Me and Mr Jeong

Chapter 1: Confession

Inseong tilted his head slightly to better scan the crowd before him. There he stood with his back to Inseong. The tall black clad figure stared at his phone with one hand on the luggage beside him. His hair was covered with a matching cap but Inseong knew those straight silky strands were a rich deep brown. Inseong's throat went dry. He found his feet glued to the floor. What was he going to do?

A million thoughts raced through his head as he peered at the masked figure behind the glass. Mysterious and intimidating; that's how he had appeared the first time they'd met months ago. While Inseong was close to having a panic attack, Youjin remained utterly unaware of his presence mere feet away. Nothing was new there. Youjin maybe the best at identifying vague weaknesses in a project plan but his piercing gaze always seemed to slide past Inseong. He might as well have been a piece of furniture in his office.

"Today will be different though," Inseong thought resolutely.

Today was the day Kim Youjin would regret his negligence towards him. He was going to walk right up to him and tell him not to leave. Japan was miles away! They would be separated for months or maybe years if Youjin was promoted during this project.

When their boss had made the announcement four days ago, Inseong had felt paralyzed. Sure, he wasn't the best among the team but he worked the hardest. He stayed late to wrap up leftover work and signed in early to put on finishing touches to presentations. That was probably why he didn't have much of a social life. Inseong wanted to impress Youjin but no matter how much effort he made, it went unnoticed. Still, Inseong and Youjin had great success working side by side in the past. Youjin's strategy combined with Inseong's passion yielded the best results every time. How could their boss not consider him this time? He didn't know who Youjin's partner was yet but surely it couldn't be him. He hadn't received any such call from the office leaving him in a state of constant anxiety that week. When there had been no news from the office by last night, he'd decided to risk it all and just go for it. Inseong couldn't ask outright who would fly to Japan with Youjin. He didn't want to come across as jealous or petty. He had a reputation to uphold.

Inseong tried to rub away the exhaustion in his eyes. He needed his wits if he wanted to pull this off. He had driven hours in bad traffic to reach the airport in time to stop Youjin. The idea might seem like something out of a drama but he was done waiting for Youjin to understand his subtle hints. Strong action was required. Youjin would be shocked but at least he'd know the truth. He had to know the truth. It was all or nothing. Inseong didn't want to have any regrets later.

"It's time to man up, Jeong Inseong. Fighting!" he murmured to himself.

"You-," he started to call out but the name died in his throat as Youjin suddenly locked eyes with him.

A soft expectant smile played at the corners of that stern mouth. Inseong's breath caught at one of Youjin's rare sweet smiles. He had never smiled at him like that. It was like he'd been waiting for him this whole time. Youjin raised a hand in greeting. Inseong's own hand shot up to return the wave but stopped halfway. The grin blossoming on his face crumpled. Someone brushed past him in a hurry making a beeline for Youjin whose smile got wider by the second. Inseong looked on helplessly as Youjin embraced the man who'd clearly arrived last minute luggage in tow.

"Ready to go?" his faint voice carried over to where Inseong stood rooted to that spot.

"Yup, let's go!" Seungjun punched the air enthusiastically.

At that moment, Inseong wished the earth would crack open beneath his feet and swallow him whole. He shouldn't have come.