the room began. "Do you agree with the projections? You want to pursue franchise openings of Ateez?"
Though he remembered Seonghwa said he could deflect all questions, for whatever reason he wanted to do a good job here. "I think it's an excellent idea," he said genuinely, looking at Seonghwa. "I never had the chance to consider it before our partnership. Seonghwa-ssi definitely has a mind for business, I'm completely confident in him."
Seonghwa seemed to beam at that, his already straight posture got even straighter. He smiled at Hongjoong, which shot something directly into his chest and made his cheeks burn.
Seonghwa went back to presenting.
Throughout the meeting, Hongjoong noticed the managers keeping a keen eye on the shareholders’ reactions. As Seonghwa had said, the managers will stick with whatever they think will get them the most money. If the shareholders want to keep Seonghwa as the CEO and owner of Park Inc., the managers will act like they supported him all along. If the shareholders wanted to vote out Seonghwa and sell Park Inc. to the Gyeong group, the managers would all jump ship and attack like vultures.
2 hours flew by. After the meeting was adjourned, the shareholders asked for the room to discuss among themselves how they would like to move forward.
Hongjoong and Seonghwa sat outside the meeting room at the same table as before.
Seonghwa exhaled a deep breath and placed both hands flatly on the table, looking at them absentmindedly.
Hongjoong chewed on his lip for a second, and then blurted, "You did well."
Seonghwa looked up, surprised. He seemed to search Hongjoong's face for any sarcasm, which made Hongjoong feel antsy so he looked away out a nearby window.
"Thank you," Seonghwa said quietly.
They sat in silence afterwards, waiting for the shareholders to call them back in.
30 minutes later, they were called back in. The shareholders unanimously agreed they loved the direction Seonghwa had proposed for the company, and that they wanted to keep him in the CEO position with no intentions to sell. Both Seonghwa and Hongjoong gave hefty bows and thank yous. Hongjoong noted a couple of managers with shifty eyes and unreadable expressions, but they said nothing to oppose the decision.
After all pleasantries were exchanged, Hongjoong and Seonghwa tactfully left to board the Lamborghini. It seemed neither of them wanted to hang around longer than necessary. Hongjoong was looking forward to driving it again, it drove so smoothly.
Once they were out on the road, Seonghwa breathed a sigh of relief. Hongjoong felt a little giddy too.
Hongjoong looked over at him, "Now what are you going to do? Since you don't have to stay shut in your room working anymore."
Seonghwa raised an eyebrow, "Miss me, did you?"
Hongjoong clicked his tongue, "I almost forgot you existed." A terrible lie, Hongjoong wondered if even Seonghwa would believe him.
Seonghwa leaned back in his seat, smiling. "I think I'll go gambling."
Hongjoong couldn't help but huff a laugh at that.
They drove in silence for a while.
Hongjoong took a look in the rearview mirror and noticed a black SUV behind. A gut instinct flaring up, he changed lanes a few times to weave around other cars on the highway.
A few minutes later, he again checked his mirrors only to see 3 black SUVs behind him now.
"Fuck!" he muttered under his breath.
"What?" Seonghwa started.
"We have a tail," Hongjoong said, and started shifting gears. He drifted into the farthest left lane to get around a big Diesel truck.
Seonghwa furrowed his brow and turned his body to look out the back window.
"Hold on," Hongjoong said, and shifted to the highest gear. Seonghwa faced forward with a concerned expression, and grabbed onto the ceiling handle.
They took off. Hongjoong was right about this thing flying.
He weaved around car after car. 80MPH, 90MPH, 100MPH.
He glanced at his driver's side mirror. They were keeping up, but hadn't closed the distance.
Hongjoong felt his heart rate speeding up. Adrenaline building, as the engine grew louder and louder. The sound of the car cutting through the wind was deafening.
Looking at the road ahead he saw traffic bunched up, moving slowly.
He drifted over to the shoulder, not slowing down in the slightest.
Half a second glance at the rearview mirror, the SUVs followed behind him - single file.
The shoulder became narrower, Hongjoong cringed as the side of the car scraped slightly against the guard rails. He saw sparks fly in the corner of his vision.
A break in the traffic, Hongjoong drifted through small gaps in between cars.
He glanced at Seonghwa, who looked forward with wide eyes. A fleeting thought passed through his head that he wanted to comfort him. Wanted to, but didn't.
He was forced to change gears and slow down slightly, too many other cars on the road.
He glanced at a mirror, an SUV was right behind him.
He heard a metallic clash when it bumped into the back of the Lamborghini.
He heard the sound of his teeth scraping together as he gritted them.
He glanced to his right again and saw an SUV nearly neck and neck with them.
He watched as the back door of it slid open, revealing a man training a gun towards Seonghwa's position.
"Shit!" He yelled, slamming on his breaks briefly to put them at different points. He heard a gunshot, and felt the vibration of the bullet hitting the front right of the car. He heard another metallic clank come from the back of the car.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," he shifted gears again and sped up.
He reached down to his sock while keeping his eyes trained on the road. With one hand he roughly undid the strap that was fastened there.
He pulled out a glock.
He really didn't plan on using it today, but he still carried it with him every time he left Ateez just in case.
"Seonghwa!" He barked, handing it to him without looking. Seonghwa made a noise of shock, but took it.
"If they pull up next to us, roll down your window halfway and shoot them."
"What?! I can't shoot them!"
"Do it!" He barked, turning with a wild look in his eye and baring teeth.
Seonghwa looked white as a ghost.
"You did your military service already, you know how to use it," he commanded evenly while changing lanes and picking up speed.
The traffic cleared up slightly, he could climb his speed. 120MPH, 130MPH.
Unfortunately the SUVs could as well.
He had it in his mind he needed to make them crash, losing them wasn't going to be an option at this point.
He looked for an opportunity.
"Shit," he heard Seonghwa mutter, and then the sound of the window rolling down. The wind whipped through the car uncontrollably, he thought his eardrum would burst.
He heard the sound of a shot that didn't come from the glock. Another one, the sound of one of the Lamborghini's windows shattering.
Hongjoong registered the sound of Seonghwa finally cocking the gun, then firing it.
One shot, one tire. He heard the sound of the SUV skidding tireless across pavement, then the loud crash as it drifted into a nearby unsuspecting truck. In the corner of his eye, he watched in the passenger mirror as the SUV rolled multiple times, violently exploding into pieces. Soon it was out of his field of vision entirely.
"HA!" Hongjoong barked, adrenaline racing. "Not bad, pretty boy," he slapped his hand on Seonghwa's chest multiple times, while maintaining his eyes forward on the road.
He heard the sound of Seonghwa rolling the window up. "There's still 2 more," he said tightly.
Hongjoong checked his mirrors for his 2 tails.
He saw from one of them lean out another shooter training a rifle towards the Lamborghini. If they shot the tires, it was over.
He weaved left and right, zig zagging. He heard the pops of continuous gunshots. The shattering of the back window.
He looked ahead, coming up on a tunnel.
An opportunity.
He went full speed ahead, despite passerby vehicles obstructing a clear path. His eyes adjusted to darkness as they entered the tunnel.
He shifted gears again, and turned the wheel to drive on the wall of the tunnel.
The Lamborghini shot off sparks as it flew perpendicular to the road.
In the corner of his eye, he saw Seonghwa white knuckle the ceiling handle.
He glanced in his mirror as an SUV tried to follow him.
It couldn't keep speed, and fell on its side, lighting the tunnel up with sparks.
The other SUV crashed into the back of it, bouncing off and crashing into multiple unsuspecting nearby cars.
The loud crash reverberated and echoed through the tunnel, and he heard more crashing noises as an innumerable amount of cars got involved in the accident.
Nearing the entrance of the tunnel, he drifted back parallel to the road.
110MPH, 100MPH, 90MPH, he finally slowed down and exhaled a loud breath through his teeth he'd been holding.
Hongjoong took an exit to a backroad, but maintained speed just in case.
"Oh my god," Seonghwa said as he held a hand to his heart.
Hongjoong found himself laughing maniacally, nervously. He couldn't stop it, even though he probably sounded crazy.
"Fucking bastards," he finally said, still laughing.
"I can't believe that just happened," Seonghwa said, sounding like he was out of air.
"Chah, they can't take me down so easily," he started shaking Seonghwa's shoulder roughly without thinking.
Seonghwa started laughing too, perhaps nervously like he was.
"Are you ok?" Hongjoong asked, still with one hand on Seonghwa's shoulder.
"I'm ok, are you?" Seonghwa looked at him.
Hongjoong looked back.
He barely registered a dingy white van pulling out perpendicularly in front of them and stopping in the middle of the road.
An ear-splitting crash, and then the zero-gravity feeling of the car gone airborne. He held his hand flat against Seonghwa's chest to keep him in his seat.
He thought the car flipped over a very many times, but he couldn't tell. Only that he felt completely disoriented as shattering glass filtered through the car, airbags expanded harshly against him.
He knew when the car finally landed, it fell into the ditch that had been beside the road. Driver's side first. He was grateful it didn't land on Seonghwa's side.
He felt a dull heavy pain hit his head, and the feeling of his seatbelt tightly holding him, burning the skin of his neck.
The last thing he saw before he blacked out was his own blood soaking Seonghwa's blue striped tie.