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Jumin Han is uncomfortable as he sits across from his father, tapping his finger tips against the tabletop of the table they’re at in the middle of the brewery-restaurant.
While lunch with the Chairman tends to be a pleasant occasion, Jumin knows the moment that Juyoung comes into the restaurant that this lunch is going to be the exact opposite of that.
Usually, they meet to talk about business ventures. But, when the other man walks through the door without any other businessmen or even any files held in his wrinkled hands, Jumin knows that this isn’t about business.
It’s a personal lunch.
And that’s not inherently bad. Lately, though, the chairman has been concerned about his personal life. It makes sense- he’s thirty, unmarried, his best friend since childhood was shot dead, his other best friend is now in a mental hospital in another country, and he spends all of his time with his aging cat. Understandably, Chairman Han is concerned and doesn’t understand Jumin or how he grieves.
Instead of putting his feelings out there for the world to see, Jumin chooses to act like his mother and keep his grief locked inside. Sharing it with others won’t help him, anyway.
But of course, his father couldn’t possibly comprehend that- because deep down, he and Jumin are nothing alike. So, like Juyoung does when he’s upset, he tries to encourage Jumin to find something to make him happy and distract him from everything that’s happened.
The two men order their food and craft beer, exchanging smalltalk between bites and sips.
Juyoung is going through yet another divorce. Jumin found out from the tabloids before he heard the news from his father’s mouth. He doesn’t mind either way, though. He’s not surprised. All of his father’s relationships are failures. Every time, he tells his father that the new woman he’s with is after him for his money, and every time, his father dismisses his concerns. Then, when it inevitably blows up in the chairman’s face, he says he knew all along that something with his wife was off. Jumin can’t help but roll his eyes as his father continues to complain.
“Ah, I should’ve known she was no good when she told me the ring I proposed to her with wasn’t big enough!”
“Yes, Father, that’s what I said to you when you informed me how displeased she was following your proposal,” Jumin sighs. “Despite the thousands of dollars you spent to go to France such short notice…”
“Oh, don’t act like you knew,” Juyoung offers a dismissive wave and shakes his head, then gestures to Jumin with his fork. “So, son, have you had any luck?”
Jumin finishes his food, dabs his mouth with a napkin, and sets his silverware down on the plate in front of him before furrowing his brow in confusion.
“Any luck in what regard?”
“You know, dating? At this rate, I’m gonna be on my tenth wife before you get your first girlfriend,” The Chairman jokes.
“And who said I want a girlfriend?”
“Well, a boyfriend is fine, too! I’m very open-minded-”
“No, no, Father,” Jumin huffs and takes a swig of his beer. “What I meant was… Why are you assuming that I want to date at all?”
His father frowns, a concerned expression taking over his face.
“It’s about time that you start prioritizing love in your life. You have me, and I love you so dearly. I’m proud of the man that you’ve become and I wouldn’t change a thing about you, but I won’t always be here to love you,” Juyoung explains. “I just want you to have someone aside from your cat and your little group. Elizabeth won’t live forever, either.”
“You say that you wouldn’t change me, yet it seems as if you’re dissatisfied with the direction I’ve taken in my personal life,” Jumin points out, hurt welling up in his chest. He’s not a sensitive man, but he loves his father dearly, so the chairman’s opinion holds a lot of weight. With Juyoung constantly criticizing his non-existent love life, he can’t help being upset. No matter what Jumin says, every time they have this conversation, it goes the same way- and the next time they have a lunch where Jumin shows up without a woman on his arm, his father will be disappointed in him yet again. “My ‘little group’ happens to be full of my dearest friends. They are enough support for now, and in regards to Elizabeth, I am fully aware that she will pass soon. The last thing I need from you is to be reminded of that.”
“I just-” Chairman Han pauses, then looks away, unable to meet Jumin’s eyes. “I would love for you to have someone to cherish… Someone who isn’t tied to V and his fiance.”
“A woman will never help me to get over what happened to V or over the things that Rika did. It’s shallow of you to think that all of my problems can be solved by falling in love. I’m not like you, Father,” Jumin hisses in a low enough voice that none of the other patrons are able to hear him. Still, Juyoung won’t meet his eyes, even as Jumin stares at him with an icy glare. He normally wouldn’t be this disrespectful, but after so many instances of the same monotonous argument, he’s grown tired of his father’s persistence. “I’m not going to ignore the things that are wrong in my life and distract myself from my flaws by putting all of my time and attention into a woman who doesn’t even want me.”
As Jumin finishes the rest of his beer, his father guiltily frowns while looking at the reflection of himself in his.
“You know that’s not what I meant, son. You should never use a woman as an excuse to ignore your problems.”
“Then why is it acceptable for you to do it and insist that I start doing the same?”
“Jumin… Don’t be like this. You know that I only want what’s best for you.”
Just then, the waiter comes by with the ticket, to which Juyoung gives the man his credit card. The waiter quickly bows and retreats back to the front desk of the restaurant.
“Yes, I’m aware,” Jumin takes the opportunity to stand to leave, so agitated that he can barely look Chairman Han in the eye. “Thank you for the meal, Father.”
“Promise me you’ll think about what I said,” Juyoung says, reaching out to grab Jumin by the wrist. Jumin turns to look back at his father over his shoulder. “I want to see you happy.”
“...Yes,” Jumin nods, eyes falling shut. “I promise. As always, I carefully consider your input… But you do know by now how I feel about this.”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon, son.”
With that, Jumin rushes to get out of the restaurant as fast as he can. He tosses his coat over his shoulder and brings it with him instead of taking the time to pull it on. Then, he locates the car that Driver Kim is in, gets into it, puts on his seatbelt, and uses his cellphone to check on RFA’s messenger.
Jumin Han has entered the chatroom.
Upon entering the chatroom, Jumin notices that Jaehee, Zen, and Yoosung are present. He briefly wonders why Seven isn’t there. For some reason, disappointment washes over him at the realization that Seven is offline, but he tries to ignore it as he watches messages flood onto his phone screen.
Jaehee Kang : Mr. Han, how did lunch with your father go?
Jumin rolls his eyes. It’s been years since Jaehee quit her job as his assistant to open her coffee shop, yet she still calls Jumin ‘Mr. Han’ regularly. Since she’s no longer his assistant, and has since become a good friend, he can’t help but become uncomfortable when she refers so formally.
Jumin Han : Jaehee, I told you that you can call me Jumin now.
Jumin Han : Since you are no longer my assistant.
Jaehee Kang : Right,
Jaehee Kang : My apologies- it is quite the adjustment after almost three years…
Jumin Han : I understand, but to answer your question, it went…
Jumin Han : Not the best.
At that, Zen decides to contribute to the chat, to which Yoosung quickly follows.
ZEN : ????
ZEN : What happened dude
Yoosung★ : Yeah, your dad’s a pretty nice guy! What’d you do? Lolol
Thankfully, as Jumin rides in the car, Driver Kim doesn’t talk to him. Having been Jumin’s chauffeur for as long as he can remember, the man can easily sense when Jumin is or isn’t in the mood to chat. So, he plays calming classical music and puts up the privacy window between the front and back seats.
Jumin Han : I didn’t do anything,
Jumin Han : He, however, is insistent that I prioritize ‘love’.
707 has entered the chatroom.
Saeran has entered the chatroom.
Jumin’s frown turns into a smile upon seeing Seven and his twin brother’s names on his screen. Years ago, after you suddenly joined the organization, Rika’s ‘Mint Eye’ was exposed. Seven went on an insane man hunt to find his brother and, with Jumin’s help, took the organization down and got Rika hospitalized. V died during the raid and Jumin doesn’t think he’ll ever ‘get over it’ like the rest of his friends think he has, but he’s managed to adjust somewhat well to this ‘new normal’.
Or, as well as he can adjust considering that he’s been left in charge of the RFA and no longer has a reliable chief assistant. He tried to get you to work for him, but sadly, you were determined to help Jaehee with her coffee shop. So, he’s busier than ever with work, constantly being hounded by his father about his lack of a girlfriend, and grieving his best friends.
Life is… Stressful, to say the least. As much as he hated them before, Seven’s jokes have been a comfort to him the last few years, so Jumin logs in at the times that Seven is normally there. The man has started working as the head of C&R’s security division since leaving the agency he previously worked for, so Jumin has become quite fond of him as a friend- and as an asset to his business- despite his peculiar sense of humor.
707 : Whoot whoot~
707 : Who’s this guy!?!?
ZEN : lol Seven, did you read what Jumin said?
707 : ya
707 : and I agree with daddy dearest
707 : what’s wrong with a little love in your life Juju? Lol sounds like you need it
Saeran : His love life isn’t any of our business…
ZEN : I actually have to agree with Seven for once… A girlfriend wouldn’t kill you, Jumin. God knows you could stand to loosen up a bit
Yoosung★ : Yeah Jumin, I don’t get why you’re single still when you could have anyone you want!
Jaehee Kang : You all have to understand that Chairman Han has always had a rather turbulent love life.
Jaehee Kang : Following his advice in regards to love… It’s never wise. Perhaps it’s best that Jumin stay single.
Saeran : I mean it’s fine if he stays single because he wants to, but he shouldn’t do that just because his dad’s type happens to be gold diggers…
707 : where’s (y/n)? They might have some good insight!
Jaehee Kang : Unfortunately, (y/n) is busy covering for me while I’m on my break. I should actually get back so they’re not alone at the counter for too long.
Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom.
Jumin Han : I’m single because there is no one that I want. That is all there is to it.
707 : damn lol you must be picky !!
Saeran : Harsh.
Jumin Han : And I don’t believe it is my father’s business to try and force women onto me… Especially after everything that has happened with my mother- his first wife- and especially considering his terrible taste in women…
ZEN : Is it really that bad?
Jumin Han : He’s been divorced four times.
Jumin Han : The fifth divorce is currently being deliberated in court.
Jumin Han : So, you tell me if it’s ‘really that bad’.
ZEN : Damn dude, that’s brutal
Yoosung★ : Wow, it sounds like your dad is having a hard time with relationships
Yoosung★ : That’s so sad ): I feel bad for him
707 : eh, I don’t lmao. I mean you’ve read about them right?? And every time mr. chairman has a new gf Jumin comes in here and complains about how terrible she is, and he’s always right
707 : Jumin tries to warn his dad about the type of women he picks up
707 : and his dad never listens!
Jumin Han : Exactly. I wish he would leave me alone about settling down… I still have plenty of time.
Saeran : Yeah, you do.
Saeran : You’re only in your twenties. And a relationship doesn’t guarantee happiness… you can stay single and live just fine.
707 : I’ve been seeing looooooots and lots of articles about you lately, Mr. Trustfund Kid
707 : ‘Does Jumin Han is gay?’ rephrased in a gazillion different ways for headlines lmao
Jumin Han : Don’t even get me started.
ZEN : Oh, yeah, I’ve been seeing em too
ZEN : people think you’re gay because you don’t have a girlfriend or anything lol
ZEN : Kind of a reach tbh
Yoosung★ : Wow, really? I hadn’t heard that people were posting stuff like that online
Saeran : You haven’t seen any of the tweets? none of the clips from the news? none of the youtube vids with weird photoshops of Jumin and Zen making out and Jaehee being jealous in the bg even though she’s the only one in the group that’s actually gay?
Saeran : It’s been the main cover story of every news station for like two weeks
Saeran : You really are a recluse yoosung
Yoosung★ : :p Saeran you wanna hop on a stream with me?
Saeran : Sure ((:
Yoosung★ has left the chatroom.
Saeran has left the chatroom.
ZEN : Can’t believe those two just left like that in the middle of such a serious conversation…
707 : anyway, mista trustfund
707 : I bet those articles are just making your dad nervous
707 : though rather that’s for publicity reasons or because he himself is nervous about you being gay…
Jumin Han : My father may have poor judgment, but he isn’t homophobic.
Jumin Han : He doesn’t even care about me having children. He mainly wants me to settle down because he believes it’ll make me ‘happier’.
Jumin Han : He has grown especially concerned about me becoming lonely after Rika’s hospitalization and V’s passing…
ZEN : Can’t you just tell him you have a girlfriend? If you think it’ll ease his nerves a little bit
ZEN : You could even tell him that you broke up because she cheated on you or something- then he’ll feel bad and stop talking about it for a while!
ZEN : Get creative
Jumin Han : Ah, yes, get creative with lying to my own father who only has my best interest in mind.
707 : it’s not like you’d be lying to be malicious
707 : just to ease his stress! Think of it as getting creative with appeasing your father’s concerns about his lonely son
707 : it’s really not that bad of an idea, but there is one issue
707 : What about when he wants to meet Jumin’s “girlfriend”? Then he’s screwed
ZEN : He has enough money that he could hire a thousand girlfriends
ZEN : Hiring one shouldn’t be that much of a challenge
Jumin Han : Until she goes to the media, tells them about my hiring of her, and gets a massive paycheck in return for ruining my family’s reputation.
Jumin Han : We’re already dealing with plenty of issues following my father’s most recent divorce- the last thing we need right now is another blow to C&R’s public image.
ZEN : Oh… Yeah
ZEN : Good point
ZEN : Rich people problems smh
707 : So what you guys are saying is that it just has to be someone he knows who he can trust not to tell any news outlets!
ZEN : I mean, I guess? But literally the only two women that he knows are…
Jumin Han : Jaehee and (y/n), yes… And asking either of them for this monumental favor feels disrespectful to their relationship.
707 : Yeah… nvm
707 : Well, actually
Jumin Han : What is it?
707 : You know how I cosplay?
ZEN : Oh, god, I get where you’re going with this
ZEN : Gonna save myself the embarrassment and leave. I’ll be sure to drop a selfie to purify the chatroom later lol, bye guys
ZEN has left the chatroom.
Jumin Han : I… Don’t understand
707 : I could just pretend to be your girlfriend!
At that, Jumin blinks and rubs his eyes, then looks at the screen again to make sure he’s reading Seven’s words correctly. Seven… Pretending to be his girlfriend.
Out of all of the ideas they came up with… It is, unfortunately, the best one to dissuade Jumin’s father.
707 : it’s perfect : D and I’ll be so annoying that he’ll pray you never date again because you have such terrible taste in women
707 : We’re friends, you know I won’t betray you by selling you out to anyone who might want to know about this, AND believe it or not, I’m a VERY convincing woman
707 : 707, the Defender of Justice, coming through once again!
Jumin Han : Something is telling me that this seems like a terrible idea.
Jumin Han : But… I can’t think of any logical reason why it wouldn’t work.
Jumin Han : Why don’t I reach out to my father and arrange a dinner?
707 : Sure!
707 : Just lmk my bae character : D
707 has left the chatroom.
Jumin Han has left the chatroom.
Right as Jumin logs out, Driver Kim pulls up to the penthouse. Jumin exits the car and enters through the gates as a sigh falls from between his lips.
Hopefully Seven’s plan works…
Jumin walks into his penthouse, sits down on the lush white carpet, and smiles with relief when Elizabeth 3rd crawls into his lap. She lies down, purring as Jumin dials his father’s phone.
“Father? I wanted to apologize for how I talked to you at our lunch today… Yes, I’d like to make it up to you. I was afraid to introduce the two of you, but I met someone recently. How would you feel about attending dinner with us next week?”
“That sounds wonderful, son.”
~
And so, a week later, Jumin is walking into the fanciest fine dining restaurant in Seoul with Seven on his arm. After sorting out some minor details- from Seven’s disguise (a classy and feminine look) to how Seven would act (like himself) to what name he would use (his true name, Saeyoung, because it’s considered feminine)- they managed to arrange a time and date. They are quickly led by the maître d' to their private table, where Juyoung is already waiting for them.
“Wow,” A knowing sort of look crosses Chairman Han’s face the moment he lays eyes on Seven. For a moment, Jumin panics. His father has seen Seven in passing multiple times at the RFA parties and at C&R. How stupid he was to think a disguise like this could fool him… But then, right as Jumin is about to burst into an awkward apology for even thinking of doing this, Chairman Han’s expression changes to one of delight- and Jumin starts to think that he must’ve imagined that other one. “Jumin, what a beautiful young lady you’ve found.”
“Why, thank you, sir! You’re Chairman Han, aren’t you?” Seven sits at the table, directly across from Juyoung. He holds his hand out for the chairman to shake- and, just then, Jumin notices how Seven is dressed; delicate, dainty pale hands with his fingernails painted ruby red, mascara and eyeliner adorning his amber eyes, a light blush dusted across his soft cheekbones, and a beautiful green dress adorning his narrow-set shoulders and curvy hips. His glasses are abandoned in favor of a pair of contacts, and his short mane of bright red hair is covered with a straightened auburn wig. The long hair goes down to the middle of his back, and there’s straight-cut bangs in the front that cover his forehead. “You’re very handsome. I can see where my Jumin gets his good looks from. You know, you look way better in person than you do in the pictures Jumin takes!”
The greeting makes Jumin’s ears ring- both because of the backhanded insult about his poor photography skills and because of the ridiculously high-pitched voice that Seven chooses to communicate with. Oddly enough, though, it makes for a convincing woman, so Jumin just grits his teeth and accepts it as he waits for his father’s reaction.
“Ah, that’s true, isn’t it? We’re lucky my son didn’t decide to pursue photography,” Chairman Han holds his hand out and shakes Seven’s before pressing a kiss against the hacker’s knuckles.
Jumin lets out a sigh of relief.
“Well, honey ?” Seven turns to Jumin with a shiteating grin, sounding sickeningly sweet. It’s clear that he’s enjoying this. Jumin wonders if he shouldn’t have agreed to trick his father… Perhaps Seven’s behavior is going to be his karma. “Why don’t you come sit down with us?”
“Yes, Jumin, don’t look so uptight,” His father agrees. “Treat this like any other get-together we’d have. Saeyoung is part of the family now.”
Jumin sits down, biting the inside of his cheek to keep himself from scolding Seven. Of course- of course - the man would enjoy messing with him, even in this context. Jumin sits next to Seven and damn near jumps out of his skin when one of Seven’s hands is creeping over to hold his underneath the table. He allows Seven to unfold his tightly clasped fist and lock their fingers together, resting their intertwined hands on top of Jumin’s thigh. From across the small table, Chairman Han reaches forward to ruffle Jumin’s hair.
Meanwhile, Seven is still sitting there with a shiteating grin on his face, clearly getting some sort of sick pleasure from watching Jumin writhe.
Jumin rolls his eyes. In hindsight, he should’ve expected it to play out this way.
Seven never does favors for free, after all.
~
The dinner goes worse than Jumin imagined, but better than he expected. Seven and his father chat for the entire meal while practically ignoring Jumin, which he supposes he’s glad for. Not having to contribute to the conversation made the already exhausting ordeal much less mentally taxing.
Unfortunately, the plan did not seem to work. At least not entirely . His father believes he’s dating and will probably stop bothering him for now about getting a girlfriend. The caveat of that, however, is that Seven didn’t annoy the ever living hell out of the chairman like they expected. Rather- Jumin’s father seemed to be charmed by Seven’s peculiar sense of humor, and insisted that they get together again soon, possibly even without Jumin there.
Jumin sits in the passenger’s seat of Seven’s car, his face bright red and his hair still ruffled from his father’s affectionate gesture as Seven drives him home. While he pointed out that he could just call Driver Kim to take him home, Seven rebutted with the fact that his father might find it odd if they left in separate vehicles.
“I gotta say, I did a great job!” Seven grins as if this whole situation isn’t bizarre. He reeks of expensive floral perfume that he doesn’t normally wear- or maybe he does? This arrangement is making Jumin notice all sort of things he didn’t bother to pay attention to before, from the jasmine wafting off of Seven’s neck and hair, to the gorgeous hue of amber that colors his eyes, to the many small scars on his hands and arms that are barely covered up by concealer, to a crooked tooth he has, to his chapped lips that are painted dark red to match his wig. Jumin realizes he’s staring far too intently and leaning in far too close when Seven turns to look at him and almost bumps his nose against his nose. Jumin jerks away and sits his back against the car seat. “Don’t ‘cha think?”
“Yes,” Jumin answers, staring straight ahead to avoid Seven’s prying eyes. “You were… Quite convincing. I doubt my father will be bothering me about my love life for a while.”
“Yeah, unless he starts pushing you to propose,” Seven turns to wink at Jumin and laughs- a laugh that Jumin thought was slightly annoying before, but now finds melodic. “Just to let you know, I’m more of a silver girl than a gold girl, so I’ll turn you down if you show up with a gold engagement ring!”
Jumin rolls his eyes, not even dignifying Seven’s joke with a response.
Still… He can’t help but look at Seven when the other man’s golden eyes are focused on the road.
Jumin has never thought of Seven as date-able before- not because Seven is a man, but because he genuinely hasn’t tried to see Seven in that light. Now that he’s in a position where he and Seven are ‘dating’, he can’t help but overthink it and become flustered… Or perhaps, this is what a crush feels like? He isn’t sure. Is it only because Seven was dressed as a woman? Is it worth wasting the time to think about?
He’s never had any time to think about his love life in general. At first, he was too young- then, he was focused on school- then, it was V and Rika, and the RFA, and Mint Eye . It’s been so many years now and while things have finally settled down… He’s just… Never bothered. Between work and making sure Elizabeth 3rd’s needs are met, he’s never had a lot of spare time.
Romance isn’t a necessity, anyway. At least not to Jumin. No, to Jumin, romance has always been impractical- and in the business world, there’s never been much room for impracticality. While not necessarily intentional, he realizes that he’s avoided relationships to avoid becoming like his father even after everything. Juyoung is a good man, and Jumin can handle embarrassment well, but more than anything, he’s terrified of experiencing what heartbreak is like after having seen it so many times throughout his life.
Women, women, women. Jumin’s father wasn’t the worst parent, but he wasn’t the best, either- all because of this vice of his. Jumin hated most of the women his father brought around, but as he grew older, he realized that most women aren’t like that, and that his father is just horrible at choosing which ones to court. Most women, like most men, are kind and have good intentions. They can be good friends, like you and Jaehee, but even having met the two of you and so many other wonderful women over the years, he’s never found himself taken over by butterflies in his stomach or plagued with a heart that skips beats because of one.
Men haven’t caught his attention, either. Him and V were close for so many years and nothing happened between them that was even remotely romantic. Jumin has never put too much thought into it- gay, straight, bi, pan, ace- what does it matter as long as he’s content? People waste too much time trying to decide on labels for something as fluid as sexuality. Or, that’s what Jumin thinks. He isn’t one for labels.
Then again, perhaps he just doesn’t want to consider the possibility of falling in love… Or even developing a crush. Something so inconvenient; the constant thinking about them, the potential of ruining the relationship, his father’s opinions, the media, his company, his money. There’s not many people he could let his guard down around, even if he wanted to, in order to date. Jumin is self aware enough to realize that he’s just personable enough to be a successful businessman, but not personable enough to attract most people to him for a personal relationship. Most of the ones who would express interest would surely only be after him for his riches and status- the same goes for friends, too.
Well, maybe not all of his friends, especially in the RFA. Seven, whose golden gaze stays focused on the road as he drives this gaudy neon green sports car, has hardly ever inquired about Jumin’s money. In fact, the man has so many sports cars and such an expensive house that Jumin suspects he must have made enough to live the rest of his life in luxury back when he worked at the agency. Even if Seven were poor, though… Jumin has learned how to tell when someone plans on taking advantage of him.
Seven isn’t someone who would take advantage of anyone, especially these days. At least not in any way that’s really harmful. Seven, even with his weird humor and awkward personality, is a good person… A good person that Jumin considers a friend.
It suddenly clicks. This burning, sickeningly fuzzy feeling in his belly that he’s had since they went to see his father- the way his heart is beating unusually hard and fast within his chest- the way he can’t stop staring at Seven- this must be it. The romance that everyone has always talked to him about. The crushes that he’s read about in the books. The falling in love that Zen portrays in his stupid plays.
“Ha, Jumin, why do you look so embarrassed all of a sudden?” Seven asks, fiddling with the GPS screen on the dashboard of the car. It shows that they still have a half hour left until they’re going to reach Jumin’s penthouse. “I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen you blush! So cute!”
“Take that wig off,” Jumin orders, desperately trying to hide his flushed face by turning to look out the window.
Seven acquiesces with a shrug and removes the long-haired wig as well as the cap he had on underneath to hide his natural hair. Both are haphazardly tossed into the back seat of the vehicle, which is already loaded with empty Honey Buddha chip bags and PHD Pepper cans.
Seven runs his long, skinny fingers through his hair and grabs some makeup wipes from the glovebox to take his makeup off when they reach a stoplight. Somehow, that makes Jumin’s face heat up even more. When did Seven become this attractive? Has he always been this beautiful? Why didn’t Jumin notice before?
Clearly, he is not feeling this way exclusively because Seven was dressed like a woman…
Shit.
“Um, dude, are you good? You’re seriously red! Like, as red as my hair,” Seven points out and switches to driving with one hand so he can use the other to reach over and feel Jumin’s forehead. “Did you get food poisoning or something? Or have you been around someone who’s sick lately?”
“No, nothing of the sort,” Jumin quickly answers and slaps Seven’s hand away. “I’ve heard the air quality is supposed to be poor this week. It’s my fault for not wearing a mask when we went out today. I’ve always been sensitive to that sort of thing.”
“Ah, I see! Let’s get you home to your fancy penthouse then! I’m sure you have the nicest air in South Korea circulating through there.”
Jumin rolls his eyes for what must be the millionth time that night, leaning his head against the window and allowing his eyes to fall shut.
What the hell did he get himself into…?
~
Weeks pass, and for a while, nothing happens. Seven doesn’t talk about the dinner, Jumin doesn’t talk about the dinner, and Jumin’s father is busy with his impending divorce. So, it’s easy for Jumin to forget most of what happened- except for the most important part; the realization that he has feelings for Seven .
He supposes he doesn’t mind. As terrified as he was of falling in love before, simply having a crush on someone is… Nice . Exciting. The butterflies in his stomach when Seven comes into the chatroom, the warmth that floods his body when Seven sends a selfie, the adrenaline that has him nearly tripping over nothing when he sees the other man at work. They’re all new and exhilarating. Jumin would never admit it to anyone else, but he now understands why his father is addicted to the rush of falling in and out of love over and over again.
The thing is, though, Jumin doesn’t want to fall in love with anyone else.
He wants Seven to fall in love with him, and for them to be in love with each other for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, though, other people are complicated. At first, Jumin concocts ways to woo the other man; expensive gifts, romantic dinners, a heartfelt confession- perhaps even (supervised) time with Elizabeth 3rd. Then, something else clicks.
What if Seven already has feelings for him?
That would make things easier, wouldn’t it?
At first, he thought it unlikely. What are the chances?
But then, he remembers that Seven is a complicated man with complicated feelings. He either loves Jumin back or he doesn’t, but whichever it is, he will never tell- because even after so many years, Seven is still a man who wears a shield made of secrets to keep from being vulnerable.
Jumin never cared before, as it didn’t affect their relationship. Now, though, he’s determined to somehow tear down that shield and expose the truth. And if Seven doesn’t reciprocate, he will continue to be a good friend to him, and learn to move on.
Unsure of what else to do, Jumin arranges another dinner. He calls his father and tells him that they should all meet up for a meal again since his ‘girlfriend’ was so fond of him after the last time.
Then, he calls Seven and tells him that his father ‘insisted’ they meet up again. Seven agrees and meets Jumin at his penthouse so Driver Kim can transport them to the nearest bistro.
The plan seems to be coming together brilliantly. Before, V would’ve advised him against this and encouraged him to be honest- to tell Seven that he’s fallen for him and that he would love for him to come to another family dinner- ironic. Jumin finds the lie to be harmless, though.
The two arrive to the restaurant, Seven with his arm linked to Jumin’s once more. Jumin is dressed in a button-up shirt, slacks, and dress shoes. Seven is in a more casual outfit than last time; green pumps, a black skirt, and a green and blue floral shirt. His nails are painted green and his long auburn wig is tied back into a low braid that shows off his soft jawline.
Tonight, Jumin shamelessly stares. It seems Seven is too oblivious to notice anyway as he greets Juyoung and pulls Jumin to sit across from him. Jumin pulls Seven’s chair out, and the two sit down together.
Jumin smiles as he listens to Seven and his father exchanging pleasantries. Everything is going great- at least until Jumin’s father says-
“I was surprised when my son told me he wanted to get together like this! I was afraid I’d embarrassed him last time,” Chairman Han exclaims with a bright, brilliant smile. He obviously has no idea that Jumin intended for Seven to think it was him who initiated the get together, rather than Jumin. Jumin’s stomach drops. “I’m glad that’s not the case.”
“Oh, he arranged this, hm?” Seven says. Instead of becoming angry- which Jumin expects, considering he had the poor man dress up and come here with an hour’s notice- Seven gives him the smuggest grin he can manage before reaching over and placing a hand on Jumin’s arm. Jumin’s sleeves are rolled up, so Seven’s warm touch feels like fire burning against his skin. “That’s so nice of you, Jumin. You’re such a good son! It must be hard to maintain time for your personal relationships with how much you work, but you always find a way!”
And, to Jumin’s embarrassment, Juyoung beams.
“He certainly does.”
The two men start to chat once again with Jumin dying in the background.
Now, he almost wishes V were here to talk him out of this…
For the rest of the meal, Juyoung and Seven talk as if nothing is wrong. Every once in a while, though, when his father is distracted, Jumin catches Seven glancing over at him with a look he can’t quite read. Said look stays on the hacker’s face, even when they eventually excuse themselves and get in the back of Driver Kim’s car.
They sit as far away from each other as possible as Driver Kim types the address for Seven’s home into his GPS and heads that way.
“So…”
Seven starts, awkward, only to pause and pull his makeup painted lips tight together. Seven opens his mouth again, as if he’s about to say something else. Jumin is relieved that Seven is going to address the situation first, as he personally has no idea what to say… But then, a minute passes. And then another. And another.
Slower than both of them would’ve liked, Jumin realizes that Seven is just as humiliated as he is- as well as at a loss for words. The redhead takes his wig off, sets it on the seat that’s between the two of them, removes his diamond stud earrings and puts them in one of the empty cup holders, and leans forward to rest his head against the back of the passenger’s seat before letting out an exasperated groan.
“I…”
“If you wanted me to come to dinner again with you guys, you could’ve just said!” Seven finally exclaims, frustratedly running his hands through his hair. “You didn’t have to lie to me!”
“It’s not… I assumed it was a one time thing,” Jumin furrows his brow, confused and guilty. Seven is flustered, but he doesn’t seem angry… Is there a possibility that he actually wants to be doing this with Jumin? Why? “You truly don’t mind?”
“Huh? Well, no, not really!” Much to Jumin’s surprise, Seven crosses his arms over his chest and looks away, refusing to meet Jumin’s eyes. He’s getting defensive…? “Your dad’s a nice enough guy.”
Jumin sighs and shakes his head. Perhaps going and trying to be clever to figure out Seven’s feelings was foolish… Perhaps he should have been more direct.
“I didn’t want you to come to dinner so you could mingle with my father, Saeyoung.”
Seven blinks at the use of his real name. Even since he told everyone his name, no one refers to Seven by it- after all, they knew him as ‘Seven’ and ‘Luciel’ for so many years. But, in situations like this, it’s enough to catch Seven’s attention. He quickly uncrosses his arms and stares at Jumin with a questioning look.
“Then what is it? Is there a business deal or something? Or is he wanting us to get engaged? Is it serious? Because I can fake an amazing surprise proposal with you and-”
“Saeyoung,” Jumin interjects and reaches out to hold Seven’s hand within his own. Seven jumps back as if Jumin is poisonous despite having had his hands all over Jumin in the most obnoxious way possible during both dinners with his father. “Why did you decide to do this?”
“To help you,” Seven answers, though he avoids Jumin’s eyes again. The man is usually incredibly direct and has no issue looking Jumin in the eye, so he finds Seven’s sudden avoidance of eye contact to be a sign that he must be lying- or at least hiding something. “You were having a hard time, and you’re my friend, so…”
“You could’ve done anything else,” Jumin insists. Briefly, he registers that Driver Kim is in the front seat listening to this, but he doesn’t care enough to halt the conversation. “Hired someone for me that you thought was reputable enough not to sell me out, made up some crazy scandal about C&R and put it out there to distract my father- hell, you could’ve ignored it entirely, because my father frequently worries about my love life when his has gone to shit.”
“So? The cross dressing was just the first thing that came to mind! Why does it matter?” Seven becomes increasingly defensive, now crossing one leg over the other, crossing his arms again, and turning his head to stare out the window with a pouty huff. “Can’t I just be doing it to help a friend?”
“You never do anything as complicated as this without some sort of ulterior motive.”
“What, like I’m getting anything out of this? I didn’t even ask you to pay me!”
“I didn’t mean-” Jumin shakes his head, and then sighs. “Never mind.”
“Look, if you don’t want to-”
Suddenly, as they pull up to Seven’s house, Jumin’s phone buzzes. He checks it to see that his father has requested for them to get together again.
“My father just sent me a text asking if we could meet him for breakfast tomorrow,” He interjects.
“Did he? Or are you making that up so I’ll go with you guys again?” Seven snarkily asks, to which Jumin huffs and shoves his phone in Seven’s face. Upon reading the text, Seven’s face turns so red that Jumin can differentiate his natural blush from the light pink makeup splattered across his cheekbones. “Oh, okay. Well, um, sure. I’ll see you guys there.”
Then, Seven rushes out of the car, leaving Jumin there to dread the disaster that is going to be tomorrow’s breakfast.
~
“Saeyoung, it’s wonderful to see you again.”
Jumin feels a little piece of him die inside as he sits with Seven and his father for the third time within the span of a month. Again, the two of them chat amongst each other, pretty much ignoring him. Seven is in a blouse, skinny jeans, and clunky boots, as the chairman insisted that Seven pick his favorite breakfast restaurant- which just so happens to be a casual diner.
While Jumin is incredibly uncomfortable in the unfamiliar setting, his father, who looks completely out of place in his two piece suit, doesn’t seem to mind and (embarrassingly enough) keeps hitting on one of the older waitresses who (thankfully) flirts back with him every time she comes to check on their table.
When the waitress brings them their food, Jumin’s father slides her his cell phone number, written on a napkin. Jumin doesn’t miss how her eyes flicker to the man’s fancy suit and golden watch, but apparently, Juyoung does.
“Father, is now a good time to initiate dating again?” Jumin questions as Seven- weirdly enough- reaches over and starts cutting up his crepes for him. “Your divorce hasn’t even been finalized in court yet.”
“Well, son, you have to remember that I don’t have as much time left as you do,” The chairman shrugs, then starts to eat, but not before pointing at Seven with his fork and saying- “I’ve gotta hurry up and find myself a pretty, doting girl like you’ve got!”
“I’m sure you’ll find someone,” Seven interjects before Jumin can say something that gets them arguing about their perspective on ‘love’ once again. For that, Jumin is thankful. “Sometimes, love comes when you don’t expect it to!”
And, without so much as a warning, Seven turns to face Jumin and gently places a hand on the side of his face. Jumin’s breath catches in his throat as Seven leans forward and kisses him on the lips.
Jumin’s heart drops to his stomach in the best way possible.
He’s breathless.
But before he can kiss back, Seven pulls away and begins to eat his plate of pancakes and bacon- as if nothing happened.
Jumin’s father merely grins, both at Seven’s words and at his public display of affection.
“Yes, that’s true, isn’t it? Love always comes when you least expect it.”
Jumin misses the feeling of Seven’s lips on his lips, but doesn’t dare ask for another kiss while his father is still present. Instead, he shoots Seven the occasional confused glance, all of which are completely ignored. Jumin buries his face in his hands as his father and ‘girlfriend’ finish their meals.
Shortly after, Seven grabs him by the hand and pretty much drags him out of the diner.
“You kissed me,” Jumin weakly mutters as they get into Driver Kim’s car.
“Yeah, and?” Seven snarks as he puts his seatbelt on. Jumin follows, his entire body still hot from the kiss. Part of him wonders if this is revenge for his trickery the night before. “What about it?”
Surprisingly enough, despite it being the second day in a row of this nonsense, Driver Kim continues to ignore them in favor of driving back to Seven’s home. Though, he does roll up the privacy window between the front and back seats, which Jumin is thankful for.
“You kissed me,” Jumin emphasizes through gritted teeth. On a normal morning, he would be able to keep his composure and brush this off, but today, he’s so close to losing it that his face burns red with the restraint it takes not to bite Seven’s head off. Somehow, Seven is even worse at communicating than he is. “ Why did you kiss me?”
“To make it more convincing, duh,” Seven says with a shrug, as if it doesn’t even matter. His lackadaisical attitude makes Jumin’s blood boil. “It’d be pretty weird if we were dating but never kissed… Right?”
Jumin crosses his arms over his chest. He isn’t very experienced with love, but he’s not an idiot. Seven didn’t have to kiss him if he didn’t want to. So, the logical conclusion is that Seven must have wanted to kiss him.
“You could have asked permission beforehand.”
“Like your dad wouldn’t think that was weird if I asked to kiss my own ‘boyfriend’?”
“No, I meant that you could have asked for permission before we got to the restaurant , Saeyoung,” Jumin sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and pointer finger. His head starts to throb from the stress. “My God, you make my head hurt.”
“You’re overthinking it. So what? It was just a kiss. Never had one before?”
Jumin blushes. He thought the answer to such a question would be obvious. Apparently not.
“For your information, no , I haven’t.”
“I… Ah,” Seven appears embarrassed, uncrossing his arms and rushing to apologize with a guilty laugh. “Oh. My bad! I guess it does suck that I stole your first kiss! I mean, honestly, I had no idea-”
“That’s not the problem.”
“Then… What is it?”
“The problem,” Jumin leans over to caress Seven’s cheek with one hand, to make Seven look at him. He sees Seven’s mouth and neck move slightly when he swallows, tense, his golden gaze burning into Jumin. “Is that you kissing me in such a manner… Makes me desperately want to kiss you back.”
The car stops in front of Seven’s house. Driver Kim puts the car in park and unlocks the doors.
“...Oh,” Seven takes his seatbelt off as fast as humanly possible and opens the car door. “Looks like we’re home!”
“I-” Jumin cuts himself off, completely baffled. Did Seven just ignore what he said, or is that his way of trying to let Jumin down easy…? “What?”
“We’re back to my place! I gotta go, ‘kay? I’ve got some work to do-”
“You realize that you work for me, yes?” Jumin interjects and catches Seven’s wrist in his hand to keep him from leaving. “Exactly what work do you have to do?”
Seven can’t even muster up an answer. He looks at his front yard, at the ground, at the sky, and literally everywhere else that isn’t Jumin’s face. He stutters over his words, only to fall totally silent. It seems as if he’s given up on so much as trying to argue. Still, he doesn’t relent to Jumin either. Instead, he jerks away from Jumin’s grasp and starts heading to his front door.
What he doesn’t expect is for Jumin to get out of the car, shut the door, signal for Driver Kim to leave, and follow.
““Look, I just wanted to make it more convincing. I wasn’t thinking, and I did something stupid, and I kissed you. I’m sorry, okay? I’ll make it up to you somehow, but right now, I’m really embarrassed- so just go home,” Seven demands with a blush that spreads from the tips of his ears to his cheeks and down to his neck. He frantically struggles to unlock his door, even sticking the wrong key on the lock. Jumin sighs before reaching over and plucks the keys from Seven’s hands to unlock the door for him. Once the lock gives, he opens the front door. “What are you doing?”
“What do you think I’m doing?”
“I don’t know, that’s why I asked!” Seven snatches his keys from the lock, throws them into a cat-shaped bowl that sits on a table by the front door, and rushes into the house. He tries to shut the door, but Jumin quickly interjects by sticking one of his long legs between the door and the jamb. Seven glares at him. “Why are you being so weird?”
“If you don’t return my feelings, Saeyoung, simply say so. I’ll respect it.”
“Feelings? Since when have you had feelings for me? Hell, why would someone like you have feelings for me?” Seven frantically rambles, walking into his living room. Jumin enters the house, closes the door, and follows close behind Seven. “And why are you calling me by my real name all of a sudden?”
“Saeyoung-”
“Look, I get it! I’m funny, I’m charming, and we’ve been doing this pretend dating stuff- and I kissed you! And it’s like I said; I am a very convincing woman! So, maybe you’re a little confused. Maybe you think you have a cute little crush on me,” Seven plops down onto the couch, taking off the rest of his accessories and makeup and kicking his shoes onto the floor. Jumin stands there aimlessly in the middle of the living room. Though he’s hardly had the chance to say anything, Seven just keeps on responding. “But you can’t call that ‘feelings’ like it’s something serious when you’ve never been in a relationship before, y’know? You’re Jumin Han, the future chairman of C&R- and I’m -”
“Wonderful. You… Are wonderful, Saeyoung. Maybe I didn’t communicate this well enough before, but you’re a good friend. I admire your sense of humor, and since we’ve been doing this ‘dating’ thing, I’ve come to love you even more,” Jumin sits down on the couch next to Seven and places a hand on one of his thighs. Seven freezes as Jumin looks him in the eye and continues. “And my feelings for you are serious. If you don’t return them, that’s fine, but don’t tell me how I feel. It isn’t fair.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Seven runs his hand over his hair as if trying to smooth it even though it already looks perfectly fine. A nervous habit, Jumin figures. “I mean, seriously, Jumin! What’s up with this all of a sudden? Did you decide you’re going to try and prank me or something? Y’know, it’s like Zen says, you really have a terrible sense of humor!”
“What? That’s utterly ridiculous- why would I try to prank you in such a cruel manner? Why can’t you just take my words at face value?”
“Because there’s no reason for you to feel that way,” Seven throws his hands up in frustration. “I mean, we’ve known each other for how long now? You have to be screwing with me, and you have to understand that it’s not cool to-”
“And you need to understand that I’m serious about you. I want you . I’m just sorry that it took me so long to realize that,” Jumin places his spare hand on the side of Seven’s face, and while Seven doesn’t pull away, he doesn’t lean into it, either.
“Jumin, you can’t-”
Before Seven can finish, Jumin cuts him off by leaning forward and pressing their lips together. Seven halts, but it seems like as soon as he realizes what’s happened, he’s melting. He places his scarred hands on the back of Jumin’s neck, threads his fingers through Jumin’s silky black locks, and kisses him hard and deep. The younger man tastes like makeup and cherries so strongly that the taste lingers on Jumin’s lips as he pulls away.
“I can,” Jumin finishes his earlier statement with a small smile as he rests his forehead against Seven’s. “And I do love you, Seven.”
“I… Love you too,” Seven responds, and then laughs. “So, does Jumin Han is gay?”
Jumin lets out a small chuckle and answers with-
“Mayhaps.”
~
Weeks later, Jumin finds himself sitting across from Juyoung in the other man’s office. Obviously, he and Saeyoung haven’t been getting together with his father for meals lately since they’re actually dating now and don’t feel the need to keep up their old ruse. Jumin knows full well that he needs to come clean before so much as thinking of bringing Saeyoung around again.
So, he’s called a ‘personal meeting’.
The two men are alone, directly across from each other. Though Jumin has already been there for a couple minutes, he doesn’t know where to start, so they’ve been almost completely silent.
“Father… I have to tell you something,” He finally starts, to which the chairman looks like he’s struggling to hold back a laugh.
“Is it about your ‘girlfriend’?”
Jumin blinks. And, at that, his father full on bursts into uncontrolled laughter.
“I’m sorry?”
“Look, son, I’m not going to make you go through this entire spiel with me. I knew all along that ‘she’ was your friend. You two didn’t even bother to give her a different name. I’m not stupid. I was just waiting to see how far you’d take it, honestly,” Chairman Han sighs, practically oozing secondhand embarrassment as he wipes tears from the corners of his eyes. “Is she transitioning or something?”
“What? No.”
“Then… Crossdressing?”
“Precisely.
“But are you two actually dating and just afraid of being openly gay, or was the whole thing a ruse to get me off your back about settling down?”
“At first, it was the latter, but we ended up dating because of it,” Jumin says.
“Huh,” His father simply shrugs and begins to organize the cluttered mess of paperwork that sits on his desk. He doesn’t so much as bat an eye at Jumin. “Well, then, it was rude of you not to bring him here to see me! That Saeyoung is a good kid.”
“Really? Your feelings aren’t hurt?”
“Oh, no. You’re young- sorting out your priorities can still be so hard at this age. I’m just happy that you’ve got it figured out,” Chairman Han smiles and offers a dismissive wave of his hand. “You’re the happiest I’ve seen you in a long time.”
At that, Jumin grins, thinking of Seven, who is at home with Elizabeth 3rd waiting for him.
“Yes… I suppose I am, Father.”