vermilion. || nct taeil [COMPLETE]

chapter 28.

Moon Publishing - 11:36 PM.

Mark literally cried when he watched Lucas empty out his desk. It's the latter's last day at work, and in two weeks, he'll be flying back to Hong Kong to start his new job. Of course, Rin helped him out with preparing. She already found him the cheapest plane ticket, and helped contacted the real estate agent that arranged Lucas' new apartment. She also informed his parents about their son's comeback, and happily arranged a meet up schedule for them once Lucas lands in Hong Kong.

"Hey, come on guys don't be so grim!" Lucas tries to lift up the mood when he notices his friends' sullen expressions as he cleaned up. "C'mon, I'll buy you guys lunch. TY Cuisines, yeah?"

"Why do you have to move?" Mark whines, making Lucas chuckle and ruffle his hair.

"C'mon, Marko. I'll buy you a chocolate milkshake." He pulls his best friend into a chokehold. Mark whines, pushing him away.

"Lucas, don't choke him!" Jungwoo scolds, clearly upset as well.

"C'mon Woo! Call Young and tell her to meet up at TY's." Lucas was already walking towards the elevator hall, dragging Mark with him.

Jungwoo sighs in resignation. "Rin? You coming?" he asks.

"Yeah, go right ahead. I'll just give this to Sir Taeil." Rin says before heading for Taeil's office.

Jungwoo watches her go and shakes his head. "None of my business..." he mutters to himself. A thought then crosses his mind. Wait, does Lucas know at least?

"Sir?" Rin opens Taeil's door, catching him reading Author Nakamoto's edited manuscript. She approaches his desk, placing a folder file on top of his desk. "Here is the list of newly submitted manuscripts. It seems our recon team found quite a number of promising writers this time."

"Mmm." Taeil hums, completely focused on the material he's reading.

Rin smiles at him softly. "I'm getting lunch with my friends. Don't forget to eat, okay?" she reminds in that sweet tone; Taeil had to look up.

"I won't. Promise." He returns the soft smile. He gets up from his seat to kiss Rin on the lips softly.

Rin giggles shyly before exiting Taeil's office, a blush spread across her cheeks. She heads towards the elevators, and halts effectively when she sees Jungwoo waiting for her.

"H-Hey, Rin!" he greets her nervously. "I—Thought I'd wait for you."

"Oh. Thanks, Woo." Rin smiles at him gratefully.

Jungwoo's eyes keep shifting back and forth, his hands fidgeting nervously. He looked like he was on the verge of bursting, but he composed himself and remained calm.

Rin observed him closely. She had an idea that he knew about her little affair with their boss but she refused to admit it unless she's sure that Jungwoo really does know about her relationship.

"I—" Jungwoo's eyes glance over to Taeil's blinds-covered office. "I—Does—Lucas. Does Lucas know?"

Rin's facial expression turned from neutral to nervous. "No," she answers vaguely. "He doesn't."

Well, that just confirmed that Kim Jungwoo is the first ot know about Taeil and Rin. "Does anyone else know?" Jungwoo asks again.

"Aside from you, I don't know." Rin keeps her gaze stern at Jungwoo. "Unless—"

"I didn't tell anyone if you're wondering," Jungwoo reassures her, sensing the apprehension from Rin's tense body.

"I—Th-Thank you," Rin tells him gratefully.