Secrets

The one with the red hair

"The man you met already is my boyfriend, Jung Wooyoung. He's sitting by one of our close friends, Kang Yeosang. He's not as talkative as us but I can guarantee he's a good guy to hang out with."

Seonghwa nodded and accidentally caught Yeosang's eye as he was determining which person was Yeosang. He was met with a startled stare and then a shaky smile and nod. He nodded back.

"They're pretty much the only people I hang out with outside of work so I don't know a lot of other people in the office super well. Oh! I just remembered the name of the new employee who came yesterday! In case you wanted to meet someone who's kind of in the same boat as you."

Seonghwa was a bit surprised as he figured two new employees arriving in the span of two days was already a lot. Three in three days seemed almost suspicious. At least being the middle of the three would keep any attention off of him.

"Sure, where are they stationed?" asked Seonghwa, looking around.

"Way over in the right corner. He's the one with—"

Seonghwa's eyes met his face and he recognized the face immediately.

"Red hair," he finished, a hint of anger slipping out.

San looked over at him surprised.

"You know each other?"

Seonghwa realized he needed to cover his tracks.

"Yeah—we were coworkers in the past—friends, actually. He's just a bit—overprotective."

"I could see that. He seems distant but he also seems dedicated. He's only been here for a day and I think he already beat the production speed of half of the workers here."

Seonghwa was hardly listening as thoughts raced through his mind.

Why was he here? He had thought he would be entirely on his own for this mission! Did his father not trust him? He felt silly for thinking this would be his chance at independence. Clearly his father still saw him as a child.

"I'll actually be right back—I need to chat with him."

"Of course, I'll cover for you if anyone comes looking," smiled San but he seemed a bit concerned. Seonghwa hoped he wasn't blowing his cover already.

To be fair, it would be a lot easier if his bodyguard wasn't stationed here with him.

He walked over to Jongho and stuck out his hand in greeting.

"Jongho? Is that you? It's been a while!"

He tried to make the conversation as inconspicuous as possible. Jongho was confused for a second before immediately picking up on the act.

"Ah! Hwaseong! Good to see you!"

He stood and they shared a quick hug.

"It's been so long! I was just about to grab some coffee from downstairs, why don't you join me?"

"I'm actually pretty busy at the moment but you go ahead," smiled Jongho but Seonghwa could see the annoyance in his eyes. He didn't want to tell Seonghwa why he was here. He didn't want to disobey his father. But Seonghwa needed an explanation.

"Oh, certainly you can't have much to do if it's only your second day. It's alright if we head down to grab something and come back, right?" he asked the table.

They were about to nod in agreement before Jongho turned and gave them all a death stare which immediately sent them to shaking their heads.

"We've really got a heavy workload today!"

"Yeah, it's probably best if he stays and helps!"

"I guess he'll have to catch up with you another time!"

Seonghwa rolled his eyes.

"I see you've made many new friends since yesterday," he said with a groan.

Jongho smiled in victory.

"I guess so. It must be my warm personality," he grinned and took his seat again.

Seonghwa sighed and returned to his table, figuring Jongho couldn't hide from him forever. Besides, staying there any longer now would bring suspicion on both of them.

As he sat back down, San turned to him in curiosity.

"So? What did you guys talk about?"

"Oh—you know, we just caught up a bit. Talked about how we've been, just small talk. He agreed to meet up sometime so we can chat for longer. For now we've got work to do so I'm here to focus."

San nodded and the two began running over ideas for the new magazine. Seonghwa vowed to find a way to make Jongho talk after the work day was done.