string of words loosely entwined

arranged marriage - taegyu

It was nothing but business. That was the deal.

And if there's one thing both Beomgyu and Taehyun are mutually good at, it's keeping deals just as it is. No sidelines, no sketchy details hidden in the contracts. It's what earned their respective spots in the business world, after all - even prior to their marriage.

They're businessmen with promising careers, and they're professionals. Fiery ambitions and big dreams they seek to achieve. It was an easy decision. One signature for marriage opens doors for more signatures on far more important contracts. This is the tip of the iceberg.

The only connection they have is indirectly aligned - their companies barely interacting due to differing business focus. The Kang's focus on restaurant business and franchising, and the Choi's focus on entertainment and music technology. And yet it still worked to their utmost advantage. The combination of two powerhouses of different interests made their scope reach far and wide, branching the newly forming conglomerate to heights unforeseeable.

At the center of that historical union are two young grooms, who willingly signed their fates.

Now, they're husbands. But they treat their marriage as one civil, symbiotic business deal.

"How do you like your coffee?" Beomgyu asks Taehyun as he trudge sleepily to the kitchen in his bed hair, round glasses perched at the tip of his nose.

Taehyun grabs the newspaper that's on the table and flips through the business section, "Two sugar cubes, no cream please."

That's how their mornings start.

"Do you want eggs in your ramen?" Taehyun calls out to Beomgyu, laptop perched on the counter as he monitors stock exchanges in the midst of cooking dinner.

"Just one please!" Beomgyu answers from the home office, eyes never leaving a newly drafted business contract.

That's how their days end.

Sometimes they'd receive a call while working a little overtime at their respective offices and-

"Hey Taehyun, sorry for intruding but I'm at the groceries. Do you need anything?" Beomgyu would say in his bluetooth headset, eyes busily scanning through the aisles and feet moving with purpose. Always having something going on.

Taehyun pauses on typing an important email, giving it a moment to think, "I think we're out of body wash, and toilet paper." His fingers began to type on his computer again, before quickly adding, "And also get me a toothbrush. I want yellow."

Getting random visits at the company during lunch.

"Sorry Beomgyu but it's really urgent that we have to join them. We're meeting with an important investor for the future collaboration projects and they only managed to free up their time today." Taehyun apologizes as he burst into Beomgyu's office with the rushed invitation, "I've texted you, called you, even Mom did but you weren't responding."

Beomgyu rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses, "I was in a meeting the whole morning. Sorry." Then he sighs and gazes at his secretary, "Reschedule the meeting with Yang to his availability. And make sure to clear it up on my schedule. I don't want more delays with him, understood?"

And on the rarest occasion where they both coincidentally got the day off, you'd find them sitting side by side on their living room couch, destressing by watching a business show and debunking how absurd they are in the real world.

Their boundaries are always intact in the few months they lived under one roof. Moving like a well-oiled engine even if they're two different gears turning in different directions. That's how they are. Business-minded alike, through and through. Never dwelling on fleeting thoughts or indulging their bodily needs, but down to their core, they're still human.

And humans, they feel.

One morning, Beomgyu was already up and about, from both routine and muscle memory. He was halfway to buttoning his dress shirt when he notices the coffee he brewed untouched on the kitchen's island - lukewarm, and a little sweet from two sugar cubes. His brows furrow; Taehyun and him have the same regular 8-5 work schedules, and he never goes on leave despite his high position. Why wasn't he up yet?

Worried, Beomgyu approached Taehyun's room (even being husbands, they never shared), softly knocked and pushed the door open.

"Taehyun?"

There he was. Bundled and shivering in the cold, dark room. Beomgyu listened to his heavy breaths as he neared, placing a gentle hand on his forehead and flinching away at the searing heat.

"You're burning up."

Beomgyu moved quick, adjust the air conditioning and grabbing medicine from the kitchen, settling back on Taehyun's bed as he press some cold compress on his cheeks.

In his half-delirious state, Taehyun almost thought Beomgyu was attractive in that unbuttoned shirt and undone tie. Face serious under his gold-rimmed glasses. Until he remembers-

"Don't you have work?" He rasps out with effort, coughing and wincing at the pain that shot through his throat.

"It can wait." Beomgyu answered right away, as if it was suddenly the least important thing in his life. "The company can function without me for a day."

"But you don't need to-" Taehyun tried to argue but-

Beomgyu looked him dead in the eye, full of concern and conviction. A crack in his otherwise flawless façade.

"I'm your husband, Taehyun. Let me take care of you."

That was the first time he ever referred to himself as his husband. And it was also the first time Taehyun's heart ever fluttered.

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note: hi! i've used this drabble in a fic in case ur wondering ^^ you can read it here

https://archiveofourown.org/works/49512490