Baek Ha Rim

"cheers!" rowoon called out as we all raised our glasses.

"cheers!!!" we all spoke in response as we then drank our soju together in one shot.

i felt energized as our get-together was starting off amazing. the atmosphere of the place was also stimulating my appetite and uplifting my mood ten times better.

i definitely felt like i could relax for a while within the presence of these people in this setting compared to when i am in the office.

tonight, i was wearing a white blouse with long sleeves that beautifully flared towards my wrist. it also had tiny black and yellow floral details. i paired it up with my teal trousers, white heels, and small white purse.

"yah, is minhyuk coming?" rowoon asked his friends as he shoved a piece of meat into his mouth.

"ey, just leave him alone. life's tough being the ceo's driver. the ceo barely has enough time to join us in these gatherings anymore so how much more would you expect that he'll let minhyuk show up here?" his friend argued.

"aish.. minhyuk's the life of the party though." rowoon shook his head.

we were currently having a feast of korean bbq. while we were letting the pieces of meat cook, one of rowoon's friends suddenly got up and started making a speech.

"everyone, you know we've always been so busy that we barely got time to get to know each other. this time, we've been blessed with new additions to our teams so let's have them introduce themselves now so we could give them a warm welcome!" he initiated.

"alright!!" everyone agreed and got ready to place their attentions on this part of the gathering.

i started bracing myself for the introduction as i placed my chopsticks down and took a sip of water.

afterwards, i looked left and right to see where the introduction would be starting from. i patiently waited on my seat, carefully observing how the others were introducing themselves first.

somehow, these things were always nerve-wracking at some point but i tried not to let it get to me at this moment because the vibe was amazing.

finally, time has come that it was my turn to introduce myself to the other employees. carefully standing up, i smiled to the people around me first.

"hello everyone, my name is--"

suddenly, the door flew open which quickly caught my attention.

to my surprise, it was one of the events i expected the least.

there, the ceo made his entrance, confidently approaching us and showing that he has arrived.

"omo! s-sajangnim!" one of our colleagues called out.

and just like it was a domino effect, the employees turned their heads towards the ceo one by one, displaying great shock at his unexpected presence.

like an automatic response, they all stood up and gave their bows to him.

i simply stood frozen, furrowing my brows as i stared at him. behind, i was able to see minhyuk smiling apologetically to everyone for the ceo's sudden appearance.

"you all look like you've seen a ghost." chae hyungwon snickered at the sight of us.

everyone kept silent just looking at him in awe while trying to process everything.

"was i a party crasher? from what i've heard, this was actually an open gathering for chae's couture employees, yet no one bothered letting me know unlike the old days." he spoke.

"uhh.. of course not, sir! you should come and take a seat right here at the center of our table!" one of rowoon's friends exclaimed.

suddenly, everyone around made way and moved their chairs slightly so that the ceo could claim the chair at the center with much ease.

honestly, it was unnecessary.

"please, make yourself comfortable sir! we ask for your understanding. we've failed to let you know that we were planning this, and if we had expected you would come, we could've chosen a better restaurant." another one spoke.

the ceo smirked, showing that he was greatly pleased.

suddenly, he caught sight of me among all the people. i didn't wanna lose the game so i stared back at him boldly.

between the ceo and i, i knew there was some unexplainable tension.

"now where were we? let's get back to the new employee introducing herself." he gestured at me with his hand.

"ah, y-yes..." everyone finally started sitting down on their seats while my feet remained glued to the ground.

the ceo confidently walked towards our table and slowly sat down on the chair that was offered to him comfortably.

"uhm.. hello everyone, my name is baek ha rim. i am a new marketing associate in the company... please take care of me." i spoke, feeling myself tensed up.

everyone clapped their hands for me as i sat down. however, i was feeling my cheeks burn in shame but there was nowhere to hide my face.

"welcome to the company once again, miss baek." the ceo spoke to me.

"... and that's a pretty outfit on you, by the way." he smiled.

i looked at him surprised because of his remarks. certainly, he was not helping because i only grew more flustered than i already was because of the unnecessary attention he was giving me.

"thank you, sir.." i spoke in the smallest voice but then he seemed proud of himself for pointing it out to me.

"are all interns and new employees done introducing themselves?" he asked as he poured soju onto his glass.

"yes, sir... uhm by the way, we will be having a karaoke session at a bar we've reserved after this."

"... i mean it's totally fine if you won't be coming sir, not all will be present after this, but will you... come, sir?" rowoon asked with much hesitation.

i've never seen him so cautious towards anybody this much.

"of course. i'll come." hyungwon answered with much ease.

"w-woah really, sir?!" the rest asked, unable to believe their ears.

the ceo simply looked down and smiled to himself before finally nodding his head to confirm it to everyone.

"it's been a while." he spoke.

surely, this was interesting to me.

i simply kept silent and stared at the ceo infront of me.

and just before he took a drink, i was able to catch his eyes take a glance right back at me.

____________________________

we all got out of the restaurant after spending two hours eating together. it had been a less awkward night for all of us, but there was still a lot of getting used to the ceo's presence in this gathering. 

i never had any interactions with him but there was a lot of eye contact going on. i tried to be aloof about it, but i was aware.

or if he could read me, maybe he knew i was. 

"bye! thanks for tonight!" 

"see you tomorrow!"

"i had a fun night! i ate a lot, i'm so full!" 

these were the common things i heard from some of our co-workers as we all started parting ways with them.

one by one, some of them started bidding their goodbyes as they went in pairs or in groups walking towards the opposite direction from us.

however, the group that i was with was currently standing by the sidewalk, patiently waiting to cross the street so that we could all get to the busy side of the streets where the karaoke bar was. 

"let's go for round two shall we?" one of rowoon's friends proposed.

"wait, let's do a count off first!" rowoon initiated.

in a snap, he immediately turned back to face us all and started counting with his finger pointed at each member present. 

"... 12, 13, 14, and..." 

suddenly, his friend came forth to whisper in his ear. but because i was among the ones at the front, i was able to hear.

"bro, is the ceo really coming with us? is this legit?" he whispered, in full doubt.

they were now both staring at the ceo who stood far back from everyone along with his trusted driver minhyuk.

"s-sir? uhm, are you really coming with us? we're going to cross the street and walk all the way to the other side..." rowoon asked.

again, his hesitation was showing.

"if i didn't want to come here, then what would i be standing here for? i would have already left with the rest." the ceo spoke with a deep sigh that could be heard up to the front.

"ahh.. okay." rowoon swallowed hard and nodded his head to confirm that.

"alright guys, there's officially 15 of us! this is gonna be fun, let's go!" he passionately led the group as soon as the green light shone bright on the walk sign.

Chae Hyungwon

"sir, your dad called asking me what time you'd be home." minhyuk informed me as we stood at the back of everyone else. 

suddenly, we both heard rowoon starting a count off at the front. 

"just message him that i'll be spending time with my employees. he'll understand." i quickly ordered minhyuk, bringing my head to face back infront as i gazed at ha rim's figure as i towered over everyone else.

suddenly, i saw the hesitation in rowoon's eyes as he seemed to be hoping to ask me something.

and because i had already met his eyes, he had no choice but to shoot his question.

"s-sir? uhm, are you really coming with us? w-we're going to cross the street and walk all the way to the other side.." 

"if i didn't want to come here, then what would i be standing here for? i would have already left with the rest."

i spoke my words with a tone that clearly questioned why he kept doubting me.

but maybe, they just felt distant to me over these past few years. 

"alright guys, there's officially 15 of us! this is gonna be fun, let's go!" he led vigorously.

minhyuk and i finally exchanged looks before starting to move along with the rest of the employees at the front. 

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yay! i was productive today and wrote these two chaps in one day~

please keep streaming fantasia and vote for monsta x on music shows!

also i would like to ask or encourage you to use your platforms to support the BLM movement! sign petitions, share, and spread awareness to everyone.

(and for filipinos, junk terror bill)

welp, that's it for today~

i hope you enjoyed! stay safe everyone! ♡