✦

Seonghwa clenches the paperwork in his hand, as he flinched by the sound of another loud yell, coming from the conference room down the hall. He praises himself lucky that he isn't in that meeting right now - and that the ones he has to attend doesn't involve that much uproar. But that doesn't make the atmosphere at work any less uncomfortable for him.

With a sigh, he puts down the papers in front of him, the numbers blending together in one big, black, blob - and printing everything out hasn't helped anything but wasting time. While rubbing his temples, Seonghwa sighs again. Work has been extra draining the last couple of weeks, to him more than anyone, even despite the fact that he isn't one of the poor editors that is being yelled at almost every day.

Lucas has been hard to please ever since his break up with Yeosang. The temper that had lured under his charming smile, has gone wild - and he lashes out at practically anyone who gets too close, or annoys him just the slightest.

"Hey," a voice calls out, at the same time as the glass door to Seonghwa's door is opened. "Did you hear the rumors? Another round of layoffs is coming!"

"Hey Taeil," Seonghwa mumbled, greeting his co-worker with a quick nod of his head. "Again? Would be foolish of him to lay everyone off, he still needs someone to actually work here..."

Taeil leans himself against the doorframe, holding the door open with his right arm. The older works in the same department as Seonghwa, and always brings all the new office gossip with him - something Seonghwa isn't interested in at all. But Taeil is a nice guy, and there is no reason to be rude to him.

"He'll just hire new ones," Taeil shrugs. "Everyone wants to work here, you know that!"

"This isn't The Devil Wears Prada," Seonghwa scoffs back, but he already knows he is wrong.

"Oh... But it is," Taeil says, looking to his left and quickly back at Seonghwa, "And here he comes, so I gotta go!"

Only seconds after Taeil has rushed away from Seonghwa's office, Lucas and his two assistants come walking by outside the glass door. While the terrifying older always had been nice to Seonghwa, he didn't want to take his chances - and if Lucas ever found out what had happened with Yeosang, hell would surely break loose.

Seonghwa chews the corner of his lower lip, as he leans back on his chair. His eyes glance over the photo in the golden frame, which is positioned on his desk - the photo that portrays the picture-perfect family of his. The big, fat lie that is his life.

He might smile and pretend everything is fine, whenever a co-workers asks, but Seonghwa can barely remember what actual happiness feels like.

Or that was until recently...

Meeting the one he used to love so much had hit him harder than anything ever had. But Yeosang was happy with someone else, Seonghwa's new, powerful boss - things seemed settled in stone, and Seonghwa decided not to interfere, and leave the past in the past.

But in the end he couldn't. His heart, which had turned to stone years prior, was awakened again - only to be ripped out and left bleeding at his feet. Each time he had to see Yeosang, every time Lucas kissed the one who Seonghwa used to hold in his own arms, it hurt more than words could describe.

Seonghwa sighs, heavily and long, covering his face with his hands as tears are building up in the corners of his eyes. If he thought he had lost Yeosang before, it is definitely over now. He messed up greatly the last time they saw each other, and he didn't even mean to.

Yeosang was hard to lock down, even back when they first met, so why it came as such a surprise to Seonghwa, that the younger was back to sleeping around with whoever he wanted to, was something Seonghwa can't even answer. 

Or maybe he can. Maybe it can be explained with one single word.

Jealousy.

One thing was to see Yeosang happy in a relationship, and happiness was what he deserved after all, but after he and Lucas broke up - Seonghwa had fought with his own mind every day. All the memories were rushing in over each other, screaming in his head and reminding him how happy he used to be, happy and in love. And maybe, just maybe he could feel that way again.

The night they spent together was unplanned and it had been so overwhelming that Seonghwa ended up saying things he didn't even mean. Of course it was a mistake, but only in the sense of them not being able to actually be together due to both of their situations. But it didn't mean that he had any regrets. Feeling Yeosang's lips and his body after all those years, finally made Seonghwa feel alive again.

Yeosang was still the one, and he will always be the one.

But it is too late. Yeosang might have ended things with Lucas, but it wasn't because of any feelings towards Seonghwa - and seeing new marks all over the skin he used to love against his own, Seonghwa knew he had lost.

And it hurts, even more than the first time.

✦

The sun has set hours ago, but Seonghwa has stayed behind to work after everyone else has left. Just like he always does. The less time he has to spend in the apartment, the better. Tzuyu is rarely there anyway, whatever she is up to is none of his concern - and she will always drop their daughter off at her parents' place whenever she goes somewhere.

But the emptiness of what should be his happy home, is more dreadful than staying at work till midnight - although his head and eyes hurt from looking at all those small numbers all day.

On his way through the, what Seonghwa assumes, empty building, his ears suddenly catch a strange sound. Like someone is crying...

"Hello?" Seonghwa asks, hesitantly, as he walks into a random office, which seems to be unoccupied judging by empty desk, and empty shelves on the walls.

Suddenly someone pops up from behind the desk, and Seonghwa jumps back in surprise. And the surprise doesn't stop, when he sees that it's none other than his boss - hair a mess and an empty glass in one hand and a bottle of Scotch in the other.

"Oh... Park," Lucas mumbles, as he stumbles to sit down on the office chair. He quickly wipes his face with the back of his hand, and it's clear to both hear and see that he is rather intoxicated already.

"S-sir... I'm sorry to intrude!" Seonghwa instantly straightens his posture, unsure whether or not it's appropriate for him to ask any questions. But out of pure politeness, he decides on doing so. "A-are you okay?"

"Yes." Lucas clears his throat, gesturing towards the chair on the opposite side of the desk. "Here, have a drink with me."

And Seonghwa knows it isn't even a questions, so he slowly sits down on the chair, with his hands resting nervously in his lap. Lucas pours him a glass of Scotch, and a moment of silence passes by - one that seems way longer than it actually is.

Lucas starts mumbling about a few random things, all at once, and Seonghwa is having a hard time understand all of it. At the same time, he feels a little uncomfortable - not only sitting in front of his boss, in this shocking state, but also the man whose life he has messed up.

It doesn't take long either, before Lucas' drunken blabbering turns into the one subject that Seonghwa hoped would stay silent. But in this current state, Lucas seems to have let go of his normal cold facade, and the self-control that keeps his private life behind secure lines.

"I always had this small fear that I would lose him someday," Lucas says, pouring another glass for the both of them. "Three years, and he never said he loved me. Not even once."

Seonghwa moves around on the chair, as the back of his neck starts sweating from nervousness. Lucas continues, talking about how he knew that Yeosang did care for him, and he definitely wasn't in it for the money - which made him special. And Lucas also knew how the younger had some intimacy issues when they met, Yeosang even told him at one point, after their relationship started to get more serious. But Lucas held onto the hope that one day they would love each other the same way.

Letting his eyes sway away, to stare blankly at the floor, Seonghwa swallows a lump in his throat. He has hated Tzuyu for so long now, for being part of destroying his relationship with Yeosang - and now he, himself, has done the same to someone else.

"Have you ever lost something so precious, something you loved more than life itself? If you haven't, I hope you never will..." it then comes from Lucas, who leans back in the chair while looking at the ceiling - his eyes shining from the tears he stubbornly tries to hold back.

"I... I have..." Seonghwa practically whispers.

"I'm sorry to hear that. But I guess, you can relate to how I am feeling then..."

"More than you know, sir..."

~

"I... I love you."

"W-what?" a mere whisper finally manages to fight its way out of Seonghwa's mouth.

"I love you. Park Seonghwa."

And Seonghwa definitely heard it right this time. Yeosang's words slowly wrap themselves around Seonghwa's heart, locking themselves on tightly as pure happiness fills up his body and mind. Yeosang blinks a few times, small tears forming in the corners of his eyes, while a shy smile is growing on his face.

"I... I love you, Yeosang," Seonghwa breaks into a smile, when the feelings he's been bottling up inside finally turn into words.

Letting those words spread from his lips, like a beautiful flower in bloom, is making Seonghwa feel more free than ever before. He feels like he can fly without wings, forever feeling high on this exact moment.