Why would he do that? What a pointless thing to do. And what a shitty company.
"The work culture in South Korea is crap," Yoo Joonghyuk said.
"You're not based in South Korea?" Kim Dokja asked.
"I am," Yoo Joonghyuk nodded. "But I have branches abroad and they're all doing much better than the one here."
Both of them let out heavy sighs in unison.
"How did you find the convention then?" Yoo Joonghyuk said. "Since you begged to be able to come here."
"It was boring," Kim Dokja took a potato chip from the packet he had bought and opened a while ago.
"That's because it wasn't for you," Yoo Joonghyuk chided. "You said Q/A, I thought you were the department head or something. It was a convention for building influence, to make connections, to see how rival companies were doing."
"I got a lot of fancy pens," Kim Dokja said, unbothered as he ate his chips.
"You—Your apathetic nature is a thing to marvel at," Yoo Joonghyuk said monotonously making Kim Dokja chuckle.
"Your company didn't give out any pens though," Kim Dokja said, furrowing his eyebrows as he tried to remember.
"Yeah, because it's a stupid idea," Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed. ". . .Should we have pens next year?"
"No, I think you were eye-catching without the pens or notepads," Kim Dokja said.
Good, Yoo Joonghyuk thought, satisfied.
"It was the only thing I found pretty interesting," said Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk smirked, content.
"What about it was interesting?" Yoo Joonghyuk asked.
"The whole stall, the way it was designed and planned was nice," Kim Dokja replied. "And the VR game's cool."
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't want to be chasing praise from this pretty man, but he said, "Is that all?"
"Well," Kim Dokja said slowly. "I thought it was a bit of a shame."
"What was?"
"I mean, the game was really awesome, but there are tons of other VR games already," Kim Dokja said. "It stood out amongst the ones in the exhibition—"
"Convention."
"Oh, you and your convention," Kim Dokja snapped. "Just listen to what I'm trying to say. Who cares if it was a convention, an exhibition or a really weird flash mob?!"
"As I was saying," Kim Dokja said sharply, glaring at Yoo Joonghyuk to keep his mouth shut. "It wasn't all that special if you look at the actual competition in the market. Even Minosoft develops VR."
"True," Yoo Joonghyuk nodded. "I had the same thought. But it's the trend."
"VR's brilliant, though," Kim Dokja said. "I know it's extensively used for games, but really, it's missing out."
"Is it?"
"Yeah!" Kim Dokja said eagerly. "I mean, everyone's scrambling after AI since VR's a little old news now. But that's like freaking out over podcasts and forgetting about audiobooks."
"What?"
"It's VR. Virtual Reality, and with tech developing so fast, everyone just trying to outdo the others, and make more money, they haven't exploited VR enough. They didn't give enough time because they were busy feeding the shit to the market demand."
"What do you want on the market then?"
"Eh?" Kim Dokja grimaced. "I'm not buying shit from there. I'm fine with the old stuff."
Yoo Joonghyuk let out a bemused scoff. Kim Dokja was a penny-pincher.
"I'll buy it for you, so what do you want?" he said.
"Still, nothing," Kim Dokja answered. " . . .Oh, maybe a physical copy of his web novel that's come out."
Is that all he wanted? A book?
"What would you put on the market to make money?" Yoo Joonghyuk changed the question.
"I'm not giving you my ideas for free," Kim Dokja said with a sly smirk. "Nope. Not doing that."
Yoo Joonghyuk snickered.
"Don't do it then."
"You're such a buzzkill," Kim Dokja whined. "You're supposed to keep pushing it. What kind of negotiating was that?"
Yoo Joonghyuk laughed some more.
"Just tell me," Yoo Joonghyuk said. "I've been listening to you all this time."
"It's Virtual Reality," Kim Dokja said, giving in. "Like, you could have house viewings with that."
"You already have that on computers and—"
"Will you listen to the whole thing first?" Kim Dokja barked. "Why're you so hasty? Where do you have to go that you can't listen for a few seconds?"
Getting scolded by Kim Dokja, a man five years younger than him was weird, but he didn't find it too annoying. He could live with it.
Huffing his anger away, Kim Dokja continued. "You can use VR for educational purposes."
"People don't want their kids to be stuck to those things."
"Oh, for fuck's sake!"
Yoo Joonghyuk laughed as Kim Dokja threw a potato chip at him.
"You're not seeing the potential, you stupid CEO!" Kim Dokja angrily munched on a handful of chips. "Do you know how much money is spent on construction? All the things, from the blueprint, to the interior, and the civil engineering work that goes into it?"
"You know, laws of nature don't change because the form's taken from paper to screen. And you can actually see it on VR, like 3D, like in real life, interactive 3D or something."
Yoo Joonghyuk blinked.
The things Kim Dokja was saying started making sense in his mind and he sobered up quickly.
Yoo Joonghyuk sat bolt upright and Kim Dokja gave him a pompous smirk.
"You see it now?" he said.
"I see it now," Yoo Joonghyuk said quietly.
"Big construction companies will eat that up," Kim Dokja said with an evil giggle that Yoo Joonghyuk was really starting to like. A lot.
"The costs they could save on it all, and if you sell the technology you have, where the market competition is so low, but the potential is so glaringly obvious. . .I'll leave the rest to you, CEO-nim."
Kim Dokja gave a little dance of victory with his shoulders.
"Just don't forget me when you become rich and famous."
Yoo Joonghyuk gulped, trying his best to reign in his brain that was off making plans over the idea Kim Dokja had given.
"I'm already rich and famous," he said.
"Ah, I forgot about that," Kim Dokja breathed. "Oh, well," he shrugged. "Who cares?"
What the fuck did he mean who cares?! Kim Dokja's brilliant mind was rotting away in that stupid company of his! Q/A? Code? Bugs? They've stuck a diamond in a pigsty.
Yoo Joonghyuk caught Kim Dokja by his arms and gave him a little, firm shake.
"Kim Dokja," he said, seriously. "I want you."
"No, thanks, " Kim Dokja said, just as seriously.
"Not like that," Yoo Joonghyuk said incredulously. "You—You're brilliant. I want your mind."
"It's not all that much," Kim Dokja shook his head. "It's a bad investment."
Yoo Joonghyuk opened his mouth indignantly, but Kim Dokja spoke before he could.
"That is like the only idea I have. Now I've given it to you, you can develop it more than I could. My value ends there. It's not a good investment."
"You fool, do you think talent and ideas generate out of nowhere?" Yoo Joonghyuk gave the younger man another shake. "You need a good environment to flourish. Without a nourishing environment, you're only going to be stuck as a seed and rot away—Coding? Why would you waste your time with that?"
"Hey," Kim Dokja scowled at him. "I spent four years to get my degree. Are you saying that it was a waste of time and money?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Yoo Joonghyuk glared back at him. "Your talent lies elsewhere. You would have done so much better with marketing or business studies. You can pick up trends, critically analyse, see through loopholes, and understand how people behave—Work for me, Kim Dokja. I'm making an official offer."
"Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi," Kim Dokja said, unimpressed. "You're drunk. When you come to your senses in the morning, you'll kick yourself for this."
"Whatever you said made me sober," Yoo Joonghyuk waved it away. "I'm being serious."
"I appreciate it, but I'll have to decline," Kim Dokja shook his head.
"Why?!" Yoo Joonghyuk cried. "I'm the CEO, it's my company. I can give you a position."
Kim Dokja looked at him like he was an idiot and then he sighed.
"There are qualifications I must meet to get whatever position you think I should have," Kim Dokja said. "And I don't have those. My CSAT grades weren't good, I went to a third-rate university. And I've worked at third-rate companies, hopping nearly every year because I haven't managed to get a permanent posting—"
"I'll give you a permanent posting—"
Kim Dokja raised his hand and flicked his forehead, hard.
Yoo Joonghyuk froze, taken aback.
Did he just fucking do that? Did—Did he just hit him?
"Joonghyuk-ssi," Kim Dokja said sternly. "Imagine getting my application. It wouldn't even make the screening process. And even if it somehow got through, you'd never pick me. HR and your employees would raise hell. And do you think I'll be taken seriously if the only reason I had made it so far was because the CEO vouched for me?"
"Like you said, good environment. Everyone is more likely to band together and ostracise me, and that will only leave me performing below what is expected. . .I already told you, I don't have any more good ideas. I've already given that one to you."
"It was just sitting and collecting dust in my head anyway," Kim Dokja shrugged. "I don't care about it."
"Liar," Yoo Joonghyuk hissed. "You were proud of it. You gave it a lot of thought and it means a lot to you. I can see it on your stupid face."
"You know what else means a lot to me?" Kim Dokja said, sardonic. "The sweet and sour fried tofu I made a while back. It's a great vegan op—Ack!"
Yoo Joonghyuk knocked his fist on Kim Dokja's head.
Dumbass!
"You idiot, you pathetic fool," Yoo Joonghyuk said frustrated. "You. . .You are unbelievable."
"Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi, when the sun goes up you won't even remember all of this," Kim Dokja waved it away. "Let me pour you a glass."
Yoo Joonghyuk needed that drink after all he had to deal with.
"To your future endeavours!" Kim Dokja said cheerfully.
"To making you mine," Yoo Joonghyuk said, clinking their glasses together in a toast.
"Eh?" Kim Dokja made a face. "Don't do that. Why would you say that?"
"It's my future endeavour," Yoo Joonghyuk said stubbornly.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Kim Dokja shook his head, disapproving.
There was some jarring sound blasting from somewhere.
Grimacing, he buried his face further into the pillow, hoping it would stop. But it didn't.
Yoo Joonghyuk heard a soft groan from next to him and he sympathised with that noise.
"What the fuck is that?" he heard a rather familiar, groggy voice said, very close to his ear.
Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes snapped open. Then he closed them immediately as the bright light attacked his poor eyes.
He focused on his other senses. He was lying down somewhere...soft, probably a bed.
There was someone behind him. The arm that was retracting away from his waist. And that was his phone that was ringing.
Yoo Joonghyuk slowly opened his eyes, just a fraction and squinted at his surroundings.
The person next to him on the bed had sat up and let out a drowsy mumble about something.
The bed creaked as the person got to their feet and plodded across the room.
Kim Dokja, Yoo Joonghyuk realised.
Blinking to adjust his vision, Yoo Joonghyuk tried to rememeber everything that had happened the previous night.
They went out for drinks and karaoke. They had a misunderstanding, then resolved it and continued enjoying their time. . .Then they left the place at three in the morning. . .Yoo Joonghyuk vaguely remembered Kim Dokja walking into a streetlight and him grabbing the man just in time.
They probably got into a taxi though he had no memory of that.
Yoo Joonghyuk looked around the room he was in.
He did not recognise it. He wouldn't ever stay in such a tiny, dingy hovel either.
How the fuck did he get here? And how did he get into bed with Kim Dokja?
Yoo Joonghyuk blinked.
He was fully clothed. He even had his belt and watch on. It was uncomfortable, now that he was aware and feeling it.
Kim Dokja was walking around the room and he was dressed in the clothes he was wearing last night too.
So they hadn't done anything. . . That's a little disappointing. Not even a little kiss?
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't remember any kiss happening.
He pushed himself up and rolled out of bed.
"Morning," he rasped, his throat aching. He should not have sung so much. Fuck. His head was throbbing. It would hit him in the afternoon, the stupid hangover. Goddamnit.
"I'm still trying to look for your phone," Kim Dokja mumbled, his voice groggy with sleep. "It's here somewhere. I can hear it. . .But I don't know where."
Yoo Joonghyuk could see that too.
It was a tiny room, so it couldn't have gone anywhere.
Kim Dokja was picking up a heavy, white blanket off the floor. It had probably belonged on the bed until they accidentally kicked it off in their sleep.
Yoo Joonghyuk looked at the bed he had just left.
It was a small, single bed. How had both of them managed to squeeze into that?
He glanced at Kim Dokja. He was pretty thin, they could have managed it if they were squashed right up against each other.
. . .And he did not remember any of that.
The universe was just fucking with him now, wasn't it?
"Aha!" Kim Dokja said triumphantly when he finally unearthed Yoo Joonghyuk's phone from his discarded coat lying in a crumpled heap on the floor.
"Thanks," Yoo Joonghyuk muttered and took the phone Kim Dokja was holding out.
He stared at the screen and hoped he hadn't heard the thing at all.
Kim Dokja was on a search for his own things.
Where the fuck was this anyway?
Yoo Joonghyuk steeled himself and answered the call.
His secretary's voice screamed back at him.
"Where the fuck are you, you fucking freak?"
Even Kim Dokja heard the woman's screams and whipped his head around in alarm.
"You were supposed to be here by now! And the driver said you weren't answering any of his fucking calls! You son of a bitch! Which tar pit did you jump into?"
Yoo Joonghyuk waved a hand to tell Kim Dokja that it was fine.
Kim Dokja didn't look very convinced, but he went back to what he was doing. Yoo Joonghyuk moved the phone from his ear to check the time. . .His secretary's anger was justified.
He was supposed to be back by now. Of course, she had gotten worried when he didn't answer a single call or message.
"I'm alright," Yoo Joonghyuk spoke finally and the woman on the other line let out a roar of frustration.
He was never going to hear the end of it, was he?
"You motherfucker! Where did you go? What were you doing last night?"
"Karaoke," Yoo Joonghyuk said.
"Karao—what?"
"Where are we?" Yoo Joonghyuk asked Kim Dokja who had found his phone.
"Ah, my hotel room," Kim Dokja said. "It's right behind the bar we went to yesterday."
When did they even get here?
"Address," Yoo Joonghyuk asked.
Even as he got the address from Kim Dokja, conveyed it to his secretary and asked her to arrange for his driver to come and pick him up in the new location, Yoo Joonghyuk realised his current situation.
He would have to do the walk of shame.
Damn it!
All he had was his coat, the clothes on his back, his phone and his wallet.
He couldn't even take a shower to freshen up. He didn't have his toothbrush either. And it was almost noon!
"Joonghyuk-ssi," Kim Dokja called and he looked up from his dark phone screen. "Do you mind if I use the shower first? I'm in a bit of a rush."
"Go ahead," Yoo Joonghyuk said. What else could he do in the shower anyway? He had no clothes, no towel, no nothing.
Why did he always end up a loser around Kim Dokja? Ugh!
Kim Dokja sure looked like he was in a rush. He was out of the bathroom in record time, almost fully dressed.
"Joonghyuk-ssi, you can use the bathroom now," Kim Dokja said, rubbing the towel over his head. "The hotel's put a toothbrush and toothpaste in the bathroom. I haven't used it, so you can use it."
Kim Dokja checked his phone charge and grimanced before he put it back and stuffed his old clothes into a little duffle bag.
"Oh," he said. "I haven't used the towel either, so you can have it. I usually carry my own towels. . .I don't think you can take a shower though. My clothes won't really fit you, I'm sorry."
Something about hearing that Kim Dokja had still thought about him, even if it was just him being considerate, made Yoo Joonghyuk relax.
"Are you running late?" he asked.
"Yes," Kim Dokja said ruefully. "I really hope I make it in time."
"Will you make it in time?"
Kim Dokja's silence was enough of an answer.
"I'll give you a ride," Yoo Joonghyuk said.
"No, that's alright, Joonghyuk-ssi," Kim Dokja replied. "I'll just. . .I might make it if I run."
Why couldn't this man just accept help when it was given?
Yoo Joonghyuk's head throbbed. Had something like this happened last night too?
He'd think about it later.
"Are you taking the subway?"
Kim Dokja nodded.
"When's your train?"
"One twenty-five."
"Don't," Yoo Joonghyuk sighed. "It's faster by car. Inner city, didn't you say? I was heading there too. You won't make it in time even if you leave right this second."
Kim Dokja's shoulders fell in defeat.
"Stop rushing and sit here. My driver's coming to get me," Yoo Joonghyuk said as he trudged to the bathroom.
"Thanks a lot, Joonghyuk-ssi," Kim Dokja said as he opened the bathroom door.
"Don't mention it."
Yoo Joonghyuk was sure his driver was cooking up his own misunderstandings about their current predicament. Yoo Joonghyuk's appearance dishevelled and a stranger he was dragging along with him.
He couldn't be bothered to correct all of that.
"I'll have to freshen up first," Yoo Joonghyuk told Kim Dokja once they were out on the road. "It won't take long."
"Take all the time you need, Joonghyuk-ssi. Don't mind me," said Kim Dokja.
Kim Dokja looked around the hotel suite with a wide eyes, a drastic change from his old hotel room.
"I forgot you were rich for a bit, Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi," he said.
What was that supposed to mean?
When he took a quick shower, dressed, brushed his teeth once again with his own toothbrush, and left the bathroom, he found Kim Dokja sitting on the couch by the window, duffle bag at his feet, eyes fixed on his phone, scrolling through something.
He was so engrossed in whatever he was doing that he didn't notice as Yoo Joonghyuk crossed the room and picked out a pair of socks.
Yoo Joonghyuk sat on the edge of the bed and pulled his socks on. Put on his shoes, and tied the shoelaces. Went back to the bathroom, and washed his hands. Came back out, combed his hair, put on his watch, and his suit.
They hadn't eaten anything, had they?
Yoo Joonghyuk called the front desk and placed an order in a hushed voice so that he wouldn't disturb Kim Dokja who was so in the zone, his eyebrows furrowed, eyes darting rapidly from side to side.
Was he reading something?
Yoo Joonghyuk went back the way he came and slowly sat down on the other end of the couch, watching Kim Dokja's subtle reactions.
"What is so interesting about it?" Yoo Joonghyuk said and Kim Dokja jolted in surprise.
"Joonghyuk-ssi," he gasped finally looking away from his phone. "What the hell's wrong with you? Why would you do that?"
"What did I do?" Yoo Joonghyuk said. "You were the one not paying attention to me."
Kim Dokja gave him an unimpressed scowl.
"I've ordered lunch. We'll leave after we eat. Is that alright?"
"Yes, that's fine by me," Kim Dokja nodded. "Thank you again, Joonghyuk-ssi."
They ate quickly and quietly. The fried rice was finished before they knew it and they were out of the room and in the car and on the road within half an hour.
"Give me your phone," Yoo Joonghyuk said and Kim Dokja turned away from the window he was looking out of.
"I'll give you my contact number."
"That's not necessary," said Kim Dokja.
When Yoo Joonghyuk frowned at him, he said, "We're not going to see each other after today anyway, Joonghyuk-ssi. I had a good time. And thank you for that."
To hell with it.
"Give me your phone," Yoo Joonghyuk said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Don't make me take it from you."
Kim Dokja had been holding his phone in his hands, it made it very easy for Yoo Joonghyuk to snatch it away.
"What's your password?" Yoo Joonghyuk asked.
"I'll unlock it," Kim Dokja siad timidly and Yoo Joonghyuk returned the phone to him.
He took the unlocked phone before Kim Dokja could change his mind and punched in his phone number.
"Contact me," he told the other man who nodded, but it was clear that he wasn't planning on ever doing it.
There was already another Yoo Joonghyuk in his contact list.
"You can just put a star next to your name, so I'll know it's you," Kim Dokja had scooted closer to him.
Yoo Joonghyuk did as he had said and punched in two asterisks next to his name.
"What are you doing?" Kim Dokja cried when Yoo Joonghyuk suddenly yanked his phone away and held it up.
"Making sure you won't just delete my number the second you step out of the car," Yoo Joonghyuk said, still holding his hands out of Kim Dokja's reach, setting his contact number as the emergency dial.
"And how are you going to do that?"
"I wouldn't tell you."
Kim Dokja could have grabbed the phone out of his hand if he had tried, but the man was trying to avoid excessive contact with him.
It pissed Yoo Joonghyuk off a little. They had shared a tiny bed the previous night. He could touch him a little.
Something about Kim Dokja was different though. He wasn't as unreadable as he was when he first met the man. Suppose all that drinking and talking had helped them get closer.
Kim Dokja said he would catch the train once they were in the heart of the city. He said it would barely take him half an hour from there.
Yoo Joonghyuk would have insisted, but then he realised that he would come off as creepy and let him off.
"Do not delete my number, Dokja-ssi," Yoo Joonghyuk called.
"I wouldn't dream of it, Joonghyuk-ssi," Kim Dokja said with a smile that said he was already thinking of doing it.
Yoo Joonghyuk knew that Kim Dokja wasn't looking forward to meeting him after today. But he still wanted to see the man.
He was pretty sure he was better than that other Yoo Joonghyuk anyway.
"Contact me if you ever need a drinking buddy again," Yoo Joonghyuk said.
Kim Dokja gave him a cheeky grin, bowed a little and then turned around, hurrying off down the road. Yoo Joonghyuk pulled up the window by his seat as his driver started the car again.
He had a few tasks to give his secretary once he reached home.
Uriel was rightfully furious when he turned up at home.
Yoo Joonghyuk raised his hand and shut her up before she could start. She did not like this very much and snapped at him anyway.
Once she was done with her lecture, Yoo Joonghyuk said, "Look into a few things for me."
"What things?" Uriel said waspishly.
"Minosoft," Yoo Joonghyuk listed out. "It's some gaming company apparently."
Uriel took note of the things on her phone, a little frown on her surprisingly young face.
"A man named Kim Dokja. Twenty nine, works for Minosoft."
"Kim Dokja?" Uriel sounded the name out in her mouth. ". . .Is that the man you were with last night?"
Yoo Joonghyuk nodded.
"You're not the kind to get attached to one-night stands, what—"
"Not a one-night stand," Yoo Joonghyuk said quickly. "We went out for Karaoke."
"That wasn't an innuendo or a little joke you were making for his sake?"
"What? No! This is not your stupid BL. We actually went to a karaoke, sang, drank a bit and went back," Yoo Joonghyuk said exasperatedly.
"To his hotel," Uriel pointed out.
"I was...inebriated," Yoo Joonghyuk said through gritted teeth.
"Yes. Something you never do. You're never this careless," Uriel glared at him. "Are you sure he didn't do anything to you? Take anything from you?"
"I already checked, nothing is missing," Yoo Joonghyuk said. "Look into him, see if he has anything to gain from playing me."
"Understood," Uriel sighed. "Anything else?"
". . .Yes," Yoo Joonghyuk said slowly. "Look into a Yoo Joonghyuk."
"You?"
"No, not me. Someone else. Yoo Joonghyuk, same birthday as mine, similar age as Kim Dokja, friends with Kim Dokja."
"You want me to look into your five year younger self?"
Yoo Joonghyuk levelled Uriel with a flat stare.
"Alright," Uriel shrugged, rolled her eyes and typed it into her phone.
"It's a different person," Yoo Joonghyuk stressed. "Someone who looks like me, apparently."
"Without the scar," he added. "Or my eye."
Uriel opened her mouth and then closed it with a frown.
". . .Your cousin, you mean?" she said. "He matches the description you've given."
Yoo Joonghyuk froze.
He had forgotten about that boy from his father's side, who shared the same name as him. . .He should be around twenty-eight, twenty nine now, shouldn't he? It had been years since he'd checked up on the kid. After he found out that he was doing well and was raising his sister just fine, he left it alone.
And Kim Dokja was pining after that idiot boy?
The hangover had started affecting him after Kim Dokja had left his side and now the headache was slowly starting to become unbearable.