"funny seeing you here" the familiar irritating voice made you sigh in exasperation.
you turning around locking eyes with a handsome man clad in black from head to toe, turtleneck peeking from underneath a black suit, dress shoes boosting his 6-foot height even further. his slicked-back hair made the smug look on his face even more obvious. your skin prickled at the sight but your heart took all of his beauty in as you refused to break eye contact.
"sweetheart, how are you going to win the case if you're going to be this distracted by the opposition?" he teased, closing the gap between you both and forcing you to look up at him.
"i think the same goes for you, mr. kim" you managed to not stutter, mirroring him in a silent fight to assert dominance.
wrong move.
his cologne wafted its way to you, casting a deadly spell as your heart fell head over heels to inch a little closer, grab hold of your very nemesis, and head to some forgone place for just the two of you.
"well, we shall see how it goes in the courtroom itself," he ended the conversation after bending down to meet your eyes, never breaking as he straightened up till he walked off in the opposite direction with a little wave.
you glared at the back of his head, mind and heart racing. you weren't going down without a fight; you promised yourself you will not go down without a show-stopping performance.
you entered the courtroom with your clientele; The Choi Brothers with the CEO, Choi Seungcheol tailing you straight to both of your seats. before you could put down the stack of investigation reports and statistics at your assigned table, a hand settled firmly on your shoulder. two unwelcome fingers swept your hair fully to your back before a monotonous voice started its threats.
"make sure you get this one, y/n-ssi. the things that would happen if my company loses to such petty competition; unimaginable for you, but very plausible to me," a shiver ran down your back because you were all too familiar with what happened to the rivals of the Choi brothers.
but you know they were nothing without their attorney - you. emboldened by that thought, you let out a chuckle, settling the papers down nice and tidy, before picking seoungcheol's hand off your shoulder with your index finger and thumb.
crossing your legs and leaning on the wooden table behind, you faced the man in front of you without breaking eye contact nor your gentle smile.
"seungcheol-ssi, remember your place, alright?" you brushed some lint off his shoulder.
"your company will be nothing without me. and frankly speaking - thanks for the adrenaline rush. both my mind and body are set on fighting for your dirty deeds, so settle down sweetheart, the best is yet to come," you calmly bite back, patting his cheek and taking your own seat.
you looked over to see that mingyu had stopped skimming through his documents and had resorted to glaring at seungcheol who still had not taken his seat. you couldn't help but wonder if it was because seungcheol had grabbed your shoulder or because you patted his cheek.
'might have given him the wrong idea but still is that jealousy? nah, that dumbass isn't capable of such complicated emotions'.
the entry of the judge broke your train of thought as you fully immerse yourself into the case, ready to give it all because there was no flight option in this fight of words.
- - -
"by the way, I'm expecting a pay raise, so hold up your end, Choi-ssi. be an absolute darling and take these documents back with you, will you? wouldn't want that lot to get their hands on the 'good stuff', huh?" you shoved the documents into seungcheol's hands before signalling at mingyu and his colleagues who were sending death stares towards your direction. you smiled genuinely at the lot and they immediately set off in the opposite direction, but one man stood his ground, maintaining a death stare not directed at you, but the CEO currently struggling to hold onto all the papers.
you made your way over to your rival, never breaking that proud smirk. on the contrary, he didn't meet your eyes till you were as close to him as possible; possible meaning the distance your heart could manage without going into cardiac arrest.
"time you figured who's the truly distracted one, mr.kim-"
"did he do that with permission?" straightforward question, cold voice, even a hint of anger.
startled, you reply with "who? do what? what are you talking about-"
"yes or no? did he touch you with permission?" again cold, but you were sure that the guy was irritated.
"oh that little thing, HAHA, um not really, I don't remember giving any consent-,"
"are you good friends?"
"umm no, professional terms only -" and he set off straight towards seungcheol without any form of hesitation.
"well look who it is, the -" seungcheol got cut off mid-sentence with papers hitting him smack in his face. his shriek was enough for you to come running towards the duo.
"pull any tricks like that or even go near y/n again and I will make sure you have no future ahead of you," you made it in time to hear mingyu threatening seungcheol. seungcheol, face contorted in pain while holding onto his right eye made a feeble attempt at a reply with no avail, with only a guttural groan making its way through. his secretary who had been laughing in the distance came running to him in response and aided him back to the car park to send him to wherever he was next headed to.
"you sure you still have rivalry going on between us or is that just a new, clinically tested way to flirt?" you fold your arms and smirk at mingyu.
"oh darling, rivalry at work doesn't mean there's no room for love outside of the court," he stepped closer to you with a relaxed composure. the cologne attack came next. and then the heart-fluttering , cheeky smile.
"i - whaatt?" you managed to squeak out. mingyu chuckled and looked down.
"um," his right hand travelled to the nape of his neck as he looked back up into your eyes. but it wasn't a look of challenge, cockiness or ridicule. instead, his eyes brimmed with sincerity.
"i - all im trying to say is -" he took a deep breath.
"i would love to take you out for dinner, if that's okay with you?" mingyu asked and you had never heard such a genuine, well-meaning question from anyone in your life. and your wretched heart immediately fell for it.
"um - sure," you agreed while tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. you could feel the blood rush into your cheeks and the suit you were wearing became a little warm for comfort.
"well then, tomorrow night 7pm? i'll pick you up and don't worry about the reservation or the food or -" mingyu rattled off clearly flustered. your laugh interrupted him mid sentence.
"i'll be waiting," you reassured him before taking your leave and walking off towards the car park.
