“Can I trust you?” was the question her boss gave her.
She blinked. Hoseok seemed to have a strong reason for ignoring all the scolding and warnings from the older colleagues. Personal. She knew it was personal. “If it’s something you’re uncomfortable to share, you don’t have to–”
“Can I trust you?” A press in his word. It was as if he knew he could trust her, but he hesitated. “Yoongi picked you to be my P.A and I decided to trust him,” he said. “Maybe by opening myself little by little can help you understand me. You don’t have to refer to whatever Seokjin or Yoongi assume.”
She realized that was the first time she heard her boss talking without stuttering or hesitating. Yet, short sentences were still there. Softness danced in her tone as she said, “you can trust me.”
Redness from the traffic light shed onto their skin as the car slowed down, and stop. A few cars and a bus passed by in front of them, but what caught her eyes was the tension on her boss' shoulders relaxed.
"I want to punish my sister," he said, in the middle of a wincing noise from a lone bus that stopped beside them. “For disappearing. Only left a note. Left me with the boutique. She left me with everything she had made me take care of. And for leaving me alone.”
It was because of her sister. But sadness wasn’t the only reason. Anger, disappointment, frustration weighed in the air. She noticed his eyes glimmered under the shine of red, that soon flickered to green. The driver carried his foot off the brake pedal, accelerating the car forward.
“My family hasn't been the same since she left. My parents haven’t been the same.” Heavy silence hung in the air. “Everything, after she left, swallowed me whole. Everything. The day she left –” he shook his head “– everything didn’t sit well with me.”
“Do you know where she’s gone?”
“No,” he said. “She only left a note telling us to leave her boutique to me. No contact or letter. Not even an update from her online. We keep waiting.” His Adam apple bobbed.
His eyes ran to the GPS to check the direction. The car slowed down, realizing they almost arrived.
Jiah had been waiting for her mother too. Thus, she was able to relate to the pain of longing for loved ones who were far away. Not even waiting for an update from the country’s precinct helped. She understood. So well understood the pain of waiting.
“The hyungs and Amber must have thought I wear hoodies all the time because… I'm upset my sister hasn’t returned, don’t they?” The question flicked Jiah’s gaze to him. “Yet, they didn’t try questioning for the deeper reasons why.”
“I don’t think they’re only worried about your hoodies,” she said. Creaking noises from the brake pedal as Hoseok parked the car in front of a barber shop. He then turned to look at her with eyebrows raised. She added, “Seokjin told me, you haven’t been yourself.”
“Did he?”
Jiah nodded her head. “When I bought us Tiramisu, he told me that’s your favorite. That was why I rushed out to get another one in case you want more. I figured things have been hard for you and then, I found something small that could make you happy. Seeing you enjoy Tiramisu that time motivated me to be a good assistant.”
Silence as they held their gazes. Jiah wondered what he was thinking the moment she told him that.
She continued, “Seokjin told me a lot. Yoongi, Amber and Seokjin really care about you. You are their best friend’s brother so, you’re their brother too. Seokjin also said, they’re trying their best to care for you just like your sister used to do. They don’t need to wait for you to ask –” She pursed her lips into a thin line, humming. “Ah! He even joked that he wished to look like your sister so that you’ll listen to him.”
Hoseok chuckled. A sound that was rare for Jiah to hear. During that moment, she learnt what it felt like to hold a diamond in her hand. Even though it was not a physical diamond, but hearing her boss laughing and talking like this with her was something she would love to hold forever. A small, short moment, but something she cherished. Priceless, precious. Having her reserved, introverted boss opened up to her also made her feel like a champion.
“What else did they tell you?” Her boss asked.
“Yoongi doesn’t tell much. Whenever I ask him, he usually tells me to ask Seokjin, but I know it doesn’t mean he doesn’t know a lot about you.”
“Yoongi is just… bad at expressing sometimes. That’s typical of him.”
Jiah breathed out a laugh and shrugged. “But Yoongi. Yoongi asked me to make sure you eat well.”
He snorted. “You’re my P.A. Not my nanny.”
She shrugged and said, “perhaps, it’s a way that he cares.”
“How about Seokjin?”
“Seokjin? He tells me everything he knows. And the fact that you’re wearing hoodies during hot days annoys him very much. If you love hoodies, he wished you could learn to customize some of your hoodies and cut them to short sleeves.”
“W-well, I’ve never… I’ve never thought of that.”
She moved to her boss closer with a nose scrunched smile. “Now, you can consider.” She added, “Seokjin told me what happened to you during your last vacation too.”
“O-oh. The one in Sarawak?” he asked and she nodded. “I love some of my hoodies’ designs. It feels… It feels bad to customize them.”
"But they're your hoodies." Jiah's face was painted with a frown and a pout. That expression had done him wrong, and he grew worried about what might happen next.
Yet, he uttered, “I’ll consider.”
She clapped twice and gave two thumbs up. “That’s great!” She was collecting her things on her lap to put them in her sling bag when she noticed someone stood in front of the car. She jumped, “oh my, that scared me!”
Hoseok turned his head to see. He jumped too. “Woah!” His hoodies almost left his head.
A middle-aged man stared at the two weak-hearted beings sharply. He stood there in disheveled hair, all white pajamas with thin dark blue, vertical strips, both arms crossed on his chest.
It took them a moment to calm their hearts. Jiah stared at her father in disbelief. “Appaaa!!”
“Appa?” Hoseok exclaimed, his eyes widened as he exchanged gazes between Jiah and her father.
As Jiah gathered her things into her arms, she stomped out of the car. “Why are you standing in front of the car like that?” chided Jiah as she tried her best to keep her voice low. Then, her boss was seen standing beside his car with both of his hands held together, standing in a humble position.
Mr. Lee tapped his index finger on top of his wrist and deeply cooed, “almost two.”
“I had work to do!”
“Work? Until two? Who works until two? Not even the bus operates at two,” Mr. Lee said. “Who is this?” he asked when he faced Hoseok. Eyes narrowed before staring at him firmly.
Jiah silently cursed under her breath.
Hoseok bowed instantly, pushing the hoodie off his head. He said, “hello, sir. I’m… I’m Jiah’s boss, Jung Hoseok.”
Jiah watched her father scanning her boss from head to toe. “You don’t look like – oop!" She stopped her father and dragged him into the house. It took her a few seconds to unlock the door and her father was exclaiming, “hey, Hoddeok! Are you sure you are – hmp!” She clamped her fingers on her father’s mouth this time.
Gritting her teeth at her father, she grunted, "his name is Hoseok." Struggled to bow to her boss, she then said, “Thank you for sending me home, Hoseok. Good night!”
“I know you’re her boyfriend! Step across my dead body if you dare bring my daughter to–” The door was shut before Mr. Lee could finish his words. “Lee Jiah! I haven’t done talking.”
Grousing, she turned to face her father. “Oh my goodness, appa!” she grunted. “You’re embarrassing me in front of my boss.” She stomped past her father to go to her room.
“He doesn’t look like a boss. He wears hoodie and tracksuit. Who in the world wears those as a boss at work?”
“I work in a fashion boutique. It’s up to him what to wear!”
“He could have at least worn something fancy and bright if he worked for fashion.”
Jiah huffed and said, “what do you know about fashion? You wear pajamas as if you just ran out of the asylum, yet I don’t even say anything!”
Her father blinked before looking down at his pajamas. Tamed, he asked, “Do I?”
“Yes!” Jiah said with a loud voice. She scanned her father from head to toe, debating what to point out in return for him criticizing Hoseok’s wears as a boss. She said, “it looks like you stole them from an asylum’s wardrobe.”
Her father stared at her, innocence on his face. “Don’t you remember you bought this for me?”
The young woman halted, sweeping glances between her father and the pajamas. “I bought this?”
“You bought this for my birthday,” Mr. Lee said.
A blank look appeared on her face as she repeatedly blinked her eyes at the pajamas. When she turned her attention to her father, she exclaimed, vigorously waving her arms, “ah, whatever! You have no rights to say anything about what to wear as a boss. Boss can wear anything they want!” Standing at the door and glaring at her father with a light jut of her lip, she aggressively said, “good night!” and slammed the door shut.
Through the shadow that can be seen at the bottom line of the door, she assumed her father made his way to his room. She heard him say, “I look like someone ran out of an asylum?”
**********
Jiah skipped having meals with her colleagues at their favorite restaurant, opting to meet her boss as soon as she could. She purchased cereal bars to share with her boss. Just as she was a few meters away from the boutique, her phone rang and vibrated in her hand.
She unlocked the screen to see that she received a notification from Seokjin.
*
Kim Seokjin ^-^
| i bought you some kimbap
|
| the ahjumma is making it
| you don’t have to go through
the trouble
| but thanks ^^
*
She reached the shop and saw Hoseok unlocking the door. She waved at him and he replied with a smile.
Her phone rang and vibrated again.
*
Kim Seokjin ^-^
| you can share them with Hoseok
| i guess?
‘i guess’? xD
the kimbap looks tasty
| hihi i’ll eat them for lunch
| come with me so i can share with you
won’t you get hungry?
| nope.
| i bought some cereal bar to share with hoseok.
*
After that, she looked up to greet Hoseok. “Good morning!”
“Good morning,” the boss replied, lightly smiling at her.
“Oh, right! Hoseok, we received an important email,” she said, unlocked her phone and showed him their business’ email. The man lightly held her phone to read the context.
He silently gasped and his eyes widened. Then, relaxing, shaking his head. “I’m surprised they still dare to invite me despite the last incident,” he said, sarcasm laced his tone.
Jiah became puzzled. She asked, “what’s wrong?”
“There’s a company that wants to sponsor us. For the orphanage vacations.”
The assistant stood still before looking up at the tall man. She said, “is this the same company that –”
“Yes, the same company that held the public party, the day I puked in front of the public.”