Chapter Text
“Dude,” Maki whacked the back of Nicholas’ head as he walked past. “You’ve been staring at your phone for twenty minutes. What’s up with you?”
Huffing, Nicholas swivelled in his chair to try and kick Maki, but he scuttled away before he could land a hit. That rat. No one here treated him like he was their boss, but Maki was perhaps the worst. Any semblance of seniority had been shattered the very first day when he’d walked in, stepped so close that Nicholas and he were almost nose-to-nose, and said “Hey, I think I have an eyelash in my eye. Can you help me check?”
There had been an eyelash. Nicholas had to help him fish it out before he poked his eye out doing it himself.
Another issue with Maki on the team was that he’d become fast friends with Harua. On the surface it was great that his team members were getting alone; in reality it just meant that they’d started a gossip circle behind his back. Well, not entirely. Sometimes he’d get juicy titbits from them. But right now, their greedy, beady little eyes were latched onto him, and they wouldn’t let him out of their sights.
At the other end of the table, Harua grinned and snapped his folder shut. “Well, I can maybe make a guess as to who he might be distracted by.” He leaned in. “This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with a certain round faced Korean guy you met recently, would it?”
One thing Nicholas had been worried about, post-dinner with Euijoo, was that they’d be caught on camera by the paparazzi. He could handle it, as someone who was frequently in the spotlight, but Euijoo was a whole different thing entirely. Nicholas didn’t want his lasting impression to be the guy who threw me to the wolves and ran away. When he’d returned to his hotel, he’d furiously searched up every major gossip rag, loading and refreshing the site to double check that no news of them going out had made its way onto the airwaves. He’d been pretty panicked, since he hadn’t done a lot of the usual preparations to stay lowkey in public this time, but by some stroke of luck there had been no mention of their dinner together. Only a few articles about Nicholas making a quick trip to Seoul. He’d heaved a sigh of relief.
Unfortunately, news still spread in his office, and Harua, that big-mouthed idiot, had let loose all the details of Nicholas’ late night rendezvous with Euijoo. It’d been the talk of the office for the past few days, and stubbornly, Nicholas had refused to give further details. Or he’d tried to. He wasn’t the best actor. He stiffened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He tried to glance back at his phone as nonchalantly as he could. “What man? What’s Korean? There’s so many men, you know, and Korean… and, uh…”
“So it is about Euijoo!” Maki crowed, running back around as he laughed at Nicholas’ crestfallen face. This time, Nicholas made sure to turn fast enough. His foot connected with the back of Maki’s leg. Maki yelped slightly as he crumpled, but kept laughing nonetheless. “Wow, honestly, I didn’t believe Harua when he said you were simping for a man you’d just met. Can’t believe you’re my boss.”
With a scowl, Nicholas petulantly placed his phone on the table. The two vultures on either ends of the table had a suspicious light in their eyes as they stared at it. “No one believes I’m your boss. You never treat me like one.”
In response, Maki shrugged and ignored him. Honestly, why did he decide to work with so many children? Very capable children who knew how to get their work done, of course, but absolute toddlers when it came to making fun of him. Any chance they got, they latched onto his slip-ups and never let him forget it. “What does he even look like? All you guys just told me was how he looks like. Do you have a pic?”
“Nico got his Instagram, but there’s no pictures of him on it,” Harua dragged a chair over and made himself comfortable. “It’s, like, one of those random private ones that people have just to keep up with their friends. The name’s super weird, too.”
“It isn’t weird, it’s creative.” Nicholas snapped. He sat up straight in his chair and folded his legs. “It’s a play on his name, and he put a lot of thought into it. It’s cool.”
Truthfully, when Euijoo had first told him his Instagram username, Nicholas had mistyped it so many times that eventually Euijoo had huffed out a light chuckle and keyed it in himself. “It’s the word enjoy, but if you took out the ‘e’ and the ‘j’,” He’d ducked his head as he spoke. “And then I left in the dashes so that it’d look like a fill-in-the-blank… sorry, it’s kind of lame, isn’t it?”
“What? Lame? No, never,” Nicholas had nearly choked on his spit as he’d rushed to respond. “It’s fun! Like, you clearly put a lot of time and effort into thinking about it. It’s not basic. That would be lame. Your username is…” He wracked his brain to think of a better word, but it’d been completely frozen from the second Euijoo had actually agreed to be friends with him. “Very you. I like it! Super creative. And you can trust me. I work in… creative. Yes.”
Harua had snorted in the background, but Nicholas chose to ignore it over the shy smile that had stretched across Euijoo’s face. It was gorgeous, a beam of sun shining through the night. Nicholas didn’t think he’d ever seen anything quite as quietly beautiful, like gossamer in the wind. It must’ve been his reward for eating that mouthful of cabbage at dinner. Euijoo had been the one to ask him to try, so of course he’d eaten it, but it didn’t make it taste any better. At least his disgusted reaction to it had made Euijoo laugh.
“Well, it might’ve been cooler if any of you had gotten a picture of him.” Maki spoke up again. Nicholas snapped out of his daydream. He made accidental eye contact with Harua, who looked like he was trying not to laugh. Nicholas rolled his eyes, turned away, and hoped that the cold air blasting through the room would cool his red cheeks somewhat. “Like, give me something to work with here. A visual image. On a scale of Nakakita Yuma to Asakura Jo, how cute is he?”
Nicholas sighed dreamily. “A hundred.”
“You idiot, that’s not helpful at all.” He didn’t even try to dodge the pen that came flying his way. As it clattered to the ground, Harua sighed and shuffled his papers. “But Euijoo’s a different kind of cute, in my opinion. Not as model. More boy-next-door. But he is cute, I’ll give Nico that. I just didn’t expect him to like someone that… round.”
Eyes narrowing, Nicholas glared at Harua. “What the hell does that mean?”
“That still gives me nothing!” Maki threw his hands up in the air. “I need visuals. An image. Anything. At this point I’ll ask Jo to go meet him next time, because at least he could draw me a portrait or something. Or, maybe, just a thought — you two could use your phones to take a picture next time. Wonders of the modern era, you know. Technology can help us do such great and wonderful things.”
“He said that he’d been compared to Ponyo before, if that helps any.” Nicholas shrugged and picked up his phone. Unlocking it, he opened his Instagram and tapped on their chat. A singular string of messages greeted him. It was still marked unread. Shoulders slumping, he sighed and tipped back his head.
In a few quick strides, Harua made his way behind him and peered over his shoulder. “Still no response?”
On instinct, Nicholas yanked the phone to his chest. He angled his body to block Harua’s line of sight. Glaring, he turned to face him. “…No.”
“Hey man, chill,” Maki walked over to Harua’s side and folded his arms. “He was just asking. We’re just curious, you know, ‘cause we’ve never seen you this intense about anyone ever. Also, Euijoo might not reply, you know. He might have forgotten to open his Instagram at all. Or maybe he didn’t want to offend the random stranger he met once, and —”
“Drop it, Maki.”
“Okay. Sorry, Harua.”
On most days, being around Maki and Harua was a delight. For all of his gripes and complaints, he did enjoy hanging out with them. But there was something about Euijoo that made Nicholas want to keep him for himself. To hide him away, to be a secret that only he could hold. A pocket mirror that he and only he could use. It was completely irrational, and he knew that Maki and Harua would never betray him by taking Euijoo away from him, but still. A crack of jealousy made its way up his throat each time his name came out of their mouths.
It was so stupid, too. At the end of the day he still didn’t know how Euijoo saw him. He didn’t look like the sort of person to be possessive over someone else. Nicholas could imagine it all. If Euijoo had a partner (and Nicholas would self-insert himself in their position, just for, you know, the sake of the thought experiment), he’d be so soft and gentle. He’d be the sort of person who would have dinner ready on the table when he got home, press a tender kiss to the crown of his head as he pulled them into the apartment, and ask about his day as they chowed down on whatever warm meal Euijoo had cooked up for the night. They’d trade stories of their workday, laugh at stupid office gossip or some new antic that one of their friends had gotten up to, and then wind down for bed by lying under the sheets together. Nicholas’ leg would wrap itself around Euijoo’s longer ones, and he’d tuck his head under his chin and listen to the steady beat of Euijoo’s heart. Just them, together. The tandem of two souls, interwoven, soft as the sun of the dawning sky.
It would be nice, Nicholas thought, a little giddy, if Euijoo wanted to be the morning to wake up to.
“Oh god, we’ve lost him,” Maki rolled his eyes playfully and waved a hand in front of his face. “He’s got that stupid Euijoo smile on again. Hey, dude! We have work to do! You have a fashion label to run!”
That caught Nicholas’ attention. Groaning, he sat up in his chair and schooled his face back into neutrality. “Sorry. Yes. Work time. What’s on the agenda today?”
Harua set a stack of papers in front of him. “We need to start locking down a few details for the upcoming show. People are expecting a new release, so we have to decide on the theme and the designs. Any ideas?”
“Does it have to be so serious?” Nicholas sighed. “I mean, I made the first one as just a series of things I’d wear, but elevated. Something grungy and all… dark and shadowy. What are people even expecting?”
“Well, a lot of people expect you to release something lighter this time around,” Harua flipped through a small notebook of his. “All the articles attribute a big part of your success to be how personable your designs are. They like that it feels human and easy enough to connect to, not something so… abstract and inaccessible that the meaning gets lost. Does that make sense?”
“Something simple and light and human… but also deep and elevated and personal?” Maki wrinkled his nose. “And they say being an artist is easy. Well, let’s get to work, I guess.”
They spent the next few hours arguing over different concepts and designs. Nicholas had a few drafts and ideas he’d come up with on a whim, but then Maki would interject and say, wait, that motif won’t work this season and make some changes, but then Harua would cut in and go but that’s not what the critics want, to which Nicholas would say fuck the critics, but make more alterations anyway. It was an endless cycle of semi-creation and rejection. More ideas were being cut down than he could even come up with. At some point, all the back-and-forth of yes and maybe and uh, not this time began blurring into one. Nicholas pressed a palm to his eyes and let the darkness wash over his vision. A momentary reprive.
It wasn’t like he hated having eyes on him. He appreciated it. Some days, he basked in it. But there was a certain bludgeoning of the heart that came along with the craft. He’d make something he poured his heart into, pressed to paper with his blood, sweat, and tears, only to have it ripped up in front of him. Constant rejections were part and parcel, he’d known, but to stand and watch a piece of his soul be dismissed so easily made his heart crack just a little, He knew better than to fight back, but the urge always slammed into his ribs so violently he shook.
Kei, his mentor a few years back, had long since warned him of this violence. He’d taught him that success came at the cost of their heart. “To do well in this industry,” he’d advised Nicholas when he was a new employee, “You’ll have to learn to not get attached to any of your work. If people tell you no, don’t argue. Just take the feedback and go make something better.”
Nicholas, wide-eyed and innocently brash as he was, had crossed his arms and scowled. “So what? I just take it lying down?”
“Exactly,” Kei had tapped his arm firmly until he’d let it fall to his side. “Keep trying until you sacrifice enough to be told yes.”
By the time lunch hour rolled around, Nicholas was beat. He dismissed the other two for their break and picked up his phone to order delivery. As he scrolled through his apps, debating on what he should eat for the day, a small notification popped up. Message from __n_oy. Open?
Holy shit. Screw the whole emotional breakdown he’d been on the verge of. Nicholas had never regained his energy so quickly. Tapping his finger furiously, he opened the chat.
__n_oy
hii sorry it took me so long to reply!
i was at work haha
Oh my god. Oh my god. Byun Euijoo was messaging him. Take that, Maki! He did want to talk to him, he was just being a responsible adult! Giddily, he watched as the typing bubbles resurfaced, stopped, and then continued again.
__n_oy
are you having lunch now?
w_h_y_weno
yeah its breaktime now
hbu?
__n_oy
me too
trying to find food now haha
w_h_y_weno
o whachu gettin
__n_oy
probably bibimbap?
hbu
Bibimbap. Quickly, he swiped his finger back to his food delivery app and began searching for it. A few taps later, and he’d made an order for one large serving to be sent to his office.
__n_oy
oh are you busy sorry
w_h_y_weno
no!
just checking my food delivery
i ordered bibimbap too
fun coincidence haha
its like fate
__n_oy
oh the bibimbap place was full
i got some gimbap instead
Nicholas’ face soured. His lip twisted itself between his teeth, and he glared at the screen as if it would clear the bibimbap restaurant. Stupid phone. Stupid lunch crowds with their stupid rush and their stupid, stupid small seating areas. He opened the delivery app and sullenly ordered a gimbap, too.
w_h_y_weno
dang so close
__n_oy
??
w_h_y_weno
don’t worry about it
but u should eat more!
else imonim will be sad
u dont wanna make her sad do u
__n_oy
i can’t eat so much :(
Even the smiley faces were so cute. God. Nicholas was screwed.
w_h_y_weno
still tho
unless u want me to send u food
ill do it dont try me
__n_oy
you don’t even know where i work?
w_h_y_weno
is that a challenge
A pause. And then,
__n_oy
woah
famous people are so scary
Nicholas sputtered, before choking on his own spit. He went down, collapsing on the floor in a mix of laughter and a genuine struggle to breathe. Once he’d laid on the ground for long enough and hacked out his lungs, he picked up his phone, which had gone dark from being untouched. He opened their chat again.
w_h_y_weno
HEY
im not scary :((((((
and not famous
__n_oy
haha
just joking
you’re not scary
you’re a bit like a cat
w_h_y_weno
thank u…?
__n_oy
like you’re not scary once people get to know you
maybe at first but
you’re very nice to talk to :)
sorry if that’s random haha
kinda out of nowhere
Nicholas was going to kiss this man on the mouth.
__n_oy
i have to go
my colleagues are calling
talk to you soon :)
w_h_y_weno
have funnn
eat well!
or ill hunt u down trust
__n_oy
haha okay :))
As Euijoo’s status switched to Offline, Nicholas stared at his phone, unblinking. A double-smile smiley face. That had to mean something, right? Like how trees got their rings? It had to mean that he’d been promoted in some way, shape or form. Maybe this was Euijoo’s way of showing, subtly, that he was opening up to Nicholas. How many lines of smileys would it take for Nicholas to be granted Euijoo’s LINE ID? And how many more until he was allowed to hold his hand? The thought of interlacing his fingers with Euijoo’s sent a trill down his spine, and he spun in his office chair. If he happened to kick his feet a little, no one would be any wiser.
When Harua re-entered the office after the break, he was met with Nicholas curled up in his seat, grinning maniacally at his phone. “Stop smiling like that, it’s creepy.” He wrinkled his nose as he took in the scene before him. “Why do you have so much food? Did you over-order?”
With a mouth full of gimbap, Nicholas gestured towards the untouched bibimbap. “I’ll eat that for dinner.” Swallowing, he sat up straight and stretched out his hand. “Alright, back to work. What’s next for today?”
The next time they booked a flight to Korea, Nicholas made sure that Euijoo was the first to know.
oh, yay, Euijoo had replied, before following up with a what’re you coming here for? is there an event?
no event this time, Nicholas had quickly typed back. He sank a little more into his sheets, snuggling into the soft duvet. but they wanted to see if wenoism shd expand to korea, so we’re meeting some friends. He paused for a second, before hastily adding, i hope we can, then we can meet more often :)
will you have time to meet up this time then? A message from Euijoo had returned almost immediately. Nicholas could almost imagine Euijoo tucked into his own bed, wide eyes blinking nervously as he worried his lip between his teeth. you might be busy and i might not be free unless it’s pretty late.
That gave Nicholas pause.
It was true that his schedule was pretty packed. Business trips rarely accounted for sightseeing time, after all. He had a few meetings with business partners, meals scheduled here and there for old friends in the industry, and some samples that he had to test out himself. All in all, it looked like there would barely be time to rest, let alone squeeze in a quick meeting with Euijoo. But the thought of being in the same country, in the same space as Euijoo and not being able to talk face to face for a moment felt like such a waste to Nicholas.
ill be around for abt a week, Nicholas had finally replied. ill make time. how abt fri dinner?
And that was how, in a matter of days, Nicholas found himself crammed knee-to-knee with Euijoo in a tiny booth of a diner.
“Sorry, I didn’t realise how small it would be for both of us,” Euijoo apologised profusely when Nicholas’ ankle knocked against the side of the table for the nth time. The shakers to the side rattled violently. Reaching out, Euijoo settled them with the lightest touch of his index finger. Nicholas’ eyes tracked the movement slowly. “I’ve really only ever come here myself, and it’s always pretty quiet, so I thought it’d be a good place to go. Clearly, uh, it’s a bit more suited for solo diners. Sorry.”
Nicholas, who’d been slowly munching at the free flow (free flow! Nicholas had internally cheered) side dishes the entire time, quickly set down his chopsticks and shook his head vehemently. “Don’t apologise! The food looks good, and I’m hungry.” He took another bite — some cold tofu in peanut sauce — and made an exaggerated gasp. “So wow! So yummy! Euijoo, you should be a food guide.”
To the relief of Nicholas’ heart, Euijoo’s outfit today was a little less atrocious than the mismash of patterns he’d had on the last time. It was still, however, pretty terrible. For this outing he’d chosen a bright red polo shirt with mud brown cargo pants. That alone already made him look like a third of a traffic light, but for some reason he’d chosen to pair it with a black bomber jacket and a blue cap. Four separate colours. Five, if you counted his off-white sneakers. He’d also made the effort to add a belt, but it’d quickly become the most confusing part of the outfit when Nicholas had realised that he’d forgotten to slide it through any of the belt loops. Now it just encircled his waist uselessly.
Well, perhaps that was a blessing. Nicholas zeroed in on his slim waist, now accentuated by the belt. If he put his hands there, his fingers could probably touch, right? His lips wobbled as he tried to hide his grin. Imagining his hands on the soft skin, fingertips touching, the curve of the flesh and the hardness of the hip bone right below it. Would Euijoo be ticklish? Would he bat Nicholas’ hands away? Would he —
A foot kicked solidly against Nicholas’ shin. He yelped in surprise, before frowning playfully. “Euijoo! I compliment you and you kick me? So rude.”
Euijoo turned away. One hand covered his mouth, but Nicholas swore he saw the corners of his lips quirk up. “Sorry.” He didn’t sound very apologetic. “That was an accident. Small tables, you know.”
Nicholas stared at him. He tried his best to pretend to be upset, but the gleam in his eyes and the grin that he couldn’t suppress probably gave him away. “You’re such a bad liar. You’re, like, secretly evil, aren’t you? Evil Juju. Oh, the horror. No one will believe me.”
He watched as Euijoo’s face shifted through a series of emotions. First his eyes widened in surprise, and his finger came up to point at himself before it paused, hovering. The tip of his nose twitched a little. His cheeks lifted, and under the dim light a rosy flush spread scross them. “I — no, don’t lie! You’re the one always trying to make me look bad. Evil Nico. Boo.”
“Boo? Now he’s even jeering me. And all I did was be kind. A demon in disguise.” Nicholas cackled with laughter as Euijoo lunged forward, playfully trying to land a punch on his shoulder. “Now violence! So cruel! Someone, help!”
“Shut up, you’re so loud,” Euijoo’s face was now flushed to his ears. He looped his legs around Nicholas’ and pulled. Nicholas sank down, now pinned to his seat. For a guy as clumsy and lanky as Euijoo, he sure knew how to use his strength. He tried to wriggle his way out, but Euijoo’s legs were more solid than he’d thought. Damn. “Stop moving, you — sit down, oh my god —”
Thus began a weird tussle under the table. Nicholas tried to kick back, but Euijoo would stomp on his foot. They’d settled down for a few moments when Nicholas’ shin had hit the metal leg of the table again, and he’d flinched back, silently yelling. Euijoo had tried to laugh quietly, but midway though he’d snorted so loudly that the other customers had whipped their heads around to face him. As soon as they turned back to their food, their fighting began again. They only finally agreed to stop when Euijoo’s leg had shot out so far that it’d nearly tripped over the elderly owner, who had been coming over with their food. Nicholas had never seen Euijoo’s face burn so red, or anyone bow so many times. It was a little dizzying.
“So,” Nicholas tried to start the topic as nonchalantly as he could. “How’s life? Any new friends in the office?”
“Don’t even start.” Euijoo sighed as he swallowed his mouthful of noodles. “Everyone’s still so… work focused. Yunjin is still here, at least, but she told me she’s thinking of leaving.”
“And… that other friend you had, the situationship one?”
“Haewon? She was transferred to a different department. Her girlfriend’s there — oh, did I tell you? They finally got together!”
“No way!”
Talking to Euijoo was fun. If Nicholas managed to get him started on the right topic, he’d go on and on and keep rambling for hours. Nicholas loved to listen to him talk. He interjected here and there, but hearing Euijoo’s voice go from soft and gentle to excited and energetic made Nicholas’ heart skip a beat. He did that. He made Euijoo so happy. He cradled the little joy he got from watching him as if it was a pocket mirror. Small, fragile, but something to tuck away and keep with him for the future.
There was so much that Euijoo had to say, too. Nicholas learnt that he loved talking about his friends, which, in his own words, were “The only good left in this boring job, but at least it’s stable,” which didn’t feel very reassuring, but Nicholas didn’t pry. He tried to get more personal stories out of Euijoo, but he always ended up dismissing his own life as really plain and boring, Nico, you’d get so bored. Nicholas didn’t tell him that he’d willingly listen to him read out a physics textbook for hours. Instead he let him continue to tell stories of his friend’s messy love lives and poor life decisions.
“I just don’t get it, you know,” Euijoo sipped the last of his soup broth and set down the bowl. “It’s so weird to be… something with someone but have no label. Like a maybe. Wouldn’t it just be easier to make it clear? Either commit to it or don’t. Don’t…” He wrinkled his nose. “Don’t leave an almost over the whole thing, if that makes sense?”
“Well, sometimes it’s scary if it’s real,” Nicholas picked at the last of their side dishes. From the corner of his eye, he watched the owner glare at him. It might’ve been because of the multiple side dish refills he’d gotten. That couldn’t possibly be his fault, though! He liked food, and they’d said free flow. Nicholas was just doing as he was allowed. “And you don’t really know if they want something with you, so you keep it light and ambiguous and see if they drop any hints that they like you back.”
“But that’s so painful,” Euijoo argued back. His calf brushed against Nicholas’. “I think if you like someone, you should go for it. Be brave about it.”
“Have you ever been brave, then?”
Euijoo shrank in his seat. “Well… no. My dad just told me that.”
The laughter that burst out of Nicholas echoed across the small restaurant. Honestly, how was anyone so cute? He was so pure and innocent in his beliefs. Nicholas just wanted to squish his cheeks between his palms. With someone so wide-eyed and gentle, how could he even handle it? He resisted the urge to stare lovingly into his eyes, and took a sip of water instead.
“Don’t laugh!” Euijoo was still going, the words close to a whine coming out of his throat. “I’m serious! Liking someone should be straightforward, shouldn’t it? If you like someone you go for it. Right?”
“If you say so, Juju,” Nicholas laughed and patted Euijoo on the back. “Good to know you’ve never asked someone out.”
Euijoo shot a glare at him, but it held no heat. “I just — urgh. So annoying, really. Fine! If you’re such an expert, Nichol, how do you ask someone out?”
Nicholas tilted his head. “Nichol?”
Euijoo froze. With his wide eyes, he looked like a deer in headlights. Or maybe a fish? He was truly the cutest fish Nicholas had ever laid eyes on. “Uh, you know, you kept calling me Juju, so I thought…” He began twiddling his fingers. “Is it weird? Do you not like it?”
Not like it? Nicholas was going to change his contact name as soon as he got back to the hotel. On second thought, maybe not — it was fun to have something that only belonged to them. Juju. Nichol. Juju and Nichol. Nicholas might’ve gotten mad if anyone else had called him that, but the way that the sound curled around Euijoo’s tongue felt so comfortable and so gentle that he couldn’t help but love it, too. He had such a unique ability to calm the air around him, his existence soothing and warm. Not only was his face so soft and round, his personality was, too. Nicholas doesn’t think he’d ever met anyone like him, or ever will.
“No, it’s fine! It’s a nice nickname.” Nicholas grinned before the silence could stretch out any longer. “Honest! So many people have come up with weird nicknames for me before that I didn’t like. Nichol is nice.” Damn. The word didn’t sound as nice coming out of his mouth. Maybe he should leave that to Euijoo. “See, I told you. You’re creative. It’s fun.”
Euijoo forced out a laugh. “You’re just saying that, world famous designer.”
“Of course not. Trust me, I’d know a lot about creativity.” Nicholas could have gone on, waxed poetry on the unique way that Euijoo strung his thoughts together or the subtle ways in which he expressed himself, but Euijoo’s shoulders were slumping and his eyes held a faraway look with no spark in them. It wasn’t his place to pry, so he didn’t push. Anyway, if he was lucky, he could just tell him everything in the future, when they got closer. “But sometimes creativity isn’t amazing. Did I ever tell you about this LINE sticker pack of me?”
Euijoo choked. “A what?”
“I’m serious!” Nicholas leaned forward conspiratorially. “I swear Maki’s the one who made it, but I don’t have proof yet. Anyway, it’s this stupid compilation of memes…”
Maybe they weren’t quite at the point where they knew everything about each other. That was okay. Nicholas thinks he could spend a lifetime exploring and learning someone as unparalleled as Euijoo. Fragment by fragment, one shard at a time. Nicholas would work to piece him together for as long as it took.
He spent the rest of that night talking with Euijoo, laughing and trading stories for so long that the owner eventually kicked them out. Even then, they made a quick stop at the convenience store for some ice cream, before sitting on an empty park bench and talking until the last of the birds had retired for the night. And if Nicholas went back to the hotel with both hands sticky and sweet from the melted ice cream, the only witnesses were him, Euijoo, and the night.
Nicholas had been in the middle of a business meeting when the first call came in.
He ignored it at first. Anyone who knew him would understand that he was likely busy and would reply in his free time. He let the call go to voicemail and focused his attention back on the presenter, a sweaty, stick thin man who Nicholas was starting to think would not know the difference between polyester and cotton.
No, seriously — this guy had been droning on and on about business models, talking only in numbers when Nicholas had sworn the agenda was on possible venues for fashion shows. Heck, the word runway hadn’t even come up once! And if the look of the slides were any indication, Nicholas wouldn’t trust him within a hundred meters of his designs, either. There’d been a weird black square in the corner of the misaligned text on white background. It looked like mold. His trypophobia had nearly acted up.
When the call had rang again, Nicholas frowned. Most people knew better than to do this. Still, he was in the middle of a meeting, so he hurriedly declined the call and tucked his phone onto his lap. Trying his best to glance down discreetly, he opened his phone and scrolled through his call history.
Missed call from Koga Yudai.
Oh, no.
Swift as the wind, he opened up his old chat with Kei. As he began furiously tapping his keyboard, the texting bubbles popped up from Kei’s side. Nicholas held his breath.
nico
i’m in a meeting rn
can i call you back later
Kei
i know.
what floor?
Well, shit.
nico
8th floor
Kei has gone offline.
Well. There was nothing else to do but wait, was there? Nicholas slipped his phone into his pocket and turned to face the presentation screen again. As he glanced up, he caught the eye of the weedly man, who’d been glaring in his direction. Nicholas sighed and held his gaze.
“Weno,” The man’s smile was polite but strained. “Is something the matter? Is there anything urgent to address?”
“Ah, it may be a small disruption, though,” Nicholas matched his grin. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that Kei was on the way. He wanted out of this meeting as fast as possible, and, from the look on Maki’s face, they weren’t going to sign an agreement with this guy, anyway. “We have a visitor that would like to join our conversation.”
“Unfortunately, this is a closed meeting, and we cannot allow any random guests to join,” The man’s gaze turned patronizing. “Even if they are friends of yours. Or very good friends. Hah!”
From the corner of his eye, Nicholas watched Maki’s eye turn cold. He reached over and gripped his knee before he could get up from his chair. When Maki shot a quizzical look back, Nicholas shook his head mutely. Just wait a few moments. Just a little bit longer…
The doors burst open. The receptionist, who Nicholas recognised from when they’d first walked into the building, came rushing in hurriedly. “My apologies, sir,” he panted as the presenter opened his mouth. “We have a visitor that insists on sitting in.”
“For the last time, we are in the middle of a meeting,” The man snapped. “No one is —”
“Apologies for the sudden intrusion,” Came a smooth voice. “But I would like to join your… riveting conversation.”
Standing at the door, towering over everyone else, was Kei. He was wearing a modified suit, the jacket cropped to show off his long legs and slim torso. His black hair had been styled and swept to allow his forehead to peek through, and his eyes were razor sharp as they narrowed in on the slimy presenter. Nicholas bit back a smile. Anyone in the industry worth their salt knew better than to cross Koga Yudai. It was basically a death sentence. Standing here, now, in the middle of a presentation that he was pretty sure was a scam, he leaned back and got ready to enjoy the show.
The receptionist shuffled to the side as Kei walked in. Behind him trailed his assistant, Taki, and Harua, who were engaged in a small back-and-forth. To his side, Maki’s eyes lit up. He made to get up and walk over to them, but Nicholas pulled him back into his chair. Professionalism, he tried to tell Maki as he shot him a glance. The boy slumped back down into his chair with a scowl.
One of the other staff stumbled out of their chair to make way for Kei. In a matter of seconds, half of the office had filed out of the meeting room, leaving behind Nicholas’ team, Kei, Taki, and the presenter. The man was getting sweatier by the minute. His blue dress shirt was now almost soaked through, and he glanced at the door as if to run.
Kei waved away the snacks and drinks that a staff hurriedly offered to him. “No, no need for that. We’ll be done soon.” He made himself comfortable in one of the chairs before shooting a look at Nicholas. His eyes were alight with mirth. “Now, where were we? Ah, you were presenting on potential venues you could secure for Nico’s show, right? No need to restart on my account. Just keep going.”
The man swallowed. “I, uh, I’m sure something like this will bore you —”
“Nonsense.” Kei leaned forward. His foot tapped impatiently on the ground. “All parts of the makings of a show are important. So…” He tilted his head, staring dead straight at the man. “Keep going. Now.”
“Honestly, Nico,” Kei mixed his coffee as he toyed with his straw. “I don’t know why you entertain shit like that.”
By a stroke of unbelievable luck (or Harua’s quick thinking, whichever came first), Kei’s presence in that meeting had cut it down to a matter of minutes. Within a few seconds of the man stammering out a poorly structured pitch for a theatre (and finally, using the word runway, Nicholas had cheered silently), Kei had gotten up and lectured him on the importance of professionalism in the fashion industry and assured him that yes, we will be blacklisting this company from future collaborations with brands and friends of ours, before walking out. Nicholas had followed, not before shooting a pitying look at the shell-shocked man. He really looked impossibly thinner by the end of the meeting.
At least Kei’s intrusion had given them a bit of extra time to talk. They’d initially scheduled a meet-up an hour from now, but Kei said that he had a last-minute meeting that was scheduled at that time, so they quickly found the nearest cafe that Kei liked and sat down. To the side, Maki, Taki, and Harua had found their own table and had begun their own lively conversation.
“Well, sometimes going to smaller companies can be a diamond in the rough.” Nicholas took a sip of his strawberry milkshake. “That’s how you found Jo, right? Harua too. If I have the time, I like giving them a chance. I’m not such a big name, anyway.”
“You’re a bigger name than you think, and you have to start acting like it.” Kei sighed. “Honestly, Nico. Now that you have your own company and have full control over everything, you need to be careful. You have to think about the world around you, rather than just what you want.”
Nicholas’ face twisted before he could stop himself.
“Now, don’t be like that!” In a second, Kei’s serious persona broke. He laughed and pointed at Nicholas’ expression. “I’m just saying! It’s just a harsh truth. People have eyes on you, so you need to be more alert. But I’m sure you already know that, right? So let’s talk about something more fun. How’s the new collection? Any ideas?”
The corners of Nicholas’ mouth dropped even further. “God, don’t start,” He groaned as he tipped his head back. “It’s just been endless circles. Haven’t decided on a theme yet. Nothing’s sticking.”
“Well, you could go back to basics,” Kei traced one finger around the rim of his glass. “Find a feeling and create. It’s the easiest starting point. Art starts from something that you feel so strongly for that you can’t help but shape something out of it.”
“Is that how you did your void collection?” Nicholas mumbled. “Void. Empty. Heartbreak. People were speculating on the mysterious person who had broken the Koga Yudai’s heart for months. Insane pieces, though. Would’ve loved to be in the room when your team designed them.”
There was a lingering pause. When he next spoke, Kei’s voice trembled slightly. “All tabloid speculation. It’s just art that I decided to make. So what?”
A crease made its way across Nicholas’ forehead. For all of Kei’s quirks once he got to know him, it was insanely difficult to get through his shell. He’d be friendly with him, laugh and keep in touch, and yet it sometimes felt like Nicholas barely knew him at all. Over five years of knowing each other and working together, and he’d still been shocked when he’d gone Christmas shopping with Taki last year and had learnt that Kei liked incense.
It wasn’t always that way, of course. But over the years, Kei had become more loaded with work and commitments as the brand grew bigger, and it’d clearly taken a toll on him. There wasn’t a particular point in time per se, but Nicholas recalled him starting to change three years ago, when he’d slammed the door open one day and announced that one of their most senior models, Murata Fuma, had retired. It’d been a terrible day for everyone, and Kei had thrown himself into his work from then on.
So when it came to Kei’s love life, Nicholas was completely in the dark. He’d just assumed that he was such a workaholic that he’d never have time for romance. Heck, he couldn’t remember the last time Kei had taken a day off. Taki, his long-time assistant, said he could only recall one instance. Truly, finding time for relationships for a man like Kei was surely impossible. Who could get close?
“So!” A determined huff punctured the silence. “How’s life? What’s it like coming back to Korea?”
Exhaling, Nicholas slouched down in the chair. “Kinda familiar, kinda not. I’ve been eating well, though. Tried some new places I’ve never been to before.”
“Oh, nice.” A pause. “With Byun Euijoo, I assume?”
Nicholas was halfway to an answer when Kei’s words sank in. He whipped his head around and tried to ignore the pit in his stomach. “Wait, you — how do you know? Euijoo, I mean. How—”
He tried to keep his voice as steady as he could, but it cracked at the very end. How had Kei known? He thought he’d done the work, made sure to hide his outings with Euijoo. They’d purposely chosen inconspicuous spots that not even locals knew about. How had news of Euijoo reached Kei?
“Did you really think you were hiding him so well that none of the press would notice?” Kei sipped his drink nonchalantly, and Nicholas tried to calm his thudding heart. It felt like it would beat out of his chest at any moment. Across from him, Kei’s eyes bore down on him, sharp as glass. “Come on, Nico. Even if you’d been trying your hardest, people would’ve seen.”
Nicholas swallowed. “But there were no articles.”
“Because I erased them.” Another sip of his coffee. Nicholas couldn’t tell if the numb in his fingers was from the air conditioning or the fear. “Pulled a few strings and got them taken down before they could become, you know, news. You owe me one.”
A tremble began rumbling, spreading from the middle of Nicholas’ chest outwards. His throat felt tight. It was the sort of horrible fear that made him go still instead of fight back in response. All he could do was feel the cracks down his bloodstream as he sat there, frozen.
“I’m not here to blackmail you, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Kei smiled in a way that must have tried to be reassuring. Nicholas could barely even blink in response. “But it is a warning. Having friends within the industry is speculated on enough. Having friends outside of it… well, for your sake, I hope that Byun Euijoo has a strong will. The press has torn apart more well-established men than him.”
“He’s just — he’s just a friend.” Nicholas could barely force the words out. “I just wanted to be friends with him.”
A car rolled into the space right outside the cafe. Kei glanced at it, once, before quickly downing the rest of his coffee. He let out a long exhale. “Take it from me, Nicholas. Relationships don’t work that way for people like us. Be careful. I can’t protect you forever.” One last clink of the glass, and Kei snapped on a pair of sunglasses. “Taki!” He called. “Time to go. We’ve got that fitting to attend.”
With one final graceful turn, the pair walked out of the door and got into the car. Nicholas stared down at the table, to the empty glass Kei had left behind.
The ice had barely melted.
__n_oy
[photo]
this cat looks like you
haha
Read at: 23:47
??
hellooo
nicoooo
[photo]
[photo]
wow even more cat pics didn’t summon you
what’s wrong?
w_h_y_weno
hi
oo nice cat pics
they look cute
__n_oy
whats wrong
w_h_y_weno
all black cats tho
are u calling me bad luck
haha
__n_oy
of course not
you’re like the opposite of bad luck
like you’re really comfortable to talk to
w_h_y_weno
rlly
__n_oy
yeah!
it’s easy to talk to you
like look at it this way
we barely meet up in person
but we’re still able to talk pretty consistently for about
what
almost 4 months now
oh! i just realised
in 2 days it’ll be exactly 4 months
happy 4 months to us :)
w_h_y_weno
haha
yay :))
__n_oy
there you are :))
what happened?
w_h_y_weno
nah js in my head abt smth
its better now
now that i can talk to you ;)
__n_oy
haha
ok you’re back to normal nico now
yay
w_h_y_weno
but i do need to make sure
like because of
who i am ig
if ur ever approached by anyone
lmk ok
ill handle it
__n_oy
i’m sure they’ll js be bored when they learn about me
but okay
w_h_y_weno
byun euijoo
you are anything but boring
__n_oy is typing…
__n_oy
if you say so
The closest thing Nicholas had to a bedtime routine was a shower, skincare, and then spending a little time either sketching or doomscrolling on his phone. Most people would tell him that being online so much, especially for a prominent figure like him, was probably not the best idea. Both for mental health and eyesight reasons, ending the day by mindlessly scrolling was definitely not encouraged. Still, Nicholas found that the Internet had so much random content that it sometimes sparked that creativity and inspiration that he needed. So he’d chosen to let himself indulge for just a few minutes before bed.
He’d been in the middle of watching a deep dive into the history of mirrors when his screen froze. For a second he frowned, tapping it to check if it’d malfunctioned. Then the display changed. Call incoming from __n_oy. Answer?
In an instant, he shot up from his bed. A call. A call. Forget the symbolism of reflections and mirrors, Byun Euijoo was calling him. Of his own volition. Of his own will. Nicholas still hadn’t received LINE messaging friendship status with Euijoo yet, but he’d be damned if he let an opportunity like this slip through the cracks. This had to be one of his greatest life achievements. Euijoo dialled first. Nicholas was so going to put this on his resume.
He ran into the bathroom and slammed the light switch. What if Euijoo wanted to video call? He had to look his best. He’d been winding down for bed, but he looked pretty okay, right? No crazy eyebags or breakouts. He took a quick glance in the mirror and winced. He’d just washed and dried his hair, and now it lay flat and dull on his head. No volume or anything. Euijoo might think he looked like an egg. He wet his hands and tried his best to style his bangs so that they framed his face nicely. The strands flopped down to his cheeks like sad noodles.
There was a smudge of cream under his eye, and he quickly rubbed it until it disappeared into his skin. He rummaged through his cupboards until he found a stick of tinted lip balm. He cracked open the seal and quickly pressed it to his lips. Perfect. At least there’d be a bit of colour to his skin. For a moment he debated dabbing on a hint of concealer, before deciding that his phone’s camera could probably wash the blemishes away. Hopefully. If Euijoo noticed the budding zit on his jawline, he was going to go to bed in tears.
Finally, after his quick touch-up, he ran back into his room and grabbed his phone. The call had ended, leaving behind a notification for a missed call and a series of messages from Euijoo. He opened their chat and began to read.
__n_oy
oh my god
im so srry
that was a mistake i was going too fast
i was trying to tell you smoething but i clicked the wrong button
im sos orry
w_h_y_weno is calling…
Missed call from w_h_y_weno
__n_oy
WAIT IT WAS AN ACCIDENT
you don’t have to call me
i’ll just message it to you instead
w_h_y_weno is calling…
“Nicholas, oh my god, it was an accident,” Euijoo immediately began apologising the second the call connected. “It’s nothing serious, I just wanted to tell you something small, that’s all.”
“Well, now you can tell me on call,” Nicholas smiled. He lay stomach-down on his sheets, head lifted just enough to stare at the tiny screen in front of him. If he squinted hard enough and used his imagination, he could make out the faintest outline of Euijoo lying in bed, head close enough to the camera that Nicholas could see the pupils of his eyes. He grinned at the thought. “What’s up? Anything fun happened today?”
“Oh, well,” A pause, before a few shuffling noises came through the speaker. “It’s just a short trip, really. My company was organising an overseas trip, you know, and so I applied for it on a whim, but then I got it.”
“Oh!” Nicholas didn’t know what he’d expected from this sudden call, but a work trip was certainly not that. Still, he’d heard just how few chances Euijoo had to go overseas each year (ie. one at best), so any trip out of Korea must’ve been a dream come true. “Wait, Euijoo, that’s great! Where are you going? Is it for really long?”
There was a long silence. Nicholas shifted slightly, a frown crossing his face. Had he said something wrong? Was it confidential? None of his trips had ever been, if the amount of cameras at the airport when he landed were any indication. Maybe Korean offices worked a little differently?
Finally, Euijoo let out a nervous chuckle. “Ah, sorry, I was just thinking about how to say this. Well, it’s about a month long, because they’re also giving us some time for sightseeing. So I’ll get some time to look around and stuff, haha.”
Wow. Hearing Euijoo’s little breathy laugh on call was a religious experience. If Nicholas could, he’d bottle it up and press it to his ear to play on repeat whenever he wanted. Like a conch shell. No matter where he went, all it would take would be to hear the sound once more, and he would be home again. He tried not to let his giggly happiness bleed too much into his voice as he spoke, “Ooh, that’s fun. You should take lots of pictures. You’re really good at them.”
“Mm. Yeah.” Euijoo sounded distracted. Another long pause. “But, well, I was wondering what you’d be doing around…” Another shuffling noise in the background. “…uh, this November?”
“November?” Nicholas blinked. He mentally ran through as much as he could recall from the schedule Harua had sent him. Unfortunately, his mind came up blank. This was why he hired a secretary. He’d be done for if he had to organise things on his own. “I’m not sure, but I can ask Harua. Why?”
“Uhm…”
“Euijoo,” The gears in Nicholas’ brain began turning. He blamed it on the late hours, and that it was Euijoo he was talking to. If it’d been anyone else, maybe he would’ve been sharper on the draw, but Euijoo had a unique way of melting away every other thought in his brain into a looking glass that only reflected him, him, him. “Euijoo, are you saying —?”
“Haha, maybe?” There was a little cheek to his voice. Then, in a tone that was far too casual to be saying something that would flip Nicholas’ life on its head, he spoke. “I’m coming to Tokyo this November, so I’m cashing in on that offer you gave me last time. Would you mind taking me around?”