JK 

When I woke up the next morning, my heart felt heavy and the sting of the 'good' news remained. Why did I feel as though Mr. Park betrayed me for a reason? The man only knew me for a day for god's sake. What has gotten into me?

Rubbing my eyes, I sat upright, the silk duvet cover sliding down my torso to reveal bare skin. Letting out an audible sigh in the silent room, I threw away the covers and got up. I made my bed first before walking into the bathroom.

I hadn't drunk alcohol but I had a lot of water to compensate for it. As I relieved my painful bladder, the images of Mr. Park's smiling face, his captive gaze, and his mesmerizing voice impaled my memories. 

Agitated with me, I turned to the shower cabin and took off the only fabric clinging to my body — briefs. 

I let the water pour on my head from the shower, turning the knob to extreme down so it turned the coldest. It was painful, but I assumed it ought to set my head straight. My skin was dark pink, especially the top of my nose, the area around my mouth, and my ears by the time I was done. 

There was a delivery coming for my kitchen, so I dropped a quick e-mail to Mr. Park that I'd be an hour late than usual, and started getting ready. With my luck, I would get stuck somewhere, so I'd ordered everything I needed online without waiting for another weekend. Maybe eating outside food for long was messing with my head. 

The order was received earlier than expected.

I let the delivery guys in and they set up the kitchen.

I arranged my fridge with groceries that I'd also ordered online and got ready to leave. 

**

After finishing the drive, I rushed to the elevator and stepped into the familiar office. I had also brought a Rubrics cube with me for my desk that I placed and saw that Li's laptop was on her desk, but she wasn't. 

While my inbox connected to the server and loaded the e-mails, I picked up my bottle of water and took a sip.  Li's voice registered before her perfume and she materialized in a completely new look. "Well, hello," I grinned. "You look nice."

"Why, thank you," she twirled, showing me her flowy dress. "My husband took me shopping."

"I can see that," I pointed at her hair which looked different. Maybe she colored them or cut them. I couldn't be very sure. 

"I think my new haircut doesn't suit me."

Haircut it is. "No, you look beautiful, Li."

She shook her head, laughing and sitting down. She had at least ten years on me, but her sparkling disposition made her gel up with people of any age. I got that vibe from her. Then I noticed a nicely wrapped box in her hand. She trailed my gaze to it. "Wanna see?" She wiggled her brows. 

"If that's from your husband, I am not sure if I do." I leaned back on my chair, feeling better with the diversion. 

"It's from the boss."

Boss as in Mr. Park?

"I apologized profusely before applying for a leave on his first day. When he called me in this morning, I didn't expect this."

And just like that, my heart began to race again, hearing about him. Curiosity piqued my senses. I wanted to see what was inside. "What are you waiting for?" I pushed up and skirted around towards her side of the desk. "Open it."

"Fine."

She opened a drawer to pull scissors. With the help of it, she tore the wrapper away and quickly opened the box to find a silk scarf. It was one solid color, giving it a professional edge, and it looked expensive without having to touch. The brand logo confirmed it a second later when she took it out to put it against her neck. 

Was Mr. Park really so thoughtful? Nonetheless, I couldn't help but feel something deeper for him. Maybe it was respect?

I had thirty e-mails when I returned to my computer. With a cursory glance, I saw that some of them were automatic ones from the training module, two were from Hoseok, one from Namjoon, and there was one from Park Jimin aside from one meeting invite.

For some reason, my heart picked up gait when I clicked on Mr. Park's e-mail. It wasn't addressed specifically to me but to all of his team members. I read through it and then opened the meeting invite to accept it. 

Another e-mail popped up from Hoseok.

I took time to read from the oldest to the newest.

The meeting had been for an issue with one of the anti-aging creams in the market, and Mr. Park's e-mail had been asking for the sales data of the last two quarters. I had no role in that, but when I opened Hoseok's e-mail, I found the work set out for the day. 

He had approved three headcounts for my team and I had to contact the HR manager from his team to coordinate the interview. 

I quickly wrote an e-mail to the person Hoseok referred to in his e-mail, and then pinged Namjoon on Zoom. He replied instantly. 

What's up? 

Can you share the sales data with me also? I wanna take a look at it.

Sure. I will get my sales manager to send it to you.

Thank you.

No problem. Ask me if you have questions. 

Will do.

Closing the Zoom chat window, I opened more e-mails that started pouring into my inbox. My brain had been on a break, and the moment I started getting all the information, it swelled in relief, hungry to go on a rampage. 

Before long, Zoom sent a reminder of our meeting and the HR manager sent me a few profiles they had shortlisted to choose from. 

I had fifteen minutes, so I looked over ten resumes and chose the top three. I replied to HR with my choice and then clicked on the meeting link as it started. 

One by one, familiar faces popped up on the screen on the video followed by Mr. Park. "Good morning," people said in unison.

"Guys," Mr. Park looked down as though picking something he had dropped. "Whoever is in the office... Come to my cabin."

I gulped but immediately stood up. I had headsets on my head that were connected to my laptop. Muting myself, I left them at my desk and walked towards Mr. Park's office. Everyone had their cabins near the CEO's, so I was the last to reach there. 

Mr. Park was already speaking when I entered and he motioned for me to go around the table to his side. Except for Seokjin and Hoseok, everyone was present. 

I silently stepped in, listening to the voice coming from his laptop speakers. There were a few people from the production team on the call, too. Mr. Park patted to a stool and I sat beside him. "We need to conduct a thorough investigation on this," he looked at Namjoon, who nodded. "I understand that there were repetitive complaints about Luve. Can I see the past one-year trend?"

The representative on the other side of the screen looked lost for a moment. "Sir, I'd need a day to compile it. I'll send it to you by tomorrow."

"Get it today. I have a meeting with one of the big accounts tomorrow, and I want to go prepared."

"Sure, sir."

He turned to me, brown eyes hard and voice steady. His hand rested gently on my back and his fingers circled my skin with a room full of people, all focused on us. The small action invisible to everyone made me feel like he'd stripped me naked and splayed my legs wide open on the table. 

Was that intentional? Did he know what he was doing? Did he comprehend what effect it had on me? It took me a moment to compose myself. If anyone noticed my fluttering pulse, they'd detect my distress. 

And was it just me or his voice softened just a little bit as he said his next words, keeping his gaze locked on me? "Jungkook, I need you to help in the investigation from the marketing perspective. I am afraid I am sensing something bad is on our doorstep from the regulators. We need to be prepared."

I hadn't been too big on the words, so I didn't think others would have found anything amiss when I didn't speak. I didn't trust my voice, so I nodded.

For the rest of the meeting, I was dazed. He didn't look at me again and continued to spit fire through his mouth. He didn't raise his voice or lower it. He didn't even say anything rude, but he said everything as it was, called out whoever he wanted, without sugar-coating a thing. 

I knew now why he became the CEO. This company was in trouble, which Mr. Park had finally confirmed, and that was why he was here. I got a sense he'd do anything to turn things around. 

When the Zoom participants disconnected after half an hour, Namjoon let out a sigh. "That went well."

Mr. Park stood up and his eyes connected to Namjoon's as though they shared an understanding. "Help Jungkook wherever he needs," he said after a moment and turned to me. I clumsily stood up, noting my panic. 

Namjoon looked at me. "Do you have time now?" 

"Yeah. My calendar is free until four."

"I can give you a download right now."

I nodded, wanting to match my step with him. Just as I rocked on my feet, I heard Mr. Park's voice. "Jungkook, stay for a moment. I need to discuss something with you."

Everyone took their hint and left the room. I remained standing, heart haywire as a table separated us. "Sit down."

I didn't want to, but I slowly folded myself on a chair. He sat on his chair as well and was silent for at least a few seconds. "I know Mrs. Shin left only last week... But I had a few discussions with the Board to see what we can do. It must be a little tough to hear for you, but we decided not to hire any director for the Marketing and Regulatory."

"What? Why?" I let my intrinsic thoughts out dumbly. Not hiring a director meant that I had to lead everything. I thought I was only reporting to Mr. Park until the time Mrs. Shin's replacement joined us, but with them deciding that they would remove the director's position for Marketing and Regulatory altogether, I automatically became the one person accountable for everything. 

He raised his brow, silent as he assessed me. "I believe with the headcount I have approved for you, you can manage the work. I have confidence in you."

"But, Mr. Park, I haven't been on this level of seniority before, and I was relying on my senior for some help. On top of that, I am new to the company. I am still learning."

I swear he was testing my patience or trying to get the raise out of me as he stared at me with that calculative look again, as though he was trying to rip away the outer shells and look inside my thoughts. After a long pause, he slid a paper and a pen towards me. "Write down your challenges here."

"What?"

"Write them. I'll solve them all for you." 

If he had made up his mind, he wasn't going to change it, and he couldn't possibly know the nitty-gritty of what I was dealing with, but making up the list? It was another waste of my time. 

His decision also meant he would be my permanent boss now, which I had no clue how would serve me if I couldn't even look at him without having my heart race like a horse. 

I picked up the pen, holding it tighter than I should've, and began to write. I mentioned everything that came to my mind, and I meant everything, including the fact that I didn't know how to talk to people as everyone was senior and they could take my age to their ego if I took an assertive approach. 

With almost ten points, I put the pen down, some of the anger as though transferred through ink. I stood up, now regretting the choice of my straightforward words. I could've formulated my sentences passively. 

He picked up the paper and tilted his head, eyes on my writing. "That'll be all. Thanks."

I dejectedly left his office and went straight to Namjoon's. I loved challenges at work. I loved solving them, but it appeared to me that every time Mr. Park presented me with one, I wanted to push back. And fuck it if it wasn't only the second day of us working together. 

I wound up my work quite late. Everyone had left the office by the time I packed everything up. 

Before I could leave the premises, my phone buzzed with a text. 

Do you have time to meet tonight?

It's the car's owner by the way. The one you scratched. 

I scrunched up my face. This was going to be mortifying. 

Where should I go to meet? 

I shot the text and pressed the elevator button. 

➽────────❥

༻14 Jan 2025༺