| ~ fluffy ~ |

Wonwoo had simultaneously the best and worst job in the world.

. . .

“Wonwoo!” You called sharply over the phone, “There is a meeting in five and you’re still dawdling in the breakroom? What’s the matter with you?”

There was some muffled rustling over the mike as you waited impatiently for your P.A. to respond. “Wonwoo?”

“I’m coming, I’m coming ma’am.” His voice was frazzled and out of breath. “Just give me a minute.”

You clicked your tongue. “That better be a literal minute. And don’t call me ma’am, I’m not even older than you. By much.”

“Okay, okay.” The call ended. You sighed as your waited for Wonwoo to arrive, what on earth was he doing? He usually wasn’t so irresponsible.

. . .

Wonwoo took a deep breath to compose himself, his heart was racing a mile a minute as he stared at the phone in his hand.

This won’t do.

He wondered if he just liked torturing himself, because that’s what working with you felt like. You weren’t easy to work with at all, you were so incredibly driven and determined, it felt like he was always two steps behind. Which he was, all he did was follow you around, it was his job.

But you were a little bit of a slave driver, you expected so much from your employees and was ruthless when they messed up. Often times people would be too afraid to tell you of their mistakes because they knew that they would be chewed out.

No one spoke badly of you though. They knew that no matter how hard they worked, it wouldn’t even come close to how much you laboured over the company, how much you loved it and lived to protect it. The passion they could see in you every day inspired them as well, which was one of the points that made you so charismatic and inspiring.

Wonwoo thought the same, in fact, he felt even more affected because he knew firsthand how hard on yourself you were. You expected utmost perfection from yourself and he saw how much you would beat yourself up over the tiniest mistakes.

Maybe that’s why he couldn’t quit. No matter how much be wanted to, leaving you would mean giving up his ability to protect you from yourself. He cared too much; it went beyond what he was supposed to feel.

He remembered when he first met you; your eyes scanned him closely and he could feel that you weren’t just evaluating his appearance. He felt uncomfortable, he knew that you could see things that hid beneath the surface and judge him because of that. When he shook your hand, it was surprisingly small and warm in his, causing the tiniest shiver to run up his spine.

“Hello Wonwoo,” your voice was so filled with character that he found himself wanting to hear you speak even more.

“Good morning, ma’am.” He bowed awkwardly.

“I cannot be that much older than you,” there was a playfulness to your tone that was contradicted by the cold, calculating gaze that was still studying him. “Besides, a handsome young man like yourself should know better than to refer to someone my age as ‘ma’am’.”

“I meant no disrespect,” Wonwoo backpedaled quickly, “It’s just calling you ‘miss’ would imply a frivolousness that you don’t have.”

Your smile was dazzling as you finally lost all traces of coldness; Wonwoo was so struck by your presence that was only enhanced by your beauty that he almost didn’t catch what you said next.

“Well then, I look forward to working with you,” you grinned, much more at ease. It seemed that Wonwoo met your approval. “I’ll see you starting tomorrow, my P.A.”

He bowed again, “I’ll take my leave then.”

As he stepped out of the conference room, his heart continued to thud in his ears for a long while before it finally settled. Yet when he recalled your face, it seemed inevitable that it would quicken once more.

. . .

It was getting really late; the sun had set several hours prior and you didn’t seem to notice you hadn’t even had dinner yet. The keyboard had been clicking non-stop for over an hour as your edited and rewrote the contract, trying to make it as perfect as it could possibly be.

Suddenly the scent of ramyun drifted into your office and your stomach let out an involuntary growl, complaining that it hadn’t had any sustenance in hours. You were about to go into the break room and grab a few snacks when someone knocked on your open door.

“Wonwoo?” The tall male was holding a saucepan with freshly cooked ramyun inside, complete with a couple of veggies and a delicious looking poached egg. Your stomach rumbled.

He placed the piping hot pot on a coaster directly in front of you. “Thought you’d be hungry. I’m not exactly the best cook but you would have to be really pathetic to be unable to make ramyun.”

Your chest felt warm, like someone had put lit a candle burning merrily within your heart. You smiled gratefully at your lovely assistant. “Thank you.”

Wonwoo’s heart pounded. Why did you have to be so beautiful?

. . .

“Schedule the conference for two weeks later,” you rattled off the list of items you had to get through, “Hayoung wants to run the presentation through me before she goes to Thailand for the real thing. If this goes well, we’ve secured a relationship with AMPM Inc.; I can’t go personally because I must go to Beijing to check on our branch there. Apparently, there are some serious issues that need to be sorted out. Oh, you’re coming with me, so pack your bags for a week.”

“Wait what?”

You glanced at your startled assistant, “You heard me Wonwoo, you’re coming with me to Beijing. We’re leaving in two days, pack your bags for one week. I’ll email you any other pertinent details.”

Wonwoo didn’t know how to react. On one hand, he was annoyed you hadn’t given him so much as a heads up but on the other, he was extremely excited to travel. He also realized that the two of you would be spending a large chunk of time together, alone.

“Is there a problem? Do you have any prior commitments, a girlfriend perhaps?” You asked curiously, Wonwoo had told you that his schedule was very flexible and that he would be able to travel at virtually any time.

He shook his head, “No no, I’m good to go. An earlier heads up would’ve been nice.”

“I say the same.” You yourself wasn’t exactly the most excited for this impromptu business trip; there was so much to attend to here that you felt yourself being ripped into two trying to decide what to prioritize.

Seeing the stressed expression on your face, Wonwoo reached to rest comforting arm around your shoulders, “It’ll turn out well.”

You turned your head to look your assistant in the eyes. “Are you always this forward?”

Wonwoo snatched his arm away from you like lightening while a faint redness was dusted on his cheeks. “I uh. I didn’t mean…I’m sorry?”

Your laughter was loud and boisterous as you looked at him with a mirthful sparkle in your eyes. “Don’t be sorry, I appreciated that.”

Wonwoo’s answering smile made you a little lightheaded. But you blamed it on your earlier laughter.

. . .

“Wow, you clean up nice,” you teased a flustered Wonwoo, who looked nice in his black suit. “I have to take you to these events more often.”

“How did you convince me to go in the first place?” He seemed to be avoiding your gaze, but it really was because you looked so stunning that he knew that once he started to stare, he wouldn’t be able to stop.

You linked arms with the tall male and began pulling him towards the expensive car that was rented for the day. “Because I’m your boss and you’re obligated to.”

“Oh right.”

. . .

It was bound to happen. There had been a delicate balance the entire evening, you knew you were pushing it. But you couldn’t seem to help yourself; Wonwoo wasn’t at the event as your assistant, he was your plus-one, your date. Originally you had wanted to go alone, but knowing that he didn’t have anywhere to go in Beijing prompted you to invite him.

You didn’t know that seeing him dressed up was going to impact you so strongly; you were used to his semi-casual work clothes and the lazy way he wore his spectacles and lounged in his office chair. Seeing him now was almost like he was another person, yet you knew he was the same when he sent you a smile that was just as bright and as perfect as you remembered it to be.

Wonwoo had mustered up the courage to ask you to dance and you readily agreed, which led to the two of you twirling about slowly on the expansive ballroom dancefloor. His fingers seemed too warm as they held your waist and you had to resist moving your hand from his shoulder and into his soft hair.

“You look beautiful,” Wonwoo’s voice was husky when he spoke, his eyes staring into yours with passionate emotions swimming within their depths.

You were drowning. Your heart was beating furiously within your chest; suddenly you were no longer a seasoned CEO but a naïve young girl in love.

You were in love with Wonwoo. There was no way around it, he somehow wormed his way into your heart and you doubted he would ever leave.

You mumbled something incoherent as you shifted infinitesimally closer, resting your cheek on his chest. Wonwoo’s heart was thumping erratically, “What did you say?”

Your voice was trembling when you spoke once more, “You’re fired.”

He felt like he was just doused in ice water, “What? Why?”

When you lifted your head from his torso, the look in your eyes stunned Wonwoo. He knew why you were firing him, it was the same reason that he would contemplate resigning every other day.

You had somehow, miraculously, fallen in love with him.

Your lips met and the entire world fell away.

a/n because let's be honest. we all want svt to be our p.a lol. a kinda parody of the hot female assistant trope