"What do you mean you don't know? Do you think I pay you for nothing? Do your fucking job and stop whining! Don't even bother to show your face in front of me without giving me what I want!" Chanyeol yelled at his phone, utterly frustrated. He had gone home the moment he read the article, prior to Minseok's suggestion. He had called his employee about the article regarding the lawsuit and asked to find out who was behind it.
Minseok, on the other hand, was unable to find out who the culprit was, primarily because the CEO asked for it within a short amount of time, hence the CEO's outburst. Needless to say, Chanyeol was disappointed at the latter since it was the very first time that Minseok was unable to complete his task, though one couldn't really blame the other. Chanyeol knew that, of course. It was as if he was channeling his anger on Minseok instead -- not that Minseok minded.
He had already tasted his wrath before -- just not like now.
"Yes, sir. I'll do it right away," Minseok said from the other line.
"You better be," Chanyeol finalized, ending the call. He growled lowly under his breath and threw stacks of papers from his desk located inside his house's private office from his frustration. He had actually wanted to thrash his whole office from rage, but prevented himself from doing so. He thought that thrashing it would be a waste of time, so he immediately thought otherwise and headed towards his room, plopping himself on his bed and sighing.
He couldn't believe that a serious of mishaps had happened to him within a week.
First of all, he fired the secretary that he deemed to be the best at the job because of an issue that he himself knew had no justification that the secretary really did the deed. Second of all, the article that had emerged about his previous relationship with Shin Eunbyul – a world renowned actress, heiress and Chanyeol's ex-girlfriend -- was also released, which might trigger the woman's attention.
It had surprised Chanyeol that Shin Eunbyul hadn't even bothered to call him all week, seeing as how she would've read that article by now, especially since she was an actress after all.
Maybe she didn't care.
Third of all, another article was released, claiming that he had been physically abusing his employees – when he had never even laid a hand even once. Park Chanyeol couldn't help but swarm into a sea of problems, rethinking which triggered this to start and that.
He realized how everything was ultimately his fault, but he didn't know how to solve them on the other hand.
'Why me?' He bitterly thought.
He had been asking himself the same question for a long time now, even before he changed. From the billions of people in the whole world, he couldn't help but wonder why those things had happened to his. He felt like life was so unfair. Then again, he wasn't the only person thinking that. The thought of other people suffering had crossed his mind almost immediately, and he cursed himself from even considering his life the worst.
For a second then, he felt determined, as if he was ready to take the fight against whomever had declared war to him, but his hope had crashed almost immediately as he thought of no solution. His phone beeped, indicating a mail. He took it out from his pocket and read through the message, frowning.
Apparently, Minseok sent him a file through a mail, with information regarding the culprit and whatnot. Zhang Yixing had been the "mastermind" of the latest articles; attached to the mail were pictures of Zhang Yixing talking to a couple of interviewers this morning, supposedly leaking the rumors according to Minseok.
Chanyeol frowned, as things just didn't add up.
What was Wu Yifan's relation with the issue then?
Why did he hire Kim Jongin and Oh Sehun after Chanyeol fired them?
Why was Zhang Yixing even talking to the interviewers?
Questions had swarmed his mind, giving him a headache. He replied a quick 'I need more proof,' to Minseok before sighing deeply. He frowned and decided to sleep his worries, and for the first time in a long while, he had waved the problems off – at least for now – and decided to deal with them tomorrow.
* * * * *
Hana sighed, feeling determined yet nervous at the same time. After a whole day of debating over a single topic on-hand, she had finally decided to confront her previous superior and make a deal – a deal that would benefit the both of them.
Fixing the casual clothes that she had decided to wear, she breathed heavily before entering the building, bowing from time to time as she acknowledged a few employees that she had known from the short span of time that she had worked for the company. She had also noticed four or so people that seemed like interviewers and reporters in the lobby, pestering the receptionist who had an evident annoyed expression on his face.
She shook her head solemnly at the immaturity of the situation.
Hana had read the article about Chanyeol physically abusing his employees yesterday, much to her disappointment. She had watched the video attached to the article as well. Apparently, it was only a mere video of him reprimanding his employees on the hallway. He was shouting at them, firing them on the spot. Nonetheless, the video didn't prove any physical whatsoever, so it's obvious that the video was only uploaded to fire up the situation.
Yes, there was a part of her that loathed the CEO because of his unwavering strict and stoic behavior; however, she knew better than to believe the accusation.
She had only worked for less than two weeks, yet she knew that her ex-boss wouldn't lay a hand on his employees, much less abuse them. From those two weeks that she had worked, never did she even see the CEO touch his employee. Despite his scary demeanor, he would never abuse anyone -- that, Hana knew.
She let out a whimper as she bumped into a tall man, whom she recognized as Mr. Wu.
"I'm sorry," she bowed her head apologetically, feeling slightly embarrassed to crash into the tall man.
It wasn't her fault thought. It wasn't like she wasn't looking at where she was heading at; in fact, she was. The situation was actually the other way around, as the man had suddenly popped out in the corner and crashed into her. But of course, being the mere ex-employee whilst the latter was someone who owned his own company, she has to force herself into submission.
Wu Yifan, on the other hand, scoffed in return and fixed the suit that he had been wearing, as if the collision had wrinkled his suit when it truly didn't.
"Bái chī," Yifan said, scowling at Hana before walking off.
Hana, who Yifan probably thought of someone ignorant of his first language, glared at the latter as she watched him walk away towards the entrance of the building, where Hana assumed his car was, waiting for him. Hana had been learning the Chinese language for a week now, prior to Chanyeol firing her. It had downed into her that she should probably learn the language in case she works for another company – for safety precautions.
"Hēi, nǐ zhège húndàn! (Hey, bastard!)" She hollered, gaining the tall man's attention. "Ta ma de! (Damn you!)" She said, smirking at the man before heading towards the elevators, pushing the button and going in the lift to the top floor. She didn't need to glance back at the man as she already knew that he was fuming. I mean, who wouldn't?
A supposedly rude yet rich man had been cussed by a mere woman. His pride would not take a simple cuss, indeed. On the other hand, she thought of enrolling to anger management classes in the meantime, but shrugged it off. Wu Yifan had deserved it, after all.
Lifting her head up high, she exited the lift and headed towards Park Chanyeol's office.
She saw Kim Jongdae stationed at the desk that she used to work at, giving her a hint that the CEO had hired Jongdae as his secretary yet again. Kim Jongdae has stress marks all over his face and dark eye bags under his eyes – for obvious reasons. Jongdae smiled as he watched Hana head towards his desk. "Hi, Miss Choi. Nice to meet you again. Can I ask what your business is with the CEO though?" He asked politely, smiling despite his tired exterior.
"Uhm... I have to talk to him about a letter he sent me a few days ago regarding the damage fees," she trailed off, wary of the fact that she was coming to her past workplace to talk – and complain, perhaps – of the demanded damage fees.
Resemblance had peeked Jongdae's features, his eyes litting up in recognition, "Ah, yes. I remember that. Mr. Park had asked me to arrange that once," he said, "Unfortunately, he's not available at the moment."
"Can I wait out for him here then once he's free?" Hana asked, persistent.
Jongdae shook his head, "That's not possible. Mr. Park is not at his office nor within the company at the moment. He had taken a rest for the rest of the day, apparently because of the recent issues that emerged on the Internet," he explained.
Hana sighed in defeat, nodding. "Okay. Thank you for your time though. Do take a rest when you get home, too. You look like you'll pass out any moment soon." She watched as the latter flashed her a grateful smile before sauntering off, her face solemn.
As she exited the building, she couldn't help but pity the CEO. It was the first time that she had heard of him resting, despite the short, ample time that she had known the CEO. It was quite obvious that he had a lot of things going on, so she mentally debated against herself whether dealing with him of the damage supposed damage fees would be a good idea or not.
She licked her lips, her decision done.
She scavenged her bag for her phone and took it out as soon as she did, typing in a message for the CEO. She was glad that despite his rage and anger for the latter over the past few days, she didn't delete Chanyeol's number. Even so, his name on her phone was "Obnoxious Jerk," much to her pleasure.
She immediately typed her text in, and successfully sent it afterwards, slightly regretting the bother that she might have been sending the latter, though she shrugged it off almost immediately with the thought of the Obnoxious Jerk deserving it. Her message was quite formal yet informal at the same time – overly sounding demanding yet she didn't mind. She actually liked how straight-forward she had sounded through that message.
She just hoped that the CEO reads it sooner than later.
Her message stated, "Mr. Park Chanyeol, I'm terribly sorry for the trouble that I may be giving you at the moment, but I have a proposition to make. I will help you bring the company's stature and your reputation back if you take me back in and remove myself of my debt to you. I will come to your office tomorrow again to talk of this deal of mine, and I hope that you will be able to meet me then. Till tomorrow, sir."
* * * * *
Wu Yifan kicked the front seat of his car in anger and cursed, thinking of the woman that cussed him out a couple of minutes ago. He couldn't believe how the woman had the guts to curse him right away – quite loudly, too, which had gained attention from some people lurking around the lobby. It had been quite a relief that most of the people didn't understand the outburst, but nonetheless, Yifan didn't risk his face and headed straight towards his car, afraid that his outright tantrum would gain more attention than necessary.
He told his driver to head towards his office, knowing that he would be meeting someone important.
He relentlessly sighed, thinking of how his appearance at PCY Corporation had been a waste. He had planned on talking to Park Chanyeol, officially taunting him – as if he was officially declaring a war. Unfortunately, his spy had failed to remind him that the CEO had surprisingly gone home, making his plan go to waste.
On the good side, it was a relief as well as he would be able to continue on with his game without leaking his ulterior motive.
As soon as his car arrived at his office in Gangnam, he sauntered off and headed towards his office, where his spy had seated comfortably, waiting for him to arrive as per usual.
"Looking too comfy there, aren't we?" Yifan asked, his tone of voice incredulous as if he was teasing the latter. He had a slight accent in his voice, as he wasn't still accustomed into speaking in Hangeul.
The man, who was seated with his feet on atop of the coffee table grinned at the latter, his eyebrows up high in amusement as he watched his boss sit on the sofa across of him. He brought his feet down, smirking. "Am I not allowed to, sir?" He asked incredulously, his eyebrows quirked up as he stared in utter amusement at Yifan.
"Not at all," Yifan mumbled, slightly amused himself. "So, how's the plan going on? Have you done the deed already?"
The man sat upright, his amused face no longer amused as he spoke, "Not yet, sir. Before you get mad though, let me explain," he said, elaborating as he saw Yifan open his mouth to retort, "I did not forget the deed whatsoever. As a matter of fact, I am here to do the deed right in front of you, just so you can monitor your target." The man explained.
Yifan scoffed, not getting the gist, "You mean to say that you want me to listen to your conversation? What in the hell does that prove?"
"Exactly, sir. And you'll see." The man's phone rang; he took it out of his pocket and smirked, showing the caller I.D to his boss. "Ah," he smirked, "Just in time."
Yifan watched as the man answered the call with a loop-sided smirk, making sure that he was quiet. The call had been in loud-speaker, so he was able to freely listen in on the conversation. He watched as the man's tone of voice become frantic, as if he was nervous of the other. The man's featured had quickly morphed, and Yifan mentally applauded him for his great acting skills.
"S-sir, I don't know. I-I haven't found the culprit yet," the man said, his lips shaking from fake nervousness.
"What do you mean, 'You don't know?' Do you think I pay you for nothing? Do you fucking job and stop whining! Don't even bother to show your face in front of me without giving me what I want!" Park Chanyeol boomed on the other line, making Yifan and the man smirk from his outburst. Yifan has resisted himself of laughing out loud as he listened to the PCY Corporation's CEO's rant.
"Yes, sir. I'll do it right away," the man said, his features still nervous, though Yifan knew better that it was fake.
"You better be," Chanyeol finalized, and the call soon ended.
Yifan chuckled darkly, and watched as the man smirked and bring his phone down, staring at him. Both of them was left amused of the previous interaction; both were smirking in delight. "He's so going down," Yifan said, before ordering, "Send him the pictures of Zhang Yixing this morning. Make sure to imply that he's the culprit. We want Zhang Yixing down before going to the next step. Do it now."
The man nodded, going to work. He brought out the laptop from his backpack and worked in front of his boss, quickly getting into work. Soon enough, he smirked at his boss, indicating that he had already done the job. His smirk soon dropped as Park Chanyeol sent him a text message in compliance with his mail. He frowned, showing it to Yifan.
"Apparently, he wants more proof. What should I do next, sir?"
Yifan smirked, "We give him more; what else? For now, focus on the articles," he said, "Ah. He fired his permanent secretary last week am I right? Call the girl, offer her money and tell her to testify in the lawsuit. Make sure to brief her with Sehun and Jongin afterwards, so as their statements would be connected. I don't want any loopholes happening, understand?"
The man nodded. "Should I begin accumulating petition signs too, sir?
"Yes. Arrange the petition for tomorrow. Talk to the employees in his company and ask them to sign the papers. Make sure that they keep their mouths shut with money. I don't want any casualties." Yifan commanded. It was a perfect plan to him. By getting petition signs from PCY Corporation employees, it would justify the complaint of physical abuse, which would eventually win the lawsuit against the CEO. It was an all-win situation.
"Yes, sir," the man nodded in response. Yifan took a thick envelope from his briefcase and threw it at the man's direction, making the latter smirk. The man opened the envelope and counted the crisp bills inside, smirking as he finished.
He stood up without any other word and exited the vicinity; all the while his smirk didn't leave his face.