Anything You Like - Mature

"Oh," Seungcheol looked at his phone in surprise, "looks like I've got to go. Hyung should be here soon."

After waving goodbye to Seungcheol, Hyunwoo stood up too. Instead of heading back inside, he decided to wait for Kei and Haneul. That didn't take long as just a few minutes later, a car he recognised pulled up. The red hair stepped out of the car and opened the door to the other side, a hand extended ready to help Haneul out. She emerged from the car, grabbing onto Kei with one hand as the other adjusted the long ruby necklace on her neck that matched his tie. Even with the distance between them and Hyunwoo, he could tell they weren't on good terms. 

Well, it's not like it ever takes them long to make up.

He gave a small smile, turning to lean on the stone railings as he could no longer see them. His expression quickly faltered as his eyes met with someone's.

Us on the other hand...

Hyunwoo straightened up and began to walk towards him, clearing his throat multiple times from his nervousness as he didn't know if they should talk to each other or not. A part of him felt he should stop and pretend like they didn't see each other, maybe Seojun just wanted some time away from him. Yet he knew it would be harder for him to ignore Seojun. So, it was a selfish decision in the end.

Still, that didn't mean he had no shame at all. Before he had realised it, he was stood just a few steps away from Seojun when he subconsciously froze from his cold gaze. 

"..."

"..."

Loud claps quickly filled the room, breaking their awkward silence as an introduction came over the speakers. Seojun turned his back to Hyunwoo as everyone began gathering around the stage. It was time for the night to begin.

"To open this event tonight, we have the duo from Roses who will be performing a duet. Please give a warm welcome to Roses everyone!"

Kei took a seat at the grand piano sat by the side of the stage, massaging his fingers as Haneul approached the centre with a violin in hand, her necklace now gone and replaced by a ruby hairpin instead. Kei looked down at the keys nervously whilst she brimmed with confidence. It wasn't an illustration of their nerves or anxiety, but rather of their experience. As the applause died down, the first few notes played from the piano. With those, Kang Seojun quickly recognised the piece and smiled bitterly.

Carol of the bells. Jia's first song.

Even with the conflict between the two performers, their work was one of perfect harmony. The two sets of instrumentals appeared to be chasing each other at first but at a closer look, it was clear they were running alongside one-another, as forever companions. A boy and girl hand in hand, their silhouettes running from the burning fire in the distance, but no matter how quick they ran or how much they hid, the flame will eventually catch up and engulf them in it's heat. 

Haneul's brows trembled, her grip on the bow tightening as the song reached it's peak. Kei bit his lip as he intuitively kept up with the rhythm set. By the time they were starting to wrap up the piece, the taste of blood was all that was in his mouth.

As the applause echoed through the room again, Hyunwoo took a step and leaned in closer to Seojun. Neither said anything for a bit until finally Seojun gave a light laugh. 

"How come you didn't come with them?"

"Huh?" Hyunwoo turned to him unexpectedly. Kang Seojun simply gave him a small shake of head as if indicating to answer him. "Ah.. I didn't want to third wheel. It's annoying."

"Really?"

He nodded.

"Hm.. but he told me it was because you were coming with a date."

"Wait what? Who told you that?"

Seojun shrugged, "it's a secret."

"..." 

Suddenly, Hyunwoo rested his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes, "I was going to ask you to be my date."

Seojun laughed again. "Really?"

"Mhm," he nodded gently, pausing as he felt a slight flinch from Seojun. Hyunwoo lifted his head and looked down. If he was just a little bit further back or looking at him in a different angle, he might not have been able to see the reddish bruise on his upper back. "..."

"Hey back up a bit," Seojun gently pushed him away, widening the distance between them as he glanced around cautiously. His eyes flowed back to Hyunwoo as he suddenly grabbed onto his arms, "what... are you doing?" Seojun inched back as much as he could.

"Kang Seojun... I.."

Hyunwoo felt a hand press against his mouth.

"We're here for work." As he felt Hyunwoo's grasp loosen, Seojun fully pushed him off and walked away, quickly disappearing in to the crowd. Hyunwoo would've chased after him if he wasn't suddenly stopped by Haneul who had escaped the group of admirers after the performance.

"Hyunwoo, focus," she said coldly with a sharp look in her eyes. Haneul immediately relaxed her facial expressions as someone approached. 

The man was in his late forties and dressed in a smart suit, accompanied by a business-like smile on his face when he stopped in-front of them and held a hand out. Hyunwoo felt like he should know who he was but couldn't put his finger on why. Haneul shook it as they exchanged greetings, signalling Hyunwoo to do the same as the man turned to him.

"This is Kim Hyunwoo, one of our executives."

"It's nice to meet you. I've heard impressive things about you."

"Ah likewise and thank you," Hyunwoo nodded politely.

After a brief chat, he left and Haneul breathed out a sigh of relief. 

"Who was that?" Hyunwoo asked.

She turned to him, stressed, "Snake's leader. I didn't think he'd actually be here today."

"What do you mean? Didn't you know Snake was going to be here?"

"Yeah but I thought his son was coming as their representative."

"His son?"

"Seo Minjun," she sighed, "though I don't think he has any interest in their family business. Looks like his younger brother's going to become the successor then."

 "So are we going to go under them?"

"What?" Haneul scoffed, "no way. We're just here to show our faces, not look for a saviour. Besides, who runs my company better than me?"

Hyunwoo chuckled as she grinned jokingly. For a split second, her cheerful demeanour changed as her eyes snapped to the side. 

"What's wrong?"

"Ah... Nothing... I think I'm seeing things," she waved her hands in dismissal and smiled before leaning in at a distance her whispers could be heard in the busy room, "7 o'clock, right exit, can you see someone behind the door?"

His eyes quickly moved as per her instructions. Indeed there was someone there.

"Two, AX." He whispered back.

Two people who appeared to be anxious or feeling a similar emotion.

"..." Haneul looked back for a second then pursed her lips. "Stay with Kei and handle everything here for the time being. I'll be back." 

"Wait, where are you going?" He grabbed her arm before she could slip away.

"I just need to confirm something."

"If it's about those people, I'll go."

"I'll be quick, let go."

"Haneul."

"It's fine, I'll be careful so just keep an eye on him for me."

Hyunwoo hesitantly let go off her arm and nodded. "Call us if you need back up."

"Of course."

With that, she quickly disappeared out of sight as he turned to Kei who was still busy talking with the other business men. Hyunwoo followed and naturally joined into their conversation. After about two hours of networking and playing professionalisms, they finally had room to breathe and escaped to the balcony.

Hyunwoo leaned against the side wall and closed his eyes for a brief moment of rest. He opened them again as he felt a small nudge by Kei who was offering him a smoke. He shook his head firmly as Kei made a surprised face.

"Hmm.. that's rare." Kei mumbled as he lit one for himself. 

Hyunwoo gave a small chuckled before feeling his phone vibrate.

The best boss ever (do not change this.): 1 new message

He quickly clicked on the notification with worry that thankfully subsided once he read the text. Knowing she was safe, he decided to deal with her other source of stress. 

"Did you two fight again?"

Kei's eye twitched. "...No."

"Kei come on."

"I told you we didn't fight."

"Is it about that researcher? Because she didn't tell you?"

He groaned.

"You understand why she didn't, right?"

"I know... It's just... I don't want her to think I can't handle it."

"Then tell her," Hyunwoo leaned his head back, "do you remember when you first confessed?"

"Why are you bringing that up.."

"Because didn't you eventually get what you wanted?"

"So you're telling me to tire her out?"

Hyunwoo laughed, "no, I'm telling you to tell her what you're thinking. Has there ever been a time she's disregard what you said?"

Kei kicked his feet at the ground instead of answering. He knew what Hyunwoo said had a point but he was too stubborn to admit it. But with a few minutes of silence, he might just come to accept it like always. Unlike usual however, there was an additional person this time.

"Hyunwoo."

They both turned to Seojun's voice. 

Kei blinked at them back and forth before grinning, "well I'll leave you to it. You two can probably go now anyway, so, have fun." He gave a small wink to Seojun as he walked past him. 

"Let's go."

"Huh? Where?" Hyunwoo tilted his head.

"Where do you think?"

-

How did this happen? 

Before he could register what was happening, they had gone back to his apartment and he was practically trapped between Seojun's legs. Hyunwoo blankly stared into space, completely dazed as Seojun straddled him. The latter only had his unbuttoned shirt on so when Hyunwoo's hands that had sat motionlessly on his exposed waist suddenly squeezed down, he couldn't help but yelp in response.

Already half in tears and tired from doing all the work, he grabbed onto Hyunwoo's arm to stop any more surprises, groaning as he try to shift his position and bit his lips. A pained expression on his face as his brows furrowed. "Mm…"

Looking up at him, Hyunwoo's heart throbbed. In that moment, he remembered what Seungcheol had said earlier.

"If you want to learn about him, just ask. He's not the type that likes to talk about himself but he's honest. It's best if you see hyung as he sees himself."

"Kang Seojun.."

".nn… Yeah?"

"You have to tell me if it hurts okay? You have to tell me if you don't like it, if you want to stop. Anything that feels bad, you need to let me know."

Seojun looked at him, surprised. He didn't know what he was feeling. It's not as if it was hurting to the point he couldn't handle it. It's not as if he didn't like it. He just didn't see any of it as pain. If he had to put a word on it, he felt secure. And in that safe haven, he found something he wanted.

"It's not anything bad but," his hands moved to grab the collar of the tailored white shirt opposite, "there's something I want to try."

"What is…"

Hyunwoo's voice trailed off as a hand moved down to his already loosened tie. His eyes followed as Seojun slowly undid it and his breathing grew heavier. The piece of fabric sat patiently on him, waiting for its next use. Seojun pressed his palm against him and lifted himself with his knees as an uncomfortable moan followed. After positioning himself better, his hands retrieved the flat fabric and held it in front of Hyunwoo. For a while, he didn't say anything and just stared at the silk like he was unsure of what he wanted.

Hyunwoo smiled, "go on."

"Huh?"

He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, "if you want to do it, just do it. You do anything you like."

Seojun laughed defeatedly. Seeing how willing Hyunwoo was to do what he wanted, he let out a small sigh and wrapped the fabric around his eyes, tying a knot in the back. 

"Then you have to be patient."

-

Lying under the duvet, Hyunwoo was surprised Seojun had agreed to let him hug him so his arms and entire body was as still as it could be as to not poke the bear. Seojun could sense how cautious he was and smiled. He shuffled in closer and pushed Hyunwoo's hair out of his face. For a moment, they both just stared at each other in silence, their faces just centimetres apart. 

"Seojun." Hyunwoo spoke quietly.

"Hm?"

"Why did you join us?"

Seojun blinked at him, "what do you mean? Didn't I already tell you?"

"I ran into your brother earlier, he said you took a semester off for him."

"Ah.." Seojun rolled onto his back, "it's not like it was all for him but I guess Seungcheol did play a big part in the final decision."

-

On the day of Seungcheol's high school graduation, Seojun and Jia had went to support him. It was normal for them at this point, whether it was elementary or middle school or high school, events or ceremonies, the siblings always stood in for each other in the place of their absent parents. On that particular day, Seojun could tell Seungcheol was feeling a little down about something and after a small talk with him, he realised the same worries and doubts he had experienced about his future, was what his younger brother was feeling too.

It never seemed like a big deal to Seojun, what he was going to do, what he was going to become, because at the end of the day, it wasn't his decision to make. So he followed whatever his parents told him to do, always staying at the top of the class, enrol in the highest ranked university, study medicine and push away distractions. It was boring but what good was complaining going to do?

Whenever faced with his peers talking about what their life plans were, Seojun would always go silent. He knew his was well thought-out and what some people dreamed of, but it wasn't his, it was his parents'. And that was fine. Him living out his life how they wanted was fine by him. But he wanted his siblings to at least have the freedom to be able to talk in a situation like that and not feel ashamed by their lack of choices.

I don't know how I can help him though. But I need to think of something quickly, before Jia starts to worry too.

Sat on a park bench, Seojun leaned his head back and stared up at the branches that shielded him from the sun. A moment of silence wasn't that rare to come by, but for now, it seemed like a blessing.

Living everyday like he had to was starting to become tiring. 

I hope those two don't start thinking like me. 

He subtly laughed to himself.

If he wanted to help Seungcheol in figuring out what to do with his future, maybe Seojun had to figure out his own too. He needed freedom and time away from the constant pressure and controlling gazes of their parents but how? There wasn't anything he could do right now that wouldn't put him on their radar and if the punishment on his behaviour reflects onto Seungcheol and Jia, then they can give up all hope of not becoming a puppet.

He closed his eyes for a moment as the wind grew and took a deep breath but almost bit his tongue in shock when he opened them. 

A girl he'd never seen before hovered over him, her long hair framing her smiling face, "hi there."

He slowly sat up as she backed up, "...Who are you?"

"I'm Mun Haneul, do you have a minute to talk?"

3 months to work at her organisation, a 'trial period'. After hearing her offer, it didn't take long for Seojun to make up his mind. Had it been any other day, he would've declined for obvious reasons but this was something different, this was his chance to stray from the path that had been laid out since childbirth and if 3 months was all it took for him to find a new route, then it was nothing at all. 

-

"Oh speaking of that, it's already been three months," Seojun mumbled as he turned to Hyunwoo, "hey, do you want to come to the university with me?"