if you were to ask, how's the atmosphere between mark and donghyuck, it would be a lie if mark said it's fine.

it's not like the two of them are awkward with each other but it's about mark. every time donghyuck will come near him, he can always feel himself heat up, blush, and his heart beats twice as fast.

he thought he can always act so cocky and confident in front of him but one glance from donghyuck or just by looking at him through his window and staring at him from afar, almost immediately, he can feel his knees go weak and it's not healthy for him.

speaking of which, mark finally snapped out from his thoughts when he suddenly heard a knock on his door.

he fixed his posture before clearing his throat, "yes, come in." he told.

the person behind the door soon opened and the person that has been running in his mind for the past hours has revealed himself.

a smile instantly made its way to mark's lips once he saw his secretary entering his office. it feels like an instinct at this point.

donghyuck failed to notice this  though, as he was too busy looking at his clipboard while walking closer to the superior's table. "i was informed that you're going to have a lunch meeting with mr. kim this afternoon." the secretary said, reading mark's schedule on his clipboard.

"noted." mark said, almost stuttering to say that one simple word, before he nodded and gave the younger a smile. "that's going to be in an hour, so i'll get ready." 

donghyuck nodded, giving the superior a bow before turning his heel around. but at the same time, mark springs himself up from his seat.

"uh donghyuck..." he chases the younger, that is almost at his door, with his words.

the younger turned his head around, "yes." he said before mark can even tell him what he was supposed to say. "yes, you can bring me there."

this made mark immediately avert his gaze away as by now, he can tell donghyuck had already seen the blush creeping up on his cheeks. how does he know what goes on inside my head? mark thought to himself.

the act immediately earned a smirk from the younger.

"o-okay..." mark stuttered but still attempt to maintain his cool, "i'll go to your office once i'm ready."

he heard a small chuckle from the latter before the door finally closes. in an instant, he lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"gosh, what's wrong with me." mark brushed his fingers through his hair as he took his coat.

that's what happens every time donghyuck comes anywhere near him. he felt nervous and always feels this tingling feeling inside of him.

———

when donghyuck finally typed out the few last words on the computer screen, he instantly leaned back on his chair to rest his upper body.

although there are a few people inside the office that has gone out to eat their lunch, there are still a few of his colleagues who decided to wait a little later and just continue what they're doing.

"hey, want to eat lunch first?" doyoung peaked his head to ask the taller in front of him.

"yeah sure, i'll just finish these last ones here." johnny said, eyes not leaving his computer screen.

doyoung nodded as a reply. he stood up and was about to ask sungchan, that was just sitting beside johnny if he wants to join but he wasn't in his seat already. he looked around confused not until his eyes landed on donghyuck table.

he chortles before shaking his head. he just continued cleaning his desk and let the younger be.

walking out of his office, mark looked down at his wristwatch to check the time and sighed after knowing that he's not too late for the said time of the meet-up.

although he still have some time to spare, he still decided to come a little early to the place, so he immediately scurried his way towards his secretary's office to pick him up.

just as he was about to walk near the younger's table, he saw a tall figure standing just in front of it.

"hey..." sungchan starts as he leaned down.

"oh, hi!" donghyuck peaked up from his seat and greeted the younger in front of him with a smile, "what's up?"

the taller brought a hand on his nape before he awkwardly rubbed it, "well, i was just wondering if you're free this lunch?" sungchan asked, "you know, if you want to eat with me—and with doyoung and johnny hyung too..."

"oh, for lunch..." donghyuck trails off, before looking around.

right before he can even open his mouth, a voice was heard not too close from the taller, which made both of their heads to turn.

"donghyuck, are you ready?" mark said, standing just at the entrance of their office.

this made the younger spring himself from his seat, "i-i am..." he replied before grabbing his phone, a small notebook with a pen, and his coat. but as he can even walk completely in front of the superior, he ruffled sungchan's hair first before saying, "i have to accompany mr. lee in a meeting today. maybe next time." he giggles.

of course, mark saw this act. you don't how much he's controlling himself not to roll his eyes and just drag the younger out of the office by himself.

as the two soon disappeared from their sight, sungchan walked back to his table with his head hung low.

"you know donghyuck is a busy man." johnny said as he breathes out a laugh. he finally finished what he was doing and is just now cleaning his desk.

doyoung, too, saw this and didn't even dare to hold back his small laugh. it's already clear to them that the taller has feelings for the secretary but they're just waiting for sungchan to say it himself.

"i was just wondering if he wants to eat with us." he told, unintentionally pouting, "it's been so long since we last ate lunch together."

"you miss him?" doyoung asked in a teasing way.

"obviously." the younger mindlessly replied, but as soon as he registered what he just said, he looked up with wide eyes, "wait what—"

but before he can even defend himself, johnny and doyoung are already looking at him with a teasing look. he already knew he's going to suffer with a lot of teasing from them the whole lunch.

———

the drive towards the meeting place is oddly quiet. donghyuck even tried striking up small talks with the older, although mark never ignored him or anything, he'll just get a small yes or a hum from him.

he decided to not think about it anymore and just looked out the window until they arrived at the place.

not too long after that and they already made it in front of the restaurant. the ceo's driver just dropped them at the entrance and decided to park the car himself.

when the two found themselves at the entrance, a hostess greeted them inside. and it seems like they already recognized mark as they were immediately escorted towards the reserved table.

they instantly saw mr. kim waiting for them at the table. he perked up from his seats when he matched eyes with the ceo and stretched his hands out to shake hands with mark. 

"good afternoon." mark greeted while donghyuck gave him a bow before they sat down.

after they all settled down, mr. kim ordered for them before they start the meeting.

their discussion soon started with mr. kim pulling out his laptop and, as usual, donghyuck took care of the notes while mark is busy making important conversations with mr. kim. throughout their meeting. their topic is circled around the sales and mostly the concerns about the product. 

donghyuck thought mr. kim is a new name and face to him. but as the meeting went on, he found out that he was the one who was in charge of the sales in the company and the one who was the speaker in the last meeting. he didn't know why he didn't recognize him at first. maybe because he was too busy putting his attention on someone that day.

just then, mr. kim excused himself for a minute to go to the bathroom, leaving donghyuck and mark at the table.

while waiting, donghyuck took this time to take a bite of his pasta that mr. kim ordered for them. "their pasta tastes good!" he makes a sound, looking at the older beside him for approval. yet all he got was a small nod and reply from mark, enough to let the younger know that he heard him.

the older was too busy doing something on his ipad. this immediately caused donghyuck to let out a small groan as his lips cluelessly formed into a pout. he's been trying to make a conversation with mark ever since they were in the car, but he'll just get a small reply or just a mere hum from him.

once mr. kim was back, donghyuck instantly noticed how mark set aside his ipad and give his full focus on mr. kim. he didn't even hide the fact that he was ignoring him! donghyuck thought.

"so as i was saying.." mr. kim started, working back on his laptop to talk about where they last ended.

while mark is busy making important talks and nodding with his statement, donghyuck already dropped his pen on the table before reaching down for mark's thighs.

he purposely landed his hands close to his member so he can get a reaction from the older. and he successfully did. for the first time this hour, mark finally laid his eyes on him, even if it's just a second.

"so as you see here," mr. kim suddenly said, turning his laptop around to show the ceo a chart of their sales , "this is currently where our product is."

mark gulped before nodding his head to what the latter was saying. while it seems like mark was busy listening to what he was saying, his hand on the other hand was busy trying to stop donghyuck from rubbing his thighs from under the table.

but the younger didn't budge one bit and continued to act dumb, pretending like he was interested in what mr. kim is saying.

the innocent rubbing donghyuck was doing from earlier is slowly turning into something more as he was now squeezing his thighs in an attempt to get a reaction from mark.

"donghyuck, please.." he whispers under his breath, placing his hands on top of the younger's. thankfully, donghyuck was the only one who get to hear this as the older's voice overlapped with mr. kim's talking.

but instead of taking donghyuck's hands off, his hands just started to match with donghyuck's movements. he even tried helping him to do more by spreading his thighs apart. of course, mark didn't miss the smirk that formed on donghyuck's lips and he can only hung his head low because he was liking the small pleasure he was feeling a little too much.

by now, mr. kim's discussion is coming to an end as he was now just making side comments about the main topic he was talking about earlier. "what do you think about, mr. lee?" he, once again, spoke.

"h-huh..?" mark stuttered after suddenly hearing his name being called.

"i suggested that we should stock up the products more as looking at our sales, were doing quite well." he explained before closing his laptop.

"oh.. yeah!" he nodded. at this point, donghyuck already detached his hands off mark's thighs and hands and grabbed the pen on the table as mr. kim's attention is all on both of them now. "i mean—i agree. that's a good suggestion."

"well then, that concludes our meeting today." mr. kim said as he started putting his laptop back inside his bag, "thank you for making time with me today."

both mark and mr. kim stood up from their seats to shake hands, while donghyuck packed his things, together with the superior's device.

bowing at the ceo one last time, mr. kim took his leave first, now leaving mark and haechan at the table. donghyuck was about to do the same when he felt a strong grip on his arms.

"oh, you finally acknowledge my presence!" donghyuck sarcastically said, turning around to give mark a most obvious smile.

"seriously, donghyuck?" mark snickered, "teasing me like that on public, while in the middle of  a meeting too?"

"did i do a good job, though?" donghyuck tilts his head, it is clear that he was teasing the ceo.

mark couldn't help but blush and avert his gaze away from the latter. the younger released a small chuckle before tip-toeing to ruffle mark's hair. making it obvious that he did it the same way as he did with sungchan.

"cute." donghyuck mumbles under his  breath, "don't blush too much, you look like you're about to explode any second."

of course, he already has an idea why mark was acting like that to him earlier. and the older's reaction just confirmed it.