Jungkook's pov

"You're Mr. Kim's new assistant?"

"Yes," I say. This is getting frustrating. "I was hired last week."

Kang-min, one of the head architects at Kim & Ryu, lets his gaze travel from my head to my toes in a very clear dismissal before he turns back to the coffee machine. "I suppose he had to hire someone."

The nerve.

I shoot him a blinding smile and turn on the kettle to make myself some tea.

"I suppose he did. And seeing how I have a degree in architecture as well, I'm sure I can be of assistance."

Kang raises a cool eyebrow. His hair is artfully styled, square features complimented by a pair of glasses with bright orange frames. "How delightful. I'm sure you won't mind helping the architects with some of our blueprints then, when you have some downtime."

I grit my teeth. "After I run it by Mr. Kim, of course."

"Of course," he says smoothly. "How lovely."

He leaves the break room and I take a deep breath of relief. Another attack averted. If there's one thing this firm has too much of, it's self-importance and self-grandiosity. First, it had been Kelly, the receptionist, who looked surprised when I returned and said I was hired. Then it had been Chae-won, Ryu Rita's assistant, who had looked me over in clear disapproval. And now Kang-min.

I put a bag of tea leaves into my cup and close my eyes for a second, taking in the silence. It won't be long until I have to go back to my desk and the jumbled mess that is Taehyung's calendar.

Me, the least organized of people, had somehow been hired for a job where organization was key. Good going, Kookie.

A deep voice cuts through my musings. "What are you doing?"

I blink my eyes open to see Kim Taehyung himself standing in the entryway to the break room. "Imagining how nice an office could be without office politics."

Taehyung frowns and heads to the coffee machine. "I'm not paying you to daydream."

"No, that's a bonus feature," I say. "I run two-for-one specials at the end of the month, too."

Nothing. Not a smile, not a twinkle in his eyes. He just turns the coffee machine off and motions for me to join him out of the break room. We walk toward the hallway in the back, the gateway to his giant office.

Several of the architects and consultants cast glances at us when we walk past. Taehyung doesn't acknowledge anyone, back straight and head forward. Cold bastard.

He's wearing a suit today, but without the jacket and tie. His sleeves are methodically folded up to his elbows, showing off his forearms, tanned and strong. I wonder how old he is. Mid-twenties, I think, though he carries himself like a man with a lifetime of experience. Some of the architects on the team must be older than him. It's unusual.

"Gather your things, and then we'll talk about your tasks here. Join me in my office as soon as you can." He pauses, a hand on the oak door. "And I'd appreciate it if you upgrade into a model that gets me coffee."

"I'll work on that right away."

He nods and disappears into his office, still without a smile on his face.

Damn.

The man was ice cold.

I'd arrived at work-I had a job!-that morning to find a fully prepared welcome kit for me. A key-card, a login to the computer system, and a new email address. The woman in HR gave me a sour look and muttered something about this going too fast. Maybe she'd had to work overtime to get the expedited details ready for me.

Taehyung had already been in the office when I arrived, despite me being early. And from the looks of the several coffee cups on his desk, he'd been there a while.

I grab my laptop and my notebook. Taehyung is sitting at his desk when I enter. It's not the first time we've discussed business today, but it's the first time we're going to actively go through my tasks.

He nods at me when I come in but doesn't look up from his screen. Well then. I take a seat opposite him and open my laptop. My list of questions is right there on the screen.

"Obvious things first," he says, still looking at his screen. "There are trips booked. Go through everything and make sure transport and accommodation is arranged."

"On it." That one I'd already started with.

"Handle my invitations to events and the like. We'll go through them once weekly."

I type that down. "Noted."

"Lunch and dinner reservations, catering for events, screening my calls. Accompanying me to meetings-sometimes I'll want you there." He looks up at me suddenly, eyes shockingly dark brown. "You're good at taking notes?"

"Yes." I try not to be insulted by the basic question.

"Good. I'll let you know regarding that. Coordinate work with the architectteam, pass on designs to me. Keep a roster of all of our clients-I think Sara did that, who worked here before you... Maybe see if you can find it. She'd remind me of a client's history and personal details before I met with them. That was useful."

I take all of this down in my notes. "Sara did leave me some information, yes."

I'd found a little cheat sheet from her. It contained a lot of good information, including some that felt... bizarre. She had written down exactly how Taehyung liked his lunch, and from which restaurants nearby. Don't order a Reuben sandwich more than twice a week. Ask for the whole-wheat bread and absolutely no more than two pickles. Never order anything that's too spicy. She'd underlined the word spicy. She'd included his shoe size and size in suits. Where he usually dropped off his dry cleaning. Frankly, her notes bordered on fearful or downright obsessive.

Is he that terrifying of a boss?

So far, he doesn't scare me, even if I haven't seen him smile once.

Even if the others in the office clearly keep their distance.

"You're trained yourself, so I won't go into the details of what I need building-wise. I trust you can catalogue blueprints and ensure my AutoCAD software is up to date with the company's latest developments."

Excitement itches in me at the suggestion. "I can, yes."

"Email me if you have any questions."

Even though I'm just sitting outside the door? That seems... excessive, but what do I know. I've never worked as an assistant, not to mention ever had one.

"All right."

Taehyung turns back to his computer screen, and it's clear I've been dismissed. I look down at the questions I'd scribbled in my notebook... and find that I can't ask any of them. He's basically told me to solve most of it on my own.

In the week since the interview, I'd googled everything there was to know about being an assistant. Tips and tricks, things to do and to not do. It seems like it's all about anticipating his needs and reading his mind.

Well. It's time I become a mind-reader, then.

-

-

It's late when I leave the office that evening.

I've spent the entire day organizing his calendar-hello color-coding!-and going through every piece of information Sara left me. I also sent an email to the entire office to introduce myself and ask that all non-essential information be sent to me and not directly to Taehyung.

Two people out of twenty-seven had responded with a Hello! Welcome to the company!

It seemed like a great start.

I wait for the elevator and rub my neck, stiff from staring at a screen the whole day. My feet and back ache, too. Turns out you lose the ability to walk in shoes a whole day when you haven't done it for weeks.

Chae-won stops beside me, Ryus' assistant. Her features soften into a smile.

"Good first day?"

"Yes. Although... it's a lot."

"It is," she says with a laugh. "This firm is busy. It's no place for slacking, trust me."

"I believe you." I resist the urge to tie my slight long hair in a pony. "Have you worked for Ms. Ryu long?"

"Eight years. Nearly as long as they've had the firm."

"Wow." She must know all the ins and outs of this place. "And how many assistants has Mr. Kim had in that time?"

We step into the elevator and Chae-won presses the button for the ground floor. Her face turns thoughtful, and uncertain, and I can't read her expression.

"Six," she says finally. "And I'm not saying this to discourage you, but they don't tend to last long."

Wow.

What have I agreed to?

I give her my winning smile. "Why not? I wouldn't want to make the same mistakes."

"He's... exacting," she says. "Not all assistants can keep up or have the strength to handle it when he corrects them."

It's not exactly a stretch of the imagination to picture that. All day, I'd only seen the blank, expressionless mask he seemed to wear. Nothing of the man who had enjoyed provoking me during my interview.

"Is that why people didn't bother to introduce themselves today?" I ask, realization setting in. "They don't think I'll last?"

"Well, I don't know their motivations." Her voice is careful. "But it could be, yes."

I shiver, despite myself. I had thought getting an assistant job was beneath me-that I'd be twiddling my thumbs all day. But according to Chae-won, I might count myself lucky to survive past my six-week trial period.

"Wow."

"But don't let that discourage you. I'm sure you'll do great. He hired you himself, didn't he? He usually outsources the interviews to HR."

I have to fight to keep the laughter off my face. There was no way I would've been hired if HR had properly read my cover letter. "You're right."

Chae-won bids me goodnight as we emerge on the busy Seoul street. It's past seven p.m. and I'm too tired to function. I commute on autopilot-down into the subway, in with my earphones, up the stairs, unlock the door to my building-and finally kick off my shoes in my little apartment.

I ignore the pile of laundry in the corner and head straight for the kitchen instead.

"Hi honey," I say to my palm tree. "I'm home. How was your day?"

He doesn't respond, but the leaves look a little bit less droopy than the day before. "That good, huh?"

He silently agrees, and I sigh at my own silliness.

Six assistants in eight years. They rarely last more than a year, then. I wonder why his previous assistant left. Judging by her fastidious notes, she seemed like an excellent assistant. I've got big shoes to fill.

I lie down on my couch with a bowl of noodles. My place might be small, but it's mine, every inch of it. The first piece of mine I've ever really had. The walls are lined with artfully framed blueprints. It had taken me years to find each one, some of them replicas of old versions, other complete fabrications. A side view of the Colosseum in Rome, showing off the impressive columns and the ingenious design that allow it to stand today, two thousand years after its creation. The Empire State Building. The Sagrada Familia. The Garak Tower. 63 Building All of them designs that I love, and have loved for as long as I can remember.

It used to be my dream to design my own monument one day. These days, it feels foolish. Very few architects ever achieve something like that.

My phone dings with a text from Jimin hyung. He's a bartender uptown and always works evenings.

Chim: I know you said not to ask, but I did it anyway. Tae-ho would definitely be down for a blind date with you. And before you say no, you haven't been out with a guy in ages!

I toss the phone away. He'd been nagging me about his cute co-worker for months, telling me I should focus less on my career and more on happiness, that I needed work-life balance and love in my life.

As if I have time for that. I'm smack-dab in the middle of the most important years in a person's career, and I'm struggling. There's absolutely no time for flings or affairs, and certainly not full-blown relationships. Hell, if I'm going to keep up with Kim Taehyung's apparently exacting demands, I'll find it difficult to even make time for my friends.

I'm nearly asleep on the couch, a bad Netflix show on the TV, when my phone rings. The name on the screen jolts me awake.

"Hello?"

Taehyung's voice is deep with irritation. "My calendar is gone."

"What?"

"It's wiped entirely from the system. Did you accidentally press something? Delete instead of sync?"

"No." I think back to earlier in the evening, when I had made the changes I wanted to. What did I press...? I can't remember. I've never worked in that system before, but it had seemed easy, intuitive even. "I don't know. I don't think so."

"Well, it's gone. All of it."

"I'll fix it," I vow, though I have no idea how. "I can do it now. I can come in-"

"I'm still at the office."

He's still in the office? It's nearly midnight. I'm already reaching for my pants, my phone locked between my shoulder and ear. "I'll be there in twenty minutes. Don't worry-"

But he's already hung up.

-

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To be continued.....

Cold boss and jerk colleagues... A dream job huh🙂

Meet you at next update..💖