Work Text
Cha Hakyeon had finally lost count on how many flutes of champagne he had drank to soothe his nerves. The damn drink wasn’t strong enough to knock him unconscious, and he regretted why he had denied the suggestion to have some Martini or Gin to be served at the party because he was too afraid to have some drunk people ruining his party.Apparently, he didn’t need anyone to get drunk to ruin it. But he needed to get drunk so that he didn’t have to deal with the overwhelming embarrassment he felt.Well, second hand embarrassment, because Hakyeon knew that he himself was the epitome of class and grace. He would never, ever, do anything embarrassing in public. No, he would never allow himself to do that. But unfortunately the person who was the source of his headache didn’t seem to be able to read the situation and the atmosphere at all.The fact that the young master of Kim Pharmacy was still happily wiggling his whole body like a grilled octopus on the main stage was the proof of it.Hakyeon emptied another flute of champagne and wished that it was Vodka instead.That Christmas Charity Night had been going smoothly before that Kim boy stepped up to the main stage. They were having great food, amazing singers and musicians performing numerous classic Christmas song to brighten up the night. It was perfect, even when Hakyeon was bullied into singing a ballad for everyone. Of course he pretended to reject it first, humbly saying that his voice wasn’t exactly that great anyway while fully knowing that his singing could make even professional singers cry. He then went and sang Silent Night, fully knowing that the song could let him boast about his vocal prowess.But then that Kim boy just have to ask for permission to perform a song, to make it even, since the heir of Cha Beauty Company performed something for them. No one could refuse, not even Hakyeon, not even the CEO of both Kim and Cha companies, so they gave him the stage.His Chanel suit and deep voice made him looked like he would perform a heartfelt ballad just like Hakyeon did. But after they played the instrumental he prepared under his signal, everything went downhill.Who would have thought that the heir of Kim Pharmacy would choose to rap in a Christmas Charity Night?“Thank you, everyone! I hoped you enjoyed it!”The wretched performance finally ended. That Kim boy smiled at the other guests as he smiled widely, waving his hands cutely like he was just a middle-schooler instead of a full blown adult.Hakyeon hated that.He hated that he thought that this Kim boy was indeed cute.“Well, whatever. We have some youngsters here after all. They probably enjoys it,” mumbled Hakyeon into his next flute. He downed everything in one go, tipping his chin up with zero care.“Wow, that’s some amazing way to drink, Hyung.”Hakyeon had almost choked from the sudden appearance of that young Kim, and for the overly familiar call. Who the hell he thought he was to call me ‘hyung’?!“It’s Cha Hakyeon,” replied Hakyeon with a little bite. That kid probably forgot his name already; that’s why he’s calling him ‘hyung’. Truthfully, Hakyeon had already forgot his name too, so it’s probably even.“I know. We’ve met several times before, usually during company meetings. My dad told me that we’ll be meeting a lot as business partners, so there’s no way I’ll forgot yours,” he said with that warm, bright smile.Warmth rose to Hakyeon’s cheeks but he told himself that it’s just those champagnes finally kicking in.“Just making sure that you didn’t purposely call me ‘hyung’ because you’ve forgotten my name,” replied Hakyeon.“But do you remember mine, though?” he teased back.Hakyeon cursed internally.“Kim…” Shoot, he didn’t quite remember more than that.“…Won…” Okay he remembered one word. Judging from how the other man didn’t gave him any reaction, he probably got it right. Just one more word.“…Pil?” Hakyeon wasn’t really sure. And reading the other’s reaction was hard.“You’ve drunk too much, Hakyeon-hyung,” he teased with a playful smirk. Hakyeon instantly knew that he guessed wrongly, and was about to apologize when the man took the empty flute from his hand and put it away, distracting his thoughts.“I’ll give you a chance to guess my name again tomorrow, when you’re sober,” said the man as he pulled a business card case from his back pocket and a pen from his breast pocket, opening the case and wrote something on the topmost card, then handed it to the still somewhat dazed Hakyeon.“I’ll treat you something nice if you can guess it correctly,” he added with a playful wink, before he turned and walked away.Slowly, Hakyeon looked down to the Kim Pharmacy business card in his hand, wondering why would he even need to guess when the guy himself had handed him his business card.
Kim Won███
That Won-whatever guy had purposely scratched out the last part of his name. Hakyeon really wanted to curse loudly.Morning came but Hakyeon made no move whatsoever to call that Kim guy at all. He was just glad that the whole incident had passed, and that it didn’t seem to have any negative effect to the event he had meticulously prepared for every year. He just needed to make sure that the young man would never get the chance to perform on stage again in his events.But of course, such large event with such large audiences meant that there would be gossip. And gossip meant one certain person would definitely contacted him.As he thought about that, his phone buzzed and the familiar name popped up on his chat notification.
Daeguni
I heard some dude from your partner company rapped on your charity night lmao
Of course his childhood friend Jung Taekwoon would have heard that despite him currently being in Japan for some vacation disguised as market study for the company. He probably went there for the food and those limited Starbucks merchandise.Hakyeon sighed and opened the chatroom, typing his reply as he rolled on his bed.
Should I know he’s going to RAP and DANCE LIKE GRILLED OCTOPUS, I would never allow him to take the stage
No, I wouldn’t even let him into MY charity night
Stupid guy has no sense at all
Daeguni
lololololol
Dance like grilled octopus, wym?
Wait nvm I can ask our cute Hyogi to send vids
Actually u know what, u want some? I’ll send it to you too after I got it from Hyogi
Sighing loudly, Hakyeon quickly typed as he tried to erase that certain memory from his brain.
No
Seeing it once is enough to shorten my lifespan
But right after he sent that message, Taekwoon sent him a video. Even just by seeing the blurry preview image, he knew that it’s that wretched performance.
Daeguni
You should take him to your ballroom dance class sometimes
Teach him tango
Cuz, yanno
It takes two to tango, lol
I hope you choke on fish bone, Jung Taekwoon
With that reply, Hakyeon closed the app and slammed his phone to the bed. He regretted mentioning about the grilled octopus thing but the damage had been made.So, he thought that saving that video couldn’t make the situation any more disastrous.And later on that day, after he’s done with his lunch and sorting through his schedule for the following week, he picked up his phone and started a chat with the new number he saved on his phone.
Kim Wonshik
You owe me a prize
Wonshik just had the audacity to be late when he was the one asking Hakyeon out for a dinner. And if Hakyeon thought that it was already disastrous enough, Wonshik’s choice of wardrobe was even worse. The loud prints of his Versace shirt made him winced a bit, but it was still acceptable. His godforsaken ripped pants, though, was a whole other level of ‘nope’.He was taking him to a luxurious restaurant, for fuck’s sake, and he wore a black jeans that was ripped up to his thighs. A few more centimeters up and Hakyeon swore that he would be able to see the hem of his boxer. That, if he wore any to begin with. He wouldn’t be too surprised if Wonshik’s choice of undergarment was something with less fabric, looking at his personality so far.“Sorry to make you wait. Let’s go in,” said Wonshik with the charming smile that made Hakyeon almost forgave him for being late and wearing such unfitting clothes.Almost.“You could always tell me under whose name you reserved the table as if you’re planning to make me wait like this,” said Hakyeon with a scoff.“I don’t reserve a table, that’s why,” replied Wonshik nonchalantly, and Hakyeon really wanted to hit his head to the closest wall. The restaurant had specifically stated that they must make a reservation beforehand. They couldn’t just waltz in like that.
Why did I agree to this again?
As expected, when Wonshik talked to the receptionist, he told him that he had to make a reservation. He tried to ask whether they have an empty table or not, and he was rejected flatly.“Huh, weird. The Cedar table should be available all the time,” said Wonshik in disbelief.“Unfortunately that table is also reserved, Sir,” insisted the receptionist, whose smile didn’t quite reach his murderous eyes.“No, that can’t be right. Call Kim Daetuk-hyung; I’ll talk to him,” said Wonshik. It was clear that the receptionist had no intention to call whoever that person was, and Hakyeon could feel his headache from the night before returning.
What the hell am I doing here?
“Kim Wonshik-nim, it’s a pleasant surprise!” said a person who seemed to be a senior staff in that restaurant, looking from his classy suit and aging face. The receptionist seemed puzzled at first, before it changed into surprise mixed with horror, and then he quickly bowed deeply at Wonshik.“My deepest apologize, Sir! I didn’t know!” the poor receptionist said. Wonshik only chuckled at that, not seemingly angry in any way, just mildly amused.“Don’t sweat it. My Cedar table is still available, isn’t it, Jeonghan-hyung?” replied Wonshik.“Of course. But I do appreciate you calling us beforehand so that we can be more prepared about it,” he replied as he threw a glance at the still bowing receptionist.“Ah, yeah, that’s my fault. I’m sorry for not making a reservation beforehand, uh…” Wonshik tilted his head a bit, trying to read the nameplate, “Bae Hoyoung?”The young receptionist lifted his head, not believing that Wonshik had just called his name, and that he was apologizing to him.“My apologies too for failing to recognize you, Kim Wonshik-nim,” replied Hoyoung with another deep bow that made Wonshik chuckled again.“That’s fine, you’re just doing what you must do. Good to know that our staffs are well-trained,” said Wonshik with a warm smile.The little exchange had Hakyeon felt pretty impressed with Wonshik. Despite his airheadedness, he seemed to be a decent person. He had witnessed other rich kids acting like they owned the whole world and treated others horribly, so it’s pretty refreshing to see Wonshik apologizing for his mistake and defending the young receptionist like that.Jeonghan reminded them that their table was ready and guided them into the dining area. The said Cedar table was placed at the best position to watch the live music stage, which was currently occupied by a violinist and a pianist.As they took their seats, the earlier staff had gone away and replaced by a beautiful lady with ‘Shin Bora’ written on her nameplate. She handed them the menu and asked them whether they needed her assistance or wanted to choose on their own. Wonshik dismissed her with a thankful smile, and Hakyeon quirked an eyebrow at the gesture.Apparently, it was because Wonshik wanted to explain the menus himself. He seemed to be very knowledgeable about them, and Hakyeon guessed that he’s probably a regular or something. The fact that senior staffs knew him and how he knew them by name, added with the way he had a special table reserved just for him in any given time certainly gave that vibe.But of course, Wonshik would be a fool if he thought that he’s the only regular of that restaurant. Hakyeon closed his menu book while Wonshik was still in the middle of explaining one menu to him, and Bora quickly approached their table, knowing from Hakyeon’s expression that he was ready to make an order.Hakyeon ordered one he had always had every time he visited this certain restaurant, although in different location, and he could barely repress his smirk when he saw how Wonshik seemed to be dumbfounded that Hakyeon had ordered a menu he hadn’t explained just yet. Plus, Hakyeon was making some special requests that blatantly revealed that he had that exact menu before.If Kim Wonshik wanted to show off, he’s ready to be his opponent anytime.After Wonshik placed his order and let the menu book taken away, he asked Hakyeon, “Do you go here regularly?”“Well, not exactly here, but the one near our head office. It’s nice to have an option for when you’re bored with what your office building has,” replied Hakyeon nonchalantly.“Then I’ll have to thank you for being our precious regular,” replied Wonshik. Hakyeon frowned, not liking the answer his brain provided for the implication of his words.“I’m the founder of this restaurant chain, and also the co-owner,” explained Wonshik, and Hakyeon cursed internally at his correct guess.“Well, right now my little sister Jiwon is the one actually running the place. This is… This is my passion, my love, but our parents need someone to run their generations-old business, so I have no choice. At the very least they don’t close this down, since they think that this is a good opportunity to let Jiwon learn how to handle a business after all,” he explained even further.Hakyeon hummed in acknowledgement, although he couldn’t really say that he’s sympathizing with him. The reason why he became the one inheriting his family’s business when he had an older brother and three older sisters was because they each had their own businesses to run, and no one was willing to give it up to run their parent’s company.If Wonshik took the responsibility to let his sister live freely, Hakyeon was pushed to take it since his siblings wanted to live freely.“Must be nice to be her,” commented Hakyeon offhandedly.“Surely. She has me as her brother after all,” replied Wonshik with a proud grin. Hakyeon wasn’t even trying to praise him, but Wonshik seemed to be that airheaded.Hakyeon had expected that Wonshik would try to make some small conversation, but again his guess was wrong. The song had just ended, and Wonshik gestured to the musicians that he wanted to take up the stage. It seemed that they knew him as well, bowing politely and stepping aside to give him room.“Heavens, no, please don’t perform anything,” said Hakyeon as he hid his face with one hand.“Relax, Hyung, I’m not going to do anything funny,” assured Wonshik with his charming smile.“Okay, but if I hear you rapping even just one word, I’m going home,” threatened Hakyeon. Wonshik only beamed wider and Hakyeon didn’t know if he should just go home anyway or not.To his surprise, Wonshik was taking the piano, and also setting up the microphone so that he could sing as he played. Hakyeon took a sharp breath as Wonshik placed his hands on the piano keys, and began playing with the fluidness Hakyeon didn’t know he had.But the bigger surprise was his voice.He wasn’t expecting such smooth, rich voice to greet his ears. From the way he rapped the other day, he thought he would have deep and rough singing voice. Apparently he was wrong. His breath and pitch control were perfect, even when he had to hit such high notes at the last part of the song.The choice of song, though, left Hakyeon unimpressed. Singing ‘No Make Up’ to the heir of a beauty company? Hakyeon gave him some minus points for that.Wonshik gave a flourishing bow to the visitors who clapped at him, before stepping off from the stage and returned to their seat. His bright smile obviously showed that he’s expecting a positive response from Hakyeon, and Hakyeon couldn’t stop himself from giving him a very small smile. He’d let Wonshik know that he quite enjoyed the younger’s performance, but not just yet.“If you can sing like that, why did you rap at my charity night?” asked Hakyeon before Wonshik even got the chance to ask how was his performance.“Huh? I only thought to brighten up the mood a bit. Saw some younger guys already close to sleeping while standing… I can’t blame them, after listening to endless ballads,” replied Wonshik nonchalantly.“Ballads are expected. It’s a formal banquet after all, not some high school music festival,” insisted Hakyeon, feeling somewhat attacked for his choice of music. Wonshik only grinned widely at that.“Next time, then,” promised Wonshik.“And what makes you so sure that I’ll invite you again?” dared Hakyeon.“One thing for sure, your dad will definitely tell you to invite me, because technically we are business partners,” replied Wonshik plainly. Hakyeon shrugged at that. He could just invite another person from that company, preferably that handsome operational manager with cute dimples.“But, I’m also sure that by next Christmas, we’ll be close enough for you to invite me personally,” added Wonshik. Hakyeon raised his eyebrows with a barely repressed smirk.“A bit too full of yourself, aren’t you?” quipped Hakyeon.“Well, if you are that uninterested in me, you won’t even be here tonight, Hyung,” replied Wonshik nonchalantly. Hakyeon leaned back to his seat while his face scrunched up in dislike.“Brat,” mumbled Hakyeon. Wonshik chuckled at that.“So, will you invite me, or will I have to invite myself?” teased Wonshik.“That, will have to wait until next Christmas. Until then, do you best to woo me, young man,” replied Hakyeon.“Just don’t suddenly fall in love with me, okay?” replied Wonshik teasingly. Hakyeon only shook his head and rolled his eyes.
Really, this child is so full of himself…
Still, Hakyeon couldn’t deny that he was indeed charming. He would be lying to himself if he said that he’s totally not looking forward to what surprises Wonshik would bring.But for the time being, he’d just enjoy the dinner, the late introduction, and the warm smile blooming across Wonshik’s face.