the japanese male couldn't remember the last time he had been in such a panicked state, but there was one thing that was sure, it had to be very very long ago, because he had no idea how to deal with all of the emotions that were overflowing him at the moment.

"you have a flight for tokyo in 5 hours." taeyong informed, diverting his eyes from the screen of his computer to look at his boss who was slumped over one of the transparent armchairs, biting on his fingers harshly. "the one in two hours was full."

"mmh." yuta simply hummed, his eyes staring in the void as his mind created hundreds and hundreds of catastrophic scenarios.

he hated the fact that he barely knew what had happened and that he was left in the dark, not being able to estimate clearly the chances that his mother would have to recover.

all he knew was that she had gotten in an accident earlier today and that she was now at the hospital and that she would be going through surgery.

yuta would have liked to reassure himself with the tone of the nurse he had had on the phone. the nurse hadn't seemed too aggravated by the matter, and so, this was the last thing giving yuta hope. but at the same time, it was part of their training to lear how to announce the worst news over the phone without sounding sincere or empathic with their clients. for them announcing an unfortunate fail after a surgery was supposed to go out as easily as if they were presenting the weather on tv.

"yuta?" taeyong spoke again, standing by yuta's side and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, his own bad mood long forgotten to support the japanese male who looked like he really needed it right now.

"y-yes?" the ceo answered, looking up at taeyong with his eyes completely empty, as if someone had stolen the glistening sparkle that used to be there.

"you should go back home and get ready to go to the airport." the secretary informed, patting the ceo's shoulder in a comforting manner.

"yeah..." yuta hummed again, slowly standing up.

"do you want me to call for a taxi?" taeyong questioned.

"no. i'll take my car." yuta answered immediately. "i'll go to the airport with it as well."

for the next few minutes, taeyong helped yuta packing his stuff and checking he had shut everything off correctly. and when he was ready, the japanese male headed towards the door of the office, taeyong following him to the lift.

"for the leaders' seminar tomorrow..." the ceo spoke again as he pressed the lift's button.

"yuta, this is not important right now." taeyong replied.

"it is." the ceo replied sternly. "would you be fine going there instead of me?"

"secretaries aren't invited, it's okay." taeyong recalled yuta.

"i'll have you a derogation." yuta assured. "you won't have to talk or anything. just show that you're here and i'll figure something out to do my presentation despite not being here. but the presence of nakamotors during the seminar is very important."

taeyong sighed at yuta's determination. "okay, i'll go if you can get me a derogation."

"thank you yong."

"come on, it's normal." the secretary smiled at his boss.

a small ding signalled that the lift had arrived causing the two males to be slightly startled by the sudden noise.

"i guess it's your time to go..." taeyong stated, seeing that the ceo wasn't moving an inch.

"yes, i guess so..." yuta hummed. "i'm really sorry for- "

"do not think about apologising." taeyong scolded him. "none of this is your fault."

"y-yeah, i..."

seeing yuta's desperation, taeyong took a step forward, wrapping his arms around the japanese male in a tight hug.

"don't worry, yuta. everything will be alright. you need to stay strong." the secretary whispered loud enough for the ceo to hear.

"i know..." yuta sniffed, a few tears leaving his eyes.

"you're going to make it. and most importantly, she is going to make it too. okay?" taeyong continued speaking tighetining his embrace on his japanese friend.

"thank you so much for everything, yong..." yuta let out, hugging his dear friend back.

"it's normal." tayeong assured before pulling away from the hug and looking at the japanese male with a smile. "you can always call me if you need it. at any hour of the day or the night. don't forget about that."

"i won't." yuta nodded, smiling back the best he could at his secretary.

there was a small silence, the two businessmen looking at each other fondly before the elevator dinged again, signalling his presence.

"i-i'm going." yuta infomed, sniffing. "i'll surely call you later tonight to tell you about the leaders' seminar tomorrow."

"no problem." taeyong nodded. "get there safely."

"i will." the japanese male assured as he entered the lift.

and in a matter of seconds, the doors of the elevator closed thus caging yuta in a small box in which he was able to let out all of the emotions he had been through for the last couple of minutes.

☏

"come on... it's just a call, it's not going to kill you for god's sake!" taeyong groaned, slapping his own head for the third time in the past 10 minutes. the korean male was seated cross-leggs on his bed, his personal phone in hand displaying jaehyun's contact form. and he had to do what he dreaded the most; calling the cold-hearted ceo.

well, to be fully honest, there were one thousand things that taeyong would rather do instead of calling jaehyun, but it was almost 10pm, and taeyong really needed to contact him now if he didn't want to end up on his voicemail and be completely lost the next day at the leaders' seminar.

around an hour ago, the korean male had received a call from yuta giving him the process to follow for the next day.

first of all, yuta had been able to get a derogation for taeyong so that he could be present instead of yuta who had an emergency.

then, yuta had decided he wouldn't participate in the conferences and activities from japan via the internet because he wouldn't necessarily find somewhere silent where he would be able to work properly.

so, the japanese ceo had prepared videos of his few speeches and sent them to taeyong so that his secretary could play them during the seminar, as if yuta was there. he had also mentioned to either reach taeyong for the questions or to directly contact him by mail.

however, apart from that information, yuta hadn't explained clearly what was supposed to happen during this seminar day, and taeyong didn't even know what time he should be there.

and of course, the only ceo that taeyong knew personally and who was going to this seminar was the one and only jung jaehyun; the same male that had taeyong feeling all gloomy for the past week, and the same person who had taeyong's heart in his possession...

so that is why the secretary had been seated on his bed for a while now, looking at jaehyun's contact number and wondering whether or not to give him a call.

"you're being stupid, taeyong!" the boy scolded himself once again, throwing his phone on the bed and taking his head in his hands.

in this exact moment, the secretary really felt like a teenager having a crush on someone and not daring to contact them in fear of being ridicule. but this was completely silly, because it wasn't as if taeyong was calling jaehyun to chat about his hobbies or his taste in music. they were business partners, and taeyong needed to call him to have more information about a work-related matter.

there wouldn't be any awkward blank in the conversation because taeyong kew the topics he needed to talk about. and of course, he wasn't a stuttery teenager anymore. he could act professional and stay calm and collected while talking on the phone with someone, even if that person was very handsome and if taeyong was slightly – more like a lot – interested in him.

yeah. he could do it. no matter if he had ridiculed himself last time at the car fair.

now was the best moment to make a good impression and hopefully make jaehyun forget about these embarrassing moments.

the secretary heaved out a sigh, closing his eyes for a second before grabbing his phone and clicking on jaehyun's number. he let the phone ring and activated the speaker mode, his eyes glued to the screen in hope of seeing the word 'calling...' at the top disappearing and being replaced by the timer indicating how long the call had lasted.

one ring...

two rings...

three rings...

but thankfully, the phone was picked up before the fourth and last ring, making taeyong's heart miss a beat.

"...hello...?" jaehyun's deep and hoarse voice was heard on the other side of the line, making taeyong's heart go completely wild.

"o-oh my god, did i wake you up?" the korean asked, understanding that the reason for such a voice couldn't be anything else than waking up.

"who is it...?" jaehyun asked groggily, making taeyong's cheeks flush.

"it's taeyong- mister lee!" he corrected himself. "from nakamotors, huh... mister nakamoto's secretary..."

the korean secretary silently cursed at himself for being so awkward.

"oh, taeyong..." jaehyun repeated. "why are you calling me?" he then asked, sounding very sleepy.

"i'm really sorry, i woke you up didn't i?"

"it's fine..." jaehyun simply shrugged it off. "so... what did you need?"

"oh, yeah." taeyong cleared his throat, repeating the words in his head quickly before speaking out. "yuta had an emergency today and he won't be able to attend leader's seminar tomorrow, so he got a derogation and i'll be going instead of him..."

"you're replacing yuta for the seminar...?" the ceo repeated.

"yes, exactly." taeyong approved. "but he didn't give me the address or the time i shall be there and... since i know you're going i wanted to ask you for this information."

"the venue is like... three hours away from here..." jaehyun answered before yawning. "and we have to be there before 10am..."

"three hours?!" taeyong exclaimed, his eyes wide in shock as he checked the time and understood better why jaehyun was already sleeping.

"why are you yelling...?" the ceo whined, his ears feeling attacked by taeyong's sudden outburst which the secretary found rather cute.

"sorry..." he apologised. "it's just that... i thought it would be closer..."

"mmh..." jaehyun mumbled, yawning once again. "be ready for 6:30am..."

"sorry?" taeyong frowned, not sure he understands what jaehyun meant.

"i'll pick you up at your house at 6:30am..." jaehyun replied groggily.

"what?!" tayeong gasped. "no, no! i can go there on my own, it's okay."

"two cars for two people pollute more than one car for two people..." jaehyun simply retorted. "let's save the planet, i'll pick you up and drop you back tomorrow night."

"i-i-i..."

"night taeyong, see you tomorrow 6:30am..." the ceo finally said before taeyong heard the familiar beeps signalling that jaehyun had hung up and probably gone back to sleep.

and well, taeyong didn't really know what to say at that point.

☏

the korean ceo sighed as he put the gear stick in neutral position once arrived at the red light.

it was 6:20am, surely a bit too early for him, but he didn't really mind because he knew it would be worth it.

jaehyun had heard his father tell him about the leaders' seminar which occurred every year, and he must admit he was looking forward to it. it would be for him a good opportunity to deal with the other ceos and businessmen and surely create more alliances in hope of one day overpassing nakamotors for good.

the light went from red to green and so, jaehyun started the car, driving towards taeyong's neighbourhood. he didn't know if he was glad or not that yuta wouldn't be there today.

a part of him felt happy, because this means he wouldn't have to deal with the arrogant male and that he'll be able to do business however he wanted, without nakamoto to interrupt his discussions.

however, another part of him was disappointed, because yuta was the only ceo that was around his age and with whom he could chat without feeling a generation gap. not that him and yuta were friends, actually this wasn't the case, but at least, they could talk together and entertain each other, just like they did whenever they met.

but there was one thing that somehow rejoiced jaehyun, and that was taeyong's presence to this event. the night before, jaehyun had spent his evening wondering how to approach taeyong again after he had seemed to put some distance between them during and after the car fair. he had forced himself to fall asleep without finding a good solution to make tayeong go back to him and keep going on with his plan. but thankfully, after a few minutes of sleep, he had received a call from this very person who was completely lost and wanted nothing more than jaehyun's help.

and who was jaehyun to refuse to help a damsel in distress? and mostly when it benefited him?

so that was why jaehyun was currently pulling in front of taeyong's apartment building at 6:30am, ready to drive his rival's secretary all the way to the leaders' congress and hopefully keep going with his plan.

"hello..." taeyong mumbled shyly as he opened the passenger door and slid inside the vehicle.

"hi." jaehyun replied, looking at him with a smile. "everything good? we can go?"

"huh..." taeyong opened his briefcase to check its containing. "we didn't need anything particular, right?"

"no, don't worry." jaehyun shook his head.

"okay, then we can go." the secretary declared, fastening his seatbelt and placing the briefcase at his feet.

jaehyun hummed before starting the engine and driving away holding the wheel with one had as his other hand clicked on the car play screen displaying the gps to show the itinerary.

"we'll be there in a bit less than three hours." jaehyun informed before pressing harder on the gas pedal, making the vehicle accelerate on the road.

"thank you very much for driving me there." taeyong said.

"it's normal. plus, i wan going so it would be stupid for us to drive there with different cars." the ceo answered. "and that way, we'll be able to talk instead of being silent in our respective cars." he added, looking at taeyong for a second.

"yeah, right." taeyong nodded. "but still, thanks again."

"it's no big deal, don't worry." jaehyun shrugged it off. "so, why isn't yuta able to go?"

"h-huh..." taeyong stuttered. "personal emergency." he simply said, hoping that jaehyun wouldn't question it further.

"too bad." the ceo replied, his tone rather flat – to be fully honest, jaehyun couldn't care less what happened in yuta's life; all he wanted was to overpass him. "but well, good news is that i get to go with you!"

taeyong smiled sheepishly, his cheeks slightly reddening at jaehyun's sudden happiness. he felt rather touched that jaehyun found it nice that they could be together. in fact, taeyong was estatic about it, and more than just spending some time with his crush, he was thankful that he would be able to tag with someone during the seminar rather than staying alone in the middle of men who wouldn't care about him since he was just a secretary. but jaehyun wasn't like that, so taeyong tought he was lucky.

"are there other people that you know at the seminar?" taeyong asked shyly.

"well, of course. there will be all of the ceos and directors." jaehyun explained. "and as a ceo myself, it's my duty to know them. don't you know them too?"

"not as much as yuta does." taeyong informed. "i usually stay behind when they talk together. and they don't seem very interested in talking to a secretary, you know?"

"oh yeah. it's a ceo kind of thing. only caring about the important people." jaehyun sighed.

"but not a you kind of thing..." taeyong muttered, catching jaehyun's attention.

"sorry?"

"you're not like those ceos. you seem to care about everybody, not just the important people." taeyong explained.

jaehyun held in a small laugh. yeah, taeyong was definitely into him, and he must have been for a long time if he thought that jaehyun wasn't like those ceos. in fact, the korean secretary hadn't even noticed how bad jaehyun had struggled remembering his name or just recognising him. and he surely had been too focused on gawking over him to notice that jaehyun had not once looked into his direction whenever yuta was around – well, before deciding to play him, of course.

so, yeah, sicheng was right, taeyong was into jaehyun, and he was in deep, that's for sure. but jaehyun could only use this to his advantage.

"i care about people who seem important to me." jaehyun stated after a few seconds, diverting his eyes to look at the secretary who was looking back at him.

taeyong immediately flushed at the small smile jaehyun gave him after speaking out, his heartbeat accelerating as he processed the words that the ceo had pronounced.

jaehyun seemed to care about him.

he had caught him before he had fallen to the floor on their first encounter... he had treated him dinner not so long ago... he had worried that taeyong would get home late so he had drove him... he was currently driving taeyong to this seminar...

yes, his actions conveyed that he cared about taeyong. and so, this meant that taeyong had seemed important to him.

the korean secretary was in another world upon realisation, his heart puming twice faster than normal and his stomach churning in a fluttery way.

so, not daring to open his mouth and ridicule himself by stuttering in panic, taeyong stayed silent, just thinking again about his and jaehyun's interactions for the past weeks.

however, at some point, tayeong had finished going over and over the happy moments they had shared, and the secretary came to remember the car fair incident or how he had appeared like a fool in front of the older.

on the driver's seat, jaehyun didn't mind the silence – which he actually found comfortable – but he could feel taeyong radiating with anxiety or at least embarrassment. the secretary was playing with his fingers, his eyes sometimes glancing up at the road for a short while before focusing back on his digits.

jaehyun couldn't help but roll his eyes at the male's childishness.

"what's wrong?" he asked after a while, waking tayeong up from the daze he had been in.

"huh?" the secretary looked at the ceo.

"you look bothered by something. what is it?"

"o-oh... nothing." taeyong replied, his lips forming a small pout.

jaehyun glanced at him again, unconsciously smiling at the adorable sight.

"doesn't look like nothing..." he simply stated.

"it's not important." taeyong assured.

the ceo could have simply hummed and accepted the fact that taeyong didn't want to share this information with him. actually, this was what he normally would have done – perhaps that he would even have asked what was wrong in the first place – but he decided against it today.

was it the fact that he didn't want the car's atmosphere to be so gloomy? or the fact that he preferred when tayeong was all smiley rather than pouty? he had no idea; but he intended knowing what had tayeong in his state.

"hey..." he whispered, the hand that was on the gear stick slowly moving to taeyong's thigh so that he could pat it gently. "it seems important to you..." jaehyun spoke, diverting his eyes from the road for a second to stare at the secretary – whose eyes were wide, cheeks were red, and heart was palpitating by the way. "...so, tell me. it will lift a weight from your chest."

taeyong stayed silent for a few more seconds and he caught his breath, his mouth agape and his eyes following jaehyun's long fingers which had slowly left his thigh to wrap around the gear stick again and change gears skilfully.

"i-i... it's stupid..." the secretary stuttered.

"just tell me, i don't mind." jaehyun assured, his eyes focused on the road.

"a-are you... huh... are you mad at me?" taeyong finally let out, worriedly looking at the ceo who frowned.

"mad at you?" he repeated. "why would i be mad at you?"

"for what happened when going to the car fair? and for not talking to you at all during the car fair?"tayeong asked, gulping between the questions.

jaehyun's frown didn't leave his face for a few seconds as he tried recalling what had happened that could have gotten him mad at taeyong.

was he referring to the fact he was about to take a taxi? and that he hadn't asked jaehyun to drive with him? and also, that he had surely been embarrassed by the fact he was caught which was the reason why he hadn't spoken to jaehyun afterwards?

to be honest, jaehyun didn't understand why he would be mad at taeyong for such things. he was an adult; he could do whatever he wanted.

if he preferrd taking a taxi, then so be it. and if he didn't want to ride with jaehyun he could also say it. and finally, if he didn't feel like talking to jaehyun, it was his decision as well.

jaehyun had much more important problems than thinking whether or not he was mad at someone who did such things. hell, he had learnt to stop being mad whenever his father would badmouth his work, so it wasn't this little act from taeyong that would make him mad.

"i'm not mad at you." jaehyun answered honestly. "like, not at all."

"a-are you sure?" taeyong stuttered.

"yes." jaehyun nodded. "you really didn't do anything that could have made me mad if that's what you're wondering."

"b-but..." taeyong bit his lip. "you said that i could just have asked you to ride with you and... you sounded so upset that i didn't ask you..."

jaehyun slightly chuckled, finding taeyong's worries somewhat cute. when talking with this taeyong, he couldn't imagine him in a serious environment, talking about business and standing by the side of one of the leaders of the automobile sector.

"i wasn't upset, don't worry. i was just teasing you." jaehyun answered. "isn't that something friends do? teasing each other?"

taeyong didn't speak up, the crimson colour of his cheeks answering better than words in his mind. jaehyun really knew how to pull the right stings to his heart, and tayeong wasn't sure he would survive much longer to it...

jaehyun didn't ask more questions, leaving taeyong in his thoughts for a while as he drove calmly, his eyes checking the gps from time to time to make sure he was still in the right direction.

unconsciously, he also glanced towards the boy sitting in the passenger seat, a small smile appearing on his face as he realised the boy was dozing off to sleep. he must have gotten to be late the night before, not expecting the seminar requiring them to wake up so early.

and so, in the peaceful silence that surrounded them – occasionally disturbed by taeyong's light snoring – jaehyun pressed the gas pedal, making the car accelerate on the road and driving them faster towards this seminar that he had been looking forward to go to for long.