Chapter 2

             “So you can help me?” I asked hopefully. I could really make it!

            “It depends on the novel,” Kiseop said very seriously. “I don’t have time to look at it now, though…”

            “So I need to come back later?” So maybe I wouldn’t make it into a company like Mister Kim. That’s okay, though. Right? It’s not like this was my last chance. I hadn’t even made an appointment. It was through pure luck that I had even gotten this short meeting. It’s not like I hadn’t tried.

            “Here,” Kiseop grinned, handing me a tiny rectangle of thick cardstock. “It’s my number. Call me and we’ll set up another time to meet, okay?” Wait a minute. His number? Yes, that was a phone number neatly printed across the front. And underneath was Kiseop’s name. Was it really his phone number?

            My shock must have shown on my face because I heard the man in question chuckle lightly. “Don’t worry, it’s real, I promise.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

            “O-okay… When’s the best time to call you?”

            “Around 6:00 is good,” he smirked.

            “Then I’ll… I’ll call you…”

            “Good.” He smiled widely and stood, glancing up at the clock hanging on the wall. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend.” He reached out his hand expectantly. “It was nice meeting you.”

            “N-nice meeting you… too.” I shook his hand and watched as he, rather gracefully, walked out of the office and down the hallway. I don’t remember picking up my stuff, I don’t remember standing, I don’t remember walking out of the office. But I must have, because suddenly I was walking down the street towards my house. I stopped, staring down at the card I still held tightly in my fingers. Lee Kiseop. It was really his number. I really had a chance at Mister Kim!

            And what’s more, it meant I would be able to see him again…

            It’s not like I was in uber-love with him after a five minute conversation in which he winked more times than I could count. I just found him… Endearing? Something like that. I just wanted to get to know him more.

            When I got home, I felt impatient. At that point it was only 3:00. 3:00! That meant I had to wait three whole hours before I could call him! My heart sank at the thought. Three hours till I could hear that voice again… Three hours till I knew when I could see him again…

            No. Stop it. It’s not like he even really likes you or anything. You just think he’s nice looking. That’s it. You can’t even have a crush based on that. Sit down, calm down, shut up! Watch TV or something. Forget about 6:00. Stop being weird!

            No matter how much I mentally berated myself, by the time 6:00 rolled around, I had his number punched in and my finger on the little green call button. It rang for awhile, and my anticipation began to dwindle. What if he didn’t pick up? Maybe he didn’t recognize the number… But he knew I was calling! So maybe… He didn’t want to talk to me? Maybe he knew I was hopeless. Maybe he didn’t feel like wasting his time.

            I was ready to hang up when I heard a soft, “Hello?” come from the earpiece. I froze.

            He picked up! He really answered the phone!

            “Uhm… Hello? Is anyone there?”

            “Y-yeah, I’m Kevin Woo, r-remember?” I stuttered, finally finding my voice. “I met you earlier today…”

            “Yeah, I remember,” he chuckled. “You called right on time.”

            “Well… Y’know… being on time is a good thing…” I mumbled, unsure of what to say.

            The Director laughed. “True, true. So, about our meeting. Have you ever heard of Coffee Garden?”

            “Yeah, it’s right down the road from where I live!” I could feel a smile spreading across my face. What I didn’t tell him was that I went there every morning at 8:00; that I could walk there blindfolded; that the owner’s son was one of my best friends.

            “Oh, really?” He didn’t sound the least bit surprised. “Cool. Are you free on Wednesday, around noon?”

            “Sounds perfect!” I could hardly contain my excitement. It was crazy, and half of me screamed to stop being an airheaded idiot. But the other half of me melted at Lee Kiseop’s voice as he said goodbye.

            As soon as the call ended, I ran over to my calendar. Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday. Meet W/Director @12, CG, I wrote in bright green pen. I stared down at the words happily. Lee Kiseop. I get to see him again.

            As I was absentmindedly doodling hearts on the side of my calendar, my cell phone erupted in a series of swift vibrations and loud music. I picked it up and pressed ‘answer,’ without looking at the caller ID.

            “Hello?”

            “Is this… Kevin Woo?” a smooth, deep voice asked.

            “It is. May I ask who’s calling?” I looked at the screen of my phone. Unknown Number.

            “You spilled slushee all over me today. Remember?” Oh. THAT guy.

            “Yes, I remember! I’m SO sorry about that! I’ll get the money for dry cleaning as soon as I can, it’s just--”

            “Do you know where GongWon Park is?”

            “Y…yeah…”

            “Meet me there in twenty minutes.” Click!

            I stared down at the screen of my phone, jaw half open in the shape of an incomplete sentence. GongWon Park. Twenty minutes. Where was I supposed to get all that money in twenty minutes?!

            I began sifting through my desk drawers, picking up my half-full coin jar and dropping in every spare penny I could find. Three couch cushions and four quarters later, I lost all hope. To collect enough spare change in five minutes would take a miracle, so instead I hoped for the best. He would understand, right?

            I could only hope.

            I grabbed my jacket and raced out into the cool dusk, making a beeline for GongWon. It’ll be easy, I reasoned. Just explain your situation, offer some collateral, and make sure he knows that you’re trustworthy. It’s simple. Yet despite my reassurances, I was still nervous. So, running down the sidewalk as the sun began to set, I did the only thing I could think of; I wrote.

            I know it sounds odd at first, but it’s easy to explain. The birth of my stories began in my mind. Before I could write something down, I had to think of it. Eventually, I got in the habit of writing entire paragraphs in my head before putting them on paper, just so I could make sure they sounded right.

            Running to GongWon, that’s what I did. I wrote out the situation in my head, contorting it in such a way that the man ended up understanding my story and agreed to let me pay him back later. It calmed me down slightly, and I was breathing normally by the time I reached the park.

            My eyes scanned the area slowly, searching for that tall, catlike figure among the groups of evening park-goers. For a moment I fleetingly hoped he had decided against showing up. But then my eyes fell on him, standing along beside a picnic table with a folder dangling lazily from his fingers. With a deep breath, I marched over to him, attempting to exude confidence in place of sheer nerves.

            It must not have worked, because by the time I was halfway there, he looked up at me and smirked crookedly. He glanced down at his wristwatch and cocked an eyebrow in my direction.

            “Right on time,” he called. “Congratulations.”

            “Look, I’m really, REALLY sorry about the whole slushee thing, and I PROMISE that I’ll pay for it! Right now it’s just difficult beca--”

            “I have a better idea.” He placed the folder on the table and beckoned me over. I silently stepped up to the edge of the wooden picnic table, unsure of what was going on. “Sign this.” He slid the folder to my side and pulled a pen out of his pocket, laying it beside the papers.

            “What is it?” I asked cautiously.

            “Let me ask you, have you ever heard of a compromise?” he asked silkily.

            “Of course,” I half-chuckled.

            “This is it.”

            “But… what is the compromise?”

            “Now you’re asking the right questions.” The haughty smirk returned to his face. “You see, I’m the president of this company, and it’s my job to oversee this yearly event we hold in honor of our annual contest winners. It’s a pretty big task to handle all alone, so I’ve decided that I need an assistant. My compromise is, you work off the price of dry cleaning by being my assistant, and I don’t have to hire another employee to do a month and a half’s work.” He picked up the pen and pointed it at me. “So are you going to sign it?”

            I hesitantly took the pen from his grasp. Did I dare do this? To work a month and a half with no salary is a big deal, especially since it would be a distraction from my part-time job…

            Yet at the same time, it would mean not having to suddenly come up with the money for that ridiculously lavish suit.

            Yes, the compromise was the best option. “Where do I sign?” The catlike man grinned and pointed to a blank line at the bottom of the paper. I quickly scribbled my name, not bothering to even skim over the contract. “Satisfied?”

            “Nice to meet you,” he held out his hand.

            “Uhm… okay…” I took his large hand in mine and shook it with what I hoped was a confident grip.

            “My name’s Kim JaeSeop. Welcome to Mister Kim.” My hand dropped to my side, my bottom jaw simultaneously falling to the ground.

            “M-Mister Kim?!”

A/N: Annyeong~! It's been a week since my last chapter and I've gotten such a good response to this story! Thank you all SO much~~! ^_^

@Yuukey: I'm glad xD Yes, Director Kim is JaeSeop, as you can see from this chapter! ^_^ This fic won't have any ElVin in it, but the rest is a secret~! ~(*o*~)

@oppiehongo: I'm glad you liked it~. You'll see~!

@Vinseopdiva: It's a surprise~ (though everyone is probably gonna guess it pretty quickly...)

@inspirit_kissme: TA-DA~! Sorry it's been longer than I thought since I updated xP

@CuriosityShapeMaker: I'M GLAD YOU LIKE JAEVIN AND VINSEOP. I DO TOO! Hope you like this chapter ^_^

@kagaki: Never mess with the big kid on campus, huh? XD

@Jongkeylovr29: YAY! :D

Hopefully I'll update faster now since I am no longer on vacation and have definite daily computer/internet access... XD Thank you all for your wonderful support~~!!! Saranghae <3 !! @(^_^)@