secretary. such a simple word that hides so many things...

it is no wonder that this word holds in itself the word 'secret'. actually, the word secretary comes from the latin word secretarium that could be translated as the place where the secrets are kept. so, in the end, a secretary is nothing else than a person keeping secrets.

but kept from whom, that's the real question...

"taeyong..." jaehyun groaned from the backseat of his car where he was still lying. "...what are you saying...?"

and in the front seat – on the driver's seat to be more precise – sat taeyong, his shaking hands falling from the steering wheel to hide his eyes from which hot tears were cascading as he was slowly and painfully revealing one of his biggest secrets.

"i-i'm r-really s-sorry..." the korean secretary apologised over and over again. "i-i cannot drive, i... i d-don't have a d-driver's licence... i-i was never taught h-how to..."

the secretary wept in shame, wanting nothing more than to disappear.

if he had thought he had seemed ridiculous failing to call for a taxi in front of jaehyun, then what was he looking like right now, admitting that he couldn't drive?

what must the ceo think of him now, knowing that he was one of the most important actors of such a powerful automobile company and that he didn't even have his drivers' licence?

"t-taeyong..." jaehyun called the secretary's name, trying his best to sit up on the backseat despite the dizziness that he was going through.

"i-i'm sorry... i'm s-so sorry..." taeyong continued apologising before looking up at the dark road in front of them. "i-i'll just... go to the hotel and come back with s-some food." he declared, one of his shaky hands reaching for the handle to open the door.

"taeyong..." jaehyun spoke after succeeding sitting up. "listen to me..." he added, his hand reaching for taeyong's shoulder before the male could get out.

"mmh?" the korean secretary sniffed, turning around to look at the ceo as he tried to calm his nerves down.

"let's just go... to the hotel." jaehyun said. "together. and...we'll eat and sleep there... and we'll leave tomorrow morning." he finished, shaking his head hoping to get rid of the dizziness.

and that's how – despite taeyong's protests and reticence – the two of them had left the car on the side of the road as they walked towards the hotel that jaehyun had located on the gps.

taeyong had stopped crying, his cheeks still stained by the salty tears he had shed. his arm was wrapped around jaehyun's waist as one of the ceo's arms was placed over taeyong's shoulders for support. jaehyun was still in a pretty bad state, his face pale and his vision cloudy as he tried his best to walk straight without falling onto taeyong.

the walk to the hotel took them a bit more than 20 minutes, and when they were finally there, taeyong was very relieved to find the reception lounge empty, allowing him to place jaehyun on one of the sofas before rushing himself to the reception.

"hello sir, how may i... help you?" the hostess behind the desk asked, probably pausing in the middle of her sentence when he saw taeyong's miserable state.

"h-huh, i..." taeyong gulped before taking a deep breath. "my friend there just fainted because he didn't eat enough today and i was wondering if it could be possible to have him something to eat." he explained, turning around to check the area where jaehyun was lying.

"oh, yes, of course. we're bringing that right away." the lady gasped seeing jaehyun's state before taking the reception's phone and passing a call.

"thank you." taeyong bowed before rushing back to jaehyun's side.

the secretary sat down by jaehyun's side, helping the ceo to sit more comfortably on the couch and making sure he was still conscious.

"they will be bringing something to eat soon." he informed. "how are you feeling?"

"still dizzy..." jaehyun replied, his eyes closing so that he didn't feel like his surroundings were spinning anymore.

"it's okay, it will feel better in..." taeyong stopped himself mid-sentence as jaehyun's head fell on his shoulder, causing the ceo's body to lean slightly against his. "...in a few minutes..." he finished, his heart skipping a beat at their closeness.

they fell in a comfortable silence, taeyong not daring to speak in fear that his words would come out stutter, and jaehyun in no position to form a logical sentence.

thankfully, a waiter approached them with a plate of pasta and a glass of water.

"here you are." he declared, placing the food on the small table in front of the sofa.

"thank you." taeyong thanked the male before patting jaehyun's shoulder. "jaehyun, the food is here, you need to eat."

"mmh..." the ceo simply hummed, his eyes still closed.

taeyong sighed, using all of his strength to put jaehyun in a seated position again and to grab the plate of bolognese pasta that had been cooked for him.

"here. eat, it will make you feel better." taeyong declared, holding the plate out for jaehyun.

"mmh..." jaehyu replied, his eyes still half-closed before he turned his head to face taeyong and opened his mouth.

the secretary's eyes widened as he blushed, the thought of feeding jaehyun suddenly making him shy.

"c-come on, jaehyun. take the plate." taeyong pushed the plate forward towards jaehyun.

but of course, the ceo only shook his head lightly. "feed me..." he replied before opening his mouth again, waiting for taeyong to place food inside.

the secretary stayed frozen for a few seconds, just looking at the other male and wondering if he would end up taking the plate instead, but seeing as jaehyun didn't seem like he would move, taeyong sighed loudly and grabbed the fork to pick up two pastas.

"here." he declared, placing the food in front of jaehyun's mouth.

the ceo happily leant forwards, taking the pasta in his mouth and munching on them before whining. "it's hot..."

the secretary rolled his eyes at that, preparing a second forkful of pasta before lifting it to his own mouth to blow on them and hopefully cool them down. and so, once jaehyun had swallowed the first two pastas, he opened his mouth wide again for taeyong to feed him again.

"god, you're such a baby..." taeyong mumbled as he fed jaehyun, looking as his face slowly regained its normal colour.

soon enough, the plate of bolognese pasta was finished and tayeong grabbed the glass of water to hand it to jaehyun.

"are you going to ask me to make you drink as well? or can you do that on your own?" tayeong asked with a brow raised, causing jaehyun's cheeks to redden.

"i can do that on my own, thanks." the ceo replied before snatching the glass from tayeong's hand and gulping it all. "no need to tell you that all of this stays between you and i?" he added, his eyes darkening.

now that he had eaten, jaehyun was slowly regaining his spirits, and so, he could once again talk and move around freely, without feeling like he would faint any second from then. and of course, jaehyun recalled exactly what he had made the secretary go through and how childishly he may have acted under the influence of dizziness. and needless to say, this was a state he hoped no one would see him in which. but unfortunately – or perhaps thankfully – nakamoto's secretary was there to witness it all – and help him through it.

"o-of course." taeyong immediately nodded, his thoughts diverting back to how his darkest secret had been revealed. "just between you and i." he repeated.

"good." jaehyun simply replied before standing up from the sofa and heading towards the reception.

the hostess behind the counter lifted her head, flashing the ceo a bright smile as taeyong rushed to the male's side.

"hello sir, how may i help you?" she asked.

"we would like to stay the night here." jaehyun explained. "do you still have some rooms available?"

"yes, of course." she nodded before looking at her computer. "do you need two rooms? or would you rather... share one?" she then asked, her eyes falling onto taeyong whose cheeks became as red as cherries.

"two rooms would be perfect!" he exclaimed before jaehyun could speak, making the hostess nod.

don't get him wrong. the thought of sharing a room with jaehyun was far from displeasing him. actually, it was rejoicing him more than anything else, even though he was not sure how he would be able to survive the nervousness that would take over him if he came to spend a night in the same bedroom as the handsome ceo.

but well, taeyong had just exposed his biggest secret to the other male tonight, and he certainly didn't need the ceo to question him on that matter or make fun of him – which would surely happen as soon as the two of them would end up together alone somewhere. so, yeah, staying as far as possible from jaehyun was the only way for the secretary not to be questioned on his secret.

"here you are." the hostess placed the two room keys in front of them. "your rooms are on the first floor. you have the lift over there." she added, pointing in the lift's direction. "enjoy your night."

"thank you!" taeyong smiled before grabbing the keys that were in front of him and dashing in the direction of the elevator.

without looking back, the secretary pressed the lift's button, making the doors open. taeyong was quick to select the 1st floor button before letting the doors close ont heir own, sighing loudly as he realised jaehyun hadn't been able to get inside the lift.

this would leave taeyong the time to find his room and lock himself inside. and he'll just send jaehyun a text message to ask him what time they should meet the next day.

the doors of the lift opened at the first floor, and unfortunately for taeyong, jaehyun was standing in the corridor, right in front of the lift with his arms crossed over his chest.

"are you trying to avoid me?" he questioned, his brow raised.

"o-of course not!" taeyong denied, getting out of the lift and getting past jaehyun towards his hotel room.

"taeyong." jaehyun called as the secretary ignored him, continuing to walk towards his room – he could see it, it was right at the end of the corridor.

"taeyong." the ceo called again as taeyong pulled the hotel card out, holding his arm out to unlock the door, still ignoring the other male.

taeyong finally reached the door, stretching his arm out to press the magnetic card on the lock, but unfortunately, a veiny hand was blocking the captor. and before taeyong could think about pushing that hand away, he was turned around and his back pressed against the door so that he could face the ceo.

the secretary held in a breath as his cheeks flushed at the closeness of his and jaehyun's faces.

"why are you avoiding me?" jaehyun asked, his brows furrowed as he stared into taeyong's trembling eyes.

"i-i'm not..." the secretary replied.

"you wouldn't be running away from me if you really weren't." jaehyun pointed out, making taeyong's cheeks redden.

the secretry stayed silent, gulping in nervousness as jaehyun studied his face in detail.

the ceo's eyes fell on the boy's reddened cheeks on which traces of dried tears were still visible. unconsciously, his hand reached for them, his fingers delicately brushing away the remaining excess of salt that the tears had left behind.

"i just wanted to thank you for tonight." jaehyun whispered, his fingers still caressing taeyong's cheeks as his eyes flicked to the secretary's eyes as well.

the other male held his breath, looking back into jaehyun's eyes. their faces were so close that taeyong could feel jaehyun's breath fanning over his lips, and this was slowly making him lose his means.

as discreetely as he could, taeyong's hand that was holding the card moved towards the captor next to the handle, his eyes never looking away from jaehyun's as it seemed like their faces were somehow getting closer with every second passing.

and thankfully, before their faces could get any closer, the captor beeped, signalling that the door had been unlocked, offering taeyong the opportunity to push on the handle and slide inside his bedroom.

"y-you're welcome." he answered simply before slamming the door shut once he was inside and locking it.

on the other side of the door, jaehyun stood frozen, his eyes glued to the wooden door in front of which he had taeyong pinned a few seconds ago.

what the hell had just happened to him? had he just spent long seconds admiring taeyong's face and unconsciously leaning forwards?

the ceo shook his head, wondering if his dizziness a while ago could still have some kind of effect on him even after eating.

anyway, the ceo pushed these thoughts away, taking a step closer to taeyong's door before knocking once.

"meet me at 8am tomorrow morning at the reception." he declared, hoping that taeyong had heard him before walking toward his own room.

and yes, taeyong had indeed heard him despite the loud beating of his heart as he had seated with his back against the door, processing what had just happened and trying to calm his damn mind and mostly his damn heart.

☏

taeyong had already being confronted to hundreds of awkward silences in his life. but well, these silences had rarely been this discomforting.

because right now, taeyong wanted nothing more than dying on the sport and reviving as a worm or a tree or even a plastic garden chair – anything as long as he could get away from this level 100 awkward silence.

him and jaehyun were back in the car after a good night of sleep and a long walk to reach the car that was still parked on the side of the road, like they had left it the night before.

and because jaehyun had fainted after around an hour of driving, they still had two hours to go before arriving at their headquarters. and let's say that these were the two longest hours of taeyong's life. without hesitation.

neither tayeong nor jaehyun had dared speaking a word, the only sound present in the car being that of the pop radio that taeyong had selected the night before. and of course, at some point, they had to drive in an area which wasn't covered by this radio channel, thus causing the auto radio to make a very displeasing sound which had pushed jaehyun to switch the radio off completely and leave the two of them in a real silence.

after half an hour of torture – which had seemed like three full hours – taeyong had decided to just close his eyes and fall asleep, hoping that this would make time pass faster. but bold of him to assume that he would be able to fall asleep so easily. was it the thick tension inside the vehicle or the fact that he had had quite enough of sleep the past night? tayeong had no idea but he could not fall asleep.

however, despite his struggles reaching dreamland, taeyong decided that it would be better for him to keep his eyes closed and make jaehyun believe that he indeed had fallen asleep. this way, the ceo wouldn't be tempted to ask him any question or just talk to him.

and so, this is what taeyong did for the next hour and a half, pretending that he had fallen asleep, craddled by jaehyun's driving and the pleasant sound of the engine.

it was long, very long, and taeyong wondered if he would be able to spend much longer pretending like he was sleeping, but he didn't want to talk to jaehyun so bad that he was ready to do anything for that.

thankfully, after what felt like days, taeyong felt the car coming to a halt and jaehyun's hand brishing against his shoulder.

"t-taeyong?" the ceo called, his voice slightly shaky. "we're at your house."

the secretary slowly opened his eyes, pretending like he had been sleeping all the ride long, before looking at jaehyun and then at his apartment building outside the window.

"t-thank you." he mumbled before unbuckling his seatbelt and pulling the handle to open the door.

however, he didn't expect jaehyun to have locked the doors.

taeyong's eyes slightly widened before he turned around, looking at jaehyun with pleading eyes.

"we need to talk." jaehyun declared, looking at taeyong very seriously.

"i don't want to." taeyong replied immediately. "open the door, please."

"no. not until we have a small talk."

taeyong huffed, crossing his arms over his chest like a child as he looked outside the window, avoiding jaehyun's eyes. he looked like a pouting child right now, and jaehyun couldn't help but find this cute.

the silence lasted for a few minutes, making taeyong question if the silence was more awkward during the ride or in this very moment. and after a while, not bearing the suffocating silence anymore, tayeong decided to talk.

"look, just... laugh at me, call me names, scream it to everyone and anyone, but please, i plead you... let me get out of this car." taeyong begged, turning around to look at jaehyun with tear-filled eyes.

the ceo looked at the secretary rather surprised, one of his hands lifting to brush away one of the tears that had rolled down taeyong's cheek – a hand that taeyong immediately pushed away.

"i'm not going to do any of that if that's what you're worried about." jaehyun replied, making taeyong sniffle. "i just am... a bit curious."

"curious about what?" taeyong snorted. "i can't drive. a car or a motorbike or anything with wheels. i don't have a driving licence, i never had driving lessons and my parents never let me drive their car to try." the secretary let out, venting his frustrations as more tears escaped his eyes. "there, happy? you know everything. can i leave now?"

jaehyun stayed silent for a few more seconds, looking as taeyong broke down in tears despite trying his best not to appear weak in front of the rival ceo.

"does nakamoto know?" he asked simply, making taeyong look back up at him.

"would i be in this state if he knew?" he asked between sniffles. "he'll probably just fire me if he comes to know that his secretary doesn't know how to drive. and others would make so much fun of me. i can already imagine my face in the headlines; 'mister nakamoto's secretary doesn't have his driving licence, what a shame'." taeyong continued, crying harder as those words left his mouth.

the ceo stared at taeyong for a few seconds, letting the secretary sob for a while until he was able to calm down a bit.

"taeyong." jaehyun called, making the other male look at him. "i won't tell anything about this, i promise."he continued. "actually, i'll just do as if this past night hadn't occurred. as if we had gone to the seminar separately and come back home separately as well. as if we hadn't been together. and you should do the same."

taeyong nodded as he sniffed, finding jaehyun's idea being one of the only good solutions to the mess the two of them had lived the past night.

"o-okay." the secretary slowly nodded, earning a small smile from jaehyun.

"then go back home, freshen yourself up and go back to work as if nothing had ever happened. i'll do the same on my side, all right?"

taeyong nodded again, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. "thank you." he mumbled. "i'll just... get going. goodbye."

the secretary pulled on the door handle once again, hoping to see the door opening this time, but unfortunately jaehyun still hadn't unlocked the door.

"c-can you... the door?" taeyong stuttered.

"one last thing." jaehyun spoke, catching taeyong's attention again.

"yes?" the secretary sniffed.

"well..." jaehyun gulped, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat as he tried forming a correct sentence. "...i-if you're willing to learn how to drive... huh..."

taeyong just stared at the ceo with a brow raised and tear-stained cheeks, wondering what he could be trying to say.

"w-what if i'm willing to learn how to drive?" he repeated.

jaehyun took a deep breath. "i'll teach you."