Strictly Business / Minsung

two -

The dinner came along much faster than Minho expected and before he knew it, he was fixing up his tie and adding a final coating of natural looking gloss to his lips. Excited would definitely not be the correct word to describe how Minho was feeling yet he still couldn't quench his feeling of desperation to see Han Jisung in real life.

"Minho, come here please," the voice of his father once again rang through the halls of their house.

"Okay," the boy replied simply before making his way into his father's office even though he already knew exactly what he was going to tell him.

"Regardless of what you know of the Han's you have to be friendly with them," Minho's dad spoke as soon as his son pushed open the door, "but whatever you think of the boy, no matter how kind he seems, he should never be more than an acquaintance do you understand?"

"Of course father, I would never dream of becoming too friendly with a Han," Minho lied bluntly. His words were ironic in a way as he'd had numerous dreams of being even more than friends with Han Jisung but he would never even consider telling his father.

"I'm glad to hear that Minho, now go and get your mother, the car is waiting outside," the older man spoke and Minho nodded dutifully before leaving the room.

He did as he was told, as was normal, and he took his mother's arm as they walked to the car. The dinner was a big occasion and he knew that his mom became nervous before every one, the boy could only assume that this was due to the 2006 dinner where his father had misspoken in his speech and had been laughed at by Mr Han, albeit in a friendly manner. Although, his mother had told him, that despite the fact the latter man seemed genuinely amused and there was no malice behind his actions, Minho's father was still angered beyond belief.

They made their way to the car shortly after, Minho stepped inside first and was barely surprised to see the interior kitted with television screens and various dials for air conditioning and the like. His father greeted the driver before clambering into the car and sitting beside Minho's mother. As soon as he entered, the atmosphere became thick with a tension that wasn't there before, Minho could only assume that it was brought on by his father's stony expression.

"Dad, are you okay?" Minho asked with mild concern, of course, he didn't like what his father stood for, nor did he like what his father was trying to force him to be but Minho would be lying if he said he didn't love him. The boy still got concerned to see his dad in such a way regardless of whether he cared for the reason or not.

"I'm fine Minho, you should know I dislike attending these sorts of events, or any event where I have to pretend to like Mr Han actually," the older man scoffed.

Minho's mother simply rolled her eyes before turning to face her husband, "I will never understand your hatred for that family, they are nothing if not kind to you," she spoke.

The tension in the car seemed to thicken as she spoke, Minho found himself in shock as that was the first time he had ever heard anyone speak positively of the Han's. His father seemed taken aback before he retorted, "you can't see falseness like I can, competitors are never friendly."

By the time his father stopped speaking, the car had pulled up by the start of a long red carpet, Minho assumed that should there have been more than just one person with a camera, he would've felt like a celebrity walking down it. However, regardless of the amount of photographers, the whole occasion still felt slightly overwhelming and the boy stuck close to his mother as they walked the carpet into the grand hall where the dinner would be taking place.

Minho's father was most displeased when they reached their table to see that their company for the night would be no other than the Han family themselves. The Lee heir could feel the butterflies already beginning to spring into his stomach simply at the thought of meeting Han Jisung. He had entertained this exact situation so many times when he closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Minho would imagine them laying eyes on each other for the first time and instantly falling in love, Jisung would sneak away with him to a rooftop somewhere and they would talk endlessly whilst oblivious to the world outside.