JJG

"Okay, okay, breathe Jeongguk. Just breathe," he whispered to himself, head down and hands on his neck. As soon as Taehyung and the CEO lead the way inside, Jeongguk managed to slip away from everyone and lock himself in the closest bathroom. He felt bad for locking the door as soon as he made sure no one was in any of the stalls, but this was an emergency.

He had freaked out for a good few minutes, convinced himself he was hallucinating but then scratched that out. All Jeongguk could do now was face him. Yup, he could do this. After all, he was going to be their team's new leader and the department's Director so he'd be seeing him a lot more often. Every weekday, bright and early, they'll even need to interact– oh there comes the panic again.

"No, Jeongguk. You got this. It's just your ex-boyfriend from seven years ago, no biggie." Jeongguk looked at himself in the mirror again. He shook his head and made sure there was no nervousness showing through. He then walked straight out of the bathroom and up to their team office.

"Oh, there you are. They're waiting for you in the Director's office," Jin said to him as soon as the man walked in. Jeongguk thanked the other and walked to the other office. At where his desk stood, the secretary from earlier was there typing away on her tablet.

Jeongguk's footstep sounds got her to look up. As soon as she spotted him, she gave him a bright smile.

She reached out her hand and said, "Kim Sohye, Mr. Kim's secretary slash assistant. Nice to meet you."

Jeongguk returned the smile as he shook her hand and introduced himself too. He retrieved his hand and took a quick peak into the office but didn't see anyone inside.

"Mr. Kim is currently chatting with the President. He should be back soon," she told him.

"Ohh," Jeongguk sounded, nodding.

"So I'm sure you've been informed of how our positions are going to change?"

Jeongguk gave an awkward laugh. "No, I haven't actually." He loves how his company told them literally nothing about any of this.

"Oh, that's odd. Well we were informed that you held a dual position here, one of them being the Director's secretary?" She waited for Jeongguk confirmation before continuing.

"As you already have all the experience working with the company and in this department, we hoped you'd stay with the new Director as well. I'll be here for two more weeks to help Mr. Kim get adjusted to here and you adjusted to him."

Jeongguk nodded, trying to process all of it. At least he wasn't losing his job. He wished he had been informed of this earlier but even then, he would've been just as shocked as he was at the moment. There was no way Taehyung didn't know it was Jeongguk who would be in the position.

"Well did Mr. Kim view over my profile?" he asked. It was an odd question to be frank, but Sohye didn't inquire about it.

"Kind of."

Ha, he knew it. Did he pretend to be shocked then?

"He knew you were a male," she continued.

Jeongguk knotted his brow on why that would be relevant.

She lowered her tone as she explained. "There were nasty rumours about us in the office just recently. He was hoping to avoid that."

Jeongguk nodded again. So Taehyung was in the same spot as he was.

"Ah! There he is," Sohye said looking behind Jeongguk. She gave a quick bow. "I hoped it wasn't too difficult finding your way here."

"Not at all, the tour helped."

Jeongguk thought he could do this but as he heard the male's voice, much deeper than what it once was, he felt like melting into a pool on the ground. He forced himself to turn around, immediately bowing so that he wouldn't have to meet his eyes just yet. Then when he straightened his back, he met the face of the man he fell in love with years ago.

It was unbelievable how he still managed to take his breath away. Jeongguk knew his features developed and that he got even more handsome over the years, but seeing him in real life was a whole new experience.

Taehyung's expression could be read clearly. Guilt. Regret. The down curve on his lips and the intensity in his eyes. He hadn't forgotten, Jeongguk could tell. Just like him. Taehyung blinked and broke whatever staring competition they were having.

He cleared his throat out brought out his arm. "Kim Taehyung. Hope we could work well together."

Jeongguk eyes shifted to the hand. He then realized how long he was taking as he brought his hand up. As their hand linked, their eyes met again.

"Jeon Jeongguk. Congratulations on your appointment."

Just the touch rushed a string of memories back to Jeongguk. He was 18 again, holding the love of his life. He almost gasped when Taehyung took back his hand, the words "don't let go" running to the tip of his tongue. But he didn't as the present day Jeongguk took control.

Jeongguk dropped his arm to his side. He was grateful that they weren't alone.

"Shall we have the meeting with the rest of the team, Mr. Kim?" Sohye  asked, eyes back on the tablet. "The press conference will be in 20 minutes."

Taehyung nodded. "Yes, let's do that first."

Jeongguk noticed the quick glance steered his way, so quick that he didn't know if he meant for it to happen. Taehyung headed for the doors and Jeongguk forgot about it.

As they entered the team office, everyone stood with nervous smiles and star struck eyes. This was Kim Taehyung, a world-renowned model after all. Taehyung retuned the bow as he told everything that it was alright and to take their seats.

He looked behind, the same hesitant pause coming before he spoke. "You two should take a seat too."

They nodded, Jeongguk shuffling over to his usual desk and Sohye taking the seat that Chaeyoung pulled up for her.

"I'll introduce myself again for those who may not know me."

"Oh, everyone knows you!" Yoona said, then quickly covered her mouth and offered a guilty smile.

Taehyung laughed. Jeongguk felt something jab at his heart. Seeing his smile again, it was doing something to him.

"I am Kim Taehyung, and I hope we all get along well."

Jeongguk joined along with the claps to blend in, but barely producing any sound as he was far from enthusiastic right now.

"And my very wonderful assistant who's not only helped me with my modelling career but also my transition into this new pathway," he said, pointing at her with his whole arm.

With a bright smile, Sohye stood up and also introduced herself. Another round of cheers for someone who honestly could've also passed off as a model came around. Taehyung continued when Sohye took a seat and the clapping stopped.

"Yes, I was a model, but I do know a couple things about running a business. I'm actually a marketing major. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a marketing MBA, and yes, all while being a model. During my hiatus, I was working along with the executive director of Lee's at the branch in the States, like an intern you could say. I was taught everything I needed to know. I hope that's enough to fit your requirements and help you know that I'm not here just because of connections."

That explained a lot. At least he admitted connections had some play in this.

"Now, about this team. My apologies but I haven't had too much time to do my research. I do know the history of the creation of this team, the purpose. It was interesting to find out the Director was in charge of this team instead of having it's own team leader." He paused to put his hands into his pocket.

Jeongguk finally was able to take in the man's outfit. A grey coat and matching suit pants with a white shirt underneath. His pose and his style, he's gotten so much more confident. He wasn't the same shy Taehyung Jeongguk was so familiar. Jeongguk mentally swore. Why did he have to come back looking hotter than ever?

"Now I don't know if it's because the director had nothing better to do like the rumours I had heard."

A few laughs. Jeongguk would've laughed too, but he couldn't. He forced a tight smile thought.

"But I intend to make the best out of this division. I think it's great that they created such a young team purposefully as that will truly help since our main audience is teens to young adults."

He talked some more about what he hopes for the future and basically everything he would've said at the conference that Jeongguk completely zoned out on. He was too focused on planning how fast he could find a new job and quit this one.

But no, he couldn't do that. It wasn't like Taehyung wasn't affecting him or anything... At least he didn't want Taehyung to think that. Plus, there's no way he'll find a better paying job with his qualifications than this. He'll just have to suck it up.

Soon enough, it was time for the press conference. As soon as Taehyung and Sohye left, everyone started talking.

"Did you know he's only 26?" Chaeyoung started.

Yoona gasped. "No way! So he's the same age as Jeongguk-sshi?"

"And only one year older than our maknae!" Jisoo said, giving a pat on Eunwoo's arm which was more harsh than she intended.

"And he's more successful than all of us," Eunwoo said with a pout, rubbing the side of his arm.

Jinyoung sighed. "But he's obviously talented. Maybe they'll finally start taking our team seriously."

They all agreed. Lucky for him, no one noticed how quiet Jeongguk was about all of this. Maybe they left him alone because they thought he was disappointed he didn't get a promotion, but no one would ever know the truth. They didn't need to. It was all in the past and it will stay in the past.

•—•—•

"Lunch with the President?"

"Mhm. They're really close."

Jeongguk and Sohye were currently unpacking Taehyung's office things. Mostly Sohye placing things where they should be and instructing Jeongguk on why it's where it is.

"What about the last drawer?" Jeongguk asked as it had been untouched up until now.

"God, don't even get me started," Sohye replied with a sigh. "So the box with all of Mr. Kim's personal items got misplaced. Called the company, they tracked it down, it'll come soon. Now it's very rare that Mr. Kim gets upset, but I've never seen him that mad before. He wasn't yelling at me of course, just the moving company, but-" she paused to let a shiver pass through. "Gave me the chills."

"Well it is his personal things. Must be important," Jeongguk commented to which Sohye nodded.

It got silent after a while, the kind that you don't know if it's awkward for the other party or not. Jeongguk, who was filing some documents in the large drawers, decided to ask some questions to break it.

"So do you like working with Mr. Kim?"

Sohye stopped organizing the binders and turned to face the man. "Why of course. He's so hardworking and humble. I knew from the start that modelling was never his ideal career but he still always did his best. Then when he decided to finally follow his dream, he was as passionate as ever. And of course he's a very nice boss, so no need to worry."

Jeongguk nodded. That sounded exactly like Taehyung. Sohye returned to the shelves.

"How come he got an appointment here instead of America?" Jeongguk questioned more as Sohye seemed happy to answer them all.

"There weren't any openings in that branch and Mr. Kim was more than happy to return to his homeland."

"So is this a permanent move?"

Sohye with her back turned shrugged. "Not sure. He's still got the house, well more like mansion, back there. But even if it's temporary, it's going to be a couple years. His father lives here too. Oh, the picture!"

Sohye walked over to one of the unopened boxes. She cut the tape offf neatly and retrieved a picture frame. She walked over to Jeongguk and showed him.

"He's always talking about and thanking his dad during interviews. Doesn't he look just like him?"

Jeongguk took a close look. It was a picture of his father from when Taehyung was in grade school that he has showed Jeongguk before. He pretended as if it was his first time seeing it, agreeing with Sohye about the resemblance.

"And this goes right here." She placed it beside the computer.

She put her arms on her hips and groaned as she looked over how many more boxes were left. She then looked at Jeongguk.

"Coffee break?" Sohye asked.

"Oh yes, please."

To be honest, as long as if it was just Sohye, Jeongguk would be fine. He's taken a liking to the girl and instantly became comfortable after talking for a bit.

They walked to the break room where there were a couple employees already there, sitting on the couch and discussing about the new director. They were so immersed in their conversation that they didn't notice the entrance of his assistant.

"He was the model. You saw the big banner right?" one of the ladies said.

The other nodded. "I was wondering why they took it down. He sure is handsome."

The first lady gasped. "Mrs. Han!" She slapped the woman on her shoulder as they both started laughing.

Sohye grinned, shaking her head as she approached the coffee machine. "Mr. Kim has lots of fans here too, I see," she whispered to Jeongguk. She then took a quick examination of all the kinds of instant made drinks they had.

"Okay, Mr. Kim only has four types of drinks during work. Coke in the summer when he's in a good mood, green tea every morning, hot chocolate in the winter when he's in a good mood, tea any other time and lastly coffee," Sohye said.

"But he doesn't like coffee," Jeongguk said without even thinking about it. Once he realized, he began to panic for some reason. It's not like she was going to find out about their past in that one little slip, and so what if she did?

She raised her brow and smiled, getting closer. "Have we got another fan?"

Jeongguk let out a breath of relief, although the still didn't want their to think of it in that way. He shook his head lightly. "Just, um– Just did my research earlier!"

Sohye nodded, but she kept her eyes squinted as she didn't quite believe that. She continued, "but yes, he does not like coffee. He only drinks it when he knows he'll have to work overnight. Unfortunate but the coffee helps. He likes two cream, two sugar. Remember that."

Jeongguk nodded, feeling almost as if he should be taking notes of this piece of information he already had, but the green tea was new. She talked more about what time he usually craves a drink and temperature and everything as they enjoyed their own drinks. When they finished, they returned back to the office to finish unpacking.

Taehyung's office looked so monotone, as the previous office did. Jeongguk always hated all the shades of grey in the room. A pop of colour here and there wouldn't hurt. Maybe blue.

"Jeongguk-sshi," Sohye called out. Jeongguk stopped folding all the boxes so that they could be out in the recycling bin and walked over to Sohye.

"Here you go," she said handing him a journal. "These are all you need to know to be Director Kim's secretary. There's a lot of empty space so you could add on. He knows about this journal so don't worry about it being an invasion of privacy or anything. This is our job as his assistant."

Jeongguk thanked her and took the journal. He gripped onto it tightly, not knowing if he even wanted to read it. But she was correct. This is his job.

"And I'll give you the spare keys when things are more settled."

"Keys?"

"House, office, and car. You might need access to them. Only to be used when instructed or in case of emergencies, of course."

Jeongguk nodded again. The previous director didn't even allow the man to touch her car without putting on gloves, let alone step foot into her house. Well, nothing to fret about, this was all normal.

They heard two knocks that immediately grabbed their attention towards the door. Popped in Taehyung's head.

"May I come in?" he asked with a smile.

Sohye chuckled. "Yes, you may come into your office."

Taehyung stepped in and took a look around the office while bobbing his head in approval. His eyes finally landed on Jeongguk.

"Thank you. It looks great," he said to both of them.

"Mhm, took us a long time," Sohye said. She grabbed her tablet again, pressing a few buttons then looking at Taehyung. "Your schedule seems to be clear for the rest of the day."

Taehyung nodded. "I think we could head out now. Oh, shoot. My bag."

"Did you leave it in the conference room?"

"I think so."

"On it!" Sohye said lastly before she headed out. Jeongguk wanted to call her out, tell her he'd go get it instead, but the girl was too quick. He began to think up of how he could get out.

"Hey," Taehyung started, and Jeongguk knew he had to go through this.

Jeongguk looked at the table between them, not feeling brave enough to meet his eyes just yet. "Hey."

"How have you been?"

"Good," Jeongguk replied. There was a moment of silence before Jeongguk realized how a normal conversations would usually go. "You?"

"Mm, so-so. Thank you."

"Thank you?" Jeongguk head slowly began to tilt up towards Taehyung. He was getting there.

"For not pretending to not know me."

Dang it. Jeongguk only thought now of that. He totally should've. Of course Taehyung wasn't dumb enough to believe that, but he definitely would've went along with it.

"Well, everyone knows you nowadays."

Taehyung nodded. "I guess so. I wasn't expecting to see you here, much less in this situation."

Jeongguk offered a short laugh. "Me too."

Taehyung was about to say something else, but Jeongguk interfered. He finally met his eyes as he spoke, "I'm sorry for interrupting you but let's not bring up anything from the past. At work, you are simply my higher-up, nothing else. Let's keep it professional, no private or personal matters. I hope you understand, Mr. Kim."

He didn't know where he got the sudden confidence from.

Taehyung blinked rapidly, not expecting that tiny burst. "Right. Sorry."

Sohye returned at the right time, saving both of them from the awkwardness. It was amazing how she managed to retrieve it so quickly, especially with those heels. She waved the bag, showing it off then gave it to Taehyung.

They all bid each other goodbye and went their own ways. Jeongguk went back to his seat. The team members who had waited even after their hours bombarded him with questions of how it went but he couldn't hear any of them.

All he could think of was how he was going to have to work along with his ex-boyfriend without catching feelings again because he knew damn well his stupid feeling won't stay intact. He just couldn't let that happen. He just couldn't.

•—•—•

KTH

Earlier...

Taehyung excused himself from President Lee, ending their reunion short as he had to go to the restroom. He got into one of the private ones, happy that he could have that privacy.

He took in a deep breath and let it out, then looked at himself in the mirror. He'd been having the jitters the entire day after seeing a certain someone.

"Get yourself together, Kim Taehyung. It's just Jeongguk. Mhm. He's just Jeongguk. The same old... gorgeous... Jeongguk." Taehyung groaned. He's screwed. He covered his face with his hands and dragged it down.

He shook his head and looked at himself in the mirror again. He's just going to have to go face him. Taehyung fixed his composure and walked out of the restroom and to his office like he'd remembered during the tour.

Taehyung felt like everything went in slow motion as Jeongguk turned around, bowed and met his eyes. The man has gotten much more built, taller, definitely more handsome. Great, just what Taehyung needed.

He couldn't help but see the one thing that was missing that brought the frown upon Taehyung's face. The thing he adored most of Jeongguk. That beautiful smile on his was gone.

—•

Bye<3