seated in a comfortable armchair at the leaders' seminar facing the stage, taeyong could only smile brightly to encourage jaehyun who was currently presenting his projects and challenges in front of the other directors and ceo.

him and taeyong had arrived at the seminar's location around fifteen minutes before the beginning of the seminar, and almost immediately, jaehyun had been surrounded with people, asking him how he was doing and most importantly how his business was doing.

most people didn't even glance at taeyong who was by his side because yuta couldn't be there, but thankfully, jaehyun had always made it clear that he was there to represent nakamotors and that he should not be neglected during this leaders' seminar.

once all of the participants had arrived, they were directed towards an immense conference room which had been arranged to look less scholar and more like a lounge.

a small platform had been placed in front of a giant screen for the presenters to stand and their presentations to be shown behind them. there were also a few smaller screens across the room to make sure everyone could see the presentation correctly from where they were.

the seated arrangements had been neatly organised to make it possible for people to chat and circulate easily around the room. there were a dozen round glass tables, each of them being surrounded by three or four comfortable armchairs which were facing the stage.

and finally, the room had been very well-decorated, with pictures of cars framed on the walls and streamers reading '14th leaders' congress', accompanied with a few bouquets of white flowers in vases around the room.

needless to say, the even was very professional and a big budget seemed to have been allowed for this very day. no wonder yuta and jaehyun seemed stressed about their presentations.

thankfully for taeyong, jaehyun hadn't left his side despite being called by various people, and he had even suggested for them to sit around a same table so that taeyong wasn't left alone. the two males had listened to the organisers giving a brief speech and introducing the main actors of the business before giving voice to one of the ceos.

in fact, taeyong understood that during this congress, each and every ceo had planned a small speech with a presentation to give an overview of their business and of their main projects and challenges for the next years. this presentation would then be a base for the few questions the other ceos and directors may have to which the presenting ceo would answer.

jaehyun was one of the first ceos to go up on stage and do his presentation in front of the audience. and inevitably, his fame in the sector made everyone listen carefully to him and clap loudly whenever he made a pause.

taeyong had watched his presentation very carefully, taking down notes when he judged it necessary, but mostly just gawking over the powerful male in a tight grey suit.

as much as the secretary kept repeating to himself that he was at work, and that he needed to stay focus, his mind couldn't help but divert to somewhere else, imagining how amazing it would be to stay by jaehyun's side forever and have him being the father of their kids.

jaehyun radiated this dominant and powerful aura which amazed taeyong. the ceo always looked serious and professional, and he knew how to act strict and to be firm in his answers. he never hesitated before saying 'no' if he needed to, and he seemed to be very good at speaking, whether he had a speech or not.

there was no doubt, jaehyun was an amazing ceo, and he did have all of the competences required to be respected in the sector. he wasn't like other ceos that tayeong had seen around the room, who had inherited their business from their family but were unsure in their ideas and who still needed their parents to tell them what to do with the company. jaehyun was independent and determined, and this made all of the difference.

"thank you very much for this mister jung." the organiser declared as the audience clapped once again for the young ceo who bowed on the stage. "now, who are we having on stage next?"

taeyong didn't pay attention to the organiser's words as he introduced the next person to come up on stage. instead, the secretary kept his eyes on jaehyun who slowly made his way back to his and taeyong's seats, being stopped a few times on his way by ceos who uttered him a few words.

and thankfully, after two minutes, jaehyun reached his armchair just next to taeyong's, heaving a sigh as he unbuttoned his suit and sat down under taeyong's mesmerised eyes.

"everything alright?" jaehyun asked, raising a brow at taeyong who seemed in a daze.

"you were amazing out there." taeyong simply answered dreamily, making the ceo next to him chuckle – good thing there wasn't anyone else sitting with them around this table, because otherwise, the secretary would surely have received a nasty remark.

"thank you." jaehyun smiled at the secretary, finding his amazement rather cute.

taeyong smiled back at him. "you're welcome."

the two businessmen looked at each other in silence, not even moving an inche when the people around clapped to welcome a new ceo on the stage.

however, jaehyun broke the silence between them as the presenting ceo started talking.

"do you know when your turn is?" he whispered, slightly leaning forwards so that taeyong could hear him over the noise of the room.

"around 4pm." taeyong answered. "i still have a few hours."

"are you nervous?" jaehyun continued his questioning.

"well... a bit, yeah..." taeyong rubbed his nape, answering in all honesty.

"you shouldn't be." jaehyun assured, flashing taeyong a small smile.

"but there are lots of people... and influential ones that is... i don't want to ridicule myself." taeyong shared his worried to the other ceo.

jaehyun rolled his eyes playfully, leaning forward a bit more before placing a comforting hand on taeyong's knee. "you won't ridicule yourself, don't worry." he stated, looking at taeyong's reddened cheeks. "and if you're too stressed, just look at me. i'll be there to make you feel at ease and encourage you."

and damn, did taeyong's heart miss a beat – more like a ton of them – at those words...

☏

taeyong took deep breaths as he was walking in the direction of the stage, all eyes on him as the organiser had just introduced him, mentioning that yuta had an emergency and wouldn't be able to attend.

the secretary finally reached the stage and shyly stepped on it before facing his audience, forgetting how to breathe for a second as he found all those eyes staring right through him, as if their gazes were piercing his skin as he tried his best not to drop the mic because of how shaky his hands were.

trying to reassure himself, taeyong's mind diverted to the words jaehyun had shared with him a while ago. immediately, the secretary diverted his eyes towards the only ceo he felt comfortable with, finding jaehyun looking back at him with a smile before mouthing a small 'fighting'.

and well, jaehyun's action was a good enough confidence boost for taeyong who simply closed his eyes for a second before clearing his throat.

"good afternoon, everyone. for those who do not know me, i am lee taeyong, mister nakamoto's secretary." taeyong stated, his eyes looking around the room for a while but always going back to jaehyun for reassurance. "as it was explained a while ago, mister nakamoto isn't able to attend today's seminar because of personal matters, but he took the time to record his presentation so that it could feel as if he was there."

taeyong continued speaking for a few seconds, introducing the topics as yuta had asked him to do so before walking to the side of the stage where the person managing the presentations was. and with taeyong's go, the man started yuta's presentation, the ceo's face appearing on the screen.

the secretary looked at his ceo proudly as he spoke a few words before his image grew much smaller and stayed in a corner of the screen while the slides yuta had prepared were shown with him speaking over them.

the presentation lasted around 10 minutes, allowing for taeyong to relax while the other ceos' attention was on the screen rather than on him. however, in his relaxation time, the secretary glanced in jaehyun's direction, catching him taking notes from yuta's presentation with a focused face.

taeyong stared at him for the remaining of the presentation, smiling at him like a lovestruck teenager. in the end, he may not be a teenager, but he was really lovetruck, and being a lovestruck adult wasn't too different from being a lovestruck teenager.

anyway, one thing was sure, taeyong had fallen for the ceo, and it was more than just a simple crush. real feelings were getting in the way, and taeyong was slowly starting to imagine things and hope that others would happen.

yeah, he was in deep, and this could only mean one thing: he wouldn't be able to keep it to himself for long, and at some point, he would really need to tell the ceo how he felt for him.

"thank you very much for listening and sorry again that i couldn't be here today. if you have any questions, you may ask them to taeyong, he should be able to answer most of them. otherwise, you can contact me directly. my email is shown here." yuta's voice spoke the last words of the presentation, making taeyong stand up straight again. "thank you and goodbye."

the audience clapped despite yuta not being here to listen and taeyong stepped forward, clearing his throat again when he was at the centre of the stage.

"so, does any of you have a question to ask regarding the presentation or the topics discusses?"tayeong asked. "i will try my best to give you a complete answer."

a few ceos raised their hands, asking taeyong their questions to which the secretary answered without hesitation under jaehyun's impressed eyes.

he must admit, this boy on stage was nothing like the boy that was in the car with him, acting all shy and insecure. the taeyong here spoke confidently and wasn't scared to risk himself on subjects that could be a bit sketchy. they were very far from the shy and stuttery taeyong that jaehyun had had to reassure before he walked up on stage.

jaehyun may have encountered the secretary a few times already, but he had always seen him in yuta's shadow. of course, when a ceo was there, it was always them who were stepping forward, leaving their secretary behind to do the paperwork or just to confirm a few information. but now, taeyong was all alone, without his ceo to stand in front of him and hide his potential. and now, jaehyun could clearly see taeyong's full potential.

during their previous encounters, jaehyun had found himself questioning a few times why yuta had chosen a secretary like taeyong. at first, jaehyun had found the male childish and shy, two adjectives that shall not characterise the secretary of a powerful ceo. then, they had met outside, and jaehyun had found taeyong to be curious and naïve, which he didn't believe to be good attributes of a secretary either. but now that he was seeing the male on the stage, he could slowly understand why yuta had selected taeyong as his secretary.

in fact, it wasn't about taeyong's personality or about the vibe he gave off at first glance – which would eliminate him of the candidates list immediately. it was all about the guy's duality.

sure, taeyong was someone bubbly, curious, and very friendly, so it must be very nice to work in the same office as him. jaehyun could imagine him well joking with yuta or sharing gossips with him. but then, when it came to work and to appearing professional in a work-context, taeyong transformed into someone else. someone fearless and confident, who wouldn't hesitate affirming his opinion and defending his ceo's interests.

he recalled taeyong telling him how yuta had been the only one who had accepted him to work, and jaehyun could only guess that the other recruiters hadn't studied taeyong enough to realise how deep he really was. they must have stopped to his childish attitudes and curious remarks and decided that he wouldn't make a good worker.

but yuta had seen through this façade. yuta had surely seen right through taeyong and seen his real potential. jaehyun couldn't deny it, yuta was someone smart, perhaps even brilliant. as much as the ceo of jung corporation hated to admit it, yuta had worked his ass out to get where he was now. he had won contests, envisioned the future of automobile and thought deeply into his projects to make them realisable. and he had succeeded, god, he was succeeding so much that he was even dethroning the traditional leader in the sector – and that is jung corporation. so, it was no wonder that yuta had made the perfect selection for his secretary, and that is why he had chosen taeyong...

jaehyun must admit that he was impressed by the secretary. he never would have thought that taeyong would be able to surprise him in any way. he had always believed that he could read him like an open book, and that the boy would naively tell jaehyun all of his business secrets if jaehyun showed him that he could be returning his feelings.

but now that jaehyun had discovered this new aspect of taeyong, that same aspect which made taeyong such an amazing secretary, jaehyun was starting to doubt that his plan could ever work.

"oh god, it was so overwhelming..." taeyong announced as he plopped himself down on the armchair next to jaehyun.

"so, what were your impressions?" jaehyun asked him, pushing his thoughts away and concentrating on the other male.

"thank god you were here to look at me and help me destress." taeyong simply answered before chuckling at his own words.

jaehyun chuckled as well, rolling his eyes playfully at taeyong's silliness. "don't exaggerate!" he tsked. "you did very well."

"really?" taeyong asked, his eyes wide and sparkling looking like delicious boba pearls.

"yes." jaehyun nodded, his hand unconsciously lifting to ruffle the male's hair slightly. "i'm proud of you." he added.

and once again, the ceo's words made taeyong reach heavens.

☏

finally, the seminar had come to an end.

taeyong thought this day couldn't get any longer at that point.

the seminar had initially been programmed to end around 8pm, however, considering some ceos had taken a bit more time than supposed to present their ideas and answer to the questions – not that it was a complaint because the topics discussed were genuinely interesting and made sense – the even had ended later than planned.

so, at 9pm, the last ceo was still doing his presentation and answering to the questions, looking as if he could speak for three more hours without a problem.

thankfully, he was done pretty quick, and it seemed like everybody wanted to go back home because as soon as the questions were all answered, the ceos around the room all clapped and the organisers stepped on stage to give a last little speech to thank the ceos.

and so, by 9:30pm, jaehyun and tayeong were able to reach jaehyun's car after greeting the other ceos goodbye.

"i thought this would never end, god..." taeyong let out as he leaned back against the headrest of the car seat.

"same." jaehyun answered honestly, fastening his seatbelt and checking his rearview mirrors before starting the car to drive away.

"and to say we still have a three-hour ride..." the secretary continued whining. "they didn't even plan anything for dinner... and i suppose we won't be able to find anywhere to eat at that time..."

jaehyun simply hummed, concentrating on the road as he inserted himself in the night-time circulation, one hand clicking on the car play to make the itinerary appear on the gps.

"can i put a bit of music, please?" the secretary asked, looking at the car's auto radio.

"yes, if you want." jaehyun nodded.

"cool, thanks."

taeyong fumbled with the buttons of the auto radio for a few seconds until he found the right channel, making him smile brightly.

"is pop okay for you?" taeyong questioned.

"everything's fine, don't worry." jaehyun assured.

"but if you don't like it i can change it. i almost only listen to pop but if you prefer heavy metal or classical music don't hesitate to tell me i can change." the secretary rambled, making the ceo glance at him with a smile.

"i swear, pop is fine, taeyong." he repeated.

"oh, great then." the male said sheepishly before bobbing his head to the beat of the music lightly.

and so, the two males drove in silence, jaehyun focused on the road and eventually letting his thumb tap on the steering wheel to the beat of the music as taeyong hummed the lyrics of the songs that passed on the radio.

all in all, the ride was comfortable, and both males were happy they could relax a bit after a long day of heard ceos talking about their business.

after a bit more than half an hour, taeyong's phone rang, slightly startling the male who let out a cute squeak of surprise.

"can i take the call?" he asked, showing the device to the ceo next to him. "it's yuta."

"yes, sure." jaehyun nodded, not really understanding why taeyong was asking him.

"thank you." the secretary smiled before picking up. "hello yuta, everything alright?"

jaehyun used the commands on the steering wheel to lower the volume of the music so that taeyong could hear his boss clearly.

"oh, that's very good news. you must be feeling so much better..."

the ceo continued driving, listening to taeyong's answers as he couldn't hear whatever yuta was telling him.

"yes, it was nice, but very long!" taeyong chuckled. "oh, i'm in the car, yes. going back home."

taeyong stayed on the phone for a few more minutes, exchanging with yuta mostly on the seminar and what had happened. however, at some point taeyong struggled to hear what the ceo was telling him.

"yuta? i can't hear you very well..." he said with a frown. "can you repeat please?"

but before yuta could repeat anything, a beeping sound was heard, making taeyong look at his phone. "call failed..." he pouted. "there's no network..."

"i-it's probably the countryside." jaehyun answered, his eyes focused on the road.

following the male's words, the secretary lifted his head, looking through the windshield at the road. effectively, they seemed to be on the countryside.

they were on a straight road which was rather badly lit, and on both sides of the road, taeyong could catch a glimpse of fields full of trees and plants which were surely for crops.

"yeah, there's nothing around..." taeyong sighed, turning his head to look at the ceo who was driving. "no wonder there's no net- jaehyun? are you okay?" he asked mid-sentence when he realised that jaehyun's face was very sweaty.

"y-yeah..." the ceo answered, using the back of his hand to wipe his forehead. "i-i'm a bit hot..." he added, unbuttoning the first two buttons of his shirt.

"o-oh!" taeyong's cheeks flushed as he saw the male unbuttoning his shirt, causing him to busy himself with the ac in order to help jaehyun feeling less hot. "okay, i've switched the ac on, you should feel better."taeyong informed, lifting his head again only to realise that jaehyun was decelerating and pulling on the space on the side of the road where he stopped the car.

"jaehyun, is everything okay?" taeyong asked again, unbuckling his and jaehyun's seatbelts before looking at the ceo.

"i-i..." jaehyun panted. "i-i'm feeling dizzy..."

"oh god you're going to faint..." taeyong gasped, getting out of the car and rushing to jaehyun's side to open the door. "we need to lay you down and lift your legs up. it will help." he said immediately.

taeyong put jaehyun's arm around his shoulders and pulled the male out of the car the best he could to lie him down on the ground. thankfully, he managed to lie jaehyun down without falling or hurting him, and he immediately pulled jaehyun's legs upwards as the ceo was panting.

"okay, it's okay, it's going to be okay." taeyong assured. "it will help the blood flow better."

the ceo panted for a few more minutes, his vision completely clouded and his ears ringing like crazy as taeyong held his legs up and talked to him to reassure him.

and as promised by the secretary, jaehyun started feeling better, his vision going back to normal and his ability to hear normally coming back.

"i'm dizzy..." he mumbled, one of his hands finding its place on his forehead.

"jaehyun, did you eat anything at lunch?" taeyong asked with furrowed brows, remembering that they hadn't handed out much food for lunch. knowing how bratty he could become when hungry, taeyong had brought himself a sandwich to eat and he had had it during one of the breaks when jaehyun was chatting with other ceos, but he was sure that jaehyun had been too busy with work to even think about eating.

"i had like... three canapés..." the ceo replied showing taeyong two fingers.

"oh god..." taeyong sighed, recalling that they had handed out mini pieces of bread with tomatoes and cheese. "you're having a calorie deficit, of course you're feeling unwell..."

the secretary sighed, placing jaehyun's legs back down before crouching next to the ceo.

"can you sit up for me?" he asked, holding his hand out.

jaehyun grabbed his hand and slowly sat up, helped by taeyong who placed an arm behind his back to make sure he wouldn't fall.

"how are you feeling?" the secretary asked, finding jaehyun's face very pale.

"dizzy..." jaehyun replied simply. "but better..."

"okay, that's good." taeyong exhaled. "we just need to find you something to eat. you'll feel better after eating."

"there is... there's a hotel 5 minutes away from here..." jaehyun panted. "i saw on the map... but i couldn't hold any longer..." he added.

taeyong sighed loudly, feeling relieved that there would be a solution. "okay, we'll get to the hotel quickly so that you can eat."

"mmh..." jaehyun hummed, his eyes closing again, causing taeyong to tighten his hold on his back so that he didn't fall. "h-help me lie down in the backseat..."

"the backseat, okay." taeyong nodded.

the secretary used his free hand to open the car's door before helping jaehyun getting up on his knees and pulling himself to the backseat. with all of his strength, taeyong helped jaehyun up in the car, lying him on his back on the three seats.

"okay, now don't move, i'm going to- "

"j-just drive me there..." jaehyun cut taeyong's words, making the secretary freeze for a second.

"just... drive you there..." he repeated. "oh, yeah... of course."

taeyong made sure jaehyun's legs were inside the vehicle before closing the door and heading to the driver's seat. the secretary sat down on the driver's seat and shut the door, eying all of the buttons and commands on the dashboard before sighing. why did all cars have to be so different.

"o-okay..." taeyong breathed out, placing both hands on the wheel before approaching his feet from the three pedals and placing his foot on one, then the other, and finally the last one. his right hand then left the wheel to touch the gear stick ever so slightly as if he was scared to get electrocuted.

"taeyong..." jaehyun groaned from the backseat. "j-just go..."

"y-yeah..." the secretary stuttered, looking at the road in front of him before gulping, his whole body starting to tremble.

and before he could even think about pressing one of the pedals, releasing the handbrake or switching to first gear to start the car, his eyes got overflowed with tears which immediately cascaded down his cheeks.

"j-jaehyun i... i-i'm sorry..." he sobbed. "i-i can't drive."