JK

Imagine someone swapped a young child's parent at home and the new guardian took over, making new rules. The child would face difficulty, missing his parents, being set in his ways. But if a new infant is suddenly thrown in the mix, he'd not know the difference and follow rules better than the older siblings. That was why I wasn't sure about everyone, but despite my initial beliefs, Park Jimin didn't scare me.

What I could deduce from the short session with him was that he was young. Being young and sitting on top of the ladder had to have come at some cost. I wasn't a stranger to the sacrifice. I became an associate director in my twenties. I knew people worked at least a decade more to be in my position, so in a way not unbeknownst to me, I was similar to Jimin.

He also must be ambitious and driven. Competition was my driving force. I didn't know what was his. He would also be hard to work with, as people liked to say about me, but I preferred to be called a perfectionist rather than anything. Park Jimin had to be one, too.

No one talked about the new change, too stunned or scared to say anything. At this point, my sanity made me debate if Namjoon would be the next to go, but there was a gut feeling that he would've gone already if the corporate wanted him to.

Corporate was the headquarters, and it had the right to get involved in any country GLZ office.

Li-Ping, the communications leader, and my neighbor, greeted me with a toothy grin when I returned to my desk. "How are you doing today?"

"Can't complain. How about you?" I asked.

"It's my fifth wedding anniversary today, so I look forward to going home more than staying here."

"Hey now," that got me to stop putting the password on my laptop. I offered my fist to her. "Happy anniversary. You should be at home."

She lightly bumped her fist against mine and turned to her screen distractedly. "Thank you. For now, I am focusing on firefighting. Monday is going to be challenging. I would need all the energy to deal with... You know!"

There was my opening. "Oh, yeah," I said casually like I knew what she was going through. "It must have been hard. How did you deal with it? Were you close with the colleagues who left recently?"

"We were all close where it mattered," she mumbled slowly. "But it's all too sudden. Everything is so unpredictable right now. I couldn't have imagined this would happen. Did your reporting change in the Workday?"

"I didn't see yet," my heart lurched. She was right. I was reporting to Mrs. Shin, but with her gone, I was probably going to report to Namjoon as he was the most senior in the interim until they found my ex-boss's substitute.

When I went to my profile in Workday and clicked on the organization, lo and behold, wait, what?

I stared at the screen unflinchingly, Park Jimin was showing as my manager.

I clicked on the list of people who were reporting to Jimin. All of his direct reporters were directors except three people. I, Li-Ping, and one young lady, judging by her small picture, who was shown as a personal assistant.

I admit that it would have been easier to report to someone who wasn't a CEO, but it was also an opportunity for me to show the top boss my potential without a mediator. Who knew, if Jimin was as smart as I thought he was, he would consider promoting me sooner rather than later based on what I had to bring to the table.

Li-Ping worked as a solo woman in her team. She was the one and only person who was the face of the company, which meant that she was the one to tackle interviews in the absence of the CEO, handle social media accounts, and send out company-wide notifications to all the employees. Recently, it was more bad news than good. I could assume the toll it must've taken on her crafting those diplomatic e-mails to share with the employees.

While she continued to type on her laptop, I did a little digging. I clicked on Jimin's profile in the Workday tool and opened his work history.

He had worked fifteen years in GLZ and his first job had been as an intern. Now this clutched my attention.

People who climbed ranks often changed companies to learn and grow, both financially and technically, but Jimin had managed to grab so many opportunities by staying in the same company. From an intern in Korea, he became a personal assistant to the GLZ CEO in France, then a sales manager in America, and then he was promoted to zone manager back in Korea, before a director in Japan and then COO of the GLZ United States.

His current designation shined at the top of his profile as a CEO of GLZ in Korea. There was an X and LinkedIn link embedded in his profile. I clicked on both of them.

While his professional platform talked about innovation and boasted about work ethics, his X was a contrasting picture. He hardly shared any pictures, but his timeline was filled with funny tweets and his interests. He had close to 800K followers, which was another shocker. That number for someone who was in corporate was a huge deal. I had 500 followers.

He was a legend and he intrigued me so much that I practically felt energy buzzing in my cells. I didn't want to wait for the weekend to meet him in person.

By the time I had studied everything on all his platforms, two hours had flown by, and it was lunchtime.

We ate at the company cafeteria, which was huge and had so much variety to choose from. It was situated on the executive floor.

Li left the office after eating and I returned to my desk to complete my online training. One by one, I saw everyone leaving early because it was the weekend.

I was sure I was the only one remaining in the office, but then Namjoon came out from the farthest cabin and stopped in front of my desk. "Are you working still?" he asked.

I looked up, and a smile teased my lips. "No work. Only training," I pointed at the screen. I wasn't the most friendly person naturally, but I knew that taking an interest in people's lives went a long way, so I asked, "What are your weekend plans?"

"You'll have a lot on your plate soon enough. Enjoy while the honeymoon period lasts," he squeezed my shoulder. "I am taking my sons bowling. Fridays are always the same for me." He said it like he adored taking his children bowling repeatedly.

"Sounds fun. Have a good time."

"I will. What do you have planned?" He asked.

"Oh," My cheeks puffed before I let out a heavy exhale. "I might go look around. Still discovering the city."

"If you want to know of anything, you can always ask me. I've been living in Seoul for twenty-five years now. I know everything down to the streets."

"Will do," I nodded.

When he disappeared across the hall, I stood up from my chair. The office was on the twenty-eighth floor. The higher-ups sat on this floor, and the executives had another office down on the twenty-third floor.

Strolling around I watched everyone's desks. They all had some or other personal things decorating the space. Li's desk had a childish painting which I was sure must have been done by her kid. There was also a picture of her with husband. There were a few mugs that had quotes that had to have come from colleagues.

One of the desks was decorated with Marvel superhero charms, breathing life into the space. I thought I could also bring some personal stuff from home and make my workspace more personal.

After my aimless wander, I returned to wind up when it started getting dark outside.  

The weather was nice and cool as I took the elevator and walked up to my car in the basement.

After having witnessed the ups and downs in the office for two weeks, I drove to my place and parked the car in my designated space. I badly needed a drink.

I had researched and found a pub famous for its nightlife walking distance from my flat. But first, I needed to change. And if I got lucky, maybe get laid later, which was only my wishful thinking. At this point, I was sexually frustrated at best.

While the elevator took me upstairs, I decided what I'd wear. In ten minutes, I walked back after changing and freshening up my look.

I was at the doorstep of the pub within a few more minutes. The cold had gotten a bit chilly at night, but autumn was nothing compared to winter. Paying the cover fee, I entered inside and the billowing storm of my mood immediately pepped up.

The pub was sophisticated with a lot of mirrors, aesthetic red lights, and a lot of steam on the dance stage. The cheers of the patrons were one thing, but seeing the skimpy outfits of the waiters promised a good time. They weren't here to play and I was so ready.  

Taking a bar seat per usual, I ordered a Jameson whiskey. When I took a sip, my mind did a fucked up thing and recollected Park Jimin's eyes for some reason. He had stared at us through the camera with an intention. He had looked unflappable and important even when the video clarity wasn't good.

Not wanting to think about work or workers in general, I shook my head and looked around the area, my gaze searching for anyone to catch my attention.

And it did when I spotted a man who looked to be in his late thirties in a black suit. The implication was clear. Power. Why else would he wear the symbol of authority in a pub like this?

I liked how his eyes showed a dose of intoxication and hunger. He didn't look at me at first, but as though my eye contact called to him, his eyes stopped on me and his lips turned up ever so slightly.

Nursing the whiskey in my hand, I got down from the bar stool and walked over to him. "Enjoying yourself?" He asked.

"Not so much yet," I answered, hoping he would be what I wanted. If not, this would all be a colossal waste of my weekend. "But I am hoping that changes?" I let the question linger between us.

He spread his legs wider and his hand didn't move from where it was on the backrest of the sofa. "Wanna join me?"

"Thought you'd never ask," I said dryly, my eyes connected to his in a challenge. I might have preferred to be the one taking a cock, but that didn't mean I was the one to cower or look away from a staring contest. Many mistook the way I was built or carried myself that I wasn't flourishing in my ever-lasting bottom era. But that was the thing. I also needed someone man enough to take me. I wasn't easy to handle.

He ordered a refill for me, which I allowed. Generally, it hurt people's ego if they found out I was earning more than them. Men were simple. They wanted to show they were providers, but their masculinity was also fragile and depended on feeling unassailable by other people's shortcomings. If they knew I could protect myself, the protection they so haughtily offered was rendered obsolete. I was hoping it wasn't the same with him. I've had so many disappointments in the last few weeks.

When he kept cruising his eyes all over me, I smirked. "I look better without clothes. I expect you to ask me anytime soon to take them off."

"There's a hotel not far from here. Think you want to be my guest for tonight?"

"Hm," the lust had taken over me, leaking its essence into my expressions. I stood up, offering him my hand. "Take the lead."

Instead of taking my hand, he grabbed my waist.

My body recoiled at his touch. It suddenly felt wrong. I ignored his underconfidence to take my hand as I started to walk with him.

He gave the valet his key and then took out his purse. Pulling a bill, he extended it towards me. "Do you mind running to the medical shop and getting the condoms?"

He wanted me to buy the condoms? Me? I was sure that if he met me in my element when I was not dressed down so much, he'd hesitate to even make proper eye contact. And what kind of asshole gives money to his one-night stand and asks them to do a chore for them?

His kind. Obviously.

It made him look so unattractive in a jiffy that I cursed myself for even thinking he was an option.

I sucked my teeth, letting out a long exhale as my eyes drifted to the starless sky in decision. "Why don't you learn to be a little more prepared the next time, yeah?"

"Wait," his coolness ebbed, making way for irritation. "I didn't mean to offend you. I'd pick it up on the way. Let's just go."

I examined his ancient sedan as the chauffeur brought it and then glanced at him. Without a word, I walked back inside, not turned on anymore, but thirsty for a whole lot of alcohol.

➽────────❥

༻6 Jan 2025༺