Mr. Seo

"A part of you has grown in me, together forever we shall be, never apart, maybe in distance, but not in heart." - Hakan Massoud Nawabi

Inguk called out her name and walked towards her, standing mere inches away.

Boyoung opened her mouth to say something but before she could, his strong arms were wrapped around her in a tight hug.

Boyoung was taken aback for a second but she couldn't deny that she wanted to do the same. She didn't hug him back but relaxed in his embrace.

"Boyoung! Thank God you're here" Inguk said sighing heavily.

He shut his eyes and rested his chin on the crook of her neck.

"Oppa.." Boyoung whispered, still confused about what kind of relationship was still there between them. Her hands reached up to his back and she hugged him lightly.

"I was so scared," Inguk said hugging her tighter.

Boyoung had not met him for the last year and they only talked a few times on the text. Both of them had been busy with their schedules and it made her feel distant from him. But she couldn't deny that she still had the same warmth for him in her heart. The friendship that they had developed during the shoot of DAYS had made them quite close and comfortable with each other.

Feeling his familiar scent fill her sense after so long, she finally put her hesitation aside and patted him on the back.

"It's alright, I'm here," she said.

"Mr. Seo" a manly voice interrupted and they immediately broke apart.

Boyoung nervously turned around rubbing her hands together, while Inguk coughed and moved aside.

He looked over to the cabin door and saw a tall person, dressed in formals flashing a smile at them. He had hazel eyes and brown hair. Inguk could feel that the person had a very strong personality.

"Hello," Inguk said bowing slightly.

"Hi," the person bowed too.

Boyoung was still thinking about the hug and felt a little disappointed with the intrusion.

"Boyoung ?" The person at the door called out.

" Ah! Yes, Hi .. sorry " she shook her head and looked at Inguk.

"Inguk-sshi, this is Kim Hyun Jung. He's the eldest son of Uncle Kim" Boyoung introduced.

"It's really nice to meet you, please come inside," Inguk said as Hyun Jung walked towards them.

"And, Jung ... this is Seo In Guk, my... friend," she said giving a side glance to Inguk.

" I know Boyoung " Hyun Jung said and shook hands with Inguk.

"Jung, I'm really sorry I don't know what Inguk-sshi was doing in your cabin," Boyoung said feeling confused and assuming that it was Hyung Jung who was the new president.

Hyun Jung chuckled and stretched his arms.

" This cabin? It's the President's Cabin Boyoungie, it's not mine" he said looking at Inguk.

" It's not?" Boyoung stammered, feeling entirely confused about what was happening.

Hyun Jung nodded and went to Inguk, slowly leading him to the President's chair.

" Please sit down," Jung said with a bright smile. Inguk followed hesitantly.

Jung took a deep breath and turned to Boyoung.

" Boyoung, meet our new President. Mr. Seo" he said.

Boyoung was left in shock. There was no way she could make out how that was possible. Her Uncle had never mentioned Inguk but she knew Inguk had done a show recently under his production.

"I- I am so confused," she said trying to laugh it out.

"I'll tell you dear" Jung walked to Boyoung and held her by the shoulders.

"My father has left the responsibility of his production house on the most reliable shoulders - Mr. Seo," he said, turning his head towards Inguk.

Inguk smiled hesitantly, still nervous about everything.

" Oh, really? I mean... I never thought of it. It's... " Boyoung stammered.

"Are you not happy Boyoungie? Your friend is our new President!" Jung exclaimed.

"Y-yes Of course I am very happy, but I just didn't see this coming so I'm a bit shocked," Boyoung said looking at Inguk.

"Oh! I'm sure you guys have a lot to catch up on. I'll be managing the accounts so I'm on the same floor. Just came here to greet my new Boss" Jung giggled and walked towards the door.

"Best friends actually " Inguk stood up from his chair and spoke loudly.

Jung turned around and raised his brow. Boyoung looked at Inguk with wide eyes.

"We are best friends," Inguk informed Jung.

"Oh, I see... that's good to know. I thought Boyoungie was closest to our family. But that's even better, best friends working together! All the best" Jung said with a smile and bowed before leaving the cabin.

Inguk went to Boyoung who looked at him with disgust.

"BEST FRIENDS?" Boyoung objected.

"Ah.." inguk sighed. " I'm sorry I've been busy Boyoung, but that doesn't mean we are not best friends anymore," he said.

"You WERE my best friend, now you're just a stranger" Boyoung whined.

"C'mon Boyoung, I said I'm sorry"

"I called you many times" Boyoung folded her arms and taunted.

"I was busy in the shoot, I called you back but you never responded" Inguk justified.

"You always called me when I was busy and when I called back, you never replied either" Boyoung shouted.

"Boyoung" inguk kept his hands on her shoulders. " I'm sorry, I guess both of us were just busy right? Let it go"

Boyoung rolled her eyes and stared at him.

"Fine. I was busy too and I ignored your calls later because I thought you didn't value our friendship anymore" Boyoung confessed.

Inguk sighed and looked around before looking back at her.

"It's nothing like that. I stopped calling after a while because I thought you forgot about me." He said.

"Then why are you back now? Why do you think I'm still your best friend?" Boyoung asked.

"I didn't know before meeting you. But when I hugged you suddenly and you didn't move away, you patted my back and consoled me. That's enough to know you're the same girl" he said.

Boyoung got a little flustered thinking how she didn't object at all when he hugged her. It was just like the old days when they were close to each other and she never felt a bit of discomfort with him.

"Fine. But I still don't believe you're the same person whom I called my best friend." She said putting his hands off her shoulder and walking away.

" Why ?" Inguk asked following her.

"You!" Boyoung said turning towards him " didn't even tell me about becoming the President of Star Infinity " she objected.

"Aaaaah! That's a long story Boyoung, please let me explain okay?" Inguk said.

"Fine, tell me why wasn't it important enough to tell your 'best friend' about this" she taunted.

"I'll tell you, in the evening? After office?" He asked.

"Where?" She asked

"In the office cafeteria," he said.

"Wouldn't it be weird? What would people think?" She asked.

"What's wrong with that? You're my best friend " he smiled.

"Very funny. You can tell me everything here in your huge cabin" she said looking around.

"Yaaa... Boyoung, if you spend so long in the cabin with your Boss it would give a wrong impression" he winked.

Boyoung gritted her teeth and folded her arms, walking closer to him and staring into his eyes.

"Boss? " She asked.

"Yes, officially I am your Boss... right ?" He smirked.

"I see! Then you should be calling me Miss Park, not Boyoung" she smiled sarcastically.

"Aah," he said walking closer, " Then you should be calling me Mr. Seo"

Boyoung took a deep breath, trying not to be bothered by his proximity, and turned away.

"Miss Park, look at me?" Inguk smiled wittily. "I'm really nervous on my first day Miss Park, help me out a little today and we can have a chat about our personal problems later in the cafeteria." He offered.

Boyoung gritted her teeth and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going, Miss Park?" Inguk called out.

Boyoung didn't turn towards him and spoke.

"I'm going to get you some documents, Mr. Seo" Boyoung said with a taunting tone.

"And the cafeteria? We'll go and talk later, right? Miss Park?" Inguk teased her.

"FINE!" she shouted and picked up a cushion from the sofa next to her. She turned towards him and threw the cushion at him with full force which hit him directly on the chest.

" Aaauuch! That hurt" he chuckled.

Boyoung shook her head and walked out of his cabin

~

"Here is some of the information which you need to know, rest everything is there on your computer," Boyoung said showing some files to Inguk. He was sitting on his chair while Boyoung was standing next to him.

" Okay. Thanks a lot." He said.

" I'll send a person who would issue your ID card. For now, let's go and meet others" she said.

"Others?" Inguk asked.

" Yes. This is a huge office. A lot of people and they all will work with us" she said.

"God! That makes me so nervous " he said.

"Relax, I know most of them and they are lovely people," she said.

" I'm relaxed as long as you're there with me," Inguk said.

Boyoung pulled him from the chair and he frowned.

"What??" He said.

" I'm not here to spoon-feed you. I'm just here to help. Now let's go" she said walking toward the door.

"Fine Miss Park," Inguk said following her.

Boyoung took him to a large meeting hall where she had invited the most prominent members of all the teams. As soon as they entered, everybody in the hall stood up and greeted them.

"Mr. Seo these are the members of all our teams here" Boyoung introduced the members one by one. Both of Mr. Kim's sons were there too.

"Hi everyone I'm Seo In Guk, I'll try my best to work hard with all of you and bring more success to the production house," Inguk said with a small bow.

Everyone smiled brightly and welcomed him to the company. After a small introductory session, the meeting got over.

"Let's go, I'll brief you through your roles and responsibilities here," said Boyoung.

"Okay Miss Park" Inguk smiled wittily and stepped forward but someone stopped him.

He turned back to find Yo Han.

"Hi, sorry Mr. Seo, I just wanted to greet you personally once. I'm a big fan" he said.

"Thank you so much. I am honored." Inguk replied.

" Yo Han, why don't you join us, I'm going to explain the roles and responsibilities to him," Boyoug asked.

"I have a meeting Noona, and I'm sure you don't need me, you know everything " Yo Han shrugged.

"She really knows a lot right?" Inguk asked glancing at Boyoung.

"Oh yes she does, I was actually pretty sure she'd be the President" Yo Han replied.

"Aren't you getting late for the meeting Yo Han?" Said Boyoung reminding him to leave.

Yohan nodded and rushed away.

"Let's go, Mr. Seo," said Boyoung but he held her by the wrist.

She looked at his hand holding on to her tightly and then looked up at him.

"What?" She asked.

"Miss Park, do you have any problems?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your Uncle, he should have made you the President "

" It's nothing like that, I'm fine with whatever decision he took" Boyoung replied calmly.

"Are you sure?"

Boyoung thought for a second and stood still. Somewhere deep down maybe she was affected by the fact that her Uncle chose someone else to head the production house. Even if it wasn't a big deal for her, the people around her didn't fail to remind her and sow the seed of envy inside of her.

But she was a gentle and wise person. She wasn't easily swayed by what people thought. No matter how mad she was at Inguk for various reasons, she trusted him. She knew if her Uncle chose him, there had to be a reason.

"Miss Park?" Inguk asked again.

"Yes. I'm sure," boyoung replied coming out of her thoughts.

"Thank you. You're the only person I can fully trust here" he said.

"Let's go to your cabin now," boyoung said and walked ahead while Inguk followed.

~

Boyoung was sitting in her cabin and looking at the name card on her table.

Park Bo Young - Vice President

She wondered how her life had turned upside down in a matter of a few months. She couldn't deny that she missed Inguk all this while, but she had never imagined that fate would bring her to crossroads with him in this manner.

She had called him her best friend once, but things were different for her now. She needed answers.

She came out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door.

"Yes?"

One of her friends, Mi Sun walked into the cabin. She was a member of the casting team.

"Boyoung!" She said rushing towards her chair.

"Hi," Boyoung said while Mi Sun spun her chair around and sat on the table in front of her.

"This is AMAZING," she said.

"What are you doing Mi Sun" chuckled Boyoung.

"I'm so happy that you have joined us here officially now! " Mi Sun exclaimed.

"Thank you, I'm happy too" Boyoung smiled.

"And I can't help but go crazy over our new President " Mi Sun kept her hands on her cheeks to hide her blush.

"What? Why?" Boyoung felt weird for some reason.

"He's so damn hot in that formal suit!" Mi Sun spoke fanatically.

"Mi sun-ah" Boyoung laughed.

" Ya! Boyoung, you are friends with him right?" Mi Sun enquired.

"I- I am yes," she said stammering.

"And I remember how close you two were during the shoot of your drama, he used to share everything with you right?" Mi Sun reminded.

"Umm..yes" Boyoung recalled how he would talk to her for hours and pour his heart out.

"Then do you know if he is single?" Mi Sun asked.

"What?" Boyoung asked widening her eyes.

"Yes, I mean, every woman in the office wants to know if Mr. Seo is Single" Mi Sun rubbed her hands in excitement.

"How would I know, we were just close friends and he didn't have a girlfriend at that time. I'm not sure about now, I just met him today" Boyoung said wondering if he really had a girlfriend now.

"Can you ask him?" Mi Sun insisted.

"What?"

"Please, you were close friends once, I'm sure you can ask him without a problem"

"I'm not doing that"

"Please"

"No"

They were interrupted by another knock on the door.

"Come in," said Boyoung.

Inguk walked in holding his phone in his hand.

"Mr. Seo," said Mi Sun and quickly got down from the table.

"Hello" Inguk greeted.

Boyoung could see how flustered Mi Sun was. She rolled her eyes and glanced at Inguk.

"What is it ?" She asked.

"Office time is over, you remember or not ?" He asked flashing the time on his phone.

"Fine. Wait outside I'm coming " she said.

"Okay," inguk smiled at both the girls and walked out.

"OMG! How am I going to focus on my work if he's around " exclaimed Mi Sun.

"Oh! C'mon" Boyoung chuckled.

"Oh, But, he won't be here much. He is doing another drama under our production house" Mi Sun informed.

"What? He is?" Asked Boyoung.

"Yes, He'll be busy there too" Mi sun informed while Boyoung simply nodded.

She packed her things in her handbag and got ready to leave.

"I got to go now, see you tomorrow"

"Please ask him if he has a girlfriend " reminded Mi Sun before Boyoung left.

"No," Boyoung said before walking out.

Inguk was patiently standing outside waiting for her.

"Let's go," Boyoung said before walking ahead.

She tried to keep a distance and walked straight into the cafeteria without talking to him.

"Miss Park" inguk tried to talk but she reached the counter.

"Hello Madam, Hello Sir" greeted the person on the counter.

"Hi, we would like to have two large coffee, please make it strong, less sugar, and add a chocolate pastry along with it," she said.

"Sure Madam"

Inguk kept looking at Boyoung as she walked to a table on the corner and took her seat.

He sat in front of her and kept staring. Boyoung could feel his gaze on her all this while. She couldn't keep calm any longer and she finally looked up at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked.

"What? It's a gaze of respect don't you know" he teased her.

"Oh C'mon" she looked away trying not to fall for his tricks again.

"No, actually I was stunned. You still remember exactly how I like having coffee" he said.

Boyoung took a deep breath and looked at him. He wasn't wrong, she knew everything about him pretty well.

"It's no big deal, I've started liking it too," she said.

"Oh really? That's great. I told you it is good right?"

Boyoung didn't reply to that and jumped straight to the point they were there for.

"You wanted to tell me why you abandoned your 'best friend' " she said rolling her eyes.

"Boyoung, I mean... Miss Park, I did not abandon you" he started.

"Then what happened, you could have come to meet me," she said.

" There were paparazzi everywhere and I was afraid," he said

" Afraid of what," she asked.

"That you would get annoyed. I couldn't talk to you for a few weeks because I had too much work. Then I called you a few times and you didn't respond, so I felt you might be annoyed. Since you never called back I thought you don't want to talk to me anymore. I didn't want to trouble you" he explained.

"Well, I understand, our timings didn't match and we thought too much about each other's comfort, but why didn't you tell me about Uncle Kim? Since when did you know he was about to make you the President?" Boyoung enquired.

As their order got severed, Inguk explained to her the whole situation.

"I was doing a show with Mr. Kim, he was a nice person to hang out with. He treated me like a son. But he never told me that he would be doing this" inguk explained.

"You got so close to him that he gave away his position to you?" Boyoung felt confused.

"I was close to him, he was with our crew for months and he loved me with all his heart. But I had no idea he would do this. Trust me" Inguk said holding her hand which was there on the table.

"Fine. But you knew how close I was to Uncle Kim, why didn't you tell me when you got to know ?" She asked.

"Because I got to know about it yesterday night. I picked up my phone to call you but .."

"But ...?"

"But I was afraid. I was afraid that you'd hate me" he said.

"Why?"

"Boyoung, Mr. Kim told me how close he was to you and how much you have done for Star Infinity. I thought you might hate me for taking what should have been yours" he confessed.

"Really?" She laughed sarcastically.

"Yes, it felt as if I stole something from you," he said gripping her hand tighter.

" Then? Why did you come here and give me the shock of my life instead?"

"I came here for Mr. Kim. I respect him and I couldn't let him down either. That's why I was so scared before meeting you" he said.

"How do you know I'm not mad at you now? If you thought you stole something from me, aren't you stealing it now as well?" Boyoung asked sternly although she did not mean it.

" No Boyoung, after I met you and the people here... I saw how much your team and every person in this office loves you! How much they trust in you! You are already their leader. You don't need a tag or a label" he said.

Boyoung didn't have an answer to that. She always knew Inguk was a straightforward and pure-hearted person. He had no ill-will for anyone. No tricks, no facade, no ego, and no arrogance. He was wise, gentle, and kind.

But Boyoung was still not ready to let him go that easily.

"Fine. But I'm still mad at you" she said.

"You'll give me a chance to make up for it right?" He asked.

"Okay, we'll see," she said with a straight face.

"Oh wait I'm getting a call," Inguk excused himself, while Boyoung sipped her coffee.

"Yes, alright. Okay, I'll do it as soon as possible. Thanks" inguk said before disconnecting the call.

"Who was it?" Boyoung asked.

"Actually my flat is too far from here, so I'm thinking of buying a new one close by. Meanwhile, my secretary suggested I shift to the President's Villa" Inguk informed.

" WHAT? you'd be moving into the President's Villa?" Boyoung asked with wide eyes.

"Yes, is there something wrong?" He asked.

"Actually, after Uncle passed away and I had to handle some of his works here, I- I kind of shifted to the President's Villa as well " Boyoung explained.

" Oh, I- I didn't know that. Nobody even told me, I'm so sorry. " Inguk was shocked.

"It's fine, only a few people know about it, so your secretary wouldn't have known"

"I'm so sorry, I'll look for some other place then" Inguk assured.

"No No, I mean, if it's just a matter of a few weeks you can move in. It's a big bungalow. You can have a whole floor to yourself." She said, unsure if it was the right decision.

"Are you sure? I mean... I don't want to cause you any discomfort" Inguk asked.

"It's fine. If you are comfortable I have no problem. I don't think you can find any temporary place to live for the time being anyway."

"Okay, it's good then I'll be having a lot of time to get my best friend back" he smirked.

"Huh. Shut up" Boyoung rolled her eyes.

Inguk sipped his coffee and took a bite of the pastry, while Boyoung unexpectedly had a thought running in her mind which she couldn't control. She tried her best not to say it but something forced her to do so.

"Umm... I had a question" she said.

"Hmm.. go ahead"

"Do you... I mean, I am just curious" Boyoung hesitated

"About what?"

"Do you... Ummm.. it has been almost one year and we haven't talked so I was wondering if now... you..."

"I what ?" Inguk asked.

Boyoung struggled to speak but she got a call from her manager at the same time. She had to attend to some work.

"Umm... I need to leave, there's some urgent work" Boyoung excused herself.

"Oh no problem, I'll drop you at the car, let's go" Inguk offered.

They got up and Inguk accompanied her to the car. They didn't speak anything and walked in silence until Boyoung was standing right in front of her car door.

"Bye," she said and turned around but Inguk held her arm and made her face him.

"No," he said.

"What?" She asked unable to understand what he meant.

"No, I don't have a girlfriend" he chucked.

Boyoung couldn't help but let out a soft giggle.

"How did you know..." she asked.

"I know you well, I can almost read you...Miss Park" he said with a smirk.

Boyoung turned away and opened the door of her car before getting inside.

"My friend wanted to know, that's all," Boyoung said looking out of the window.

"Hmm, I guessed that too" Inguk smiled.

"Bye, see you tomorrow, Mr. Seo," she said before driving off.

***********A/N : Phew! So the story begins 😁 I'm super excited to know your views on this. The feelings of BY and IG are very vague and shady for now. I want to know what do you all think 😬❤ Let me know what you're excited to read, suggestions, likes, dislikes etc ♥️

Sorry for silly mistakes. You all know I do it all the time 🥺 I'll wait for your comments 💖