Work Text:
Kim Gaon hated lying. He wasn’t very good at it, given that his face was an open book and you could read every thought and emotion that crossed it, and because it made him feel bad. He also liked telling the truth, that’s why he became a judge. You could call him a goodie-two-shoes all you wanted, Kim Gaon would not and could not tell lies.
~*~*~*~*~*~
As Min Jung-Ho was heading to his office to start the day, he noticed Gaon and Yohan standing outside Gaon’s office, both men standing rather close as they spoke in low voices to one another. At one point, Gaon must have made a joke or a teasing remark because Yohan smirked before he reached out and pinched Gaon in the side, making Gaon flinch as he let out a soft laugh. Yohan laughed too and clapped Gaon on the arm before he turned and walked off towards his office, Gaon turning and watching his boss with a soft smile on his face. Just then, a throat cleared behind him, causing his eyes to wide as he turned to see Min Jung-Ho staring at him with narrowed eyes.
“Oh, Professor” he greeted. Min Jung-Ho said nothing before he motioned with Gaon to follow him to his office, making Gaon frown before he followed after him, both men stepping into Min Jung-Ho’s office before Min Jung-Ho turned to face Gaon.
“You seem pretty close with Kang Yohan” he mused. Gaon blinked before he nodded.
“Well…he is my boss” he started when Min Jung-Ho narrowed his eyes.
“Are you sure you’re not closer than that?” he demanded. Gaon’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth before he looked away, biting his bottom lip. He could lie and say that they just had a business relationship but 1) he was a terrible liar and 2) Min Jung-Ho had known him for years, he would obviously see right through the lie.
“So…are you sure you’re not closer to Kang Yohan than just a business relationship?” Min Jung-Ho asked, taking a step towards Gaon. Gaon looked up at him before he hung his head, causing Min Jung-Ho to growl.
“Kim Gaon! You know what kind of man he is! How you could you let yourself get close to a man like that!” he exclaimed. Gaon lifted his head and shook it.
“Kang Yohan isn’t a bad man! Yes, what he does is a bit…different and sometimes unethical, but he’s not a bad person. He’s really not” he argued. Min Jung-Ho tsked and pointed to him.
“Look at you, he’s already corrupted you” he spat. Gaon shook his head.
“He didn’t!” he exclaimed. Min Jung-Ho growled and pointed a finger at him.
“Don’t talk back to me, boy, I know you better than that man” he snapped before he shook his head.
“I can’t believe you would do this to your parents” he murmured. Gaon looked at him with wide eyes.
“Do what?” he asked. Min Jung-Ho huffed and looked at him incredulously.
“Date Kang Yohan! If your parents knew what you were doing, they would be so ashamed! Do you want to shame your parents, Kim Gaon?” he demanded. Gaon’s eyes widened even further, and his mouth fell open before he shook his head.
“N-no, sir” he answered. Min Jung-Ho smiled slightly; he knew he had won.
“Good. Now, for the rest of this week, you’re going to be working with me” he declared. Gaon frowned.
“What? But I have a trial this week…there’s no way Chief Kang will let me just leave the trial” he argued. Min Jung-Ho smirked.
“I’ll talk to him” he assured. Gaon nodded slowly and turned to leave when Min Jung-Ho held up a hand.
“Wait a minute” he called out, stopping Gaon and making him turn to see Min Jung-Ho picking up a large stack of files.
“What is that?” Gaon breathed as Min Jung-Ho walked over to him and all but thrusted the stack of files into his arms.
“Your work. Kang Yohan can’t pull you away if you’re working” he declared. Gaon looked at the number of files in his arms with wide eyes before he looked at Min Jung-Ho.
“I’m supposed to do all of this? By myself?” he asked. Min Jung-Ho nodded.
“Mmhm. You want to show your parents that you’re a good judge, don’t you?” he asked. Gaon opened his mouth to protest before he quickly shut it and nodded.
“Yes sir” he murmured. Min Jung-Ho smiled.
“Good” he declared. Gaon then turned and headed towards the door, opening it before stepping out and heading towards his office.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When Gaon walked into his office, carrying the files, Oh Jinjoo looked up at him, her eyes widening in shock.
“What the hell is that?!” she exclaimed. Gaon sighed.
“Work. From the Chief Justice” he replied. Jinjoo frowned.
“Are they cases for the live show?” she asked.
“No, it’s work that’ll keep me away from Kang Yohan” Gaon answered. Jinjoo frowned.
“Keep you away from Kang Yohan? What does that even mean?” she inquired. Gaon paused before he shook his head.
“Forget I said anything” he murmured. Jinjoo frowned before she huffed.
“But…but you’re a trial court show judge! He can’t just pull you away from the show, we have a trial in a few days!” she exclaimed. Gaon sighed.
“I know, but it’s the Chief Justice…I can’t just say “no” to him, can I?” he asked, looking over at her. Jinjoo was quiet before she shook her head.
“No, but still…this is all so sudden! He should have told you at least ahead of time so that you would have time to prepare!” she exclaimed. Gaon sighed and shook his head as he walked over to his desk and placed the files down.
“It’s fine; I’ll deal with it” he murmured. Jinjoo looked at him, concerned, before she tilted her head.
“I’m…not really busy right now. Do you want some help looking over the files?” she asked. Gaon looked over at her before he shook his head.
“No, it’s alright, thank you though” he thanked. Jinjoo frowned before she turned back to her own computer, glancing over at Gaon every now and then. At one point, Yohan walked into the office, about to ask them a question when he noticed the stack of files on Gaon’s desk.
“What’s all this, Judge Kim?” he asked, looking over at Gaon with a raised eyebrow. Gaon lifted his head and when he found Yohan staring at him, his eyes widened and he quickly grabbed the file he was reading and stood to his feet.
“Excuse me” he murmured as he quickly walked past Yohan and out the room, making Yohan turn and watch him walk away before he turned to look back at Jinjoo.
“Mind telling me what that was about, Judge Oh?” he asked. Jinjoo looked up at him and sighed.
“The chief justice assigned him all those case files as “work that will keep him away from Kang Yohan”, whatever that means” she replied. Yohan frowned before he looked over at the large stack of files on Gaon’s desk.
“Work to keep him away from Kang Yohan” he murmured before he hummed.
“I see” he mused before he turned to look back at Jinjoo.
“Thank you” he thanked. Jinjoo nodded and watched as Yohan turned and headed out of the office before she frowned.
“What is going on with those two…and the chief justice as well?” she grumbled before she let out a sigh.
“I hate being left out of the loop” she murmured.
~*~*~*~*~*~
After running out of the office to avoid Yohan, Gaon was leaning up against one of the pillars and clutching the case file to his chest, panting heavily. It’s not like that he wanted to avoid Yohan, because he didn’t, he just didn’t want to a) have Min Jung-Ho get mad at him and b) shame his parents. As he was leaning up against the pillar, he didn’t realize that someone was walking up to him until he someone grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the nearest empty office. He was then slammed into the wall of the office, making him shut his eyes and whimper in pain before he opened his eyes to see Yohan looked at him, a piercing look in his eyes.
“Sir” he whispered. Yohan hummed as he took a step back, still looking Gaon in the eyes.
“What is this about Min Jung-Ho giving you work so that you can avoid spending time with me?” he asked. Gaon looked at him with wide eyes before he looked away.
“It’s nothing” he murmured. Yohan huffed.
“It’s not nothing. You’re my judge, Kim Gaon. Do you hear me?” he asked before he reached out and grasped Gaon’s chin, forcing Gaon to look at him.
“You’re my judge, not Min Jung-Ho’s” he growled. Gaon looked at him before tears came to his eyes and he shut his eyes.
“Please…just…just let me go for this one week” he whispered. Yohan paused and blinked, surprised by Gaon’s tears and the softness of his voice, before he sighed.
“Alright. But for this week and this week only” he agreed. Gaon nodded as the tears streamed down his face, causing Yohan to reach up and wipe them away.
“Don’t cry…if you cry, Min Jung-Ho might pile more work onto you” he murmured. Gaon blinked before he let out a shuddering breath and nodded.
“Yes sir” he murmured. Yohan nodded and clapped him on the arm.
“Go. I’ll wait a few moments before I follow after you, just in case Min Jung-Ho is watching” he declared. Gaon nodded and wiped his eyes one last time before he turned and exited out of the office, looking around to make sure that Min Jung-Ho wasn’t around before he headed back to his office and sat down, beginning to work on the case again. Jinjoo looked over at him and frowned before she turned her attention back to her computer, every now and then looking over at him before she sighed and shook her head.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Over the week, Gaon spent almost every waking moment of every day working on the cases that Min Jung-Ho gave him, nearly running himself into the ground. Min Jung-Ho, of course, didn’t seem to notice, nor really seem to care because as long as Gaon was away from Kang Yohan, then everything was right with the world. At one point, as Gaon was working, Jinjoo stopped working on whatever she was working on and stood up, walking over to his desk.
“Kim Gaon” she called out, making Gaon look up at her.
“Hmm?” he asked. Jinjoo huffed.
“Are you getting enough sleep?” she asked, her hands on her hips. Gaon frowned.
“What? Of course I am” he replied. Jinjoo made a face.
“Then why does it look like you haven’t slept in the past four days?” she stated. Gaon sighed.
“Ah…I’m just under a lot of stress right now” he murmured. Jinjoo huffed.
“I can see that. Do you need anything? Do you want help?” she asked. Gaon shook his head.
“No, thank you. I’m almost done anyways” he replied. Jinjoo nodded before she turned and headed back to her desk, going back to typing away at her computer when Gaon let out a sigh.
“Finally” he murmured, making her look over at him.
“You finally finished?” she asked, a small smile on her face. Gaon looked over at her and smiled tiredly, nodding.
“Yeah” he replied as he stood to his feet.
“I’m going to drop these off to the Chief Justice now” he murmured, picking up the files. He then barely even took a step before his eyes fluttered and he all but collapsed, papers and files going everywhere.
“Kim Gaon!” Jinjoo screamed, her scream so loud that it startled a few lawyers who were passing by. One of them even stopped and walked over to their door, pushing it open.
“Judge Oh, is there something—” they started.
“Get Chief Kang! Now!” Jinjoo screamed as she got out of her chair and knelt beside Gaon, checking him over with concern in her eyes. The lawyer nodded and quickly shut the door before they took off down the hall to Kang Yohan’s office, knocking on the door before stepping inside.
“Chief Kang” they called out, making Yohan look up from his laptop, where he was currently working.
“Hmm?” he asked. The lawyer frowned.
“It’s…Judge Oh needs you” they stated. Yohan frowned before he stood up; it was rare for Jinjoo to ever call him into her and Gaon’s office. One of them would normally come into his office to talk to him, mainly Gaon, so he knew that something was definitely off.
“Alright, thank you” he agreed as he stood to his feet, closing his laptop before heading over towards the door, stepping past the lawyer, and heading to Jinjoo and Gaon’s office. When he stepped inside, his eyes widen when he saw Gaon on the floor, the files scattered everywhere.
“Gaon!” he exclaimed, running over and kneeling beside Gaon and Jinjoo.
“What the hell happened?” he snapped, glaring at Jinjoo. Jinjoo shook her head.
“I don’t know! All I know is that he was getting to turn in the files to the Chief Justice and the minute he stood up, he practically collapsed!” she exclaimed. Yohan froze before his eyes narrowed and he let out a growl.
“Min Jung-Ho” he snarled as he pushed himself to his feet, making Jinjoo look up at him in confusion.
“Sir? Sir, where are you going?” she called out, but Yohan ignored her as he turned and stormed out of the office, heading for Min Jung-Ho’s office.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Yohan then stormed over to Min Jung-Ho’s office and threw open the door, making the man look up in surprise.
“Chief Kang—” he started when Yohan stormed over to him and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, shaking him.
“You…you did this to Gaon” he snarled. Min Jung-Ho raised an eyebrow.
“What did I do to him?” he asked. Yohan barred his teeth.
“You’re the reason why he’s unconscious on the floor of his own office. It’s all because you” he hissed. Min Jung-Ho’s eyes widened and he stood to his feet.
“Gaon” he whispered but Yohan just shoved him back into his seat, glaring at him.
“You’ve done enough” he snarled before he released Min Jung-Ho’s shirt and turned, about to head out of the office when Min Jung-Ho stood to his feet.
“You stay away from him” he ordered. Yohan paused before he slowly turned and looked over his shoulder at him, fire burning in his eyes.
“Or what?” he snarled. Min Jung-Ho blinked, mouth opening and closing like a dying fish, lost for words.
“That’s what I thought” Yohan snarled before he turned and headed out of the door, slamming it behind him, leaving Min Jung-Ho stunned.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Yohan then walked back into Gaon and Jinjoo’s office and walked over to them, kneeling down before he reached out and grasped Gaon’s arm, carefully pulling him to his feet, slinging his arm around his neck as he wrapped his arm around his waist. He then looked over at Jinjoo, who was looking up at him with big eyes, and huffed.
“Judge Oh, can you please take these files to the Chief Justice?” he asked. Jinjoo blinked before she nodded.
“Yes sir” she replied. Yohan nodded.
“Good. Thank you. I’m going to take Gaon home now. Once you take the files to the Chief Justice, you’re free to go home” he stated. Jinjoo blinked again before she smiled slightly.
“Thank you, sir” she thanked. Yohan nodded before he turned and guided Gaon out of the office, Jinjoo watching both men leave before she looked down at the files scattered all over the floor, a hard frown entering her face as she began to pick up the pieces of paper. Normally she would complain about getting stuck with clean up, but for Kim Gaon? She wouldn’t mind doing it, since she knew he’d do the same for her.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When Gaon woke up hours later to find himself in the Kang mansion, he let out a gasp and quickly shot up, only to clutch at his head.
“I would take it easy” a voice murmured, making him look around the room, which he immediately noticed was not his room but Yohan’s room, before he zeroed in on Yohan, who was leaning against the wall.
“Sir” he breathed as Yohan pushed off the wall and walked over to him, reaching out and gently petting his hair.
“Are you feeling alright?” he asked. Gaon let out a whimper, making Yohan sigh before he sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at Gaon.
“Care to tell me why Min Jung-Ho gave you that ridiculous number of files?” he asked. Gaon blinked before he hung his head and looked away, causing Yohan to hum.
“You don’t have to tell me right away, just take your time” he soothed. Gaon was quiet before he sniffled and let out a shuddering breath.
“He…found out about us. He must have seen us this morning…and he…” he started, voice stammering as tears welled up in his eyes.
“What did he do, Gaon?” Yohan asked, reaching out to place a gentle hand on Gaon’s knee. Gaon looked over at him and took a shuddering breath before he sighed and looked away.
“He…he said that by dating you, I would be shaming my parents and that my parents would be ashamed of me…” he murmured as he looked over at Yohan with big, teary eyes.
“I don’t want to shame my parents. That’s the last thing I want to do” he wailed. Yohan’s eyes widened and he quickly bundled Gaon into his arms, Gaon burying his face in Yohan’s neck as he sobbed and clutched at his shirt, Yohan gently cupping the back of Gaon’s neck.
“Shhh…shhh, Gaon. Shhh…” he soothed, holding the young judge tightly to him as a low growl exited his throat; he’ll kill Min Jung-Ho for making Gaon feel like this. How dare he bring his parents into this and give the poor man unnecessary stress and anxiety.
“You’re not going to bring shame to your parents…your parents wouldn’t be ashamed of you, Gaon” he soothed, gently petting Gaon’s hair.
“Your parents love you…from what you’ve told me about your parents, they wouldn’t be ashamed of you” he assured. Gaon sniffled and lifted his head, looking at Yohan hopefully.
“You think so?” he whispered. Yohan nodded.
“The only person who seems to be ashamed of you is Min Jung-Ho and he’s not even your father” he declared. Gaon frowned.
“But he’s been like a father figure to me—” he started when Yohan shook his head.
“But he’s not your father, is he?” he asked. Gaon frowned before he shook his head.
“No” he whispered. Yohan nodded.
“That’s right, he’s not. So his opinions about who you chose to date or to love is none of his business. The only thing that matters is your happiness, not what he thinks about you. And besides, he has no right to bring your parents into any of this. That’s not fair” he stated. Gaon nodded, tears still streaming down his face, making Yohan reach out and gently wipe them away with the pad of his thumb.
“Shhh, no more tears now…no more tears” he whispered. Gaon sniffled and nodded as he settled against Yohan, Yohan shifting so that he was leaning up against his headboard, holding Gaon tightly against him. As Gaon slowly drifted off to sleep, Yohan gently pet his hair, all the while thinking of how to have a very scathing and threatening talk with Min Jung-Ho to let him know that if he ever did something like this to Gaon again…Yohan might just kill him. And that was a god damn promise. Because no one hurt Kim Gaon’s or made him cry unless they wanted Yohan to get involved. And if Yohan got involved…well, let’s just say that things wouldn’t end well for whoever hurt or upset Kim Gaon.