Wu Fan blinked several times just to get rid of the lethargy he’s feeling. It was almost eleven in the evening and they were still stuck in the office. Soojin was sitting at the couch, her eyes focused on the laptop in front of her. Just this afternoon, he had asked her to go over some old files of the company and making sure they were rearranged in an orderly manner. After almost three hours, he assigned her to type the results of the evaluation.

They were both tired, Wu Fan concluded. There were times when he would take a glimpse at Soojin, who tries hard to not to fall asleep. With her condition and the additional comfort of the couch she’s sitting, she looked like she was going to doze off any time soon.

He looked at her sympathetically. In all conscience, Wu Fan admits that Soojin might just be the most tolerant person in the world. Or of all the people he met, anyways. But still, he appreciated her willingness to stay and bear with him even if he wasn’t the best person to work with. He was impatient, conceited and rude. But she still stayed anyway.

He knows that it’s too early to tell. Besides, the contract ends in a hundred days anyway. Like his other employees who actually remained just for the job, Soojin may perhaps remained just to be able to repay what she had caused damaged on.

Nevertheless, Soojin had successfully survived two weeks of the contract.

Their first meeting wasn’t technically the epitome of perfection. He hated her. He hated her guts. He hated how she defended that woman from the Strategic Design department and stood up against him. He hated how she acted like… everything matters. To Wu Fan, nothing else matters but business. That’s all. The people don’t matter. What they feel doesn’t matter. What he feels doesn’t matter.

It won’t get him anywhere if he tries to care anyway.

He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping the pain would go away. He wanted so bad to just lay on the bed and fall asleep. He wanted to take a hot shower and relax.

But he can’t. Tomorrow was his father’s arrival and company inspection. He has to finish the reports tonight.

“I’m done!” Soojin yelled, throwing her fists in the air. She leaned back and closed her eyes, looking happy that she’s finally done her job. Wu Fan, on the other hand, shot her an amused look. He was happy for her. He hoped he would be that much happy when he gets to finish everything, too.

“Then you can go home,” he says flatly.

She carried the laptop in her hands, hugging it in her chest so it won’t drop. Placing it carefully and gently at the area of the table where it won’t disturb Wu Fan’s work, she returns to the couch and carries the arranged papers and documents back to his table.

“Are you almost done?” she asks, gazing at him intently.

He shook his head without looking up. He continued typing, acting as if Soojin wasn’t even there.

“You should take a break,” she suggested. Wu Fan held back a snort. Taking a break wasn’t exactly the best thing to do right now. But he kept quiet and tried to shift his attention to his work.

“Or I’ll get you coffee,” she adds, realizing that he would never respond. He was too busy.

Soojin took a 10-second pause before going for the door. Gazing at him intently, he thought she had that worried look on her face. It made Wu Fan wonder whether she was concerned about him. The idea made him feel a little better. He looked up, watching Soojin as she tiptoed out of the room. It’s when he realized she wasn’t wearing those heels he bought for her anymore.

He chuckled to himself.

“Where are your heels?” he asks.

Soojin leaped in surprise. She shot him an alarmed look, looking like she was caught doing something wrong. “My heels? Well, my feet hurt so I took them off,” she admitted. “Besides, it’s just the two of us in this floor. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not like I’m committing any offense, am I?”

He shook his head. “Well, carry on then.”

He waited for her to close the door so he could actually chuckle. Turning back to his laptop, he resumed to his activities but his mind was still on her. Her honesty was something to be admired of. Most of the employees would make up excuses when they did something wrong but Soojin didn’t. She doesn’t even look scared of him.

Am I losing touch? He wondered, pursing his lips. He flicked an eyebrow.

Few minutes later, Soojin was back with two cups in hand. She looked finer than moments ago. It was probably because of the coffee. Placing the cup next to his laptop, she sat across him and happily drank her coffee.

“Your Dad’s coming tomorrow, right?” she asks, bouncing lightly on her seat.

He nodded, attempting to focus on his work even with Soojin interrogating him like a policeman.

“Do you have something against your employees?” Soojin placed both of her arms on the table, crossed it and rested her cheeks on it. He couldn’t see her face but her tone sounded serious. He wondered why she was suddenly asking these questions. It must have been because of what the employees were talking about during the afternoon at the lounge area.

He scoffed quietly. “No.”

“Then why do you hate them?”

“I don’t hate them,” he answered briefly.

“Then why do you say cruel things to them?” she wanted to know. He saw her nuzzling her lips around the cup. “Why do you act like you can’t bear to see them around? Or like you don’t like them? Are you that kind of person?”

He exhaled sharply. “Look, why do you have so many questions?”

She equaled his glare. “Why aren’t you answering any of it?”

“I’m trying to do my job,” he explained, shooting her a stern look. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m trying to focus here while you keep on talking and talking. Can you please give me a break and shut the hell up?”

“See? You’re so mad at the world,” she says, leaning back. She crossed her arms on her chest and shot him a jagged look. “For the two weeks I’ve worked here, I haven’t seen you smile once. I kept wondering whether I would even see you smile at anyone when the hundred days are over. Sometimes, it makes me think how fortunate my life is, at least I’m happy with mine than you are with yours.”

He rolled his eyes. “Stop with the pep talk. I’m trying to work.”

“Then just answer my questions,” she begged, giving me an apologetic smile. “That’s all I ever ask.”

He let out a long breath. “Are you always this… inquisitive?”

She shook her head, sipping on her coffee. “No,” she admitted, tilting her head to the side like she was thinking. “Actually, I wasn’t really interested at the first place. I was talking to a few… of the employees at the lounge area and they talked about you a lot of times. They… mentioned few”—she cleared —“good things.”

He chuckled unkindly. “Good things? That would be a miracle.”

She shrugged her shoulders, playing with her fingers. “Okay, they mentioned a lot of bad things about you,” she confessed. “I kept denying it though. Yes, there were times when I thought how cruel of a person you are. But I thought that maybe… there’s a good person beneath all that… harshness and anger or something?”

He can’t believe what she’s trying to say. Good person? He thought in disbelief. No one has ever thought of him being a good person despite him trying to act scary and everything. In fact, everybody was fooled into believing that Wu Fan is one of the worst persons in the world. He didn’t have a problem living that life. To be hated by everyone and to be left with no one and nothing.

He had survived for years now.

But is there really a good person beneath him?

sorry for the lack of updates, omfg.

/blames my college anyway

xxx