[BL] Checkmate: side story

In a secluded room in the basement of the headquarters, the cube lied on the floor of the room occupied by the crystal, the reason for it's location was simply safety. Inside the unknown space, each room was examined carefully and stationed with at least one member of the organisation in case some thing was to occur. Stood in the room Seojun was kept in, Haneul could see the same wooden table he had as well as the rack that held up the unknown liquids. 

She picked up a test tube and squinted before realising there was no way she was going to figure out what it was. She tilted her hand and poured a small bit on the ground. At first nothing happened but after a few seconds the patch that had turned a darker shade of grey began to fizzle as if the floor was being fried.

"..." 

Just as she was about to place the tube back, her phone rang. "Kei? Are you okay?"

"Yeah don't worry, I just got home. How's it going on your end?"

Haneul glanced around and hesitated for a moment. "We still can't find anything useful or where he could've gone, so, dead end."

"Do you want me to go over?"

"No, no. Just rest for a bit."

 Following the sound of a call ending, a static came from her ear piece followed by a soft voice, "you're not going to tell him?" Mii asked.

"... Not yet."

"He's going to find out sooner or later."

"I know, he just doesn't need to know now."

Haneul had already knew about the origin of the cube. She knew it's history, the reason it was created, who it was created by, who it was created for, and who it was modelled after. But the room she stood in, was an anomaly. To put it simply, it wasn't meant to exist. So it's creation and creator had to be hid from Kei. At least until she can be sure it wasn't connected to him.

It was unfortunate one of those couldn't be kept in the dark for long. But hey, at least she was able to keep it from him for a day.

A normal morning, perhaps a little quieter than usual, but other than that, Haneul had her mind busy and didn't notice the heavy atmosphere that was created in her office. Kei was laying on the couch absent-mindedly with his phone in hand and seemed to be messaging someone. He suddenly sat up with his back to Haneul and spoke in a low voice.

"When were you going to tell me?" 

She looked up, "what?"

"About him."

"…" Haneul froze and looked down at her desk, "I just.. I didn't think you should know just yet.."

"He could've killed him."

"…"

Kei turned to her as he got up, "Haneul, you still remember what that place was like, right?"

Before she could reply, or maybe apologise, he had already walked out, passing Yuu along the way with a hard-to-judge look on his face.

"Ooh, tension.." Yuu whistled gently after him.

"What do you want?" Haneul sighed.

"Don't be so snappy, I just came to tell you the event situation's all sorted." He handed her a small pile of documents with a mini envelope on top.

"Oh right, I almost forgot about that," Haneul flicked through them quickly before setting it down on the desk, "did you get the meeting set up with K company too?"

"Yep, tomorrow at 3, Lu said he's added it to your schedule."

"Great..." she said with fake enthusiasm.

"Oh and about the event," Yuu began walking backwards, his steps steady until his hand finally reached the door, "I may be sick that day so please find a replacement for us~"

"What do you mean us? Hey where are you going—" Her mouth hanged open helplessly as he disappeared. "Am I the boss? Am I? Am I going insane? Aha.. ahahaha..." Her moment of insanity was accompanied with email notifications and she quickly returned back to working on autopilot mode for the next hour until Hyunwoo unexpectedly called.

"What do you want.. I'm tired so hurry up."

"How long... is a couple's fight suppose to last? Actually not really a fight... How long is your significant other suppose to stay angry at you might be more accurate.. wait did that count as angry?"

She looked at her phone with a confused expression, "..are you trying to piss me off?"

"No that was a genuine question.."

"Yeah well I don't have time to deal with your love life, we need you to come to the event on Friday because Yuu called it quits at the last second. Bring someone with you."

"Er.. how do you expect me to find a date this quickly?"

"Just make up with Kang Seojun."

"I never said who it was.."

"Anyone can guess who it is..." Haneul mumbled, "anyway, good luck! I'll see you there!" She quickly hung up.

"What.." He grumbled, hand rummaging through his hair, "..I can't ask him."

"..."

"Ah whatever, I'm going alone." 

He stood up from the bed and paused for a moment. Hyunwoo opened his phone again and clicked on to his camera roll, a smile automatically appeared on his face as half the screen filled up with photos of Seojun, mostly taken in secret; except one with him staring right at the camera with a calm look as if he'd expected it, with his body lied against the mattress Hyunwoo was just sat on and his head resting comfortably on his arms that stretched out in front of him. That was Hyunwoo's favourite photo.

Like his original plan anyway, Hyunwoo did not find a date and ended up going to the company event alone. The multi-company gathering was hosted in one of the biggest venues in the city and the guests invited was a mix of the largest companies in the country and beginners that had risen at a rapid speed; such as Roses. Hosted once every two years, it's essentially the one night dedicated for the children to find their parent companies. What distinguishes the two roles is not just success but also age, durability and stability. Taking all that into consideration, tonight was the night where half of the invitees would be battling for one particular company's attention; Snake, the biggest organisation in the whole country of the last few decades.

Hyunwoo took a deep breath before heading up the stairs to the entrance. Luckily he'd arrive early so the place wasn't as busy as it was going to get. After grabbing a glass of champagne from the bar, he walked around the place for a bit and headed upstairs to the main area where the speeches would later be presented following an opening performance. 

With an already unclear mind paired with the amount of drinks he had, by the time everyone had started to arrive, Hyunwoo was already viewing everything as a blur. That was until he saw the back of someone familiar.

Hey what the, why is he here?

Without thinking, his hand grabbed the shoulder of the guy and spun him around hastily.

"Kang Seo-- Huh?" 

Although he looked like him, the guy wasn't Kang Seojun.

"Do I know you?"

Hyunwoo shook his head slowly and let go, "no sorry. I must have mistaken you for someone else."

The guy who resembled him so well from behind also had a face like Seojun's. If it wasn't for the slight difference in hair and his pierced ears, he might've been able to pass off as his twin. Right before Hyunwoo was about to turn to leave, he suddenly spoke up.

"Wait, were you looking for Kang Seojun?"

"Yeah."

"..." He smiled, "come with me." Seungcheol led him out to the balcony where it was still surprisingly empty and sat down on a chair. "I'm Kang Seungcheol, his younger brother."

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Kim Hyunwoo. I... work with your brother."

"Don't worry, I've heard about you. Hyung's not here yet, he's probably still talking with our parents."

"Oh I see.. Is he doing alright?"

"I... Don't know. It's hard to read him, but.."

During their brief conversation, a part of Hyunwoo realised something. Liking Kang Seojun was a good decision. It may be too early for him to decide everyone's perception of him was positive, but that doesn't mean he would be wrong. 

"Hyung's not the most sociable person but he's caring and he's not the type to say it so he shows it instead." Seungcheol suddenly paused and stopped talking as an awkward look appeared on his face, "sorry it feels like I'm rambling.."

Hyunwoo chuckled, "you sound fond of him."

"Of course, he's a good person... And he's even willing to do this for me."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you know? Hyung took a semester off because of me."