March 3rd, 2024.

10 am.

"Mister Jeon?" I knock on the door of his office after being called, waiting for his permission to enter. "Come in."

I grab the handle and walk inside the room while holding the different files in one arm. I close the door behind me and approach his desk.

"Do you have the work I asked for?" he raises his big eyes up and pushes his glasses up the thin bridge of his nose, licking his lips. "Yes, here it is," I place the files on his table with my cold hands before stepping back. "Thank you." he peeks at me and takes a closer look at what I gave him.

He peruses the articles I wrote and photocopied, not expressing anything negative like he usually does when he's not satisfied. He nods and turns to the page just below, the one I dreaded the most after struggling with it.

A heavy sigh escapes his mouth.

He raises his head up and takes his glasses off. "Come here," he holds the piece of paper in one hand and slightly rolls his chair back to point down at his right.

I'm not feeling good about this, but I still listen and walk to him.

"What do you think of your work?" he sets his piercing eyes on me.

"I tried my best, but...maybe this isn't good enough..." I lower my gaze but land it on his thighs, those compressed in his tight trousers. "Hm. 'Maybe'?" he tilts his head.

I can feel the pressure in and out of my body from all the stress he's making me go through. "No," I correct my previous statement. "It is not good enough."

"Then why do you give it to me?" he asks, his eyes searching my wandering ones for an answer. "Because you asked me to, Mister Jeon..."

"So what you mean by this is that if your work isn't good..." he puts the sheet down and leans closer to my body with a stern look on his face. "...That's my fault?"

"No, sir. That's not what I meant. It's my fault," I fix the mistake I just made and accept responsibility for it.

"Look into my eyes, Miss Han," he deepens his voice, not drifting his eyes away from my tense figure. I raise my chin up to a light degree and make our eyes meet.

His intense stare makes my heart race with its sharpness.

"Get on your knees," he leans back on his chair and spreads his legs as one of his arms rests on the flat surface. My breathing ceases at the sound of his order, raising the temperature of my body. My brows narrow as I stand on my spot. "Excuse me?"

"What?" his head tilts as his lips curved into a smirk. "We both speak the same language, don't we?"

"I..." I glance away. "I...I can't. I mean- Why would I do that?"

"Because I asked you to," he runs his eyes down my body, scrutinizing it without missing an inch. "You always obey and listen to your boss. That's why you brought this work on time as told, hm?"

"Yes, but this isn't work anymore. It's a personal request," I remind him, trying to assert my own boundaries.

He chuckles under his breath and lays one hand on his inner thigh, turning his head to the left.

I feel so anxious and uncomfortable; however, he seems to be enjoying this. He knows how to make my blood rush through my veins with mere words or actions. In other words, he likes to see me in a submissive position.

"Alright," he exhales and smiles while positioning himself back towards the desk. "I keep this work, but you'll be called in once more today for your work on the design you created."

"I can do it again if you want, Mister Jeon..." I propose to do, feeling like it is not satisfied enough.

"No," he refuses and places my product of labor into a file. "I like what you did. I just wanted to make you nervous, so now you can leave my office, Miss Han, thank you."

'Did he only do that to scare me?' I think to myself as the pressure melts away.

"Alright, Mister Jeon. Have a nice day, and I promise I will do better next time," I bow to him and walk back to the door.

Before leaving the office, I bow to him again. As the sound of the door closing echoes through the room, I release a heavy sigh, feeling the tension in my chest lessen.

I proceed to my own office. Unfortunately, I cannot be completely relieved of the stress since I know I will have to face him once more today and surely the day after, as always.

I can still remember the meeting he organized and how awful it was to have him by my side. He must be aware that I am into him, and the other girls probably mock me for not having a chance with him, spreading rumors in the office.

Who doesn't feel attracted to him anyway? I just hate myself for feeling that.

•••

7 pm.

"Hello?" I answer the call coming from my best friend, sitting down on my sofa and petting my cute puppy, Koya, a white Pomeranian dog. "Hey. How are you doing?"

"Tired but fine. What about you?" I smile and rest my head on the back of the sofa, letting Koya lie down on my stomach. "Good. How is it going at work? Is your boss still rude to you?" he mentions him, but I cannot pinpoint exactly what I feel about this topic.

"Well, I feel like he knows that I'm kinda attracted to him. I think some girls must have said it some days ago, right when I was talking about him with Yohan. Since then, he keeps acting even more differently. He teases me and looks at me like...I don't know..."

"And you like it, don't you?" he sneers like a jerk, knowing how much I always want to have my boss's attention. "Shut up. He's just...Whatever; I won't tell you more."

"I know you're a freak. No need to even say anything," he laughs on the other side of the phone, both knowing each other more than anyone does. "I bet you fantasize about him punishing you in his office, uh?"

"Let's stop this conversation here. I need to sleep," I grin and straighten up, holding my puppy properly as he fell asleep on me. "Sure, I'll let you dream of him," he doesn't end with the tease, so I hang up on him.

I have to admit, I don't let my mind free of those types of thoughts when I think about him, but I don't care. Those are only fantasies of a lonely girl who has been single for too long.

"Let's go to sleep, Koya." I peck my puppy's head and take him in my arms, head towards the stairs, and then proceed to my bedroom to finally relax and unwind.

— Next day —

March 8th, 2019.

7 am.

I enter my office after eating the pastry my best friend baked for me and walk towards my desk that faces the windows. Those which offer a landscape of Gangnam.

I put my bag down before opening it to take my laptop out. I know I have a lot of work to do today, so there's not a single second that I can waste if I don't want my boss to get mad.

I sit down on my chair and place my leather bag on the ground to get comfortable. I then switch my device on to start working, but a red item suddenly catches my attention. Something placed right behind my large screen that never leaves this room.

I pick up what appears to be a carefully wrapped gift. Red and black, exactly what I like.

I take a closer look at the note given with it and read the words written by someone whose handwriting is more than pretty. That looks like my best friend's one, in my opinion.

Don't take this the wrong way, but this shade of lipstick looks the best on you, and I hope you'll wear this like you used to do before.

Happy birthday.

I repeat in my mind, 'Wear this like I used to do before?' in confusion. Who could it be?

The only person that I know for long enough is Yohan. He is the one I am the closest to here. Jaemin is my best friend, and we've known each other for years. However, since he doesn't work here, the gift couldn't be from him; otherwise, he would have given it to me this morning when he came to my house.

I stop cogitating and just open the knot to finally remove the top of the box and check what's inside.

A small leather cushion on which is laid a red lipstick. A Guerlain one, I look at what a card placed underneath says. "A gold and diamond-encrusted lipstick."

My eyes widen at the sentence that I need to read over and over again to believe.

'How much did this cost if this has this type of design?' I still can't believe what I read, but I take the other note with the same handwriting as the one on the kind note.

I also left something inside the first drawer of your desk. One gift isn't enough for you.

'Am I playing a game?' I think before peeking into the compartment that was mentioned.

I remove the two other red boxes from it, close it, and then place everything on the desk. I don't wait anymore and let myself get taken over by my eagerness and curiosity.

One is filled with chocolates, and the other is full of red roses.

I've never felt that pampered before. Maybe this is a day starting well, or this just prepares me for something horrible.

As I was lost in my thoughts, someone suddenly startles me by knocking on the door.

"Come in," I close the boxes and put them aside while the person enters my office. "Good morning, Miss Han," she bows to me. "Your superior is asking for you and would like you to go see him with 'the work he talked about yesterday', he said."

"Okay, thank you for the information," I nod and already get ready.

"You're welcome, Miss Han. Have a wonderful day," she bows and leaves nicely. So I quickly take the sketches on which I worked yesterday and stand up from my chair to go towards the door and open it. I walk out and head to my boss's office.

I feel annoyed every time I have to go there; it stresses me out. Being alone in a room facing someone who evokes various emotions with a simple look or word is challenging. The way he now treats me, making me feel inferior in every aspect, is frustrating.

I knock on his door and enter the room once I hear his voice.