Baek Ha Rim

i leaned backwards and tried to relieve the tension on my back through stretching after continuous hours of working.

it was another afternoon at work and somehow, i was getting the vibe of how things usually flow in this place.

"ceo chae really snapped! right now the design department is extremely stressed." i overheard rowoon's voice.

i slowly turned my head and looked at him while raising an eyebrow. the ceo was actually mad?

"heol... poor them. he's scary without doing anything, so how much more when he actually gets mad?" one of rowoon's friends trembled.

"exactly! i heard he was extremely disappointed because an intern in the design department proposed the company to release flowery and colorful designs for the summer collection. he embarassed that poor intern for not knowing the aesthetic of chae's couture first and foremost." rowoon explained.

"aish.. what a bad move indeed. the ceo really upholds the trademark of chae's couture when it comes to style and design. proposing maximalist pieces or anything he deems tacky will only set you up for trouble."

"yeah, that's why he's the total opposite of his cousin yoo kihyun. i mean have you seen that guy's hotels? they're really grand, it's completely crazy!" rowoon exclaimed.

"well, what can we expect? yoo kihyun and chae hyungwon are the total 'it boys'. they both really have an eye for design though their styles may contradict each other's." his friend concluded.

i quickly pushed my office chair back and got up from my seat. because of that, rowoon got startled and looked up at me immediately.

"where are you going?" he asked.

"i'm grabbing coffee." i shortly replied to him and rushed out of the office.

i walked my way out thinking about the things i have just heard. whoever that intern is, i really pity her. the pressure is real.

i eventually decided to make a stop at one of the restrooms first. the moment i got in, i noticed two girls whispering to themselves about the last cubicle at the edge as they made their way out.

i looked at myself in the mirror confused as i initially tried not to mind them.

however, when i was finally all alone, i soon started to hear someone crying. i took a pause to listen where the sound was coming from.

when i had finally deciphered where the source of the sound was, i slowly moved my body and decided to walk towards the last cubicle as i felt certain that the sobbing i heard was coming from it inside.

taking a deep breath in, i courageously knocked thrice on the cubicle's door.

"hello? is anyone inside? are you alright?" i spoke gently.

i moved backwards and stood waiting outside the cubicle's door. anytime now, there would be a response.

and just as i had expected, the door suddenly opened revealing a girl with swollen red eyes from crying.

"i-i'm sorry. do you n-need to use the cubicle? i know i-i stayed there a bit too long now." she stuttered.

my eyes slowly moved down to her id. there, i was unexpectedly able to see that her position was actually an intern.

my eyes suddenly widened as i looked back at her face.

maybe she was that intern.

"n-no, it's okay. i didn't need to use that cubicle but i was just wondering if you needed help..."

"is anything wrong?" i added.

she sniffled her nose and tried to take a moment before suppressing her tears which threatened to fall down once again.

"i- the ceo just... ugh, no it's embarassing. i'm a disappointment." she looked down and eventually broke down in tears once again.

i quickly placed my hands on both sides of her and tried to comfort her a bit.

"no, don't say that... it's okay. whatever that is that may have happened at work moments ago will be alright."

she took a moment before gently wiping off her tears. she swallowed hard and finally lifted her head up to look at my face.

"t-thanks for being here. we don't even know each other, but i guess i needed someone at this moment too.."

".. the people in my department were stunned because of the ceo's temper. they're probably thinking bad of me right now. i screwed it all up."

"it's okay, just let it all out... ayeon-ssi..?" i tried to read from her id.

"ah y-yes," she nodded at my unsure mention of her name.

"my name is park ayeon. i'm aspiring to land a permanent job here."

"alright. my name's baek ha rim from the marketing department." i flashed her a small warm smile.

i decided to offer ayeon the idea of grabbing a warm drink together to calm her nerves down. it was such weird fate that rowoon had just told everyone about her story, and it turns out i was really gonna meet her moments later.

ayeon received the offer to come with me because she didn't have the guts to go back to her office and face her colleagues yet. above that, she was grateful for my presence and felt that we would get along.

"it's not that i didn't know the ceo's aesthetic, but i proposed such designs because i thought he would like them and would be willing to change things up. i wanted to seem like i was thinking out of the box and maybe give the brand a fresh new look. i guess i overdid it." she explained what happened.

"some things are just really the way they are. if such ideas don't reflect what chae's couture really is, they will be scrapped out. you're very bold for trying though. i'm just sorry the ceo was harsh to you. maybe embarassing you infront of everybody was unnecessary."

we finally arrived at starbucks so i opened the door for the both of us. the moment we entered, i was able to smell it's signature aroma inside.

"looks like there's a lot of people again. let me go look around for seats, just proceed to the counter instead." i told ayeon and she nodded.

i casually roamed around the place looking for some vacant tables and spaces for two. finally, i decided to check out the tables at the edge of the place beside the counter because i suddenly caught sight of a vacant table.

the tables in that area were lined up beside the wall and i usually don't go sit there but i figured out that i could go try this time.

i walked towards the table a bit faster to secure our place, but as soon as i arrived, i looked to the right and saw that chae hyungwon was present and was seated at the table lined up infront of ours.

my mouth slightly parted in surprise the moment i laid my eyes on him. soon, he eventually looked back at me and slightly froze on his seat the moment he noticed me.

the look of his naturally cold eyes and furrowed brows was sending shivers down my spine the more he stared.

i wasn't expecting to see him spending his time here.

slowly, i broke the eye contact shifted my eyes to the girl sitting infront of him. she had her back facing me as she sat down but i could certainly tell that she was not kwon eun gyeol.

was this guy a player? that's what i thought to myself.

i basically just caught the ceo spending leisure time with some other girl who was not his fiancée.

"ha rim unnie!"

suddenly, i heard my name being called by ayeon as she slowly dared to approach. obviously, she still hasn't seen the face of the ceo who was here with us in the same place.

quickly, to avoid that from happening, i rushed towards her and spinned her body around.

"w-woah! where are we going? wasn't that table vacant?" she expressed confusion as i walked away with her from that area.

"it's reserved. let's go find a seat upstairs instead." i reasoned out with a lie.

_______________________________

the next few days for me have been fine and my work days have been becoming a bit more typical.

today was finally the day that most of us in the office were going on a night out after work. it was no secret and the information was very open even to other workers who were not in our department as they could plan to join us in our get-together.

"you've confirmed you're joining later, right? make sure you come." rowoon secured.

"of course." i smiled.

"great! see you later at the restaurant! don't forget we reserved a big karaoke room too! make sure you join that as well." rowoon reminded.

"alright, see you later!" i chuckled at him and waved goodbye.

rowoon and i both parted ways as i took a taxi to come home so i could change into better clothes and eventually prepare myself for the night.

Chae Hyungwon

i turned off my laptop and turned to face minhyuk who was standing right infront of me in my office.

from the look of it, he already seemed fidgety.

"alright, spill the beans. what do you want?" i spoke as i crossed my arms and leaned back on my chair.

minhyuk immediately looked startled that i read him that easily. his eyes began to move around, scanning the area for a while before finally meeting mine as i patiently waited for him to speak up.

"uhm... i-i would just like to ask when your work hours end, sir?" he asked, his voice getting smaller towards the last word he uttered.

i raised an eyebrow and clasped my hands together.

"soon." i assured him.

"ahh.." minhyuk suddenly flashed a look of relief as color was brought back into his face.

he was now smiling and his face radiated a secretive joy upon hearing my words.

"why? is it the get-together party?" i got straight to the point.

the moment i spoke those words, minhyuk's eyes shot wide open as if he had just been caught.

"s-sorry, sir!! it's okay if you stay here late!! definitely, you're my priority but it's just that uhm, rowoon my friend invited me and there will be a lot of friends going--"

"i know." i cut him off.

he paused and stared at me in surprise as if he didn't expect me to know.

"b-but.. i was the only one invited and i never spoke up about this..." he flashed a look of confusion.

"well actually..." i started leaning my body closer towards the table between us.

"i'm going there, too." i smirked.

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sorry i just updated now! i've been planning to update since a few days ago but i actually keep getting sleepy every time i try to write a chapter, not gonna lie haha :(

because i made you wait guys, this will be a double update!

hope you enjoy! ♡