in love, legally || CHOI YEONJUN

Chapter 5

The meat sizzles over the griller, and Taeasan, one of the new interns clumsily flips it. The older ones shake their head laughing. Yeonjun lends a hand and shows him the right way to grill meat while Taehyun looks at him with drooping honey eyes. He is the only one who loves to join a work dinner at the weekend.

"The meat tastes better since you are grilling," he jokes.

Yejin takes a bite from her plate and asks, "Are you hitting on him?"

"I am just trying to get a cool CEO friend," he shrugs.

Yeonjun laughs patting the younger's back. And Taehyun's wish did get fulfilled. The next few days as they met over group meetings and outlined potential clients and promotion methods with the team, they had built a brotherly relationship quickly. Ignoring the little pull and push between Hyemi and Yeonjun after pretending to be a couple in front of his mom.

Nonetheless, the bromance led to Yeonjun crashing Taehyun's apartment the next weekend.

Hyemi and Yejin looked over the kitchen Island as he entered the room, crashing their sleepover. "Why is he here?" Hyemi asks bluntly.

Taehyun on the other hand was as flustered as them. He didn't expect Yeonjun to show up when he said they were having a sleepover at his house.

"Oh, I thought you invited just me," Yeonjun chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. "I bought some pastries though!"

He held out a beautifully wrapped packet, the creamy frosting and red toppings making everyone drool. It looked like a lot of pastry for just two grown men but he shoved Yejin's compliments away humbly and placed them on the kitchen island.

The four sat around the coffee table, on the soft carpet and turned on a horror movie. Taehyun had fallen asleep halfway. Yejin shook her head got him a blanket, and sat up on the couch scrolling on her phone. She was not a big fan of horror movies, but she shrieked loudly.

Yeonjun and Hyemi jumped in their place and turned to look at her. The sleeping prince had jerked up and looked around like his house was bombed. "What was that for?" he whined running a hand through his sleepy face.

"You'll let out a bigger scream than me," Yejin said, holding her phone to Hyemi.

She scrolled up the news headline and rechecked the pictures. Her jaw hung in disbelief as she read the article and went to the comments. "Wait, why is this blowing up? When was it posted?"

"Minji sent it to me a few hours back," Yejin shrugged, "I saw it right now,"

Panic set in as Hyemi ran a hand through her hair, "We have to take this down,"

Taehyun, now fully awake, snatched the phone from her, curious about what had them so worked up. But instead of reacting with concern, he burst into laughter. "BYE AHAHAH!" He glanced between Hyemi and Yeonjun with a knowing look that only made Hyemi more irritated.

"What the hell is so funny and scary," Hyemi snapped, yanking the phone back. Meanwhile, the movie played on, though she was barely paying attention—except for the fact that Yeonjun was sitting so close, that their knees were touching.

The sibling banter went on as Taehyun snatched the phone again and stood in front of the TV, "Choi Yeonjun, the only son of conglomerate Choi Groups Chairman was spotted with Kang Hajun's niece, Kang Hyemi," he read like he was giving a presentation.

Yeonjun raised his eyebrows. "Why are we not identified solely as individuals?"

Hyemi glared at him scoffing, "Is that important right now?"

Taehyun continued ignoring their comments, "This past Sunday, a cozy dinner gathering drew our attention to a couple who enjoyed a hearty meal together. Chairwoman Saeri of Choi Groups made a brief appearance, fueling speculation that the woman (Kang Hyemi) dining alongside Choi Yeonjun may be the rumored 'future fiancée' mentioned by family elders in various press conferences. In a surprising twist, she is not the youngest daughter of the Han Group, as many had expected. The question on everyone's mind now is: When will this mysterious couple finally make their relationship official?"