Chapter Text
Lumistar Entertainment was home to popular K-pop groups such as Xario, A5ter, and Nvyriser. It was even home to famous actors and actresses. However, not all of Lumistar Entertainment was full of such glamor. The seventh floor, which housed the financial department, was said to be the gloomiest floor of the whole building. The manager in charge, Choi Seungcheol was a grumpy and cold man. As the eldest son of Lumistar's original founder and chairman, many expected that Seungcheol would have left the financial department and become chairman. That never happened. Instead, the position went to Seungcheol's step-brother, Yoon Jeonghan, and Seungcheol remained manager of the financial department. He ran his department sternly and without mercy which was why it came as no surprise when employees heard cursing coming from his corner office.
"Dammit!" Seungcheol cursed.
Moments later, his secretary, Lee Jihoon, poked his head through the doorway.
"Something wrong?" He asked, uninterested.
Lee Jihoon had arrived at Lumistar Entertainment five years ago in hopes of becoming an idol, but those dreams were instantly crushed when he didn't even pass through the first round of auditions, the judges claiming his style was too outdated and he wasn't what they were looking for, meaning they wanted teenagers that were still young and impressionable, not someone who was in his mid-twenties and highly opinionated. Too embarrassed to go back home to Daegu and admit defeat, he applied for the accounting job that was being advertised, sure he would at least get that. Much to his dismay, Seungcheol ignored everything good on his CV and hired him as his secretary instead, something Jihoon had never forgiven him for.
Seungcheol barely glanced up. "Joshua Hong is late again." He grumbled.
Jihoon rolled his eyes as he glanced up at the clock in Seungcheol's office. Joshua was only two minutes late so far. Hardly long enough to warrant such a reaction from Seungcheol, but Jihoon was no stranger to his boss's annoying habits. He didn't like it, but rent in Seoul wasn't cheap and neither was a train ticket to Daegu. If it meant he had to deal with an arrogant asshole that treated his employees poorly, then so be it.
"I'm sure Joshua will be in soon." Jihoon tried.
He was fond of the employee. Sure, he had horrible time management, but he was fun to hang around. Often, they would go to the nearest bar after work for drinks while trash-talking Seungcheol. Joshua was the closest thing Jihoon had to a friend in that godforsaken place. He felt the need to defend him.
Seungcheol scoffed, seeming calmer now. "By soon, you mean an hour."
Jihoon shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I'm just a secretary." He replied bitterly.
When Sungcheol didn't reply or even acknowledge his statement, Jihoon turned and left to his desk, trying to figure out how he was going to make the time pass by faster. As he spun a pencil around his fingers, he heard something break in Seungcheol's office. Jihoon sighed to himself. He didn't get paid enough to deal with that kind of bullshit, but he knew who did.
*
"Sian! Get up! We're late again!" Joshua Hong yelled to his four-year-old son, as he jumped out of bed.
He tried fitting his head through the sleeve of his shirt before realizing what he was doing. He held it away from him and switched it around the right way so it would fit properly. Now dressed, he headed to his son's room. There, lying sideways on the bed was four-year-old Hong Sian, dead asleep despite his father's yelling. If there was a definite trait the two of them shared, it was their hatred of waking up in the morning. Unfortunately, it caused them to be to almost everything, just like today.
"Sian," Joshua tried again.
The small boy only groaned in reply before throwing a pillow in the vicinity of Joshua's voice. It was days like today when Joshua wondered if he was raising a toddler or a teenager. As a last resort, which wound up happening every morning, Joshua grabbed his son by both feet before giving a light tug. The boy tumbled to the floor and glared up at his father in sleepy anger.
"Meanie." He whined while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
Joshua simply chuckled, helping his son up, before moving to the closet to find the child something to wear to get him dressed and ready for the day. For most of Sian's short life, it had been just him and Joshua. Joshua had been involved with a girl, Sian's mother, but she left him after six months because she wanted space and to be famous. A year later, she appeared with baby Sian and left him with Joshua before leaving their lives forever. Joshua never regretted keeping Sian one bit. The child had helped him grow up as he didn't make nearly half the reckless decisions he used to make and he was constantly trying to do his best for both of them.
After getting them both ready in record time, Joshua handed Sian a banana milk, and some bread from the fridge before walking the five blocks to his friend, Vernon's house. Vernon was his friend from university. They bonded over being American and were relieved to have someone to speak English to. Now, six years later, they were still good friends and Vernon even considered himself Sian's uncle.
Vernon, used to the Hongs' late schedule, was already sitting outside his house waiting with his boyfriend, Seungkwan. They were a new couple, having only dated for a couple of months, but they already lived together. It seemed to work well for them as they seemed settled and happy. Sian, happy to see his favorite uncles, ran toward them, trying to wrap his small arms around both of them. Joshua smiled at the cute sight before turning to Vernon.
"I might be late picking him up. Manager Choi might make me stay over since I'm always so late." He explained.
Vernon shook his head in mock disappointment. He always commented on Joshua's lack of punctuality but never meant any ill intent. After all, he could see how hard Joshua was trying and could see that it wasn't easy to raise a child alone.
"You're lucky you're not fired yet."
"Hey! Don't jinx it. I may hate the job, but I need it." Joshua exclaimed.
Seungkwan gave them a fond smile. "You better get going. The next bus leaves in ten minutes." He warned.
With that, Joshua sprinted like his life depended on it. When he finally made it to work and clocked in, he was an hour and forty-five minutes late. A new record. He was definitely getting lashed out at today. Nervously, Joshua approached Jihoon's desk. The secretary was playing with a pencil and pen out of pure boredom and he couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He was not getting paid enough. Joshua cleared his throat to get the secretary's attention. Jihoon jumped slightly but relaxed when he saw it was just Joshua.
"Where have you been?" He asked in a hushed whisper.
Joshua awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Rough morning?" He tried. He then eyed the door to Seungcheol's office. "How bad is it?"
Jihoon shrugged as he resumed playing with the pen and pencil. "Considering he just broke a Tiffany lamp, I'd tread lightly." He advised.
At that news, Joshua took a deep breath as he glanced at the door once more. He was definitely in trouble.