"Yes, sir, the blue folder contains the information about the new models..." Joshua carefully places the files on the table, his eyes lingering briefly on Minjun, who looks up at him with a flicker of something unreadable.
“Did you work on it?” Minjun’s voice is calm, but there’s a certain sharpness behind it, almost as if he's hoping for the wrong answer.
“Miyi did, sir, not me,” Joshua replies, his fingers lightly toying with a pen. The nervous habit contrasts with his composed demeanor.
Minjun nods, his expression revealing nothing. “Good. You can leave, Mr. Hong,” he dismisses him curtly.
Joshua bows slightly, turning to leave. The thought of working on files always made Joshua's mind drift. It wasn’t that he hated the task; it just numbed him with its monotony.
The details, numbers, and proposals meant nothing to him unless they somehow circled back to Jeonghan. That’s where his interest lay. But this... this was just mindless paperwork.
A wave of relief washed over him when Minjun told him not to overwork, not to drown himself in tasks that didn't fill his pockets or occupy his heart. A luxury Joshua hadn’t allowed himself before, to disregard what didn’t matter.
Joshua steps outside, cradling his drink in his hand. He gazes down at the cup, another sweet concoction. The memory of the bitter coffee he’d tasted from Seokmin’s cup suddenly spins in his mind. He wonders how Seokmin managed to drink all of it without flinching, let alone throwing up.
Seokmin was certainly something different, and Joshua couldn’t deny that he was slowly growing accustomed to the man’s unannounced appearances, joining him for meals as if it were the most natural thing.
Their last conversation, though, left Joshua in a state of unease.
“Doe eyes and deer-like features,” Seokmin had said.
Joshua found himself standing in front of the mirror longer than usual that day, searching his own reflection for any hint of those soft, vulnerable traits Seokmin had mentioned.
He studied his face with a critical eye, as if searching for a clue, something that would explain why Seokmin had said those words, why they lingered in Joshua’s mind like a half-forgotten dream.
The mirror offered Joshua no answers. His eyes were dark, unfathomable pools, not quite the innocent doe eyes Seokmin had described. There was something else there—something deeper, veiled beneath layers of carefully maintained composure.
As he stared at his own reflection, Joshua couldn't help but feel a sense of disquiet, as if Seokmin had seen something in him that he hadn't yet uncovered himself.
Joshua’s thoughts drifted back to their conversations, the way Seokmin’s gaze had lingered on him, intense and unyielding. There was a hunger in those eyes, a dark curiosity that seemed to peel back Joshua’s defenses layer by layer.
It was unsettling, how easily Seokmin seemed to read him, to know him. Joshua took a sip of his sweet drink, the familiar taste doing little to soothe the unease coiling in his stomach.
Seokmin had a way of getting under his skin, making him question things he’d never thought to question before. His words, casual yet deliberate, echoed in Joshua’s mind, sowing seeds of doubt and fascination.
Joshua wondered what game Seokmin was playing, why he was so interested in him. He knew better than to believe it was a simple attraction; with Seokmin, it was always more complicated, more layered.
It was as if Seokmin was almost obes--
"Mr. Hong..."
Joshua flinched at the sudden voice, whipping around to find Seokmin standing barely two feet away. When did he arrive? Probably while Joshua was lost in thought, daydreaming about him.
YOU ARE READING
Arrange Devotion | SS
FanfictionBOOK #2 They say love heals scars, but Seokmin's scars were lessons-bitter reminders that twisted him into a creature of darkness. His life was a series of brutal lessons that shaped him into someone who burns with an unquenchable fire. Protecting...
