Chapter Text
“Can you repeat what you just said?” Kai asked from the chair where he was sitting, directly across from Soobin's desk. “I think I misheard you.”
“I want a baby.”
Kai looked at him as if he had grown a second head, and Soobin had to force himself to suppress the grimace that threatened to appear on his face. He hadn't told his friend about his plans for fatherhood precisely because he knew Kai wouldn't understand. The younger was too attached to his youth to even think about marriage, let alone having children.
“Soobin, sometimes you have this really crazy ideas, and that's okay, it's your creative charm and all that.” Kai shook his head. “But why the hell do you want a baby?”
“It's complicated to explain.”
“As long as it's not something weird, I'm willing to listen.”
Soobin wrinkled his nose as he leaned back in his chair, not even knowing how to begin to explain his desire for a baby.
“I just want a child, okay? It's not that hard to understand. My paternal instincts have kicked in, or whatever.” The man snorted, his hands automatically beginning to fiddle with his tie due to anxiety. “Besides, I've always wanted a child, you know that.”
Kai frowned, leaning against Soobin's desk.
“Choi, you're 27. I expected your family plans to start a little later.” His friend picked up one of the stress balls on the desk and threw it at him. To his surprise, he managed to hit him right on the forehead. “I need you to come down to earth and stop thinking nonsense.”
“It's not nonsense, Nini. I want a child, really.”
“Okay, genius, let's say it's not a stupid idea.” Kai rolled his eyes. “How do you plan to do that? As far as I know, you can't get pregnant, and I highly doubt you're capable of raising little Soobin with a woman.”
“Don't be vulgar!”
“Don't be so silly, Choi!”
Soobin snorted again, beginning to feel the effervescent frustration deep inside him due to the lack of understanding of his desire. Of course his fatherhood wasn't nonsense. Soobin had spent much more time than he would like to admit thinking about how he could fulfill that dream he had had since he was a teenager.
“I've thought about it a lot, Nini. I swear I've meditated on the situation for countless nights, and my resolution is the same. I want a son or a daughter; that doesn't matter to me.”
Kai looked at him for a long moment, which made Soobin even more nervous. His friend was usually quite calm and rarely worried about anything, so seeing him so upset about Soobin's decision only made the older man more anxious.
“Soobin, I understand that you want to throw your life away with a kid, but why now?” Kai sighed. “You're young, against all odds you became a millionaire before the age of 25, and instead of wanting to travel the world and enjoy your money, you're thinking about spending sleepless nights and changing diapers. I don't understand. You're one of the most eligible bachelors in all of South Korea, but you want to ruin your life with a family.”
“I don't want a family...”
Kai looked at him again with a frown.
“Then what?”
“I just want a child. I'm not planning on getting married or anything like that.” Soobin shrugged. “I'll be a single dad.”
“You really lost the last two brain cells you had left.” Kai covered his face with both hands as he leaned back in his chair. After a sound of frustration, he continued the conversation. “What's your plan, genius?”
Soobin watched his friend intently as he thought about his answer. He had known Huening Kai for as long as he could remember. They had been neighbors their whole lives and had attended elementary school together. Although Kai was a couple of years younger, they had always been inseparable. If it weren't for Kai's incredible attachment to him, Soobin was sure he would have spent his teenage years as a lonely video game addict unable to make friends. Kai had always been there for him. From Soobin's first day of high school to the day his luck changed and he became a successful entrepreneur.
The older still had a hard time coming to terms with how lucky he had been. Soobin always knew how difficult it would be to break into the video game industry as a nobody, so he had worked three times harder than his classmates when he started college. His efforts led him to prematurely develop an RPG that he was able to finance after winning a programming contest. Soobin had published his game as an independent programmer with no hopes of anything other than keeping it as a file for the future, but the game was so well received by the public that Soobin finished college with a contract at a multinational video game company and more than seven zeros in his bank account, which later helped him start his own company.
No one had bet a single penny on the nerdy, introverted boy who wore thick-rimmed glasses and spent his time talking about anime and video games, but Soobin had made a name for himself in the industry, he was considered a prodigy, and CSB Games had been in green numbers since its founding. Still, if anyone deserved an explanation from Choi Soobin, it was Kai, who, despite having a successful career as a pianist, continued to visit regularly and was the only one who, at times, managed to take him back to his senses.
“I'll adopt.”
Kai let out another frustrated sound, took his hands away from his face, and looked at him with that incredulous expression he used to wear when Soobin had some crazy idea.
“I don't want to be so pessimistic, buddy, but aren't there like a thousand requirements for that?”
“That's why I hadn't told you before. I wanted to be sure I met the requirements before mentioning it to anyone.”
His friend wrinkled his nose but sat up straighter in his chair to hear him better.
“And what are they?”
“Be at least 27 years old, have a stable job for at least five years,” Soobin listed on his fingers. “Your annual income must be at least the national average, and you must have a clean criminal record.”
“I think you forgot one.”
“I'm sure I didn't.”
“Soobin, I really want to support you in this, but the state isn't going to give a baby to a single, millionaire, whimsical man.” Kai sighed again, visibly frustrated by the conversation.
“It's not a whim.”
“I don't think the Department of Social Services cares about that.” Kai closed his eyes for a moment and leaned his head back against the seat before continuing. “They won't give you a baby if you don't have a partner.”
After hearing him, Soobin felt like he had finally found the piece of the puzzle he had been putting together for months. Of course, if he wanted to adopt, he needed a partner.
“You're right...”
“Thanks-”
“I need to find a partner to adopt.”
“No, no, that wasn't my point.” Kai let out another frustrated sound. “You need a partner because you're so damn lonely. I can't even remember the last time you went out with someone.”
“I've been busy.” Soobin shrugged, downplaying his eternal single status. “Besides, I don't need anyone.”
Kai crossed his arms, his inquisitive gaze focused on the older man, and Soobin felt the need to look away. He hated it when people looked at him for too long; it made him feel small.
“And how do you plan to find a partner if you're not willing to date anyone?”
Soobin refrained from complaining again. It wasn't that he didn't want to date anyone. In fact, for a long time, he tried to maintain a stable relationship in which he could achieve his dream of fatherhood. For many years, Soobin wanted to find that person who would want the same things he did and would support him unconditionally in his decision. However, reality destroyed that childish dream.
Over the years, Soobin learned that people no longer approached him because he was Soobin. They did so because he was a relatively attractive millionaire with whom they could entertain themselves or from whom they could gain some benefit. Soobin had stopped trying to find love because he encountered too many people who were more interested in his bank account than in his favorite color.
“Easy.” Soobin turned his attention to the computer in front of him and quickly began searching for something on the web. “I'll hire someone.”
“You've definitely lost your mind.”
Soobin took one last look at his friend, who stood with his arms crossed, looking at him as if he had lost the last ounce of sanity he had left. but the brown-haired man decided to ignore him and instead focused on his task of finding a website where he could advertise his proposal. He didn't think it would be that difficult to find a man who would agree to fake a relationship to fulfill Soobin's wish; after all, money made the world go round.
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Yeonjun didn't understand.
Once again, his designs had been rejected, and Yeonjun simply couldn't understand it. There were a dozen letters with the same response on the nightstand next to his bed, but even so, Yeonjun didn't understand.
During his college days, everyone had told him that his designs were excellent, creative, revolutionary, and beautiful. Yeonjun was always praised for his great sense of fashion and his beautiful designs, yet no one seemed to want to wear them. He always came in second place when he participated in competitions because his designs were “too daring” or “too conceptual.” It seemed that his fashion was so revolutionary that no one wanted to take a chance on his designs, and Yeonjun simply didn't understand it.
When he chose to study to become a fashion designer, he was sure he would succeed. His vision was the closest thing to the catwalks of Paris or Milan, but that vision could not cross the border of the boring fashion that abounded in South Korea. While everyone wore black or white clothes, Yeonjun's designs were colorful, with fun patterns and daring cuts. Of course, he didn't expect the average citizen to wear them. Yeonjun wanted to see his designs on the runway at fashion week, not in a Samsung office.
The main problem was that no one was willing to invest in bringing the designs, which until now had remained sketches, to life. Yeonjun had really tried. He had spoken to every store and boutique he knew in Seoul, but no one had the budget to pay for the collection of an unknown designer who, moreover, did not make clothes for all types of audiences. Yeonjun knew it would be easier to sell his project if he advanced the production process, but for that he needed money, and with his mediocre salary, Yeonjun had barely managed to save enough to create a decent portfolio and fabric catalog.
Sometimes Yeonjun thought about giving up his dream of becoming a renowned designer. Sometimes he wanted to leave everything behind and take a boring office job that would earn him enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life. However, Yeonjun couldn't simply ignore the urge in his heart that compelled him to create. He longed for his work to be seen, he longed for his designs to be appreciated. And it was because of that longing that he kept his two jobs that he hated and his austere lifestyle.
Anyone who saw him would say that Yeonjun was wasting his life pursuing an impossible dream. He was a 28-year-old man who, despite having a college degree and a master's degree, worked Monday through Friday as a sales clerk in a clothing store in the mall, selling clothes that Yeonjun hated because they were commercial and of low quality. On Saturdays, he spent his day tutoring English to teenagers who didn't respect him or take him seriously. Yeonjun couldn't even earn enough to pay rent on his own, so he continued to live with his best friend, Beomgyu, who loved him so much that he ignored the three months of rent Yeonjun owed him.
Even though Beomgyu didn't need the money because he had a more than decent salary as a photographer and the house belonged to his grandmother, Yeonjun couldn't help but feel bad about living with him like some kind of parasite who was of no benefit to him whatsoever.
“Junnie!” The knock on his door and Beomgyu's unmistakable voice pulled him out of his depressive pit and brought him back to reality. When Yeonjun opened the door, his friend was looking at him with a broad smile that lightened the heaviness in his heart a little. “Taehyun brought pizza, let's have dinner.”
“Isn't it like a date between you two?”
Beomgyu rolled his eyes. Taehyun was the guy he had been dating for two months, and although Yeonjun hadn't liked him very much at first, seeing him almost every day at home had made him get used to his presence and eventually accept that he would continue to see him.
“It's dinner, and you haven't eaten, so let's have dinner.” Beomgyu used that tone that left no room for protest. Before Yeonjun could come up with an excuse for why he wasn't hungry, Beomgyu had already grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the room. “Did you hear back from the boutique?”
“Uhm.”
“And?”
“Same as always, Gyu.”
Beomgyu stopped walking when they were about to reach the dining room, let go of Yeonjun's hand, and stood in front of him with that dismayed look he used every time they talked about that subject.
“Don't be discouraged, Jun. It's just... that's how it is, we have to keep knocking on doors. I believe in your talent and I know you do too, we just need to be a little more patient.”
“It's not that, Gyu.” Yeonjun sighed. “I'm running out of doors to knock on, maybe I should just give up trying...”
“Don't even think about it.” Beomgyu gave him a little tap on the shoulder that, although gentle, made Yeonjun flinch a little. “We'll find a solution, I promise we will.”
Yeonjun felt tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. He never allowed himself to cry over things like this, but he knew he was hitting rock bottom. He could feel his passion fading with each passing day and the desire to simply give up growing inside him. Beomgyu seemed to notice his low spirits because his arms immediately wrapped around him in one of those hugs that took Yeonjun's breath away. Beomgyu's comforting scent calmed the growing anxiety in the pit of his stomach, as if he were once again a small child being comforted in his mother's arms.
“Thank you, Gyu...”
“I mean it, Jun. We'll find a way.”
Yeonjun nodded, even though deep down he knew that possibility was remote. However, he was infinitely grateful for Beomgyu's support in his dream, because while others would have reminded him how useless it was to keep trying, his friend was always there to cheer him up when he wanted to give up, letting him live with him practically for free and not asking him to cover any other household expenses so that Yeonjun could save up to pay off his debts and start his collection.
“Let's have dinner, shall we?” Beomgyu kissed him on the forehead, and Yeonjun couldn't help but feel tiny, even though he was older; his friend sometimes insisted on treating him like a little boy.
By the time they both arrived at the dining room, Taehyun had already set the table, and two pizza boxes rested in the middle of it, as usual. The young man greeted him with a huge smile and those eyes that seemed to want to penetrate his soul.
“Hi, Yeonjun, how have you been?”
“Fine, and you?” Yeonjun sat down across from the boy, and Beomgyu sat down next to him.
“Pretty good.”
Dinner passed with casual chatter that managed to calm Yeonjun's anxiety. After all, meaningless conversation always managed to make his mind forget his problems for a few minutes.
“Oh, by the way,” Taehyun said when they finished clearing the table. “Are you still looking for another job? I know tutoring doesn't pay that much.”
Yeonjun tilted his head when he heard this. He hadn't mentioned it, but he assumed Beomgyu had shared his unstable work situation with him.
“Do you have something in mind?”
“Actually...” Taehyun took out his phone, typed a few things, and under the watchful gaze of Beomgyu and Yeonjun, passed it across the table. “Look.”
Yeonjun took the cell phone and immediately frowned when he saw the screen. A blog page that Yeonjun didn't know was displayed on it, and an ad caught the designer's attention, but he had to read the ad three times to understand what Taehyun was getting at.
“What is this?”
“I think the ad is clear.”
Indeed, the ad was quite clear about what they were asking for, but Yeonjun simply couldn't believe that someone would post such a thing on a blog and expect people not to think badly of them.
"Single, young, gay man seeks a fake, stable partner to adopt a baby.
Preferably a man in his twenties, single, with no criminal record and a clean health record.
Must bring resume; other specifications will be provided during the interview."
“Let me see.” Beomgyu took the phone and his laughter automatically filled the room when he read the job offer. “Tae, don't joke around like that.”
“It's not a joke, it's a serious proposal.”
“ It must be a joke.” Yeonjun wrinkled his nose and his gaze traveled back to the device in Beomgyu's hands. “It sounds like a pervert's proposal. I need money, but I'm not that desperate.”
Taehyun shook his head and a soft laugh escaped his lips.
“He's not a pervert.”
“How do you know?” Beomgyu questioned, his gaze fixed on his partner. “It sounds like a trap for fools where if you show up, you'll end up kidnapped and possibly murdered.”
Taehyun laughed again, his hand rising to Beomgyu's face and two of his fingers catching his nose before leaving a small kiss on his lips. Yeonjun automatically looked away; the last thing he needed that day was to be reminded of his single status.
“You've been watching too many documentaries about serial killers, my love.”
“That doesn't answer my question,” Beomgyu said, but there was a small smile playing on his lips.
“I know him, I know he's not a pervert,” Taehyun shrugged. “He's just a homosexual with a curious paternal instinct.”
“You know him?” Yeonjun asked. Although he wasn't considering the proposal, he had to admit that he was curious about the advertiser's identity.
“I'm sure you know him too.” Taehyun picked up his cell phone again and typed something before passing it across the table to Yeonjun. “Does the owner of CBS Games ring a bell?”
The ravenette frowned. Of course he did. He had been obsessed with the company's first RPG during his senior year of college and had spent many more hours playing that game than he would like to admit. On the cell phone screen, a photo of Choi Soobin in all his glory caught Yeonjun's attention. The CEO of CBS Games was known throughout the country for having achieved so much at such a young age. He had dozens of international awards for the game he had created, and his company was currently one of the highest-valued on the stock market. Yeonjun found it hard to believe that a guy with Choi Soobin's money and status was looking for a fake partner to adopt.
“Why does Choi Soobin want to adopt?” Yeonjun finally asked. “And how do you know him?”
“You should ask him that,” Taehyun said. “I know him because my piano teacher is his best friend, and I've seen him quite a few times. Kai showed me the ad in case I was interested, but Soobin isn't my type, and Beom would rip my balls off if I even considered it.”
Beomgyu laughed at the comment, but didn't even try to deny it.
“And why did you think I'd be interested?”
Taehyun shrugged again.
“It's a good opportunity. Soobin is willing to pay you to pretend to be his boyfriend. It'll be the easiest job of your life.”
Yeonjun looked at the screen again and hated the way his gaze fixated on Soobin's details. There were few photos of him because he seemed to keep his life too private, but the ones that were out there completely highlighted his physique. The guy was far from ugly; in fact, Yeonjun thought he was ridiculously attractive. His brown hair was neatly combed back, his doe eyes that seemed almost adorable due to the aegyosal, those well-defined lips and the dimples that sank into his cheeks even if he wasn't smiling fully in the photo, not to mention his proportions. Yeonjun didn't think he knew anyone who had such broad shoulders and such a small waist, even if they were hidden by a designer suit.
“Are you thinking about it?” Beomgyu interrupted. “Don't even think about it! Choi Yeonjun, we don't know who that guy is, and his ad is clearly an invitation for disaster.”
“I know it sounds crazy,” Taehyun continued, despite his partner's annoyed look. “But Soobin has more money than five generations can spend... it's a great opportunity.”
Yeonjun vaguely listened to the little argument between Taehyun and Beomgyu, his mind hyper-focused on the attractive young man on the screen. Even though he knew he was making the decision because he had spent too much time alone and simply wanted to remember what it felt like to talk to someone other than the two guys arguing in front of him, Yeonjun didn't think it would hurt to try.
“Do you think you can send me the number?” Yeonjun interrupted the discussion, and for a couple of seconds, silence reigned in the room.
“Choi Yeonjun!” Beomgyu called out, visibly annoyed.
“I have nothing to lose by going to the interview,” Yeonjun said. “And going doesn't mean they'll give me the job, I just... want to see what happens.”
Beomgyu let out an exasperated sound but didn't seem to want to continue discussing the matter.
“Fine,” his friend finally said. “But I hope you're not really planning on accepting. It's okay if you just want to go see a handsome guy, but lying to social services is too much, Jun.”
Yeonjun nodded, ending their discussion.
That night, Yeonjun stared at the phone number he had recently added to his contacts for too long. His resolve to call and attend the interview faded as more doubts formed in his head, and Yeonjun couldn't suppress the anxiety caused by the mere thought of having to lie to more than one person. No matter how attractive Soobin was and no matter how much Yeonjun needed the money, there were things he couldn't do. That night, Yeonjun didn't sleep.