The Messenger

Junmyeon was sitting at the bar, the scent of alcohol and cologne heavy in the air. He was already on his third glass of whiskey as he waited for his assistant to arrive. Jongin had already left for home when Junmyeon decided to head to Gill for lunch (Jongin had some overtime saved up). He didn't end up eating at the restaurant instead he sat in his car thinking about how to confront Aeri about things. Before he knew it she was getting off work and without thinking he followed her to the beach where she stared out at the sea deep in thought.

“This is a surprise,” came Jongin's upbeat voice. The taller man plopped onto the stool to Junmyeon's left as he ordered a light beer from the pretty bartender, who gave him a wink before pouring him the drink. He turned to Junmyeon, who stared back at him with half lidded eyes. “Since when are you a liquor drinker?”

“Since my life doesn't make sense and hard liquor is easy to understand,” he grumbled back.

“O–kay,” Jongin said slowly. He nodded to the bartender as she passed him his beer.

“Put it on my tab,” Junmyeon said to her.

The girl bobbed her head then went to tend another customer.

“So why did you invite me out? I heard Yixing was in town, why not invite him?” his assistant asked curiously. Sipping his drink he glanced sideways at his boss clearly waiting for an explanation, they weren't really friends after all. Them eating at Gill together that time had been a business dinner and Junmyeon had been tired of having take-out in his hotel suite.

“Because I want answers Jongin,” Junmyeon stated firmly. “And Aeri said you had them.”

Lowering his glass to the counter the P.A. swiveled slightly in his chair so he was facing his boss better. His earlier casual and bright expression gone and Junmyeon was faced with the serious businessman he worked with on a daily basis.

“Did she now?” he queried, giving nothing away.

“She says we can't speak, but that you can give me the answers I'm looking for. Why you?” Junmyeon's hand tightened on his glass, knuckles turning white from the effort.

Jongin's brows dipped low as he stared back at the CEO, his lips pursed as he leaned one elbow against the bar while his free hand ran through his brown locks. “Because,” he huffed, “even a strong woman needs a confidant.”

Twenty-five:

Mrs. Kim had a private early morning meeting with some man that Jongin had never seen before. The shorter, blond man looked overly smug when he left Mrs. Kim's personal office, his lips and whistling merrily as he made his way to the elevator. Jongin didn't like him one bit.

“Mrs. Kim,” he knocked on her door. “Your –”

His words were cut off when he saw her sitting on the floor of her office sobbing into her hands. The P.A. had only been working for Kim Aeri for a little over eight months, even before her surname became Kim. Jongin wouldn't say he was overly close with his boss, but they definitely got along and he highly respected her for her hard work with a crumbling company before the merger.

Now he didn't hesitate to charge into the office and crouch down next to her with his hands frantically moving about looking for a way to comfort the crying woman.

“Mrs. Kim? Are you alright? Did that man do something to you?” he questioned.

“N-No,” she sobbed out.

Jongin didn't know which question that was in response to, so he anxiously waited for her to say more.

Wiping at her face with her palms, causing her mascara to smear everywhere Mrs. Kim sniffled and hiccuped as she lifted her head to look at him. She forced a weak grin on her face that made Jongin feel useless to his boss. “No, he didn't do anything wrong. I just,” she sighed as her hands dropped into her lap. “I just needed to vent out.”

“You can vent to me. I am your personal assistant,” Jongin tried to help.

“That's sweet of you, but this isn't so much about work,” she said then laughed humorlessly. “Then again I guess it's all business related.”

Jongin sat down next to her as he offered her his pocket square as a handkerchief and she took it with another small smile and a nod. “Whatever you tell me won't leave this room, unless you say differently,” he swore sincerely.

Mrs. Kim was quiet for a long time as she dabbed at her eyes with the pocket square. For a while Jongin was certain she wasn't going to say anything, but then she dropped her head onto his shoulder, which took him by surprise and another hiccup left her.

“Jongin have you ever had to make the choice between love and happiness?” she suddenly asked.

“Don't those usually go together?” he said bemused.

“Not when the love is yours and the happiness is someone else's,” she informed.

“No, I haven't ma'am,” he answered.

“I traded away my love for everyone else's happiness,” she admitted in a breathy voice. She sounded so exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Jongin had never heard his boss sound so completely weak and destroyed. “My dignity for my father's. My reputation for the company's. Our friendship for our fathers'. My love for my husband's dream. I traded it all away so they could be happy.”

“Why?” Jongin asked in a quiet tone.

Mrs. Kim sounded so vulnerable and ready to break down again that Jongin wasn't sure he wanted her to go on.

“Because I didn't want to be the princess anymore. I wanted to be the one who grants the wishes, that makes people happy,” she answered with a mirthless chuckle. “I wanted to be the Fairy Godmother.”

The personal assistant didn't have anything to say to that. He understood her feeling of being needed, of wanting to be the cause of someone's joy, but at the same time he didn't understand why her happiness had to suffer for others. He patted her back as quiet cries rocked her body. Her head still on his shoulder like a lost puppy that needed a safe place to hide out for the night.

The words that left Jongin were a genuine question despite how childish and ridiculous it sounded out loud. “Then who grants your wishes?”

Mrs. Kim hummed back like she was considering his words. “I think it's like being