Jae, Jae, you're sick in the head. Jae thought as he slapped a fist on his forehead. He grabbed a trench coat and pulled it over him, helping himself to a cigarette from one of the boxes inside it and bringing it to his mouth.
He shook his head, getting a lighter from the other pocket and lighting the cigarette.
That was a first time getting intimate with a captive. Jae Hyun intended to tease Minho just enough to make him uncomfortable, but it didn't quite work out as he had planned. Maybe he had shacked Minho long enough to start getting ideas of his own, and the thought of it appalled him.
Jae Hyun thought that maybe he just needed some air to clear his head, maybe it could help him get a grip on whatever the hell his problem was. It was good enough that he could downplay his thoughts so hard that no one, even Minho himself, could know what was going on in his head, thanks to his tough demeanor, but hell, who was he fooling?
Minho was just his captive–one to run him errands here and there just in case, he opted for a dispensable one. Nothing out of the ordinary.
And that was reason enough to keep him off limits.
Distressed, Jae Hyun raked his fingers over the longer part of his hair. Maybe he could keep off him for a few days, just until he could blow off the pent-up stress and get things back to how they used to be. Hopefully, by then, he will have figured out whatever the hell gave him the thoughts in the first place.
***
Three days later …
Jae Hyun had become a total ghost, ignoring Minho at every turn and refusing to even look his way. Ever since their little hook-up in Jae Hyun's bedroom, it was almost as if he wanted nothing to do with him, something that Minho couldn't look past even if he wanted to.
Jae Hyun had buried himself completely with work. Given the endless streams of reports, people reporting in and out of his office and the plans spread out on his table, it was clear that he had a ton of things to attend to.
Minho might have also been a ghost for all the attention that Jae Hyun gave him. The distance ate at him because he did not know why Jae Hyun was ignoring him. If anything, he was the one who initiated the kiss, and now he was acting like Minho was invisible.
That was probably a reason for the cold shoulder if there were others that he might not have been aware of. Minho was betting on that.
"Any updates about the shipment?" Jae Hyun asked without looking up from the blueprints he was examining.
Another one of his secretaries shuffled a stack of documents, drawing out one with detailed reports about the operations. Meanwhile, Jae Hyun was making notions on the documents at his desk, only half listening, his mind calculating other profits.
"…so, we're projecting the shipment to arrive by next Wednesday." The secretary concluded.
"Beef up the security this time," Jae Hyun muttered distractedly, still glued to the documents on his desk. "We don't want a Kiyo 2.0 situation again. I don't want any screw-ups, do you understand?"
"Crystal, sir. Also, the senior accountant wants you to review and sign off the quarterly earnings reports."
Jae Hyun shook his head in acknowledgment as the secretary excused himself. He was just turning his attention to another stack of financial documents when Minho barged into his office unannounced.
Jae Hyun jerked his head up, staring at Minho with a glare. He was already jammed up enough with his work and did not appreciate people barging in to disturb him while at it. "What?" he roared.
"We need to talk about what happened the other day."
Sucking in a heavy breath, Jae Hyun facepalmed himself. He was right about Minho, and he couldn't place his suspicion between the fact that the boy was really just idle or he indeed wanted answers. None that he would have given him if he had them anyway.
"Get out." Jae Hyun snarled
"You've been treating me like some kind of leper, and I'm done pretending about it?" Minho grunted.
Being one to push luck, he wasn't about to leave the room without an explanation. He had spent days brooding, wallowing, and trying to make sense of what had happened between them earlier and when he realized he wasn't getting any answers, he had to find Jae Hyun to at least get an explanation.
"If you are going to barge in and disrupt me while I'm in the middle of work then tell me exactly what it is you want. I have pressing matters at hand; in case you haven't noticed." Jae Hyun snickered, making a sweeping gesture at the mess of documents and blueprints on his desk.
Minho scoffed loudly. "Can you at least tell me what I'm doing here if you won't talk to me? Why don't you just let me go then."
Minho hadn't brought himself to understand why Jae Hyun was holding him captive and wringing him to his satisfaction whenever he wanted, other times being strangely soft with him, and other times being a total fuck up, much less now.
The guards were bewildered, looking at each other curiously and back at Minho, trying to get some sort of clarity for themselves for what he was talking about. Even then, they couldn't bring themselves to understand how Jae Hyun had mastered that much patience with Minho.
"Excuse us." Jae Hyun bellowed, and the guards followed quietly, each of them finding their way to the exit.
"Don't play dumb with me. Why did you kiss me?" Minho asked daringly. "I understand that you don't want to talk to me, but can you at least tell me what that was about?
"Is that what has you acting up? Is it that you are just not busy or what?"
"I can't stop thinking about it. It's scary, and even more confusing now that you won't talk to me."
Stunned, Jae Hyun sucked his teeth, crossing his arms over his chest. All he knew was that this boy was pissing the life out of him, and if he would go away, then he would have to take him away forcefully. But he didn't want that.
He scoffed. "Get a grip, pretty boy. Dwelling on that will only make it far much worse. Not that it meant anything anyway."
Minho flinched like Jae Hyun's words burned. He had been through enough rejections to know one, which wasn't quite expecting the answer he got. "You know I don't appreciate you leading me on and shutting me out, Jae Hyun. What do you want from me?"
"And why do I care about what you appreciate or not? Jae Hyun asked expressionlessly, spreading out his hands.
For a minute, Minho made Jae Hyun feel something different from rage. However, Jae Hyun was nowhere close to admitting that he could process actual human emotions. Not today. Not ever.
"There is no fucking explanation, damn it." It. Meant. Fucking. Nothing. Do you hear me?" Jae Hyun spat, staring angrily at Minho who shrank back at each one of those words.
Minho was silent for a while, unable to comprehend what he was hearing, and for a second, he regretted whatever made him think it was a good idea to go to the study.
Completely dumbfounded, he returned Jae Hyun's sharp gaze with a blank stare. All he knew was he had to annoy Jae Hyun if that was what it would take for him to at least know what he was thinking.
After a few suspended seconds, Minho burst into laughter. "No, I don't. It makes no sens―"
Jae Hyun strode towards Minho in a slow, calculated menace, and Minho found himself pinned by his stern gaze. "Whatever half-baked scheme you have going on in that pretty little head, along with your delusions end here. Now. I don't have time for this childishness." Jae Hyun spat, his chest just a hairsbreadth from making contact as he leaned in further.
Anger built up in Minho's veins, at the fact that Jae Hyun had the twisted notion that he could control everything in his existence, and with the condescension with which he dismissed him. He was just opening his mouth to push back but he was cut short.
"Shut up." Jae Hyun snatched Minho by his arm. "You can make all the noise you want, just not here."
"What are you doing? Let me go, you sick fuck…"
Minho found himself being frog-marched across the study and out into the hallway, as he spat half-formed protests that were ignored with stoic indifference. With a shove, Minho was sent stumbling into the room.
"No one enters or leaves this room until I say so. Do you hear me?" Jae Hyun's veins bulged at the side of his head as he yelled at the guards by the door.
If that's how Jae Hyun wants to play it, so be it. Minho thought.
Much as Minho was a smart mouth, he also knew how to be patient. And he was going to play it just like Jae Hyun had started it.