ANTAGONIST

CHAPTER ONE

     Whoever said "The more you hate the more you love" obviously hasn't met Kyan Dy.

But I have. And trust me when I say that he's infuriating enough to make one's blood pressure higher than ever, including me. And I'm only twenty-five.

Oh, Kyan. The office sweetheart, the favorite, the chinito guy the K-drama fans swoon over, the guy who comes from a well-off family, and whose father owns the Dy Group. Which means his father also owns Dy Publishing Inc. Which also means Kyan is the youngest son of Jeremy Dy. But he's not the CEO of the publishing company, thank God since his sister is, so I can still hate him.

On second thought, no. Even if he were the president, I'd still hate him.

But he is the company director.

Along with me.

And being a director means having your own office, which is fine, amazing even. But sharing an office with him. It's almost like a social experiment whether you'd murder a person or not.

Being with him every day at work means you get glares from him every time you lock eyes with eachother. It means the fact that he's without a doubt the more favored director gets shoved up your face every day. It means arguing with him about every single little thing because his prickly ass can't handle any type of inconvenience. There are three main reasons why I hate Kyan Dy:

1.) He's obviously the favorite around the company and office and by an amazing degree. We're labeled as partners for being both directors, but for us, we're just rivals. Who's idea gets accepted, who gets heard more, who gets the more opportunities?

2.) He's rude. I'm all for character development, but he's one stiff character. The worst thing is, he's all charming and smiley around others, but when it comes to me, it's like I'm wearing a bikini to church.

3.) When he entered the job– I was here before him! Ha! – he immediately fired my favorite co-worker, Josh. Though we still talk, it's different when he isn't here. I don't know what the reason is, but as far as I know, he thinks he can fire anyone–

"THEO!"

"Oh my God!" I jolt and blurt out. One second I was enjoying my music, peacefully stapling the papers Nina needs, to being basically yelled at. I turn and see Hans standing beside the open glass door. "I need your help with the covers again."

"Okay, yes, but can you for once not ask for help as if you're going to bomb the whole building?"

Hans ignored my comment and gestures to meet in the lounge. I stand up and place my headphones down. I glance at Kyan, his desk on the other side of the room in front of mine. He looks up at me too. Navy Blue suit, confident posture, an organized desk, and eyes that can pierce through you.

"What?" I bite.

He shakes his head and snickers. "Nothing."

I narrow my eyes at him. "For a guy that has a lot to say about everything, it's hard to believe that."

He looks back up at me from his screen, "Jeez, Rodriguez, do I offend you that easily?"

I roll my eyes. I know better than to respond and feed his ego more. I arrange my glasses properly, step out, and head to the lounge.

When I arrive, the sunlight from outside lights up the whole room, and three printed papers that look like book covers are splayed across the table.

"What's this?" I ask the frustrated Hans sitting across from me.

"The covers for Little Women." He said. "I can't decide which one I should submit."

The first one features a portrait of a girl that looks like Jo March. The second one has the title in cursive with a photograph of a tree bathed in sunlight in the background. The third one has a picture of the four sisters laughing with the title in a maroon color.

"Oh! Choosing covers today again are we?" A jolly voice asks from behind me. Minnie leans on the couch behind me. "Awh," She sighs, "I thought you both were doing the ones with the corny shirtless males on the cover. Needed a good laugh."

"Apparently, those are considered cheap-looking in the industry now."

"Not for people in heat." She replies.

"Mm. Biga-biga raba sad ka."

She swats my shoulder. "Huy!"

"I think I'd go with this one." I place a finger on the third cover. "More emotion put into it and more appealing. The portrait covers are too common for classics."

Hans nods slowly, then faster. "Yes, yes, yes. Definitely. Thank you." He quickly grabs the papers and leaves to go to his cubicle.

"I can never understand if he's just hyperactive or insulting," Minnie states.

"Hey, don't judge. The man gets at least two hours of sleep every night making those covers."

"How come I get a full eight hours of sleep when my job is as hard as his?" Minnie asks, her voice having a hint of sass.

"Well, maybe because you slack off most of the time and sleep at your desk."

She swats my shoulder again.

ლ

"What's the decision, Rodriguez?" Kyan's deep voice startles me and cuts me off from my thoughts. Kyan's sister, Nina, plans on collaborating with The Penguin Publishing Group to collaborate with our authors and theirs to write novels together this literature month, April. The air is cold as Kyan and I sit across from eachother in the meeting room alone. I turn my head to look at the city below. The streets bustling and the cars honk a rhythm.

"I honestly think it's a good idea," I tell Kyan. His eyebrows raise causing a strand of his kept and smooth hair to fall on his forehead. I hate how I notice it.

"That's it?" He says impudently.

I shrug. "Uh, would you rather I overcomplicate the situation as you would do?"

"Call me analytical, sweetheart."

"Okay, then, what have you analyzed?" I always dislike how he doesn't get straight to the point of what he's saying, but rather makes me want to slap him instead.

"Aside from the fact that you have reckless decision-making and should be glad I'm here, we're already preparing for our book festival next week, which is already a ton of workload, and if we add the collaboration, I don't think the company can handle that."

"Yes, but it'll be good exposure."

"I think you're forgetting the part where Dy Publishing is one of the leading publishing companies in Asia. We don't need exposure. Moreover, we already did that last year." What did I tell you? Rude.

I raise my hands gesturing a surrender. "Fine. You're the boss." I roll my eyes. "Contradicting with you is exhausting," I mumble.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." I cast him an exaggerated smile. A thought occurred to me. "I have a thought."

He inhales sharply. "Oh God."

I scowl at him. "What if I handle the book fair and you handle the collaborations?"

He looks at me like my idea is a joke. The book beside me has never been more throwable.

"There's two directors," I point at him then at myself. "For a reason. That is, of course, if you can't handle a little bit of workload."I sneer as I start to provoke. "I mean, the oh so dearest, youngest baby of the famous Jeremy Dy can't possibly be stressed; he'll ruin his precious hair. I worry he might faint of exhaustion." I coo.

He narrows his eyes at me, his eyes full of annoyance. He crosses his arms. "You want to bet, Rodriguez?"

"Sure." I challenge.

His face turns smug. "Fine. Most successful event wins."

"Bet."