Truly Yours • Kim Mingyu

[twenty-six]

He quietly sips his coffee while I read the terms and conditions written on the fine piece of paper. I'm smiling the whole time. It's perfect.

"You're unexpectedly good at your work." I admit in an undertone.

"Was that a compliment? Did Yoon Miyeon just compliment me?" A coy grin teases his lips and I immediately regret saying that out loud.

I wipe the smile off of my face and replace it with impassivity. "I don't do compliments. It was a simple statement, you're being delusional." I say nonchalantly.

He leans back at his swivel chair and lowers his gaze to his knees. "You haven't changed at all." He utters gloomily.

Every last whit of sound - starting from the sound of my breathing to the clicking sound of the pen in my hand and the sound of the papers flipping - everything gets engulfed by arrant stillness.

Just how many times more will the same thing continue to overwhelm me and jab a punch inside my heart everytime I think about it? I'm enervated.

I lower my head, expelling a quivery sigh. I close my eyes for a while, then again look up to him. He is now watching me with an assorted countenance. Multiple emotions begin to surface inside his hypnotizing eyes. I can hardly distinguish which one is which; they're confusing.

However, one specific emotion becomes prominent over time and completely squidges me.

Hatred. Resentment.

I can feel my face contouring into an incredible amount of pain when I'm about to say this, "Why did you?" I ask, almost imperceptible. "Why do you hate me so much?"

He opens his mouth to say something but gets interrupted by a high pitched unpleasant female voice. "Sir you can't spend so much time on one candidate. So many are waiting outside. Hurry up please." She clicks her tongue in an exaggerated manner.

I officially hate Miss Manoban.

He clears his throat. "Y-yes we were wrapping up. It was great to have you here with us. We'll look forward to working with you. You're allowed to leave Miye- I mean Miss Yoon." He speaks like a scalded cat.

I'm caught off guard by the rush in his tone, but I manage to respond calmly. "Sure, t-thank you Sir and Madam." I bow and leave the room awkwardly, while Miss bad-timer-ridiculous Manoban is shooting me soul-bruising dagger like glares.

Wait a minute.

Why did I thank that woman?

Outside the room, Rowoon greets me with an eager smile. "How did it go?" He asks.

Really, interesting query. How did it go?

"Agh. . . it was fine." I reply.

"Here I was hoping for some bad news."

I want to smack his skull and make a hole inside so bad after what went through me. But it's just my fucking height and misfortune that I need to bring a stool and stand on it in order to be in level with his height. They won't let me stand on their thousand dollars luxurious sofa with my dirty shoes. Hence, I'll have to spare him. Sigh.

"I'm exhausted, so I'll pretend you didn't sound like a total brat saying that." I remark. "Get used to it." He sticks his tongue out. "I'll be going inside after that girl. Can you stay until I'm finished?" He says, making puppy eyes.

"I would love to but I've got stuffs I need to deal with right now. Good luck, maybe I'll see you someday soon kiddo." I give him a gentle pat on his back. May the CEO be generous with him, Ameen.