Diner Swing

4. The New Model

Jungkook barely stops the elevator from closing. He walks in tired and sweaty from the run. After catching his breath for a second, he puts the sandwich for his lunch into his coat pocket. It's only after a minute or two that Jungkook realizes there's someone else in the elevator next to him, and that someone hasn't stopped looking at him.

He glances over to the woman beside him. She stares up at him with big eyes and a stretched smile. When they meet eyes, she gives a small "hi" with a wave.

Jungkook awkwardly nods and clears his throat. This was probably the new secretary for his boss. He keeps his eyes on the floor number as the woman burns holes into the side of his head. This... might become a problem.

Finally, they reach his floor; Jungkook quickly sidesteps the incoming employees and heads towards his desk. He checks his watch — 16 minutes. Okay...that's good enough for a spilled-coffee-had-to-change excuse. Once he reaches his desk, he opens the drawer to trade the sandwich for an employee badge. The forgot-my-badge-had-to-get-it excuse stopped working a few months ago, so keeping it in the drawer seemed the best way to not actually forget it.

It seems like just about everyone decided to stand in the walkways today as Jungkook tries to maneuver through them.

"Hey JK!" "Hey, man. What's up?" "Oh, hi Jungkook!" Jungkook gives a polite smile and a small wave to everyone he sees. To say that he had a few friends at work would be an understatement.

Finally, he makes it to one of the glass conference rooms. One of the other employees, Doyun, is giving a short presentation on recent sales trends for their latest product. Jungkook slowly slips through the door trying not to make a sound. But, the universe works in mysterious ways. The door squeaks when he closes it.

The room becomes silent. A pen drops on the tile, and Jungkook cringes as the sound reverberates in his ears. He looks over at the group. Five of the seven attempt to stifle their laughs.

"Nice of you to join us, Jungkook." His boss doesn't even look at his as he speaks with a bored tone. "Forgot your badge?"

"Uh, no I have it. I spilled coffee on myself and had to change." Jungkook says quietly looking down.

"Do you have your survey results?"

Jungkook looks up and eagerly says, "Yes, sir! I had Yuna print them yesterday." He looks over at the intern sitting at the end of the oval table. With a stack of papers in front of her, she gives Jungkook two small thumbs up. He nods back with a smile.

"Good." His boss says. "Sit down. You're up next."

Jungkook quickly takes his place in the empty seat. The man next to him reaches over and flips Jungkook's badge so it's right-side-up.

"I still see coffee on this one though..." Jungkook flicks the man's hand off his badge.

"Shut up, Taehyung. You're dropping Minji off tomorrow." Taehyung chuckles as he faces the front again. "Whatever."

"So, to conclude, the new design has definitely increased sales across the board with statistical significance as compared to our previous product." Doyun finishes his sales presentation. Light claps echo through the room as he sits down with a smug smile.

"That's good to hear. Send me the math by tonight. No-"

"Yes sir!" Doyun interrupts. The boss stops mid-word and looks at the employee. He has a determined face with his hand in a fist. The boss nods slightly.

"Now, Jungkook?"

Jungkook stands up and adjusts his coat. He makes his way to the front by circling the table, picking up the materials from Yuna along the way. He distributes the data while beginning his presentation.