the chinese male gulped, keeping his back straight as he stared into the eyes of the ceo of nakamotors who was standing in front of him with a wide grin.

sicheng really didn't have the strength to deal with this annoying man right now, but it seemed like his karma had decided otherwise...

"mister nakamoto..." sicheng breathed out, taking a sip of his drink.

"what a pleasant surprise to see you here." yuta replied, his stupid grin still stuck to his face as his eyes moved between sicheng and the cocktail he was holding. "so, what are you drinking on this amazing saturday night?"

"a mimosa." the fake-secretary responded. "but i should maybe order something... stronger, if i have to deal with you any longer."

the ceo only chuckled at the chinese's sassiness before pulling the chair facing sicheng's and sitting down there.

"what are you doing?" sicheng asked with narrowed brows.

"what does it look like?" the ceo snorted. "i'm sitting with you to have a chat. i'm sure you could use some good company."

"i'm not sure i'd have chosen you if i needed some good company." the chinese male retorted. "however, i would surely have thought about you if i needed some annoying company."

yuta chuckled again, loving sicheng's playfulness. oh, you could never get bored in his company... "i guess some annoying company is always better than no company at all."

"and who tells you that i wasn't waiting for someone?" the chinese male raised a brow.

"well, the fact that you already ordered and started drinking when normally you wait for the other person to arrive to do so..." yuta poked the flute sicheng was taking a sip from, almost making the chinese male spill some on his clothes. "then, this little piece of paper which states '1 pax' at the table you're sat at." he continued, pointing at the small cardboard sign that the waitress had placed as sicheng had sat down. "and finally, the bill which is already here with the inscription 'paid' on it. do you want me to continue? or is that enough proofs for you?"

the chinese male felt annoyed at how easy it was for yuta to read him and to know whether he was lying or not. it was as if – as much as sicheng tried to be distant and unapproachable with the ceo – yuta always found a way to prove sicheng his presence was meant to be.

"what do you want from me?" the chinese male asked with a sigh, snatching the bill from yuta and throwing it in his bag at his feet.

"i just want to know how you are doing." the ceo answered smiling.

"i'm good. and i was really enjoying my night before you came disturbing it." sicheng stated, taking another sip of his cocktail.

"you consider it disturbing, but wait for a few hours and you'll realise how pleasant my company actually is." yuta wiggled his brows, making sicheng cough on his drink.

"seriously, don't you have someone waiting for you to come back to your table? why are you still here, taking all of the time in the world?" the chinese male tsked.

"someone waiting for me?" yuta frowned. "what do you mean?"

"this guy you came here with. isn't he waiting for you?" sicheng asked, looking into yuta's surprised eyes.

"are you... stalking me?" he asked, his lips curving up in a smile.

"oh my god, no!" sicheng exclaimed. "i just saw the two of you arriving and being accompanied to a table by a waiter."

"are you sure you're not jealous that i had a date when you were alone at your table?" the japanese male raised a questioning brow, his stupid smile still plastered on his face. "why are you even alone here in the first place?"

"of course i'm not jealous! where did you get that idea?" sicheng tsked loudly, crossing his arms over his chest. "i don't give two fucks about what you're doing with your life!"

"which means that you could give one fuck about it?" the ceo questioned, his lips still curved up.

"no!" sicheng rolled his eyes. "it's a way of speaking. but if you want me to be more specific, then let me tell you, i give zero single fucks about what you're doing or who you are with. you could be dating 20 other people and i couldn't care less. heck, you could even be dating an animal and i wouldn't care! and that is because i don't give two, or three or even one fuck about what you're doing with your life!"

the ceo of nakamotors stayed silent, looking with a smile at sicheng who seemed to be fuming in anger. yuta liked this side of the boy, he liked how much he was able to set him off with simple words. sicheng was too easy to play with, and his company entertained yuta more than anyone else had ever entertained him.

so, not uttering a word, yuta kept his eyes on sicheng who threw his tantrum in the middle of the restaurant, causing a few people around to look in their direction. but it didn't matter to yuta, the ceo was happy to know that sicheng's whole attention was on him and on him only.

"are you done?" yuta asked after a short silence.

sicheng snorted at the question. "why? you want more?"

"no, just wanted to make sure." the ceo shrugged, holding his hand out and grabbing sicheng's half-empty mimosa to take a sip of it – to which sicheng protested, of course.

"hey! that's my drink give it back to me you asshole!" the chinese male spat, taking the glass from yuta's hand immediately.

"what would your boss say if he knew that you were talking to me like this, huh?" the ceo of nakamotors raised a brow, crossing his arms over the table.

"what does my boss even have to do with- "sicheng stopped himself mid-sentence, the image of his short and annoying boss in an orange uniform suddenly morphing into a much taller and more professional man in an expensive suit. right, yuta was talking about jaehyun, and sicheng must not forget that in front of him was jaehyun's rival. "for your information, my boss thinks you're as bratty and annoying as i think you are."

yuta chuckled at those words, making sicheng wonder if one day this man would take him seriously or if everything he said would forever be taken as a joke. "i'm not surprised at all."

sicheng sighed again, calming himself down for the sake of jaehyun.

"don't you have a date to go back to?" he asked, glaring at the ceo seated in front of him.

"i'd rather spend the night with you." yuta replied in all sincerity.

"right, but, i'm not the one you're supposed to have your date with so... goodbye?" for the first time of the night, a smile could be seen on sicheng's face as he pronounced the word 'goodbye'.

"well, look." the ceo declared pointing at two males who were rushing towards the bathroom hand in hand, one of them wearing the restaurant's apron.

"wasn't that the man you were with?" the chinese male frowned, staring at the bathroom's door who shut close after the two males had rushed inside.

"exactly." yuta nodded. "he was definitely not over his ex. and the guy works here. he insisted for us to come to his restaurant for our date even though we were at a nice place before. but i'm sure it's because his ex worked there. and as soon as we sat down, he was busier looking around than paying attention to me. and he was doing nothing but moping over the man who he still liked and who is probably the guy he just locked himself in the bathroom with."

there were a few seconds of silence between the two males, none of them uttering a word, but it was soon broken by the sound of a loud and clear laughter, and more specifically sicheng's laughter.

"you just... oh my god..." the chinese male let out between laughs. "no... i can't believe it..." he continued with difficulty. "the... the oh-so-famous... ceo of nakamotors... ditched in the middle of a date..."

it was clear as day that sicheng was making fun of yuta. everyone around could see that in this very moment, the chinese male was having the time of his life, laughing at yuta's love-related miseries.

the ceo should have been offended that sicheng was laughing so loudly and so freely because he – despite being a successful ceo and a handsome male – couldn't find someone to be with. he should have raised his voice, scolded sicheng or retorted in a not so kind manner how sicheng didn't seem to be better as he was dining alone in a restaurant himself.

but yuta couldn't help to say such things. not when his heart fluttered so hard at the sight and the sound of sicheng laughing out loud.

the boy had his mouth slightly opened, letting yuta peek at his small white teeth that were visible behind his pinkish lips that were curved in the brightest smile yuta had even seen on him. his hands had found their place on the boy's stomach, sucrely because his abs hurt from so much laughing. his eyes were closed and yuta swore he could see the smallest drops pearling at their corner, sign that sicheng's joy brought him all the way to tears.

and the sound of his laugher, oh god... don't even get yuta started on that. it was so clear and so light that the ceo felt like he couldn't hear anything else around, the exaggerated giggles echoing in his ears infinitely and making his heart throb in a way nothing had before.

yeah, the ceo should be angry and mad at the chinese male for laughing at him, but he couldn't help being fond of what he saw and heard, and that, to the point he was ready to fail in love a couple more times if it meant he could hear the pure wonder that was sicheng's laughter again.

"woah..." sicheng let out after long minutes of laughing, using the back of his hands to wipe the tears that had formed in his eyes and cascaded down his cheeks in his euphoria. "...i hadn't laughed like that in very long..." he continued, under yuta's loving stare. "but well, i certainly didn't expect that the ceo of nakamotors could be such a noob when it came to love." sicheng started giggling again. "like... doesn't the fact that you are the yuta nakamoto charm them completely? this is unbelievable..."

yuta barely paid attention to what sicheng was saying. he had a slight idea that he was mocking him once again, surely claiming that it was a shame that as a famous ceo of a big promising company, yuta couldn't find a nice date interested in him; but honestly, he didn't care at all. he was just too mesmerised by the beauty that was dong sicheng to care about any of the mean things sicheng could have said.

"you look so beautiful when you laugh." he declared once sicheng had stopped talking, this time causing the chinese male to stop laughing as well to stare at him with wide eyes.

"w-what...?" the fake-secretary asked, eyes blinking rapidly as he wasn't sure he had heard yuta right.

"i'd fail hundred more dates if it means you can laugh at me like that every single time..." the ceo continued his serenade, his lips forming a bright smile as his eyes turned into small crescents.

"i-i..." sicheng was completely bewildered, definitely not expecting this kind of answer. and so, in his utter confusion, the chinese male had forgotten each and every of his sassy comebacks, leaving himself at loss of words facing the one and only nakamoto yuta. "i-i was m-mocking you..." he informed, in case yuta hadn't really understood what had been happening.

"i know." yuta nodded dreamily. "and i'd let you do it again and again and again if i can hear you laugh more."

sicheng didn't answer. he didn't have a snarky comeback to throw at him, he didn't judge a slap would be an appropriate response, and as much as he would have loved to pretend like he needed to go to the bathroom, yuta's failed date and his ex were probably having some sexy time in there and he definitely didn't want to walk on that.

so, sicheng stayed paralysed on his seat, looking deep into yuta's dark eyes as the ceo stared back at him with a smile on his face.

for the first time, sicheng didn't find looking at yuta annoying. for the first time, he took in every detail of the japanese male's face, going from his smooth forehead to his sharp jawline, stopping at his thick eyebrows, his glistening almond-shaped eyes, his straight nose and his cherry-red heart-shaped lips. he couldn't deny it, yuta was handsome; more than that, he was very attractive, typically the type of men that would catch sicheng's eye if they crossed paths on the streets or during an electrical intervention.

and in the midst of his observation, as sicheng was busy wondering why this beautiful face seemed so familiar, his stomach decided to break the silence and announce loud and clear that sicheng was starving. perfect fucking timing.

sicheng's eyes widened in shock as he slapped both of his hands on top of his stomach, looking at yuta with cheeks that had coloured red in embarrassment.

"you're hungry, let's order something to eat." the ceo declared, looking around to find a waiter to take their order.

"n-no, no, i'll eat later." sicheng shook his head, but yuta didn't listen to him. instead, the male waved his hand at one of the waiters that was walking nearby, making him come to their table.

"hello, how can i help you?" the waiter asked.

"can we have the wagyu beef t-bone please?" yuta questioned. "i saw you had it for two people."

"exactly, half-portion or full portion which is for two people." the waiter nodded, pulling out his digital notepad to take the order.

"so, we'll have the full portion to share, and we'll drink wine. could you bring me the wine menu?" yuta continued.

"sure, right away, sir."

"thank you."

sicheng's eyes were wide open as he stared at yuta ordering the food – his favourite food to be exact. how come the ceo had decided to order that? did he know that it was sicheng's favourite? or had he just ordered wagyu beef because he craved for it?

"w-why did you order?" sicheng stuttered, completely lost in his thoughts and not recognising himself in his behaviour. why was he suddenly so shy and stuttery when he usually always had a comeback to slam in the ceo's face?

"you seemed to be hungry." yuta flashed the male a smile.

"b-but... w-wagyu beef... i-it's... it's very expensive, i... i'm not sure i can afford that." sicheng let out, his words unsure and stuttery which caused yuta to chuckle.

"hey, relax, it's fine." yuta said, holding his arm out over the table and placing it on sicheng's forearm. "i'm paying for the food and the drinks. and there's no need to repay me, okay?"

"b-but..."

"sicheng." the ceo spoke, making the chinese male gulp. he somehow liked how the male had pronounced his name, it had caused a pleasant tingle inside of him. "as you may have noticed, i was ditched by my date a while ago. but to make up for that, i won't go back home and cry over it." yuta continued, his eyes never leaving sicheng's. "i'll do something much better; and that is inviting you for a nice dinner. how does that feel for you?"

the chinese male blinked, his eyes looking straight into yuta's as he processed his words.

"a-are you... a-asking me on a date?" he questioned; cheeks slightly rosy.

"whatever you want it to be." yuta replied honestly. "so, are you okay with spending this evening with me?"

and so, in this very moment, sicheng wondered how yuta's previous date had preferred going back to his ex rather than staying with this handsome and rich ceo who had just been so gentle and dedicated to the person he had in front of him.

it didn't take too long for sicheng to push aside the few disagreements and playful fights him and yuta had had before he mumbled a small "yes...", agreeing on spending a night with his fake-boss' main rival.

but well, what could happen? at best, yuta could end up spilling one of his business secrets, just like jaehyun hoped he would... at worst, he would keep all of his secrets to himself but offer sicheng a very nice meal.

so, for sicheng, it was nothing but a win-win situation.

☏

the sun had set long ago, leaving space to a the darkest of skies on a moonless night, and yet, jaheyun was still wide awake, his eyes focused on his ceiling and his thoughts all over the place.

the ceo couldn't sleep. he had gotten into bed around two hours ago in his silk pyjama pants, hoping to have a good night of sleep to feel good the next day at this car fair he had to go to with nakamotors, but his internal demons had decided against it. so, here he was, at 2am, lying awake under his covers with his brain more active than it had ever been.

as much as he didn't want to think about it, jaehyun couldn't help but let his thoughts divert to that night him and taeyong had spent together at the restaurant. he couldn't understand what was wrong with him since that night. it seemed like these interactions he had had with his rival's secretary had gotten into his brain to the point it had slowly started changing him – but jaehyun didn't want to change, he was perfect as he was (or so, he thought).

he hadn't recognised himself earlier that day, when he had told sicheng he could call him 'jaehyun' instead of the traditional 'mister jung', but at the same time, taeyong's remark had made sense. why would jaheyun be calling sicheng by his first name and sicheng would be calling him by his last name? and all of jaehyun's friends called him 'jaehyun', only his business partners did call him 'mister jung'. but could sicheng really be considered a business partner since the boy wasn't even a businessman and since he was unofficially part of jung corporation because he had been at the right place at a time when jaehyun was desperate to find someone to play his secretary. but well, they didn't really work together, and most of the time, they didn't talk formally together, it was more like friends having a chat over subjects that mattered to them both.

so, it was normal for jaehyun to ask the boy to call him by his first name, right? taeyong and the dinner in his company had nothing to do with that. he would have told that to sicheng anyway. it wasn't that taeyong's sweet words and innocent eyes had something to do with jaehyun's sudden changes. of course not!

anybody could see it, jaehyun was overthinking. and as much as the ceo would rather fall in a deep slumber and dream about whatever his mind would make up, his overthinking kept him awake and prevented him to relax despite his frequent yawns.

and so, after changing positions for a hundred times, plopping on his stomach, then on his side, his other side, on his back and back on his stomach, jaehyun let out an annoyed groan, rubbing his temples with the end of his fingers.

his eyes which had adjusted to the darkness after two hours of staying awake despite the pitch-black night diverted to his bedside table on which was resting his phone and his tablet. with a huff, the ceo extended his bare arm towards the table to grab the tablet.

if his body and his brain didn't want him to fall asleep, then he would use drastic measures to make sure he fell into a deep slumber soon. it was time to make his father a bit proud by 'reading' the boring ass magazine that was 'autoinfo'. perhaps that the blandness of the articles would tire jaehyun so much that he'll end up sleeping quickly, who knows? and plus, he'll be able to tell his father that he read the magazine.

the ceo unlocked the device and clicked on the application that he hadn't opened for approximately a year, only to reveal the cover of a magazine. jaehyun sighed, clicking a few times on the screen to display the most recent version of this weekly magazine, only to realise that this week's edition hadn't been posted yet. so, the ceo had no other choice than reading the one of the previous week which had been published on the app.

jaehyun uninterestedly flipped through the pages, stopping a few times to read the articles that he could find, only to stop in the middle because of how boring they were

but then, something came back to jaehyun's mind. his father had mentioned how he had seen an interesting article on nakamotors and their growing interest in the eyes of shareholders. and jaheyun must admit, as much as the previous articles jaheyun had read about how to keep a car clean or which type of lights to choose for which type of car, the ceo found the topic of nakamotors' shareholders more interesting and relevant to read about.

so, between two yawns, the young ceo flipped back the pages to the table of contents on which he searched for the article in question. not finding anything of the sort, jaehyun flipped through all of the pages, hoping to fall on something related to nakamotors, but it wasn't the case.

the ceo frowned, yawning another time as he clicked on the screen to display the magazine of the week before. perhaps that his father had mistook the previous magazine and the most recent one.

and so, jaehyun looked in the table of contents as well, searching for the mention of nakamotors' name in vain. the same way he had done with the magazine of the week, flipping through the pages in hope to fall on his rival's name. but perhaps was it the fact that no such article existed in this magazine either, or more logically, the fact that his eyes had started closing on their own which prevented to find the article in question.

a minute later, the tablet was discarded back on the nightstand, and jaehyun had fallen in a deep slumber, finally thankful that autoinfo had been useful for one time in his life.

☏

there was no valid reason for two important members of rival companies to be together outside of business hours and outside of their usual business-environment; and yet, here were yuta and sicheng, sitting in yuta's black nakamotors car that had been parked in sicheng's street for a few hours as the two males discussed and laughed together. yeah, there was absolutely no reason for them to be still together at 3am when they had a car fair the next day, but oh, how surprising could life be at times...

"i mean, i can totally see you doing traditional chinese dance." yuta nodded after sicheng put down his phone on which he had shown the other male a video of him dancing back when he practiced regularly.

"why? because i'm chinese?" the fake-secretary raised a brow, looking at the ceo.

"yeah, of course." yuta approved. "and also, well... you have the build of a dancer."

sicheng snorted at that. "so... you've been studying my build?" he questioned with arms crossed over his chest.

"well, i couldn't when you were wearing the black suit because its cut didn't make it possible. but with your new grey tuxedo that hugs your body perfectly, yeah, i have." yuta smirked. "and it's even easier when you're in casual clothes like tonight."

"oh my god..." the chinese male rolled his eyes as he looked away, hoping that the ceo wouldn't notice the way his cheeks had slightly reddened at yuta's comment. "do you ever stop acting so desperate for my attention?"

"huh... no, never." yuta replied in all honesty, smiling brightly at sicheng who simply shook his head in despair – but a good kind of despair. as much as the japanese male used to be pissing him off, yuta had been of a very pleasant company during this dinner they had spent together.

"what about you?" sicheng asked after a while. "have you done any sports?"

"i don't know, try guessing." the japanese male wiggled his brows at the other.

"you must have been the type of guy to spend all of your free time in front of your computer screen, so i'm guessing no sports." sicheng proposed, glancing at yuta who didn't seem phased by the male's guess.

"is that the vibe that i give off?" the ceo raised a questioning brow.

"well, the 'being a noob in terms of dating and relationships' did." sicheng replied playfully, earning a small slap on the arm from yuta.

"not my fault he still wasn't over his ex!" the ceo tsked.

"not mine either." sicheng shrugged. "but well, i'm not going to complain, at least he allowed me to have a very nice dinner for free."

"oh, look at that..." yuta grinned. "someone had a nice time with some annoying company."

sicheng shook his head with a chuckle to dismiss yuta's words. "you still haven't answered to my question. was i right about the playing videogames part?"

"absolutely not." yuta shook his head. "i used to play soccer. i love soccer."

sicheng stayed silent for a few seconds before he burst out laughing in yuta's face, leaning his head back on the leather seat under yuta's confused eyes.

"what again?" the ceo chuckled at sicheng's joy. "does that make me even more of a noob in terms of love? why are you laughing like that?"

"n-no, it's just..." the chinese male giggled again. "you're like the epitome of the macho man." he explained. "the guy who loves and plays soccer, and then working in the car industry... tell me you like beer and let your hair grow in a mullet and you could win the macho man championship." he finished, still laughing loudly.

sitting next to him on the passenger seat, yuta kept his eyes on the overjoyed male, a small smile etching on his face as he stretched his arm out to slap sicheng's arm.

"you're so silly..." the japanese male declared, his smile still present on his face. "you look like you take pleasure making fun of me."

"well, perhaps because i do?" sicheng answered with a smile as well, looking into yuta's eyes.

"i wonder what mister jung would say about it if he knew how bad you treated me." yuta raised a brow.

"i wonder what he would say if he knew that his rival had had a dinner with his secretary behind his back." sicheng immediately retorted to which yuta could only hum.

he must admit, spending the night with sicheng may not have been his best move, business-speaking.

do not get him wrong, yuta had absolutely loved his night in the chinese male's company, and he would gladly invite him to a dinner again, but well, things would have been much less complicated if sicheng hadn't been his rival's secretary. because of that, every single interaction that him and sicheng had could be misinterpreted as something sneaky and vicious when in fact, yuta just adored the boy and wanted to get to know him more, independently from his job.

"are you... going to tell him about this dinner?" yuta asked, slight worry present in his voice.

"do you want me not to?" the chiense male raised a brow seriously.

"well..." yuta thought for a second. "it's just that i don't want him to prevent you from seeing me again."

"because you plan on seeing me again?" sicheng's tone changed to something closer to teasing. "but did you ask yourself if i would want to see you again?"

"in all honesty, i expected that if you didn't want to see me again, you wouldn't be still talking to me at..." yuta looked at the time displayed on the car's screen. "...3:24am after i've been parked in your street for almost four hours, you know? but i could have misinterpreted."

it was sicheng's turn to slap yuta's arm lightly, his cheeks crimson red as he rolled his eyes.

"yeah, well, i can go away if you don't like my company." the chinese male tsked.

"when did i even say that?" yuta chuckled. "i'd be happy talking with you here all night long."

"ooh... cheesy." sicheng pointed out. "is it with such sentences that you make your dates run away back to their exes?"

"wow... and we're back at it again with the date running away thing..." yuta tried feigning indignation but failed miserably as his lips curved up in a smile in amusement.

"oh, i won't let you go away that easily with that, you know?" sicheng chuckled.

"great, so i'm stuck with endless teasing..."

sicheng scoffed loudly, raising a brow at the ceo. "as if you didn't spend all of your time teasing me!"

"well, i can't help it." yuta replied honestly. "you look so cute when you get annoyed at me!"

sicheng didn't answer to this, his cheeks now fully red at his brain processed the words that had gone out of yuta's mouth.

all night long, yuta had thrown sicheng little compliments and the chinese male had always managed to find a way to go back at the ceo with snarky remarks; but it seemed like sicheng was out of snarky remarks at that point. i mean, who could blame him? it was almost 3:30am and he still was in the ceo's car, talking with him about everything and anything, something he had never imagined could happen.

but well, if sicheng was there, it was that he had finally accepted the japanese male's company. sure, yuta had this arrogant and bitchy façade when he was at work, but this hadn't been at all what he had shown sicheng during this dinner and after-dinner time. instead, the ceo had been very caring and normal, talking to sicheng as if they had always been friends, getting interested in him and sharing anecdotes about his life, as embarrassing as they may be. sicheng was a bit taken aback at first, but have a few hours in his company, he couldn't help but find this endearing.

the yuta in front of him was so different from the yuta at work, but well, sicheng liked this one much better, and he wouldn't mind getting teased endlessly by the ceo if it meant he could tease him back as well.

"well, keep teasing me like this, and i promise i'll be able to get annoyed at you even more." the chinese male finally stated after a while. "but i guess we'll have to leave that for another day because it's getting awfully late and you still have the car fair tomorrow."

"you're right." yuta nodded with a small smile. "i can't wait to tease you again then."

sicheng rolled his eyes at that, thanking the businessman again before opening the car door and getting out. he mumbled a last goodbye before looking at the black car driving away in the pitch-black night.

so, in the end, taeyong was right; yuta really was more than what he showed to the other businessmen. and sicheng couldn't help but feel somehow seduced by this new version of the ceo.