HONEYBEES & BUTTERFLIES

Chapter Five

Nam-Gyu finds himself in front of his wardrobe, his mind in a whirlwind as he faces the daunting task of choosing the perfect outfit for the upcoming party. Amidst his nerves for the evening ahead, the added pressure of not wanting to appear foolish looms over him. Contemplating each piece of clothing, he carefully pulls out a shirt and holds it up against his reflection in the mirror. As uncertainty clouds his face, he lets out a hesitant grunt before dismissing the shirt onto the ever-growing mound of rejected options strewn across his bed.

Aleyna peeks her head around the door. "Daddy, Uncle Go-Han's here," she informs him. "That's great, could you send him in please," Nam-Gyu instructs her.

"Okie," Aleyna sings before skipping off. If there's anyone who can help Nam-Gyu out of this bind, it's Go-Han.

The aforementioned soon walks into the room. He looks at the pile of clothes and then at Nam-Gyu. With a slight grin, he offers, "Need a hand with that?" Nam-Gyu, feeling defeated by the daunting task, lets out a weary sigh. "That, or I go to this thing in my underwear,"

Go-Han scoffs at this and gestures for the younger to move aside. "Still can't believe you agreed to go to this thing," he brings up. "Not like she gave me much of a choice," Nam-Gyu retorts with a touch of sarcasm. "If I don't go, it'll look bad turning down a senior colleague and it could hurt my reputation at the university."

"Is your reputation worth getting groped for 4 hours?"

"Very funny,"

"I didn't realise I was telling a joke," Go-Han mutters. "Don't worry about it hyung, her husband's going to be there so she has to be on her best behaviour," Nam-Gyu assures him.

"Gyu, she doesn't seem to care about hiding her advances when you're at work, something tells me her husband being there won't make much of a difference," Go-Han contends. "In that case, I'll try to avoid her as best as I can and if I can't do that I'll make sure to stay in the eye line of a lot of people," Nam-Gyu says.

"Whatever you say," Go-Han mutters, unconvinced. After a moment of contemplation, he settles on a neatly tailored tan suit and matching pants, complemented by a crisp, long-sleeved white collared shirt. "This should be ok."

Nam-Gyu thanks him and then starts getting dressed. "Thanks again for babysitting tonight, I hope I didn't make you cancel any plans," he says.

"That would entail having a social life,"

"Come on, you have a social life hyung,"

"You and Aly don't count," Go-Han remarks. "Well, why don't you try getting out more, y'know, talk to people that aren't looking to divorce or sue," Nam-Gyu suggests teasingly.

"Funny, y'know what, I hope your night sucks," Go-Han playfully snaps, earning a funny face from the younger.

After making sure he has everything he needs for the night ahead, Nam-Gyu places a gentle kiss on Aleyna's forehead, bidding her and Go-Han goodnight before heading out.

-

As Sejun prepares dinner, the apartment's intercom sounds. He stops what he's doing to see who is at the door. "Hello?"

As Sejun busily prepares dinner that evening, the mouthwatering aroma of sizzling sautéed vegetables fills the apartment. Suddenly, the apartment's intercom sounds, causing Sejun to pause what he's doing, turning the heat down under the food before hurriedly making his way over to it. "Hello?"

"It's us," Dong-In's voice comes through. Sejun unlocks the door, greeting them warmly. "Glad you guys could make it," he says with a smile, ushering them inside.