It is quite literally forever until it is finally time to go home. Taehyun scribbles a few things on his yellow pad and collects his things from his workroom. He rushes to swipe the scribbled papers into his hands and he holds the pile closely against his chest to secure everything from falling.

He beeps his watch on the lock and the doors open swiftly. He feels the freezing air from the halls as he speeds to the elevators. Taehyun passes by his co-worker and greets him with a simple nod of the head.

The elevators ding and he walks in and presses the number for the lobby. Stifling a yawn, he eventually fails and his mouth opens wide as he groans tiredly.

He blinks the sleepiness from his eyes and proceeds with fast steps towards the breakroom where he sees Kai lying on the couch, his eyes are closed and his head bops rhythmically. His legs are crossed over and his shoes are discarded next to the blue couch, he hums softly to what Taehyun assumes is a song stuck in his head.

"Are you ready to go, Mr. Kang?" Kai speaks and Taehyun blinks in surprise.

"How did you know I was here?"

Kai opens one eye and smiles cheekily. "It'll be odd if I couldn't tell," he whispers. He opens his other eye and sucks in a breath through his teeth, yawning as well. "Are you," he asks "Ready, that is?"

Taehyun swallows and nods, bunching the paper along with his yellow pad close to his chest. The pen in the front pocket of his lab coat presses against his body. He sets the papers on the round table and sheds his white coat meanwhile Kai shoots up and slips his feet into his shoes.

He stands beside Taehyun and offers his arm. Taehyun looks at him and tilts his head in question. "For the coat, Mr. Kang."

"It's fine."

"Let me." Kai insists kindly. "Please."

Taehyun can hardly think past his beating heart. He chucks his coat onto Kai's arm and turns over, his cheeks as red as a beet. "Thank you," he mutters. They leave the breakroom; On their way, they run into Soobin who is to stay at the lab for a few more hours to overview certain things that are not in Taehyun's job description.

Kai stops Soobin for a light chat, not mentioning anything about Yeonjun or the trip. They bid Soobin goodbye and a good night before leaving the lab's premises. "Your keys?" Kai questions.

"Are you driving?"

"Of course."

He passes the car keys over to Kai and after settling down in the passenger seat, he finally has time to process that Kai is back. After three long months, Kai is finally back.

They drive for only a few minutes with Kai's chipper whistling providing a joyful vibe, he gives a signal and turns the wheel exiting the main road. They reach a small sushi spot and Kai parks on the side of the sidewalk.

He unclicks his seatbelt and readies himself to unclick Taehyun's seatbelt as well because the pretty scientist doesn't seem to plan on doing so himself. "Are you really coming to Paris?" Taehyun pops the question he had been dying to ask.

Kai's face relaxes and he backs away from Taehyun. "Do you not want me to?" he returns with a question. His voice is more calm than excited now.

"No! No... I do." Taehyun sighs; not wanting Kai to think that he is unwelcomed because that is not at all true. The very opposite. "You are the only one I want there with me."

A proud smile sits on Kai's smug face. "The only one?" he challenges. "What an honor."

"Shut up." Taehyun unbuckles his seat belt and opens his side of the door. Storming out leaving Kai to laugh at the dramatic act. "Oh, you adore me," he argues.

"Am not." Taehyun retaliates and Kai opens the door to the restaurant. "Brats first." he shows Taehyun the way ahead, ushering him to walk in.

"It's ladies first," Taehyun corrects him. "Idiot."

He catches a whiff of something umami and his mouth begins to salivate. His stomach rumbles, he hasn't eaten since that morning. It smells delectable and he already thinks of what he is going to order. "Table for two."

The hostess, dressed in black and blue uniform and a short apron taps a few things on his tablet. "Reservation?" She asks in a smooth, sweet tone.

Taehyun unintentionally tucks under Kai's chin while his back is pressed against Kai's chest. He turns his head around slightly. "I wasn't aware we needed a-"

"Yes." Kai cuts him off, and even while doing so he is still plenty polite. He takes Taehyun's hand in such a natural manner; Taehyun can't seem to realize they are locking hands until he looks down. "It should be under the name Kamal."

"Yes, I see it." the hostess says after he few seconds. She looks up and smiles widely. "Right this way." she guides them to a table far back and right near a wide, tall window overviewing the street.

She gives them menus and leaves after giving them a courtesy bow. "Thank you." Kai returns a subtle head nod.

"Enjoy your evening."

...........................

After dinner, with their bellies full. Kai begins driving to Taehyun's house. It's past midnight and the roads are almost empty aside from a few stray cars, motorcycles, and emergency vehicles.

The window is halfway open, emitting a nice summer breeze on Taehyun's face. He's sleepy after today; the calm drive and soft humming of Kai make it even harder not to fall asleep.

"Are you tired?" he hears Kai ask after having swallowed his yawn for the fifth time. He shakes his head.

Kai laughs. "We have about 20 minutes more until we arrive," he says. "Please, get some rest." he plays with the toothpick from the restaurant, placing it between his lips.

"I'm not tired." Taehyun blinks slowly, resting his head on the glass window. His eyelids feel heavy. Though he said he wasn't going to, he ended up giving in and closing his eyes. Immediately, the burn stops and he sighs contently.

Kai turns on the radio on low, a slow ballad plays in the background. The engine hums lowly and the breeze from the window tugs on their hair, playing with it.

It is a blissful moment; Taehyun thinks before he yawns one more time and slips into a short yet phenomenal sleep.

.............................

"Mr. Kang." Kai tries waking Taehyun once more but honestly, if he hasn't woken up this far, Kai thinks he must need the sleep. He threads his fingers in Taehyun's hair, admiring his face outside of their phones.

The screen doesn't do much justice to his delicate beauty. Kai leaves the car as silently as he can and closes the door gently. He walks to the other side of the car and carefully opens the door Taehyun is leaning on.

He catches him before he falls to the side and slips his hands under the other's legs and back. He makes sure he is fully secured in his arms before straightening up and closing the door with his leg.

He approaches the door's front; going up the stairs he used to sleep on. What he once remembered as cold is now damp and warm. It's weird to note the change in the seasons, the grass that was green around the house is now a pale light green, almost yellow.

Kai fishes the set of keys from his pocket with great effort while balancing Taehyun in his hold. The scientist sleeps soundly, unaware of what's happening around him.

Finally, Kai manages to open the front door. He walks in and makes a beeline for the bedroom. The door to Taehyun's room is open so he nudges it to open wider and skillfully places Taehyun on the big, messy bed.

He unties the laces of Taehyun's shoes, prying them off as well as the socks. He stands up from his crunching position and enters the bathroom where he grabs a hand towel and drenches it under the faucet of the sink.

Then, he comes back with the soaked towel in his hand and cleans down; wiping Taehyun's feet, and cooling them down before he tucks him with the airy blanket and leaves the room after dimming the light to a full darkness.

Kai finds the AC system and turns it on to a cooling temperature. After that, he takes a cold, hard look at the living room; shaking his head disapprovingly. "Seriously, Kang Taehyun?" he mutters to himself.

He collects the mess of papers on the floors, uncovering the tiles under the clutter. He examines them and after seconds of thinking he determines that he is not sure whether they are important or not. So, he piles them together and puts the heavy stack on the dining table. He picks up a few wrappers that Taehyun had failed to throw into the bin and does so himself.

Minutes by minutes the apartment begins looking more like the inside of a human house rather than the workspace of a mad clockmaker in old book fairytales.

Kai swipes the tiles clean and damps a paper towel before cleaning the table's surface. He enters the kitchen and throws away anything that looks either too old, too used, or too out of date.

When everything looks decent enough and his movements become too lethargic, he lays on the couch and thinks about what Mr. Bang had said.

"I do not know if Taehyun-Shii understands just how important of a person he is. Maybe it is due to him being so head first in his work, I don't think he knows to what extent he needs to be protected."

Kai thinks about the meaning behind those words. Surely, it's not like Kang Taehyun is oblivious to how much other countries desire his abilities and mind. he has done what many could not achieve, even Kai who has no experience or knowledge in Taehyun's field can sense that he is a big deal in the medical world.

And in the world regardless.

The research had, of course, reached every news channel, every part of the world, every hospital. Research that Kang Taehyun was a main part of.

Along with net worth, being this valuable ought to put anyone in an endangered position. The fact that Taehyun has no idea why a bodyguard is needed by his side at all times is an indicator that he in fact, is completely oblivious.

How can a person so smart be so dumb? With that thought, Kai drifts to sleep.

............................

They tip-toed around each other. It started during breakfast, or rather right before it. Kai minds his business while singing to the egg frying in the pan. "Voulez vous... Ah-ha!" he flips the egg. "Hmm.. hmm... Ah-ha!"

Taehyun enters the kitchen, his face covered in sheet prints and his hair sticking everywhere. "Is that the only part of the song you are familiar with?" he asks in a drowsy whisper.

"Hmm." Kai nods while Taehyun takes a seat on the kitchen island and judges his cooking with a focused face. "Do you want an omelet?" he turned around and flashed a warm smile that seemed to melt Taehyun in his seat. A few seconds pass. "Mr. Kang?"

Taehyun is forced out of his trance. "Sure, yeah. Pancakes sound good." he hops off the chair and walks off towards the living room. He tilts his head adorably. "Did you clean in here?" he asks with a disbelieving tone.

"Well," Kai salts the omelet to taste and slides it from the pan to the plate, he throws a few pieces of chopped green onions and a dollop of cream cheese. The toaster dings and a couple of bread slices are teleported from the appliance to the countertop. "Well, it looked like shit in here-"

"Hey!" Taehyun exclaims, offended.

"Sorry, Mr. Kang." Kai apologizes, amused. "I thought it'd be nice if I tidied up a little. I hope you don't mind," he says with less bluntness and that seems to settle Taehyun. He rolls his eyes and enters the kitchen again. "Can you cut these apples?" Kai points at the cutting board while he cracks a second round of eggs into the frying pan. "Be careful, the knife is sharp."

"Yes, I reckon being the one who bought it I'd know it's sharp." Taehyun witfully replies.

"Speak nicely unless you want sugar in your eggs," Kai warns

Taehyun gasps. "You wouldn't, Puppy."

"Try me." Kai smiles and steals a piece of sliced apple and crunches it between his teeth. The sweetness explodes in his mouth. "It's good," he says with a mouthful; his voice slightly muffled.

He takes another one and feeds Taehyun a slice out of his hand. They eat in silence while both note the rising tension between them. Suddenly it's more evident that they haven't really gotten the chance to hug, or touch yet, for that matter.

Kai takes a deep breath and listens to the pan sizzling while Taehyun walks around him and washes his hands in the sink. His palms begin to sweat and the heat from the pan makes him want to fan himself.

Taehyun dries his hands and steals a glance at Kai who looks absolutely illegal in just a black hoodie and jeans. He takes the plate from the counter and sits on the island, drowning his wild thoughts with herb omelet and a big gulp of orange juice. He sees Kai's back as the other fix himself a plate as well.

Broad and firm and... Taehyun can't bother to care about the omelet when Kai looks like- that.

"Did your contract already start?" he asks, catching Kai off guard. "Ahh... "Kai freezes with the plate in his hand. "No, why?"

"Do you just not want to kiss me? Or like... what is going on? You're not on the clock." he reminds him.

"Oh." Kai stammers. "I-"

"Well?"

"Well," Kai parrots. "I left, quite in a rush three months ago, so I- well- we've never gotten the chance to talk about... "he trails off. "What we- are." he sets his plate down and bites his lips. He leans on the counter and toys with his fingers; mostly looking down.

"We are together are we not?" Taehyun crosses his hands on his chest and grits his teeth. "Perhaps we are not." he pouts his lips and holds the fork tight in his palm. "Suit yourself... "he says childishly. "It's not like I wanted to be with you anyways, so... suck it." he stands up and stomps to his room without giving Kai a chance to react.

The bodyguard's lips part as he stands there, baffled. He takes a few deep breaths before following Taehyun, because spending so much time with the scientist 24 hours a day, 7 days a week had taught him that Taehyun always wants to be followed even when he acts like a stubborn kid.

He knocks on Taehyun's door. "Hey, Mr. Kang." he sighs. "Listen, I didn't mean it that way. I missed you so much, and I don't want to risk ruining what we have to satisfy my urges." his voice is earnest and deep. "Kissing you is all I can think about, truly," he admits. "Please, just open the door now."

"Go away!" Taehyun yells, throwing a tantrum. To be completely candid, Kai is convincing enough for him to want to open the door but there is also something in hearing Kai begging for it that makes his heart leap to his throat.

His whole body shivers. "Mr. Kang... "Kai calls gently. "Come on, I don't like fighting with you."

God, Kai can fight with him for ages and Taehyun would still melt at the sound of his calm voice. "Please? What do you say... ?"

Taehyun opens the door and his expression makes Kai almost... just almost break into a bubbling laughter. His eyes are squinted and his eyebrow arches upwards in a comical way.

He puts his hand on his waist and stares Kai down. "Stop laughing." he commends.

Kai clears his throat and shakes his head. "I wasn't laughing," he says but his strangled voice betrays him. He coughs in an attempt to hide it but it's futile.

"You were too, you big liar," Taehyun complains. "God, will you take me seriously for once," he says with the prints on his face from his blanket still showing, his eyes puffy from his night-time sleep and his hair looking like a bird's nest.

"I will be as serious as a... "Kai thinks with his eyes rolled up. "More than something that is known to be very serious."

The hard expression on Taehyun's face softens and his big eyes relax and lose some of their dullness in favor of a morning shine reflecting the yellow lighting in the hall. His hands fall slowly from his chest to the sides of his body and he soon enough gets lost in the sheer presence of Kai.

His hair is still in a ponytail since last night only this morning it's slightly messy with a few lost strands falling on his forehead.

Kai takes a few steps forward and takes Taehyun's hand. He swipes his thumbs over Taehyun's palm and locks their fingers together. "I'm sorry if I made it seem like I didn't want to be with you... "he swallows. "I wanted to make sure you wanted it. It has been long since we've seen each other and I didn't want to assume I'll be back and everything would stay the same."

"I still want you."

Kai kisses Taehyun's forehead and Taehyun tucks under his chin and breaks apart their hands in favor of circling his arms around Kai's waist; tightening the hold. "I want you too," he whispers soundly and pecks Taehyun on his lips, then once more.

"Will you go on a date with me tonight, then?" Kai offers with a bashful, shy smile.

"If you stop laughing at me then I will."

.................................

His suitcase is half-packed. He had gotten the uniform from the lab, not what he was used to but he had seen the security guards in the lab wearing the same thing so he assumes it's not all that weird since he is now a lab employee and not under Yeonjun's company.

He clicks his belt around his waist and loads his gun; inserting it in its designated spot on the hoops of the belt.

The uniform is jet black; not so different than the one he had before. Vest, gloves, the whole package.

It somehow fits him more than his previous gear. There is a set of earbuds and a small mic but he reckons it will only be necessary once they land in Paris.

"Do you have everything?" Beomgyu asks from the couch as soon as Kai walks out of the bathroom, fully clothed with his suitcase rolling beside him. He plays a round of LoL, paying no mind to Kai but somehow still asking him if he is finished packing.

His attention span is something to worship.

Kai nods although Beomgyu doesn't look at him. "Yes."

"Is this a good idea, Kai?" Beomgyu shows his concern. "I mean, you were stuffing yourself with pizza just a week ago, and now what?"

"I have to go." the words easily fall from Kai's lips.

Beomgyu shrugs. "I don't know," he and Taehyun have become somewhat close during the time Kai was away. But that doesn't mean he fully trusts him.

Taehyun can be unpredictable and maybe it's due to the fact that he has been working since he was a teen. He never learned how to grow up and while Kai can deal with his changing mood and childish behavior, Beomgyu worries it might take a toll on him like it did the last time.

Granted, that was a different situation, but he hates seeing his friend down, and Europe has been doing Kai well. It's a shame he had to cut his trip short.

Truth be told, Beomgyu had thought Kai was done with his job. With his skillset, he would have been able to find something just as rewarding that was not as risky as his previous occupation.

"I just want what's best for you."

Kai comes over to the couch and ruffles his friend's hair. "I know~" he smiles. "You shouldn't worry too much about me. It's only a month, too." he reminds him.

Beomgyu ends up winning the round and he discards the controller next to him and turns around. "Damn," he runs his hand over his hair and smiles mischievously. "That is one form-fitting uniform."

"Yeah?" Kai flexes his muscles, posing like one of those green statues.

Beomgyu's smile falters and he gags. "Okay, stop it," he says, disgusted. Kai laughs and throws a used tissue at his friend who shirks and cusses him out. He jumps from the couch and chases Kai around the small living room.

"Get your germs away from me!"

...............................

It's a chilly morning despite it being summer. They have to wake at 4 AM to make it to their flight. Kai parks the car next to the airport's gate and takes their luggage from the trunk.

It's not yet sunrise, but the sun is starting to peak over the horizon, painting the street in dark blue.

He closes the trunk and sets their suitcases on the sidewalk. Then, Kai opens Taehyun's door and the other inhales deeply and groggily, he steps outside of the car and lifts his glasses to rub on his eyes.

At the airport, they run into Yeonjun and Soobin. Kai had hoped they would.

See, things had become tense between him and his former superior. After he had completely ignored Yeonjun's instructions, put him and everyone on their team at risk of losing their job and worst.

For that, his and Yeonjun's years-long mentorship-turned-friendship had fizzled. Yeonjun takes one look at him and lines his lips straight in displeasure. He converses with Soobin, adamant about giving Kai zero to no attention.

They haven't spoken in three months. And yes, it was Kai's fault but Yeonjun is partly responsible for blocking Kai entirely out of his life.

What Kai had done was wrong but he had his reasons and Yeonjun couldn't seem to understand that.

"When's our flight?" Taehyun asks in a sleepy voice.

"5:53," Kai says. He, Soobin, Yeonjun, and Taehyun all move ahead to where the rest of the team is. They go up a flight of stairs then they board a moving line and cross a bridge until they reach their gate.

The team consists of twenty people, roughly. From what Kai can see. Some of the faces he recognizes from the time he spent in the lab; some are new to him but not a lot.

He, Yeonjun, and the rest of the security team are held back due to needing to check their fire-arm license and other technically that come with traveling as a security guard.

Kai knows how it goes, more or less. "I'll be back in about 30 minutes." he lets Taehyun know before leaving.

Taehyun's eyes follow him frantically "Where to?" he questions, holding Kai by his belt so he won't be able to go.

"They just want to see my license and forms. It's procedure," he reassures. "I'll be back in no time."

Taehyun sighs. "Okay, hurry up."

"I will."

......................

They board the plane, business class. Kai has never been in business class before. He finds it fascinating.

He watches Moana on the way, singing the songs alongside the movie and even ordering ramen that was surprisingly tasty.

"Hey, I'm trying to sleep." Taehyun spares him a sharp glance. "And you're not even hitting the right notes."

"That is an incredibly rude thing to say to me."

He doesn't sleep much; he knows he can and that would be perfectly fine as they are not in Paris yet and his job begins strictly when they land.

Still, he takes no risks, and having Taehyun at the seat right next to him makes it more his responsibility to make sure nothing strange happens.

..........................

The first thing they do after landing is take a large company bus to the hotel they will be staying in for the whole month. Jet-lagged and it being a long drive, Kai ends up drifting in and out of sleep until they finally arrive.

Soobin and Mr. Bang check in with the entire team, and they hand out room cards in the lobby where they lounge in the meantime.

"This is your room." Soobin hands out a silver card for Taehyun. "And this is yours." he hands Kai a different card. "Your rooms are right next to each other, just if anything happens."

Taehyun takes the card slowly; it's made of metal and is cooling to the touch. He wasn't aware they'd be sleeping separately but he thinks for a few seconds and then it becomes obvious why the lab would provide two rooms.

When he spoke to Mr. Bang, he said he was looking for the safest places to resign during their delegation. And as they walked into the hotel, Taehyun noticed more security than service workers.

He figures that just like inside the lab; Kai's presence next to him is not as important in the hotel as it is outside of it.

"No weird stuff, yes?" Soobin warns. Taehyun isn't sure what he's talking about, but Kai apparently does.

Kai takes his key card and smiles tightly. "Wouldn't think of it."

....................................

Taehyun blinks in confusion. He squares his fists and puckers his lips. He stands at the front of his door; late at night. They dined dinner at the hotel's dining room and later they finished off with dessert and late-night coffee before going back to their dorms.

"Kai, there is nobody here."

"I know."

"So?"

"It's against guidelines," Kai says whilst glancing down at Taehyun's lips. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kang. I really can't," he says and it seems as if he is regretful, but not about to cave in. He takes a deep breath, to calm himself down and repress his urge to capture Taehyun's lips in his.

"Maybe just a tiny one?" Taehyun tries to negotiate. But Kai closes his eyes and shakes his head. "There are cameras, all over the place."

Taehyun's shoulders fall and he nods his head slowly. "It's okay, I understand.... goodnight, Kai." he gives Kai a small smile but the dark-haired bodyguard stops him from closing the door. Taehyun looks at him with an innocent-looking expression.

"Come here," he whispers. "I need to tell you something." he signals Taehyun to tilt his ear forward. Kai leans over to seemingly whisper Taehyun something, or so that is what the cameras are catching.

In reality, he blocks the view with his hand on the door frame and gives Taehyun a soft kiss on his pink cheek before leaning back. "Goodnight, Mr. Kang."

..................................

At around 2 AM, Kai gets a call that wakes him up from his sweet sleep. The pillows are fluffed to the max, the sheets are clean and perfectly smooth. The AC is working hard to fight the heat of the night, he fell asleep in no time.

But Taehyun hasn't. Kai swipes right and accepts the call from his client. "Why are you not asleep?"

Silence.

"Mr. Kang?"

"Can you talk to me? ... for only a little, I promise."

The requests throw Kai on a loop but he accepts it without much thought. "Of course," he replies almost automatically. It appears to be impossible to deny Kang Taehyun what he wants. "What about?"

He hears rustling. On the other side, Taehyun slides down the door of his room and folds his legs while sitting on the luxurious silver carpet. He shrugs, although Kai can't see him.

He hugs his legs to his stomach and opens his sleep journal. "Anything," he says loud enough for Kai to hear through the door and he begins scribbling with messy, cursive writing about the nightmare he had.

He wonders if it will ever get better.

Kai taps on the door and hums. "Well, are you nervous about tomorrow?"

"No really," Taehyun answers with ease. "I know the research like the palm of my hand. Although that is not true, many and most people do not remember what their hand looks like and how their patterns look." he blabbers. "Regardless, this is my life's work. There is nothing they could ask me that I won't an answer for."

"You can still be nervous."

"I'm not."

Kai smiles and locks his hands behind his back and he leans on the door. "There are going to be a lot of cameras and press," he tells Taehyun as if he doesn't know.

More rustling. "They don't intimidate me much," he says in typical Kang Taehyun fashion. Nothing touches him, or so he likes people to think. "And you will be there as well." he closes his journal.

Leo's face flashes in his mind and he takes a few deep breaths and stands up to turn on the big light as the small lamp does nothing to scare away his fear. He is possessed by a strong wave of feeling and an unexpected urge to see Kai. "Right?"

"For the whole thing, yes," Kai confirms.

Another set of knocks makes him slightly concerned. "Yes?" he responds.

"Can I see you for a second, Puppy?"

"Is everything alright?" Kai asks.

"I just want to see you."

Kai's heart fills with contentment "You don't have to ask for permission, Mr. Kang, You are free to do whatever you please." he gets up from the comfortable bed, immediately feeling the chill of the powerful AC. He slips into the hall.

Taehyun's door unlocks and opens a sliver, showing Taehyun's tired face. "Have you gotten any sleep at all?" Kai's eyes scan Taehyun's figure, concern coats his features.

"A little." Taehyun drops to a crouching position and Kai follows him.

"What is wrong? Are you feeling sick?" he brings a hand to press against Taehyun's forehead but he is not abnormally warm. Taehyun shakes his head. "So tired, I can't seem to fall sleep," he explains.

He buries his head in his arms and closes his eyes; yawning.

"What can I do, Mr. Kang?" Kai immediately jumps to help. "I can ring the kitchen to bring you some warm milk."

"Yes, that sounds nice." he agrees but his eyelids already pull down; feeling safe in Kai's presence. He's so tired he could probably sleep all bunched up on the floor.

"Should I bring you to your bed?"

Taehyun shakes his head. "No, not there." he protests.

"Okay." Kai pats his back. "Do you want to lay here then?" he asks but Taehyun already sprawls over the carpet right next to the door and he is too sleep-deprived, he ends up falling asleep right there and then.

"Are you going to stay here?" Taehyun asks sleepily. He looks up at Kai with hopeful eyes that expect a negative response.

Kai nods.

"Why?" Taehyun closes his eyes; relieved but confused. "It's not in your job description to stand near my door... not anymore." his muffled tone is endearing to Kai, and he looks down at the bundled figure on the floor and it once again dawns on him that he had never met such a strange person before Taehyun.

Who feels more comfortable on the floor than they do on the luxurious beds of the hotel? While he doesn't understand, he also doesn't need to. "My job description is whatever you wish it to be, after all."

Silence. Kai wonders if Taehyun has already fallen asleep. He peeks into the room and regrets not having told Taehyun to bring a blanket from his room when he is awake enough to do so. He figures there is no harm in entering his client's room and fetching a blanket for him.

If Mr. Kang catches a cold, it'll be Kai's fault and he should at all times avoid the possibility of Mr. Kang hurting or injuring himself.

That includes a cold.

He drapes a blanket over Taehyun and slips a pillow under his head before returning to his post by the door, only now it is open a jar, showing a part of Taehyun's legs from inside the room.

For the rest of the night, Kang Taehyun sleeps soundly like a log while Kai stands outside; not waking up even once until it is time for them to leave for the dining room to have breakfast.

Kai does sit-ups to hopefully wake himself up, he looks at his wristwatch and slowly opens the room door. "Mr. Kang," he whispers, nudging Taehyun's shoulder.

"Leave me alone... "Taehyun snatches his shoulder back and rolls over. "Let me sleep," he says in his sleep.

"I'd love to, but we need to be downstairs in twenty minutes."

"No!" Taehyun scoots further and pulls the blanket over his head as a sign of rebellion.

Kai sighs. "Mr. Kang."

"Shhhh." Taehyun shushes him. He stretches his limbs on the carpet and his figure slowly turns into a starfish slumped on the floor. It's quite an entertaining sight. "Let me sleep, Puppy."

"Mr. Kang. Wake up, please." Kai requests. "If not, I might need to call Soobin and I know for a fact he has a special way of waking you up."

That seems to work because Taehyun shivers and slowly uncovers the blanket from his face and gives Kai a cold side glare for a few long moments. "I hate you." he groans; involuntarily remembering the time he woke up drenches in ice water with Soobin smiling at him from above.

Chilling.

"Twenty minutes, Mr. Kang. I'll be right here when you are done."

.....................................

Something Kai did not expect that morning was for Yeonjun to approach him and tell him that they needed to talk. He puts the muffin he was about to eat on hold and follows his senior to the hall outside of the dining area.

He stands in front of the glass doors while Yeonjun is facing back to them. That way, he has eyes on Taehyun even if he is not fully there. "What is it, Hyung?"

"It's Yeonjun to you."

Kai recoils. "... Okay. What did you want to talk about?" he asks for the purpose of finishing their conversation as fast as possible so he can return to his post beside Taehyun.

"I don't want to work with you." Yeonjun coldly says. There are no remnants of his supporting senior left, it seems. Had he screwed it up that bad? "I told Mr. Bang that, but he said if there is no you, there is no Taehyun, and without Taehyun-Shii, there is no delegation. So-" he raises his hand and breaths deep. "Let me just say this, if you ever go against my orders, I will do anything in my power to make sure you never get a job in this field again. Not to mention, if you do anything, anything at all that goes against guidelines, I will report you and have you fired. Understand?"

Kai's eyes widen in surprise and he looks at Yeonjun; trying to understand if he is serious or joking. When he finds that his senior is in fact, 100 percent serious his face falls. "That's not funny."

"I'm not joking, Kai. One mistake- one slip-up and I'm reporting back to Mr. Bang. I need this trip to go perfectly, and if that means it goes on without you, then so be it." with that, he leaves Kai alone in the hall; rendered speechless and hurt not only from the thought of his longtime friend not having any trust in him but they have always talked about working a job together.

It never happened though, their schedules were always clashing and Yeonjun did fewer jobs than Kai the older he got. Now that their chance is right there, Yeonjun no longer wants to work with him.

More than that, it sounded like he was hoping for Kai to slip up so that he could have something that would halt his work.

He didn't think his action would cause such a rift in their relationship but clearly, he was wrong because Yeonjun no longer wants anything to do with him.

Kai composes himself before opening the glass doors and walking into the dining area again, this time in a fallen mood and a sense of thick guilt. Like he has something to apologize about. But he had apologized numerous times and it'll probably never be enough.

What more does Yeonjun want? For him to drop to his knees and beg for forgiveness? Because he hasn't done anything wrong.

Truly.

Who knows what might have happened if he had listened to his superiors that day? Taehyun would have never spoken to him again, that is for sure. The lab would fall apart after spending time, money, and effort on the research only for it to blow up.

And for what? To feed the ego of his seniors?

Still, he can't help feeling both hurt and sorry.