will work for hugs

title: will work for hugs
pairing: chanyeol/jongin
rating: G
length: 1,415
summary: basically one punch man: employment edition. jongin is destined for greatness but all he wants to be is average.
A/N: gdi ang idek

jongin is stuck in a rut. his previous job in aerospace engineering paid well but the routine grew to be tedious, especially when he was working five times faster than his colleagues and still getting bored. last he heard, NASA had tried to recruit him as head of chief engineer but he had tendered his resignation by then. now he sits in the cosy café three blocks from his apartment, going through the classifieds. on his way to the café, someone had stopped him in the streets and offered him a million dollar modelling contract. jongin was almost tempted until he remembered his stint as a armani runway model. he still holds the record as the asian model with the most magazine covers, but three modelling agencies almost closed down when they fought to sign him as their main model. he only placated all of them by promising them he would never step foot in the fashion industry again. some say the armani code fragance was created as a symbol of loss once jongin exited the fashion industry. suddenly, he hears a lady yell and looks up to see a very pregnant woman holding her belly and standing in a rapidly expanding pool of water. "is there a doctor in the house?" someone shrieks. “her water broke!” jongin looks down at his hot chocolate and clenches his fist so hard the papers in his hand wrinkle. "someone!" the mother-to-be wails. sighing, jongin rolls up his sleeves and stands up. 15 literally bloody minutes later, the ambulance finally arrives, but the scene of an exhausted mother holding a newborn greets them. the new mother offers to name the baby after jongin, or let jongin father her next child. "please," she says pleadingly, "your genes are too good not to be passed down to the next generation." the baby starts wailing and jongin gently pats the matted wisps of hair. the baby calms down immediately, blinking her wide eyes at him in quiet awe like she's just discovered sight. which she had. (next to them, all the onlookers sigh at the baby's luck. to have the first thing you see be that male adonis, imagine that!) jongin's job here is done. now he has to get back to looking for a real job. he finally settles on a janitorial position at a boutique law firm. park and park has been racking up an impressive reputation as one of the best firms for financial and corporate guidance, but that matters little to jongin when all he's looking for is to mop floors. needless to say, he's a little surprised when he walks into the building and is immediately guided to what looks like the biggest office room. "mr. park is ready to see you now," the smiling secretary says. "as in the partner at this firm?" jongin asks, already doubting his own question because why would someone so important interview a mere- jongin's questions die in his throat when the door swings open and he catches a glimpse of this mr. park. he's young, a lot younger than jongin had expected, and definitely more handsome with his coiffed hair and perfectly tailored suit. mr. park chanyeol looks like he just stepped out of a perfume ad and is ready to close important business deals just by flashing the world a smile. park chanyeol is also staring at jongin with his mouth hanging open. he leaps up to his feet and points excitedly at jongin, "you're hired." "sir?" jongin says uncertainly. "please, call me chanyeol." okay, so a very casual culture. that's good. "chanyeol," jongin tries the name out. "you haven't even asked me any questions, though i can assure you that i will try my best at any job given to me." "yes, you have very strong, defined arms. definitely good for cleaning. i mean, look at those arms. boy..." chanyeol cocks his head and knits his eyebrows in concentration. jongin's eyes flick over to the Workplace Harassment code of conduct displayed on chanyeol's walls. chanyeol clears his throat. "you start tomorrow." the next morning, jongin shows up with his dish washing gloves, which are promptly thrown away by chanyeol. “good morning!” chanyeol greets brightly. he tugs jongin along and proudly shows him off to the whole office. “hello office, meet jongin, our new intern!” “excuse me? i applied to be a janitor.” chanyeol waves his hand dismissively. “janitor. intern. so what if you don’t have a law degree. your face- uh, skills are too important to be wasted on cleaning mugs.” “well actually, i did complete law school one summer when i was very bored,” jongin admits. “in one summer? most impressive! you’ll make a perfect intern and will report directly to me from now on.” and that’s how kim jongin accidentally becomes chanyeol’s right hand man. life as chanyeol’s intern is interesting, to say the least. in his first week, jongin sits in on a meeting and blurts out a suggestion that ends up resolving a long standing family feud that was splitting a company apart. the next week, he identifies a trade secret risk in a merger while idly printing out the documents chanyeol requested for. by the third week, a client comes up to park and park and personally requests for jongin’s services. when jongin does a good job, no one seems happier than chanyeol, who showers jongin with compliments and freshly baked cookies. normally, jongin would have been restless by now. he seeks a challenge and usually hates it when people fall over their feet trying to praise his achievements. the difference with this job is that jongin has been praised to the ends of the earth in every job he’s held before, but never has he wanted to impress someone before. it's an odd and unfamiliar feeling, to yearn for approval. he finds thrills in the secret glances he can sneak at chanyeol when he thinks no one is looking and feels compelled to stay a bit later at work just to be next to chanyeol, to learn from him. if jongin were to give a reason for his budding respect, maybe borderline adoration, it could just be that he's never had an employer so good looking or so confident. chanyeol is incredibly skilled at what he does and navigates both business and client relationships with ease. he holds his principles to his heart and never accepts cases which he suspects involves foul play or unscrupulous gains. in his free time, chanyeol works pro bono for a homeless youth service. but if jongin thinks a bit deeper, he knows that it's because chanyeol went all the way across town to buy him an apple strudel when jongin made an offhand comment while watching a commercial on their office television, and because chanyeol taught him how to knot a tie without laughing at him, and possibly because chanyeol knelt down to tie jongin's undone shoelaces in the middle of the office and laughed off all the teasing he received about a boss serving the intern. "hey," chanyeol nudges jongin out of his thoughts by flicking his forehead. "don't fall asleep at your desk again, you silly bub. did you sleep well last night?" jongin notes the slight concern among chanyeol's dancing eyes and returns a shaky smile. because chanyeol cared, when all the other people idolised. that's the difference. chanyeol almost trips over the ball of fur when he enters the room. "where did the kitten come from?" "rescued it from a tree and it followed me here," jongin says apologetically. "hope you don't mind." "i'm highly allergic, but i'll get over it," chanyeol says, even as he starts looking a bit green. "anyway, jongin, you're following me to this new court case." "am i supposed to?" "no," chanyeol says brightly. "actually i'm not even supposed to sit in on this because i have an important client to meet today. but teaching you the basics of the world is more important." jongin is glad he followed chanyeol to this case because it’s fascinating to watch courtroom proceedings up close. it’s not a huge case, just a common embezzlement case involving a few hundred thousand dollars, a mere dent in the company involved. chanyeol patiently scribbles explanations for jongin as the case goes on, from the case background to each defense argument. jongin only half pays attention because chanyeol is sitting very, very close despite the two chairs separating them. it gets worse when chanyeol leans over to whisper a quick “listen to his defense” or “that’s a weak argument” and all jongin can think of is the breath tickling his ear. "what do you think, young man?" the judge booms suddenly and jongin plays with his pencil until chanyeol elbows him in the ribs. the judge, and everyone else in the room, is looking at jongin. jongin realises with a start that the question was directed at him. "me?" jongin squeaks in surprise. he looks at chanyeol, who is as wide eyed as he is. “I think- uh-“ jongin catches the eye of the accused financial director, not knowing what to say at the sudden and out-of-place question. "i confess!" the accused man bolts up and shouts. he looks straight at jongin and says earnestly, "don't judge me, you beautiful soul. your pure brilliance has made me realise my wrong ways." the courtroom explodes into chaos and the financial director starts shouting where he kept the money over the din. “what just happened?” jongin asks, a bit dazed. chanyeol doesn’t seem to be able to give an answer, so he quietly laces their hands in an oddly intimate display of reassurance for a boss and his intern but jongin just squeezes back as tightly. “great job today, jongin.” chanyeol reaches out to ruffle jongin’s hair and jongin is too confused to stop him. they’re still holding hands, even if they’ve long left the courtroom and jongin tells himself it’s only because it’s chilly out and they both don’t have gloves. “keep doing what you’re doing and by the end of the internship you’ll be my partner.” his eyes drop down to where jongin is worrying his lips and jongin swears chanyeol’s eyes glaze over for a moment. “i’ll be the best partner you ever had…” jongin blinks. “i’m not so sure that’s how internships work.” “i meant law firm partner,” chanyeol corrects and smiles to himself when he catches the way jongin's shoulder droops slightly. he bumps their shoulders together until they're pressed side to side, jongin slotting perfectly against chanyeol. “but also the other one.” maybe jongin has finally found a job to look forward to after all. the next morning, jongin spots a misplaced decimal point that could have cost one of their client's firm millions of dollars. chanyeol is so pleased, he swoops jongin up into a crushing hug and jongin struggles to break loose. but only for a few seconds. end.