Chapter Text
It’s not that Seokjin had something particular against Jeon Jeongguk, per se. The younger male had arrived at SUGA Ent. a few months ago, freshly out of uni with a nice diploma in hand, as a member of the digital marketing team. The kid had been hired on the spot by Hyunah from HR — after validation from their CEO Min Yoongi, of course.
Jeon Jeongguk’s CV was impressive, Seokjin had to give him that. He had graduated as a valedictorian with a double major in business and digital marketing and had previously done an internship at Jung Ent. and completed his apprenticeship at MARIA Studios. Sunmi, their marketing director, had jokingly called her newest recruit “the Golden Boy” once, and the nickname had stuck as easily as gum on the sole of a shoe.
Everyone liked Jeongguk — and granted, he was very likeable. A friendly face that could break into cute smiles that made him scrunch his nose, lovely dark hair that curled when it was a tad too long, a lean and athletic body that suggested the kid liked to go to the gym— Jeon Jeongguk was pleasant both by his polite manners and to the eye. Which was maybe what irritated Seokjin.
Not that Seokjin had anything to be ashamed of — and swept under the tarp — himself. The man was the production team manager with some successes to his name — like Taemin’s “Danger” or IU’s “Palette” comebacks, to name only a few — and he had been blessed by the gods, or more likely, his mother’s genes, with the good looks one should expect from a successful and single twenty-five-year-old man working in the entertainment industry.
If you were to ask him, Seokjin didn’t feel threatened by Jeongguk’s appearance at the workplace. Again, the kid had done nothing to him — yet — specifically. But Seokjin was, admittedly, a bit jealous of the general attention the younger had gotten since his arrival — attention that had been previously directed at him. Yeah, that was a bit petty on his part, but Seokjin would get over it eventually. As long as his interactions with Jeon Jeongguk were kept to the bare minimum.
But, of course, things never seemed to go his way.
— 🎄 —
“What do you mean?” Seokjin’s eyebrow twitched imperceptibly, as if the guy was holding back a full frown — and he probably was.
“I think the audience would go crazy over additional content and teasers”, Jeongguk repeated, barely holding a sigh himself. Seokjin was not the only one battling with his patience. “Think about it, Chungha has never had a full-length album until now. We should go upscale. Let out a reality TV show of about ten episodes, some of them with the featuring artists, and upload them on streaming sites. On her V-Live channel, on our Youtube channel. Five episodes before the comeback, five episodes after the comeback — those will most likely be the ones with the featuring artists, and they can discuss their track, how they came up with it, et cetera.”
“That’s actually a good idea”, his superior Sunmi chimed in, ever the mediator.
“But the schedule is a bit tight already”, Sandeul, a member of Seokjin’s team, mused. “Chungha’s comeback is in four weeks. Even if we start filming next week, we’d have to wait at least three days for the edited files, and we have to film everything before the comeback. Chungha will be too busy with the promotions afterwards.”
“It’s a tight fit”, Jeongguk conceded, “but we can still make it! Also, if we take care of the subtitles ourselves, we can reach her global fans quicker, and once the word is out on social media, she will gain new followers and her fanbase will grow.”
“Jeongguk”, Seokjin managed to give him a tight-lipped smile, “I appreciate your eagerness in proposing, uh, an ambitious and rentable solution, but I’m not sure we will have the time to wrap everything before D-Day.”
“It’s a tight fit”, Sunmi repeated, as if to press on her teammate’s words, “but Jeongguk is right. It’s her first full-length album, we should go big.”
“She’ll be exhausted”, Seokjin pointed out. “The schedule’s gonna be a real nightmare.”
“What if we filmed several episodes on the same day?” Heeyeon, the production director and Seokjin’s superior, proposed. “I’ll see the details with the styling team, we’ll need several outfits and make-up looks, but we could wrap the filming quicker that way.”
“That’d be great!” Sunmi exclaimed.
“I’m not opposed to it”, Min Yoongi spoke up, the CEO having stayed silent until then. All heads turned to him, as if they’d all forgotten about his presence at the meeting. He shrugged. “As long as we get a successful promotion.”
“We can definitely do that”, Jeonguk assured, and he saw Seokjin barely repressing a scoff from the corner of his eye. Heeyeon most likely put a hand on his thigh, either out of comfort or in warning, and Jeongguk briefly wondered if the two of them were fuck— What? No. Not your business, Jeongguk.
“I’ll see with Chungha about adding something to her schedule”, one of Chungha’s managers said.
“If it’s too much for her, don’t hesitate to tell us,” Yoongi replied. “I do want my artists to be successful, but I want them healthy first and foremost.”
“Of course”, the manager nodded. “I was thinking, we can always reschedule the chicken soup advertisement if it gets too much.”
“Oh yeah”, Yoongi drawled. “Director Minho insisted on having Chungha feature in that ad, but honestly, she doesn’t fit the product that much. He’s an old friend so I agreed, and he shouldn’t be opposed to rescheduling. What about the featuring artists’ schedule? The best would be to put them all in next week’s filming.”
“I’ll contact their labels personally”, Seokjin lifted his hand almost defeatedly, but Yoongi smiled. Seokjin was good at his job, any task the man set his mind to would get completed successfully and with no delay.
“What about the budget?” the CEO inquired, turning his head to Minhyuk, their senior accountant.
“It should stay within our margins.”
“Good. Well, it’s settled then. Heeyeon and Sunmi, I trust you to finalise the details of the project with your team. Don’t forget to give Minhyuk the list of the additional costs as soon as possible. Okay, meeting adjourned!”
Everyone rolled their eyes at their CEO’s antics, and people started to leave the room little by little. As Jeongguk got out of the room, he caught Seokjin’s long, exhausted sigh, and Sandeul’s compassionate stare.
“As if we didn’t have enough on our plates already”, he heard Seokjin mumble. Jeongguk felt a bit guilty, as his idea was, admittedly, a consequent additional amount of work for the production team. Sandeul lifted his head at that moment and caught him eavesdropping. Jeongguk felt the tip of his ears burn in embarrassment, and he quickly exited the meeting room.
— 🎄 —
After that fateful day, anyone could tell there was an unspoken war between production manager Kim Seokjin and digital marketing junior Jeon Jeongguk. Concept meetings and comeback meetings were now their battlefield, both alternating between genius ideas and passive-aggressive comments.
To Jeongguk, Seokjin was the stuck-up that always wanted to reject his ideas. To Seokjin, Jeongguk was a pretentious little brat who always succeeded to give him — and the rest of the production team — more work. The meetings were for sure eventful, but Min Yoongi never seemed bothered by the rising tension that never failed to show up between the two of them.
“They’re just riling each other up in good camaraderie, and they actually come back with incredible proposals”, the CEO had just shrugged when asked.
And it was, objectively, the truth. Since Chungha’s comeback, which had been a well-executed prowess on their part, there also had been IU’s comeback, Zico’s EP release, and SSAK3’s debut. All projects had been successful, thanks to Seokjin’s hard work and expertise and Jeongguk’s incredible ideas.
“That’s a shame they can’t stand each other”, Heeyeon had chuckled to Sunmi one day in the break room. “Because if we could put them in a duo together, they’d probably eat up the industry.”
And Sunmi could only agree: the dream comeback would be a concept directed by Seokjin and a marketing strategy detailed by Jeongguk. Not that they weren’t proceeding as such already; the production team always seemed to go with Seokjin’s concept idea during the concept meeting, and then Jeongguk’s idea would get approved during the comeback meeting. But the manager and the junior always bickered during the latter, from the feasibility of the idea to the budget Jeongguk’s ideas always exceeded a bit. The dream comeback would be a smooth comeback.
Their company was rising steadily, from success to success, and their artists were thriving, but the costs were the nerves of one Kim Seokjin and one Jeon Jeongguk. Both men were growing exhausted, probably unsure as to why they were fighting anymore — but a man’s ego is a petulant little thing — but both too proud to step back first. Thus, the tension between them was growing from comeback to comeback, the glares were turning more heated and the jabs were fiercer.
Hyunah from HR was also growing steadily stressed out from things taking a sour turn. Although fair competitiveness was encouraged in their workplace, management was always making sure that any argument stayed work-related and wasn't affecting the workers’ personal life. But judging the eye bags becoming more prominent under Seokjin and Jeongguk’s eyes, Hyunah couldn’t help but worry. There was only a matter of time before the tension Seokjin and Jeongguk kept fueling snapped, and God knows what would happen, then.
— 🎄 —
“What’s the big meeting for?” Jeongguk asked curiously, nudging Jimin by the elbow as the two of them were taking the lift towards the fourth floor of the building.
“Oh, right!” the shorter male exclaimed, eyes twinkling with excitement. “It’s gonna be your first Christmas party at SUGA Ent.! You blended into the company so well, I tend to forget you’ve only been here for six months.”
“You helped me ease into it”, Jeongguk mumbled, grateful nonetheless. Jimin was a junior analyst and one of the friendliest people Jeongguk had ever met. He was easily friends with everyone at the company, even with the security guards and the cleaning team. Everyone liked Jimin. The shorter male had come to Jeongguk when he arrived, intent on showing him around the company, and the two of them had become friends because of their proximity in age and their common adoration for Bigbang.
“So”, Jimin continued as they reached the fourth floor, “every year, two people are designed to organise the company Christmas party. There’s no seniority or hierarchy involved between the pair that gets selected, and everyone can participate! Although the ones who did it the previous year can refuse if their names are drawn this year again. There’s also a theme for the party and decorations and mini-activities in the company all throughout December.”
“Sounds fun.”
“It is! And everything gets picked by a draw. You’ll see.”
They entered the big conference room where a bunch of people were already waiting. There were tables against the wall with beverages and snacks, and a few tables and chairs scattered all around. On the little stage where people usually made their presentations, there was a small table at the centre, with transparent bowls filled with folded papers. It looked more like a friendly announcement than an actual meeting.
Jeongguk’s eyes scanned the room and couldn’t help but land on Kim Seokjin, who was near the buffet with a glass in his — enticing — hands. The man looked really good in his navy blue suit, perfectly tailored for him, with his hair parted to reveal some of his forehead and his round glasses that made him look equally professional and — well, hot. Jeongguk could admit that much, and he probably would have tried to hit on the guy if Seokjin’s personality wasn’t such a turnoff. The production manager was currently in an animated conversation with Kim Jaehwan from global marketing. The latter, whom Jeongguk had spoken to a couple of times due to their lines of work — they belonged to the same department, after all — had a hand squeezing Seokjin’s biceps as the two of them were laughing, heads tilting towards each other. And Jeongguk was absolutely not jealous, not even a tad bit, it’s not like he wondered how close they actually were or how Seokjin’s biceps would feel under his own hands as the guy would fuck deeper into hi— wait, stop.
“You okay there?” Jimin asked, an eyebrow raised as Jeongguk shook his head violently — as if it would help to clear his head of its impure thoughts.
“Yeah, it’s nothing. Just, uh, something in my eye.”
“Something in your eye”, Jimin deadpanned. “So it has nothing to do with Seokjin looking like a snack over there.”
“Oh my god, shut up.”
Before the older man could retort, the buzzing sounds of a microphone resonated through the room and all heads turned to the stage. Min Yoongi was standing behind the table, a small smile on his pouty lips, and demanding everyone’s attention.
“Hello everyone”, their CEO started, “it is my greatest pleasure to conduct our Christmas traditions for another year.”
Jeongguk drowned the rest of the introduction — something about the values of the company and Christmas spirit — to scan the room once more. When his eyes landed on Seokjin, the man was, somehow, already looking at him. Cheeks undoubtedly flushing, the younger swiftly turned his head back to the stage. Min Yoongi was drawing the theme of this year’s party — “contrasts” — and deciding the date of the event — December 21st.
“And now”, the CEO drawled with a little smirk, “the moment that you’ve all been waiting for. Let Fate decide who will prepare this year’s company Christmas party!”
The man plunged his hand into the biggest bowl, turning around a little before taking out a paper and slowly unfolding it — for entertainment purposes — in front of the employees waiting eagerly for the first name to be called.
“Kim Seokjin!”
“Aww, nice”, Jimin smiled as everyone in the room started to clap — why this draw deserved congratulations, Jeongguk didn’t really know, but he still clapped politely along, even if it was for something Seokjin-related. He made sure not to look at the guy, though.
“And the lucky one pairing with Seokjin will be…” Yoongi put his hand in the bowl again, someone imitating drum rolls on a table nearby. The CEO drew a paper and unfolded it, pausing in surprise, then smirked as if Christmas had come early. Yoongi lifted his head, and Jeongguk’s guts twisted in some sort of evil foreboding.
“... none other than Jeon Jeongguk.”
A dreadful silence followed his words. Jeongguk gulped. He tried to avoid looking at Seokjin, but his curiosity got the best of him. And sure enough, the man’s gaze was already fixated on him, mouth slightly parted in a mix of surprise and betrayal, but still handsome as ev— okay, no, you’re not going there again, Jeongguk.
The digital marketing junior could feel multiple gazes trailing back and forth between them; then, eventually, someone started to hesitantly clap, followed by several others. It was more polite and tense than actually cheering, though, but Jeongguk couldn’t blame them. Seokjin and he were supposed to organise the Christmas party. Together. Seokjin and he, both equally competent employees and professionals to a fault but always fiercely bickering during any comeback meeting, were supposed to organise the Christmas party together.
Well, fuck.
“I seriously can’t believe it”, Seokjin stomped his foot almost like a petulant child. Heeyeon and Jaehwan exchanged a compassionate glance and a grimace because, Lord, the following days weren’t going to be easy.
“There’s nothing you can do about it, Jinnie”, the woman patted his shoulder. “CEO Min won’t ever accept one of you withdrawing.”
“I’m sure this bastard would encourage it, if anything”, Seokjin seethed, his face becoming red with anger. “Maybe he even rigged the drawing, I don’t know!”
“Jinnie”, Jaehwan licked his lips. They were in the breakroom, next to the pantry, which had no door. Anyone could come in or eavesdrop.
“I don’t care! I just— I really can’t do this”, Seokjin sighed, running a hand through his well-kept hair. “This is the worst. Seniority and hierarchy don’t count, so we’ll be at the same level. This brat will think he can do anything he wants and he won’t listen to me. He’ll just be giving out millions of ideas and won’t accept if I disagree with him, so I’ll just have to make them happen, somehow, as if I had magical skills, on top of all the regular work I already have on my plate also because of him—”
“Or”, Heeyeon cut him off gently but firmly, “he could surprise you by following your directions and agreeing to some of your ideas, and proving himself to be helpful with things like planning and budget. You never know, babe.”
“Heeyeon’s right”, Jaehwan continued. “You’ve only known the kid during meetings about comebacks, so far. The stakes are a little bit different here. That could be an opportunity to get to know each other in a different setting. Maybe you’ll even get along, who knows?”
“Yeah, right, as if it’d ever happen”, Seokjin rolled his eyes. “Over my dead body.”
“You—”
“Ah”, Jeongguk’s voice suddenly echoed in the room, startling the three of them, “there you are! I was looking for you.”
“Were you, now”, Seokjin deadpanned.
“Yes. I was going to ask you if you wanted to have a quick meeting to discuss the organisation of the Christmas party and the few Christmas events?”
“Now?” Seokjin reluctantly asked. Jeongguk’s eyebrow twitched and Seokjin felt a spurt of satisfaction coursing through his veins, just like every time he succeeded in getting on the younger’s nerves.
“Obviously. I have other things to do later, for Taemin’s next album.”
“Oh, have you?” Seokjin mocked. “And here I was thinking you gave our team most of the work on that project.”
“Jinnie”, Heeyeon squeezed his arm in warning. “Don’t start, please. He’s all yours, Jeongguk”, she added, nudging Jaehwan towards the exit of the open room. The two men were now facing each other with equally defiant glares. Jeongguk with his arms crossed over his chest, Seokjin with his hands nonchalantly tucked in his slacks’ pockets.
“So?” the elder finally let out. “I’m all ears.” Jeongguk raised an eyebrow.
“Here? In the break room?”
“You’re the one who wanted to meet now. I’m on my break.”
“You’re seriously—” Jeongguk cut himself off with a groan. Seokjin waited a bit but the younger didn’t seem like he was going to finish his sentence, so he took over.
“Well, then, let’s think on our own about one or two ideas for the side events and about a nice place where we could host the party. Quotes and a global estimate of the budget would be ideal as well. Let’s have a meeting in two days with our proposals.”
“And here you go”, Jeongguk rolled his eyes. “Trying to take the lead again.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m talking about how you’re automatically trying to get the upper hand on this. Just like you’re doing in every meeting.”
“I’m not trying to get the upper hand!”
“Yes, you are!” Jeongguk took a step forward and Seokjin instinctively took one back. “But hierarchy and seniority don’t matter anymore. You’re no longer a manager or a sunbae to me, here. You’re equals. So don’t think I’ll let you take the lead so easily, Kim.”
Seokjin’s skin was crawling with an unknown fire, his breath shortening in anger. Jeongguk and he were approximately the same size, but it was still fairly easy to take a step forward and tower over the younger. Jeongguk backed up, and Seokjin couldn’t suppress a little smirk.
“You’re right, Jeon. It’s just you and me on this project, and I’m not a manager or a sunbae. We’re equals, now. But remember, I’m still your hyung. Don’t think I’ll also let you take the lead so easily.”
Jeongguk imperceptibly gulped when Seokjin took another step forward, using his own words against him. Seokjin licked his lips, and the younger’s eyes quickly shifted downwards before fixating on his again. Seokjin almost snorted. Interesting.
“You always come up with fresh and impressive ideas during meetings”, he took another step, Jeongguk’s back now against the wall. “But I’m not so easily impressed, Jeon.” Seokjin leaned forward, inappropriately close, his hot breath tickling Jeongguk’s ear like a wicked spell. “So you better come up with a good idea to impress Hyung, understood?”
Seokjin backed away with a small smirk, taking in all of Jeongguk’s flustered appearance, the younger's breath short and his pupils dilated.
“See you in my office in two days, Jeon.”
Seokjin left the break room with a confident gait, but slowly enough to hear the younger groaning quietly and letting out a small “Fuck.”
— 🎄 —
“Absolutely not.”
“Damn, that was categoric, Jeon”, Seokjin rolled his eyes. “As I expected. So, tell me, what’s so wrong with my proposal?”
“Are you seriously asking me that?” Jeongguk took a deep breath before glaring at the older man again. “A chessboard concept to embody contrasts? Please. That’s so old and predictable. You could have told me black and white directly.”
“I don’t see what’s wrong with black and white”, Seokjin huffed. “It’s sleek and classy.”
“And overused. Plus, it’s Christmas. It’s supposed to be fun! Colourful!”
“You want colours? Fine, since it’s Christmas—”
“Don’t you dare say red and green or red and gold, Kim”, Jeongguk threatened. “Blue and silver are out of the picture as well.”
“Who do you take me for?” the older male scoffed. “Are we in fucking Hogwarts?”
Seokjin, Jeongguk was quickly learning, had a tendency to curse when he was not in “official/formal” and “professional” settings — and Jeongguk didn’t know if he should be offended or flattered that the production manager was apparently not considering his meetings with the younger to fall in either of those two categories. Anyway, it — unfortunately — only added to Seokjin’s charms, because Seokjin cursing was kinda hot. Jeongguk wondered how those curses would sound in the bedroo—
“But you probably have a better idea, don’t you, Jeon?” Seokjin’s voice brought him back from his slipping thoughts — something that seemed to happen more often than not, lately. “An angels and demons concept, perhaps?”
“Please”, Jeongguk almost shivered in disgust. “No, I was thinking about getting paired up with someone to explore the differences between two individuals. Like, one would come up with a garment the other wouldn't normally wear, and the latter would have to incorporate it in their own costume. Or come up with a matching item, and incorporate it in their costume, but each in their own way. The contrast lies in each person’s individuality, but there are still resemblances between every one of us — thus symbolised by that same item. Because there’s a certain symmetry, a certain form of resemblance in opposites. Like black and white. Your chessboard idea. It’s the same pieces but in different colours. Contrasts can be opposites, but in the end, opposites attract.”
Jeongguk waited somewhat anxiously for Seokjin’s answer. The latter opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.
“Wow”, he finally breathed out.
Jeongguk felt a flicker of pride bursting in his chest. Seems like he just got the upper hand. Seokjin stood up, circling his desk and muttering something that looked a lot like “Damn clever brat”, before stopping a few steps away from Jeongguk. He stared at the younger’s face wordlessly, before a small smile made its way on his plump, pink lips.
“Not bad, Jeon. Not bad at all. I’m actually impressed.” He took a small step forward, entering Jeongguk’s space, but the younger refused to step back. He lifted a cocky eyebrow instead.
“Yeah? Was it impressive enough for you?”
“It was”, Seokjin chuckled, an unknown glint in his eyes. “You did a good job.” He took another step forward, his chest almost colliding with Jeongguk’s, close enough to whisper in his ear, “Good boy.”
Jeongguk flushed and sputtered, immediately taking a step back and leaving Seokjin’s office without so much as a goodbye. He should have felt proud that he made Seokjin agree to his idea, but he still felt like he’d lost the battle. Maybe he didn’t have the upper hand, after all. And that was all Seokjin’s fault. Fucker.
— 🎄 —
The proposal had been drafted and approved by Min Yoongi in no time. The drawing box for pairings had been settled on Jeongguk’s desk since the younger male was sitting in an open space. People had come and gone, picking papers until only two of them remained at the bottom of the box. As the organisers of the whole event, Jeongguk and Seokjin had agreed to pick their partners last.
At the end of the day, Jeongguk took the box to bring to Seokjin’s office. It was late, nearly everyone had left. He bumped into Jaehwan exiting Seokjin’s office, and maybe it was the lighting, but it seemed to Jeongguk that his lips were slightly puffed and pinker than usual. He ignored the flaring pang of jealousy in his chest and shook his head. None of his business.
“Ah, Jeon”, Seokjin greeted nonchalantly when he stepped inside. “I was waiting for you.”
Jeongguk stepped closer to his desk, absolutely not noticing how Jin’s lips were also plumper and pinker than usual, and his jealousy not surging again.
“Here”, he said, slamming the box on the desk with a bit too much force than what he’d intended, making the elder raise an eyebrow at him but thankfully not saying anything. “Ladies first.”
Seokjin scoffed but picked one paper between his long fingers, leaving Jeongguk to take the last one at the bottom of the box. They unfolded their papers at the same time, then lifted their heads.
“Uh, I’ve got my name”, Seokjin said, holding out his paper to Jeongguk.
“What? Fuck, me too.”
They shared a bewildered glance, taking each other’s papers and standing side by side to compare the two, as if their names written on them would magically transform into someone else’s. They were standing a bit too close to each other, their shoulders bumping and diffusing warmth to each other’s skin through their clothes. Jeongguk broke the moment first.
“Fuck.”
“I gotta agree with you, for once”, Seokjin said, licking his lips. Jeongguk stared at his tongue from the corner of his eye, mesmerised. The elder got a chapstick out of his pocket, a little red tube with glitters, and applied some balm on his lips — his pink, plump lips, and oh, was it strawberry-scented? Seokjin smacked them together to smear the balm, which made his lips even fuller than normal and— oh.
“See something you like?” Seokjin teased, the curious glint in his eyes shining once again. Jeongguk blushed, embarrassed upon getting caught.
“You wish.”
“Good boys don’t lie, Jeon.”
“Whatever, shut up. See you tomorrow”, Jeongguk mumbled, leaving Seokjin’s office with barely a nod to the elder. Seokjin chuckled. This was much more fun than he thought.
— 🎄 —
“What if we proposed a DIY activity? Like painting your own Christmas bauble?”
“I’m sorry? Are we in kindergarten? Are we gonna do ‘customise your own Christmas sock’ after that?”
“Don’t sass me, Kim. I do think a DIY activity would be good for the employees to take their minds off things. What about wood carving? Ice sculpture?”
“And have HR on our backs to make sure this falls in agreement with all our safety measures? You deal with them and their billion-stage paperwork, Jeon. You have the time, after all. It’s not like you’re the one who has to reorganise IU’s entire schedule for the winter fan meeting pre-sales, which was another one of your brilliant ideas.”
“Oh my god, I’m sorry for having ideas that bring good results to our business! What do you want me to do?”
“Find a goddamn Christmas activity that would appeal to our colleagues, Jeon.”
“Baking cookies? Decorating cookies? Organise a children afternoon at the office on a Wednesday and decorate cookies with your kid as a parent-child bonding experience? I don’t know, I’m starting to run out of ideas since you’ve been rejecting every single one of them for the past thirty minutes!”
“Careful, brat, I’m still your hyung. Just, okay, let’s go with that. CEO Min will love the idea, he can bring his own daughter, she loves cookies. And Jimin, for some reason.”
“CEO Min has a daughter?”
“I’m surprised you don’t know already, he keeps talking about her whenever there’s a team meeting lunch or a company dinner. Let’s settle with cookie decorations, I’ll ask Jimin to help you coordinate and animate the activity, since I’ll most likely be busy with new tasks you will have gotten piled up on my desk since then.”
“Again, sorry for coming up with ideas better than yours that our CEO seems to like.”
“What else?”
“A big snowball fight? An ice-skating outing? A Christmas medley karaoke?”
“Jeon. Please.”
“An ugly Christmas pullover contest?”
“Do you want to die?”
“Okay fine, why don’t you come up with something, then?”
“A Christmas hot chocolate special at the company’s cafeteria on the ground floor. Our idols’ pictures on the cups. Outsiders can also buy it, but our employees can get it at half price. I don’t know, Jeon, I’m also running out of ideas. Let’s just go with that. CEO Min will be pleased because we’ll also make benefits with this idea.”
“What if all the benefits went to a local charity? People will be keener on buying, and it will play in favour of the company’s image.”
“Agreed. We have a deal.”
“Fucking finally!”
“Don’t swear, Jeon, it doesn’t suit your cute little mouth.”
“My c— w-what?”
“Oh, would you look at that! I have to draft the proposal and make an estimate quote for accounting. Later, Jeon.”
“Wait, Kim, you can’t— Kim!”
— 🎄 —
“So? You and Jeongguk? How’s it going?”
“Somewhere satisfactory enough for our CEO, I hope.”
“I didn’t mean the Christmas party and all, you dork. I meant the sexual tension between the two of you.”
“Sexual tension? What sexual tension?”
“Jin, please, you’re practically eye-fucking each other. Give me a fucking break.”
“We’re not eye-fucking each other!”
“Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night. Someday it’ll explode and you’ll just jump onto each other and have nasty, kinky sex in your office.”
“Kim Jaehwan, get out of my office. Now.”
“Love you, too!”
— 🎄 —
“He’s insufferable.”
“So you’ve said, Jeongguk.”
"I mean it! He’s always shooting down my ideas, and looking like, like—”
“Like someone you’d like to fuck, or would like to fuck you. We’ve got it.”
“Jimin-hyung!”
“What? You’d let him fuck you, don’t even try to deny it. He called you a good boy the other day and I thought you were gonna combust.”
“That’s just because he— he—”
“I know baby, I know. I’d be gay panicking, too, if I was all alone with him in his office after office hours. I’m surprised you didn’t fuck already, actually.”
“Jimin-hyung.”
“You could at least admit you want him.”
“I’m, I— I do want him to rearrange my guts, okay? Damn, he’s so fucking hot, it’s unfair! Cursing makes him even hotter. And when he raises an eyebrow with that infuriating little smirk? God, I wanna wipe it off his lips. With my lips, preferably. But that will never happen.”
“Or maybe it will… You never know. Did you guys talk about your item for the party?”
“Not yet.”
“Okay, great, because I just had this amazing idea—”
“Jimin-hyung, please...”
“No, but hear me out! So, I was thinking…”
— 🎄 —
When Jeongguk came into his office, holding an inconspicuous and thus suspicious brown bag paper bag, Seokjin raised an eyebrow at the younger. It was after office hours, as the two of them usually had too much work during the day to discuss their Christmas project. Jeongguk sat in the armchair on the other side of his desk as if he belonged here — but as he’d been doing that a lot these days, maybe he did.
“I don’t recall scheduling a meeting today”, Seokjin spoke up, eyeing the younger’s face warily. “What’s the matter, Jeon?”
“Since you’re always so busy with work because of me, I figured I’d take care of our matching item for the party.”
“Oh, so you’re finally admitting you’re the cause of my work overload.”
“Don’t start, Kim”, Jeongguk rolled his eyes. “Don’t you want to know which item I picked?”
“Something tells me I should get worried. What did you plan, Jeon?”
“You see”, the younger male continued, taking two velvet boxes out of the bag, “I thought long and hard about our interactions—”
“Long and hard, uh?”
“—and I’ve come to the conclusion that this would be the perfect item to embody our, how should I call it? Our dynamics.”
“Dynamics”, Seokjin repeated with an amused smile. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Seokjin took one of the boxes — the red velvet one — and opened it, lips parting in surprise before the usual glint sparkled in his eyes. Inside the box was a leather choker, or rather, a collar, thick and pretty, with silver letters attached to the front that read “J’s”. He cocked his head to the side, gazing at Jeongguk who was valiantly holding his gaze, even though his cheeks were dusted with a healthy shade of pink.
“Interesting choice. Are you finally willing to be a good boy for Hyung?”
“Only if you’re a good boy for me.”
“You’re getting bold, Jeon. I think this kind of thing would suit you much more than me. The ‘J’ should definitely stand for ‘Jin’.”
“But it could also stand for ‘Jeongguk’, don’t you think?” the younger tried, standing up and looming over Seokjin’s desk. Seokjin imitated him, both men now leaning forward but their faces still a good thirty centimetres apart.
“You’re really getting bold”, Seokjin remarked, heat starting to pool at his lower stomach. “But I’m not sure you really want to play this game with me.”
“Don’t I? I’m sure of what I want, though.” Jeongguk leaned a bit forward. “And I thought you wanted to get the upper hand.”
“Jeon.”
“Don’t you?” Jeongguk leaned again, almost bent over the desk in order to access Seokjin’s ear. “Don’t you want me to be a good boy for you?”
“Fuck, Jeon—”
“Don’t you want me to be yours, and don’t you want to be mine?”
“Jeongguk—” Seokjin was slightly panting into Jeongguk’s own ear, his hot breath fanning the side of his face, and he only wanted to turn his head enough to capture the younger’s cursed lips in a kiss.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of”, Jeongguk went on, and Seokjin was this close to giving in to his swirling desires. “Because I want the same things. I want you to be mine, and I want to be yours, Hyung.”
“Fuck.”
Arousal seared through Seokjin’s entire body at the honorific escaping Jeongguk’s enticing lips. He grabbed the younger’s nape and crashed his lips against his. Their kiss was messy and rough, both fighting for dominance just like they always were. Jeongguk eventually gave up, letting the elder’s tongue breach in with a whimper that sent heat down Seokjin’s guts. The younger put his arms on his shoulders, his big hands twisting his hair, and Seokjin broke the kiss to let out a hiss.
“Brat.”
“You love it, Hyung.”
“Fuck, if you call me that again, I might just fuck you on my desk.” Jeongguk let out what could only be described as an obscene moan.
“I wouldn’t complain, Hyung.”
“You’re pushing it, Jeon.”
“Hyung. Hyung, Hyung, Jin-hyung, Hy—”
“That’s it”, Seokjin snapped back and let go of Jeongguk, who whined at the loss of contact. “Grab your things and meet me in the parking lot. We’re going back to mine.”
“Damn”, Jeongguk smirked, looking straight into Seokjin’s eyes and licking his swollen lips for good measure. “That was hot. Maybe I like it when you take the lead, after all.”
“Fucking brat.”
Jeongguk dodged Seokjin’s swatting hand with a laugh and ran to get his things. When Seokin joined him into the parking lot, the younger gleefully noted that he had taken the two velvet boxes holding the collars and put them back into the bag. Seokjin walked to his car, silently motioning for Jeongguk to get in.
It was December 18th, and under a starry night sky, Kim Seokjin and Jeon Jeongguk, sworn enemies, became lovers as the snow was starting to fall.
— 🎄 —
“Hyung?”
“Hmm?”
“Should we tell everyone we’re dating, now?”
“Even if we don’t, I think the chokers will be a dead giveaway. I’m okay with being out in the open if that’s fine with you.”
“I don’t mind, Hyung. Let’s surprise the shit out of everyone and kiss under the mistletoe at the Christmas party.”
“Actually, I don’t think it’ll come off as a surprise for anyone. Everyone kept talking to me about our growing sexual tension. Jimin will probably be relieved we finally fucked it out.”
“Did we? Because I could actually go for another round.”
“You’re insufferable, Jeongguk.”
“But you love me for it.”