[Super Junior] Definitions of Success 1/4, NC-17, corporate AU, various
So I don't write longfic. This is why. Huge amounts of thanks to the awesome papered, whose beta made me laugh and made the fic better. Any remaining mistakes or strange things are my own fault. Oh, based off the Sorry Sorry Answer MV.
Definitions of Success
Kibum/Donghae, Kyuhyun/Sungmin, others | corporate!AU/drama | 33,495 words
Kibum has yet to master the game but Kyuhyun doesn't even know he's playing. Their lives get tangled in an underground corporate society, where even love is subject to a cost-benefit analysis.
PART I
Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess. -Oscar Wilde
April 2006
As secret society names went, XS did not scream of hidden meanings or cult-like pretensions. It was, in the end, for the better. They were made up of corporate managers and sons of CEOs, born in the spotlight and raised in the public eye - they were not here to hide in the dark. XS happened behind closed doors, like much business, but it was their silence that kept their secrets, not the shadows.
Kim Kibum was only sixteen when they opened their doors to him. He was the youngest inductee since the inception of XS, but it was, perhaps, only fitting. He was the youngest full-time employee of Kim and Walker Enterprises, and he was already in a managing position.
Certainly, there were child labor laws. He was ostensibly nothing more than a figurehead, the only son of the company's Chairman of the Board and CEO, learning the ropes to the family business. But there was no mistaking the truth of his power, despite what official representatives said; the media and the public knew that when Kibum made decisions, they were carried out to full effect. Kim Seungtaek started them young.
"Too young," Kangin said, folding his arms and leaning back into his leather chair. He scowled. "He's a child."
"He has more responsibility than any of us had at his age," Eeteuk said reasonably from the head of the conference table. He glanced around the table, seeking second opinions.
"I say let him join."
Heechul, looking dismissive of the discussion, twirled his pen with an insouciant air. Sungmin frowned.
"He hasn't even finished school-"
"He was tutored at home," Eeteuk said. "They might send him to Seoul University just for show, but I'm fairly certain it will be secondary to his position at Kim and Walker." With his future lined up before him, getting a degree was more about prestige than about learning anything useful. Such had been the case with the rest of them.
There was a soft laugh and all eyes swiveled to the corner of the table opposite Eeteuk. Donghae was grinning. "He needs his fun, then. Let him in." He leaned forward slightly and let his grin widen deliberately, a familiar sparkle of mischief dancing in his eyes. "And just think of the initiation you can give him."
Kangin met his eyes. Heechul only rolled his. Eeteuk put it to vote and Donghae's persuasion must have succeeded because the final decision was unanimous. Kim Kibum was in. The meeting was over.
Now it was only a matter of extending an invitation to the lucky kid.
And seeing if he made it through the initiation.
***
July 2009
Kyuhyun pulled off his tie and tossed it over the back of his chair as he approached his desk. He picked up the ivory envelope lying in the center of the glass surface where he couldn't miss it. The high-quality paper was heavy and thick under his fingers. His name was printed in black ink across the front, sharp and pristine.
Kyuhyun tucked a thumb under the flap and pulled it apart from the rose wax that had sealed it closed. He was curious - who was still old-fashioned enough to seal envelopes with wax these days? Even in the tradition-laced corporate world, it was strange.
From within, he pulled out a card made of the same heavy stock as the envelope. The letters XS were written in block print, simple and unadorned, like his name had been. He flipped the card over and found one sentence:
Moving up in the world?
Under that was a phone number.
There was nothing else.
Kyuhyun examined the card for another minute, then dropped it back on the desk when it yielded no more clues. He shrugged out of his suit jacket and laid that over the back of his chair as well, to hang up later. The corners of his mouth twitched downwards, a sign that he was thinking.
There was little doubt the card referenced his promotion at SM Enterprises. His father had timed the announcement to his acceptance into Seoul University's business program, so that the media buzz was twice as big. His father knew how to garner publicity - that, Kyuhyun had to acknowledge. And he knew how to use his connections in securing his eighteen-year-old son a prestigious spot with the largest corporation in the nation.
"I went to school with Park Woojung," he'd said, months earlier. "He promised me his son will look after you."
His son: Park Jungsu, who was older, more experienced, and infinitely more at ease when Kyuhyun had met him at a gala earlier in the year. He had been impeccably dressed in a tailor-made suit, his hair swept to the side, and dimples forming in his cheeks when he smiled. He was a smooth talker, welcoming Kyuhyun and issuing reassurances that he would fit in well and get accustomed to SM Enterprises in no time. Kyuhyun hadn't been quite sure what to make of him. He had never been one for the chatterboxes, but his personal opinion didn't matter when it came down to it. Park Jungsu was the CEO's son. He was Chief Communications Officer, at his age. He had power, and Kyuhyun had to court that. He had done his best in the past few months and had been rewarded with a promotion.
Moving up in the world?
Kyuhyun thought about the words as he padded across his bedroom to the accompanying bathroom.
Yes, he was moving up in the world. What did XS have to do with it?
He dropped his cufflinks onto the counter and rolled up his sleeves. Kyuhyun stared at his reflection in the mirror and frowned at his skin, again on the verge of breaking out. No matter how mature he felt inside, nature provided constant reminders of his youth, unmistakable in the glare of the bathroom lights.
Kyuhyun twisted the tap and bent to splash water on his face.
Young or not, he was moving up in the world. He wasn't going to stop anytime soon, either. He would call the number in the morning, he decided.
***
April 2006
Kibum passed with minimal fuss, if not flying colors.
Han Geng was unimpressed, but he conceded to himself that it was more likely due to some bitterness, considering how much he'd struggled through his own initiation, than to any particular failing on Kibum's part. The kid was, as advertised, a freakin' genius. Heechul patted his hand condescendingly at that meeting, hip propped against the table beside Han Geng's chair.
"It helps that he can speak the language," he said, all false sympathy.
"Piss off," Han Geng said in reply, shoving at Heechul to get him to sit. "We might as well get on with it." He wasn't impressed, but he wasn't displeased, either. A new inductee was always exciting, if only for the celebration XS threw afterwards. Han Geng had a bit of a thing for fine champagne.
Everyone settled into their familiar seats around the conference table before Eeteuk stood. He gestured as he spoke, animated as always. "Kim Kibum has passed his initiation. Shindong is with him and will bring him to us in ten minutes. We will hold the celebration in three days, so clear your schedules. Ryeowook, please handle the arrangements for that - Yesung, help him. What, Donghae?" His sharp gaze fell to the other end of the table, where Donghae had raised his hand in a half-mocking gesture.
"Can I be his mentor?" he asked, eyes crinkling in amusement.
"What the hell," said Kangin, exasperated. "We don't do mentors."
Donghae didn't look deterred.
Eeteuk eyed him for a moment, before breaking out into a little smile. "If you can convince him, have at it. I doubt you're his favorite person though, after that initiation."
Donghae's grin was unwavering. "I like a challenge."
"You're an idiot," said Eunhyuk, and hit him across the back of his head. Donghae elbowed him in retaliation and Eeteuk abandoned their corner of the table as a lost cause. Han Geng watched them briefly, amused. Twenty-year-olds, among the wealthiest and most powerful families in Seoul and all of South Korea, and they acted like they were ten. It was strangely charming.
"Will it be at your place?" Ryeowook asked, already entering information into his PDA.
Eeteuk sighed and sat back down. "I suppose." It was always at his place, because he was the only one with a flat large enough to accommodate all of the members. In fact, half of the members were still living at home. Han Geng's own place was comfortable and bespoke the money he'd earned in the past few years, but it wouldn't fit twelve with ease. Eeteuk's luxury condo, on the other hand, was his escape from his father and, of late, the unofficial party headquarters.
"I'll bring champagne," Han Geng volunteered and Eeteuk gave him a quick, grateful smile. Heechul laughed softly in his ear, because he knew Han Geng too well.
Kibum arrived shortly after, escorted inside by Shindong. He looked calm and not the least bit apprehensive as he stood just inside the door, regarding the occupants of the room. His expression didn't change as Shindong took his seat beside Siwon, leaving Kibum the only one standing.
With a subtle flick of his fingers, Eeteuk had Ryeowook stand up. He had been the newest inductee before Kibum. As per tradition, he would be the one to officially welcome Kibum into the fold.
He betrayed no nervousness as he met Kibum's gaze, which made Han Geng nod to himself in silent approval. Such was the change these few months in XS had wrought. Ryeowook was not the cutthroat business operative most of them were - but he was stubborn. When he made up his mind about something, he would stick to it, firm in his beliefs and unwavering despite any opposition. He cleared his throat gently, drawing Kibum's attention, and smiled faintly.
"Kim Kibum," he said. "You've moved up in the world."
Kibum's mouth thinned as he digested this.
"XS welcomes you," Ryeowook said, and extended his hand.
There was silence as they waited, eleven pairs of eyes on Kibum, underscored by the faintest tick tick tick of the world's most expensive watches.
After what seemed like an eternity, Kibum nodded and took Ryeowook's hand in a firm handshake. "Thank you," he said.
As Donghae, Eunhyuk, and Sungmin exploded into loud cheers and applause, Kibum smiled for the first time since coming into the room. Han Geng watched the others converge on their newest member with hearty slaps on the back and congratulatory handshakes. He turned to murmur into Heechul, "Not even a year. Ten months."
To his surprise, Heechul's eyes were trained on Kibum. "No," he said, disagreeing with Han Geng for once. "I think he'll last."
***
July 2009
He was surprised by the faces that greeted him when he entered the room. The best and the brightest of Seoul's business world - the young and the powerful, familiar to him through past business functions, through his father's lecturing, and through, of course, the media. Kyuhyun didn't like the way they looked at him, judgment weighing in their eyes as they evaluated him from the comfort of their leather chairs. He felt himself stiffen unconsciously in response.
Trying to relax, lest his body language started giving away advantages he didn't want to give away, Kyuhyun stood at the end of the conference room at the foot of the long table. Everyone - a quick mental count added up to twelve - sat with a glass before him, water or liquor, he couldn't tell. Crystal ashtrays dotted the length of the table. It was a typical boardroom, save its location two levels below ground, directly beneath the national headquarters of the Bank of Seoul. There were no floor-length windows, as were typical in most conference rooms, but still the surroundings screamed of luxury and excess.
Excess, Kyuhyun thought, with sudden amusement. XS. Of course.
Park Jungsu sat at the head of the table, sipping at his glass and watching Kyuhyun silently.
It was a waiting game, he could tell. They wanted him to break the silence, be the one to ask. It kept the control in their hands, with the power to answer or deny him as they would.
Well, he had already come this far. Might as well play the game all the way to the end, even if it meant following their rules for the moment.
Kyuhyun slipped his hands into his pockets, doing his best to appear casual despite his sweaty palms. He was young, yes, but they were barely a few years older than him. It wasn't as though he were facing a room full of clones of his father. Kyuhyun lifted his chin. "So, why am I here?" It bordered on rude, the blunt words.
Lee Sungmin cracked a smile, fleeting, but Kyuhyun caught it. Lee Sungmin, son of the president of the country's largest electronics corporation. Perfectly polite in public, but rumored to indulge in strings of affairs with older women.
Kyuhyun was getting a better idea of what XS entailed in these first five minutes alone.
"Why are you here? That's the question, isn't it?"
The words jarred Kyuhyun from his speculations and he was surprised to find Kim Kibum addressing him, rather than Park Jungsu. He would have guessed that Jungsu was the leader, from his position at the table. Kyuhyun schooled his expression from showing too much surprise. His eyes met Kibum's dark, unreadable gaze.
"I was given this time and address over the phone," he replied.
"Do you always do as you're told?" Kibum challenged.
"Only when I'm curious."
Kibum laced his fingers, hands resting on the tabletop before him. He smiled, slowly. "Are you curious about XS?"
Kyuhyun straightened. "I'm here, aren't I?"
A few approving nods followed his statement. Kyuhyun kept his gaze on Kibum, who sat at the end of the table closest to him. In Kyuhyun's peripheral vision, he could make out someone writing a note and passing it down the line. Someone else shifted in his seat. Ice cubes clinked on someone's drink as they lifted their glass.
It was still Kibum who did the talking. "So you are. So why don't you tell us what you know about XS?"
Another test. Kyuhyun was familiar with these games. He'd attended enough meetings and functions with his father in his youth to have learned the hidden questions in every conversation, and how knowledge and rhetoric were wielded like weapons. A deft word could provide a shield while a clumsy one could be catastrophic. The members of XS would surely be similarly aware. They had grown up with veiled conversations, just like Kyuhyun, and practiced these skills in their day-to-day operations. Underneath the underneath. They wanted to know what he knew.
Part of him still wasn't sure what he was doing here. When he had resolved to call the mysterious number, he hadn't known what he was getting himself into. Kyuhyun had been, as he said, curious. He was more of a risk taker than his father was, willing to consider offers Cho Jongyoon would refuse to let in the door of his office. He took gambles that made his father frown, but Kyuhyun's instincts, so far, had proven true: he had yet to make a mistake. He had been lucky.
He wondered if his luck would hold true with XS, and those twelve pairs of weighing eyes.
Hands still in his pockets, Kyuhyun spoke. "XS is made of those who are young and powerful. All of you are important people in the business world - in Korea, and globally. You know it. You wear your wealth easily. You display it." The tailor-made silk suits, the expensive watches and rings, the crystal ashtrays and rich leather of the chairs... Every little detail spoke of being accustomed to the best.
"You are..." he trailed off momentarily, before pushing forward. Risktakers didn't hesitate. They didn't show their hand. "You are interested in me," Kyuhyun said, and his gaze was challenging as it traveled past each member. Their expressions were all carefully blank, practiced. Kyuhyun had to stop a jolt of surprise when he encountered a familiar face.
Kim Ryeowook. He hadn't noticed him earlier.
Ryeowook, whom he'd known since he was a toddler, whose father was close business associates with Kyuhyun's. How had he ended up here? Kyuhyun had never suspected, and he had even considered Ryeowook something of a friend, more than just the son of another of his father's associates. Ryeowook showed no sign of recognition as Kyuhyun paused on his face.
So Kyuhyun went on, slightly off-balance. He wondered if he would be given any answers.
"You are interested in me. You made first contact. You think I have...something to offer XS." Kyuhyun thought a bit more. "You are almost certain I will accept, because otherwise I would know too much."
There were a few more smiles in the group now. Kyuhyun picked them out and identified them. Sungmin, again. Lee Donghae. Shin Donghee. Kim Heechul.
And Kibum was still smiling, but whatever approval Kyuhyun might have read into it was overshadowed by its sharp edge. This was a man who had wielded power in Kim and Walker since he was sixteen, Kyuhyun recalled. He was not even a year older than Kyuhyun.
"Very good," he purred, leaning forward. "That's all true. But what does XS do?"
And that was the question, wasn't it?
***
May 2006
"You've got to be joking," Kibum said, scowling. "XS doesn't have a mentor program. What are you doing here?"
Donghae leaned an arm on the doorframe and cocked his hip, suit jacket slung over one shoulder like a model. "Eeteuk assigned me as your mentor," he repeated cheerfully. "You don't have to believe it, but that's how it is. Now are you going to let me in or what?"
"Or what." Despite his hostile tone, Kibum stepped back, holding the door open. Donghae followed him inside, taking in the condo. It wasn't spacious, like Eeteuk's was, but it was a comfortable size for someone living on his own, even if it was off his father's money. Donghae was impressed by the little details. The art on the walls was by Korea's most well-known modern artist; the huge flat-screen TV dominated the living room; the marble countertops in the small kitchen gleamed in the low lights - Donghae certainly hadn't been living like this when he was sixteen. He definitely hadn't had his own mini-bar.
Donghae headed directly for that, dropping his jacket over the arm of the couch. "What've you got to drink?" He slid behind the bar and rifled through the cabinet without so much as a by-your-leave. He emerged from his search with a bottle of Irish whiskey and a glass, bangs ruffled and expression pleased. Kibum only sighed at him.
"Want any?" Donghae pulled out another glass and set it on the counter.
"What are you doing here, Donghae?"
Kibum had moved to the other side of the counter, eyes dark as he stared at Donghae. He was, Donghae noticed, far less tense than he'd been in their previous encounters. It made sense though - this was Kibum's flat. This was his territory. His white collared shirt was unbuttoned at the throat, his hair tousled as if he'd been running his hands through it. His shirt was tucked loosely into his slacks and he was barefoot. He had obviously been relaxing before Donghae had barged into his night - maybe doing things other sixteen-year-olds did, like playing video games or looking at porn. Donghae snorted to himself.
Kim Kibum was certainly like no other sixteen-year-old Donghae knew. For one thing, the well-stocked bar...
Donghae poured himself a finger of whiskey and two for Kibum, pushing the fuller glass across the bar towards the younger man, certain he'd take it. No point in having so much liquor if he didn't drink it. His father was clearly a generous man with his son.
"I'm getting to know our newest inductee a little better," he replied with a quick smile.
Kibum raised an eyebrow. "I think we got to know each other well enough during my initiation." He lifted the glass to his lips.
Donghae laughed. "Don't lie, you liked it." He smirked a little and ran his tongue over his lips suggestively.
"Is that really part of the initiation or did Jungsu-hyung just throw that in there for kicks?"
"Eeteuk," Donghae corrected him absently. It always took the new members a while to adjust to the new names. "And it's always been part of the initiation."
"Who was yours?"
His voice was casual but Donghae could tell he was genuinely curious, and that delighted him. Donghae hadn't been joking when he'd said he liked a challenge, but he liked it even better when there was reciprocal interest. Donghae had nothing against things being easy. He leaned forward a little bit, tilting his head and letting his eyelids drop to half-mast, pleased at the way Kibum's eyes followed him.
"Heechul," he murmured throatily.
Heechul had been the one to initiate him, a tongue in his mouth and a hand down the front of his pants. It was one of his fondest memories, and was partly why Donghae was one of Heechul's favorites, even now.
Another of his fondest memories was having his tongue down Kibum's throat, Donghae recalled with welcomed warmness. The kid was young and it didn't show in his business dealings, but the way he fumbled into the kisses gave him away. He had been too busy learning how to handle corporate sharks to fool around. It was a damned pity, in Donghae's opinion, but he was more than happy to offer his services.
Purely as a mentor, of course.
Donghae grinned at the faint haze in Kibum's eyes as his thoughts strayed to the image Donghae had conjured by mention of Heechul's name.
"Anyway," he said, moving out from behind the bar with his drink in hand, "I want to see your place. I can't believe you're living on your own."
Kibum pulled himself out of his brief mental wandering and followed Donghae as he ambled down the hallway towards the bedroom. "It was a reward for my entry into the business," he said. "My father promised me personal space. He trusts in my judgment."
"And it was a wise decision you made to join XS," Donghae said agreeably. He let Kibum catch up with him and slung a companionable arm over his shoulders, not missing the way Kibum stiffened beneath his touch almost imperceptibly. "You're going to have a lot of fun, Kibummie. You have the money and the power to do basically anything. And, y'know, XS is gonna give you the incentive."
Donghae had a feeling most people, if they ever found out about their little secret society, would be pissed off at first and then terrified. Pissed off only because they were envious of the money and power being thrown around by young - very young - corporate heads. Terrified not because of the collective amount of power held by those in one room - but because those with that much power...were bored.
"Fun, huh?" Kibum sounded skeptical, but he was smiling.
"Absolutely," Donghae promised in his ear. "We're going to make you memories of a lifetime."
***
July 2009
"Stock manipulation. Petty embezzlement. Fucking with human resources. Bugging offices. Gratuitous amounts of sex. Am I missing something?" Yesung ticked off the list on his fingers, and glanced around the room as the meeting wrapped up.
"One of those things does not belong with the others," Shindong laughed.
Sungmin slugged him in the shoulder. "Quiet, you. Sex always belongs!"
"Think he'll figure it out?" Yesung pondered.
Ryeowook nodded. "Kyuhyun's a genius. It won't take him long." Considering the first part of Kyuhyun's initiation...
Social hour reigned now that Kyuhyun had been escorted from the room and back to the ground level entrance, his assignment in mind and a three week deadline impressed upon him. He'd told them quietly that it wouldn't take three weeks, the jut of his chin defiant.
"Cocky little bastard, isn't he?" Kangin said, slinging an arm around Eeteuk's shoulders and pulling him close. His balanced a cigarette between the fingers of his free hand, blowing smoke into the air.
"Worse than you were," Eeteuk agreed. But it had been bravado, and he had identified it immediately. Cho Kyuhyun was not as confident as he appeared. Eeteuk tilted his head back against his chair and Kangin, perched on the arm, brought his cigarette to Eeteuk's lips. He sucked in a long breath and let it seep out. "Number thirteen," he murmured, eyes falling shut as the nicotine worked its way through him.
Kangin hummed in agreement, sliding his hand from Eeteuk's shoulder to card gently through his hair.
Thirteen was a large number, Eeteuk thought, and stole another drag off Kangin's cigarette. Thirteen was an unlucky number.
But corporate empires didn't run on luck, they ran on business acumen and ruthless underhanded dealing. XS had withstood the tests of five and a half years. They could withstand an unlucky number with a stubborn chin and the mind of a genius. Eeteuk would make sure of it.
***
October 2007
Heechul started off the morning by finalizing the acquisition of some small company that he didn't even bother remembering the name of. He hadn't done most of the legwork on this deal - in fact, he had merely conducted one pointed conversation with whatever agent had been present at the meeting and was now signing off on the papers closing the deal. The takeover was complete and not, according to the papers, hostile. No one had to know what went on behind closed doors, or what went unsaid during the meeting Heechul participated in.
Heechul was thinking about another takeover before lunch - Kyeohee Inc. looked promising, and Kangin had been eyeing it recently, which would make it only more fun to take it before he did - and flipping through the folder on his desk when his phone buzzed. He hit the intercom button. "Yes?"
"Lee Donghae to see you, sir."
"Let him in."
It wasn't even eleven in the morning - what could Donghae possibly want? Heechul disconnected the line to his secretary and put the folder aside, curious. It must have been important...or related to XS. Their business was never conducted on paper, on email, or on record: they worked only face-to-face and through phone calls. Eeteuk had laid down rules, and they were all savvy enough to see the reasoning behind them.
Donghae walked through his door and shut it behind him, firmly. He looked, Heechul noted idly, furious. His interest was piqued but he waited, knowing Donghae would break the silence.
"Do you know what that fucking bastard did?" Donghae strode towards his desk.
"I'm sure you'll tell me."
Donghae slammed a manila folder identical to the one Heechul had just been looking at onto Heechul's desk. "Take a look," he snarled, and Heechul knew whatever "that fucking bastard" had done had really crossed some lines. It took a lot to make easy-going Donghae this angry.
Heechul flipped open the folder and skimmed the contents.
His eyes widened involuntarily and he cursed under his breath. "He didn't..."
"He did. That fucker." Donghae dropped heavily into the chair in front of Heechul's desk, every line of his body tense.
"I see your mentoring has been paying off."
"Don't even joke, Heechul," Donghae warned. "It's been half a year and he thinks he's hot shit now? Just because he's seventeen? What the hell does he think he's doing, moving in on my territory?"
Heechul flipped through the documents, eyes narrowing as he took in the fine print. "This is ridiculous. He didn't even use an agent..." Papers rustled and Heechul looked up after a moment. "He wants you to know."
Donghae didn't argue, mouth tight at the corners. It was strange not to see him smiling, but he took his work seriously when he had to. He liked to play, no doubt about it, and his light-hearted, friendly personality endeared him to the other members of XS as well as to the public at large. But Donghae had inherited power when his father had died early, unexpectedly, and he wasn't one to fool around with his father's legacy. He wasn't one to let others fool around with it either.
"Yeah. The bastard wants me to know he's soliciting internal information about our company. And - did you see the figures? He's messing with our dividends. Nothing huge, just enough for me to sit up and notice. He knows any discrepancy would have to be reported. I'm going to-" Donghae bit off the rest of sentence, shadows shifting over his face.
It was unbelievable, Kibum's nerve, but it was all laid out before Heechul in black-and-white: transcripts of the phone conversations he'd conducted with various high-ranking officers in Lee Metal Industries, seeking what was clearly confidential information about trading and selling. He had been rebuffed in all cases, but that he would pursue the information so blatantly, especially considering his own station in Kim and Walker... He was walking a fine line of risk here. That he was sending Donghae a message was unquestionable - what he was trying to say, however, left Heechul at a loss.
It also made him angry.
Donghae was right - Kibum was too young and too new to be pulling stunts like these. They had all known he was smart, cunning, ambitious - it was what had interested XS in him in the first place. It was why Heechul had put his money on Kibum to last.
"Ten months," Han Geng had said.
"He'll last," Heechul had replied, because he'd believed it.
But ruthlessness, as much as Heechul appreciated it and was more than familiar with it, had a limit. You didn't fuck around with the other members of XS. It was an unspoken agreement - a pact.
Six months in and Kibum had not yet, apparently, learned that lesson.
"Are you going to Eeteuk?" Heechul asked, closing the folder with a jerk of his wrist. He looked up at Donghae's glittering eyes.
"This is personal. I want to deal with him first and see what the hell he thinks he's doing." His lips curved into a facsimile of a smile. "I'm his mentor, after all."
Heechul promised Donghae with a dark look to help in whatever he needed. No words had to be said - Donghae knew Heechul would be on his side.
Some of the rage drained out of Donghae. He nodded, equally silent, and stood, leaning forward to thank Heechul with a brief, swift kiss and a half-hearted smile that didn't come close to his usual. Heechul sent him off with friendly nip at his lower lip and his folder, before leaning back into his chair. Something fierce burned high in his chest - Donghae may have been Eunhyuk's inductee, but he was Heechul's initiate. No one, especially cocky seventeen-year-old geniuses, fucked with what was Heechul's.
He was still angry when he met with Siwon for dinner. He had spent most of the afternoon turning over things in his mind, taking it out on his secretary and the internet. Work had been put off in favor of an angry, locked blog post, but Heechul didn't feel any less agitated sitting across from Siwon at a swanky four-star restaurant.
"What does he want?" Siwon asked, brows furrowed as Heechul relayed the news.
"Who the fuck knows?" Heechul stabbed at his plate in irritation. "Donghae says he wants to talk to him first, figure it out. I'd rather just eviscerate him." He rolled his eyes at Siwon's expression. "Not literally. Maybe just hire away some of his best people."
Siwon took a long sip of his wine before he answered. Heechul had another bite of his steak in the meantime, wishing almost dismally for 3000-won kimbap. Or Kibum's face under his steak knife. He cut a little more viciously at his food.
"Heechul," Siwon said at last, "I don't think you should interfere."
"It's Donghae."
Siwon frowned again at Heechul's sharp tone. "I know, hyung. But it's still within the group." He didn't mention XS by name - they were in public, after all. In a private room of the restaurant, certainly, but none of them took stupid risks.
Heechul sighed. Stupid risks. He knew better than to take those.
"Within the group, everyone needs to sort out their individual problems," Siwon continued, serious. "We don't get involved."
He wasn't saying anything Heechul didn't already know. The unwritten rules were not meant to be broken with stupid risks. Kibum had broken them already, but that was up to Donghae to deal with, and Donghae alone.
"Fuck," Heechul said with feeling, and jabbed at his steak again.
Siwon watched him take it out on the unsuspecting plate with something akin to sympathy. "I'm sorry, hyung."
Sorry didn't fix anything, but that was the point, wasn't it? They couldn't fix anything. It would be up to Donghae to confront Kibum. Sometimes Heechul wasn't sure he liked XS's unwritten rules at all, but he swallowed the bile in his throat and let it go.
***
July 2009
It was Saturday, and Kyuhyun was free to run his own errands. It had been three days since he had been given his initiation assignment and he had yet to make a move towards completing it. He had spent the time thinking, instead.
The city was bustling with people and Kyuhyun lost himself easily in the crowd. He wasn't out to make a statement today and had dressed casually, slipping onto the subway instead of asking for his driver or taking out his Audi. No one needed to know where he was going on this sunny afternoon.
Kyuhyun was good with hearing what wasn't said, and XS had not said, explicitly, that he was not allowed to ask for help. He wondered at that - was it a deliberate loophole, or had they merely overlooked that in their instructions to him? Kyuhyun recalled Kibum's measured, detached voice as he told Kyuhyun what was expected of him.
No, it was unlikely that they had overlooked anything. Not this group.
So Kyuhyun had made a phone call and set up a meeting. It was a quiet Western-style café on a small street that branched off the main road, with booths tucked far away enough from each other to keep conversations private, without cloaking them in obvious secrecy. It was at one of these booths that Kyuhyun spotted Ryeowook.
He lengthened his stride to reach the booth, a smile ready and poised on his face. His greeting froze when he realized there was another person in the booth as well. Kyuhyun's steps slowed as he studied the back of the stranger's head. All he could see was soft black hair and a glint of an earring.
The guessing game came to a halt when Ryeowook noticed him and murmured something. The other person turned and Kyuhyun fought his instinctive displeasure at seeing Lee Sungmin's face. Why was he there? Had he invited himself along, or had Ryeowook invited him? Kyuhyun had no business with him.
His displeasure grew when he realized that Ryeowook and Sungmin were sitting opposite each other in the booth - Kyuhyun would have to slide next to one or the other. He could sit with Sungmin, to better face Ryeowook when speaking to him, or he could avoid him and have to turn every time he wanted to say something to Ryeowook.
Kyuhyun narrowed his eyes and slid into the booth beside Sungmin. Never let it be said that Cho Kyuhyun didn't take challenges. He was intent, as XS had underscored, on "moving up in the world", after all.
"Kyuhyun," Ryeowook greeted him with a smile. "How are you? I hope it's okay that Sungmin is here too. He'd like to help."
"Really." Kyuhyun looked skeptically at Sungmin, who only smiled. Kyuhyun turned back to Ryeowook. "If you're sure..." He let the doubt permeate his tone.
"Trust me."
Ryeowook's voice was steady. Kyuhyun wondered if it was XS that had put the steel beneath his voice. Ryeowook, for his position, had always been a touch too shy, a touch too nice - Kyuhyun remembered thinking so every time he had run into the other boy at charity dinners and business functions. Kyuhyun wondered if Ryeowook had hidden this side of him all along, and perhaps Kyuhyun had just never realized. Sungmin, from the sidelong glance Kyuhyun stole, seemed entirely unperturbed.
Kyuhyun had come this far. That is what he kept telling himself.
"All right," he said with a nod. Trust. Something risky in the world they were in, but sometimes it yielded more than its share of return for the investment. "I wanted to talk about my...assignment."
"Is it going to be a problem?" Ryeowook asked, the same hardness under what would otherwise be a concerned tone.
"You want me to, ah, move some money around." To put it in layman's terms.
"Yes." Both Sungmin and Ryeowook stared at him.
"Jongwoon's money."
There was silence for a long moment. During this time, the waitress approached and asked if she could take Kyuhyun's order, diffusing the tension with a smile. Kyuhyun asked for coffee and waited for her to step out of earshot before speaking again.
"You want me to embezzle from Wanbyeokhae Industries?" he repeated in a low voice, barely above a whisper.
"Is this going to be a problem?" Ryeowook asked again.
Strangely, he sounded more sympathetic this time than he had previously. Kyuhyun wasn't sure how to take it. "Does Jongwoon know about this?" Is he going to allow it?
"He does," Ryeowook reassured him with a little smile. His expression had softened further. "Don't worry about that, Kyuhyun. We all know what your assignment is." He sipped at his tea and added, quietly, "He won't make it easy for you, you know."
As suspected. Kyuhyun sat back, taking it all in. Sungmin rustled in the seat beside him, still as silent as ever. Ryeowook had said Sungmin wanted to help. Did he? Why? Kyuhyun examined him from underneath his lashes: Lee Sungmin, the media's darling. Sweet-faced with a ready smile, dark eyes and dark hair, skin a model would envy... He was picture-perfect and effortlessly polite to his elders and to the reporters that tailed him with their flashing cameras. Kyuhyun could see easily how he could woo those older women - some married, he'd heard - into his bed. He was already filthy rich, but couple that with that face? Kyuhyun was surprised the line wasn't miles long, gold-diggers and idolaters combined.
And he wanted to help Kyuhyun get into XS. Strange, but perhaps not unreasonable.
Kyuhyun would proceed with caution.
The waitress brought his coffee over, with a tiny silver spoon and a silver pot of milk. "Enjoy!" she said with another warm smile. Her eyes flicked to Sungmin before she left, lingering.
Kyuhyun suppressed an eyeroll. At least his observation skills were still keen.
"All right," he said, reaching for the milk. "I would appreciate any advice you could give me."
Ryeowook smiled at him and Sungmin let out a soft breath of laughter. It was a pleasant sound. "You picked the right person to ask," he murmured, passing Kyuhyun the sugar. "Ryeowook's sleeping with Yesung."
"Sungmin," Ryeowook exclaimed, a flush rising. Now that was the uncertain boy Kyuhyun recognized from before. The uncertain boy sleeping with the youngest member of Wanbyeokhae Industries' Board of Directors.
Kyuhyun stirred his coffee, bemused by the surreal turn his life had taken. Luck seemed to favor him, though, and Sungmin's smile was bright and beguiling. Kyuhyun could work with that.
***
October 2007
"Did you talk to Kibum?"
Donghae didn't look up from the documents he was reviewing, pen in one hand and phone in the other. "We don't have to X him," he muttered. "Not yet, anyway."
Eeteuk said briskly, "All right. Keep me updated." His voice mellowed and warmed. "Watch out for yourself, Donghae. We've got your back."
Eeteuk always did look out for their best interests. Donghae's thanks was warmer too before he ended the call and frowned at the file before him. What the hell did Kibum think he was doing, sending secret messages through the system code he'd broken into and altered? He buzzed his secretary.
"Tell Kim Kibum I'm moving our meeting up to tomorrow morning. Take no excuses - he will make time to see me."
***
November 2008
Eeteuk had founded XS five years ago, when he was twenty-one and a year seasoned by his official position in SM Enterprises. Although both Kangin and Heechul were with him from the start, there had never been any question that XS was Eeteuk's baby, and he alone was the founder and the leader. He cared for it and invested in it to a level unmatched, and in return, everyone who came after yielded to his decision-making.
He wasn't without his own moments of doubt though. Despite having been brought up since childhood to lead, Eeteuk needed human reassurances as much as anyone else.
"You're doing the right thing," Kangin told him, rubbing a comforting palm down Eeteuk's back and then up over his shoulders. "It's business sense - creating your own advantages and securing your weaknesses. It would be stupid to do otherwise."
Eeteuk let his head loll forward as Kangin pressed his hands into Eeteuk's knotted muscles, massaging him firmly but gently. Unfortunately, it did nothing for the knot of doubt in his stomach. Even after so many years in the vicious corporate world, some things still left an unpleasant feeling. Takeovers were expected, of course, hostile or otherwise, for purely economic purposes. Coercion was common practice.
Walking the thin line between acceptable levels of coercion and what amounted to blackmail, however, made him a little queasy.
"You gotta do what you gotta do," Kangin said simply, and dug his thumbs into a particularly tense muscle. Eeteuk groaned and leaned forward a little more, Kangin's palms warm and soothing on his skin.
He was right, of course. Even if it was distasteful, even if it bordered on illegal, Eeteuk did what had to be done. He was a forward-thinker, always with the big picture in mind. He took care of what was his and ensured its future success. If that entailed quietly buying out Jomi Enterprises and keeping its president in his pocket, he would do it. Cho Jongyoon was millions in debt and desperate to hide it, and his cooperation was too useful to pass by; Eeteuk, as SME's CIO, couldn't afford to not keep him in debt.
"I'll take your son under my wing," he'd promised.
"He'll be yours to command," Cho Jongyoon had replied stiffly, still too proud to sound grateful.
Kangin's hands dropped from Eeteuk's shoulders to his waist, pulling him back against Kangin's chest. "Hey," he murmured, "why don't you think about something else." His teeth closed lightly on Eeteuk's ear.
Eeteuk's eyes fell shut of their own accord. Instead of thinking about the stealthy, under-the-table acquisition of Jomi Enterprises or the boy who would be coming under his care or even the investigation he was currently conducting against one of his own members, Eeteuk let his mind focus solely on the feel of Kangin's mouth on him. Everything else could wait. Things would pan out, given time. He had better things to think about right now, like Kangin's tongue and the celebration later that night.
Eeteuk let himself go and, for the next hour and a half, was only Jungsu.
Then the phone rang, and Bumsoo backed out.
Park Bumsoo, who had made a recent name for himself with some new technology. His rising company had been competition for AH Electronics, which meant Sungmin had been less than pleased about his induction, but the majority had ruled in favor, and Eeteuk had extended the invitation.
Bumsoo had already been initiated. What the hell was he doing, backing out now?
Eeteuk was not pleased.
***
July 2009
Kyuhyun was at the meeting in his official capacity as SM Enterprises' CBDO. Sungmin had tagged along with his company's general counsel, as was his right to do as the president's son. He was utterly professional throughout the meeting, with no untoward looks or suspicious smiles. Kyuhyun ended satisfactory negotiations with a handshake with AH Electronics' two representatives and paused when he felt Sungmin's fingers light on his arm, silently asking him to stay.
"I'll be just a moment," he told the SME chief legal officer. "Ten minutes. Keep the car waiting."
"Of course, Mr. Cho," the woman murmured as she left, portfolio in hand.
They were alone in the room. Kyuhyun turned to Sungmin, who was standing too close. "What?"
"You did an impressive job today," Sungmin said smoothly. "Thank you for your hard work and cooperation. We really appreciate it." All the right words, and the polite but detached smile. Sungmin took Kyuhyun's hand in a firm clasp, then left the room.
Kyuhyun kept the slip of paper Sungmin had palmed him covered in his hand until, twenty minutes later, the company car dropped him off at his office. Only after he was seated behind his desk did Kyuhyun finally glance down at the paper to see three of Jongwoon's security passcodes. He frowned, even as his mind leaped into rapid calculation about what barriers this would remove in hacking Jongwoon's systems and how much time it would save him.
Sungmin was proving helpful, as he and Ryeowook had promised. The problem was that Kyuhyun still didn't know why.
***
November 2008
"I was going to have you X-ed out," Donghae said as he rolled over and caught his breath.
Kibum's palm was hot and damp on his hip. "Hmmm?" he hummed questioningly as he nosed along Donghae's jaw, pressing light kisses into his skin. He didn't seem particularly bothered by Donghae's confession, or the sheets sticking to their bodies. Instead, he slid his hand up Donghae's side and tugged him closer, slinging one leg over Donghae's.
"You horny bastard," Donghae laughed.
"I'm eighteen." His grin was unrepentant as he leaned in and kissed Donghae, tongue warm in his mouth, tasting faintly of champagne.
It was a crime to let good champagne go to waste. Donghae kissed him back enthusiastically, wrapping an arm around his back to hold him tight. He was gasping again when they finally broke for air, but pleased. There was nothing like kissing Kibum - or sex with Kibum - to distract him, and oh such a pleasant distraction it was.
Donghae closed his eyes, licking his lips absently, and let Kibum trail wet patterns against his neck, slow and unhurried. They were both exhausted and not ready for a second round, but the tickling sensation was pleasant. It kept Donghae from dwelling too long on the party that hadn't happened, and the champagne that had been drunk in bitterness rather than in celebration.
They had made a mistake with Park Bumsoo. He’d been wary from the start, but he'd seemed willing enough. He was awkward, certainly, and had not endeared himself to most of the members, but that wasn't the criteria he was judged on, even if Heechul had made a number of cutting remarks behind his back. They hadn't expected Bumsoo to go through both legs of his initiation only to turn tail only hours before his welcome party.
"He's X-ed," was all Kangin said, flatly, when he called. And that left Kibum with five bottles of French champagne he wouldn't be bringing over to Eeteuk's. Donghae had helped him down two bottles, fingers white around the stem of the flute, movements just this side of jerky and abruptly. He'd eventually given into the desire that always seemed to bubble just under his skin when Kibum was around, molten. Drunken fumblings had brought them here, in Kibum's king-sized bed with its thousand-thread count sheets tangled around them, Kibum mouthing soundless words into Donghae's collarbone.
Somewhere outside of Kibum's flat, Bumsoo was being taken care of.
He would be destroyed, methodically, from his financial status to his personal reputation - a quiet dismantling of his honor. It would certainly take a while and require utmost discretion, but it would happen, with combined effort. Whatever he knew about XS would be kept quiet, with a combination of threats and bribes and - worst of all - that insidious, slender hope of redemption. It would never happen, but he would never know that, and he would always cling to it as salvation.
It left a bitter taste in Donghae's mouth, but he had submitted himself to this willingly when he'd shaken Eunhyuk's hand and kissed Heechul back. His father had left him with a legacy, and Donghae had learned to grit his teeth and turn a blind eye on things that made his stomach turn. Eliminating people from XS was one of those necessary evils.
Donghae had wanted Kibum X-ed once. Only a year ago, six months after Kibum had joined XS and had taken it upon himself to fuck with Lee Metal Industries in a blatant dare to Donghae. The memory struck Donghae as fairly ludicrous now, with Kibum heavy on top of him and his hands stroking the small of Kibum's bare back.
Who knew it had been a blatant invitation, the ultimate, corporate version of pigtail-tugging. Pay attention to me, Kibum had been saying, a smirk curving those lips and a challenge in his eyes. I'll never let you ignore me.
And Donghae hadn't, not since their first confrontation, and the razor-sharp rivalry of two months that had culminated in Kibum being slammed against a wall and Donghae being thoroughly kissed. A little less than a year later, here they were.
Donghae shifted his hips and pulled Kibum between his legs, thoughts fading in the face of something much more pleasurable.
Bumsoo had been a mistake. Kibum hadn't.
PART II
Definitions of Success
Kibum/Donghae, Kyuhyun/Sungmin, others | corporate!AU/drama | 33,495 words
Kibum has yet to master the game but Kyuhyun doesn't even know he's playing. Their lives get tangled in an underground corporate society, where even love is subject to a cost-benefit analysis.
PART I
Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess. -Oscar Wilde
April 2006
As secret society names went, XS did not scream of hidden meanings or cult-like pretensions. It was, in the end, for the better. They were made up of corporate managers and sons of CEOs, born in the spotlight and raised in the public eye - they were not here to hide in the dark. XS happened behind closed doors, like much business, but it was their silence that kept their secrets, not the shadows.
Kim Kibum was only sixteen when they opened their doors to him. He was the youngest inductee since the inception of XS, but it was, perhaps, only fitting. He was the youngest full-time employee of Kim and Walker Enterprises, and he was already in a managing position.
Certainly, there were child labor laws. He was ostensibly nothing more than a figurehead, the only son of the company's Chairman of the Board and CEO, learning the ropes to the family business. But there was no mistaking the truth of his power, despite what official representatives said; the media and the public knew that when Kibum made decisions, they were carried out to full effect. Kim Seungtaek started them young.
"Too young," Kangin said, folding his arms and leaning back into his leather chair. He scowled. "He's a child."
"He has more responsibility than any of us had at his age," Eeteuk said reasonably from the head of the conference table. He glanced around the table, seeking second opinions.
"I say let him join."
Heechul, looking dismissive of the discussion, twirled his pen with an insouciant air. Sungmin frowned.
"He hasn't even finished school-"
"He was tutored at home," Eeteuk said. "They might send him to Seoul University just for show, but I'm fairly certain it will be secondary to his position at Kim and Walker." With his future lined up before him, getting a degree was more about prestige than about learning anything useful. Such had been the case with the rest of them.
There was a soft laugh and all eyes swiveled to the corner of the table opposite Eeteuk. Donghae was grinning. "He needs his fun, then. Let him in." He leaned forward slightly and let his grin widen deliberately, a familiar sparkle of mischief dancing in his eyes. "And just think of the initiation you can give him."
Kangin met his eyes. Heechul only rolled his. Eeteuk put it to vote and Donghae's persuasion must have succeeded because the final decision was unanimous. Kim Kibum was in. The meeting was over.
Now it was only a matter of extending an invitation to the lucky kid.
And seeing if he made it through the initiation.
***
July 2009
Kyuhyun pulled off his tie and tossed it over the back of his chair as he approached his desk. He picked up the ivory envelope lying in the center of the glass surface where he couldn't miss it. The high-quality paper was heavy and thick under his fingers. His name was printed in black ink across the front, sharp and pristine.
Kyuhyun tucked a thumb under the flap and pulled it apart from the rose wax that had sealed it closed. He was curious - who was still old-fashioned enough to seal envelopes with wax these days? Even in the tradition-laced corporate world, it was strange.
From within, he pulled out a card made of the same heavy stock as the envelope. The letters XS were written in block print, simple and unadorned, like his name had been. He flipped the card over and found one sentence:
Moving up in the world?
Under that was a phone number.
There was nothing else.
Kyuhyun examined the card for another minute, then dropped it back on the desk when it yielded no more clues. He shrugged out of his suit jacket and laid that over the back of his chair as well, to hang up later. The corners of his mouth twitched downwards, a sign that he was thinking.
There was little doubt the card referenced his promotion at SM Enterprises. His father had timed the announcement to his acceptance into Seoul University's business program, so that the media buzz was twice as big. His father knew how to garner publicity - that, Kyuhyun had to acknowledge. And he knew how to use his connections in securing his eighteen-year-old son a prestigious spot with the largest corporation in the nation.
"I went to school with Park Woojung," he'd said, months earlier. "He promised me his son will look after you."
His son: Park Jungsu, who was older, more experienced, and infinitely more at ease when Kyuhyun had met him at a gala earlier in the year. He had been impeccably dressed in a tailor-made suit, his hair swept to the side, and dimples forming in his cheeks when he smiled. He was a smooth talker, welcoming Kyuhyun and issuing reassurances that he would fit in well and get accustomed to SM Enterprises in no time. Kyuhyun hadn't been quite sure what to make of him. He had never been one for the chatterboxes, but his personal opinion didn't matter when it came down to it. Park Jungsu was the CEO's son. He was Chief Communications Officer, at his age. He had power, and Kyuhyun had to court that. He had done his best in the past few months and had been rewarded with a promotion.
Moving up in the world?
Kyuhyun thought about the words as he padded across his bedroom to the accompanying bathroom.
Yes, he was moving up in the world. What did XS have to do with it?
He dropped his cufflinks onto the counter and rolled up his sleeves. Kyuhyun stared at his reflection in the mirror and frowned at his skin, again on the verge of breaking out. No matter how mature he felt inside, nature provided constant reminders of his youth, unmistakable in the glare of the bathroom lights.
Kyuhyun twisted the tap and bent to splash water on his face.
Young or not, he was moving up in the world. He wasn't going to stop anytime soon, either. He would call the number in the morning, he decided.
***
April 2006
Kibum passed with minimal fuss, if not flying colors.
Han Geng was unimpressed, but he conceded to himself that it was more likely due to some bitterness, considering how much he'd struggled through his own initiation, than to any particular failing on Kibum's part. The kid was, as advertised, a freakin' genius. Heechul patted his hand condescendingly at that meeting, hip propped against the table beside Han Geng's chair.
"It helps that he can speak the language," he said, all false sympathy.
"Piss off," Han Geng said in reply, shoving at Heechul to get him to sit. "We might as well get on with it." He wasn't impressed, but he wasn't displeased, either. A new inductee was always exciting, if only for the celebration XS threw afterwards. Han Geng had a bit of a thing for fine champagne.
Everyone settled into their familiar seats around the conference table before Eeteuk stood. He gestured as he spoke, animated as always. "Kim Kibum has passed his initiation. Shindong is with him and will bring him to us in ten minutes. We will hold the celebration in three days, so clear your schedules. Ryeowook, please handle the arrangements for that - Yesung, help him. What, Donghae?" His sharp gaze fell to the other end of the table, where Donghae had raised his hand in a half-mocking gesture.
"Can I be his mentor?" he asked, eyes crinkling in amusement.
"What the hell," said Kangin, exasperated. "We don't do mentors."
Donghae didn't look deterred.
Eeteuk eyed him for a moment, before breaking out into a little smile. "If you can convince him, have at it. I doubt you're his favorite person though, after that initiation."
Donghae's grin was unwavering. "I like a challenge."
"You're an idiot," said Eunhyuk, and hit him across the back of his head. Donghae elbowed him in retaliation and Eeteuk abandoned their corner of the table as a lost cause. Han Geng watched them briefly, amused. Twenty-year-olds, among the wealthiest and most powerful families in Seoul and all of South Korea, and they acted like they were ten. It was strangely charming.
"Will it be at your place?" Ryeowook asked, already entering information into his PDA.
Eeteuk sighed and sat back down. "I suppose." It was always at his place, because he was the only one with a flat large enough to accommodate all of the members. In fact, half of the members were still living at home. Han Geng's own place was comfortable and bespoke the money he'd earned in the past few years, but it wouldn't fit twelve with ease. Eeteuk's luxury condo, on the other hand, was his escape from his father and, of late, the unofficial party headquarters.
"I'll bring champagne," Han Geng volunteered and Eeteuk gave him a quick, grateful smile. Heechul laughed softly in his ear, because he knew Han Geng too well.
Kibum arrived shortly after, escorted inside by Shindong. He looked calm and not the least bit apprehensive as he stood just inside the door, regarding the occupants of the room. His expression didn't change as Shindong took his seat beside Siwon, leaving Kibum the only one standing.
With a subtle flick of his fingers, Eeteuk had Ryeowook stand up. He had been the newest inductee before Kibum. As per tradition, he would be the one to officially welcome Kibum into the fold.
He betrayed no nervousness as he met Kibum's gaze, which made Han Geng nod to himself in silent approval. Such was the change these few months in XS had wrought. Ryeowook was not the cutthroat business operative most of them were - but he was stubborn. When he made up his mind about something, he would stick to it, firm in his beliefs and unwavering despite any opposition. He cleared his throat gently, drawing Kibum's attention, and smiled faintly.
"Kim Kibum," he said. "You've moved up in the world."
Kibum's mouth thinned as he digested this.
"XS welcomes you," Ryeowook said, and extended his hand.
There was silence as they waited, eleven pairs of eyes on Kibum, underscored by the faintest tick tick tick of the world's most expensive watches.
After what seemed like an eternity, Kibum nodded and took Ryeowook's hand in a firm handshake. "Thank you," he said.
As Donghae, Eunhyuk, and Sungmin exploded into loud cheers and applause, Kibum smiled for the first time since coming into the room. Han Geng watched the others converge on their newest member with hearty slaps on the back and congratulatory handshakes. He turned to murmur into Heechul, "Not even a year. Ten months."
To his surprise, Heechul's eyes were trained on Kibum. "No," he said, disagreeing with Han Geng for once. "I think he'll last."
***
July 2009
He was surprised by the faces that greeted him when he entered the room. The best and the brightest of Seoul's business world - the young and the powerful, familiar to him through past business functions, through his father's lecturing, and through, of course, the media. Kyuhyun didn't like the way they looked at him, judgment weighing in their eyes as they evaluated him from the comfort of their leather chairs. He felt himself stiffen unconsciously in response.
Trying to relax, lest his body language started giving away advantages he didn't want to give away, Kyuhyun stood at the end of the conference room at the foot of the long table. Everyone - a quick mental count added up to twelve - sat with a glass before him, water or liquor, he couldn't tell. Crystal ashtrays dotted the length of the table. It was a typical boardroom, save its location two levels below ground, directly beneath the national headquarters of the Bank of Seoul. There were no floor-length windows, as were typical in most conference rooms, but still the surroundings screamed of luxury and excess.
Excess, Kyuhyun thought, with sudden amusement. XS. Of course.
Park Jungsu sat at the head of the table, sipping at his glass and watching Kyuhyun silently.
It was a waiting game, he could tell. They wanted him to break the silence, be the one to ask. It kept the control in their hands, with the power to answer or deny him as they would.
Well, he had already come this far. Might as well play the game all the way to the end, even if it meant following their rules for the moment.
Kyuhyun slipped his hands into his pockets, doing his best to appear casual despite his sweaty palms. He was young, yes, but they were barely a few years older than him. It wasn't as though he were facing a room full of clones of his father. Kyuhyun lifted his chin. "So, why am I here?" It bordered on rude, the blunt words.
Lee Sungmin cracked a smile, fleeting, but Kyuhyun caught it. Lee Sungmin, son of the president of the country's largest electronics corporation. Perfectly polite in public, but rumored to indulge in strings of affairs with older women.
Kyuhyun was getting a better idea of what XS entailed in these first five minutes alone.
"Why are you here? That's the question, isn't it?"
The words jarred Kyuhyun from his speculations and he was surprised to find Kim Kibum addressing him, rather than Park Jungsu. He would have guessed that Jungsu was the leader, from his position at the table. Kyuhyun schooled his expression from showing too much surprise. His eyes met Kibum's dark, unreadable gaze.
"I was given this time and address over the phone," he replied.
"Do you always do as you're told?" Kibum challenged.
"Only when I'm curious."
Kibum laced his fingers, hands resting on the tabletop before him. He smiled, slowly. "Are you curious about XS?"
Kyuhyun straightened. "I'm here, aren't I?"
A few approving nods followed his statement. Kyuhyun kept his gaze on Kibum, who sat at the end of the table closest to him. In Kyuhyun's peripheral vision, he could make out someone writing a note and passing it down the line. Someone else shifted in his seat. Ice cubes clinked on someone's drink as they lifted their glass.
It was still Kibum who did the talking. "So you are. So why don't you tell us what you know about XS?"
Another test. Kyuhyun was familiar with these games. He'd attended enough meetings and functions with his father in his youth to have learned the hidden questions in every conversation, and how knowledge and rhetoric were wielded like weapons. A deft word could provide a shield while a clumsy one could be catastrophic. The members of XS would surely be similarly aware. They had grown up with veiled conversations, just like Kyuhyun, and practiced these skills in their day-to-day operations. Underneath the underneath. They wanted to know what he knew.
Part of him still wasn't sure what he was doing here. When he had resolved to call the mysterious number, he hadn't known what he was getting himself into. Kyuhyun had been, as he said, curious. He was more of a risk taker than his father was, willing to consider offers Cho Jongyoon would refuse to let in the door of his office. He took gambles that made his father frown, but Kyuhyun's instincts, so far, had proven true: he had yet to make a mistake. He had been lucky.
He wondered if his luck would hold true with XS, and those twelve pairs of weighing eyes.
Hands still in his pockets, Kyuhyun spoke. "XS is made of those who are young and powerful. All of you are important people in the business world - in Korea, and globally. You know it. You wear your wealth easily. You display it." The tailor-made silk suits, the expensive watches and rings, the crystal ashtrays and rich leather of the chairs... Every little detail spoke of being accustomed to the best.
"You are..." he trailed off momentarily, before pushing forward. Risktakers didn't hesitate. They didn't show their hand. "You are interested in me," Kyuhyun said, and his gaze was challenging as it traveled past each member. Their expressions were all carefully blank, practiced. Kyuhyun had to stop a jolt of surprise when he encountered a familiar face.
Kim Ryeowook. He hadn't noticed him earlier.
Ryeowook, whom he'd known since he was a toddler, whose father was close business associates with Kyuhyun's. How had he ended up here? Kyuhyun had never suspected, and he had even considered Ryeowook something of a friend, more than just the son of another of his father's associates. Ryeowook showed no sign of recognition as Kyuhyun paused on his face.
So Kyuhyun went on, slightly off-balance. He wondered if he would be given any answers.
"You are interested in me. You made first contact. You think I have...something to offer XS." Kyuhyun thought a bit more. "You are almost certain I will accept, because otherwise I would know too much."
There were a few more smiles in the group now. Kyuhyun picked them out and identified them. Sungmin, again. Lee Donghae. Shin Donghee. Kim Heechul.
And Kibum was still smiling, but whatever approval Kyuhyun might have read into it was overshadowed by its sharp edge. This was a man who had wielded power in Kim and Walker since he was sixteen, Kyuhyun recalled. He was not even a year older than Kyuhyun.
"Very good," he purred, leaning forward. "That's all true. But what does XS do?"
And that was the question, wasn't it?
***
May 2006
"You've got to be joking," Kibum said, scowling. "XS doesn't have a mentor program. What are you doing here?"
Donghae leaned an arm on the doorframe and cocked his hip, suit jacket slung over one shoulder like a model. "Eeteuk assigned me as your mentor," he repeated cheerfully. "You don't have to believe it, but that's how it is. Now are you going to let me in or what?"
"Or what." Despite his hostile tone, Kibum stepped back, holding the door open. Donghae followed him inside, taking in the condo. It wasn't spacious, like Eeteuk's was, but it was a comfortable size for someone living on his own, even if it was off his father's money. Donghae was impressed by the little details. The art on the walls was by Korea's most well-known modern artist; the huge flat-screen TV dominated the living room; the marble countertops in the small kitchen gleamed in the low lights - Donghae certainly hadn't been living like this when he was sixteen. He definitely hadn't had his own mini-bar.
Donghae headed directly for that, dropping his jacket over the arm of the couch. "What've you got to drink?" He slid behind the bar and rifled through the cabinet without so much as a by-your-leave. He emerged from his search with a bottle of Irish whiskey and a glass, bangs ruffled and expression pleased. Kibum only sighed at him.
"Want any?" Donghae pulled out another glass and set it on the counter.
"What are you doing here, Donghae?"
Kibum had moved to the other side of the counter, eyes dark as he stared at Donghae. He was, Donghae noticed, far less tense than he'd been in their previous encounters. It made sense though - this was Kibum's flat. This was his territory. His white collared shirt was unbuttoned at the throat, his hair tousled as if he'd been running his hands through it. His shirt was tucked loosely into his slacks and he was barefoot. He had obviously been relaxing before Donghae had barged into his night - maybe doing things other sixteen-year-olds did, like playing video games or looking at porn. Donghae snorted to himself.
Kim Kibum was certainly like no other sixteen-year-old Donghae knew. For one thing, the well-stocked bar...
Donghae poured himself a finger of whiskey and two for Kibum, pushing the fuller glass across the bar towards the younger man, certain he'd take it. No point in having so much liquor if he didn't drink it. His father was clearly a generous man with his son.
"I'm getting to know our newest inductee a little better," he replied with a quick smile.
Kibum raised an eyebrow. "I think we got to know each other well enough during my initiation." He lifted the glass to his lips.
Donghae laughed. "Don't lie, you liked it." He smirked a little and ran his tongue over his lips suggestively.
"Is that really part of the initiation or did Jungsu-hyung just throw that in there for kicks?"
"Eeteuk," Donghae corrected him absently. It always took the new members a while to adjust to the new names. "And it's always been part of the initiation."
"Who was yours?"
His voice was casual but Donghae could tell he was genuinely curious, and that delighted him. Donghae hadn't been joking when he'd said he liked a challenge, but he liked it even better when there was reciprocal interest. Donghae had nothing against things being easy. He leaned forward a little bit, tilting his head and letting his eyelids drop to half-mast, pleased at the way Kibum's eyes followed him.
"Heechul," he murmured throatily.
Heechul had been the one to initiate him, a tongue in his mouth and a hand down the front of his pants. It was one of his fondest memories, and was partly why Donghae was one of Heechul's favorites, even now.
Another of his fondest memories was having his tongue down Kibum's throat, Donghae recalled with welcomed warmness. The kid was young and it didn't show in his business dealings, but the way he fumbled into the kisses gave him away. He had been too busy learning how to handle corporate sharks to fool around. It was a damned pity, in Donghae's opinion, but he was more than happy to offer his services.
Purely as a mentor, of course.
Donghae grinned at the faint haze in Kibum's eyes as his thoughts strayed to the image Donghae had conjured by mention of Heechul's name.
"Anyway," he said, moving out from behind the bar with his drink in hand, "I want to see your place. I can't believe you're living on your own."
Kibum pulled himself out of his brief mental wandering and followed Donghae as he ambled down the hallway towards the bedroom. "It was a reward for my entry into the business," he said. "My father promised me personal space. He trusts in my judgment."
"And it was a wise decision you made to join XS," Donghae said agreeably. He let Kibum catch up with him and slung a companionable arm over his shoulders, not missing the way Kibum stiffened beneath his touch almost imperceptibly. "You're going to have a lot of fun, Kibummie. You have the money and the power to do basically anything. And, y'know, XS is gonna give you the incentive."
Donghae had a feeling most people, if they ever found out about their little secret society, would be pissed off at first and then terrified. Pissed off only because they were envious of the money and power being thrown around by young - very young - corporate heads. Terrified not because of the collective amount of power held by those in one room - but because those with that much power...were bored.
"Fun, huh?" Kibum sounded skeptical, but he was smiling.
"Absolutely," Donghae promised in his ear. "We're going to make you memories of a lifetime."
***
July 2009
"Stock manipulation. Petty embezzlement. Fucking with human resources. Bugging offices. Gratuitous amounts of sex. Am I missing something?" Yesung ticked off the list on his fingers, and glanced around the room as the meeting wrapped up.
"One of those things does not belong with the others," Shindong laughed.
Sungmin slugged him in the shoulder. "Quiet, you. Sex always belongs!"
"Think he'll figure it out?" Yesung pondered.
Ryeowook nodded. "Kyuhyun's a genius. It won't take him long." Considering the first part of Kyuhyun's initiation...
Social hour reigned now that Kyuhyun had been escorted from the room and back to the ground level entrance, his assignment in mind and a three week deadline impressed upon him. He'd told them quietly that it wouldn't take three weeks, the jut of his chin defiant.
"Cocky little bastard, isn't he?" Kangin said, slinging an arm around Eeteuk's shoulders and pulling him close. His balanced a cigarette between the fingers of his free hand, blowing smoke into the air.
"Worse than you were," Eeteuk agreed. But it had been bravado, and he had identified it immediately. Cho Kyuhyun was not as confident as he appeared. Eeteuk tilted his head back against his chair and Kangin, perched on the arm, brought his cigarette to Eeteuk's lips. He sucked in a long breath and let it seep out. "Number thirteen," he murmured, eyes falling shut as the nicotine worked its way through him.
Kangin hummed in agreement, sliding his hand from Eeteuk's shoulder to card gently through his hair.
Thirteen was a large number, Eeteuk thought, and stole another drag off Kangin's cigarette. Thirteen was an unlucky number.
But corporate empires didn't run on luck, they ran on business acumen and ruthless underhanded dealing. XS had withstood the tests of five and a half years. They could withstand an unlucky number with a stubborn chin and the mind of a genius. Eeteuk would make sure of it.
***
October 2007
Heechul started off the morning by finalizing the acquisition of some small company that he didn't even bother remembering the name of. He hadn't done most of the legwork on this deal - in fact, he had merely conducted one pointed conversation with whatever agent had been present at the meeting and was now signing off on the papers closing the deal. The takeover was complete and not, according to the papers, hostile. No one had to know what went on behind closed doors, or what went unsaid during the meeting Heechul participated in.
Heechul was thinking about another takeover before lunch - Kyeohee Inc. looked promising, and Kangin had been eyeing it recently, which would make it only more fun to take it before he did - and flipping through the folder on his desk when his phone buzzed. He hit the intercom button. "Yes?"
"Lee Donghae to see you, sir."
"Let him in."
It wasn't even eleven in the morning - what could Donghae possibly want? Heechul disconnected the line to his secretary and put the folder aside, curious. It must have been important...or related to XS. Their business was never conducted on paper, on email, or on record: they worked only face-to-face and through phone calls. Eeteuk had laid down rules, and they were all savvy enough to see the reasoning behind them.
Donghae walked through his door and shut it behind him, firmly. He looked, Heechul noted idly, furious. His interest was piqued but he waited, knowing Donghae would break the silence.
"Do you know what that fucking bastard did?" Donghae strode towards his desk.
"I'm sure you'll tell me."
Donghae slammed a manila folder identical to the one Heechul had just been looking at onto Heechul's desk. "Take a look," he snarled, and Heechul knew whatever "that fucking bastard" had done had really crossed some lines. It took a lot to make easy-going Donghae this angry.
Heechul flipped open the folder and skimmed the contents.
His eyes widened involuntarily and he cursed under his breath. "He didn't..."
"He did. That fucker." Donghae dropped heavily into the chair in front of Heechul's desk, every line of his body tense.
"I see your mentoring has been paying off."
"Don't even joke, Heechul," Donghae warned. "It's been half a year and he thinks he's hot shit now? Just because he's seventeen? What the hell does he think he's doing, moving in on my territory?"
Heechul flipped through the documents, eyes narrowing as he took in the fine print. "This is ridiculous. He didn't even use an agent..." Papers rustled and Heechul looked up after a moment. "He wants you to know."
Donghae didn't argue, mouth tight at the corners. It was strange not to see him smiling, but he took his work seriously when he had to. He liked to play, no doubt about it, and his light-hearted, friendly personality endeared him to the other members of XS as well as to the public at large. But Donghae had inherited power when his father had died early, unexpectedly, and he wasn't one to fool around with his father's legacy. He wasn't one to let others fool around with it either.
"Yeah. The bastard wants me to know he's soliciting internal information about our company. And - did you see the figures? He's messing with our dividends. Nothing huge, just enough for me to sit up and notice. He knows any discrepancy would have to be reported. I'm going to-" Donghae bit off the rest of sentence, shadows shifting over his face.
It was unbelievable, Kibum's nerve, but it was all laid out before Heechul in black-and-white: transcripts of the phone conversations he'd conducted with various high-ranking officers in Lee Metal Industries, seeking what was clearly confidential information about trading and selling. He had been rebuffed in all cases, but that he would pursue the information so blatantly, especially considering his own station in Kim and Walker... He was walking a fine line of risk here. That he was sending Donghae a message was unquestionable - what he was trying to say, however, left Heechul at a loss.
It also made him angry.
Donghae was right - Kibum was too young and too new to be pulling stunts like these. They had all known he was smart, cunning, ambitious - it was what had interested XS in him in the first place. It was why Heechul had put his money on Kibum to last.
"Ten months," Han Geng had said.
"He'll last," Heechul had replied, because he'd believed it.
But ruthlessness, as much as Heechul appreciated it and was more than familiar with it, had a limit. You didn't fuck around with the other members of XS. It was an unspoken agreement - a pact.
Six months in and Kibum had not yet, apparently, learned that lesson.
"Are you going to Eeteuk?" Heechul asked, closing the folder with a jerk of his wrist. He looked up at Donghae's glittering eyes.
"This is personal. I want to deal with him first and see what the hell he thinks he's doing." His lips curved into a facsimile of a smile. "I'm his mentor, after all."
Heechul promised Donghae with a dark look to help in whatever he needed. No words had to be said - Donghae knew Heechul would be on his side.
Some of the rage drained out of Donghae. He nodded, equally silent, and stood, leaning forward to thank Heechul with a brief, swift kiss and a half-hearted smile that didn't come close to his usual. Heechul sent him off with friendly nip at his lower lip and his folder, before leaning back into his chair. Something fierce burned high in his chest - Donghae may have been Eunhyuk's inductee, but he was Heechul's initiate. No one, especially cocky seventeen-year-old geniuses, fucked with what was Heechul's.
He was still angry when he met with Siwon for dinner. He had spent most of the afternoon turning over things in his mind, taking it out on his secretary and the internet. Work had been put off in favor of an angry, locked blog post, but Heechul didn't feel any less agitated sitting across from Siwon at a swanky four-star restaurant.
"What does he want?" Siwon asked, brows furrowed as Heechul relayed the news.
"Who the fuck knows?" Heechul stabbed at his plate in irritation. "Donghae says he wants to talk to him first, figure it out. I'd rather just eviscerate him." He rolled his eyes at Siwon's expression. "Not literally. Maybe just hire away some of his best people."
Siwon took a long sip of his wine before he answered. Heechul had another bite of his steak in the meantime, wishing almost dismally for 3000-won kimbap. Or Kibum's face under his steak knife. He cut a little more viciously at his food.
"Heechul," Siwon said at last, "I don't think you should interfere."
"It's Donghae."
Siwon frowned again at Heechul's sharp tone. "I know, hyung. But it's still within the group." He didn't mention XS by name - they were in public, after all. In a private room of the restaurant, certainly, but none of them took stupid risks.
Heechul sighed. Stupid risks. He knew better than to take those.
"Within the group, everyone needs to sort out their individual problems," Siwon continued, serious. "We don't get involved."
He wasn't saying anything Heechul didn't already know. The unwritten rules were not meant to be broken with stupid risks. Kibum had broken them already, but that was up to Donghae to deal with, and Donghae alone.
"Fuck," Heechul said with feeling, and jabbed at his steak again.
Siwon watched him take it out on the unsuspecting plate with something akin to sympathy. "I'm sorry, hyung."
Sorry didn't fix anything, but that was the point, wasn't it? They couldn't fix anything. It would be up to Donghae to confront Kibum. Sometimes Heechul wasn't sure he liked XS's unwritten rules at all, but he swallowed the bile in his throat and let it go.
***
July 2009
It was Saturday, and Kyuhyun was free to run his own errands. It had been three days since he had been given his initiation assignment and he had yet to make a move towards completing it. He had spent the time thinking, instead.
The city was bustling with people and Kyuhyun lost himself easily in the crowd. He wasn't out to make a statement today and had dressed casually, slipping onto the subway instead of asking for his driver or taking out his Audi. No one needed to know where he was going on this sunny afternoon.
Kyuhyun was good with hearing what wasn't said, and XS had not said, explicitly, that he was not allowed to ask for help. He wondered at that - was it a deliberate loophole, or had they merely overlooked that in their instructions to him? Kyuhyun recalled Kibum's measured, detached voice as he told Kyuhyun what was expected of him.
No, it was unlikely that they had overlooked anything. Not this group.
So Kyuhyun had made a phone call and set up a meeting. It was a quiet Western-style café on a small street that branched off the main road, with booths tucked far away enough from each other to keep conversations private, without cloaking them in obvious secrecy. It was at one of these booths that Kyuhyun spotted Ryeowook.
He lengthened his stride to reach the booth, a smile ready and poised on his face. His greeting froze when he realized there was another person in the booth as well. Kyuhyun's steps slowed as he studied the back of the stranger's head. All he could see was soft black hair and a glint of an earring.
The guessing game came to a halt when Ryeowook noticed him and murmured something. The other person turned and Kyuhyun fought his instinctive displeasure at seeing Lee Sungmin's face. Why was he there? Had he invited himself along, or had Ryeowook invited him? Kyuhyun had no business with him.
His displeasure grew when he realized that Ryeowook and Sungmin were sitting opposite each other in the booth - Kyuhyun would have to slide next to one or the other. He could sit with Sungmin, to better face Ryeowook when speaking to him, or he could avoid him and have to turn every time he wanted to say something to Ryeowook.
Kyuhyun narrowed his eyes and slid into the booth beside Sungmin. Never let it be said that Cho Kyuhyun didn't take challenges. He was intent, as XS had underscored, on "moving up in the world", after all.
"Kyuhyun," Ryeowook greeted him with a smile. "How are you? I hope it's okay that Sungmin is here too. He'd like to help."
"Really." Kyuhyun looked skeptically at Sungmin, who only smiled. Kyuhyun turned back to Ryeowook. "If you're sure..." He let the doubt permeate his tone.
"Trust me."
Ryeowook's voice was steady. Kyuhyun wondered if it was XS that had put the steel beneath his voice. Ryeowook, for his position, had always been a touch too shy, a touch too nice - Kyuhyun remembered thinking so every time he had run into the other boy at charity dinners and business functions. Kyuhyun wondered if Ryeowook had hidden this side of him all along, and perhaps Kyuhyun had just never realized. Sungmin, from the sidelong glance Kyuhyun stole, seemed entirely unperturbed.
Kyuhyun had come this far. That is what he kept telling himself.
"All right," he said with a nod. Trust. Something risky in the world they were in, but sometimes it yielded more than its share of return for the investment. "I wanted to talk about my...assignment."
"Is it going to be a problem?" Ryeowook asked, the same hardness under what would otherwise be a concerned tone.
"You want me to, ah, move some money around." To put it in layman's terms.
"Yes." Both Sungmin and Ryeowook stared at him.
"Jongwoon's money."
There was silence for a long moment. During this time, the waitress approached and asked if she could take Kyuhyun's order, diffusing the tension with a smile. Kyuhyun asked for coffee and waited for her to step out of earshot before speaking again.
"You want me to embezzle from Wanbyeokhae Industries?" he repeated in a low voice, barely above a whisper.
"Is this going to be a problem?" Ryeowook asked again.
Strangely, he sounded more sympathetic this time than he had previously. Kyuhyun wasn't sure how to take it. "Does Jongwoon know about this?" Is he going to allow it?
"He does," Ryeowook reassured him with a little smile. His expression had softened further. "Don't worry about that, Kyuhyun. We all know what your assignment is." He sipped at his tea and added, quietly, "He won't make it easy for you, you know."
As suspected. Kyuhyun sat back, taking it all in. Sungmin rustled in the seat beside him, still as silent as ever. Ryeowook had said Sungmin wanted to help. Did he? Why? Kyuhyun examined him from underneath his lashes: Lee Sungmin, the media's darling. Sweet-faced with a ready smile, dark eyes and dark hair, skin a model would envy... He was picture-perfect and effortlessly polite to his elders and to the reporters that tailed him with their flashing cameras. Kyuhyun could see easily how he could woo those older women - some married, he'd heard - into his bed. He was already filthy rich, but couple that with that face? Kyuhyun was surprised the line wasn't miles long, gold-diggers and idolaters combined.
And he wanted to help Kyuhyun get into XS. Strange, but perhaps not unreasonable.
Kyuhyun would proceed with caution.
The waitress brought his coffee over, with a tiny silver spoon and a silver pot of milk. "Enjoy!" she said with another warm smile. Her eyes flicked to Sungmin before she left, lingering.
Kyuhyun suppressed an eyeroll. At least his observation skills were still keen.
"All right," he said, reaching for the milk. "I would appreciate any advice you could give me."
Ryeowook smiled at him and Sungmin let out a soft breath of laughter. It was a pleasant sound. "You picked the right person to ask," he murmured, passing Kyuhyun the sugar. "Ryeowook's sleeping with Yesung."
"Sungmin," Ryeowook exclaimed, a flush rising. Now that was the uncertain boy Kyuhyun recognized from before. The uncertain boy sleeping with the youngest member of Wanbyeokhae Industries' Board of Directors.
Kyuhyun stirred his coffee, bemused by the surreal turn his life had taken. Luck seemed to favor him, though, and Sungmin's smile was bright and beguiling. Kyuhyun could work with that.
***
October 2007
"Did you talk to Kibum?"
Donghae didn't look up from the documents he was reviewing, pen in one hand and phone in the other. "We don't have to X him," he muttered. "Not yet, anyway."
Eeteuk said briskly, "All right. Keep me updated." His voice mellowed and warmed. "Watch out for yourself, Donghae. We've got your back."
Eeteuk always did look out for their best interests. Donghae's thanks was warmer too before he ended the call and frowned at the file before him. What the hell did Kibum think he was doing, sending secret messages through the system code he'd broken into and altered? He buzzed his secretary.
"Tell Kim Kibum I'm moving our meeting up to tomorrow morning. Take no excuses - he will make time to see me."
***
November 2008
Eeteuk had founded XS five years ago, when he was twenty-one and a year seasoned by his official position in SM Enterprises. Although both Kangin and Heechul were with him from the start, there had never been any question that XS was Eeteuk's baby, and he alone was the founder and the leader. He cared for it and invested in it to a level unmatched, and in return, everyone who came after yielded to his decision-making.
He wasn't without his own moments of doubt though. Despite having been brought up since childhood to lead, Eeteuk needed human reassurances as much as anyone else.
"You're doing the right thing," Kangin told him, rubbing a comforting palm down Eeteuk's back and then up over his shoulders. "It's business sense - creating your own advantages and securing your weaknesses. It would be stupid to do otherwise."
Eeteuk let his head loll forward as Kangin pressed his hands into Eeteuk's knotted muscles, massaging him firmly but gently. Unfortunately, it did nothing for the knot of doubt in his stomach. Even after so many years in the vicious corporate world, some things still left an unpleasant feeling. Takeovers were expected, of course, hostile or otherwise, for purely economic purposes. Coercion was common practice.
Walking the thin line between acceptable levels of coercion and what amounted to blackmail, however, made him a little queasy.
"You gotta do what you gotta do," Kangin said simply, and dug his thumbs into a particularly tense muscle. Eeteuk groaned and leaned forward a little more, Kangin's palms warm and soothing on his skin.
He was right, of course. Even if it was distasteful, even if it bordered on illegal, Eeteuk did what had to be done. He was a forward-thinker, always with the big picture in mind. He took care of what was his and ensured its future success. If that entailed quietly buying out Jomi Enterprises and keeping its president in his pocket, he would do it. Cho Jongyoon was millions in debt and desperate to hide it, and his cooperation was too useful to pass by; Eeteuk, as SME's CIO, couldn't afford to not keep him in debt.
"I'll take your son under my wing," he'd promised.
"He'll be yours to command," Cho Jongyoon had replied stiffly, still too proud to sound grateful.
Kangin's hands dropped from Eeteuk's shoulders to his waist, pulling him back against Kangin's chest. "Hey," he murmured, "why don't you think about something else." His teeth closed lightly on Eeteuk's ear.
Eeteuk's eyes fell shut of their own accord. Instead of thinking about the stealthy, under-the-table acquisition of Jomi Enterprises or the boy who would be coming under his care or even the investigation he was currently conducting against one of his own members, Eeteuk let his mind focus solely on the feel of Kangin's mouth on him. Everything else could wait. Things would pan out, given time. He had better things to think about right now, like Kangin's tongue and the celebration later that night.
Eeteuk let himself go and, for the next hour and a half, was only Jungsu.
Then the phone rang, and Bumsoo backed out.
Park Bumsoo, who had made a recent name for himself with some new technology. His rising company had been competition for AH Electronics, which meant Sungmin had been less than pleased about his induction, but the majority had ruled in favor, and Eeteuk had extended the invitation.
Bumsoo had already been initiated. What the hell was he doing, backing out now?
Eeteuk was not pleased.
***
July 2009
Kyuhyun was at the meeting in his official capacity as SM Enterprises' CBDO. Sungmin had tagged along with his company's general counsel, as was his right to do as the president's son. He was utterly professional throughout the meeting, with no untoward looks or suspicious smiles. Kyuhyun ended satisfactory negotiations with a handshake with AH Electronics' two representatives and paused when he felt Sungmin's fingers light on his arm, silently asking him to stay.
"I'll be just a moment," he told the SME chief legal officer. "Ten minutes. Keep the car waiting."
"Of course, Mr. Cho," the woman murmured as she left, portfolio in hand.
They were alone in the room. Kyuhyun turned to Sungmin, who was standing too close. "What?"
"You did an impressive job today," Sungmin said smoothly. "Thank you for your hard work and cooperation. We really appreciate it." All the right words, and the polite but detached smile. Sungmin took Kyuhyun's hand in a firm clasp, then left the room.
Kyuhyun kept the slip of paper Sungmin had palmed him covered in his hand until, twenty minutes later, the company car dropped him off at his office. Only after he was seated behind his desk did Kyuhyun finally glance down at the paper to see three of Jongwoon's security passcodes. He frowned, even as his mind leaped into rapid calculation about what barriers this would remove in hacking Jongwoon's systems and how much time it would save him.
Sungmin was proving helpful, as he and Ryeowook had promised. The problem was that Kyuhyun still didn't know why.
***
November 2008
"I was going to have you X-ed out," Donghae said as he rolled over and caught his breath.
Kibum's palm was hot and damp on his hip. "Hmmm?" he hummed questioningly as he nosed along Donghae's jaw, pressing light kisses into his skin. He didn't seem particularly bothered by Donghae's confession, or the sheets sticking to their bodies. Instead, he slid his hand up Donghae's side and tugged him closer, slinging one leg over Donghae's.
"You horny bastard," Donghae laughed.
"I'm eighteen." His grin was unrepentant as he leaned in and kissed Donghae, tongue warm in his mouth, tasting faintly of champagne.
It was a crime to let good champagne go to waste. Donghae kissed him back enthusiastically, wrapping an arm around his back to hold him tight. He was gasping again when they finally broke for air, but pleased. There was nothing like kissing Kibum - or sex with Kibum - to distract him, and oh such a pleasant distraction it was.
Donghae closed his eyes, licking his lips absently, and let Kibum trail wet patterns against his neck, slow and unhurried. They were both exhausted and not ready for a second round, but the tickling sensation was pleasant. It kept Donghae from dwelling too long on the party that hadn't happened, and the champagne that had been drunk in bitterness rather than in celebration.
They had made a mistake with Park Bumsoo. He’d been wary from the start, but he'd seemed willing enough. He was awkward, certainly, and had not endeared himself to most of the members, but that wasn't the criteria he was judged on, even if Heechul had made a number of cutting remarks behind his back. They hadn't expected Bumsoo to go through both legs of his initiation only to turn tail only hours before his welcome party.
"He's X-ed," was all Kangin said, flatly, when he called. And that left Kibum with five bottles of French champagne he wouldn't be bringing over to Eeteuk's. Donghae had helped him down two bottles, fingers white around the stem of the flute, movements just this side of jerky and abruptly. He'd eventually given into the desire that always seemed to bubble just under his skin when Kibum was around, molten. Drunken fumblings had brought them here, in Kibum's king-sized bed with its thousand-thread count sheets tangled around them, Kibum mouthing soundless words into Donghae's collarbone.
Somewhere outside of Kibum's flat, Bumsoo was being taken care of.
He would be destroyed, methodically, from his financial status to his personal reputation - a quiet dismantling of his honor. It would certainly take a while and require utmost discretion, but it would happen, with combined effort. Whatever he knew about XS would be kept quiet, with a combination of threats and bribes and - worst of all - that insidious, slender hope of redemption. It would never happen, but he would never know that, and he would always cling to it as salvation.
It left a bitter taste in Donghae's mouth, but he had submitted himself to this willingly when he'd shaken Eunhyuk's hand and kissed Heechul back. His father had left him with a legacy, and Donghae had learned to grit his teeth and turn a blind eye on things that made his stomach turn. Eliminating people from XS was one of those necessary evils.
Donghae had wanted Kibum X-ed once. Only a year ago, six months after Kibum had joined XS and had taken it upon himself to fuck with Lee Metal Industries in a blatant dare to Donghae. The memory struck Donghae as fairly ludicrous now, with Kibum heavy on top of him and his hands stroking the small of Kibum's bare back.
Who knew it had been a blatant invitation, the ultimate, corporate version of pigtail-tugging. Pay attention to me, Kibum had been saying, a smirk curving those lips and a challenge in his eyes. I'll never let you ignore me.
And Donghae hadn't, not since their first confrontation, and the razor-sharp rivalry of two months that had culminated in Kibum being slammed against a wall and Donghae being thoroughly kissed. A little less than a year later, here they were.
Donghae shifted his hips and pulled Kibum between his legs, thoughts fading in the face of something much more pleasurable.
Bumsoo had been a mistake. Kibum hadn't.
PART II