30

"Sizzling...hot...chicken sandwich!"

I had run for cover like a jerk caught playing with himself in his video game room. Because what the fuck did this even mean? A sizzling hot chicken sandwich? If they believed this lie, I would have to start job hunting because that would be dumb on a level I didn't want to get to.

Fortunately, they didn't. Unfortunately, that left me desperate for more cover, because I looked more stupid with every second passing.

"Do you think we didn't hear what you said before that?" Mr Min clutched his hair, looking so defeated that I had to brace myself for a choke slam from him. He seriously looked like he was ready to do that. Totally understandable. I wasn't even planning to retaliate if he sent a flying kick to my head.

Because this? This was humiliation. Not to me, but to Mr Min as my mentor and manager.

I wanted to scream into the wind from the edge of a cliff. Maybe get access to a rage room to stop my body from trembling. A knife to my gut would be just fine too.

"No—! Mr Min—" My knee banged into the table, sending a wave of clutter on the items on the desk. My hands jammed into the keys, trying to balance but typing out something stupid on the screen instead. But heave-ho! Who the fuck cared about something like that when I looked like the whore of the century?

"It's not like that I swear! I don't even like him like that!" I tried to explain, visibly pouring oil into the fire.

Their eyes narrowed.

"It's a misunderstanding!" I begged.

The more I tried to defend, the worse the situation got.

My ass was sweating!

How could I sweep up more dust as I swept it away was a fucking mystery to me and my perspiring heinie right now.

They didn't believe me, of course.

"I'm not lying." I stuttered. My eyes nervously shot towards Jungkook, but his face was as dead as a doornail. A doornail up my butt, if you will.

It was difficult to assume whether he was enjoying making me shake like this or whether he was truly disappointed with my behaviour. Either of them would make me crash out like a teenager.

His face gave nothing away but what if he felt violated? I did use some harsh words to describe him. And in all honesty, had I heard him speak of me in this fashion, I would have been mortified and hurt too. There would be a public apology demanded.

Fuck my life. I wasn't even joking when I thought that.

"Really." I insisted, desperate now. "I swear I think you're much more attractive, Mr Min! Like, not Mr Jeon. You have greater chances of getting with me—as per my friend, not me— than—"

"Haerin." Mr Min cut me off.

He inserted himself between me and Jungkook to close the conversation.

"You're making it worse. You can stop now. We'll pretend like we didn't just hear it. Okay?"

God damn the day I met this man!

I wanted to push him off existence and end this once and for all! I barely had the time to curse the universe for sending Jungkook to me because their faces grew uneasy the more they stayed there.

It was as if I were naked. Embarrassing!-I know.

Haerin's private system save: Recovery failed. System crashed.

I gulped. My fists closed, sweaty. My body wouldn't stop shaking. Maybe I was dying. Yes, that seemed like a better way to take the topic off me. I had to divert this or I would start crying out of nowhere.

"Sorry, Mr Min. Mr Jeon." I bowed respectfully. "I just joke a lot. I'll keep a check on myself."

"You better..." Mr Min rubbed his temple, devastated still. "We were here just to check if you girls have been contacted by Mr Han since what happened before."

"Oh." I tied my hands behind my back. "No. I mean—not me. Mirae?"

Mirae huddled to her feet behind me too, "N—No."

Mr Min shifted glances between both of us before nodding. He was judging. He was judging hard. I swallowed and fluttered my lashes away. Jungkook stood there with his hands in his pockets with nothing to say.

Once Mr Min had started walking away, I couldn't help it. I just called Jungkook.

"You know I didn't mean it that way, don't you?" I hastily added, my voice squeaking as I tried to speak low. "I was just—"

Jungkook turned to me, eyes sharp, "I wouldn't have said a thing but people heard, Miss Kang."

My eyes clenched shut. I nodded, guilty. When my eyes opened again, he was staring at me intently.

"I know. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you. Believe me, I'm not interested in you in that way at all." I raised my hands defensively. He looked at my hands and then at my face, still not smiling.

"In fact," I added, "I was just telling Mirae that you and she should probably go on a date to get to know each other, you know?"

Jungkook blinked slowly, as if I had just auctioned him off as a slave or something.

"What do you think?"

He shifted his weight on his right leg, tilting his head to the right. "Are you serious?"

I gulped. "No. This is my stand-up routine." Then I rolled my eyes. "Of course I'm serious! Look at how cute she is! Well, you're clearly no match for her but wouldn't this be like an opportunity of a lifetime or something for a guy like you?"

His brow shot up, "A guy like me? What the hell do you mean?"

I cleared my throat, "Just—not gentlemanly or the boyfriend type, you know. Just—that."

Jungkook glanced at the girl exploding next to me and then back at me. "Don't you think you're making Miss Yoo uncomfortable?"

"Oh, I'm not." I rolled my eyes again and my head ached a bit with this one. "One date. Not even somewhere outside. Maybe, the coffee shop downstairs? I'll accompany her and sit somewhere far. How does that sound?"

"M—Miss Kang," he tried to warn me but I interrupted again.

"Wait." I gasped. "Do you already have a girlfriend? Or are you married or something? Makes sense why your mother hates me so much!"

He sighed, closing his eyes to collect his patience. "No, I'm not married and I don't have a lady, but that—"

"Perfect! I'll Cirq you the time. Thanks!" I chirped and sat down on my chair with a thud, pretending like I hadn't heard him.

"Miss Kang," he moved closer to my desk and bent a little to make sure I knew he was looking for some answers. "Do you even hear yourself? Are you a matchmaker?"

"In this situation, I am." I huffed. "Don't—don't humiliate me. It's just one date."

"Miss Kang, did you—" he tried but I shushed him.

"I won't hear no for an answer!" I pleaded with my eyes.

"Miss—"

"Don't make me plead—"

He cut me off, "Mr Han didn't come for you. Right?"

Oh. He meant after what had happened that day. The 'sack it and whack it' mission.

I shook my head.

His back straightened, and then he nodded, satisfied. "Good."

Mr Min was probably waiting for him ahead so he didn't argue and turned his back on me. I lifted my head and watched him walk away. Then, my head fell on the desk with a thwack, defeated and exhausted.

"Haerin!" Mirae shook my arm to pull me out of it.

I lazily raised my head and smiled at her, "It's done, Mirae. You have a date-uh!"

Her smile was watery, "I mean, thanks but I didn't expect you'd use my date to distract him from the fact that—"

"Two birds one stone thing." I shrugged. "The plan worked is all that matters."

Mirae giggled awkwardly, "You're weird...but that was brilliant!"

I felt kind of proud of myself for bagging the date so beautifully. Maybe I was just too worked up about everything.

"But winning him is on you now, okay?" I snapped a finger at her. "Don't let him slip away when he's on a platter."

Her expression fell, and for the first time, she seemed genuinely worried. Her hands cupped her cheeks, "What should I do? What do you think he will like, Miss Kang?"

I folded my hands at my chest and watched her judgmentally, "You're a girl. Use it to your advantage. What else?"

"Meaning?" She leaned closer.

"Be yourself," I assured her with her rub on her back. "Pretending is really exhausting, and the sooner you find out if you are compatible, the better. Besides, he's not that great. So don't try to be perfect for him. That bast—that man doesn't deserve it."

"Really?" She frowned, "What do you think he is like? Is he like the drama CEO type of person or a golden retriever?"

Weird question...

I blinked at the air. That was a good question. How would I describe this potato sack?

"He's...controlling?" I squinted, trying to understand if what I said made sense. "So, initially, he was really strict with the punctuality and timings and things. I'm thinking he likes to be in control. He hates being questioned and oh! He hates to hurt women. He has a soft spot for that."

"Oh..." She pondered, "Okay. I'll try to challenge all these feats then."

"Challenge?" My brows shot up.

"Yes." She nodded primly, a flash of wickedness on her glossy pink lips. "So this is a manipulative tactic—maybe bad—"

"Who cares. What is it?" My neck snapped to hers, ears perked.

"Opposites attract, right?" She waved her hands around as if she had a dance step to show. "So if you do things opposite, it feels like a challenge somehow. Men thrive on the chase to win something."

What?

What the fuck?

"Is that true?" My voice turned hoarse, furiously whispering.

"That's true." Seokjin grabbed the back of my chair and turned it to make me look at him. "I can guarantee. Mirae, here, is a smart woman."

"Thank you." She cheerily added.

"Are you going on a date, Miss Kang?" Seokjin asked.

I shook my head, "Nope. It was just a random conversation, Mr Kim. What brings you to my desk?"

"Oh, well." He pulled a chair for himself right in front of me. I turned my chair to face my desk again because looking at him felt awkward. It was like having a lover's chat or something.

"I do have a request..."

Oh goodness.

Not this again.

I clicked on the next email I had planned to work on. Because no. This sounded bad. If the request was coming to me, it obviously wasn't going to be entertained by Mr Min.

"My brother is returning from Copenhagen this Thursday. I need to pick him up from the airport. My parents are not in the city, and he's dumb as a doorknob so I can't leave him alone. Can I take a leave-"

"That's not reason enough..." I sighed.

"Come on, Miss Kang," he shook the handle of my chair. "I wouldn't have asked for it if it wasn't urgent. I haven't seen him in four years. He's going to be staying with me for some time now."

"I understand, but can't he come here himself if he could go to Copenhagen alone?" I frowned.

"Oh, he can't be left alone for five minutes." Seokjin groaned. "Believe me, he once fought a vending machine in Amsterdam because it ate his coin."

Honestly, I would have fought it too.

"I can let you leave early on Thursday but a leave is not within scope right now. You know why." I kept my gaze ahead at the computer screen.

"Haerin, please." He desperately whispered as if I had rejected his romantic proposal or something. "In fact, I need a leave on Friday too because of this. Please. Thursday and Friday. Please?"

"You might as well kick me out of Neureva at this rate, Seokjin." I sighed. "What am I going to tell Mr Min? Wait. If you manage to clear your tasks from Thursday to Monday. I'll let you go. How does that sound?"

I raised a brow at him and he nodded rapidly.

"I will. I'll clear everything. I'll work extra if you want so that I can keep everything clear."

"Don't...work extra hours." I gave him a pained expression. "Just make sure no one suffers when you're not here."

"And what about Mr Min?" He paused.

"I'll speak with him."

"Thank you, Haerin! Really! It really means a lot!" He shook my chair so hard that something cracked. We couldn't see what it was but something did break.

He gasped.

"Get away from my chair." I shooed him away.

"Sorry and thank you, Miss Kang!" He jumped, too happy. "I'll get you those Danish cookies that my brother likes a lot. I'm sure you'll love them too."

"Oh, you better bring those cookies to me," I warned. "Best believe I'll haunt you to death if I don't get them."

He nodded and then headed his way, elated in a way that made me smile.

I think that was the most alive I had seen him in forever. That lazy asshole was promising me that he could work at twice the speed he wasn't half of currently. I was just about to watch the show if it all burned down.

"Wow, Haerin." Mirae looked at me. "You're really management material, huh?"

"Was that sarcasm?"

"No!" She hastily defended. "I mean, you really care for everyone. That's such a good thing."

I giggled. "I was joking. And yeah, I am the best. Not management material, but the best, yes."

•••

Soldier Haerin reporting to HQ.

Mission: Download love.exe.

Time: 5:58. Two minutes before the launch.

Operator: Kang Haerin, HQ reporting.

Objective:

• Cracking the firewall of the cyborg enemy.• Make sure Mirae doesn't uninstall herself by saying something stupid. That is reserved for Haerin.• Make sure Jungkook isn't planting a dumbass phishing test on sweet little Mirae.• Secondary mission: Stay behind the Photos plant. No wait. Correction. It's Pothos, I think. Not photos.

I sat at the table right behind the plant. Right behind Jungkook's back so that the only person I was visible to was Mirae. And believe me, eavesdropping on dates is not my thing. In fact, I haven't been fully present at my own dates. But this? This was Mirae's request. She was afraid as if a simple word would make Jungkook technically glitch and explode like a computer on fire.

And she wasn't wrong. I didn't know what kind of man Jungkook could be on a date. Well, considering that he was smiling at her, I didn't have to assume the worst, at least.

I sat there, looking through the menu for the hundredth time. There was no way I was buying a fricking thing from this cafe. I was on a diet. This cafe was the worst enemy of a diet plan. Everything they made had extra of everything. Extra crispiness, extra butter, extra cheese, extra caffeine, extra... I had to stop because my mouth started watering.

In truth, this was the most boring type of date. Cafe talk. Safe, I know but it just felt like I'd tear my hair off for something new to happen in that set-up. And then there were people probably stalking your conversation, maybe judging you for it. Wait. I was one of them right now.

See? I just proved myself.

I think a part of me was also sick of it because Jong Suk and I would only ever go to these high-end restaurants and cafes where everything I did only made me feel poor. This is not to be mistaken with the 'oh I'm so different' kind of attitude. No. Nay, my dear. It made me feel sick because I felt underappreciated and like a whore. Jong Suk's fault, I know. But just the vibe made me feel old and used. I'm not sure if there is a way to put it into words. Maybe I'm fucking stupid and maybe Jong Suk was right about me.

Ugh.

Anyways, the target was locked and loaded.

Their conversation was going well. Jungkook was smiling. Smiling bastard detected.

From this angle, Jungkook looked...manly. Not that notorious meeting-maker and email-fucker who was all about his cyborg stuff. Not even like when he was riding his bike, all heavy and focused and uneasy. He looked like a man. A man who was on a date with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a plain shirt without the vest he always wore. Almost...nice.

Good job, Jungkook. Wait. Why was I cheering him?!

"Ooh, that's a bitter drink." I heard Mirae say as she peeked over what his cup had.

Jungkook probably smiled, "Bitter drinks for bitter jobs, I believe." And when he took a sip from the cup, he looked interested and genuine.

What the actual fuck?

This man could do that? How?

"Don't you think something sweet is what you need to balance it out?" Mirae said. "Something to relieve that bitter atmosphere there? I was so scared back there in that meeting room, honestly. I appreciate the support you've shown."

Okay. Target Mirae needed to talk about something else. This is a fucking date.

Jungkook tilted his head, "That's quite alright. It is a difficult world for women anyway. I wouldn't want to be just a passerby if I can help."

Her face turned pink and she smiled, "That's very...profound."

Oh fuck this shit, Mirae. He's being cheesy right now. Probably phishing her.

"You're really quiet for someone who leads meetings all the time."

"That's because meetings are work. Talking for no reason isn't."

Mirae laughed. "So you don't talk much outside work?"

"I talk when it's worth it. People who talk less... get listened to more."

"Is that a strategy?"

I couldn't see him but he had to have smiled or something. "No. It's habit. Learned it when I used to play billiards with older guys. Keep quiet, watch carefully, strike only when it matters. Works for pool tables... and people."

Wow. Good going.

Mirae grinned. "You play billiards?"

"Still do, sometimes. Better than going to bars and pretending to have fun."

Okay. So far so good.

I hid my face behind the menu leaflet and sighed. I guessed he did know how to talk about nice things once in a while.

For once, I thought something in my life worked out the way I wanted it to. Behind that Pothos plant, a winning meeting of the Project Team: Me, and the CEO: also me, rejoiced. This was about to be a complete success-

But wait.

My eyes shifted to them again and this time, Mirae was flustered. Not the pinky kind of way a date should. She looked embarrassed, too, for a second.

I blinked. The leaflet slipped from me. I sat straighter.

I didn't know what but this bastard said something. But he said it in such a low voice that I caught nothing.

My heart dropped.

Just when I thought-

Mirae stood up and bowed.

No, no, no, no. Abort! Fucking abort mission! Call for backups or something! I didn't have backups, what the fuck?

This bastard. He did something, didn't he?

As soon as Mirae walked out, I launched myself into the table like a missile.

My hand slammed before him. He didn't even flinch. As if he knew this would happen.

"What did you tell her?" I demanded, voice rough. "Why did she leave?"

I wanted to punch his face so bad. He placed his coffee cup back on the table. I swear the colour of it looked like a rat had died in there. My face scrunched but my eyes snapped at him.

"Nothing." He insisted rather too dramatically. "Nothing that you wouldn't, Miss Kang."

I heaved an uneasy breath. "What the fuck does that mean?"

He stood up, towering over and a wicked smile lacing his lips. With a single step, his shadow swallowed me whole. Oh, heavens no. Oh, fucking heavens no.

"I just returned the favour, Miss Kang." He simpered, hands in his pockets now. "Because I've been dragging you by the hair to phoney training sessions because I like you, remember?"

My face fell.

"I told Miss Yoo about how I've struggled not to use my authority for romantic gain. And how, you keep avoiding my advances but I...persist." He sweetly put.

Then his voice dropped, calm and too close, "And I told Miss Yoo that I'm patient. That I'll let you take your time...to admit that you like me back."

This motherfucking bastard...