14th April 2014

“Ahh…” I let out a sound of satisfaction as I took a sip off my hot coffee.

Nothing beats having an aromatic cup of caffeine early in the morning to start off your day; a day I want to make as productive as I can. Locking my briefcase in my bottom drawer, I turned over to Mr Lee’s office and found no one sitting behind the desk within the glass doors. Figures; no way Hyukjae would turn up early for work especially not on a Monday morning. Taking another sip off my paper cup to chase away my own blues, I my laptop and got myself into the work mode.

“Good morning, gorgeous!”

An arm was inappropriately flung across my shoulders and the scent of Dolce and Gabbana ‘Pour Homme’ filled my nostrils as I felt the weight of a chest pressing onto my back. I flung the arm off me and effectively removed the load before snapping around to face none other than my annoying boss; Mr Lee Hyukjae. I shot him a look which translated to “what the do you want?” and was pleased when he got the message.

“I still owe you an orientation of the office right? I mean I know you’re like this genius who can apparently handle all your works without help but you still need me to introduce you to the rest of the office as my secretary right?”

I could almost sense the uncertainty in his tone despite his words making perfect sense. Did I frighten him that much? Maybe I should tone down my level of confidence; I am after all working for this brat.

A huge smile broke out on his face when I gave him an affirmative nod, signalling my agreement to his proposal.

“Ten? Let me just settle down first and reply some emails.”

A second obedient nod from me sent the happy man skipping into his office, beaming. I could never understand such behaviour.

The hour passed really quickly as I spent the time trying to navigate around Hyukjae’s calendar on Microsoft and plotting in meetings he had missed out. I even took the liberty to block out his timeslot for my orientation so people who know not to drop by looking for him at his office. I didn’t fancy being showed off to the office, which I reckon was precisely what Hyukjae would do but as a newbie, I definitely appreciated the effort. I have so far taken the initiative to look through folders I had access to as Hyukjae’s secretary but it was still vital for me to meet the staff and get to know them. Networking was essential for any position holder within a firm as large as the Lotte hotel empire if I wanted to rise up the corporate ladder or perhaps get a good testimonial.

“Hi Sunggyu. Meet Donghae, my secretary. He’ll be in charge of all my meetings and works. All documents should be handed over to him and emails will go through him as well.”

“Noted. Nice to meet you, Donghae.”

This went on for another twenty to thirty times as Hyukjae introduced me to each and every member of his marketing department. There was the routine verbal introduction of the two members to each other with a professional handshake shared. I was getting bored really quickly as I made an effort to at least remember the names of the people I knew I had to interact with a lot in future.

“Alright, now let me take you on a short tour around where the other departments sit.”

The office was really pretty and neat, with each staff having a cubicle of their own without the high walls so it generally adapted an open concept. I liked it; having able to look at each other while you work.

I also did not fail to notice the curious orbs of scrutiny over the short cubicle walls as the two of us made our way around the office premises. But the thing that got to me the most was; they were blatantly checking Hyukjae out. Both males and females. I mean yeah I would admit that Hyukjae was definitely good looking and he dressed well; with dark brown hair neatly groomed, flawless milky complexion, pretty light brown coloured eyes and a defined jawline. He was also a potential candidate for the position of a managing director at such a young age; maybe even the position of CEO. I could already see the promising future he had if only he worked hard and that was exactly what I aimed to help him achieve as I pulled him along my work towards perfection.

Heading into the elevator to proceed to our final destination at the highest level; the management floor, I couldn’t help but voice out my thoughts.

“Do they know you’re gay?”

“What?”

He was shocked, it was normal and expected.

“Your female colleagues; do they know you’re gay? They seem to be lusting after you pretty badly.”

He let out a charming giggle before delving into his explanation.

“I’m not actually gay; I’m openly biual. But that doesn’t matter…what matters is…are you jealous?”

The wide smirk on his face disgusted me. How full can one be of themselves?

“You wish.”

*ping*

The elevator door opened, bringing an end to our impromptu chat as Hyukjae switched back to his professional mode as my personal tour guide.

“This is where the top management sits. There are a couple of people I think you should meet.”

“Aim to be here one day?” I asked him.

A slight frown appeared on his face, igniting curiosity from me as he briefly answered, “not really. I don’t care for such authority and I hate office politics.”

I bit my lips in frustration; I simply cannot figure this guy out.

“Ok, these two aren’t that important. There’s just someone here I want you to meet,” Hyukjae declared as we quickly walked past two closed doors before arriving at a large room in the corner.

Hyukjae shot the secretary a charming smile in which the lady returned with a shy smile and blush before he proceeded to knock on the door and entering when