the ceo of jung corporation flipped the pages of the 'asian sales 2023' report rapidly, trying to find the part where his marketing team had done recommendations of action plans for the year 2024 regarding the places of production and the techniques of sales.

jaehyun's eyes ran across the pages reading every word quickly as he tried interpreting the numbered data and drawing conclusions for his 2024 business plan.

however, he was disturbed in his work by the telephone on the corner of his desk, ringing loudly and breaking the silence that had taken over the office.

jaehyun glanced at the screen of his business landline, frowning at the unknown number that was displayed. he picked up the call anyway.

"jung corporation, ceo jung speaking." he spoke almost robotically as he placed the phone next to his hear.

"minster jung, it's a pleasure to have you on the phone. i'm yuta nakamoto, from nakamotors." the voice on the other side sounded way too cheerful for jaehyun's liking.

"mister nakamoto." the ceo sighed. "the pleasure is all mine." he added, trying his best to sound sincere when his words were everything but sincere. jaehyun had been thinking about what to do next non-stop since the end of the congress, wondering what yuta had planned for the next year, and hoping that he'll be able to overtake him for good and crush him to nothing.

"you asked taeyong to tell me to call you to fix a location for the meeting tomorrow." nakamotors' ceo spoke again through the phone.

"taeyong?" jaehyun frowned, repeating the unfamiliar name.

"yes, taeyong, my secretary." yuta specified. "you know, the person you were holding like a princess when we met?" he added, visible snickering.

jaehyun didn't react to those words, barely even trying to recall what yuta was meaning. in fact, the ceo wanted nothing more than to hang up and have nothing to do with this other asshole of a ceo, but unfortunately, he needed to stay on the phone and converse with the male; first, because it was his job, second, because jaehyun's own empire was at stake in this meeting, and third, because talking more with nakamoto would mean knowing him better, and perhaps uncovering a few secrets that could cause nakamotors' disappearance.

"so, for the location of the meeting..." jaehyun started speaking again after a second, not letting yuta add another snarky comment – because now that he had met the man in person, jaehyun knew very well that he was able to do so. "...how about we have it at jung corporation's headquarters? i could visit your headquarters during the congress yesterday, and i believe it would be interesting for you to visit mine."

"that is an excellent idea!" yuta exclaimed on the other side of the line, causing jaehyun to wince and pull the phone away from his ear. "it would be a pleasure to visit your headquarters. i've always wondered what the headquarters of the oh-so-famous jung corporation looked like. i have very high expectations, and i'm sure i won't be disappointed."

"sweet." jaehyun simply let out, his eyes rolling to the back of his head at yuta's words. was it always necessary for the japanese ceo to be overjoyed and arrogant when he spoke with other ceos? or was it just exclusive to jaehyun to piss him off?

"and what time would you like me to get to your headquarters?" yuta questioned.

"let's say around 3pm. i have a business lunch tomorrow, and knowing the people i'll be with, it will surely last longer than expected."

"perfect!" yuta almost killed jaehyun's ear once again. "3pm that is, then. i'll be there accompanied with taeyong."

"alright." jaehyun nodded, his voice sounding nothing but interested.

"and i'm looking forward to meeting your secretary again, and see how defensive he can get of his boss." yuta added, and jaehyun swears he could hear the male smirking on the other side of the line.

"see you tomorrow, then, nakamoto."

"see you tomorrow, jung."

a sigh of relief slipped past jaehyun's lips as he slammed the wired phone back on the landline's support. the phone call had lasted less than five minutes, and yet, the ceo felt like he had been conversing with yuta for the whole afternoon.

he couldn't bear it, having to deal with a ceo who had landed there hazardously, just because he succeeded in a school project. the business world was a close one, and people shouldn't be able to get in so easily. their industry was made of traditional giants who had paved the way, buying and selling other minor companies until they became unassailable empires. yuta had nothing to do in here, and it pained jaehyun to know that this man was succeeding in a universe in which he had nothing to do.

"pretend like he doesn't exist." jaehyun scolded himself out loud, forcing his thoughts away for him to concentrate back on the 2024 business plan on which he was previously working. he still had a lot of work with that, and he better be efficient if he wanted to crush nakamortors for good.

however, before he could fully focus on his future plans, the phone rang again; except that this time, it was his personal phone.

the ceo sighed, picking the device and letting out a groan when he read the name of the person who called him.

"hello, dad." the ceo spoke in a monotonous voice, leaning against the backrest of his massive armchair.

"you didn't call me yesterday." the man on the other side of the line stated. "how did it go at the congress? did you get into nakamoto's good papers?"

jaehyun heaved out a sigh at his father's words. today wouldn't be the day he'll be able to pretend like nakamoto doesn't exist, that's for sure...

☏

"do you want to hear very good news?" yuta asked, barging into his and taeyong's office with a wide grin after his few appointments of the afternoon and a very important phone call.

"i guess, yeah." taeyong nodded, barely glancing at his boss as he was used to his bubbly and overjoyed personality. the ceo would surely tell him something about a new supplier offering a lower price on a certain product, or another company asking to be sponsored by nakamotors.

"tomorrow, we're seeing mister jung and his cute secretary again..." yuta started, wiggling his brows at taeyong who immediately diverted his eyes from his screen to his ceo. "...and we're seeing them on their grounds."

"on their grounds?" taeyong questioned, already feeling giddy at the idea of meeting the ceo again.

"they will make us visit their headquarters at the same time." yuta explained with a grin. "so, it will be a bit of business, and a lot of time by their side. isn't that great?"

taeyong couldn't help but let out a dreamy "yeah..." as he imagined himself in the headquarters of jung corporation, being led by jaehyun across the dozens of corridors.

after a few seconds of silence during which the two males had been too busy with their own thoughts, yuta spoke, startling taeyong out of his daze.

"i can't wait to talk with his secretary again." yuta breathed out with a silly smile.

"i see you're in as deep as me." taeyong pointed out, raising a brow at his boss.

yuta chuckled, his smile never leaving his face. "i'm not in deep... it's just that i liked teasing him the other day. he's short-tempered, it's cute."

"not deep my ass." taeyong snorted loudly. "you're in even deeper than me."

"oh, certainly not." yuta shook his head.

the two males had a small staring contest, both of them furrowing their brows and slightly tilting their heads as they kept their eye-contact for the longest possible.

long seconds passed and neither yuta nor taeyong dared blinking or glancing sideways and be claimed as the loser of the small contest that they had playfully initiated.

they didn't bulge as taeyong's phone started ringing, too focused on winning to get startled by a ringtone. the previously playful game had transformed into a competition that neither of them wanted to lose.

however, as the phone rang for the second time, taeyong started thinking about looking at the caller-id, just in case it was important. yuta's eyes were still planted in his, and just at the sight, taeyong knew that letting yuta win would cause an endless teasing from the ceo.

the ringing stopped after a while, but started again, this time forcing taeyong to divert his eyes from yuta's to check the id of the caller.

"you lost!" yuta exclaimed as he pointed at taeyong with a victorious smile.

"and i lost for nothing..." taeyong tsked, declining the call. "i blocked my last date on my personal phone number, so this asshole found my business one to call me."

"sucks to be you." yuta shrugged before walking to his desk and hopping onto his swivel chair, making it spin a few times before sitting properly in front of his computer.

"so, you may have lost this staring contest, but let's declare the start of the real competition tomorrow." yuta stated after a second, catching taeyong's attention again.

"the real competition?" he questioned.

"yeah." yuta nodded. "let's see who will be able not to act like a lovestruck teenager. loser pays for dinner after."

☏

pulling out in the driveway of a luxurious mansion, jaehyun couldn't help but stare curiously at the male who was walking in his direction in a tuxedo while carrying a heavy bag.

the boy walked around the car and opened the passenger door with a blank face on before getting in the car.

"hello." sicheng spoke as he tucked his bag between his feet.

"i didn't expect you to live in such a..."

jaehyun paused in the middle of his sentence, turning his head to look more in detail at the property in which he was.

the majestic house had at least three floors judging by the many windows that covered the façade, and the field around the house over tens of meters was covered in bright green grass with carpets of flower of various colours, giving evidence of long and fastidious hours of garden-work.

all in all, the house seemed costly, spacious and luxurious, something that jaehyun could have bought himself, and something that he didn't picture the electrical technician to own.

"...majestic place?" sicheng finished jaehyun's sentence with a brow raised.

"yeah." jaehyun nodded astonished, not even caring about the fact his remark could have been hurtful.

"well, i don't. i was intervening on their plasma tv screen." the chinese male explained simply.

"in a tuxedo?" the ceo continued his questioning session, glancing at sicheng's clothes.

"the landlord left a while ago. i got changed in their bathroom before you got there." the technician stated as jaehyun started the car and exited the property.

a pleasant silence took over the car as sicheng pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked if his boss had sent him a message, or if he had new appointments scheduled for the next few days – he had purposely moved the appointment he had later in the afternoon to be sure he'll make it to jaehyun and yuta's meeting.

"don't you own another tuxedo?" jaehyun broke the silence, eyes concentrated on the road.

"sorry?" the chinese male questioned as he looked at the ceo.

"you're wearing the same tuxedo as the one you wore for the congress two days ago." the businessman specified, glancing again at the piece of clothing and noticing the same wrinkle he had noticed the other day on sicheng's shoulder.

"well, my work clothes consist of nothing but orange shorts and an orange polo shirt on which is written 'nano electronics' so, yes, i'm wearing the same tuxedo as the other day." the engineer replied sassily, unintentionally glaring at the businessman. "but it doesn't matter, right? it's the second and last time i'll even be seen by your side. i'm not your real secretary after all."

a lump formed in sicheng's throat as jaehyun sighed loudly, placing his arm agaist the window of the car and resting his head against it, the thumb of his other hand tapping onto the steering wheel a few times while he stayed silent.

"mister jung?" sicheng breathed out. "it was only a one-time thing, right?"

"well..." the ceo sighed again, his eyes staring at the road in front of them, and avoiding sicheng at all costs. "i hope it was."

"what does that even mean?" the engineer raised a brow, his insides tingling unpleasantly – a mix between nervousness, anger and confusion, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was.

a nth sigh slipped past jaehyun's lips as he turned his head to face sicheng for a second.

"i had nakamoto on the phone, and... and it seems like he was more looking forwards to seeing you than to deal with me."

the chinese male groaned at that, already envisioning the worst-case scenarios.  "oh lord, please, kill me..."