Fate and Destiny

TWENTY NINE

The event continued late into the night.  While the employees of Yook Industries were having fun partying, Sungjae and his parents were making rounds, taking turns in entertaining their guests.  Joy was chatting with their friends when she noticed that Youngjae, who was sitting beside her, was already half-asleep.  Checking the time, she was surprised to see it was already close to midnight.  Poor Jaejae. It's already way past his bedtime. No wonder he's so sleepy, she thought.  Joy stood up to look for Sungjae and his parents.  She beckoned to him when she caught Sungjae's eyes.  Excusing himself to the person he was talking to, Sungjae went to their table.  "Oppa. We'll go ahead. Jaejae is already asleep," Joy told him, nodding her head towards Youngjae who was sleeping in his seat, his head cradled on his arms that was on the table.  "Sorry. I didn't realize it's already this late. I'll just tell eomma and appa we're leaving," Sungjae said, turning to search for his parents.  "Oppa! It's okay. I'll just ask Jongkook to drive us home. You should stay," Joy stopped him.  "I already sent him home. Besides, Jaejae is already asleep. You can't possibly carry him into the house," Sungjae said.  "I'll just wake him up when we get home. He still needs to clean up anyway," Joy said.  "Aish! Stop arguing. We're going home, and that's it. Besides, most of the guests had already left," he told her before walking to where his parents are.  Joy wanted to call Sungjae back but Eungkwang stopped her.  "Let it go, Joy. You won't change his mind. And he's right. It's mostly the employees who are still here. We're about to leave ourselves," he told her, their friends agreeing with him.  Sungjae quickly came back after telling his parents that they were leaving.  He then called Narae and Eunwoo over to give some instructions.  "We're leaving but my parents will be staying for a while to see the remaining guests off. You, guys, can stay longer, if you want. Order some more food and drinks, and put it in our tab. Just make sure nobody gets too drunk and cause trouble. Okay?" Sungjae told them.  "Yes, sir," Narae replied.  "Eunwoo. Don't drink too much. You know how you get rashes when you go over your limit," he reminded Eunwoo.  "Got it, boss," Eunwoo said, chuckling.  "The company driver is on standby. Call him if you want to go home. And have the hotel concierge call a taxi for any employee who doesn't have a car or those who are too wasted to drive," Sungjae added.  Narae and Eunwoo nodded.  "We'll go ahead. Thanks for coming," Sungjae said, turning to his hyung-deul and noona-deul.  "Anytime, bro," Ilhoon said.  "We had a great time," Hyunsik added.  "Thanks for inviting us again," Peniel said.  "See you on Christmas," Minhyuk remarked.  "Drive carefully, Sungjae," Changsub told him.  Sungjae nodded.  Joy was about to wake Youngjae up when Sungjae stopped her.  "No. Don't wake him up. I'll just carry him," Sungjae said, shrugging off his coat.  "But, oppa, he's heavy," Joy protested.  "He's tall but he's not heavy," he argued, handing her his coat.  Bending down, Sungjae lifted Youngjae in his arms as if he weighted nothing.  Turning to Joy, he gave her a smug smile.  Joy rolled her eyes at him, making Sungjae laugh softly.  Sungjae and Joy bid their friends goodnight before walking towards the exit.  As they watched the trio leave, Eunkwang bent his head towards Narae and Eunwoo who were both smiling widely.  "Well, you two look so happy," he teased them.  "That's because we are. In the years that I've worked for Sungjae, I've never seen him smile or laugh as much as he does since he met those two," Narae said.  "Yeah. I'm glad the boss found Youngjae and Joy noona. They make him really happy," Eunwoo agreed.  "Joy noona?" Changsub quipped.  "Yah! Don't let Sungjae hear you call her that or you'll be in big trouble," Ilhoon warned.  "You know how Sungjae is when it comes to what belongs to him," Hyunsik reminded him.  "You'll be out flat on your ass before you know it," Minhyuk cautioned.  "But Joy noona told me to call her that. She said calling her Miss Joy makes her feel so old," Eunwoo nervously explained.  "Then you better make sure Sungjae knows that," Peniel advised.  "Stop scaring him, guys," Irene scolded them.  "Don't listen to them," Seulgi told Eunwoo.  "You're Sungjae's favorite among all his staff. He won't kick your ass," Hyolyn said, glaring at the boys.  Eunwoo smiled uneasily.  Although Sungjae never really scolded him even when he makes mistakes at work, he doesn't know how his boss would react when it involves Joy and Youngjae.  He also wasn't sure if the boss' hyung-deul are just kidding or if they are being serious.  He and Narae excused themselves when Chairman Yook motioned for them to come over.  "You, boys, are such bullies," Yeri scolded them.  "The poor guy looked so nervous," Wendy said.  "Let's go home before you terrorize him some more," Chorong said to Changsub who, along with the other five, are laughing hard at Eunwoo's reaction.  "Aish! You should see how Sungjae pranks him. It's even worse than what they did," Eunkwang said.  "What do you expect? He's not called Yookjaldo for nothing," Hyolyn said, shaking her head in resignation.  All the way to the parking lot, the men continued to laugh at their prank, while the women gave up in scolding them.

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"Are we home yet, eomma?" Youngjae asked sleepily from the backseat.  He woke up just as Sungjae was parking the car.  "Yes, honey. We've just arrived," Joy told him.  "Want me to carry you, buddy?" Sungjae asked him.  "It's okay, appa. I'll walk," Youngjae replied, his eyes still half-closed.  "Are you sure? You look like your still sleeping," Sungjae teased him.  Youngjae nodded with a yawn.  Joy guided the half-asleep Youngjae inside the house.  Sungjae followed them in, grinning at how cute Youngjae is, walking with his eyes practically closed.

Youngjae climbed into his bed after washing up and changing into his pajamas.  Joy tucked him in before sitting on the edge of the bed.  "Tired?" Joy asked him.  "Yes. But I had fun," Youngjae replied drowsily with a silly grin.  Joy smiled at him.  "Your appa will be in to say goodnight in a while. I'll go change now," Joy said, kissing the top of his head before standing up.  "Eomma!" Youngjae hurriedly called out to her as she was about to go out of his room.  "What is it, honey?" Joy asked, turning around.  "Can we live here with appa forever?" Youngjae asked her.  Caught off-guard, Joy went back and sat again on the bed.  "Well, I don't know. I mean, your appa will get married someday and have a family of his own. When that happens, he would surely let you stay with him, but not me. It would be awkward if I do and I don't think his wife would like that," she explained.  "If you leave, I'll come with you so you wouldn't be alone. But I really like it here," Youngjae said, his eyes drooping.  "Maybe you should just marry appa so we can stay here forever," Youngjae suggested groggily, snuggling into his pillows.  "Stop saying silly things," Joy chuckled awkwardly, trying to cover up her embarrassment.  "I'm going to my room now. You're appa will be checking in on you later," she said as she stood up again to leave.  "And Jaejae. Don't say anything to your appa about us getting married. Okay?" Joy reminded him.  "Okay. Goodnight, eomma," Youngjae replied sleepily, turning on his side.  She was switching on the nightlight beside his bed when Sungjae entered after knocking lightly on the door.  "Is he asleep?" he asked her softly.  "Almost," Joy told him, glancing at Youngjae.  "I'll just say a quick goodnight, then," he said.  Joy nodded, staying in the room just in case Youngjae say something silly in his sleep.  Going to his bedside, Sungjae peeked at Youngjae and saw that he was already sleeping.  Careful not to wake him up, Sungjae lightly kissed him on the forehead, before turning off the lights, leaving only the nightlight on.  "Goodnight, appa," Youngjae said just as Sungjae and Joy was about to go out.  "Goodnight, buddy. See you tomorrow," Sungjae replied, before closing the door quietly.  Joy bade him goodnight as they stood in front of Youngjae's bedroom.  "Goodnight, oppa," she said.  "Goodnight, Sooyoung. Sleep well," he replied as Joy nodded her thanks.  He waited until Joy stepped inside her room before going towards his.  A small smile playing on his lips.

FLASHBACK (a few minutes ago)

Sungjae double-checked all the locks in the house and switched off the main lights before heading down to Youngjae's room to say goodnight.  He was about to knock when he heard Youngjae say something interesting to Joy.  "Maybe you should just marry appa so we can stay here forever," he heard him say.  Pressing his ear carefully against the door, Sungjae listened in to their conversation.  He straightened up when he heard Youngjae bid Joy goodnight.  He waited for a few seconds before knocking on the door and coming inside, all the while pretending that he didn't overhear their conversation.

END OF FLASHBACK