Taehyung's POV
I was on the ground floor, having my meeting with the Editor in Chief, when lunch break occured.
"It was nice to discuss with you, Mr. Kim." The Editor in Chief, Mr. Gong, uttered as he shook hands with me.
"Likewise, Mr. Gong." I stated and gave him a smile before we both bow to bid each other goodbye.
I was left alone with my secretary in the meeting room when the lights suddenly turned off, making me gasp a little from the sudden occurrence. Gladly, my secretary was quick to open the blinds that gave us the natural light.
"What happened?" I asked to my secretary, who is checking the message she just received.
"Sir, there was an electrical problem with the system that resulted for all the machines and other systems to stop from operating." She explained while reading the text.
I groaned in defeat to know the reason. That only means that I have to use the stairs to reach my office on the tenth floor. So, to avoid that, I just decided to stay here until the electrical system works again. See? Easy as 1, 2, 3! I don't have to exhaust myself, yet I can also stay here for a while and skip work.
"I'm such an intelligent man!" I whispered to myself as I twirl around while sitting on the swivel chair.
"Sir, it's lunch time. Would you like me to reserve a booth for you, at your favorite restaurant?" My secretary, Ms. Han, suddenly asked as she type something on her phone.
"Yes, please." I agreed, "But before that, I will go to my office first." I added and she nodded in return before contacting the restaurant manager.
Then, while I was seizing my time, I suddenly remember that hyung will ask Seoyeon for lunch. I wonder how it'll go, knowing that hyung rarely go out for lunch with me.
"Sir, the electrician said that the electrical system is now fixed." My secretary informed, so I nodded and stood up as I storm outside the meeting room.
As the usual, only few employees are left here at the lobby since most of them are at the Diners or Cafeterias. I walked over the elevator that was specialized for the higher positions, such as mine and hyung, and pressed the button. I waited in patience until the elevator bell ding and for its door to open, only to surpise me with the scene inside. It's hyung and Seoyeon. Faces are both an inch away. Hyung's hands were on her waist as she was on top of him while hyung is sitting on the floor. And at moment, they both faced me with different expressions. I could see shock from their eyes, but hyung's were a little lost. And I was standing here, astonished that I don't even know how to react. What the fudge?
"M-Mr. Kim," Seoyeon greeted awkwardly as she quickly stood up, slightly brushing the cramples of her clothing. "Good afternoon, Taehyung-ssi." She added and bowed to me.
On the other hand, my brother just stood up quietly and flicked his coat to dust it off. He didn't say a thing, instead, he motioned to Seoyeon and walked ahead. Seoyeon just bowed to me again and walked pass me, following my brother outside the building. I don't know what to feel. Should I be angry?Walking inside the elevator, I could visualize scenarios and things. Did they do something other than that?
*****
Author's POV
After that incident, Namjoon could still feel the loud pounding of his heart as the company car drives them to their destination. Another addition is the fact that Taehyung saw them in that kind of position, he surely will receive a lot of questions from him later. Sitting at the back seat, Namjoon glanced at his secretary in the passenger's seat. She seems normal after that incident, should he be too?
"Goodness, Namjoon!" He whispered to himself, however it caught Seoyeon's attention.
"Is everything alright, sir?" She asked as she check Namjoon from the rear view mirror.
After that incident, she doesn't know what to feel. It's her first time in four years, to see her boss experience a panic attack. She's still also bewildered when Namjoon pulled her close to him. She concluded that Namjoon has eyes that could make you feel lost and deep in wonder. It was traumatizing, but not in a way that she felt awkward. It's just plainly odd.
Noticing his secretary's eyes on him, he coughed and nodded. It only took them a few minutes to reach the destination, and when they did, Namjoon couldn't help but to be amazed to see this neighborhood. It's filled with different cafés, diners, and small restaurants. And from afar, Namjoon noticed the placard with 'Impresso Espresso' written on it. With Seoyeon's guidance, he walked beside her until they reached the café.
"Please wait here, sir. I'll just check if there's a vacant table." Seoyeon kindly requested before storming inside the café, to look for a specific person.
And when she finally saw that person, Seoyeon waved happily at her, who just finished attending the customers. She walked over to where Seoyeon is and gave her a tight a hug.
"Hey! Are you here to have lunch?" Eunhye asked cheerfully.
Yes, she's the one working here. She's been in this job for three years, but she got promoted to a higher position as the assistant manager in her second year.
"Yes, but I'm with someone." Seoyeon agreed, so Eunhye snickered.
"Is it your lover boy with an Adonis face?" She asked teasingly but Seoyeon shook her head and motioned outside. "Oh...." Eunhye frowned, "It's the monster—"
"Eunhye," Seoyeon warned. "He's still my boss, please show some respect." She pouted, so Eunhye just sighed at her friend.
"There's an available table there, by the window. I'll attend you both in a few minutes." Eunhye informed, so Seoyeon nodded and went out of the café.
She told Namjoon what Eunhye said, so they went to the available table and sat there as they wait for Eunhye to attend them. Sitting across each other, nothing was done but absolute silence. So, Seoyeon decided to break it.
"How are you, sir?" She asked, getting Namjoon's attention from the window.
"I'm fine. Thank you for asking." Namjoon answered, a little shy to face her. "And how's work?" He asked, trying to be social.
"Uhm.... Nice? Yes, it's nice." She smiled sheepishly, but little did she know that Namjoon is aware that the answer is the opposite. "Not being annoying, just curious. May I know why you offered to have lunch, sir?" She said while trying to suppress the diffidence in her.
"I personally want to thank you for finding ny daughter, and this is the least I could do to show my appreciation." He answered directly, so Seoyeon hummed in return.
After that, Eunhye came to their table to give the menu and some glass of water for each. Knowing her friend, Seoyeon watched Eunhye as she stand beside their table. To be honest, she knows how mischievous Eunhye could be, and she's not wrong.
"It's so nice to finally meet my best friend's boss." Eunhye initiated to Namjoon, who was busy looking at the menu.
"Pardon?" Namjoon asked.
"Kang Eunhye, Park Seoyeon's best friend." Eunhye offered a handshake, but Namjoon just looked at her hand and back to her face.
Seoyeon, on the other hand, just face-palmed from embarrassment. Not just for her, but for her friend also. Meanwhile, noticing Namjoon's response, Eunhye just cleared her throat and patiently waited for their orders.
"I'll just take what she takes." Namjoon stated as he nods at Seoyeon, so she just gave Eunhye her usual orders.
Rolling her eyes, Eunhye left their table with a disgraceful frown because of what she earned from Namjoon. On the other hand, silence covered the two as they quietly sat on the corner. As the silence linger, Namjoon's mind wandered with the incident inside the elevator. He's so confused why he did that, and he's glad that Seoyeon is not acting any strange after that. However, he's also sure that she might think that he's a pervert so Namjoon decided to explain his situation to clear his figure from her.
"About what happened in the elevator...." He initiated, getting Seoyeon's attention. "I'm sorry if it startled you. I hope you don't see it in any way, negatively."
"Don't worry, sir. I know that it wasn't your intentions." She smiled, yet internally saying that he is a little weirder than before.
"I actually have claustrophobia. What happened in the elevator, it triggered my phobia that caused me to have a panic attack." Namjoon suddenly opened up, which he found amusing because he rarely does this, especially with someone as such as his secretary.
Seeing her quiet state, he cleared his throat and drank the glass of water on the table.
'Fudge, I didn't know that socializing became an awkward thing.' Namjoon whined to himself.
On the other hand, Seoyeon thought that maybe it was better to shut up and nod. Why? Because, for goodness sake, what can she say about his sudden confession? She's so baffled to even join her boss for lunch, then now she found out about his phobia as if they're closed friends.
"That's sad...." She mumbled as she stare on the table.
"Well, uh, care to share anything?" Namjoon asked slowly, yet surely, while he tries to be casual.
It made Seoyeon to purse her lips as she thinks of anything good to say. If only the man in front of her was Taehyung, she would already tell him a lot of random things without hesitation. But the situation is different, it's not Taehyung but his brother, Namjoon.
"U-Uhm...." She hummed as she faced Namjoon. "My parents were once an employee under your company, sir, which is also the reason why I applied there." She said with a small smile on her lips.
"I see. How long have they worked in the company?" Namjoon queried.
"My father was the Chief Accounting Officer for twenty years, while my mother was the Financial Accountant for seventeen years. But before achieving such high positions, they were once Junior Accountants too." She replied proudly, especially it's her parents.
"No wonder you're good at accounting." Namjoon praised, which she didn't expect. "I saw you once at the Accounting Department during lunch. You were with the new Junior Accountant, and if I'm not mistaken, you were teaching her how to do the accounts properly." He added, which left Seoyeon speechless.
She's surprised that he saw her back then. But most importantly, how come he still remembers that? It was three years ago, if she may conclude.
- FLASHBACK -
Seoyeon's POV
It's been a year since I was appointed as the new secretary of the company, which I unfortunately achieved. At first, I was so confused why the other staffs were praying for my well-being, as if I'm being offered to a demon. I've heard a lot gossips that he is cruel and heartless, but I always ignore that because I'm pretty sure he is not. Why? Because my parents told me that Mr. Kim, which is my boss's father and the previous CEO of this company, would always bring his eldest son to the company. My parents told me that he's very intelligent and kind, so I believed them more than my colleagues. Well, that was before I met my boss, Mr. Kim Namjoon. Now that I surpassed a year, I've come to conclusion that he is indeed rude and sometimes cruel. But whenever he brings his daughter, he's a little nicer than the usual. She's a cute girl though.
(Ms. Park, come to my office.)
I heard the beeper on my desk, an indication that he needs my assistance, so I dusted my skirt and took my planner and notebook before entering his office. I plastered a smile as I come face to face with him. This guy seems to have a storm above his head whenever I see him, because he is always angry. Just like now.
"Have you checked the accounts before submitting them to me?" He asked, eyes boring into me as if I'm about to be killed soon.
"The Chief Accounting Officer said it was triple checked before handing it to me, so I decided to deliver it to you right away. Is there a problem, sir?" I then gulped nervously when he slammed the table.
"Are you that careless to not even check it once or twice before handing it to me? I don't care if they already checked it thrice. Look at this!" He then threw the folder in front of me, making me flinch a little from the sudden action. "The accounts aren't correct! You're the freaking secretary, so you should know that you must check every file and documenta before handing them to me, for goodness sake! Why are you even assigned in your current position if you can't do it properly?" He stated while rubbing his forehead.
I just picked up the folder and hugged it tight to my chest, as I try to stop my tears from welling. Still, I showed a smile before I bowed to him.
"I'm really sorry for the inconvenience caused by my recklessness, sir. I will go back to the Accounting Department to redo the accounts." I apologized and asked him if he still has something to assign me, but he just motioned me to leave his office so I did.
The moment I got out, I breathed heavily and closed my eyes, trying to calm myself. I then took a deep breath and went to the Accounting Department, two floors down from mine. Since it's almost lunch time, most of the employees are already clearing their desk, but fortunately, the Chief is still at her desk.
"Mrs. Im! Good afternoon." I greeted gleefully, which was reciprocated with hers.
"Ms. Park, good to see you. What brings you here?" She asked while offering me a seat.
"Well, there's a small mistake on the accounts that was handed to me this morning. Is it okay to redo it?" I asked kindly and she nodded before calling someone. "Ms. Park, I want you to meet our Junior Accountant, Ms. Jang. She can help you with redoing the accounts." Ms. Im then introduced me to the employee who shyly smiled and shook hands with me.
After that, she led me to their desk where we could work on the accounts. I watched her work and noticed that she did the same mistake on the previous accounts.
"Uhm, Ms. Jang," I called, and she faced me. "There's something wrong with the computations that you just did, and that is same with the one I'm bringing. Were you the one assigned to do this specific account?" I asked and she timidly nodded to me with a dismayed frown on her lips.
"I'm so sorry, Ms. Park. I didn't know." She apologized as she lowers her head, so I pat her shoulder.
"Don't worry, Ms. Jang. Why don't we start over again, but this time, I will help you. Is that okay?" And I saw her smile as she nods at me.
"Thank you so much, Ms. Park! I really appreciate it." And surprisingly, she hugged me so I chuckled and tapped her shoulder.
All throughout the lunch break, I taught her how to do the accounts properly and also taught her some techniques to quicken the work. It actually took us two hours because she's still trying to cope with the new set up. I'm not complaining because I didn't just helped the Junior with the accounts, I also earned another friend inside the company. After fully verifying the results, we bid each other goodbye before I left her. I went up to Mr. Kim's office and just like the usual, I saw from the glas window that he didn't leave for lunch but his brother is inside with him. I then knocked thrice and entered when I heard his affirmation.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Kim, Mr. Taehyung." I greeted as I bow to them. "Sir, I've brought the new copy of the accounts. I've made sure that these are correct and properly addressed." I smiled and handed him the folder.
"Good. You may go." He ordered nonchalantly, so I bowed and left the office.
"Grumpy bastard, tsk." I mumbled to myself as I organize my table until I saw a sandwich beside my computer with a sticky note on its packaging.
'Don't skip meals! Eat well :) — KTH' It says on the note.
I then glanced at the glass wall diving my desk to the office, and noticed that Mr. Taehyung is eating a sandwich with the same packaging. Surprisingly, he glanced at my desk and saw me looking at him. He flashed his smile and waved his sandwich, making me smile and blush a little before mouthing 'thank you' to him. I then undo the wrapping of the sandwich before eating it with a smile on my face.
- END OF FLASHBACK -
[A/N: Hi! I'm so sorry for not updating recently. It was hard for me to look for the best scene to write. But nonetheless, I hope you liked this update. It's not that interesting, but I promise I will write more soon. Thank you for your patience in waiting, have a nice day!]