In which Jumin Han receives a cat for his birthday.

It was Jumin Han's birthday, so Jaehee couldn't imagine why her employee was calling her so early in the morning. Surely he had better things to do right now while she was making her morning commute? For a few moments, she considered ignoring the call.

"Good morning, Mr. Han."

"Good morning, Assistant Kang. I'll need you to watch the cats for a couple hours this evening while I'm out at dinner."

"Sir, I'm certain Elizabeth the Third will not suffer from a few hours of solitude. She seems quite self-sufficient to me."

"It's not just Elizabeth the Third, though. I have another cat now."

"When did that happen?!"

"I got her this morning as a birthday present. Hold on, I'll send you a picture."

A few moments later, Jaehee's phone received a text from Jumin with a picture of a dainty, white, short-haired, blue-eyed kitten curled up on his couch.

"I suppose Mr. Kaiba gave him to you, didn't he?" Jaehee accused in a teasing voice, but Jumin wasn't amused.

"He has nothing to do with this, Assistant Kang," he said a bit more sharply than he'd intended. "And please remember the non-disclosure agreement you signed regarding all details of my personal life."

There had been a few times on their messenger app when Jumin had, in good fun, been accused of being gay. Those events had always set him on his guard, but he never let on if it bothered him, keeping his cool as he always did. Nobody took it seriously, which is how he wanted things to be. It was a bit of a silly joke between his friends, and he wanted it to stay that way to them: a joke that couldn't possibly be true.

His personal life was his business, and nobody else's.

"Yes, yes, of course," Jaehee sighed with a roll of her eyes. "I have more important things to do than gab about your love-life to the other RFA members."

"Of course you do. I need you to write up a report for that idea I mentioned last night."

"Sir, you can't be seri—"

"Yes, I'm serious."

"But who's going to pay for that? Honestly?"

"I expect it on my desk tomorrow morning."

"I'll do my best, sir."

"I know you will. You always do."

He ended the call on a note of praise, then slipped his phone into his pocket before lifting his new kitten into his arms. She really was a precious little lady who seemed to be accepted by Elly already. She'd come with a lovely collar and a name-tag, the name already printed on her tag: "Kisara." As he cradled the kitten in his arms, he contemplated his relationship with Seto Kaiba.

At the very least, they were very good friends. That much was apparent. The Korean businessman had met the Japanese one through—what else?—a business connection, and they'd hit it off from the beginning. They'd shared nearly a dozen dinners, a hundred hours of conversation, a few long drives, and a few international flights.

Both brunettes had known what was happening: they were falling in love, faster and harder than either of them would have ever expected. To date, all they'd done was kiss a few times, and while Jaehee didn't know that or anything else about their personal relationship, the fact that she'd seen Kaiba at Jumin's apartment a couple of times now was enough for her to deduce a closer relationship.

Jumin's reaction to her suspicions confirmed them, and that was when Jumin had reminded her of the contracts she'd signed when first taken into his employment, specifically the confidentiality one.

Jumin had known that Kaiba had planned a surprise for him for that evening—the card on the bouquet of white roses he'd received with the kitten that morning had told him as much—but he hadn't expected for them to be leaving the city after dinner.

"I'll need to call Assistant Kang and tell her that she'll need to stay the night with the cats." Jumin pushed speed-dial #1, then put the phone to his ear. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." Kaiba offered him an enigmatic smile from the driver's seat, then redirected his eyes to the road. "Are you tired?"

"A little. Why?"

"It's a bit of a drive, so feel free to catch some sleep on the way. I'll wake you when we get there."

Jumin contemplated this advice as Jaehee's phone rang.

"Yes, Mr. Han, how can I help you?" Jaehee said, sounding tired.

"Are you at my apartment?"

"Yes sir."

"I need you to stay the night with Kisara and Elizabeth the Third."

"You need me to spend the night in your apartment?"

"Yes, a human presence there on her first night is very important for Kisara, since it's her first night in a new home."

"For who?"

"For Kisara," Jumin repeated as Kaiba rubbed Jumin's left shoulder soothingly. "And while we're speaking, you should probably make an appointment with a doctor. You seem to be losing your hearing."

"Mr. Han—"

"Thank you, Jaeheee." Jumin hung up and dropped his head against the head-rest, closing his eyes with a sigh.

"Does Jaehee have a sister by any chance?"

"I wouldn't know. Why do you ask?"

"Because I need an assistant as dutiful and discrete as she is. I have yet to find one whose performance is remotely as satisfactory as hers."

"Yes, I'm lucky to have her," Jumin said with a smile, eyes still closed.

He must have dozed off at some point, because he next came to when Kaiba was gently waking him and the car had come to a stop.

"We're here."

"Where are we?" Jumin rubbed his eyes and peered out of the windows, but he couldn't see much at all out of the darkly tinted windows.

"My house."

Jumin opened his mouth to speak, but Kaiba was getting out of the car already, so Jumin followed suit. The house was a beautiful construction of marble and glass, situated on a slight hill with a lush green landscape sprawling all around it.

"Why is it so dark?"

"You'll see."

Kaiba walked over to Jumin's side of the car and took his hand, walking him up to the front door and inside. He didn't turn the light on, but led Jumin deeper into the house after they took their shoes off.

"You said this was your house?"

"Yes. I had it built here to make my visits more convenient."

Why did that calm answer make Jumin's heart beat faster?

He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to say that it was a bit excessive of a measure to take just to make friendly visits more convenient, but as Kaiba led him into the living room, what he saw took his breath away.

"Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful." The entire west wall was made of glass, and the view of the sky was gorgeous, displaying more stars in one place than Jumin had ever seen before in his whole life.

"Then I'm glad." The warmth in Kaiba's voice sent an involuntary shiver down Jumin's spine, and he didn't speak again until he'd guided Jumin over to the wide couch facing the window and made him sit down. "I'll be right back. You wait here, alright?" His tone was light and playful, and he tousled Jumin's hair gently as he passed out of the room.

Jumin couldn't help but fidget with his watch as he waited for Kaiba to return. His heart wouldn't stop pounding, his hands had even started shaking. What was wrong with him?

October 5, 21:58 ~ RFA Chatroom: "Life that pursuits happiness"

707: "Jaehee, you shall find true happiness from love"

707: ...is what I wanted to say ^^

707: Yoosung's already fallen with the LOLOL tournament...

707: and I'm already married to the world of binary numbers.

707: And Jumin's gay.

Jaehee Kang: Mr. Han is not gay.

Jaehee Kang: I have never seen his girlfriend but he is definitely not gay.

MC: Then is he a statue?

Jaehee burst out laughing, causing Elizabeth the 3rd to glare in the human's direction. Kisara simply flicked an ear as she slept.

Jaehee Kang: lolololol

707: omg!

707: Jaehee just loled.

The conversation turned back to Jaehee's current situation and her potential marriage to some hypothetical man, much to her relief.

Jaehee was protecting Jumin's secret, not only because she was contractually required to if she wanted to remain his assistant, but for other reasons too. Loyalty to him on a personal level, as a friend and a fellow RFA member. Loyalty to him on a professional level, wanting to avoid any scandal for him if at all possible.

There was also a long-dormant nurturing instinct that seemed to awaken within her whenever that puzzled, pensive expression overtook Jumin's features, as it always did when the subject of Mr. Kaiba was brought up. Jumin Han was confused about his sexuality, and he needed (and deserved) the opportunity to figure things out for himself in private. He didn't need people asking questions, offering advice, or being nosy right now. Jaehee could recognize and respect that, and her "Mother Hen" instincts prompted her to shoo away anybody who might bug him about the subject. They needed to leave him alone so he could grow.

And she hoped that, whatever happened, he found resolution and comfort there.

She sent her employer a quick text inside the RFA Messenger app to reassure him that she had things under control.