Betrothed (NoRen)

11

It's been a month now. He's made some mistakes, none that big and he got a glowing review from his boss so now he has full benefits. Something he's never had before. He is beyond happy. He is still a bit uncomfortable around his boss at times, I mean the man towers over him and his stare is piercing.
Haechan is proud of him and is seriously considering looking for a job at the same company.

As he casually goes through his emails to start the day one catches his eye immediately.
It's addressed from Taeyong Lee, company ceo. The strange thing is the header is the same as theirs. He sits and stares at it for too long before he reads it.
It's a generic congratulations message for his review. As he sits with his eyes trained on the letterhead his they well up with tears.

He bursts into his boss's office unannounced.
"Why did you hire me?" He asks with his tears streaming down his face.
"What? I already explained this, is there something wrong?" He asks thoroughly confused.
"Were you persuaded by anyone to hire me?" He asks with gritted teeth.
"No. I do my own hiring in this company. I am the boss of this department, no one else oversees that. What is your problem exactly?" He wipes at his eyes and looks down.
"Can I leave for a few hours? Is that ok?" He asks still in tears.
"Yes, of course. If you need to talk though, I'm here." He shakes his head and holds his hand up as his boss starts to stand.
"No, please. I just need time." Mr. Park nods with furrowed brows.
"Take the rest of the day. It's fine." He nods and walks out quieter than when he came in.

He hops on a bus. Normally he doesn't afford himself this luxury but he has something important to do.
He cries all the way home but doesn't call Haechan. He doesn't want to burden him with this just yet.
When he gets there he goes straight to his drawer and pulls out the envelope. At least now he can pay them back before he quits.

He tucks it away carefully and calls a cab. He can't risk standing at his bus stop with this kind of money on him. The ride is quiet and gives him time to plan what he has to say, he can only hope he remembers when he sees them.

His heart races with anger and deceit as he rides the elevator up to the hundredth floor. The closer he gets, the more he's ready to lash out.
He can't bear to face Jeno, he knows he is weak for him and Mark is out of the question because Haechan likes him so much.
So poor Taeyong will have to get the brunt of his anger. The doors open and he looks around before finding that he's in a circle. He sees the offices of Mark and Jeno and goes to the last one. He puts his hand on the knob before he is stopped by a throat clearing.
He looks around and sees a woman. She is young and beautiful but also very scary looking.
"Excuse me. You cannot just barge into the CEO's office. You need an appointment." She says with a snarl.
"Call him and tell him I am here, this is urgent." She sighs and walks to her desk.
"I'm sure he won't want to see a tiny peon such as yourself but I will tell him. Name?" He frowns at her words but tries not to let them bother him.
"Renjun. He will know who I am." She rolls her eyes and pushes the button. She has it on speaker to humiliate him when he refuses.
"Excuse me Mr. Lee but there is homeless boy here to see you."

"What?" She laughs.
"Im sorry It's just the cheap suit he is wearing makes him look just that, cheap." She hears a sigh on the other end.
"Name please?" He asks annoyed.
"Renjun? He said you would..."
"Really? Send him in right away." He says excitedly. She scoffs as Renjun smirks before heading in.

"Renjun, oh how nice it is to see you again. How have you been?" He asks genuinely happy.
"Cut the shit. Tell me if you or any of your brothers had anything to do with me being hired here." Taeyong frowns at his clear anger but is surprised nonetheless.
"You work here? For our company? No way. How long have you been here?" Renjun gets angrier and stands. He's fighting his angry tears.
"I said I didn't want hand outs, is it too much to ask to try and do this on my own?" His tears free fall by the time he's done.
"Renjun, I am beyond happy that you found a place here but I didn't have any knowledge of you being hired." He shakes his head.
"Was it Mark? Jeno? Who did then?" Taeyong stands and gently places his hands on his shoulders.
"Mark would not have done such a thing either. He is with your friend. He knows you wouldn't like that and he wouldn't." He explains.
"Jeno?" He asks in a hurt whisper. Taeyong shakes his head no.
"Impossible. If he even knew you were here he would make it a point to see you every day." Renjun frowns.
"Why?" Taeyong giggles.
"He's absolutely enamored by you." He shakes his head in disbelief.

"How do i know you are telling the truth?" He shrugs.
"Because I have too many other things to deal with then hiring in all of our departments." Renjun ponders this.
"I suppose that makes sense. But anyway, I brought this back." He pulls out the envelope and places it on his desk.
"I paid back everything I used." Taeyong raises his brow.
"You really are a proud man aren't you?" He asks softly. Renjun nods.
"Well, this isn't my baby, take this to Jeno. It's his money." Renjun frowns.
"What do you mean? I thought it was from the company?" He shakes his head with a smile.
"Jeno took responsibility for you. He did this. He should be in his office just take it to him." Renjun can't get the frown off his face as he takes the envelope slowly. Why would one man give away that much money? For him?

He slowly walks to his door and sees it's open a crack. When he gets there, what he sees, actually feels painful in his chest and he doesn't know why. He quietly backs away and goes back to Taeyong.
"He was busy. Please deliver this." Taeyong frowns and nods. There is no way he was too busy to see Renjun.
He quickly goes to his office and sees the door open a crack too.
"Jeno? What the fuck are you doing?"