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"Hyung, the entire office is in chaos right now." Hansoo reported to him with a comically serious face, like he was trying to hold himself back from laughing out loud. "I'm serious, he's stopping everyone around him to show them off."
Yoohan actually bristled at the comment, slightly annoyed by the idea of Jay being the center of attention, but immediately snapped himself out of it when he remembered the context behind it.
Yoohan had gotten progressively more open with what he wanted over time, usually bullied out of him during sleepy mornings. The walnut cookies started it all, followed by a similarly small bag of sweet rice balls, a generous pack of crystallized sugar candy, and then an entire box of mugwort rice cakes.
He only asked for more at first because he was getting to know more people and wanted to share some with them, but Jay would appear so warm and content by his request that Yoohan quietly went along with it. It was quite rare to see his eyes curving into those half-moons after all, a sign of him being genuinely happy. It wasn't until Jay hauled back a carton of honey cookies that it finally dawned on Yoohan that he hadn't really offered Jay anything in return.
He asked if Jay wanted anything as they had some of the cookies with steaming mugs of tea, and was turned down almost immediately.
"I do have money, you know." Yoohan bristled in his seat, chomping into his cookie.
"I have more." Jay took out another cookie and placed it on Yoohan's plate with an indulgent smile. It's becoming a common sight. "And I already have everything I want."
Yoohan flushed as he stuffed his face full to hide his embarrassment. Fuck, would there ever come a day when this madman's cheesy pick-up lines would stop working on him? He glanced at Jay, who was propping his face up with one hand and just watching happily at Yoohan munching away. He felt like he could polish off the entire cart just so he could see those dimples all night, inarguably rarer than any of the sweets Jay had purchased for him.
He didn't ask the question again, getting the feeling that Jay wouldn't change his mind no matter how many times he asked, so he resorted to the next plan: asking for advice. For better or for worse, he had a handful of acquaintances to ask from. Yoohan went around subtly asking for ideas on what to give a picky man with high tastes, and got several rather concerning answers.
Yang Hyunjun: "Money. A huge pile of it. Oh, I guess he doesn't need any more though, huh?"
Kim Ji-hong: "If it's your sponsor, isn't it enough to do well in your next drama?"
Lee Hansoo: "Give the right answer to his pop quiz just once? I'll help you out, hyung!"
Good Impression: "What about something useful and practical? He seems to appreciate things like that."
... It seemed like the incident that happened during that event wasn't as well-kept as he thought. That aside, Ji-hong and Good Impression gave decent suggestions— he was already planning on doing his best for his next role, so it wasn't like he had to do anything special for that, but he could work something out on Good Impression's idea. Yoohan walked around the house one night while waiting for Jay to come back, trying to figure out what fit the description of useful and practical, before ending up in front of his massive walk-in closet next to the bedroom.
Come to think of it, Jay was always smartly dressed in tailored suits... Yoohan didn't think he'd ever seen Jay wearing a casual outfit when going out. He patted down the most likely custom-made suits hanging neatly in the closet. He knew exactly shit about fabrics and materials, but he could tell these were expensive as hell. He could rack up money from his savings account, but he didn't have a nearly good enough fashion sense to justify ordering one, remembering the time Alice's boss had known about it and chosen his suit for him.
He was still deep in thought when he absently rubbed against a button that held together a black shirt's cuffs. He'd never seen it before; Jay preferred to roll his sleeves up when they met up. Yoohan absently appreciated the vivid imagination of Jay lounging on his chair in his office in Alice, the top buttons of his shirt undone, and his rolled up sleeves exposing the lined muscles of his forearms. If Yoohan was more poetic, he'd say Jay looked like a king on his throne looking down on his subjects.
Then again, they only saw each other after office hours. Yoohan mostly spent his days away from the main building to do his shooting before heading to Alice so they could go back together. He wondered if Jay went around the office with his biceps on full display for other people to see, and found himself scowling. He'd better not, being the next-in-line for president and all. What if looking messy and dishevelled made him look unprofessional?
Yoohan nodded to himself. Yes, he's only doing this so that Jay wouldn't suffer from losing his reputation as the cold mastermind of the company. He had to find a way to make Jay keep his sleeves down for a full-day without Yoohan there to check on him. His thumb brushed against that clear button again, before an old memory at a theater play came to mind.
"Why the hell does this shirt has no buttons?" Yoohan huffed, already making a move to take it off. Hyunjun stopped him and swiftly folded up the too-long sleeves, before taking out a small studded earring and inserting it into the button hole.
Hyunjun did the same for the other sleeve, and like he could read Yoohan's mind, said, "It's called cufflinks, Yoohan. Shirts with double sleeves use these instead of buttons, but you can put them on normal shirts too."
"It's so much trouble. Why not just stick with buttons?" Yoohan took a closer look at the polished cufflink on his right sleeve; it had a simple design, with two black lines running on top and bottom.
"Well, theater actors usually play timeless classics, so outfits that fit the time period are extremely important, even if the audience can't see all the small details. It makes us more pumped to act on stage." Hyunjun waved grandly at the small boxes on top of the dressing table behind him. "Outside of theater plays though, it gives off a refined style for the people who wear it. It makes you more confident too."
Yoohan, who didn't understand these customs, simply nodded and let it go. It didn't leave an impression on him at the time since he didn't even like wearing shirts. Now, though...
He sent a quick message to Hyunjun, already forming a plan in his head.
Jay opened the door with a darker expression than usual, thanks to Yoohan's insistence on not wanting anything when he called to ask.
His eyes lit up slightly when he saw Yoohan greeting him at the entrance. He dropped a kiss on his forehead, leaving Yoohan flustered and feeling like a housewife eagerly waiting for the husband to come home after a long day at work. He grabbed onto Jay's (exposed) arm and guided him to the couch. Jay sat down next to him as instructed with an expectant look. "What's this? Are you going to pounce on me again? Tell me how much you missed me?"
"We just saw each other this morning." Yoohan countered as he took out a small, embellished black box from his back pocket, presenting it to Jay with both hands while carefully not meeting his eyes. He couldn't help feeling nervous— this was the first time he'd given Jay anything. He doubted it would be a negative reaction, but...
He felt the box plucked off his hands quietly, followed by the sound of the clasp unlocking as the lid was opened up. Still nothing— did he not like it after all? With Hyunjun and the shop's assistant help, he'd tried picking a neutral pair of oval-shaped, sterling silver cufflinks that would go well with pretty much everything in his closet. Maybe they were too simple? Or too much?
Yoohan's heart started beating faster from anxiety, and he took a deep, shaky breath, trying to ground himself and preparing to play this whole thing off as a prank.
He slowly looked up at Jay, and his rapidly beating heart came to a complete stop.
He's tracing the edges of the cufflinks gently with his fingers, the usual sharpness in his eyes replaced with this... this soft look, like he's looking at something precious. His mouth was curled up in one corner, so small it didn't make his dimple come out, but for some reason it came across as the biggest smile Yoohan had ever witnessed. He was so entranced by it that he didn't notice Jay already putting it on, twisting his wrist here and there to admire it up close with that smile still playing on his lips.
Yoohan felt like his chest could burst open from the sheer emotions of such a domestic sight. He fidgeted with his fingers, restraining the sudden urge to hug the man in front of him. "Do you like it?"
Jay returned his attention on him, and that smile broadened further. Yoohan gave in and cupped his face with his hand, his heart lurching when Jay nuzzled into it, kissing at his palm. "Of course I do. They remind me of you."
Puzzled, Yoohan gave him a questioning look.
Jay stifled a chuckle and brushed a thumb under his eye. The cufflink glinted under the lights as he did, mirroring the teasing look in his eyes when he pushed Yoohan down on the couch.
"This is the size of 100 won each, Lee Baekwon."
Yoohan caught a glance at the scene out of curiousity, and indeed, Jay was currently shoving his hands into the president's face, who shook his head in fond exasperation and patted his shoulder. Some of the staff who'd just escaped were whispering to each other with pale faces, no doubt wondering if the executive director had caught a flu or something.
Yoohan watched them go with a sense of accomplishment; at least Jay wouldn't be rolling up his sleeves outside of Alice anytime soon. He's considering a tie clip for Jay next so he would stop undoing the top buttons of his shirt, but for now, this would do.