"thank you for your time. i'll be sure to check through each of these and choose one," donghyuck bowed before leaving the room. he waited in the hallway for doyoung to step out in  which he did shortly later. "did any of them catch your eye?" he asked, referring to the scripts in donghyuck's hands. he shrugged, "not necessarily. i'll probably end up doing whichever is most promising or whatever's good for the market."

   the two began walking until doyoung put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "you need to choose quickly, you know? your fans are already getting anxious and impatient and all those frustrated texts and complaints get sent to me," he tapped his phone. donghyuck nodded, "i'll look through all of them tonight, i promise."

   with that, they continued walking until they made it out of the building and into the car. donghyuck slid into the passenger's seat while doyoung got comfortable behind the steering wheel. no words were spoken as doyoung turned on the radio, voices coming through the speakers of the car. donghyuck groaned and cursed under his breath as he heard the topic that was being discussed. 

   "isn't it truly just amazing how mark and haechan, two of korea's biggest stars, have known eachother since middle school and have practically been best friends ever since?" the lady asked. "best friends my ass," donghyuck muttered with a dry laugh. "totally," the conversation continued, "they're always being supportive of eachother on social media as well. i have to say, such a friendship like theirs can only be called destiny." 

   not wanting to listen to the bullshit anymore, donghyuck reached over and switched off the radio. "has the crew been leaving comments on mark's posts from my account?" he asked. doyoung laughed, "i thought you'd know by now. we leave them under his instagram posts every once in a while. his team does the same for you, haven't you noticed?" the younger shook his head, turning to look out the window which he immediately regretted.

   "why is his face on everything?" he sighed, noting the ads of mark at the passing bus station. "i'm sure he could say the same. you're on quite a few ads yourself," doyoung bit back a smile. it was somewhat amusing to watch donghyuck complain about mark 24/7 when he was sure mark was doing the same with his own manager. the two were so similar, yet different in their own ways.

   the ride fell silent and the next time doyoung looked over, donghyuck was looking through one of the scripts he received. "what about '365 days to love you'? didn't you say that you wanted to try acting in a sad but romantic drama?" doyoung asked. donghyuck chewed on his bottom lip, "it sounds kind of basic though. besides, the last time i worked with that company, i found out that the staff isn't the nicest," he explained.

   doyoung hummed as he kept his eyes focused on the road. "what about 'when i'm not with you'?"

   "the plot is boring."

   "how is 'love and justice'?"

   "my fans wouldn't like it."

   "what about 'letters to heaven'?"

   "i thought about it," donghyuck fished through the scripts he got earlier that day and held it up. "but i have a high suspicion that the director is two timing. i've worked with them before and it seemed like so," he placed the script down, "how much do you think my image would falter if it turned out that the director for my next drama was two timing women?"

   "better to steer clear of him i suppose," doyoung agreed. "then what about 'first love'?" he suggested, watching as donghyuck's cheeks tinted pink in the mirror's reflection. "it's way more sexual than my past dramas, and requires a lot of scenes that i've never even shot before. i'm not sure that i'm ready for it," he admitted shyly. doyoung chuckled, "as long as you're comfortable with it, i don't see why you shouldn't try something new. your fans would love to see you act in something like that too."

   donghyuck paused, looking through the script as he kept what doyoung said in mind. "i'll think it over," he decided. the ravenette nodded, making a left as he pulled up towards a grand restaurant. "what are we doing here? i thought you said i had a shoot?" donghyuck asked, oblivious to his situation. 

   he felt a light shove at his shoulder, "that's tomorrow you dummy. today we have a dinner meeting with kang miyong and her manager. you remember acting with her in your last drama, right?"

   miyong had been the female lead while donghyuck acted as the male lead. of course, he couldn't forget someone as important as she had been. "i didn't get dressed for a dinner," he panicked, looking down at his attire. "you're wearing a suit. you'll be fine," doyoung rolled his eyes, pulling into the reserved parking space. 

   after fixing his silver locks, donghyuck stepped out of the car, following closely behind doyoung. "take these," doyoung handed donghyuck a pair of sunglasses.

   once donghyuck put them on, together, they entered the restaurant. "we have a reserved table for four under the name of kang," doyoung said to the waiter. they looked at a list on a clipboard for a moment before smiling, "please follow me."

   donghyuck tagged along behind doyoung, pushing the glasses up and hoping they covered enough of his face to not get noticed. since nearly everyone was busy eating or talking, he arrived at the table safely without any interruptions.

   "donghyuck," miyong stood, shooting donghyuck a wide smile. her manager, hyunwoo, stood by her side, offering a hand to donghyuck. "and hello doyoung, long time time no see," miyong shook hands with doyoung before giving donghyuck a hug. donghyuck politely hugged back before pulling away. miyong and hyunwoo sat down, gesturing for doyoung and donghyuck to sit too.

   "let's order some food before talking business, yes?" miyong asked, handing donghyuck a menu. donghyuck thanked her and accepted the menu, not able to shake off the feeling of her eyes watching him as he scanned the list of foods. miyong had always been oddly clingy to donghyuck. to say it made him uncomfortable would be an understatement, but he never said anything of it. doyoung gently nudged him in the rib and shot him a questioning look as if to say, "are you okay?"

   the younger male simply nodded his head and plastered a smile on his face. "this looks good," he pointed to doyoung to look casual.  

   for the rest of the dinner, miyong didn't stop staring at donghyuck, but he kept quiet about it and acted kindly to the two managers and his past co-star. donghyuck wondered when they would start talking about whatever he was originally called there for (after hearing from doyoung that miyong was the one who arranged the meeting), but the topic never surfaced. "excuse me, i need to use the restroom," he said when he was tired of being stared at. 

   before doyoung could ask him if he was alright, he entered the men's room. seeing that it was empty, he relaxed and stood at a sink in front of the mirror. his reflection looked back at him, glowing underneath the bathroom lights. "is seeing your face on every ad not enough? do you need to look in the mirror too?" a voice asked from the bathroom's entrance.

   donghyuck turned his head in the direction of the voice. he internally groaned when he was met with mark's stare. "what are you doing here? don't you have better things to do than ridicule me in a public bathroom?" donghyuck didn't bother to hide the annoyance in his tone as he turned on the tap and began washing his hands. "my team is holding a meeting here. am i not allowed to do that?" mark shot back.

   both mark and donghyuck had realized that whenever they spoke to eachother off camera or in private in general, their conversation usually consisted of questions that neither of them wanted to answer. so once again, instead of answering, donghyuck looked up to glare at the man through the mirror. rather than meeting mark's gaze as he expected, he was met with the sight of mark rolling up his sleeves to his elbow before loosening his tie. donghyuck and mark suddenly locked eyes as a faint blush colored the shorter's cheeks. 

   they tore their eyes away immediately and mark cleared his throat, fixing his hair. donghyuck didn't miss how mark's hair was raven black when just the day before, it had been a nice shade of blonde. that had to mean that he was preparing for his next drama. "you dyed your hair," he accidentally said out loud, causing mark to stare at him questioningly. "what are you acting in next?" he asked, curiosity getting the best of him before his mind could catch up.

   "what? are you curious?" mark smirked, replying with a question yet again. yes, donghyuck was very curious. "no," he fibbed, chewing on his bottom lip as he avoided eye contact, "i just want to know, so we don't cross paths."

   mark hummed, "i'll be acting in 'first love'." donghyuck's eyes widened, "what role?" "the lead," mark looked at donghyuck who was shaking his head. "i received the script for the lead today and i was going to try it out." the older scoffed, looking donghyuck up and down, "haven't you heard the theme of this drama? you're too innocent for that."

   donghyuck was deeply offended by his unnecessary comment. sure, everything he had acted in (including both dramas and movies) he always played the innocent or sweet character, but that didn't mean he couldn't try a different concept. he had confidence that he could do well in it too. "of course i can," he argued. "yeah, yeah. good luck with that," mark brushed him off before fixing his tie and leaving the bathroom. 

   as soon as the door closed behind him, donghyuck balled up his fists in frustration, pacing back and forth. "who does he think he is to walk in here and tell me i can't play the lead? what did he come in here for anyway? he fixed his hair and left, a mirror isn't needed for that." he mumbled a string of curses under his breath, completely unaware that mark had been staring at donghyuck throughout his dinner. the second he saw donghyuck stand up, he too stood up, making an excuse that he needed to use the restroom just so he could see him. of course, donghyuck didn't know that and never would though.

   right when donghyuck was getting more and more angry thinking about mark, the door swung open, revealing a worried doyoung. "i was getting worried about you. what's taking so long?" he asked, coming to stand at donghyuck's side. "i'm going to play the lead in 'first love'," donghyuck declared without another thought.

   "that's great news, i can call the company tonight," he grinned before pausing, "but why so sudden?" doyoung asked, confused as to why donghyuck's eyes burned with so much passion. the tan male beamed confidently, "let's just say i got motivated to try something new."

   doyoung figured that it'd be better off not asking any more questions as he congratulated donghyuck again, and then led them back to their table. "sorry to keep you waiting," doyoung apologized on donghyuck's behalf. "it's alright," miyong smiled. she looked at donghyuck rather than doyoung though which slightly annoyed the older male.

   "i think we've eaten and enjoyed ourselves enough for one night. may i ask the reason why you gathered us here today?" doyoung asked the question that donghyuck had been wanting to know the answer to ever since he first arrived. "honestly," miyong began, pouring herself a glass of wine which must've been ordered while donghyuck was in the bathroom, "my schedules will be very full starting in a few days, so i wanted to catch up with a friend and i wasn't sure you would make time for me if i asked for a casual meet up."

   an annoyed expression threatened to show on donghyuck's face, but he held back from doing so. "you should've just said so," he smiled. miyong smiled back, lifting the glass of wine to her lips and downing it in one go. "donghyuck does have a script to memorize, so we need to get going soon," doyoung said. 

   just as many times before, donghyuck felt lucky to have a manager like doyoung. not only were they close like brothers rather than workers, but doyoung could tell when donghyuck was uncomfortable or wanted a way out of a situation. plus, their not too big age gap was a benefit and after one day on the job, donghyuck felt pretty comfortable around the ravenette.

   "shall we drink a few glasses before you have to go then?" miyong asked, offering to pour donghyuck a glass. "i'd better not. i need to keep in shape after all," donghyuck refused politely. "please," miyong slurred, "just one to celebrate us." donghyuck didn't like what miyong possibly meant by that and couldn't help but think she was quite the lightweight for already being on the verge of drunk. he shot doyoung a look, asking for help. "one glass won't hurt," doyoung shrugged.

   although donghyuck knew that doyoung was trying to protect his image by keeping him polite and friendly, he couldn't help but wish that he wasn't so strict on that at times. hyunwoo took that moment to receive a phone call and left donghyuck with no excuse but to accept. "here," she poured slowly, accidentally spilling a bit on the cuff of donghyuck's sleeve. 

   she quickly set the bottle of wine down. "oh my, i'm sorry!" she reached for a napkin, taking donghyuck's hand in her own as she wiped the part she stained. "it's alright," donghyuck pulled his hand back, wiping the spot himself. "don't worry too much about it. i'm sure you won't wear the shirt again anyways," doyoung reassured him in his ear. 

   donghyuck nodded and brought his arm to his lap. "let's toast," he forced on a fake smile. miyong was quick to listen and raise her glass to meet donghyuck's. the sound of their glasses clinking together was deafening as donghyuck took a few sips of the wine. it tasted rich and sweet, just like his favorite flavor. there was no way miyong could've ordered his favorite flavor considering he'd never told her before, but it did make him curious.

   "do you like this kind?" she asked, referring to the wine. "i do," donghyuck answered, keeping it short as miyong became more and more suspicious to him. donghyuck took another sip, licking his lips afterwards to savor the taste. miyong's eyes rested on his lips, causing him to grow uncomfortable.

   at that moment, donghyuck wanted nothing more than an excuse to get out of there. "hyung, can we go please," he turned to doyoung and whispered quietly in his ear. seeing donghyuck's desperate state, doyoung nodded his head, eyes lighting up while hyunwoo returned to the table. "we'll get going now. thank you for inviting us," he stood, donghyuck rising to his feet at his side. 

   hyunwoo and miyong shared eye contact for a moment until hyunwoo cleared his throat. "why don't we grab the car and leave them here, so they don't get recognized?" hyunwoo suggested. it was a perfect offer that doyoung couldn't decline, so he shot donghyuck an apologetic look before leaving with hyunwoo.

   when the two managers were out of sight, miyong downed the rest of her glass, standing up and clinging to donghyuck's arm. "oppa," she slurred, "i miss working with you."

   donghyuck resisted the urge to gag as he held her up as carefully as possible. "hyunwoo hyung will be here soon," he said, patting her back awkwardly. soon enough, he received a text from doyoung that said the car was right in front of the door. 

   "let's go," donghyuck practically dragged miyong's body with him to the exit. he groaned slightly when miyong wrapped her arms around his torso and buried her face into his chest. as he struggled to push the door open while not letting miyong's body fall to the floor, he tripped over his feet, preparing to hit the carpet as he fell.

   unlike he assumed, he never met the ground as someone held him up. "move will you? you're kind of heavy," he heard mark grunt. quickly, he stood up, holding back the urge to say, "that's because i have the extra body weight of another person, you ass." instead, he bitterly thanked mark, hating how he now owed the man.

   as soon as he finished thanking mark and pushed the door open slightly, he felt a pair of lips attach to his own.

-----

word count: 2824

first chapters are always pretty rough lol

though i'm still figuring everything out, i hope you're liking it so far

✎ ---- dreaminghyuck⤾