A Win is a win

"Hmm, Or something? most definitely. A student? Not so sure." Seung-ho smiled brightly at both of them before going back to the table where his laptop sat.

"Excuse me?.." Min's gaze followed Seung-ho till he was seated at the edge.

"Is that a yes or no?" Min-a demanded impatiently. He wasn't like his sister, and he didn't plan to take this man's bullshit just because their father is obsessed with his art.

"It is an <i>'I might think about it."</i> He replied, dabbing his hands in the form of quotes. His expression is almost taunting, causing Min's skin to crawl.

"<i>For fuck sake</i>. Noona, let's go. He clearly isn't interested and we are just here embarrassing ourselves." Min-a crankily headed for the exit.

"Min-a, Ha-neul! Wait!" Eun Hye flew between trying to stop her brother from leaving and going back to talk to Seung-ho.

"You can go with him, it's okay." Seung-ho offered with a head gesture to the door.

"I'm sorry, he usually isn't like this.." Eun Hye apologized before rushing at Min-a. She found him with a stick of cigar resting between his lips as he took another drag.

"Why did you storm off like that?" Eun Hye almost snapped but kept her voice down, knowing she hadn't gotten Min-a to help her yet.

"Did you not feel embarrassed?!" Min-a cried out, pointing at the garage door.

"That's just how men like Seung-ho are, hard nuts to crack but totally worth it." Eun Hye tried to make him see the sense in what she was doing.

"Right…" Min-a rolled his eyes. Tossing the remaining cigar into the thrash and getting into the car.

They drove home in silence, Eun Hye thinking of her fate tomorrow, knowing she hadn't secured a deal with her father's desired artist. Min-a on the other hand felt a little anger in his chest. He wasn't used to people really telling him no, now he knew what it felt like, he didn't like it.

Halfway home, Eun Hye put Heidi on call.

"Hey…" Heidi sounded like she just woke up. Eun Hye stared at Min-a, his eyes were fixated on the road like he didn't care for their conversation.

"Sorry, I woke you up from sleep." Eun Hye apologized, sighing.

"It's okay. How did it go?" Heidi asked. Even though she probably knew the answer seemed obvious from how dull she sounded.

"He's still as adamant as ever." Eun Hye sighed again.

"Then invite him over tomorrow." Heidi suggested, like it was common knowledge.

"So he can file a restraining order against my family as a whole?" Eun Hye hissed back.

"No. Just invite him using your father. Your father is a powerful man, sajang, he's not going to turn it down, send it as an email so it seems more official." Heidi added.

Eun Hye thought over the plan. It could actually work. "Okay, that could work. Alright, goodnight, Heidi."

Eun Hye ended the call and met Min-a judgemental gaze.

"You will understand when you are older." Was all Eun Hye said to her younger brother before speeding off towards the up city where they lived.

Min-a rolled just his eyes in response.

~~~~~~~~

The weekend lazy haze didn't spare Min-a as he found himself sprawled out on the sidewalk of the <i>Yongsan-gu</i> neighborhood. He opted for morning jogging since he felt too tired to lift any weights in his private gym.

He barely ran over 5 km before feeling exhaustion crippling him. His white T-shirt stuck to his body and his black shorts were showing the print of his crotch, so he had to call it a day and walked the way home.

He had a private door from the side of the house that led him directly to his room but his stomach churning sent him through the main door for some warm breakfast. Only, he met a not-so-warm guest waiting at the gates in a well-tailored suit.

<i>"Oh my...he actually fell for it…" </i>Min-a thought to himself.

"Mr. Kwan, you showed up," Min-a announced his presence, startling the man.

<i>"Eissi!"</i> Seung-ho snapped around to look at Min-a with a neutral expression on his face.

His eyes lingered on his broad chest and lean legs that his clothes didn't try to hide.

"Of course, I did." He answered a few seconds later as he stared intensively. Seung-ho observed Min-a as he combed his fingers through his butterfly cut after taking out the hair band that held it in a ponytail.

"Why? We weren't that convincing, were we?" Min-a cock a brow at Seung-ho.

"No, but I heard the legendary Mr. Seo Jung Ju wants to see me. I can't possibly reject that, can I?" Seung-ho responded, making Min-a snicker.

"Well, you refuse to work with his company?"

"That's two different things." Seung-ho speaks frankly.

Min-a shook his head in disbelief and walked through the huge black gate leaving it open for Seung-ho to come in after him. Only for him to turn around to find Seung-ho standing fixed outside.

"Well?" Min-a raises a brow, "aren't you gonna come in?" He asked.

Seung-ho blinked rapidly, before ushering himself in and closing the gate. He had his eyes fixed on a certain butt, he forgot how to move his legs.

"Your house is magnificent." Seung-ho complimented, and Min-a hummed in response.

"It sure is a money pit."

Seung-ho watched him pass by what looked like the front door but didn't complain.

"I might not know how huge mansions work but I thought we just passed the front door." Seung-ho spoke out, pointing back at the front even though his legs still actively followed Min-a.

"This door leads to my room." Min let out simply before stopping in front of a gray door attached to the side wall.

It was a part of the building that had huge rectangular gray tiles on it and not some see-through glass window.

Without another word, Seung-ho followed him through the house, immediately spotting the difference in the air as he got in.

Seung-ho thought he was wealthy, in fact, he is. He was comfortable with the wealth his art generated for him but this...this building, this fortune was on a whole other level of wealth.

They got to a brown door which Min-a opened with a black key card and ushered him in. Seung-ho tried not to gawk at the raw art displayed on the walls of the room.

The room was so spacious, he had a hard time finding the bed till he realized there was no bed there.

"This is.." Seung-ho's voice was suspended in mid-air as he viewed a painting that looked homoerotic yet troubling.

The features of the black and red painting seemed troubling but redeeming.

"Hmm...this is very impressive, Mr. Influencer." Seung-ho chuckled, truly impressed.

"The name is Min-a." Min-a corrected, but Seung-ho just shrugged his shoulders.

"I like Ha-neul better." Seung-ho smiled at him, making Min-a roll his eyes and take off his shirt. No one calls him Ha-neul aside from his Noona. He also doesn't want any strange man calling him that too.

Min-a went into his closet to find a dry shirt to put and Seung-ho's eyes trailed after him, watching his back muscles tighten and loosen up through the slightly ajar door.

"When did you start painting?" Seung-ho asked him, moving around from art to art so he could take his eyes and mind off the alluring masculine body yet lean body before him.

"15." Min-a's voice came back muffled as he wore another white shirt. "Then it was just comic scenes and random things. Then I got serious at 19- only I was never taken seriously. People only saw me and that's how I dominated the Korean modeling industry." Min-a sounded with pride, making Seung-ho roll his eyes this time.

Even when the story was sad, he managed to sound cocky.

"What about you?" Min-a asked, surprising Seung-ho in his further attempt to make conversation, even after he walked out on him the previous day.

He turned around to find Min-a in white briefs. He was searching for a sweatpant while he leaned over. Seung-ho tried to drag his eyes away from his pronounced butt before he caught him staring.

"Mr. Kwan?" Min-a called out, turning around to see the man's intense stare at him.

Realizing he had been caught, Seung-ho looked away slowly to another art. "Uhm..12." He cleared his throat awkwardly, "my father was a mechanic. He wanted me to be a doctor or better still, learn how to repair a car, instead, I used the used engine oil and cotton clothes as canvas and paint. That's how I dominated the art industry" He mimicked Min-a.

If Min-a had noticed his drastic staring, he undoubtedly didn't act like it.

"That's dope." He replied, shutting his closet door.

"You look good by the way." Seung-ho complimented him, but Min-a just walked towards the exit.

"Ready to meet my father?" Min-a asked with a low resting gaze, leaving the door open for him to pass through.

Seung-ho strolled and stopped in front of him, taking advantage of the inch difference in their height. "Sure thing." He said in a low or barely audible voice, staring into Min-a's eyes.

They stayed in this position for like a few seconds before Min-a closed the door, mumbling, "ever heard of personal space.."

Min-a led Seung-ho toward the main area of the house where Eun Hye and their father were holding a conversation.

"We approached him several times but he refused the offer, so I invited-" Eun Hye almost shot herself in the keg before she spotted Seung-ho in a well-tailored suit behind her little brother. Relief washed all over her body. The disappointed glint in her father's gaze had almost made her want to bury herself.

"Mr. Kwan! Pleasure seeing you, I wasn't aware of your arrival. Please join us." Eun Hye stood up to usher him into the room.

Seo Jung Ju, Eun Hye, and Min-a's father also stood to his feet to shake Seung-ho when he got nearer, a broad smile displaying on his face.

"Ah...Mr. Kwan Seung-ho, it is a pleasure to finally meet you." He gave him a warm handshake.

"The pleasure is all mine," Seung-ho shaked him with both hands.

"What do I offer you?" Seo Jung Ju asked cheerfully.

"Green Tea is fine, sir." Seung-ho replied, taking a seat while Min-a hovered in the background.

"So...I heard you turned all six of our offers down." Seo Jung Ju went straight to the point as they took their seats.

"Seven actually." Seung-ho corrected me with a gentle smile. "But I explained to your daughter, sir. I'm not one to be bought out." He relaxed in his chair, staring at Eun Hye who gave him a small smile.

She watched her father's face process his reply. "But Appa...look what Min-a did with Mr. Kwan's unfinished painting." Eun Hye showed him the pictures of Min-a painting while he was rounding up Seung-ho's painting.

Seo Jung Ju's eyes glistened with pride. "This is very good!" He exclaimed, shooting his sparkling eyes at his only son with pride. "I wasn't aware you were this good."

Min-a only shrugged. He wasn't moved by the praises. He had tried and given up on his father crediting his artistic potential for 8 years. Now all of a sudden when Seung-ho is involved, he suddenly sees something in him.

Eun Hye continued, knowing now she had her father's attention. "I also petitioned that Mr. Kwan Seung-ho gives Min-a private classes so he could become ready for the real world out there." She proposed and Seo Jung Ju nodded enthusiastically in approval of her suggestion.

"That's a good insight. Eun Hye. It will do him lots of good. What do you say, Mr. Kwan?" He stared at Seung-ho whose eyes left Eun Hye to look at her father. The look of triumph clouded her face knowing she had him backed into a corner now.

"Sure, I would love to coach him," Seung-ho replied with a forced grin before turning to face Min-a.

"How does 6:30 pm, three days a week sound to you?"