always ↬ leading me on || l.dh • h.rj • z.cl

·forty three·

The painful click-clack of heels against polished marble echoed throughout the buzzing hallways and made everyone still to a stop. Renjun's mother continued on her trek towards the office ahead despite all the hushed whispers shared between the employees — she could deal with them later.

As of right now, she had far more important matters to deal with, like convincing Mr. Lee to make a business partnership with her.

Her nails scratched against the smooth black wood of the door as she pushed it open and proceeded to slip inside, eyeing the figure of a tall man standing to the right of a large window that stretched all the way from one side of the room to another.

"I-" she paused, gulping as she looked ahead and straight into the male's unwavering glare, uptight demeanor slipping for the slightest second before she regained her composure, "I have the proof you asked for."

A folder was slid across the unscathed glass of the desk that was situated in the centre of the room and Mr. Lee kept a straight face as he made his way over to view its contents. He picked up one of the many photos that were inside, letting the light hit it so the thin sheen atop could be seen. His eyes narrowed, scrutinizing the scene it depicted, "how can I be sure that this image isn't manipulated?"

The black haired woman gave him a hard stare, trying to read his face and decipher her next move before she replied, "you can ask your son if you don't believe me. Though... there's frankly no need," she smirked, "all of this is real, after all."

With one last wavering glance in her direction, Donghyuck's father flipped the folder shut and let the square of paper fall to the floor with a heavy sigh. "Very well then, I shall ask him and we can see to signing contracts with one another if this does in fact, prove to be true," the heavy timbre of his voice echoed, "you may take your leave now."

She was at the door in an instant, yet she hadn't left, hand hovering against the handle with her back turned. She was hesitating. This was something that could either build or break her; no one went against the Zhong's and hoped to ever have a future in this industry and she needed as many allies as she could get. This deal was important — she expressed that.

In return, she got no reassurance or promise that things would be okay, a simple 'go' muttered at her in a stern tone that made her stifle and sweat.

It was too late now.

There was no going back.

At least, that was what she had told herself.

‣‣

When the day was nearly done, Mr. Lee leaned back in his plush leather chair and closed his eyes, mind heavy with the thoughts that swirled around inside of it and the stress that had piled up on his shoulders relentlessly.

He'd made a call, put his phone on speaker and let it ring, waiting for the moment where the white noise would clear up and the sound of his wife's calming voice would filter through.

"Honey? Is something wrong? You usually never call this late."

The man chuckled airily, aged hand sifting through his hair, "how's our Donghyuck? I haven't seen him in so long."

"Hyuck? He's been awfully cheery as of lately. Actually, I think he's been going out a lot more with that- what was his name? Renjin? Renjeon?"

"Renjun, dear."

"Ah yes!" the woman exclaimed, "Renjun! He's been spending a lot of time with Renjun and- oh-" she interrupted herself, some shuffling being heard on the other side of the line, "I think he's just come home right now. Do you want to talk to him? I'll pass on the phone, just give me a second."

A faint scream of 'Hyuck' sounded from the device and the man laughed as he heard his spouse and son bicker through the line. He'd almost forgotten how lively they could be from how long he'd been working abroad.

"Alright, I get it!" a honeyed tone squeaked, distant in a way that Mr. Lee could tell it wasn't directed towards him.

"Hyuck?"

The sharp pause and shaky intake of air that came after he had muttered his son's name were clear in his ears, a small and uncertain, 'dad?' spoken in return.

"It's me, son. I'm sorry I haven't been able to talk to you in so long, how have you been? Has life been kind to you these past few months?"

"D-Don't apologise! Wait- I'm just a little- This is pretty sudden, let me just collect my marbles and then-"

His father's face split into an uncharacteristically goofy smile, "it's okay Donghyuck, I understand."

"You do?"

"Of course!" he replied, leaning his elbows forward onto his desk as he asked his next question, tone light yet hiding heavy emotions, "now, how has this 'Renjun' been treating you?"

"Mum told you, didn't she? She promised she wouldn't! I can't believ-"

"Don't worry about it," the older man shook his head, though he knew his son couldn't see, "I just wanted to know if dating him is making you happy."

"W-wait, God, no, he's not my boyfriend!" Hyuck hastily stuttered, causing his father to raise a brow.

"Oh?"

"I guess, we're still getting there... Renjun is different from all the other boys, he doesn't just rush in blindly when it comes to things like this."

"I see," the man trailed off, hands moving around rapidly to flip through the multitude of photos that had been taken of the duo, where they had been captured making out and holding hands and acting like they were in love.

Still, there was only so much so one could interpret from an image.

"A little bit of a personal question, but how far have you've both gotten? I can't help but be a little on the edge since I'm not there, I know I'm prying and I'm sor-"

"You can ask," the younger boy cut in, "I don't mind, you can ask. We, uh- we've kissed and stuff? He makes me feel all giddy and stupid in love and- God, this is embarrassing, do I need to say more?"

The tension in Mr. Lee's shoulders loosened by a fraction and he whispered a small 'no', relieved that he hadn't been lied to but now being thrown into another train of deep thought.

"Oh, by the way, Dad?" Donghyuck waited for his father to hum in recognition before he continued, "do you know what's going on between Jeno and Mark's parents? Something's happening and they're not talking to each other anymore — I think it's because of their family companies."

Guilt flashed through his orbs momentarily and the man finally stood, bringing his phone to his ear after taking it off of speaker.

He did know.

But he wasn't going to tell Donghyuck that, because it was his fault they were having this feud in the first place.

The words were chilling and stiff when they arrived to Donghyuck's ear. It didn't sound right, when his father rushed to deny any knowledge of the situation and told him he had to go.

And when the call was cut, the sound of a dead line rung in his ear for the rest of the night.