32

The Danish cookies were mental.

Seokjin was unofficially promoted to always suggest what to eat for the team. As a celebration, we decided to hang out for a team lunch at the end of that week. And I needed it. I needed it because I felt like my weekends were wasting away from the lack of romance in my life. My veins were screaming at me to get out somewhere.

I hadn't seen the blue sky on a Friday ever since Jong Suk stopped wanting me to hang around. We would have our own little getaways for lunches on Fridays to prepare us for the weekends we spent together after that. Man, did it suck breaking up with him. I hated every minute of this loneliness like a bitch.

Butter & Basil was chosen as the leading restaurant after votes were cast. Considering that it wasn't that far from Neureva and safe for a short trip—excellent.

Seokjin was the one who suggested the place so bets were made that if it wasn't as good, he'd have to pay.

I could smell the summer in the air, birds chirping and twitting over the greenery hanging from what looked like artistic pots. Wooden tables and a wooden roof to shade us from the afternoon sun. Somewhere in the distance, we could hear water gargling as if from a shy waterfall. It was easier to breathe too. Unlike the A.C. shafts bringing us closer to death, I was enjoying this place a lot more than I should have. Or maybe I was just a pitiful loner at this point. Maybe if Bo Ah managed to find time for me soon enough, we could hang out here. It seemed like the perfect spot for hangouts, to take cute pictures maybe. I hadn't taken a cute picture in a while. God, was I growing old and boring? Oh fuck no.

I couldn't lose my youth to a guy who didn't even marry me, could I? Haerin, don't fucking start this hate train on us!

Anyways, enough with it.

"Mm..." I moaned as the cookie melted in my mouth. For the hundredth time, this tasted so fucking awesome.

Well, fuck me because that moan sounded very inappropriate.

Sohyun passed me a questioning look, "What was that? That sounded weird..." She muttered and everyone around the table laughed at me.

There we went.

Nobody could stop and not make it weird.

Why the fuck was moaning such a sexual thing? Wasn't that a normal sound that the mouth made? Honestly, a lot of things can make you moan. Moaning also would be when you weep or cry, right? Why the fuck was I not allowed to even enjoy a cookie without being sexualised? This needed a discussion at a national level.

I feel like someone stupid made a sexual joke from moaning one day and it never stopped.

"I'm just appreciating the cookies, you perverts." I rolled my eyes. "Bless your brother for the cookies, Seokjin." I smiled sweetly at him.

"With all due respect, he didn't make 'em." Seokjin shrugged. "So don't thank him. He's a jerk who didn't even bring enough cookies for me. And a jerk who couldn't stop asking me who that fierce little manager on a bicycle was."

Mr Min caught the fork about to slip off my table and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I grinned, my mouth still full of rich chocolate cookies.

"Well, he did bring some for us so that is worth being grateful for." Mr Min added somberly.

"It was for Haerin but she shared." Hoseok interrupted from the other side of the table, "She's very helpful like that."

"The restaurant says butter, not for you to butter people up, Hobi," Namjoon smirked and people chuckled around the table.

"Did I just witness the Namjoon joke?" Hoseok straightened in his seat, fork dangling in the air as he pointed it at him. "Is this the apocalypse? Sohyun, is this your doing? Are you ruining him?"

Disgust appeared on Sohyun's face, "What the hell does that have to do with me?"

"Well, aren't you both pre-gaming?" Hoseok's face scrunched.

Silence held the table by the throat and Mr Min fixed his glasses once before clearing his throat.

"Is my team making babies that I don't know of?" He smirked.

A round of chaotic laughter exploded. Sohyun tried to screech over it to explain to everyone that that was not so. Poor her. Everyone was already dying of laughter.

"I think Sohyun and Namjoon's kids will be the worst prototype for humanity." Jimin chimed in thoughtfully. "Just imagine that boring look on his face mixed with Sohyun's constant need to fight. That child will suffer."

More laughter.

"Jimin!" Sohyun slammed her fork back on the table, her cheeks flushed. "Shut your mouth before I tell everyone about how you've been sleeping with Mr Han's new assistant manager!"

"What?!" Seulgi laughed out loud. Her head whipped to Jimin. "What the hell, Jimin?"

He turned red in a split second. "What? How the hell do you even know that?" And like that, his charm had been turned to ashes.

"So it's true?" Seulgi leaned forward, eyes sparkling with curiosity. "You mean that curly-headed girl who walks crooked?"

"Walks crooked? Be respectful, Seulgi." Mr Min cut in and she stuck her tongue out.

"I mean, that pretty girl who is pulled by gravity a little more than the others?" She corrected, and I smirked because yeah, girl. That's how you do it.

People tried not to laugh but Mr Min couldn't hold it in either. He began laughing and applauded Seulgi for her excellent choice of words.

"Speaking of," Mirae said. "What's up with our assistant manager? You are glowing these days."

Okay. They had to bring it to me. What sin did I commit for this to happen?

"I bought new makeup," I replied flatly as I reached for the glass of fresh lime juice.

"What? I don't think so." Jimin peered at my face. "It's in your eyes, Miss Kang. Your eyes are glowing. Who's the lucky bastard, huh?"

"Language, Jimin."

Mr Min and I said at the same time and we laughed again.

"Yeah, sorry. You guys don't have to come for me like that." He shuddered. "Who's the lucky guy then?" He turned to look at me again and I rolled my eyes.

"I think I'm glowing from all the trouble at work." I forced a grin. The lime juice tasted exquisite, but it immediately made me reach for the cookie next to it.

Fuck my plans to cut down sugar.

Jimin chuckled. "Or the Cybersecurity sessions. Man, that man is too manly. What's his name?"

Too manly?

As if to remind me, I had flashes of his well-toned body and the veins rippling around his hands. It was still under discussion if that was what manly was about. That man was Snow White's evil stepmother to me.

"Oh yeah. What was his name? Jung JeongGuk?" Hoseok pondered, biting into another cookie from the pile.

"Jeon Jungkook." Seulgi stressed. "He's a lone ranger in this world of unhandsome men. Please be respectful." She glared at him as if she had taken it personally.

And respectfully? She didn't have to. No one was unhandsome in this team. In fact, all the men, including Mr Min had their own charm to them. Flaws? Indefinite. But they had their own charm and that wasn't a bad thing. I had heard that the manager before Mr Min was a lady who wanted beautiful men in the team. She succeeded but moved to another department before I could officially join this team.

"Oh? You like him?" Hoseok's eyes narrowed at her. "You're breaking our assistant manager's one chance at romance in this office? Evil incarnate."

"When did I do that?!" She squealed, blinking rapidly. "You shut your mouth, Hoseok. I'll come for you like pests on your farm crops. I'm not pursuing Mr Jeon or anything. It's just a general appreciation."

He just laughed it off like it didn't matter.

"Speaking of Mr Jeon," Sohyun began. "Did you guys come to know about what happened today? Apparently, Mr Jeon's mother went home crying this morning. It looked like someone had slapped her on the face. Her cheek was red."

I stopped mid-chew.

I blinked because what in the motherboarder was this information?

My heart pounded in my chest and then in my ears like I was listening to some hardcore synth music.

"That's—really?" I leaned forward to hear better. "Why?"

"Don't know..." Sohyun shook her head. "She comes around to visit him often I heard. Isn't it terrible to be haunted by such rumours?"

The rumour of a slap on the face?

My fingers clenched the fabric of my trousers under the table. I wanted to know what happened to Mrs Jeon and what about Mr Jeon? What did Jungkook do about it?

"It's dangerous to spread information like this, Sohyun. Don't let people know." Mr Min cut us off. "Haerin and Mirae have had close experiences with Mr Jeon's attitude towards unwanted rumours."

That was right.

He hated rumours. He wasn't afraid to shut people down if they encouraged gossiping.

God, I hated that man but he could be scary sometimes. I still had chills from that moment in the meeting room with Mr Han. I was almost forced to believe that Jungkook didn't want to know me or show anyone that he knew me. Honestly, that hurt. But then, I understood the premise of it too. He couldn't show how close we were if he had to shut down rumours about it.

What the fuck?! Why was I taking his side?!

Bad Jungkook. Bastard Jungkook!

"Yes, Mr Min." Sohyun's lips fell into a flat line.

"Oh, look how sad she is without gossip." Namjoon muttered.

My head snapped at him. He did it deliberately. He fucking did it to instigate her on purpose. Why the hell?

"What do you mean? How dare you say that, you antelope?" Sohyun bit back.

Namjoon looked up from his plate and smirked, "Did I lie? You're practically swimming in gossip. Who would have known what happened on the third floor this morning? But you did. Clearly says a lot about you."

Disrespectful.

Something sparked in my chest at that comment from Namjoon. Yeah, it was banter and all. That was perfectly fine but the tone and intent of it seemed way harsher than I would have liked. How dare someone call me a gossip queen?

Oh god if Jungkook even tried to talk smack like that with me, I'd have to plan a murder.

On second thought, how did I not remember him ever disrespecting me even though we've had the stupidest arguments? It was like he knew his boundaries or something. I couldn't digest the fact that he did. That bastard wasn't supposed to shine in any light.

I wonder what he did to make his mom cry on her way home.

What must have happened? And the red cheek must have meant a slap for sure.

Did this fucker do something? Surely he wouldn't actually slap his own mom, right? He did say he didn't like to hurt women. So no. He wasn't the type to do that.

Oh fuck me, I couldn't even enjoy myself at a lunch venue.

"By the way, Haerin," Mr Min looked at me through his shining glasses. "The trip is set to move on 9th August. I have included your name in it too."

I blinked. "What? What trip?"

He let out an uneasy sigh, shifting a bit and then knocking my forehead, "Memory update. I told you about an all managers' trip, didn't I?"

It took me a few more seconds to recall the conversation from the coffee shop and the part where I had agreed to it.

Oh damn this office. I didn't want to fucking go on a trip with all bastards in a single bus. I'd die like that!

"Mr Min..." I weakly laughed, my voice cracking.

"Miss Kang," his voice lowered. "You have enough time to plan but I won't take no for an answer because I'm going to get bored over there. I need someone and you, Miss Kang, are responsible for my fun."

"What—" my head snapped at him.

He raised his paws defensively, "Not in that way. I just need company. That's all."

I gulped and then pressed my temples to build up to stop the throbbing. What the fuck was this even?

"Alright..." I defeatedly added.

Mr Min just smirked.

I looked at the lime juice on the table and closed my eyes. Well, go to hell. My option to have a good time on my own was utterly destroyed.

And as hard as I tried to think of the trip, my mind was fixated on Mrs Jeon's slapped face.

My head was in mortal combat mode. All I could think of was getting back to the office and asking him what the hell this information was about. I needed to know. Maybe it was the gossip girl in me who wanted to know the details but I was also genuinely concerned!

And I did that.

As soon as we went back to Neureva, I flew to the third floor like I had fire on my ass.

I hadn't seen that floor in so long but the receptionist recognised me. They smiled pleasantly enough to make me feel like I was someone important here.

I knocked on his cabin door and pushed it open without a second thought.

I didn't know what I expected to see when I entered. But what I didn't expect was to hear him speak the perfect professional language to the computer screen.

His eyes caught me fast, then returned to the man speaking on the video conference he was in.

"Well, I do have one more thing to add, Mr Jeon." The strong voice on the screen blared out into the open.

Wrong time, Haerin.

I hesitated near the door, raising my brows at him and tilting my head.

He motioned for me to take a seat opposite him, still concentrated on the meeting.

Well, there wasn't much of a choice, was there?

I strutted to the chair and pulled a seat for myself. It was awkward, and I had second thoughts about this, but who cared? I didn't have ill intentions so fuck it if he feels like I invaded. This was about a woman's safety! I couldn't back down in the face of a simple meeting.

I cleared my throat and then choked when his eyes shot at me.

Shit.

It didn't create a nuisance in the meeting but damn it if it did.

I pulled a chair for myself across from him and awkwardly looked around the place. Nothing unique. Shelves, paintings, shelves and books and some wooden stuff I didn't even care about.

This was about to be the most boring wait of all time.

I tried to sigh but it came out shaky under suppression. I glanced at Jungkook but he was completely focused on his meeting now, leaving me stranded here.

My fingers smoothly glided over the black and gold nameplate sitting at the edge of his table, facing me.

Jeon Jungkook, it said. And under it in similar bold letters, it said 'Department Director'.

My hands twitched.

It looked crooked, I swear. I tried to fix it but it slapped face-first on the table. I stuck my tongue out, guiltily and then neatly arranged it a bit more in the centre of his desk and smiled. Impressed. Was there a table decorating job I could do? This was fucking fun.

Jungkook was still talking about something and it looked like that 'someone' on the screen was getting scolded by him for delays.

Hah. Did he think he was the boss of the world or what?

I rolled my eyes, reaching for the luxurious golden fountain pen in the pen stand.

Wow. This was so cool. I examined its pointed edges and the sharp finishing of the golden surface. The weight of it proved that. What would it look like if I signed my name with it? Probably badass...

I popped the cap open, my mouth opening at how ridiculously beautiful the nip was.

"Wow..." I whispered to myself and then grabbed a sticky note from the stand. I tried to place it on a flat surface to help me write but God forbid this man had a place that didn't have stupid things around. Why the fuck did he need a globe on his desk?

I pushed it aside but it toppled off and hit the wooden floor with a whack so loud that my soul slipped from my body.

Fuck.

I looked at Jungkook and he had momentarily closed his eyes.

"As—as I was saying," he stuttered, clearly frustrated from the chaos.

Great, he was going to have me deported from his office.

I forced a smile and then put the globe to the far right so that it didn't end anywhere near me.

Fuck this globe.

And fuck this desk and fuck Mr Jeon first of all.

Why did he have to be so scary in meetings? It made me want to hurl something at him.

But the fountain pen was still in my hand and the sticky note was waiting for me. So, I moved ahead to do justice to the paper and scribbled in my best handwriting.

'Mr Dickinson' and then I drew an arrow to point at the stick figure I drew. I was tempted to give it a big dick or something to complete the joke but I stopped. Because there was no way I was going to make pornographic content and not charge for it.

"—It was great talking to you, have a good one."

My head shot up.

Finally! It was ending!

The video conference ended with a noticeable beep. Jungkook turned to me like I had personally slapped his mother or something.

I bit my lip, trying not to look like a brat caught in his office.

His eyes snapped to the fountain pen in my hand.

"Okay, you literature expert," I rolled my eyes and put the pen back on his desk. "Sorry for—"

"What are you here for, Miss Kang?" He didn't even look at me when he asked that question.

I gulped. Had this not been his cabin and had he not looked so weirdly intimidating after that meeting, I would have drawn shots at his cheekbone.

But he was.

I cleared my throat, "I heard that your mother visited you this morning."

He nodded. "And?"

"She was crying on her way back."

He paused typing and then rotated his chair to look at me completely. He folded his hands on his chest and I knew that this scoundrel was about to launch something professionally sharp in my butt.

Deport me at this rate.

"Who told you about this? You know I hate being talked about in a professional setting, Miss Kang." He cut, and I had the deepest urge to roll my eyes, so I did. I rolled my eyes at him so hard that his brows twitched.

"That's not the point." I strained, leaning forward. "I don't care if your cyborg body doesn't want others to know but I do. She had a slap mark on her face. Is she okay?"

His jaw tightened and his lashes lowered as if he was thinking of something. Then, he looked up and only nodded. Curt and sharp. Clearly, he didn't want to tell me more which was fine because I wanted to.

"Please make sure she's okay." I tried not to sound too soft. "I know what it feels like when you have to walk out of somewhere after you've been slapped. It's...a different kind of humiliation when it's on the face..."

That's when that stupid bastard realised that I was really concerned. His eyes widened a little, eyes boring into me like he could see through it.

"So someone did slap you that day."

"What—" I choked on my words. "This is what you get from everything I just said? Use your brain for once and think. Your mother probably feels so bad right now. You should console her."

"You don't even know what happened, Miss Kang."

"Well, were you the one who slapped her?" I folded my arms at my chest.

"What? No!" He scowled, taken aback.

"Did you make someone slap her then?" I raised my brows.

"Why would I do that?"

"Then, you can console her." I nodded. "I know how much I needed someone to say a kind word to me then. Even though it doesn't really help, it helps in the rearview."

"Miss Kang..." He softened, holding his forehead in his hand as if just saying it ached. "It's not as simple as you think. She...she chooses to let that happen to her. I can't—" He held back as if trying to bite the urge to say it. Then, he sighed, "I can't help it."

My mouth opened.

This wasn't what I had expected him to say.

"You—you mean she lets—"

"Yes." He cut me off. "It's not like I haven't tried but I don't think she wants the help."

Oh god no.

Oh my god no.

I knew what he was talking about without him even having to say it. I clenched my trousers, trying not to shake because what the hell?

Did he just say that his mother was in a physically abusive relationship?

Was this man fucking stupid?

"Have you been there?" He asked me and I blinked rapidly.

"I haven't but—you can't just give up!" I pushed the chair back as I stood up, agitated. Karate chop was ready. "You know it's twice as hard to get out of a relationship if it's toxic?"

He sighed and looked away as if he didn't want to hear more of it.

I huffed at that bastard, "You're so stubborn, you know that? So, if you can't fix the whole thing, you just leave it? Way to go, you big cyborg! You know, sometimes women just need you to sit there and tell them that you're there for them anytime they want. Just read a book sometimes."

I didn't want to say more, or else I would throw the desk at him. So I strutted out of there like I hadn't just left feeling twice as bad.

Then I remembered I forgot something I had to say and pushed the door open again. He was looking at the things I had moved around on his desk.

"And by the way, I hate you," I said, finally leaving.