"Assistant Kang!" Jumin's voice called through the office. Jaehee heard him and immediately got up to help, but something was different...

"What is it, mr. Han?" she asked with one of the coldest voices Jumin had ever heard in his life (and he was counting his own voice). She didn't even bother to blink while glaring at him, like he was some kind of lowly, despicable being.

Which he was, but that's another point.

Jaehee has never looked at him like that before; not even when she was annoyed at him for making her babysit Elizabeth the 3rd or giving her extra work hours. No, this was a whole new level of hatred.

And it was making his normally unmoved heart ache.

"Ahem, I need you to open the windows-"

"They're already open, sir," the brunette replied in less than a minisecond.

"Well... huh... I need you to finish the Art Project documents-"

"I finished them this morning and left them at your desk, sir."

"Oh... hmm, I need you to bring me some coffee?"

"Your coffee machine and cups are sitting right next to you, sir."

"..."

An awkward silence settled between the two for three minutes straight.

"If there is nothing else you need, sir, I shall take my leave." Jaehee gave him a short bow and walked away without even gifting him a glance.

Jumin silently banged his fist on his desk, clearly frustrated at himself.
---

This continued through the whole morning: Jumin looking for Jaehee, Jaehee avoiding him at all costs. Jumin distressed he couldn't get his daily dose of Assistant Kang, Jaehee looking at him with comptempt.

He couldn't stand it anymore. She was punishing him, wasn't she?!

As a last attempt, he stood next to Jaehee's desk as she worked intensely, not moving an inch for a least two hours. She would have to talk to him now! He smiled proudly at his brilliant idea, just waiting for Jaehee to finally approach him in conversation...

It never happened.

"Hey, what's mr. Han doing? He's been standing there since 9 o'clock," Mi-Cha whispered in Jaehee's ear with confusion, ignoring their boss's presence. "Just... smiling to himself."

"Let him be. Just because he's being childish, it doesn't mean we should degrade ourselves as well," Jaehee responded, loud and clear; her unamused eyes plastered to the computer screen as she typed on the keyboard.

"Oh," MC glanced at Jumin with something akin to pity. Even she felt bad for him. "Okay."

Alright, this was too much. He would die at this point.

Jumin sincerely has no idea what to do. How to turn everything back to normal. What are you supposed to do when the person you care about the most in this world is mad at you because you did something foolish?

"You're supposed to apologize to them!" Seven chastised him like it was the most obvious answer in the world, even for him.

"But... let's say... what if the person who did something wrong isn't able to-" he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Apologize...?"

"Eh? What do you mean you're not able to say sorry?" Luciel tilted his head to the side with bemusement; Jumin had really been depending on him for advice these days... that's how desperate he was.

"Like... apologizing for them is like speaking in Latin?"

"You know Latin?"

"Well, yes. But it still quite an strenuous language..." Jumin glanced away while rubbing his temples, trying to lower his built up stress.

"Apologizing is as difficult as speaking another language for you?" Seven laughed slightly. "But you apologize all the time! To business partners and all that wealthy, snobby people!"

"Those are fake apologies. It's different," Jumin told him seriously. "Apologizing because I actually made a mistake is..." He couldn't even finish the sentence.

"Gee, you're so arrogant you can't even put your pride aside to admit your mistake, mr. Trust-Fund Kid?"

"I'm not arrogant..." Jumin defended himself. "I'm just perfect."

Luciel's eyes turned into slits as he stared at the corporate director with disbelief. After a while, his words finally returned to him. "Look, Jumin. If you don't apologize to this person... you will slowly lose them," he told him in all seriousness, which definitely took Jumin by surprise.

"And when you lose a person," he stared at him, genuinely worried for his friend. "You'll never get them back."

Jumin's grey eyes widened at the wise words coming from none other than Luciel. A tight knot formed inside his throat as he ashamedly looked away.
---

"Wow, the security really got tighter in C&R after that fight happened..." Mi-Cha commented while her and Jaehee passed by the cafeteria doors and they noticed how there was a security guard in every corner.

"Fight?" Jaehee turned towards her with pure confusion. "What fight?"

"Eh, you didn't know?!" Mi-Cha exclaimed with surprise. "The fight between Zen and Mr. Han!"

Jaehee became completely speechless, and her soul actually left her body for a second. "...Pardon?"

"The fight? They got into a fistfight like three days ago."

Jaehee still stood there baffled while Mi-Cha explained everything to her. Now Mr. Han's bruise that day made sense... and why he was so tense around Zen that night.
----

The work day was finally coming to an end, the sun was setting behind the crystal windows, and employees were ecstatic to get back home soon.

Jaehee walked steadily through the hallway. She turned around the corner only to see Jumin walking the opposite direction, right towards her.

The two awkwardly avoided each other's gaze as they approached one another. Their shoulders brushed against each other and not a single word was uttered.

But as soon as they silently passed the other, they slowly stopped walking.

They stood there quietly for a while. Then Jumin slowly turned towards his personal assistant.

He decided he won't lose her.

"Assistant Kang..." He started softly, but Jaehee was able to hear him, turning around to look directly at him. "I... I apologize, Jaehee. I'm sorry for what I said to you... You did not deserve to hear that at all. I do want to express everything to you."

Jaehee stared at him with widened eyes. He... he was actually apologizing. Sincerely. That was a first...

But she couldn't have been happier about it.

"I projected my personal insecurities into you and... I hope you can forgive me for being so foolish," he finished, still unable to make eye contact with her. "I understand if you don't wish to resume the kind of relationship we had before... and if you want to keep giving me the cold shoulder during the rest of your days here... I understand. After all, I do deserve it."

Jumin finally was able look directly at her; his silver eyes saddened. "But please understand that everytime you do... you break me more and more. I truly miss your warmth..."

Saying Jaehee was astonished to see Jumin finally opening up about his emotions. Every single thing he felt and had previously pushed away. He was so vulnerable now that he wasn't shielding himself with a mask, and she was honored that he was being sincere to her.

"Mr. Han..." she spoke gently. "I also misjudged you. I didn't know why you were acting so tense around Zen... and I thought you were just being petty. But now I understand it's because of what happened between you two," she concluded, seeming apologetic. "I... I might have been too harsh on you, no?"

"Not at all," Jumin told her, reassuring as he walked closer to her and so did she. He smiled slightly. "Does that mean that you forgive me?"

"Only if you forgive me as well," she said with an equal smile.

"Then we have a deal," he stated, sounding genuinely happy. Like the businessman he was, he outstretched his hand, expecting her to shake it, but instead Jaehee went for a warm hug.

He was surprised for a second, but chuckled slightly before embracing her as well.

Afterwards, the two were walking through the hallway again, but this time side by side. Blissful smiles plastered on their faces.

Finally, everything was back to normal.
---

"Mr. Han, may you explain why there's three piles of paperwork sitting on your desk completely untouched since the morning?"

"Ahem, well," Jumin coughed awkwardly, guilty of not doing his work. "I was too worried about you this morning to concentrate at work... Everytime I touched one of the documents, you kept popping inside my head."

"Ah..." Jaehee sighed exasperatedly. She slowly shook her head with a small smile, sitting in the chair next to Jumin's with the intent of helping him finish the paperwork.

Jumin thanked her with a smile of his own, sitting next to her comfortably.

After the two had finished around half of the work, Jumin gaze suddenly lingered over Jaehee. His eyes fluttered close before he unexpectedly spoke, "Assistant Kang, do you remember what you told me about not making you resign twice?"

Jaehee glanced at him with a nervous face. "A-ah, yes. I do..."

"I don't want to make you resign. I want to persuade you," he suddenly got up from his seat, walking towards Jaehee who just stared at him wondering what the heck was going on.

"I want to make you stay, Jaehee." Suddenly, he put his arms around her chair, unconsciously trapping her under him. She confusedly looked up at him, his face was slowly approaching hers as he leaned down.

It all seemed slow-motion, like some kind of dream, and they both knew they were blushing.

Actually hopeful of what was to come, Jaehee's eyes fluttered close without her even noticing. Soon enough, black and brown hair was mingling together, and their foreheads were touching as they felt each other's warmth closer and closer.

Their soft lips finally touched...

...And Jumin immediately jumped away like a startled cat. His exploding heart was faster than his brain and he impulsively pushed Jaehee's chair away, making it roll all over the office with a poor, confused Jaehee inside, until it crashed against a wall.

Jumin reached up to touch his mouth with shock, while Jaehee's head shot up after getting propelled like a rocket.

She was furious.