Chapter Text
Walking into the company building, Jeonghan let out a breath of relief as the air conditioning hit him full force. Taking off his sunglasses, he nodded at the receptionist's bright smile as he made his way to the elevators.
It's too early for this shit , the model scowled internally, running a hand through his blond hair to smooth it down. Despite not having any schedules until late afternoon, he's here walking down the halls of Haniel Entertainment to meet his new personal bodyguard, at eight in the fucking morning, because apparently Sinhwa has to leave for Yohan's parent teacher meet.
He slows down his walk as his manager's office comes into view. Ko Sinhwa , reads her nameplate at the door Jeonghan knocks and enters. He glances briefly at the tall man who jumps to his feet, before turning to Sinhwa noona and greeting them both.
"Great, you're just on time! Jeonghan, this is Kim Mingyu, your bodyguard. Mingyu, meet Jeonghan."
Jeonghan turns towards Kim Mingyu and studies him silently as the man goes into a 90 degree bow, saying something about how it's a pleasure to meet him and how much he is looking forward to working for him. He looks to be Jeonghan's age, or perhaps 1 or 2 years older. Jeonghan makes a note of his handsome looks, thinks Kim Mingyu could be a model himself with a little skin lightening and stylish haircut. He certainly had the height for it, Jeonghan runs his eyes over the man's tall and well-built form with envy. He's very tall, definitely over 6 feet, and his dark hair is cut short and styled back with his forehead visible. He's dressed in a professional black and white suit, a slim tie completing the look.
"Mingyu will be accompanying you to every event from now on, so make sure you guys get each other's number. Give him your personal number too Jeonghan, he'll have to be available on call 24 hours a day, everyday. And he has to be informed about everything, and can be trusted with everything, okay? He's part of the team now so don't withhold any information from him. Starting today, I'll be forwarding him all your schedules that I send to you, as he'll be driving you everywhere." Sinhwa listed off without giving Jeonghan a chance to protest. "Mingyu-ssi, will you please wait for us outside, I'll talk to Jeonghan real quick and be with you." Mingyu bowed politely and left the room.
"I think my professional contact will be enough noona, I'm reachable through it at all times." Jeonghan frowned. "No Jeonghan, it's important he has every way of contacting you, just in case. Oh, and another thing, since he'll be your permanent bodyguard, you will be having your own car from now on. I've already given the keys to him. Isn't that nice? You can personalize it and everything" At Jeonghan's snort, she continued, "Now you can keep a few of your ten thousand lip balms in it" Sinhwa said teasingly as they laughed together.
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Mingyu looked through the glass at Yoon Jeonghan laughing warmly with his manager, such a contrast to the cold greeting he got. He made a mental note of it, Yoon Jeonghan is close to and comfortable with his manager. He laughs openly with people he trusts . He had done a quick search of the celebrity before accepting the job, not that it was his first time hearing about the model.
Yoon Jeonghan was, after all, the nation's household face, and he was an international success. His face was on every other product in every household of South Korea, and could be seen on every other billboard on the road. He had been introduced to the nation at age 20, and now at 25, he was recognized worldwide. Hell, even Minsoo, Mingyu's younger sister, had screamed in disbelief when she heard about Mingyu being hired as Yoon Jeonghan's bodyguard. After that, Mingyu had been sat through an hour-long lesson about Yoon Jeonghan, complete with TV interviews and shoot videos.
Mingyu learnt how the model had been scouted by Haniel Ent. at his college talent show, where he had graduated from with a degree in business management. His rise to stardom was quick, the nation falling fast for his beautiful eyes and youthful looks, not to mention the charming personality he put on for the cameras. Everyone he worked with was full of praise for him, gushing about what a delight Yoon Jeonghan was to work with.
Mingyu sighed as he continued to gaze at the model through the glass. No matter how much he had mentally prepared himself to face Yoon Jeonghan's ethereal good looks, he was still a little bit taken aback (and breathless) by how striking and angelic Yoon Jeonghan looked in real life, his confident aura adding to the effect. But Kim Mingyu was no weakling who fell for looks, and besides, he had come to realize that the more good-looking an adult was, the worse was their personality. And judging by how Yoon Jeonghan behaved with him in that short interaction, he seemed no different. But still, Mingyu was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, seeing as he did have a good relationship with his manager. Maybe he isn't all that bad, he might just be bad at interacting with new people , he mused. Though that seemed unlikely.
Mingyu turned away when Yoon Jeonghan turned and looked at him, their eyes meeting through the glass; walking away to get a glass of water.
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"I've obviously done a deep and thorough background check on him, he's highly skilled and very capable, and trustworthy too, so you can relax around him. I suggest you get comfortable with him Jeonghan, I intend to keep him around, he's one of the best in his job. So I want you to try your best to get along with him. Here's his file if you want to have a look." Sinhwa noona said, pointing at the file on her desk. Jeonghan declined, he completely trusted Sinhwa to hire the right person.
From his distance, Jeonghan could not see what was written on the papers, but Kim Mingyu's photograph was clearly visible on the top right corner. It really cemented the idea of him being capable of being a model, if he was that photogenic, he looked as good in the photo as he did in real life, despite the serious expression on his face.
"That's in his hands, really. As long as he's civil to me, I'll continue to be civil to him." His manager just sighed in response.
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Mingyu quickly made his way back when he saw the model and his manager exit her office and lock it up.
Ko Sinhwa turned towards Mingyu, "Mingyu-ssi, I'll be leaving now as I have to attend my son's parent teacher meeting. You can take Jeonghan and drop him home or wherever he wants to go for now, but don't forget about the shoot at 3 pm today with Pierre Cardin."
"Yes, mam" Mingyu gave a polite smile as he made a mental note. Ko Sinhwa has a son who is of school-going age. She seems to be in her early 40s, the boy is probably under 16.
"Please, just call me noona, as Jeonghan does. We'll be working closely from now on, so it's good to get comfortable with each other."
"In that case, just Mingyu is fine, noona".
Sinhwa noona's phone rang at that moment, and she left with an "oh, my husband's here! See you, Mingyu, Jeonghan", and then Mingyu was alone next to Jeonghan.
"I'll be going to my house for now, you can pick me up from there later for the shoot. Let's go, I'll give you the address in the car." Mingyu was taken aback by his bluntness, but he followed him to the parking lot nevertheless. His eyes took in Yoon Jeonghan's slim and well-dressed form, admiring how silky his long blond-dyed hair looked.
Unlocking the car, they both got in, Mingyu in the driver’s seat and Jeonghan in the passenger’s seat, and Jeonghan entered the address. After a minute of silent driving when it became clear Yoon Jeonghan would not initiate any conversation, Mingyu decided to break the silence.
"So, you've been working with Sinhwa noona for long? You both seem close."
Heaving a heavy sigh as if it was much troublesome to make conversation, Jeonghan answered without looking at him, "Yes, she's been my manager since the start, we've worked together for 5 years now. So yeah, we're close."
"Huh. She seems very nice. And she has one son?" Mingyu had turned to face him to ask the question, and Jeonghan looked back at him this time, albeit with much annoyance in his eyes. Mingyu turned back to the road as Jeonghan opened his mouth to answer,
"Yeah, Yohan recently turned 13, so that makes him an 8th grader. And yes, she's definitely nice, and very good at her job too. I'm the only one under her, she got assigned to me when she rejoined the company after taking a few years break to raise her son."
Mingyu made another mental note, smiling internally as Jeonghan finally participated in the conversation, despite his bad attitude and sharp tone. He has a high amount of respect for his manager, and trusts her completely, although that is expected after 5 years of working together.
"Sounds like you're close to Yohan too. And before we forget, let's exchange numbers" Mingyu said, handing Jeonghan his phone after unlocking it.
"Yeah, he's the literal spawn of satan, despite noona being an angel. I've practically watched him grow up, so we're chummy." Jeonghan saved his personal and professional number in the phone handed to him, and then rang his own number with it, handing Mingyu's phone back to him.
He seems to be quite fond of this 13 year old Yohan boy , Mingyu mentally notes.
"Right, here we are." Mingyu said as the car came to a stop outside a fancy looking complex. "I'll be here to pick you up by 2 pm, be ready by 2:15. It'll take at least 35 minutes to drive to the location, so don't be late."
Jeonghan narrowed his eyes and turned towards him, "Don't lecture me , Kim Mingyu, I've been doing this since I was 20 and I'm never late. Mind your fucking business and just do your job by turning up on time. I know what I have to do." And with that he left, slamming the car door unnecessarily hard behind him.
Mingyu let out a harsh breath, reversing the car out of there. Yoon Jeonghan is a fucking asshole, I'm not even surprised.
It's okay. Mingyu told himself. I am here to earn cash and I will do so. I know how to be professional, I won't let Yoon Jeonghan's shitty personality get to me.
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Mingyu turns up at exactly 2 pm as he had promised, with a strict resolve to stay professional with Yoon Jeonghan no matter what kind of behavior he shows. He sends the model a text notifying him of his arrival, and sits patiently as he waits for him.
True to his words, Jeonghan is walking out his front door without any delay, a different outfit from what he was wearing that morning. Mingyu can't read his mood at the moment, but he figures it might not be that bad since Jeonghan isn't saying anything, and so he decides to make conversation. (5 minutes later Mingyu finds himself making another mental note of If Yoon Jeonghan is silent, it means he's in a bad mood. Do Not Interact. )
"Did you have your lunch?" Mingyu decides to go for basic and safe, figures Jeonghan won't be hesitant to talk about generic stuff, nothing too personal.
"No. I just had brunch earlier. I have to be in shape for the photoshoot so I don't eat before a shoot, it's risky." Jeonghan's voice is the same as before, uninterested and cold, and he ends the sentence like it's the end of the conversation, and turns his head away to look outside.
Mingyu doesn't say anything else further, deciding that If he wants to be like that, fine. Keeping to myself is fine by me. He can keep being difficult, I'm not going to try and make conversation if he's really that uninterested.
The silence in the car is interrupted when Mingyu reaches forward and turns up the air conditioning. It was really hot in the car - especially in the afternoon during summer. Jeonghan immediately reaches out and turns it down immediately.
"Don't" He snaps at Mingyu, "I'm cold. And really, don't just go ahead and do as you wish. Do have some consideration that there's someone else in the car with you. Especially if it's someone you are working for." His voice is condescending, and it irks Mingyu to no end. It's probably why he fights back, he knows he would have complied easily had Jeonghan not spoken in such a rude manner.
"It's the middle of summer and the sun is at its highest, so forgive me for assuming any normal person would want to keep the AC switched on" Mingyu replies sarcastically, and turns it back up.
Jeonghan grits his teeth, "I don't care, I'm cold" and turns the air conditioning down.
"And I'm hot." Mingyu replies back in annoyance, turning it back up.
Jeonghan turns his whole body towards Mingyu, eyes flashing dangerously. "Are you forgetting you're working for me?" Predictably, he turns it down.
Mingyu cannot believe this guy. "What is your problem, man? How are you even cold at this time?" He reaches for the switch, but Jeonghan's hands fly there faster and he covers it, preventing Mingyu from touching it.
"I just took a bath with cold water, so now I'm cold." Jeonghan announces, as if that settles it.
Both their hands are now trying to push the other's away. Mingyu realizes how childish it is of them to fight this way (he's sure Jeonghan doesn't), but he doesn't care. Yoon Jeonghan's attitude is insufferable, and Mingyu wants to really put him in his place.
"So put on a jacket," Asshole, Mingyu adds internally. "You can't expect people to switch off the AC in the middle of summer because you're feeling cold."
"And ruin my whole outfit? No, I don't think I will"
Yoon Jeonghan is an entitled piece of shit, an insufferable fucker.
"Then deal with it, I don't care." Mingyu says rudely, beyond done with Jeonghan. "It's only a matter of some time, you'll warm up anyways when your shoot starts."
"You do realize you just started working for me today, right? I'd suggest you don't forget your manners if you wish to keep your job."
Mingyu rolls his eyes, but drops his hand (entirely glad to stop touching Yoon Jeonghan's cold hand). Because they've reached their location. Trust him, if they hadn't, he definitely would have slapped Jeonghan's hand away and turned up the AC. He's not one to back down from arguments, especially if the other person is an annoying little shit who needs to be taught a lesson.
Mingyu watches as Yoon Jeonghan pulls out a lipbalm and applies a layer of it on his lips, then keeps it in the car itself. This is followed by the model putting on his sunglasses, after which he opens the car door and steps out.
My God, it's like he walked out of some shitty high school movie where he's the stereotypical mean guy who goes around insulting and bullying others just because he's good looking and rich.
No worries, the mean guy always gets what he deserves at the end. Usually at the hands of the handsome, athletic, cheerful and funny main lead who's just trying to be nice and make friends. Yoon Jeonghan for sure will meet his downfall too, soon. Maybe he's already met him, Mingyu thinks savagely, running a hand through his hair, and follows Jeonghan inside the building.
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The photoshoot goes well. In fact, it goes so exceptionally well, it gives Mingyu whiplash. Yoon Jeonghan's mood seems to have done a 180 during the walk from the car to the building, as the model is getting along well with everyone, flashing his charming smile left and right, behaving exactly like how the general public knows him to be, attitude nowhere in sight. What a fake person. In fact, he's outright flirting with the photographer, making no efforts to even be subtle.
Mingyu just stands at the side and does his job, which is keeping his eyes trained on Yoon Jeonghan against any possible threats to the model. Which is unlikely to occur in their current situation, so Mingyu relaxes and just opts to observe the model carefully as he goes about his job.
While the rumors about his lovable personality mean nothing anymore to Mingyu, he does realize that all the talk about what an incredible model Yoon Jeonghan is, are proved right. Because Jeonghan is good at his job. He follows the photographer's orders well, gets their ideas and concepts quick, working well with the photographer. Gets the pose correctly with a short description from the photographer, understands which angle and look the photographer is going for. Changes his expression in a second at an order from the photographer, going from bright smile to sexy gaze so quick it gives Mingyu whiplash. This type of skills and naturalness at modeling could only come with the years of experience Jeonghan has.
And his patience. Mingyu is frankly surprised at the amount of patience Jeonghan displays throughout the shoot. Mingyu watches with baited breath, waiting for Jeonghan to snap at any moment but all he does is give an easy smile and comply. He changes into outfit after outfit, sits through quick changes in make-up and hair-styling, turning his head this way and that, without letting out a single sigh or making an annoyed expression. Mingyu knew that he himself would not have the patience to go through that photoshoot with such an easy-going behavior, and he did consider Jeonghan to be way less short-tempered than him. So it's unbelievable that Yoon Jeonghan does not lose his cool when the photographer treats him like a doll or robot, telling him to "tilt his head a bit to the left, no not that much, go back a bit, now tilt it slowly, wait no, like maybe 3 degrees right, oh and your gaze, leave it a bit unfocused but make it look intense". ( What the fuck, even? ).
And so, when the shoot is done and they're back in the car, Mingyu once again makes the mistake of assuming that Yoon Jeonghan is in a good mood now, considering how he'd been laughing and joking with the staff, and flirting with the photographer.
My bad, Mingyu realises 2 minutes later, Yoon fucking Jeonghan is never in a good mood. If it ever seems like he is, he's actually faking it. Beware, stay away.
"So, the shoot went well! You seem satisfied, I bet the photos will turn out great" He said to Jeonghan, who had put his poker face back on like the past hours had been someone else taking control of his personality.
"Of course the photos will come out great, I gave it my all. Like any other shoot. And no the shoot didn't go well, that fucking bitch of a photographer didn't know how to do his damn job properly! And instead tried to make it seem like my profiles were bad when it was clear he was the one struggling with even holding his camera in place. I can't believe he had the audacity to imply that my body was in bad shape when his photography skills were non-existent! How he even became a photographer for such a high level brand is beyond me. And the loser really thought I was genuinely interested in his photography gear and lame jokes after insulting me like that."
Mingyu's mouth went slack as he's stunned into silence. He had really thought Jeonghan did not take any offense when the photographer had airily commented about how "it would have looked so much better if your waist was still the size it was in last month's issue of Vogue" and Jeonghan had just laughed and said "doesn't matter when my photographer is as talented as you, and knows my best angles to make it look even better than last month's shoot", ending it with a coy smile.
Mingyu just hummed in response, side-eyeing Jeonghan warily, not wanting to get into another argument with him. Honestly, he should have expected this, there's no way Jeonghan would have let those comments slide.
"But you were the one flirting with him?"
Jeonghan just looked at him like he was an idiot before replying, "yeah, cause that's how it works in the industry? You gotta keep it friendly with everyone to save your own image. And extra points to you if you kiss their ass and make them feel good about themselves by flirting with them, it'll get the job done 20 times faster and opens opportunities for further projects."
Mingyu stares incredulously, Damn, this industry totally is the toxic hellhole it's made out to be.
"And would you hurry the hell up! What's the point of getting such a fancy car if you're gonna drive it at a snail's pace. I'm hungry, so it would be great if you could be a little considerate and deliver me home before I starve to death, instead of this lame small talk for your merry entertainment! Seriously, you're not paid to make conversation with me, so focus on doing what you're here for."
What the hell? Mingyu narrowed his eyes in disbelief.
"Listen here, asshole. I get that you're in a bad mood because of some shitty comments you got during the shoot, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't take it out on me. And FYI, we are going at the speed limit. I'll be ticketed if I go any faster, so how about you have a little patience and don't tell me how to do my job."
"Okay, dickhead," Jeonghan snapped, "watch your tone when you talk to me. And I am not taking out any of my anger on you, believe me. If I was, you'd end up crying like the little bitch you are."
"Wow, you're. You're so fucking insufferable, you know that? And would it kill you to have some basic manners? How about you watch your tone when you talk to me, Yoon Jeonghan. Man, you might have fooled the whole world with your fake nice personality, but you're really not the chill celebrity that everyone thinks you are."
"Did you really think that was my real personality? What else, do you believe Santa is real too? Let me guess, you're still waiting on your Hogwarts letter? And don't act like you know my actual real personality, Kim Mingyu. You've been in my presence for a few hours, and if you're going to be so judgemental, maybe you can go look for another job!"
"I-you know what? I'm not doing this, cause clearly you're impossible! Honestly, I've never come across a more difficult person in my life!"
"Yeah? And what, you think you're such a saint, don't you? I bet you're one of those people who secretly think the world revolves around them. You've got that I'm-the-main-character complex, I can tell!"
Mingyu exhales loudly but keeps his mouth firmly shut. He's not going to reply, Jeonghan can think what he wants. He's wrong, anyways.
Silently seething, Mingyu reaches forward and switches on the FM radio, in an attempt to divert his attention. Switching the channels, he finally settles when he hears a song he likes, and tries to calm his anger.
"My God, what shit do you listen to? No wonder your personality is like that!" and Jeonghan switches the channel to some song which sounds just as insufferable as him.
Mingyu switches it back to his song almost violently. "Do you have a fucking problem with me? Or are you incapable of getting along with anyone and everyone due to your stinking shit attitude?"
Slapping his hand away, the channel is back on Jeonghan's annoying song. "Yes buddy, I have a fucking problem with you. It's you. You're the problem. First of all, you seem to have completely missed the part where I told you that you work for me. And second of all, you can't seem to hold a proper conversation with anyone, always replying with something controversial as if you're actively looking to provoke me!"
"oh I'M the problem? I'M the fucking problem?? ME??? Are you even hearing yourself right now? I'M the one who can't hold a peaceful conversation? You- how did you even get so far into your career with that attitude?" At this point Mingyu is just angrily yelling at Jeonghan with that horrible song still playing in the background. "I know you've exposed your problematic personality at some point or the other, there's no way you haven't! What, did you just cover it up by flirting with them after? Maybe slept with the powerful people to maintain your image and shut up the people who might possibly spill the dirt about you? You think your good looks make you immune to consequences? Wh-"
"You shut your damn mouth right fucking now Kim Mingyu, that’s enough! You don't know a damn thing about me!"
"I know enough about what an unreasonable little shit you are! And I'm so going to expose you for your piece of shit personality!"
Jeonghan laughed maniacally, "oh, you're going to expose me ? We'll see about that! I'm going to fire you, and I'll make sure to let your anger issues be known far and wide, and then we'll see who hires you!"
Jesus, fuck, is he for real? Mingyu cannot believe this. Regardless, he doesn't want to get fired on his first day, so he decides to shut his mouth and be quiet. Sure, this job is going to suck, but it pays really well, so Mingyu is going to make it work. He will.
Ten minutes later, they’ve arrived at Jeonghan’s house, though neither of them have calmed down, both still seething.
Mingyu keeps it short when he curtly asks “Do you have anywhere else to be today?”, not bothering to even look in Jeonghan’s direction.
Jeonghan’s equally curt as he replies (without looking at Mingyu either), “Just dinner with my cousin at 9, but you don’t have to worry about that.” And with that, he’s out of the car. Mingyu changes the radio channel back to his choice, and glares frustratedly at the strawberry lipbalm Jeonghan has left in the car holder.
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At 8:30 pm sharp, Mingyu has turned up in Jeonghan’s driveway, and when a few minutes later Jeonghan walks out of his front door (in yet another new outfit), Mingyu tells himself, Remember, no need to make any conversation with him outside of asking the address. And don’t let yourself be bothered by whatever annoying face he makes at you.
“Fuck off!” is what Yoon Jeonghan greets him with. “What are you even doing here? I told you this dinner is none of your business, no way am I going there with you!”
“I don’t care what you told me, I’m just here to do my job. It’s not like I’m overjoyed that I'm getting to spend time in your pleasurable company either.” Mingyu replies sarcastically.
“You literally do not have to accompany me there, it’s not a professional dinner with a client or anything! Now get out of my hair, I’ve had about enough of you!”
“What part of “it’s my job to accompany you in public places” do you not get?! And besides, why would you want to get a cab or any other public transport when you literally have your own car and personal driver for your comfort and safety? Just mind your own business and let me do my job!”
“.............................Whatever!” Jeonghan finally huffed and opened the car door, getting inside. “Don't think I'll hesitate to fire you, you dick. If you haven't noticed, you're very disposable. We won't find it hard to find a new bodyguard for me, so be careful with that attitude, since you're not irreplaceable.”
Mingyu just tightens one fist around the steering wheel, places his other hand behind Jeonghan’s headrest, turns around to look behind the car and focuses on reversing it out of the driveway. Despite Jeonghan getting the last word like always, he considers this battle won.
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Mingyu parks the car as Jeonghan puts on another layer of lipbalm and tucks his hair behind one ear. He waits for Jeonghan to put his lipbalm back into his pocket (peach flavoured this time, he notes), and then exits the car with Jeonghan, locking it behind them. Before Mingyu can follow him into the restaurant, Yoon Jeonghan opens his annoying mouth.
“Mingyu.” Jeonghan narrows his eyes at him, “You can’t come with me while I’m having dinner, if that’s what you’re thinking of doing. So, for fuck’s sake, go find something else to do for some time.”
“The hell are you talking about? Of course I have to be with you. You’re in a public place, I can’t leave you alone here, your bodyguard needs to be near you.”
“For once in your fucking life, don’t fight me on this and just do as I say Mingyu. You absolutely do not have to stand behind me while I’m having a private dinner with my cousin, I promise you. Nobody is coming to kidnap me here.” Despite how annoyed he is, Jeonghan weirdly keeps his voice down and face calm.
“Listen, I would love nothing more than to quit this silly argument and leave your insufferable presence, but unfortunately I’ve taken this unpredictably horrible job of being your bodyguard, and I have to do it now. So let’s not waste anymore of our time and go inside, yeah?”
Jeonghan grits his teeth so hard, but then the next moment he’s taking a deep breath and putting on a calm face, and his voice is calm but poisonous when he talks. “You know what? Fuck it. You are so fired. I've had it with your argumentative ass! Good luck finding another job dickhead, especially after I've given out a public review of how bad you are at your job.”
And then Yoon Jeonghan is pulling out his phone to call his manager to sack Mingyu right there and then (and is promptly refused).
Mingyu watches as Jeonghan talks furiously into the phone, and gets more agitated at whatever Sinhwa noona replies to him. I’ve taken up a job to work for the actual devil, he thinks in despair, He doesn’t have to bother with firing me, resigning is the first thing I’m doing in the morning tomorrow.
Jeonghan grits his teeth as his manager tells him that Mingyu is right, he needs to have Mingyu by his side all the time in public. He takes a deep breath to calm himself down and turns back to Mingyu’s irritating face.
“Noona said you can stay for now since you’re already here, but you’ll definitely be fired if you don’t obey me in the future.” is all he says before he starts walking towards the restaurant.
Mingyu rolls his eyes at what an obvious lie that was, and follows Jeonghan inside.
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Jeonghan had greeted his cousin quite grumpily when he slid into the seat opposite him, but to Mingyu’s great astonishment, halfway through the dinner Jeonghan cheers up significantly , genuinely smiling and even openly laughing with Joshua.
Mingyu stands behind Jeonghan and marvels at how pleasant Yoon Jeonghan seems right now, and laments to himself, I’ll probably never be like that with him, what with the horrible start we’ve had so far. But he can’t help feeling hopeful, especially after the grateful look Jeonghan sends him after he stares down a pair of young boys who had been curiously and quite shamelessly staring at Jeonghan and Joshua until they finally looked away, growing uncomfortable with Mingyu’s stare (Others in the restaurant had sent glances towards Jeonghan too after realizing who he was, but no one did at the level of those two boys). Feeling satisfied, Mingyu keeps his gaze on Jeonghan’s brilliant smile as he chatters away to Joshua.
“You’ve reached peak celebrity status, Jeonghan, I can’t believe you’ve brought your bodyguard to dinner with your favourite cousin”, Joshua teases Jeonghan good-naturedly, and Mingyu braces himself for a nasty comment.
“Ugh, Joshuji, don’t mention it, I’m so embarrassed about it too, but last week a girl dragged me into her car and almost kidnapped me, yelling and screaming about how I belong only to her, and whatnot. Man, she was unnaturally strong, it was crazy, scratched down my whole arm and everything. Anyways, Sinhwa noona freaked the hell out, so now I have to have a personal bodyguard with me anytime I step out in public.” And although Jeonghan’s tone is complaining, he still looks back at Mingyu standing behind him and asks with real concern in his voice, “Hey, won’t you get anything for yourself to eat? You still have to eat dinner, right?”
Mingyu looks at him a bit stunned as he replies, “No, I can’t eat right now, I’m on duty and you’re out in public. I’ll just buy something for takeout and have it later.”
Jeonghan looks like he’s going to argue (he’d taken a deep breath and opened his mouth and everything, and Mingyu had clenched his jaw all ready), but seems to think it over and lets it go instead.
Mingyu makes a mental note to himself: Holy shit, he’s like a sensitive and angry cat when he’s hungry, lashing out about anything. Don’t let him stay hungry.
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Mingyu uncertainly chews on the inside of his cheeks as they climb into the car, watching Jeonghan like a hawk for a hint about how his mood might be, alertly looking out for anything that might set him off and start an argument.
He watches as Jeonghan applies his lipbalm and puts it away, then decides he’s feeling daring enough to open his mouth.
“I’ll take you straight home, then? There’s nowhere else you want to go now, right?”
Jeonghan actually fully turns towards him when he talks back, and now Mingyu’s sure his mood is great right now.
“What about your dinner?” Jeonghan asks with surprise and concern. “You said you’d eat it later, right. Then go ahead and eat first, it’s past 10.”
Mingyu’s astonishment is beyond words, but he still gets the urge to argue to drop him home first, he’ll eat later. But something about Jeonghan’s honest eyes and soft tone makes him shut his mouth, and he pulls out his vegetable roll and drink from the takeout packet.
He eats in silence as Jeonghan scrolls on his phone beside him. And although Jeonghan doesn’t bother making any conversation, and neither of them make any move to turn on the radio (thank God), Mingyu discovers he’s not bothered by the silence, on the contrary he finds it quite peaceful (and how could he not, after the continuous squabbling and fighting during the entire single day they’ve known each other).
Despite the absolutely terrible first impressions they’ve had of each other, the peaceful end to the day soothes Mingyu’s heart by a great deal. As he drops Jeonghan off at his house and drives off to his own, he thinks to himself: Sure, he’s annoying and spoilt and forgets how to behave himself when he’s hungry, but he’s not the devil I guess. Maybe I can deal with him just fine, maybe I won’t resign first thing in the morning tomorrow.