"hello, hello!" the ceo exclaimed, taking a step inside the beautiful office he hadn't visited in the past week.

"yuta!" taeyong exclaimed, his face brightening at the sight of the ceo. "you're back!"

"i'm back, yes." the japanese male chuckled as he walked to his desk.

"so, how is your mother doing? is she okay now?" taeyong questioned, ignoring his work for a few minutes to discuss with the ceo. they were usually seeing each other almost every day, and so, taeyong had missed the japanese's presence in this big office.

"yes, she is still staying at the hospital for a few more days, but she was doing much better." yuta nodded, smiling to himself as he recalled a scene from the day before, when sicheng and him had visited his mother to greet her goodbye. his mother had once again said that she approved of yuta and sicheng's relationship, seeing how sweet and caring the chinese male was, which hadn't missed making yuta shy in front of the fake-secretary – not that he understood japanese, but still. "and what about you? how was work?"

"oh, work." taeyong thought for a while. "it was just normal. not too busy thankfully." he explained, hoping for the depth of his heart that the ceo wouldn't ask anything about the leaders' seminar during which he had stuck to jaehyun's side and after which jaehyun had discovered taeyong's deepest secret.

"that's good." yuta nodded before switching his computer on to start working.

taeyong heaved out a sigh, focusing back himself on his computer and his work before yuta could ask anything else.

he was so tensed these days, always stressed that yuta came to learn about the things he was hiding from him for no apparent reason. taeyong had managed to keep to himself that he didn't know how to drive for more than a year, so there was no reason that yuta would come to learn about it anytime soon. jaehyun uncovering this secret had been an accident, but taeyong was always careful not to put himself in such a situation when yuta was around, so there was no way he'd ever know.

plus, jaehyun was teaching taeyong how to drive now, so he surely won't need to keep the secret from everyone anymore. he'll be able to pass the driving test and then everything would be easier for him. they had another lesson together the next day, and jaehyun was such a nice and patient teacher that taeyong guessed he wouldn't need too many lessons to learn how to drive – perhaps was it because he was very invested in the lessons and tried his best to make jaehyun proud of himself.

"so, lover boy... were you able to meet with your perfect date again?" yuta teased, looking at his secretary with a brow raised and a wide smirk plastered on his face. "did he make you fall more in love that you already were?"

taeyong's cheeks flushed red immediately, suddenly remembering his and yuta's conversation over the phone a few days ago, when he had admitted to the ceo that he indeed had fallen in love with his rival – well, not that he had told him it was actually his business rival.

"y-yeah, we could meet again." the secretary nodded, letting his thoughts wander to the few encounters him and jaehyun had had, over the leaders' seminar or the driving lessons.

"and, does he return your feelings?" yuta questioned, placing his chin on his palm as he rested his elbow on his glass desk.

"i-i didn't confess to him." taeyong explained.

yuta rolled his eyes at that. "but how are you feeling it? does he seem to enjoy your presence as well? could he be having feelings for you too?"

taeyong kept his mouth shut for a while, thinking about yuta's words and trying to find out whether or not jaehyun could be returning the feelings he had for him.

jaehyun didn't avoid taeyong's presence, if anything, he seemed to invite him to hang out, so, this had to be a first good sign. he had been suggesting that him and taeyong drive together at the leaders' seminar, and he had said that he was willing to teach taeyong how to drive.

then, when they were together, jaehyun did things that never failed to make taeyong's feel at ease. how he had reassured him so well at the leaders' seminar when he was stressed to go up on stage, or when he had insisted on them to talk things out after tayong's secret had been unveiled.

and finally, he just initiated skin ship that caused taeyong's heart to miss a beat – or lots of beats, actually. the way he had placed his hand over taeyong's when he was switching gears, or simply the way he had been leaning towards taeyong when they were at the hotel after the leaders' seminar, as if he was about to kiss taeyong.

judging from the many clues jaehyun left here and there in his acts and talks, it could seem like jaehyun returned taeyong's feelings. this only made taeyong want to confess his love to him, but at the same time, he was so scared. what if he had misinterpreted jaehyun's actions? what if jaehyun simply did that because he was a caring and gentle man, but that he had no feelings for the secretary.

god, why did love have to be so complicated?

"i don't know if he does..." taeyong replied to yuta's question after a long silence, making the ceo raise a brow at him.

"your cheeks are awfully red, though." he pointed out teasingly. "i bet you're thinking about all those times he did things that could be interpreted as returning your love."

the secretary's cheeks became even redder at that. "stop teasing me!" he exclaimed, hiding his face behind his hands. "you don't see me asking more details about your date that had you staying up until 4am the day before the car fair!"

yuta snorted at that, crossing his arms over his chest with a proud smile. "well, we're seeing each other again on wednesday so..."

yuta couldn't stop thinking about sicheng and those three days they had spent together in tokyo. it felt completely surreal to be on vacation with his rival's secretary, but at the same time, yuta didn't really consider sicheng as jaehyun's secretary. for him, sicheng was just someone he had meet through work and that he had gotten closer to because of their matching personalities. but well, as much as yuta tried pushing these thoughts away, everybody around them still considered the chinese male to be yuta's rival's secretary.

nevertheless, the two of them had spent three amazing days together in japan, and yuta would have gladly made their stay longer, but unfortunately, both him and sicheng had work to do... however, sicheng had agreed to meet him again on wednesday night, which had made yuta ecstatic. and so now, the japanese male was impatiently waiting for wednesday to come for them to see each other again – in a non-business-related context.

"of course..." taeyong sighed. "shall i cancel all of your meetings for thursday morning then?"

yuta raised a brow at his secretary's teasing. "i have a good work-life balance, no need for that."

"good work-life balance, yeah." taeyong hummed. "we saw that perfectly the day of the car fair."

"are you still mad at me for that?" yuta asked with a sigh.

"what if i am?" the secretary asked, knowing very well that he wasn't mad at all because this had allowed him to spend more time alone with jaehyun.

"well... i can make it up for you by offering you a car, since you still don't have a nakamotors car." yuta replied with a smile. "no preferential tariff, just for free. as a gift to make you pardon me."

taeyong sighed, trying not to show his distress as yuta asked him – once again – if he wanted a nakamotors car or not. taeyong had always denied, claiming that he didn't need one, but it became harder each time. it was as if his secret was closer to being uncovered each time yuta asked him this question.

"yuta, this is ridiculous..." the secretary sighed, trying to find a way to make yuta stop proposing him a car.

"how is it ridiculous. you work for nakamotors, it seems normal that you can have a nakamotors car as well." yuta defended himself.

"so, does that mean that if you had been dealing drugs, you would have given me some for free?"taeyong crossed his arms, raising a brow at his boss who was dumbfounded by the question that had just been asked him.

"i... what does it have to do with- "

"the fact i am working for nakamotors doesn't necessarily mean that i should be using a nakamotors car." taeyong explained.

"but you could." yuta pointed out.

"i could." taeyong nodded slowly. "but i don't need one. not right now, at least."

yuta sighed, just like every time they had this conversation.

he couldn't understand why taeyong refused to accept yuta's offer to give him a nakamotors car. the cars were very performant, less polluting that traditional cars, very aesthetic, and given to him for free when they were otherwise very expensive.

and yet, taeyong always refused for some reason still unknown to yuta.

"well, know that one car is reserved for you if you ever change your mind..." the ceo mumbled, diverting his attention from taeyong to look at the screen of his computer.

taeyong looked sadly at his ceo, knowing very well that it pained him that taeyong kept refusing his gift, but at the same time, what would he do with a car he couldn't drive?

but this would change soon, that's what taeyong kept telling himself. with jaehyun teaching him how to drive, he'd be able to get a car, and then, to accept yuta's offer.

☏

seated behind the counter of the nano electronics shop, sicheng sighed loudly, a smile decorating his face as his mind was still far away, in japan, while his body had – unfortunately – had to come back to work.

he still couldn't believe everything that had happened over the past week, from meeting yuta in japan, to staying three days with him day and night. it felt completely surreal, and yet it had happened, and sadly, ended way too soon.

the sound of his phone ringing brought sicheng's mind back to where he really was, making him pick the device and accept the call quickly once he had made sure his boss was nowhere around.

"hello?" he called, straightening his posture.

"hello sicheng, it's me." jaehyun's voice said on the other side of the line, making sicheng smile.

"oh, hi." he smiled. "how have you been doing?"

"good, thank you." jaehyun simply replied. "i just wanted to make sure your boss hadn't scolded you for not showing up on friday."

"oh, no, he didn't." sicheng shook his head, despite jaehyun not being able to see. "he just said that my work at jung corporation must not be that amazing if you kept making me do interventions all day long."

"i'll find something to make him change his mind, don't worry." jaehyun explained.

"oh, no, it's fine." sicheng replied immediately. "thank you for covering for me already. i sincerely appreciate it."

"it's normal."

sicheng simply smiled at those words, realsing how much jaehyun had changed these past months. he sounded nothing like the man he fist had met that night at jung corporation, the cold-hearted ceo who cared about nothing but his business and his money. now, jaehyun seemed more open, more caring and more human.

the chinese male somehow hoped that he had had some kind of influence over the ceo who had always been on his own and who had suddenly had to rely on someone else. surely that hanging out with sicheng had allowed him to open more and stop being such a jerk.

"huh... so, how was japan?" jaehyun asked after a short silence.

"it was really nice. i could find a few pieces of electronics that we don't have here. and i learnt so much things as well!" sicheng happily shared his discoveries, his eyes full of stars as he recalled how amazed he had been in this tech world.

"i'm glad that you had fun." jaehyun said. "and... what about the weekend?"

the fake-secretary frowned. "what about- oh, the weekend..." sicheng realised what jaehyun meant. "you mean, with yuta?"

"yeah. how was it?"

sicheng hesitated for a while before answering.

jaehyun surely wanted to know if he had managed to make yuta slip some business secrets. this was surely why jaehyun had agreed on sicheng staying a few days more in japan. there was nothing else than overtaking yuta's business that interested him, so yeah.

but at the same time, did sicheng really want to share what he had learnt about yuta? not that the ceo had shared secrets or anything, but he had opened to sicheng, and he surely trusted him with his secrets. the two of them had spent three full days together, somehow forgetting that they were a ceo and a secretary from rival companies. they had acted as if they were nothing but friends, and sicheng couldn't betray a friend like that.

"i... i didn't manage to get him slip any business secret if that's why you're asking." he replied in a low voice.

"i figured out you wouldn't." jaehyun simply said, no particular disappointment in his tone, which kind of surprised the electrical engineer. "i was asking how you liked your time with him. did he treat you nicely?"

the fake-secretary stayed silent for a few more seconds, frowning as he blinked a few times, wondering if he had heart jaehyun right or if his mind had made up something silly again.

why the hell would jaehyun ask him that? mostly when it was his business rival they were talking about.

"you seemed to have spent a nice time with him the other time so... i don't know, i wanted to know how things had been between you two this time." jaehyun spoke again when he noticed sicheng wasn't answering.

"w-well..." sicheng stuttered. "it was very nice. i really had a good time with him. he... yeah... he's a really nice and funny person to be around."

jaehyun snorted on the other side of the line. "this is hard to believe considering how arrogant he is."

"he's not like that, really." sicheng told. "he's acting arrogant because that's how people are in the industry, but i promise you he's someone very sensitive and caring."

"you sound like you're genuinely interested in him." jaehyun chuckled, making sicheng tense slightly. well, this was maybe because it was actually the case...

"i-i just..." sicheng stuttered. "i-i mean it. he's not what he seems to be. and i'm sure you and him could be good friends."

"we're business rivals, sicheng. we can't be friends." jaehyun replied immediately.

"i know you could." sicheng assured. "him and taeyong are not like the other ceos and secretaries of the sector."

jaehyun didn't answer, simply processing sicheng's words.

he had to admit, the engineer wasn't totally wrong. jaehyun knew that yuta was nothing like other ceos, first because he had worked his ass off to reach where he was now, and then, because he was younger than the others, with a newest vision of cars.

and then, taeyong was nothing like other secretaries as well. he really was something else, with an incredible duality, a genuine care of his boss and his company, and not for the business he was running.

sicheng wasn't entirely wrong on that, taeyong and yuta were nothing like other ceos and secretaries of the automobile sector, and this has to be what had helped them climbing all the way to the top so easily.

"i'm seeing yuta again on wednesday." sicheng informed as jaehyun hadn't replied to him. "i wanted to let you know."

"are you dating him?" the ceo questioned out of the blue, making sicheng's heart miss a beat in surprise.

"h-huh... i... i don't really know." he replied truthfully. sure, the two of them had gotten considerably closer after these three days in japan together, but they had never talked about the feelings they could have or gotten as far as intertwining each other's hands or kissing each other. sicheng would have liked to go this far, but he wasn't sure if it was yuta's case as well, so he wouldn't risk it.

"would you like to date him?" jaehyun rephrased his words, waiting for an honest answer from his fake-secretary.

sicheng gulped.

he needed to be honest, he couldn't just lie to jaehyun. but he was scared. what if jaehyun really hated the fact that he wanted to date his rival? sicheng was still supposed to be his secretary, so it would surely be considered inappropriate.

"i don't mind you dating him." jaehyun sighed as sicheng took too long to answer, surely too stressed to figure out what to say. "as long as you don't let him know what i'm up to, i'm fine with you having a relationship with him or whatever. i..." jaehyun paused for a second, taking a deep breath before saying words that he never imagined he would say. "...i trust you, sicheng."

the chinese male's heart missed a whole bung of beats at that.

he couldn't believe that jaehyun had just said that. not only, he didn't mind whatever was going on between yuta and sicheng, but also, he trusted sicheng.

this may seem like nothing but words spoken mindlessly, but sicheng knew that it was a big deal for jaehyun. as someone who was always on his own, trusting no one but himself – one of the reasons why he didn't have a secretary – the fact that he had said out loud that he trusted sicheng was unbelievable.

"y-yes, i... i do have feelings for him and... and i'd really like to date him if he was fine with it too."sicheng admitted with red cheeks. "and of course, i won't say anything about you or your business."

"great." jaehyun simply said as sicheng caught his breath.

there was a short silence, none of the two males knowing what to say in this exact moment.

the conversation had taken such an unexpected turn, and neither sicheng, nor jaehyun knew what to do about it. they were both somehow relieved in their own ways, on each side of the phone, but they didn't know how to express it to each other.

"s-sorry, i... i have a meeting starting in a while and i need to get ready." jaehyun cleard his throat after a few seconds. "call me if you need something, alright?"

"y-yeah, sure." sicheng nodded.

"see you, then. bye."

"b-bye..." sicheng replied before the call was ended, leaving him with a fast-beating heart and wide eyes, still trying to process what had happened.

damn, how much jaehyun had changed...

☏

"jaehyun?"

"mmh?"

"everything alright?"

the ceo didn't answer, his eyes staring into the void as he was sat on the passenger seat of his car, taeyong on the driver's seat as the two of them were on the familiar parking on which jaehyun was supposed to teach taeyong how to drive.

but unlike every other day – when jaehyun was very focused and taeyong stopped every now and then to ask him random questions about his life which ended up in them talking a lot and driving a little – it seemed like jaehyun was completely out of it while taeyong was willing to learn.

"jaehyun..." taeyong placed a gentle hand on the ceo's shoulder, immediately causing jaehyun to flinch badly and look to his side at a frightened taeyong who had pulled his hand back out of reflex.

"s-sorry." jaehyun apologised. "i was... thinking."

"is everything okay?" taeyong asked worriedly. "you seem tensed."

"i... i'm not sure." jaehyun replied honestly with a sigh, his thousands of thoughts running around every corner of his mind and preventing him to think straight.

"do you want to talk about it? it could help you feeling better." taeyong assured.

"no, it's fine." jaehyun immediately shook his head, refusing to voice his thoughts out in fear of them becoming true if he acknowledged them. "i'll just teach you. it will take my mind off things."

"are you sure?" taeyong asked. "we can stop there if you're not feeling like teaching me."

"i swear i'm fine." jaehyun assured. "so, let's just go."

taeyong hummed, following jaehyun's instructions as he taught him about the different commands of the dashboard, explaining when to use them and how to use them.

they went over the turning lights as well as the different types of car lights, but the whole time, jaehyun seemed completely distracted. he kept doing mistakes, saying things and the opposite a few seconds after, and taeyong noticed that it was getting harder and harder for jaehyun to concentrate.

"jaehyun?" he called, cutting jaehyun's rant about the windscreen wipers after he repeated the same thing for the fourth time already.

"yeah?" the ceo asked.

"i'm tried, do you mind if we go back home? we'll continue next time." he asked, knowing very well that jaehyun needed to rest because of how messy his mind currently was.

"h-huh, yeah okay." jaehyun nodded. "i'll take you back to your house, then." he informed before walking out of the car and heading to the driver's side as taeyong headed to the passenger's seat.

both of them buckled their seatbelts and jaehyun drove them away from the parking they were on, making his way back to taeyong's house.

the secretary waited for a few minutes before starting to talk, hoping that this would help jaehyun get his mind off things.

"so, what are you going to teach me next?" he asked, looking at the driver.

"i don't know yet." jaehyun answered, switching the turning light on before checking his blind spot and taking a turn.

"will you teach me how to use the wheel soon?" taeyong questioned with a smile. "i really want to see how it is."

"well, i should, but i don't know yet how to." jaehyun replied honestly, his messy thoughts organising for a second as he tried to think of a way to make taeyong use the wheel while driving.

"what do you mean?" taeyong frowned.

"when they teach you how to drive, they use cars with two sets of pedals, so the passenger can actually drive while you can use the wheel. but jung corporation cars don't have this feature yet."jaehyun simply explained.

taeyong looked down at his feet, trying to imagine pedals under them, as if he was in the driver's seat. such cars must be so cool.

the car fell in silence, taeyong looking carefully at how jaehyun studied his surroundings and checked the mirrors before doing anything. he also paid attention to his feet, seeing him pressing the clutch from time to time to change gears as well as pressing alternatively the gas pedal and the brake.

on his side, jaehyun's thoughts went back to a messy state as the conversation he had had with sicheng the day before haunted his head, making him wonder if he was going mad.

there had to be something wrong with him, he was not the type of person to ask about others and worry about them, and yet it seemed like now, others was all he could think about.

ever since he had had this conversation with sicheng, his words had been echoing in his mind.

yuta and taeyong are not like the other ceos and secretaries of the sector.

indeed, jaehyun couldn't deny those words. and so, his annoying mind had decided to make him remember vividly all those times yuta and taeyong had precisely not acted like the other ceos and secretaries of the sector.

this had started with their first encounter, when taeyong had fallen into his arms and that they had gotten caught by the ceo of nakamotors.

then, the way yuta had seemed way more interested in jaehyun's secretary rather than him, showing that he paid much more attention to the people rather than to the business.

also, how taeyong always seemed to bring him black tea, remembering that jaehyun didn't drink coffee, but only black tea – he still had no clue how the secretary found out though.

and let's not forget about the countless times taeyong had been caught staring at the ceo, or how yuta had had a teasing battle with jaehyun's secretary.

yeah, indeed, neither yuta nor taeyong were like other ceos and secretaries of the sector.

but if only this was the only thing on his mind...

unfortunately, it wasn't. and that other thing was even more bothering than remembering how unique yuta and taeyong really were.

as annoying as it was, jaehyun couldn't get taeyong off his mind, and his brain kept making unwanted parallels between his and taeyong's building relationship and yuta and sicheng's evident love story.

first of all, he couldn't understand why his brain kept linking those two stories.

it was clear as day that sicheng had developed those feelings for the unique ceo, and yuta could be returing them, judging by how he acted around the chinese male.

but now, for jaehyun and taeyong, it was completely different. sure, taeyong had developed feelings for jaehyun, they were obvious, but jaehyun had no feelings for the secretary. of course not, he was only doing this with the goal to overtake nakamoto's business, nothing else.

he didn't drive taeyong around because he wanted to make sure the guy was safe and sound.

he didn't tell him he'd teach him how to drive because he was scared yuta discovered his secret.

he didn't plan driving lessons and business meetings every other day because he wanted to see the secretary often.

and he definitely didn't lean forwards at the hotel after caging taeyong between his body and the door because taeyong's lips had seemed so tempting.

definitely not.

or perhaps was he mistaken?

he did feel better knowing that taeyong was safe in his car, and not in a random taxi that could be not respecting speed limitations and endangering himself.

he did feel better knowing that taeyong would learn how to drive and that he wouldn't need to lie to his boss and keep secrets from him anymore.

he did feel better knowing that he'd be able to meet taeyong in a meeting or during one of their lessons, meaning that they'll be able to talk mindlessly and he'll be able to witness the secretary sharing his worries and his life in heartfelt conversations.

however, he didn't feel better yet knowing that he hadn't been able to get a taste of the secretary's pretty lips, because these thoughts had been annoyingly running around his mind for a while, urging him to do something and get what he wanted.

but this was only happening because he was getting more and more motivated to crush yuta's business and take the spotlight from him, right?

it definitely wasn't because he had lost at his own game and let his feelings grow for his rival's secretary when he was supposed to make the other fall for him only, right?

it definitely wasn't because he wanted nothing more than to hold the secretary in his arms and hold him closer to get the love and comfort he needed and hadn't been receiving from anyone since the beginning of his life, right?

his mind fully clouded with those annoying thoughts, jaehyun slammed on the brakes, stopping the car abruptly at a stop and almost causing taeyong to hit his head on the dashboard at how hard he had pounded.

"w-woah." the secretary chuckled, placing a hand over his heart.

"come to the driver's seat." jaehyun stated, looking straight in front of him.

"huh?" taeyong looked at him with wide eyes before looking through the windshield. "j-jaehyun, we're in the middle of the road."

"i know, come to the driver's seat quick before a car arrives." jaehyun repeated, not diverting his eyes from the road.

"but why?" he asked. "i can't drive, i don't know how to use the pedals. hell, i can't even start the car!"

"you said you really wanted to know how to use the wheel. now's your chance, come to the driver's seat." the ceo explained as if it was logical.

taeyong blinked a few times before humming as he realised that jaehyun didn't seem to be joking. he got out of the passenger seat and walked to the other side of the car, opening the door as jaehyun unbuckled his seatbelt. thankfully, they were on a road where not many cars passed, allowing them to do so in the middle of the road, at the stop.

"sit on my lap." jaehyun simply said, making taeyong choke on his saliva.

"what?!"

"how do you expect me to use the pedals if i'm not seated there?" he asked with a brow raised. "you take the wheel, i take the pedals."

"j-jaehyun, this is not a good idea, i- "

"there's a car that's coming." jaehyun stated simply, looking in the rear-view mirror and noticing a car coming their way.

"oh god." taeyong gasped, seeing the car approaching as he was still standing on the road, the car door opened.

"come on, get on my lap."

"i-i..." taeyong stuttered.

jaehyun sighed, wrapping an arm around taeyong's waist and grabbing his arm with his other hand, pulling the korean secretary on his lap before closing the car's door, releasing the handbrake and switching to first gear to start the car.

"fuck, jaehyun! what do i do!" the secretary panicked as the car started moving.

"take the wheel and steer the car." jaehyun simply told, lifting his foot off the gas pedal and pressing the clutch before switching to 2nd gear as taeyong's shaky hands grabbed the wheel.

"i-i'm scared..." the secretary declared despite being on a straight road.

"there's nothing to be scared about." jaehyun assured, glancing at the road over taeyong's shoulder to make sure they weren't in the middle of the road. "we're in your neighbourhood, so we're almost there. turn right over there." he added, pointing at a turn on the road.

jaehyun slowed down the car and put the turning light before taeyong slowly turned the wheel, making the car turn and end up on a perpendicular road to the one they previously were on.

"oh my god, i made it!" taeyong exclaimed excitedly, slightly bouncing on jaehyun's lap as the ceo changed gears again.

"come on, stay calm." he stated, his left arm wrapping around taeyong's waist to keep him steady, causing the secretary to flush red as he acknowledged their position.

he was sitting on jaehyun's lap, his legs open so that jaehyun could have access to the pedals between his legs. the ceo's right arm was on the gear stick and his left one securely wrapped around taeyon's waist, occasionally reaching for the bottom of the steering wheel when taeyong didn't direct the car correctly. and if this wasn't enough already, his chin was propped on taeyong's right shoulder so that he could see what was going on in front of them.

needless to say, there was little to no space between their bodies, and taeyong's body was going mad at such proximity.

jaehyun was in a similar state as the secretary for once, his heart feeling so light now that he had the secretary's body pressed against his. it felt warm and comfortable, and the ceo badly needed this. it immediately had a calming effect on the ceo whose thoughts had suddenly stopped bothering him because his mind and body were too busy focusing on the male sitting on top of him to bother thinking about his messy life.

a few minutes later, taeyong had successfully brought them in front of his apartment building. jaehyun stopped the car, leaving it on 1st gear and keeping his foot on the clutch.

"switch the gear back to neutral position." he instructed to which taeyong looked down at the gear and followed the track all the way to a neutral position.

"and pull the handbrake." jaehyun added to which taeyong grabbed the handbrake and pulled it up, making it creak.

"and we're all good now." he finally added before turning the key and removing the contact to turn the car off.

with flushed cheeks, taeyong turned around, sitting sideways on jaehyun's lap despite the very limited space that there was in the car.

"so, how was it to steer the car?" jaehyun asked with a smile, his left hand still on the small of taeyong's back.

"it was exciting." taeyong replied truthfully. "but it's scary."

"it gets easier the more you drive, don't worry."

"i'm not worrying." taeyong chuckled. "i have the best teacher so..."

jaehyun smiled at taeyong's words, fighting the urge he had to pull the other male in a hug and get comfort from his warm body.

he had no idea why he was craving such things, he had been perfectly fine all these years, living without the comforting warmth provided by heart whelming hugs. so why was he suddenly feeling the urge to be taken in someone's arms and to experience the pleasant tingle coming from this physical contact?

or perhaps, it wasn't just from any person's arms, but just from taeyong's...

"i-i should go..." tayeong chuckled nervously. "thank you for teaching me once again." he added before opening the car door and hopping off jaehyun's lap.

jaehyun got out of the car as well standing up in front of taeyong as the secretary looked up at him with a shy smile.

"we'll meet each other again soon, then?" taeyong questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"would thursday be okay for our next lesson?" jaehyun questioned. "i'll pick you up at work, as usual."

"sure." taeyong nodded, a wide smile plastered on his face at the thought of seeing jaehyun again so soon. "i'll get going. see you..." the secretary then declared, waving his hand at the ceo shyly before walking away towards the main entrance of his apartment building.

jaehyun stayed where he was unmoving his eyes stuck on the place taeyong had been standing in just a while ago.

a bitter feeling took over his chest, something he identified as a regret of inaction.

something he should had done but hadn't taken action to do.

something that would have relieved him a lot, but that he had been too busy trying to push it away.

something which now hurt, knowing that he perhaps wouldn't feel able to do ever again if not now.

something which was eating him from the inside, and which would still be in the future if he didn't do it.

and so, the ceo acted quickly, diverting his eyes from the void towards the entrance of taeyong's apartment building.

jaehyun ran to the door, arriving just in time to place his hand on it and slam it shut again before taeyong could pull it all the way back and make his way inside. and so, the door blocked in a closed position with the support of jaehyun's hand against it, the ceo turned taeyong around, blocking him between the ceo and the closed door, their bodies so close that taeyong could feel the heat radiating off jaehyun's body.

"j-jaehyun, what are you doing?" the secretary stuttered, his cheeks red in surprise as he never expected to be pinned to the front door of his building by his boss' rival.

"i don't want to regret not doing it." jaehyun simply stated, his eyes glued to taeyong's glistening orbs as he was still caging the boy between his body and the door.

taeyong frowned, his heart beating madly in his chest at their proximity. he didn't understand what was happening. "w-what do you- "

and before taeyong could ask further, jaehyun leant forwards gluing his lips to taeyong's in a long peck without a warning.