Chances and Happiness

The Return

It's been four days since Noeul left for South Korea. And Chen could see how anxious Boss has been. Noeul asked him to look after the man and he's running out of ideas to cheer him up.

People are starting to notice how distracted Boss has been since Noeul left. It's a good thing that fans are lapping up this "Boss missing Noeul like crazy" situation or else Chen would have had a hard time with the company. He decided to play along and kept posting pictures of the couple to divert people's attention from the fact that Noeul has been gone for so long and Boss seems lost without him by his side.

Chen knows the two are still communicating but that Noeul is too busy to answer Boss' messages right away. Even his own messages were left unanswered for hours on. It appears that Noeul's family business in South Korea is bigger than he imagined, as he learned that plans for next year were actually set in motion as early as now.

Chen saw Boss' furrowed brows for the nth time today and he knows he has to do something to make sure the scheduled photoshoot goes smoothly.

"He must still be in a meeting," Chen said, trying to cheer up the young man who seems to be glued to his phone.

"Thanks, Phi," Boss gave Chen a sad smile. "I know he's busy trying to take care of things there, but I can't help it," he confided. "What if his parents convinced him to change his mind? What if he decides to stay there for good? What if he realizes that he's better off there than here?" his voice starting to quiver as he bowed his head.

Chen panicked as he looked around the dressing room. It's a good thing that they're alone. He sat beside Boss and patted his back. "Come on, Boss. Noeul is working hard to take care of things there. Give him some credit," he told the young man. "Besides, he's too particular about contracts and too much of a businessman to let his family name be ruined by not settling things with MMY first. Trust me: whatever happens, he will come back to personally take care of things here." He saw Boss shrugged with a smile at his words. Alright Chen, you're doing good, he thought to himself. "And one more thing. If he doesn't come back, you can always go to him. I'll personally launch your career in South Korea if I have to." He teased the young man who let out a sigh and is visibly loosening up now.

"Thanks Phi," Boss said with a genuine smile now.

It wasn't until the next afternoon that Chen got a message from his ward asking him to fetch him from the airport. It took some time, and a lot of favors, for him to discreetly take the rising star out of the airport. Noeul wanted to keep things hushed and specifically requested that Boss not be told that he's back.

Noeul requested to be taken directly to his family home instead of his pad. He asked after Boss first before they got down to business. It took almost two hours to cover everything that's needed to be done.

Chen couldn't be happier for his ward. Although visibly tired, he could see pure happiness in Noeul's face and it has been quite a while since he's seen that.

                                                                                         ***

Noeul observed Boss discreetly from a corner as the latter posed for the renowned photographer in front of him. He could see how Boss tried to focus on the shoot but the distracted look in his eyes can't be denied. He waited until they were finished before showing himself to the man he loves.

"Alright, last one Boss. Look this way please," the photographer said while aiming his camera to the artist in front of him.

Just then, Boss' eyes widened, his mouth agape as he saw Noeul in the corner, all covered up with a mask and hat. A mixture of joy and relief washed over him upon seeing the person he's been missing. His lips slowly formed a smile as he saw Noeul cautiously take a step towards him.

"Good one Boss!" he heard the photographer exclaimed.

That was all Boss needed to hear before he rushed to the man he loves. He couldn't hide his happiness as he wrapped his arms around Noeul and swept him off his feet.

"You're back!" he exclaimed loud enough for everyone to hear.

Chen cleared his throat when he heard the squeals and gasps of some of the staff.

It took great effort to pry the two from each other's arms and get them to the dressing room. He just shook his head as he locked the door after getting them inside. He then asked his assistant to stay outside the door as he went back outside to do some damage control.

"Baby! When did you get back?" Boss asked while guiding Noeul to the couch. The latter smiled seeing sheer happiness on Boss' face.

"Just a couple of hours ago. I talked to Phi Chen first," Noeul said as he felt himself being pulled into a tight hug.

"I missed you, baby. Thank you for coming back," Boss said in a muffled voice while burying his face at the crook of Noeul's neck.

"Sorry it took longer than expected," Noeul said, hugging Boss back.

Boss was at a loss for words now that Noeul is before him. So they stayed like that a while, just feeling each other's heartbeat.

They were seemingly awoken from a trance when Noeul heard his phone beep, indicating a message.

"It's Phi Chen. You're done for the day right?" he asked Boss.

"Yeah. I only had this schedule for today," Boss replied without letting go of Noeul's waist.

"Go get changed. Let's talk at home," Noeul told the man who complied all too quickly, if he might say.