it seemed like this abandoned parking had become their second home, the place where they could be themselves and talk freely, without fearing to be heard and seen.

they somehow both had been looking forward to meeting each other there again to spend a nice evening together.

"so, ready to learn how to use the pedals?" jaehyun questioned as he looked at the passenger's seat where taeyong was looking at him with wide eyes.

"the pedals?!" he repeated. "you think i can learn how to use them now?!"

"well, yeah." jaehyun nodded. "you'll eventually have to learn."

"o-okay then."

quite surprisingly, it wasn't awkward for any of them.

similarly to the way jaehyun had requested them to forget about everything that had happened after the leaders' seminar, it seemed like the two of them had decided to forget as well what had happened after a few lessons ago – except that neither jaehyun nor taeyong had requested it, it had seemed to be a silent mutual agreement.

they had kissed, well, jaehyun had pressed his lips against taeyong's in a quick peck. taeyong hadn't even been able to answer to the kiss with how fast it occurred and how shocked he was. both of them had been dreading their next meeting, imagining that things would be awkward now that they had shared a peck, but it was the contrary actually.

neither of them brought it up, both acting like it never happened, and being relieved that neither of them asked about it – they had no clue what they could answer to that.

so, surprisingly, they were doing perfectly fine, absolutely not feeling awkward with each other, and enjoying their lesson time knowing they could talk freely to each other and that it was a nice way to forget about all of their other problems.

"come to the driver's seat. i'll start by showing you how to start the car."

taeyong nodded, unbuckling his seatbelt and walking to jaehyun's side, opening the door and hesitantly taking a sit on jaehyun's lap. he was still quite shy doing that, despite the fact he had done so during their past lessons so that jaehyun could drive while he steered the wheel.

"okay, look down at the pedals, i'll show you." jaehyun informed, adjusting taeyong's position on his lap before pressing on the clutch and switching to 1st gear. jaehyun then placed his right foot on the gas pedal, pressing it gently and causing the engine to roar as he slowly lifted his left foot of the clutch until it wasn't touching it anymore, the action causing the car to start rolling on the road and gain in speed. jaehyun's right foot then gently pressed the brake and his left one pressed on the clutch again until the car came to a complete halt, allowing him to switch the gear back to the neutral position and remove his foot of the clutch.

"so, the clutch is something very sensitive. you need to be careful with it. pressing on it allows you to change gears. however, once you change gears, you need to lift your foot from the clutch very slowly, so that you don't stall." jaehyun explained carefully to which taeyong nodded. "then, to start the car, once you have your foot on the clutch and that you switched to 1st gear, you need to add power for the car to start. that's why you need to press the gas pedal. but once again, you need to do it slowly, because you don't want the car engine to roar too loud and to break." he continued giving the secretary instructions, taeyong listening to his every word very attentively, almost forgetting that he was sitting on the male's lap. "so, i'll show you again. foot on the clutch... switch to 1st gear... put your feet on the gas pedal and press lightly... then lift the foot from the clutch gently... and the car is starting." he finished, doing the movements and starting the car as he spoke to illustrate his sayings.

jaehyun showed taeyong how to do a few more times before telling the secretary to try himself. he gently lifted the male by his waist to help him closing his legs and placing them above the pedals, trying his best not to have his legs bothering him, but keeping them close enough to take the pedals if something ever went wrong.

despite his nervousness, taeyong tried his best to follow jaehyun's words, going step by step to start the car. however, it wasn't as easy as jaehyun made it seem.

"you need to press a bit more on the clutch and a bit less on the gas pedal." jaehyun informed, looking over taeyong's shoulder at his feet.

"how can you know that from just looking at my feet, it's so hard!" the secretary whined before starting everything over again.

"everything's not about seeing." jaehyun stated. "sometimes it's about hearing and feeling."

taeyong blinked, concentrating on his movements once again and trying to start the car. inevitably, he wasn't used to the sensitivity of the pedals yet, and the second he pressed on the gas pedal, the engine roared loudly.

"hear this?" jaehyun asked. "this sounds like too much gas and not enough clutch." he explained, being used to the noises made by the car. "lift your foot from the gas pedal a bit." he added, his right hand reaching for the side of taeyong's thigh, right next to his knee, and lifting it up slightly to make the deafening sound of the engine die down. taeyong's body tensed at the intimate touch, his hands sweating slightly on the wheel as the hairs bristled on his body.

and despite his nervousness, taeyong's left foot pressed a bit more on the clutch, and this caused the car to start moving very slowly.

"o-oh!" the secretary gasped in amazement.

"very good." jaehyun praised him. "now, slowly push on the gas pedal... and lift your foot from the clutch..." he continued, his right hand that previously was holding taeyong's thigh up slowly pushed it down as he reached for the left thigh with his other hand to help taeyong lift his left foot from the clutch.

and so, the car started rolling under taeyong's amazed eyes.

"now, remove your foot from the gas pedal and put it on the brake." jaehyun ordered. "and as you press slowly on the brake, press all the way on the clutch."

tayeong thought for a few seconds, trying to recall which foot needed to press which pedal as the car started to jump slightly, sign that he needed to press the clutch.

however, kind of messing up with the instructions, taeyong's foot hit the brake all the way down while he slowly pressed the clutch with his left foot.

and inevitably, this caused the car to come to a complete halt quite violently despite the speed of the car not being too high, thus making taeyong's body jerk forward and his head to almost bang against the wheel. almost because jaehyun had sensed that this was bound to happen, and his arm had securely wrapped around the male's chest, pressing him firmly against his own chest to prevent him from smacking his head.

"w-woah, sorry." taeyong let out, with a gasp, his heart beating so fast in his chest as his cheeks reddened from being saved by jaehyun.

"it's okay, don't worry." jaehyun pulled his arm away. "it's normal to struggle at first. it will get easier the more you train. but it's not very intuitive at first."

"yeah..." taeyong nodded. "so, i need to press the brake less harshly to stop the car?"

"exactly." jaehyun nodded. "roughly, the car comes to a halt when the brake reached the furthest point it can reach. so, if you press it abruptly, then the car stops abruptly as well. and if you press it gently, then the car slows down until it comes to a complete halt."

"can i try again?" tayeong asked after listening to jaehyun's words, determined to succeed now that he had more explanations on what to do and what not to do.

"of course, that's the whole point of me teaching you, isn't it?" the ceo chuckled.

and so, that's how jaehyun and taeyong spent a few hours on this abandoned parking, jaehyun helping taeyong to practice how to start a car.

the korean secretary kept trying, never giving up and always asking more precisions to jaehyun who was very happy to help him. taeyong stalled the car quite a few times, sometimes made the engine roar a bit too loudly as well, and was too fast to lift his foot from the clutch, but after a while, he had finally started to understand how to start and stop the car

and honestly, when he had first tried starting this very car hours prior, he had seriously wondered how he would even be able to start it one day. but well, jaehyun seemed to be an amazing teacher, because all it took were a few hours, lots of mistakes and even more wonderful corrections for taeyong to be able to start the car and stop it without jaehyun's help.

☏

"d-do you have some plans for tonight?" taeyong hesitated, his hand on the door handle as he was about to get out of jaehyun's car as the ceo had drove him back to his apartment building after their driving lesson.

"no, nothing, why?" the ceo questioned.

"well..." taeyong gulped, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat out of nervousness. "...i-i... i wanted to invite you over for dinner... a-as a thank you for being my teacher."

"you don't need to, i'm just doing that to help." jaehyun answered immediately, now wanting to make it seem like taeyong owed him something since he had agreed to teach him.

"no, yeah, but like... huh..." taeyong hesitated. "it was like... as friends, you know? i'd be happy to have dinner with you. a-and yeah, at the same time it would be a nice way to thank you for bearing with me and teaching me how to drive."

and well, all it took was a bit of convincing for jaehyun to park his car on taeyong's parking spot – which was obviously vacant – and follow the male up to his apartment. and so, this was how jaehyun and taeyong had ended up around an hour later, eating pizzas that they had ordered on taeyong's couch while looking for something to watch on tv.

"we don't need to find something to watch, it's fine, let's just eat." jaehyun stated between pizza bites.

"it is definitely not fine." taeyong spoke sternly. "how can someone not know what 'netflix and chill' means?" he added with a scoff. because yes, when they had come to wonder what to do while waiting for the pizzas to arrive, taeyong had proposed to just 'netflix and chill' but it seemed like jaehyun had no idea what this meant.

"how is it even problematic?" the ceo rolled his eyes at taeyong's shocked state.

"because!" taeyong exclaimed. "look, you're my driving teacher, and i'll be your 'netflix and chill' teacher."

jaehyun chuckled at taeyong's words, somehow finding the way he was getting all worked up over something so small cute. "alright, teach me how to 'netflix and chill' then."

the two of them continued eating while looking for something nice to watch, taeyong often asking jaehyun for his opinion about movies or series, only to receive uninterested nods from the ceo who didn't seem interested in any of the content available on nexflix.

this went on for a while, and at some point, the two had finished eating their pizzas and were just seated on the couch next to each other while taeyong scrolled through netflix, only to receive barely any feedback from jaehyun.

"and i suppose that this one is going to be 'too ciché' as well..." the secretary raised a brow, looking at jaehyun as the male was just staring back at him with a smirk and arms crossed over his chest.

"seems like you're starting to know me well." he simply answered, earning an annoyed sigh from taeyong.

"what do you even like to watch?" he asked exasperatedly. "rom-coms are too cliché, comedies are too cringy, fantasy is for teenagers, animes are cartoons, action movies are farfetched, science fiction is unrealistic, horror is- "

taeyong was never able to finish his sentence. jaehyun was kind of fed up of hearing him rambling, and so, he had decided to act quickly, scooting closer to the secretary on the couch and laying his lips over his in a second peck to shut him up. and it seemed to work pretty well as taeyong now had his eyes wide open while staring at jaehyun who had just pulled back.

"you're not a very good 'netflix and chill' teacher." the ceo said simply, sitting back on the couch. "you didn't convince me."

"w-what did you just do?" taeyong stuttered, his cheeks bright red as the remote control had fallen from his hands in shock.

"i shut you up." jaehyun replied.

"b-by kissing me." taeyong pointed out.

"yeah, well. my objective was to shut you up, and i succeeded, so that's what' important." jaehyun shrugged, fighting his urge to smile as he tried to appear nonchalant in front of taeyong. he couldn't recongise himself at all, the secretary seemed to have casted a spell over him.

"w-why did you do it?" taeyong continued stuttering, his eyes still wide as he stared at the ceo.

"because you were rambling and complaining about my taste in movies." jaehyun explained simply.

"n-no, i mean... why did you kiss me?" taeyong asked shyly. "now, and the other day too."

"oh..."

jaehyun stayed silent, not answering immediately to give himself some time to find a justification to give the other male.

an honest answer would be that he felt the urge to do it, because yes, seeing taeyong acting so cute and so whiny, the ceo had had a hard time resisting and gave in to the temptation to taste the secretary's lips. but he couldn't say that out loud now, could he?

"w-well..." jaehyun stuttered, very not usual for him, but it seemed like taeyong caused him to do lots of unusual things. "did you not like it?"

"i-it's not the question!" taeyong answered with flushed cheeks, giving jaehyun a very obvious answer to his question. "i-i..."

the ceo studied carefully taeyong's behaviour, somehow getting worried at how stressed taeyong seemed right now, his hands trembling, eyes looking in every direction except for jaehyun's and his lips quivering, causing him to bite on them frequently.

a wave of guilt took over jaehyun as he noticed the state taeyong was putting himself in.

"h-hey, taeyong..." he whispered, scooting his body closer to the male and placing a hand over taeyong's, hoping to reassure him. "calm down... what's happening?"

a first sniffle was heard, alarming jaehyun who felt a pang in his chest as he realised that taeyong's eyes had filled up with tears and that some of them had started to cascade down his cheeks.

"i-i d-don't know what's happening..." the secretary admitted, shaken up by his own state and emotions, not knowing how to deal with them.

"it's okay, you're just overwhelmed." jaehyun stated, using one of his hands to cup taeyong's cheek and make the secretary look into his eyes. "look at me... just breathe... deep breaths... everything's okay..."

taeyong blindly listened to jaehyun's advice, taking deep breath while staring deep into jaehyun's chocolate orbs which held so much care and worry. he had never seen his eyes reflecting those emotions, it was a first for taeyong, and maybe this was what had pushed him to act and lean forwards to glue their lips together for the second time of the night.

contrarily to their two previous kisses, this one wasn't a quick peck that was meant to shut the other up. no, this time it looked more like a kiss, surely because taeyong's eyes had closed on their own as he pressed himself closer to jaehyun's body.

the ceo's hand was still cupping taeyong's jaw, and as his eyes fluttered close with the kiss as well, he allowed the hand to slide from his jaw to his nape, entangling the fingers with taeyong's silky hair.

neither of their lips moving against each other's, the two of them pulled away from the kiss but kept their faces impossibly close. jaehyun's hand was still on taeyong's nape as both of their eyes opened to stare at each other, wondering what had just happened.

and the next thing they knew, they both craved more.

with a desperate sigh, taeyong leant forwards again, the force he put in the movement causing his body to bump with jaehyun's and making the two of them fall in a lying position on the couch, jaehyun on his back with taeyong hovering over him as their lips were once again stuck together. and this time, instead of just being pressed together, their lips started moving, getting involved in a powerful dance that caused an army of butterflies to take over their stomachs.

jaehyun's hands found their way around taeyong's waist, his fingers gripping on his shirt and digging into the soft flesh of the boy's stomach while taeyong's hands reached for the ceo's neck, pulling their faces close and making sure that they were never parting.

it didn't take long for their tongues to be involved in the kiss, taeyong immediately submitting to jaehyun's dominance as the ceo invaded the secretary's mouth with his wet muscle, tasting every inch of him.

the kiss lasted for long minutes, the two of them barely taking the time to breathe until it wasn't possible anymore. and so, they both pulled away slowly, their eyes opening and falling into each other's, both being somehow mesmerised by the string of saliva that still connected them.

and as they both panted after the intense kiss they had just shared – a real kiss this time – the two males acknowledged their position and their actions, immediately widening their eyes and jumping away from each other to sit on each end of the couch.

"i-i'm s-sorry, i-i..." taeyong stuttered, gulping down his saliva – and probably a bit of jaehyun's since they had been kissing so passionately a while ago. "i-i don't know what h-happened, i-i just..."

"y-yeah, i... i don't know either..." jaehyun scratched his nape, looking down at himself only to realise that his shirt was completely crumpled – probably from having taeyong hovering him while they made out.

and well, this was all it took for an awkward silence to take over the room.

so, sure, it wasn't as awkward as this drive back home from the leader's seminar, but it had to be part of both taeyong and jaehyun's top 5 awkward moments in life.

"i... i just remembered that i need to... finish something for work." jaehyun stated after a while, the two of them still being on each end of the sofa.

"o-oh, alright." taeyong nodded, not looking at the ceo.

"i-i'll just go, then." jaehyun declared before standing up and colleting the two boxes of pizza on the table in front of them. "i'll throw them on my way out."

taeyong simply stared at him as the ceo stood up and picked his suit that was hanging by the entrance door.

"g-goodbye, i... see you around." he added before opening the front door and leaving the apartment, the two empty pizza boxes under his arm and his suit in the other hand.

and with that, he left taeyong alone in his living room, sitting on his couch, his emotions a complete mess, his heart pleading him to kiss jaehyun again, and his mind wondering if he had messed everything or if jaehyun would ever accept to talk to him again.

☏

jaehyun didn't exactly know what he was doing in front of nano electronics when he should be at work, dealing with car stuff. but no, he didn't really feel like it.

ever since the night before, after he had stormed out of taeyong's appartement after feeling the most powerful emotions he had ever been confronted to, jaehyun had felt the need to talk to someone, preferably a friend that could reassure him and make him think about something else. and well, jaehyun didn't have such things as friends; he had sicheng, and that was all, this electrical engineer that he had met hazardously one night and who now had earned a special place in his heart.

"hello, welcome to nano electronics. how may i help you?" the boy behind the counter exclaimed as jaehyun walked inside, causing him to head to the counter.

"hello, huh... is sicheng anywhere around?" jaehyun asked, looking around the shop and hoping to find the chinese male.

"dong sicheng?" the worker raised a brow. "he currently is on an intervention. but i can tell him that you passed when he comes back if you'd like."

"where is he intervening?" jaehyun asked, ignoring the worker's words.

"well, i'm sorry but i'm not allowed to share such information."

"it is an urgent matter." jaehyun said through gritted teeth.

"as urgent as it is, i'm afraid i won't be able to help."

jaehyun sighed, being this close to throwing a tantrum. "can you call your boss for me?"

"i... alright. please wait for a minute."

the ceo let out an annoyed sigh as he tapped his fingers on the counter in nervousness. why did he have to feel like this? something had to be wrong with him.

plus, once he would have sicheng in front of him, he definitely wouldn't tell him that he had kissed taeyong, because there was no way he'd tell the male about his plan to get to yuta through taeyong. not when sicheng had feelings for yuta, and definitely not when the chinese male hates lies so much. this would only deceive him, and having sicheng being mad at him was the last thing he needed right now, when it seemed like everything about his life was a complete mess.

"mister jung!" sicheng's boss exclaimed as he noticed the familiar male. "is there a problem at jung corporation? do you need our help to fix it?" he asked, the worker's eyes widening next to him, surely because he hadn't recognised the ceo before.

"can you call sicheng please." jaehyun answered simply.

"sicheng is intervening at a client's place. he is currently unavailable."

"then, send another worker to intervene and ask sicheng to come back. it is very urgent." jaehyun explained, his voice almost threatening.

thankfully, after a few more minutes, jaehyun was able to convince the male to call sicheng and have him come back to the shop.

so, jaehyun was told to wait in one of the rooms while sicheng came back from his intervention.

the ceo obliged, sitting down on one of the chairs before taking his head between his hands to think.

he didn't know how, but at some point, his life had taken such an unexpected turn which had caused it to become completely messy.

it had all started with yuta and nakamotors, appearing from nowhere and threatening his business.

then, this annoying congress for which he needed to find himself someone to play his secretary the night before, which had resulted in him picking an electrical engineer as a secretary.

after that, the plan he had created to get rid of nakamotors which seemed to be slowly working but had now started messing completely with his mind and preventing him to follow it correctly.

and finally, the feelings that were growing inside of him and which he found completely overwhelming, whether it was what he felt for sicheng or for taeyong.

and of course, let's not mention about the pression his father put on him, and how he now threatened to take the business back from jaehyun – something that he was able to do, jaehyun definitely didn't doubt it.

so, yeah, his life was a mess, and he badly needed someone to help him putting it back on the right track. but how could he do that when he had always been used to dealing with things on his own? and how the hell would he be able to go back to the way things were before considering that half of the elements causing messiness in his life wouldn't disappear and leave him alone.

"jaehyun!" sicheng exclaimed, slamming the door of the room open and rushing to the ceo's side. "is everything alright? my boss said you had something very urgent to tell me."

jaehyun blinked, looking up at sicheng who was panting and had red cheeks, sign that he had come back there in a hurry, just for jaehyun. damn, if only each and every employee could be as devoted as sicheng was... and jaehyun wasn't even his boss, so what must it be with his real boss.

"i... how are you doing?" jaehyun hesitated, pulling the empty chair next to him so that sicheng could sit down.

"i'm good. what is the problem?" the engineer asked again.

"it's nothing, really." jaehyun shook his head. "i just needed to know how you were doing."

sicheng raised a sceptical brow, looking at the ceo curiously.

he wasn't behaving like usual, that was for sure. he seemed much more vulnerable and lost, as if he didn't know what to do.

"so... you're telling me that you asked my boss to replace me during an intervention and come back all the way here to know how i was doing?" the chinese male asked.

"well, yeah..." jaehyun replied with a shrug, his eyes fixed on the table in front of them.

"for real?" sicheng questioned again, earning a nod from jaehyun. "are you sure...?"

jaehyun sighed, swallowing back his pride. "i... i needed to talk to a friend..." he admitted in a low voice, sicheng's body freezing as he heard those words.

there definitely was something wrong with him.

jaehyun had never been like this. sure, he had started to warm up to sicheng these past days, but it had never been like that. jaehyun had never showed him this side of him which somehow looked pathetic, as if he was a child discovering the harshness of life for the first time.

sicheng stood up, his sudden movement causing the feet of the chair to screech against the floor and catching jaehyun's attention.

"what?" the ceo asked, looking up at sicheng who was standing right by his side.

"stand up." sicheng ordered to which the ceo obliged, pulling his chair back and standing up until he was facing sicheng.

and then, sicheng took a step forward, opening his arms and wrapping them around jaehyun's torso to pull the ceo in a hug.

"s-sicheng, what are you- "

"you look and sound like you need a hug." sicheng cut the ceo's words, tightening his embrace around the ceo. "just relax and enjoy the warmth that it can provide you."

and following his friend's words, jaehyun allowed himself to relax and melt into the hug, his arms also wrapping around sicheng to hold him tight against him.

sicheng was right, hugs provided a lot of warmth, and jaehyun wasn't sure he'd be able to let go so soon with how comfortable it felt. his insides tingled in a pleasant way, his lips immediately curving up as the embrace had caused a serotonin boost to happen in his body, making him feel much better.

and so, he had only one thing on his mind right now; he had made the right decision to go to sicheng.

"so, tell me..." sicheng spoke again, not letting go of the hug. "what has you needing a hug so bad?"

"it's nothing, really..." jaehyun simply replied, not wanting to tell sicheng about his plan and taeyong right now.

"doesn't look like nothing. i've never seen you in such a state." sicheng chuckled, and somehow the way he worried and cared for jaehyun made the ceo all mushy on the inside. it was nice to be surrounded with people who were willing to make you feel happy.

"it's my dad... he's been stressing me a lot... threatening me as well." jaehyun explained, knowing that his father's phone call from a few nights before was one of the main reasons why he was feeling so bad. "just ceo stuff, i guess."

"i'm sorry that your father is putting so much pressure on you." sicheng said, and jaehyun swears he could imagine him pouting while speaking despite him not being able to see since they were still hugging.

"he has high expectations and... yeah, he thinks i'm not going to meet them." jaehyun continued with a sigh.

"well, he definitely doesn't know how much of an amazing ceo you are." sicheng replied. "you impress me a lot, and... i'd be very happy to be in a company led by someone like you. i'd really like it if you were my boss."

jaehyun didn't answer. he simply tightened the hug, heaving out a long sigh.

"thank you so much, sicheng." he spoke in a low voice. "i really appreciate you lifting my mood up."

sicheng pulled away from the hug as jaehyun let go of him, allowing them to look in each other's eyes again. "it's normal. that's what friends are for, isn't it?" he added, playfully punching jaehyun's shoulder which had jaehyun smiling back at him.

the two males stayed silent for a while before jaehyun spoke again.

"so, did you get to see yuta again last wednesday?" he asked with a small smirk now that he was aware of the boy's feelings.

"yes, we had a date..." sicheng replied shyly, his cheeks becoming red.

"what did you guys do?"

"he brought me to a nice restaurant, and then to the casino." sicheng explained. "and after that, we just talked about everything and anything in his car, like last time."

"he seems to genuinely like you." jaehyun hummed, somehow feeling happy by seeing sicheng so delighted himself.

"i-i guess so..." sicheng giggled, his cheeks still red. "by the way... he mentioned about a seminar this week. i think it will be tomorrow, but i'm not sure."

"yes, tomorrow." jaehyun nodded. "why?"

"he asked if we'd be there, but i told him i hadn't discussed about it with you yet." sicheng explained.

"i'm going. it's probably not going to be very interesting, lots of meetings, and no interventions from any of us, but yeah, i'm a ceo so i must go." jaehyun explained.

"w-would you mind if i joined then?" sicheng asked shyly, fidgeting with his fingers.

"of course not." jaehyun shook his head. "i'll deal with your boss, don't worry about that."

"thank you." sicheng smiled sincerely at the korean ceo.

jaehyun smiled back at the chinese male, staying silent for a while.

sicheng then cleared his throat, looking into the ceo's eyes. "so... aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"yeah." jaehyun nodded. "i am."

"well, i am too." sicheng chuckled. "and yet someone had me leaving my intervention for a hug."

"i'm sorry about that." jaehyun rubbed his nape.

"it's fine. i'm glad you came to see me. means a lot to me." sicheng smiled.

"i'll let you go back to work, then. i'll talk with your boss for tomorrow."

"thank you!" sicheng exclaimed. "see you tomorrow, then."

"sure, see you." jaehyun waved at the engineer as sicheng left the room.

jaehyun stayed a few more seconds on his own, simply processing everything that had happened.

it was crazy how powerful a simple hug could be...