He had a long day. He'd just come back from a business trip and he had to go on another. He was to give some speech on the last day of some convention or congregation of some sort.
He didn't usually do this, it was usually one of the Executive directors who went for these things, but his secretary said he should show his face to the public more often.
Yoo Joonghyuk wouldn't have usually gone out for drinks, but he was tired and sitting in his hotel room was going to give his secretary to remind him of more work.
He got as far away from his hotel as possible, found a moderately nice bar and went inside, hoping to unwind at least a little.
He had just placed his order when he heard someone say, "Yoo Joonghyuk, damn bastard."
That wasn't a very welcome phrase at all.
Whipping his head around to glare at the source of the spiteful words, Yoo Joonghyuk saw a thin man, slouched in his seat, nursing a glass of whiskey, furrowing his eyebrows at the counter.
The man seemed to notice his gaze because he turned to look at him, mouth open to say something, but the second their eyes met, the stranger gave a light jolt and looked away.
It wasn't Yoo Joonghyuk's first time dealing with such people. He had been approached by a lot of people before. And by the looks of it, this man had been put to the task by someone, even though he wasn't interested.
Yoo Joonghyuk looked the stranger up and down.
No matter how much he hated the job, shouldn't he have at least put in some effort? What kind of honeytrap was he? How was he going to seduce anyone with that old, worn-out office suit that did him no favours? His face wasn't decorated to grab attention either.
The man was looking at him though. Just as he was watching him, he was being watched as well.
An expressionless face. The stranger had a distant, empty look in his eyes.
Oh, was that how he was going to approach him? The unbothered type?
Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed lightly. How troublesome. How did they even send someone so soon? He had barely landed in the country a few hours prior. Meddling bastards. They never let him have a moment of peace.
Yoo Joonghyuk took another glance at the man.
A very plain, tired face. Seriously, how was that supposed to seduce him? It was different from the usual, ostentatious people sent to him.
. . .And perhaps it was a clever tactic because this unflattering man kept catching his attention.
The more he looked at his face, the more it drew him in. There was something about that plain, unremarkable face. His hair, it looked soft and shiny even if it was dishevelled. A pale face, long eyelashes, thin lips . . .Guess, he wasn't all that bad looking.
Yoo Joonghyuk considered it.
He was mentally exhausted and had left his sanctuary of a hotel room to avoid work. Maybe he should try to invigorate himself. It wouldn't be his first time with a one-night stand, and since someone had decided to put this stranger on a silver platter and handed it to him, he might as well make use of it.
He left his seat and took the one next to the stranger.
He was still making no moves? He could have fooled Yoo Joonghyuk with that act of his, one might assume that getting into bed with him wasn't his intention.
Even if it was something else, he would need more information to figure it out.
So he opened his mouth and said, "I'd rather you ogle at me directly instead of trying to be sneaky."
The pale man froze. Then he swivelled his head around to stare at him, eyes wide.
"And I'd rather not," he said.
Yoo Joonghyuk couldn't help but snort. A bit too late for that. He had already caught him, why keep up the shoddy act?
"So you'd rather go back to sneaking glances?"
"Nope," said the man. "Sorry for ruining your peace, I thought you looked like someone I know."
Yoo Joonghyuk stared.
"Is that so?"
The man nodded.
"And who might that be?"
"A friend," Kim Dokja said.
A new approach. It might have worked, appealing to his emotions especially since they knew he had lost a few memories ever since his accident. But Yoo Joonghyuk knew better than anyone, he didn't have any friends.
"A friend?" he said.
He received another nod.
"And what does this friend of yours do?"
"And how is that any of your business?" came the quick reply.
This stranger was a bit annoying.
The man gave a silent sigh, sucked in his bottom lip for a second and released it after wetting it. He put an elbow on the counter, leaned his chin on his palm and turned to look at him properly.
A smile spread across his face and Yoo Joonghyuk saw why he was put for the task. Something about him changed when he smiled and even with that sleazy old suit he was wearing, the man seemed to shine.
"Since you've decided to start a conversation already, however weird of a conversation starter that was, I'm supposing you'll be staying longer."
Those people were thorough.
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't have a particular type, but he was interested in this man.
"I'm Kim Dokja."
What a strange name.
Something felt out of place and then Yoo Joonghyuk remembered that he was staring at the man without responding. He was going to make it awkward. He had to say something.
"You look very different when you smile," Yoo Joonghyuk said matter-of-factly.
The smile vanished from his face, but it didn't go back to the dull look from before.
"Wow," the man said sardonically. "And here I thought I was the one with the strange name."
What?. . .Oh, he was supposed to give his name once the other person had introduced himself. That part had slipped his mind. But Yoo Joonghyuk appreciated the quip. It was mildly entertaining.
He turned his head away to hide both his smile and his embarrassment at forgetting something as simple as introducing himself because he was too busy staring at the other's face.
Once he regained his composure, he returned to the conversation.
"Yoo Joonghyuk," he gave his name.
For some reason, the man frowned at him suspiciously.
"That's your name?"
"Which do you think is more likely?" Yoo Joonghyuk indulged in the little play. "Yoo Joonghyuk or You-look-very-different-when-you-smile?"
The man, Kim Dokja, gave a quiet chuckle.
"I wouldn't know," the man gave a little shrug. "The world's a big place, it could be your legal name for all I know."
"Which Korean has such a legal name?"
"Oh, well, you could be mixed, or have parents from a different ethnic background," Kim Dokja rambled away. "A bit embarrassing, but I'm not very well-versed in the naming cultures and trends around the globe."
Yoo Joonghyuk knew he wasn't drunk. He'd barely gotten through his first drink of the night. He didn't think the man had spiked his drink either. When would he have done that? The man had kept his hands to himself all this time.
Then...why did he feel like this stranger was getting prettier by the second?
"So," Kim Dokja said, a cheeky grin on his face. "Mr Different smile—Ah, you don't mind me shortening it like that, do you?"
. . .He was oddly pretty. Why hadn't he noticed that before?
Yoo Joonghyuk washed his throat down with his drink, the astringent taste making him stick his tongue to the roof of his mouth and swallow.
"You have a habit of running your mouth, don't you?" Yoo Joonghyuk said once he could.
"Running my mouth? An interesting phrase," the man was back to rambling. "Doesn't everybody run their mouth, technically? I was simply asking. Proper communication is the key to successful relationships. People won't really know what you're thinking until you actually say it. Right now, I have no clue what you're thinking. And I won't have a clue unless you actually tell me."
So that's how he wanted to play this. Yoo Joonghyuk was expecting at least a few light touches and some more flirty comments before they got to this point. Well, this man didn't seem to like his task a lot anyway.
Useless chatter was going to do him no favours. And even if he had started to like Kim Dokja's voice, it was better to get this over with.
"Since you're curious, I'll tell you," Yoo Joonghyuk lowered his voice and tipped his head back, the way he knew caught others' attention. "I was thinking you could put your mouth to use for better things."
The man blinked.
"Better things?"
Was he going to play dumb? ...Did he want him to spell it out for him?
"Something a lot more productive than this," Yoo Joonghyuk elaborated.
"Hmm, that's true," Kim Dokja said as though he was talking about the weather.
Yoo Joonghyuk waited for the next few words. Perhaps the man would suggest they leave for somewhere, his hotel room, most likely. Or he might try to get him drunk. If he tried taking him to a secluded place and try to drug him, Yoo Joonghyuk would act in self-defence.
Kim Dokja showed no signs of talking again.
Yoo Joonghyuk opened his mouth and asked, "So?"
"So?"
"Your answer."
"My answer?"
Kim Dokja sounded sincerely confused. Like he had no intention of sleeping with him.
"Tell me, Mr Different Smi—"
"Yoo Joonghyuk," he snapped, annoyed.
Maybe he'd gotten a bit too far over in his head. Maybe he was tired and was jumping to conclusions.
"...Riiiight," Kim Dokja said, disbelief clear with every single sound he made.
His annoyance only spiked. Yoo Joonghyuk found his business card and pushed it towards the man. He rarely ever gave out his business cards. People knew him without it. And people who didn't did not need to know him.
Kim Dokja looked a little intrigued as he used one long, slender finger to tap on the card and drag it towards him lazily.
If Yoo Joonghyuk was wrong about this stranger, then what?
No, he couldn't be wrong. This was clearly a plot to get something from him. Everything about the man was distracting.
Shining eyes, that lazy half smile, half smirk. Unkempt hair that made his hands itch with the urge to smoothen it out. Smooth, unblemished hands, a lithe finger running down the edges of his business card. A cheap suit that forced him to pay more attention to him to make out his slim physique that was hidden by the drab clothes.
"Huh. . .I think I've heard that name somewhere. N'gai Enterprises."
Seriously?
"You don't recognise it?" Yoo Joonghyuk said, irked.
"No, I do, a bit. . .I know I have come across it before. I just can't remember where."
Come on. Now this was just unnecessary. Pretending he didn't know who Yoo Joonghyuk was? What was that suspicion about his identity then?
"Ah!" the man said triumphantly. "I remember now."
Yoo Joonghyuk brought his focus away from the stranger's pretty lips and listened to the words he was saying.
"The VR game display, at the exhibition."
What?
"The exhibit. . ." Right, the thing he was here for. "I see. You visited the exhibition?"
"That's what I'm here for," Kim Dokja's eyes were on the card and it pissed Yoo Joonghyuk off a little. He'd already read everything on it, why keep staring at it?
"Is that so?"
Kim Dokja nodded.
What an annoying man. Why did he keep making Yoo Joonghyuk talk? He wasn't supposed to be the one initiating the conversation.
Was this a way of lowering his guard? Distracting him? Stalling for time? What was it?
"And how did you find it?"
Kim Dokja spared him a glance and then went back to his drink.
There was no need to get so worked up about something that was so clearly a ploy. So Yoo Joonghyuk inhaled, took a sip of the alcohol and kept his cool.
"Why are you asking me, CEO-nim?" Kim Dokja said dully. "I work in the Quality Assurance department of a no-name game company. I simply took the first chance I could get out of town."
Interesting background story. He didn't believe him.
"What does that have to do with my question?"
Kim Dokja did not answer his question but switched the topic.
"You could always be tricking me."
A very, very annoying man. Absolutely infuriating.
And the way he lazily flicked his business card and sent it back to him. The nonchalant attitude was starting to get on his nerves.
Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't one to get worked up so easily, but he took his wallet out, plucked his driver's license from amongst the other cards he carried around in his wallet and put down his proof.
Kim Dokja cocked an eyebrow and leaned his body forward.
Maybe he wasn't trying to seduce him after all. Kim Dokja hadn't left his personal space even once during their whole exchange. Any movements he made were controlled and minimal.
"You are Yoo Joonghyuk after all, huh?"
"How do I know if you're Kim Dokja?" Yoo Joonghyuk said.
"Who would try to impersonate me?"
Kim Dokja surrendered his driver's license and Yoo Joonghyuk's mood dropped further.
"Someone named you Dokja after all, huh?" Yoo Joonghyuk grumbled, aware that he was being ridiculous.
"Don't be so petty," Kim Dokja said dismissively. "It was a true worry. Identity theft isn't considered a serious crime for no reason."
Yoo Joonghyuk snatched his card and put it away too.
Yoo Joonghyuk was disappointed. He had prepared himself to spend the night with this man, certain that that was what the stranger wanted too. But now that it wasn't the case. . .He pushed his disappointment away and put his energy into the more important things.
What did this man want then?
"It's surprising though," Kim Dokja was saying quietly. "You have the same name, same birthday and even look similar."
"What?"
"You and my friend. You are both named Yoo Joonghyuk, both born on August 3. And you do look very similar to each other."
Yoo Joonghyuk frowned.
Kim Dokja's eyes lit up for a second.
"Oh, I wasn't talking shit about you at all. I was cursing out my friend," he said, a little frantic. "I can see how it would have sounded to you though. I don't even know you, I had no reason to call you a bastard. I hope it didn't bother you too much. I'm truly sorry about the inconvenience."
He even gave him a bow. . .Yoo Joonghyuk was baffled.
"I. . .No, I'm not bothered. An apology is unnecessary."
Did this man truly not know who he was? Was it just a misunderstanding Yoo Joonghyuk had kicked up all by himself?
No, it couldn't be. People always wanted something from them. That was the only reason anyone would approach him.
If all his older assumptions were wrong, then it was probably something else. Kim Dokja mentioned the exhibition. . .It was a convention, not an exhibition. Did he see the whole program as an exhibition he could stroll through?
Who even sent this guy?
"You haven't answered my question. How did you find the exhibition?" Yoo Joonghyuk asked.
"It was nice," Kim Dokja answered.
"I see."
Kim Dokja's ran his mouth only when he wanted answers or to change the topic, and when he didn't he was curt, Yoo Joonghyuk noticed.
Yoo Joonghyuk was similar, and so were most businessmen that he interacted with. It had never seemed like a problem to him, until now.
"Is that it?" he said sharply.
"What else is there to say?"
A part of Yoo Joonghyuk wanted to grab Kim Dokja's face and demand that he keep talking so that he could listen to that calm, devilishly dulcet voice of his for longer.
"Alright," he said, keeping his temper in check. "Let's hear it."
"What are you talking about?"
"What's your proposal?"
Kim Dokja just stared at him and Yoo Joonghyuk had never come across someone harder to read. What did he want?
"Spit it out."
Kim Dokja looked a little exasperated when he said, "You're going to have to tell me what you're asking of me."
Was this some kind of powerplay? Was he trying to get an upperhand in his exchange by making Yoo Joonghyuk follow along with everything he wanted?
"What do you want?" Yoo Joonghyuk said, his voice hard.
"A peaceful conversation without violence."
Yoo Joonghyuk both liked and disliked this man. He wanted him gone from his sight, but he still wanted to stare at him for a little longer.
Whoever had sent this man had a good taste. A strange trap, he wouldn't have thought it would work, but it was. Fine, he had impressed him. Yoo Joonghyuk would listen to whatever deal he wanted to offer.
"You have my word," he assured. "Go ahead."
Kim Dokja frowned a little.
Right, a bar wasn't the best place to talk about sensitive matters. Understandable. Official deals ought to be made in an appropriate place.
"I see. Let's take this somewhere private then."
Kim Dokja blinked slowly, his eyes darting around the place, staring over Yoo Joonghyuk's head.
He wet his lips again and Yoo Joonghyuk harshly reminded himself that all his previous assumptions were wrong. He should forget about it.
"Sorry," Kim Dokja said slowly and Yoo Joonghyuk hung onto his every word.
"But you're going to have to be more specific. Explain it to me like I'm five, just to be on the safer side."
What the fuck?!
He had never come across such absurdity in his entire life of thirty-three years!
"What do you want from me?" Yoo Joonghyuk said angrily.
"That's exactly what I'm trying to say," Kim Dokja sounded genuinely confused and mildly vexed. "What do you want from me?"
Yoo Joonghyuk took a deep breath, hailed the bartender, got a new drink and swallowed the alcohol that tasted horrible because of the annoying company he had.
"If it's not a deal," Yoo Joonghyuk said darkly. "Are you trying to stall for time?"
He hadn't received intimation about his rivals making any moves. His secretary would have notified him if something big was going on.
"Stall for time," Kim Dokja repeated, uttering the words slowly, as though trying to discover some hidden message within the syllables.
"Why would I do that?" Kim Dokja questioned.
This—This!—What did this bastard want from him?!
Kim Dokja stared at him and Yoo Joonghyuk glared back.
"I think we went off on two different tracks at some point," Kim Dokja said reasonably and Yoo Joonghyuk felt an urge to pinch the man's nose, just so that he could see him flounder around, yelping in pain.
"CEO-nim, what exactly are you talking about?" Kim Dokja said. "Ah, please remember to water it down like I'm five. . .No, make it three. I'm three years old, how would you explain it to me now?"
Yoo Joonghyuk had never had to exercise more patience and self-control in his life.
"Who sent you?" he said finally.
"No one...?" Kim Dokja said, confused.
"Which group are you affiliated with?" Yoo Joonghyuk rephrased his question.
"None," Kim Dokja said. ". . .If you're talking about the company I work for, it's called Minosoft. It's a subsidiary of a larger corporation, but we make games...sort of."
Yoo Joonghyuk had never heard of Minosoft before.
"Why did you approach me then?" Yoo Joonghyuk said.
Kim Dokja looked a little offended.
"I didn't...?" he said. "You approached me."
Yoo Joonghyuk opened his mouth to give an indignant response back when he realised, it was him who had approached Kim Dokja first and started their conversation.
"What business do you have here?" Yoo Joonghyuk said and it came out rougher than he wanted it to when he tried hiding his shame.
Kim Dokja let out a heavy sigh and spoke slowly. His words came to mind, 'Explain like he was five'.
"I'm here to attend a tech exhibition. I think tomorrow's the last day?...yeah, it is. I had a long day, and came here for a drink."
"And your intentions?"
"Have a few drinks," Kim Dokja said blankly.
Yoo Joonghyuk turned away.
Though he was disconcerted, Yoo Joonghyuk pretended he was unbothered. He drank the alcohol, not really tasting anything and forcibly kept his eyes from trailing back to Kim Dokja.
If he did have some hidden agenda, he would speak up.
But Kim Dokja didn't speak after that. He finished his drink, left his seat, paid for it and then left the bar.
Yoo Joonghyuk held in a groan and let the embarrassment descend onto him.
It was a long day, he told himself bracingly, in hopes that it would reduce the dreadful feeling of mortification that was crowding his mind.
He was tired, it had been a long day, and he made a little mistake.
That's all there was to it.
People make mistakes. He wasn't a great communicator anyway.
Oh, great! He had made a fool of himself in front of a pretty man. Fuuuuuck.
"Enter," he said when someone knocked on his office door.
The door opened and he heard footsteps entering his office.
"Good afternoon, sir," a new voice said, making him look up from his desk.
"What are you doing here?" he said, taken aback when Kim Dokja walked into his office instead of his secretary. "And—"
"Ah, she's gone on a break, sir," Kim Dokja said heading towards his desk, a folder clutched in his hands. "She's asked me to hand over these documents to you."
He held out the folder and Yoo Joonghyuk's hand brushed his when he took it.
"Why are you dressed like that?" Yoo Joonghyuk said, looking at the pathetic, worse-for-wear suit that Kim Dokja was wearing.
"What's wrong with it?" the man said blankly.
"Don't you think dressing like that will bring my reputation down?" Yoo Joonghyuk said testily. "Are you trying to make people think that I don't pay you enough?"
"Don't be petty, CEO-nim," Kim Dokja drawled reaching a hand down and swivelling his office chair away from his desk so that he was facing the man properly.
"You've been working hard, sir," Kim Dokja smiled at him. "You've forgotten to check the time again. Did you forget about it?"
"Forget what?" Yoo Joonghyuk frowned.
"Sir, productivity increases when one takes sufficient breaks," Kim Dokja said with a cheeky grin. "And we value productivity in our company, don't we?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"Should we do something more productive, sir?" Kim Dokja tilted his head to the side.
"More productive?"
Kim Dokja nodded.
"Yes," Yoo Joonghyuk agreed with a nod and smirking widely, Kim Dokja lowered himself down onto his knees.
"What are you. . .?"
"Didn't you want this, Yoo Joonghyuk?" Kim Dokja said simply as he crawled on his knees towards him and settled between his legs.
Kim Dokja placed his hands on his knees and slid them up his thighs until they reached his belt. Kim Dokja unbuckled it swiftly and pulled it loose before leaning forward. He opened his mouth and his teeth gently scraped his clothed crotch, until he found the metal zipper and pulled it down, exposing his boxers.
"I suppose you'll be staying," Kim Dokja said, his long lashes fluttering as he blinked up at him.
"What do you think?" Yoo Joonghyuk said in response and Kim Dokja chuckled lightly.
When his eyes opened, Yoo Joonghyuk found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, lying in a bed with a blanket that felt strangely uncomfortable, and Kim Dokja-less.
A wet dream.
With a groan, he pushed himself up and swept his legs off the bed.
What was he doing? For fuck's sake!
A wet dream, seriously?
Why?!
That too about a man he had barely even spoken to for an hour, but somehow managed to effectively humiliate himself in this short time frame.
Damn it!
Alright, he would admit, there was something alluring about that Kim Dokja guy. Something beyond the conventional beauty standards.
What was that saying? If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you? Kim Dokja was sort of like that. The longer he looked at him and tried studying the stranger, the more he felt like he was giving himself away, getting sucked in by that oddity.
He knew the saying wasn't originally used to talk about being attracted to people. He knew that!
He was just. . .Damn it.
Yoo Joonghyuk ran a hand through his hair, frustrated.
It must have lingered in his mind even though he thought it hadn't. He did ready himself for a hot one-night stand, but ended up deprived of it. It was just his mind making peace with it.
It meant nothing. He was simply a little frustrated.
He should get dressed. He had a speech to deliver that day.
. . .Exhibition.
A convocation where companies were competing, trying to one-up each other, steal ideas, and prove themselves better, teeming with journalists looking to make the next big headline—That man called it an exhibition.
When Yoo Joonghyuk eventually arrived at the venue at ten thirty in the morning, listening to the representatives picked by his trusty employees to show him around, he wondered what about this stressful atmosphere looked like an exhibition to that stranger he had met the previous night.
He didn't get to ponder about it for longer because other tasks screamed for his attention.
That man had come here for this, so he'd probably be gone by tonight. It was the last day of the...exhibition. He might not visit the bar that night, he might be busy packing his bags or something.
And once he left the place, the chances that they would ever meet each other were less than one in a million.
It was improbable, he should get it out of his mind.
. . .Minosoft, was that the company he worked for?
Yoo Joonghyuk was just curious to know what kind of place that man worked for. Nothing more, nothing less. It was a mild curiosity, that's all. It wasn't often that he got drawn to a stranger like this after all.
Yoo Joonghyuk found it completely ridiculous how his eyes would snap back to check every time he saw a battered old, office suit in the crowd.
He didn't even know if Kim Dokja was going to come back for the last day! Out of all the kiosks and displays he had walked past when he had entered the auditorium earlier, he hadn't spotted a Minosoft.
He didn't even know if it was an actual company or just a name Kim Dokja had thrown at his face as an excuse.
It was a relief that his secretary wasn't with him that day. As competent and reliable as she was, she could be a bit overbearing sometimes. And if she noticed him getting distracted, she would have hounded him about it for the whole day and then lectured him coldly on the way back.
It would be gone soon, Yoo Joonghyuk reassured himself. Out of sight, out of mind.
He kept an eye out, but he didn't run into Kim Dokja or even catch a glimpse of the man throughout the afternoon. Not that he could have spotted him in the crowd of hundreds, seated in the room, listening to him speak.
Was there anyone who didn't recognise N'Gai Enterprises?
Everyone who spotted Yoo Joonghyuk had given a start and looked up at him with dazed admiration.
He wasn't so full of himself that he was expecting every single person to bow down to him. But if they were working in the industry, IT or otherwise, they should have at least heard of his company even if they didn't recognise his face or name.
His influence didn't reach as far as he thought it did, then. It was a learning experience, in a way.
Leaving the venue in the afternoon, a few hours before the event drew to a close, Yoo Joonghyuk decided to show himself at his company's booth. He didn't usually do it, but he thought he should see how his employees were holding up.
He didn't want his employees talking about their company with the same disdain Kim Dokja had for Minosoft.
Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes fell on the retreating back of a thin man with another worn-out office suit. Not Kim Dokja again.
He looked away and brought his attention back to his employees who bowed respectfully to him.