The Bitch & The Bastard | Jaehyun

𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒

The day was bright, the breeze was cold, and the temperament inside the office of Jung Enterprises mimicked the pleasantness outside. It was the hour of lunch, the happiest time in a work day of an office employee and just like everyone else, Haeyoung sat on her favourite seat by the window with her plate laid out in front of her.

The sleeves of her shirt were already folded up and her hair tied away from her face. Her eyes were fixed on the fried chicken, the crispy golden texture making her gulp as her tongue swiped over her lower lip. She had been waiting for this moment ever since she had read the lunch menu at the cafeteria in the morning. Every hour, like a housefly trapped inside a room, she came buzzing to pester the cooking staff asking if lunch was ready.

But all good things take time and when the clock struck one, she floated to the cafeteria with a plate in her hand.

Gulping, she picked up the first piece. It was tender between her fingers. She smelled it first, closing her eyes to let the aroma of the spicy marination fill her up. Then, carefully, she dipped it in the pepper and garlic sauce, just enough to allow it to breathe on its own.

This was it. The moment she had been waiting for. With her hungry eyes glued to the chicken, she brought it to her mouth.

'I think I saw a lizard fall into the marinade they prepared today,' Jaehyun said from beside her.

She stopped, the chicken centimetres away from her lips. She looked at outside at the sunny day, at the clear sky and the busy street. Then, slowly, she placed the piece she was holding back onto the plate, pushed it away from her and turned to Jaehyun.

'What the fuck is wrong with you?' she yelled.

'What?' He shrugged. 'I thought you should know about the lizard.'

'Fuck the lizard.'

'You fuck the lizard.'

'No, you know what, fuck you,' she hissed at him, pushing him away but he did not budge. 'Why are you following me since morning? What do you want?'

Jaehyun's 'brilliant' plan was in action. If Haeyoung hated him the most and more than anything in the world then only he could drive her away from the company. Only he had the power to create the hell he wanted for her and since morning, he had made sure to give her exactly that – him.

'I am getting to know my secretary,' he said. 'It's the new company policy. Knowing your employees.'

'By following me to the women's bathroom?'

'Hey! You know that was a mistake and I apologised already.'

By now she had the same look on her face as the shape of the chicken on her plate – dead and done. 'Okay, then why don't I see anyone else getting to know their employees?'

'Well, I can't expect everyone to be as good at their job as I am,' Jaehyun said, a haughty grin on his face. 'Wouldn't they all be the President, then?'

'No, they can't be,' Haeyoung scoffed, crossing her arms over chest. 'Their mothers didn't leave a company to their names, right?'

'You take that back!' Jaehyun yelled but nobody else even turned their heads in their direction. Their fights weren't a novelty at the office.

'Did I lie, hm?' Haeyoung faced him.

'I-I have an MBA degree.'

'So does everyone in this company.'

'You don't,' he said, proud of himself upon seeing her face turn red.

'You know what,' she gritted out. 'You sit here and rot. I am leaving.'