48

I'm a girlfriend now.

I sounded like a nutcase when I said it like that but meh. Who cares. It felt weirdly nice to be a girlfriend after a complete year and a half, almost two years of being single and trashed by my previous boyfriend. I had almost started imagining a celibate life at that point somewhere deep inside of me.

But—a huge but stood in the way and now, I was out of it!

I was someone's girlfriend now. And that someone was a hot, cybersecurity director. That's right. I had contacts and connections. Heh.

That was why Mr Min couldn't afford to scold me the way he was right now. He was livid. Livid but not that livid, actually. Right now, he was more confused than angry—pacing the floor of the meeting room with question marks shining on the glare of his glasses whenever his jaw shifted. As soon as he turned to me, my breath stopped. Was he going to assign me more work? Or was he going to pick me apart word for word?

"Haerin this wasn't how I wanted to begin my day." He turned to me, leaning over the desk to pin me down with his angry eyes. I couldn't see shit for his eyes with the way the table reflected off them. "Do you realise what you've done? And where were you going to raise this? Who were you going to make sure suffered?"

I blinked, gulping.

"M—Mr Min that transport uncle started it first. He wouldn't help me out. And he's just telling you his side of the story." I stuttered, realising that he was getting more annoyed by every defence I threw. "Company policies don't matter. How can I not be offered a cab just because I'm within a five-kilometre radius? That's absolutely unfair!"

He hung his head low to breathe and then looked up again, "It's the company's policy, dear. Do you think that the man behind the desk is Neureva? Is he the one you're going to talk to if the policies need to be adjusted?"

"It's not that," I straightened, fingers gripping the hem of my skirt, "he could help me but he was refusing to. He could make adjustments for me but because he didn't like me, he didn't. That's wrong!"

"Was this why you told him Miss Zhang is your side chick, I'm Miss Kang? Those were your words, right?" Mr Min's brows lifted challengingly and I already knew that he was fed against me all too well.

Damn it.

I blinked. "Yeah—that was wrong of me but he deliberately called me Zhang to be condescending!"

"Well, you did not come to me this time either." He sighed, fixing his glasses. He was disappointed. I could see it. "Again, Haerin. You don't tell me things and this keeps on happening. Do you think you'll fit into my role with this habit?"

Oh fuck that hurt. That hurt like a bitch. I was being questioned on my capability now.

"I was about to tell you—"

"No you weren't." He snapped.

He snapped at me. My eyes almost shivered, trying to hold back the tears. I wanted to say 'yes sir, I'm an idiot. Hit me', but I didn't say a word and just glared at the floor like it was Taehyung. My head lowered, hanging shamefully.

"You never tell me anything, Haerin." He snapped. Again. His voice was rough, the enunciation cruel as if he was throwing ninja stars at me. "And this is a warning from me. If it affects the team and I'm not aware of it, you will have to deal with a different side of me. I understand if it's personal and not work-related. Dare I find out it's about your corporate career and it hasn't been informed to me, you will be dealt with. Harshly."

What exactly did harshly mean? Was he going to throw me down the stairs or drop me a warning in Calibri?

"Now," he said with his tone still commanding. "What do you need? A cab to drop you home and pick you up?"

"Yes." My voice fell to a pathetic whisper.

Mr Min looked at me for a second as if evaluating if I was just performing my guilt or if this was real. He was having trust issues with me. Great. Great work, Haerin. Now, I have my manager on my back too, while Taehyung was probably buying a groin guard as we spoke.

"Leave me alone, Haerin. I'll check what I can do for the transportation." Mr Min sighed and sat down on a chair, turning it away from me to face his laptop. He didn't even want to look at me. Wow.

"Sorry, Mr Min. Thank you, Mr Min." I mumbled guiltily as I stood up, marching out of the meeting room.

Humiliation ritual officially completed. Now, some coffee. I checked my phone and Jungkook's message was lighting up my screen.

'Check your desk drawer' - It said.

Desk drawer? I hadn't even logged into my system yet. I walked over to my desk and opened the drawer to a red box with Godiva imprinted on it. It was wrapped in a red satin ribbon.

What the fuck—

I immediately covered my desk drawer with my body as I secretly opened the chocolate box to find strawberries dipped in pink and brown chocolate coating. I sucked in a sharp breath, my head ready to explode.

Did this fucker think I was an investor or what? Chocolates from Godiva? This man was crazy. Crazy.

I bit my lip, flushed so fast it wasn't even funny. It was annoying. I turned to my phone again, quickly typing out my message back.

'Do you want to buy me or something? What's with the money flashing, you bastard?'

He didn't reply for an entire minute and I contemplated telling him that late replies were boyfriend disqualification parameters. But I held back and then earned a sad emoticon from him in the next second.

I cracked a tiny smirk, afraid of looking like an idiot after getting yelled at by Mr Min.

I sent a quick thank you to cool him down.

His next reply was quick.

'Pantry for coffee in 5. Come for me.'

I replied with a no. Why? Because it was fun. And because he couldn't convince me like that. He'd better use some other ways to talk to—

'I wanna see you, brat.'

Brat? BRAT?

I am not a brat. I'm a very cordial and nice girl. No way was I a—well, okay, I was difficult sometimes but with purpose. Only with purpose. And that's just my personality. He wanted to see a brat? He got it.

I stood up from my seat, shutting the screen with a loud slap, tenaciously and using my free will as I strutted down the corridor. High and mighty. How dare he call his girlfriend a brat?

The pantry was, as usual, cluttered with my team, with them laughing and enjoying themselves over coffees they had already poured.

"Miss Kang!" I was called. I waved, pointing at the coffee machine as I headed towards it.

An espresso would be fine, wouldn't it? That's how I had to start my day after that vicious manager slapped the shit out of me with his words alone.

"Morning, darling." A warmth came up to me, close to my ear and quickly whispering.

I gasped and immediately jerked back.

Darling? Hah. Wow.

"I thought I was a brat." I seethed, reaching for the packet of sugar from the side.

"You are." His lips turned as he reached for an empty cup and put it on the holder of the coffee machine. "And I fucking love that."

I smirked, forced to turn quiet when a few people passed us by. He noticed my nervousness and pressed his smile into a straight line. The dark liquid of his Americano filled his cup.

"Mr Jeon," I said and he looked at me. "Can I taste your Americano today?"

He blinked. "Do you want to?"

I nodded. Eager.

He didn't even wait a second, passing his cup to me as if he had been waiting to do that. I smiled, pushing the cup I had made towards him.

"You can have my espresso." I passed him the cup with the stirrers to dissolve the sugar.

My eyes flickered up at him, face warm. He was already secretly blushing, eyes pinned on me. And suddenly this was high school all over again.

I whirled around with the Americano, hot in my cup while this boulder of a man followed me to where everyone else sat.

This was going to be awkward. I could already tell. The laughter began simmering down, and eyes widened followed by short gasps and careful murmurs. Sohyun and Namjoon were at the end of the table, forced to come out of their little reverie. I blushed even harder when the pigeon theory hammered into my brain. Oh duts, I was one of the pigeons now.

"Miss Kang," Seokjin patted the empty chair next to him.

I was about to place my cup there but Jungkook stole it first. Offended, my eyes darted to him, confused.

"Morning, everyone. Mind if I join you?" He said with a polite and estranged smile. Then he benevolently glanced at me. "Grab a chair from the back."

Was he in love with Seokjin because what the hell?

I dragged a chair next to him, forced to sit away from Seokjin, who would have clearly been the better choice in this situation. I put the cup on the table, rattling the chair a bit to showcase my dissatisfaction with him.

"Please...please sit comfortably, Mr Jeon!" Seokjin urged, shifting to the right. I didn't move my chair an inch.

"Morning da—Miss Kang." He smiled at me once I had found a seat.

He was about to say Darling. What the fuck was this man? I wanted to laugh at him so bad! Stupid boy.

I smiled back as professionally as I could. "Morning."

"How's work?"

I halted from taking a sip and blinked at him. Was this deliberate? Was this some kind of cheap cosplay that we were doing? Acting like we don't know each other that well. We were way past that now. In fact, this man was officially authorised to sink his fingers inside my—never mind. Adult content on this table was going to blow my brains out.

"Everything is fine, Mr Jeon. Thanks for asking." I said and finally took a sip from the Americano.

I think my life flashed before my eyes when that crime against coffee hit me.

That had to be the most disgusting drink I had ever tasted. It could be that it was Jungkook who had messed with this drink. Or his palate was from a mirror-world where bad tastes good. Either one of which was a detriment to humanity's concept of taste.

I nearly spat that drink out. My hands tightened on the handle as I put the cup back on the table. Far away from my mouth—my ruined mouth.

"Coffee's not good?"

"That's what rat poison must taste like..." I muttered under my breath, ready to faint. He bit his lip, forcing himself not to laugh.

I didn't dare look in his direction. Not when everyone else was awkwardly quiet. And chances of being spotted were higher in this kind of setting. Of course, we had two professionals already in that zone, Namjoon and Sohyun. So catching their eye first was a probable event I couldn't let happen.

Needless to say, people drank coffee and then began dispersing like dandelions shot out by the wind, the wind being Jungkook in this situation. He smirked, well pleased by the effect he had had. I wanted to stomp my heel into the toe of his shoe to make him realise his mistake.

Scaring people away? No fucking way dude.

"Miss Kang," Seokjin hadn't released his seat yet, we both realised suddenly. "I have something to return to you."

I blinked. What?

There was a moment of an electric eye contact between Seokjin and Jungkook. Jungkook refused to even move from the seat, curious and eager to establish his dominance like some dog on the street. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Okay...I just had my brother return these heels you left behind." He revealed a paper bag from under the desk.

Fuck.

"Oh..." I straightened, already watching Jungkook's brow twist deeper into his forehead. "Okay, thanks." I grabbed the bag and stuffed it into my lap.

Hadn't thought of this possibility now, had I? Dumbass Haerin. What next? Was he going to pull out my missing bra from under the table too?!

"Again, I apologise on behalf of him. I've practically locked him at home now." Seokjin assured, standing up to offer a bow as if that was going to fix the fact that I had to hear his brother tell me that his dick was a fan of me.

Seokjin withdrew himself from there. My smile turned watery as I looked at Jungkook who was intently looking at me.

Oh damn it.

I had to ransack my head for another lie now.

"Okay, boyfriend. See ya." I tried to stand up, but he crooked my feet in his, under the table. My butt landed hard on the chair.

"You fucker—!" I whispered, horrified. My hands flailed and grasped the table for support.

"How does his brother have your shoes? I don't understand."

I scoffed, slow and deliberate so that I had enough time to think of a way to escape this.

"Ahoy, are you trying to control me or what?" I scoffed again, running a hand through my hair.

He tilted his head, "You said you didn't like his brother."

"Of course I don't!" I rasped. "I just—just ran and left my shoes behind."

His scowl grew quizzical, the confusion already brewing in the wrong direction of where I wanted it to go. "H—How does that—was he chasing you, Miss Kang? How else would you leave your shoes behind?" Jungkook's knuckles whitened around the cup handle he was holding.

Oh fuck this detective agency.

"No!" My voice grew high-pitched, giving me flashes of Ross promising he was fine. "No! I had just taken my shoes off and I forgot them when I walked away from him." I dismissed it with a wave of my hand. "It's all fine, Mr Jeon. By the way, what's with the Godiva in my desk drawer?"

His smile was queasy but he smiled. He let me smile and have a moment.

"I think the word you're looking for is 'thank you, baby'" His mouth quirked.

I squinted at him, trying hard not to smile. "I'm not saying that. And I need to leave because people are going to notice."

His lips curved upside down, sad. "Can I at least get a secret getaway with you? The hiding is too much for me."

I rolled my eyes, "Pathetic."

"Agreed but I am." He chuckled softly.

"Okay, how about we eat lunch together?" I suggested, grabbing the paper bag and standing up to leave. "I have a secret spot."

Well, not so secret anymore with this stalker knowing it too.

His eyes widened, curious. "Do you?"

"I do " I mumbled. "I'll text you. Meet me near the elevators."

He nodded eagerly.

There was a beat.

Just a second.

I looked at his face, kind of speechless. My lips turned, blushing hard. I averted my eyes to the cup in my hand. The heat! God, the heat was too much! Not from the cup's surface. Definitely not that. Biting my lip, I pulled back, already medium rare from the way he wouldn't stop staring.

He didn't even blink. As if he were memorising the cybersecurity rules in Times New Roman on my face.

Bastard.

Then, I took my leave before I began giggling like a teenager. Just eye contact. Just fucking eye contact, Haerin. Get a grip. At this rate, I'd need pepper spray for his eyes.

Five minutes later on my desk, working my ass off as the routine goes, Mr Boyfriend sends me a Cirq. It's clear. He doesn't want to leave me alone. LEAVE ME ALONE.

I need space to think. He was always in my head now. It wasn't healthy. People were beginning to ask why I was turning red in the middle of my work. Sohyun asked first, asking if I needed medical help. Honestly, I could need medical aid because the temperature of my face was always in the desert somewhere when Jeon even tried to flirt.

I wanted to bite back so hard.

Maybe he was trying to one-up me in this flirting game.

Wait.

That actually made too much sense. Was he trying to compete to see who made the other person blush harder? If that was so, I was losing this game hard. HARD. No way.

No way could a guy who liked me first have the power to make me blush harder. The Haerin. Haerin doesn't fucking lose to anybody.

I clicked on his message, my blood simmering with the spirit of a wronged competitor.

[Private Chat — Jeon Jungkook]09:15 AM, Status: Busy🔴: Don't forget about our 'meeting' at noon.

Something like the tail of my ego slapped my back to get back in the game.

[Private Chat — Me]09:22 AM, Status: Available🟢: Yes. I'll make sure not to forget, Mr Jeon.

[Private Chat — Jeon Jungkook]09:15 AM, Status: Busy🔴: Time?

[Private Chat — Me]09:22 AM, Status: Available🟢: I shall text.

[Private Chat — Jeon Jungkook]09:15 AM, Status: Busy🔴: I'm sure you will. Yet, I need to reschedule any meetings. I'm sure you understand.

Was he trying to get on my nerves or was this sounding rude because it was on chat? Either way, I wanted to kick him in the groin. My fingers moved aggressively on the keyboard.

[Private Chat — Me]09:22 AM, Status: Available🟢: Very sorry for not considering your tight schedule. Make it 2.

[Private Chat — Jeon Jungkook]09:15 AM, Status: Busy🔴: Thanks 👍.

Why the fuck was he typing like an old man?

I shut the chat window that was already minimised for maximum secrecy.

Conviction sped in my bones.

Jeon Jungkook's manhood was about to be challenged for trying to make me blush like a teenager.

If this was a flirting game, I was about to go nuclear.