The first level of Nessen’s underground parking garage is said to be where the important people park. Luhan had never paid much attention to its importance, to him a parking garage was just a parking garage regardless of what level meant what. It was the workers that cared about the superficial acknowledgment that came with the parking space. Each parking space held a title of prominence branded across the concrete in white, from minor directors within the company up to the President, there was a space for everyone.

Today as he parks his car in the spot designated for the executive director, the initial indifference to the first level of the parking garage morphs into something akin to hatred. He feels a resentment swell into him, directed at the parking space, and the garage for what they now represent to him. He doesn’t feel the prestige that the company workers associate with the parking spaces on the first level. Instead, he’s reminded of President Kim’s smug face the night he announced Luhan’s new position at the company, and that makes him loathe the parking space even more.

President Kim wanted him to be reminded of that night every time he parked in his new parking space, was referred to by his new title, and sat in his new office, and yet here he was playing into President Kim’s hand once more.

"You'll do fine," Minseok tells him in encouragement, as if he was reading Luhan’s thoughts at the moment.

"Of course I will," Luhan replies, "President Kim will need to die or at least be heavily sedated for me to actually do any work."

He supposes that could probably go in the positive things he should focus on. It had been Minseok’s idea the night before, focus strictly on the positive side of things instead of all the negative. So far, in positive things to look forward to he only had Minseok: going to work with Minseok, lunches with Minseok, Minseok and more Minseok. The negative consisted of everything else.

"No," Minseok says, "that's not what I meant. You'll do fine against him today.”

Luhan’s lips quirk into a humorless smile at the statement, over the weekend they had also talked about that. President Kim wanted him to become a better Perfect and after shedding the shadow of the District Eight boy he used to be, he was determined to give President Kim just what he requested. That meant he couldn’t fear him, or at least for the moment he couldn’t allow President Kim to notice that fear.

“At least one of us believes in me,” Luhan replies. He sits up suddenly, eyes narrowing as he gazes into his rearview mirror. “Minseok,” he calls out gently, just as the secretary was going to speak.

“Hmm,” Minseok replies with a disappointed frown, glaring in a half-hearted manner in Luhan’s direction.

“I’m pretty sure there’s a photographer taking pictures of us at the moment,” Luhan states, watching as Minseok’s look of disappointed shifts into one of confusion.

Minseok moves in his seat, turning his head and scanning the garage for any signs of reporters and photographers. “How can you tell,” he asks. “Are they hiding?”

“Possibly,” Luhan says with a shrug, “I saw movement near the truck behind us. I could just be paranoid though.” The four door truck parked behind them is a shiny black with deeply tinted windows, if there was anyone in the truck neither Luhan nor Minseok could tell.

Minseok grimaces, but nods. “At least we won’t be ambushed this time.”

Luhan feels a sting of pity, as he recalls what had taken place only 30 minutes earlier. Paparazzi, grouped together in a ball of flashing cameras and blended voices, had awaited them the moment they had stepped out of their apartment building.

Minseok, not used to that type of confrontation, had frozen wide-eyed and bewildered. And so Luhan, the seasoned model and former tabloid king, had to push his way through the crowd which refused to move all the while dragging Minseok along.

“You’re right,” Luhan says. “We should probably go in before we do get ambushed.” Minseok nods his head stiffly and Luhan leans across the seats, bringing him into a quick kiss, in part to calm his aflame nerves, and to give any snooping reporters something to write about that wasn’t his quick ascension to the top of Nessen.

****

Luhan’s office is on the floor below President Kim’s. While President Kim’s office is the only thing at the end of a long corridor, there are tons of doors leading to unknown places, and a distinct soft hum of life that reveals to Luhan that he will be sharing the floor with more than just his secretary.

The door to his office is at the end of the corridor, and made of a deeply tinted glass, its black framing standing out against the plain white of the wall. Beside the door is a sign. "EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR" is printed in large uppercase bold. Below that in crisp unassuming lettering reads: Luhan Kim. It’s perfect and mocking even more so than the stupid parking space.

The dull grey carpet from the corridor follows him inside the office, as well as the pristine pure white of the walls. In the middle of the room sits a black desk that resembles Minseok’s. A large computer monitor takes up a quarter of it, as well as a telephone, and other standard company items. There is nothing of personal significance, so Luhan figures that the new secretary has yet to arrive, if not then they were even more reserve than Minseok.

There are two large windows on each side of the room, one to watch the sun rise and one to watch it set, and unmarked glass doors on either side of the desk. Luhan ventures to the room on his left, only to find out that it’s a minor conference room. Black chairs line the circumference of an oval table, and across from the door a black screen rests against the wall.

After he leaves that room, he goes to the door that was to his right. He had imagined a crisp all white room, a room that was an utter replica of President Kim’s office. This office is nothing like that. Dark wooden paneling line the floor of the office, beside the entrance a long white sofa with black lining rests against the wall. There is a large glass window to his right which shows a spectacular view of the city even from the furthest point in the office. His desk is made of a half black glass, and half dark painted wood, which he finds himself, drawn to. Similar to the main office there are also two doors within the room. The one closest to his desk opens to a closet, while the second door reveals a personal bathroom.

****

Luhan spends the first twenty minutes within his new office, flicking switches and pressing buttons, watching what they do and reveal. In that time he learns there’s a hidden shower in his bathroom, a window behind his desk, and a television across from his desk hiding in the wall near the entrance. It’s like moving into his apartment all over again, having a space where he felt comfortable, where he could touch everything and not worry about being reprimanded, and although he still wasn’t fond of his new job, or how he acquired the office, he would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t like it.

A knock at his door halts him in his search of hidden things, and Luhan finds himself calling out a muttered “come in.” Less than a second later, the door is pushed open and in walks Minseok, causing Luhan to relax in his seat.

“How do you like the office,” Minseok asks him, stopping just in front of Luhan’s desk, hands resting in the back pocket of his slacks.

“I hate how much I like it,” Luhan admits.

“Well I was in charge of choosing the interior designer, and I also had final say on this, so it’s good to know you like it,” Minseok replies.

“That explains it then,” Luhan says with a nod of his head. “If President Kim had any say in this, it would probably look exactly like his own office.” He stands then and rounds the desk, wrapping his arms around Minseok’s waist. “I like it even more now.”

Minseok smiles at him, but pulls away a moment later. “Nam Joohyun, your new secretary is waiting to meet you.” He disappears out of the door without a backwards glance, and Luhan frowns but follows after him.

Joohyun is a tall woman with short brunette hair. She’s dressed in a white blouse and black slacks, and she’s in the middle of organizing her desk to her liking when Luhan exits his office.

"Hello," She bows in respect, hands clasped in front of her. "I'm Nam Joohyun, Mr. Kim. It's nice to meet you."

Luhan finds himself tilting his head and turning towards Minseok. The secretary shakes his head and leans in closer to speak to him. “She was referring to you,” he explains in a whisper, causing Luhan’s grimace to resurface.

"Joohyun,” he calls out to the woman, watching as she finally brings herself out of the bow. “At the moment there is only one rule that I have for you."

"Yes, Mr. Kim," she replies, looking up to him with a mixture of curiosity and worry as Luhan flinches at the use of the surname once more.

"Please refrain from referring to me as… that name in my presence. My name is Luhan, the name Kim is only formality that I'd rather not have attached to my person when I can control it."

"Sorry...Sir," she replies, giving him a sheepish grin. "I'll keep that in mind from now on."

"Thank you," he says in return, offering up a small smile of gratitude. "I'll leave you to finish getting settled while I go meet with our president."

"Thank you as well sir," she says with a more confident smile. "Have a nice day, and good luck."

"Did you choose her as well," Luhan asks when they're outside of the office, walking along the corridor towards the elevator.

"She doesn't seem bad, does she," Minseok asks, "besides being a bit nervous at the moment. When President Kim told me to choose an assistant for you, I figured it was best to choose someone that wouldn’t be star struck if they were in the same room as you, but also someone that wasn’t too intimidated by President Kim.”

“President Kim told you she’d be my assistant,” Luhan asks.

“Yes,” Minseok replies with a nod of his head. “I figured that she’d be helping you organize your modeling jobs since Kyungsoo needs to manage three of you.”

Luhan doesn’t bother thinking about what he would have done if Minseok had found out and told him of his so-called promotion earlier than intended. President Kim would have never allowed his surprise to be ruined, and Luhan would probably still be inside the office elevator today, seconds away from seeing the older man.

“I think she’s nice,” Luhan admits. “I’ll have to wait to see how she handles things though.”

****

President Kim sits behind his desk as usual, a look of exasperated boredom on his features as he directs Luhan to take a seat with just his eyes.

"How do you like your office," the older man asks. Luhan's mind swiftly reminds him of the sign outside of his office presenting him as Luhan Kim, but he smiles a tight smile.

"I actually like it," Luhan says. "Thank you." the added words of gratitude, sound forced to his ears, but President Kim doesn't comment on it.

"Do you know what it means to be executive director of this company," President Kim asks.

"That I'm forced to work under you," Luhan retorts. President Kim looks up at him at that, giving him a sharp glare. Luhan fights instinct down to return his gaze with as much of an innocent look as possible instead.

"As executive director of this company, you are in charge of all internal affairs. Of course there are people that have different tasks delegated to them under their job title, but it is up to you to make sure they are doing their jobs correctly and insuring that things continue to run smoothly. As president of this company I do oversee you, but I also work alongside the board of directors. My main goal right now is to make sure that you or anyone else refrains from destroy the company I created."

"So I will actually be doing work," Luhan asks with surprise.

"You will shadow me today," President Kim explains. "You will personally meet the board of directors in a few minutes, and tomorrow you will meet with the heads of the other departments since you will be directly in charge of them. You will also be in charge of minor things I deem suitable for your inexperience. Things that won't hurt the company if you prove too incompetent to even do those correctly."

Used to the president harsh words, Luhan nods his head dully, his mind replaying what he and Minseok had decided that previous weekend. He wouldn't allow President Kim to see his fear anymore, he wasn't weak anymore. He had power now and influence, and more importantly he knew what he was doing now. He was an adult now and not a child regardless of President Kim’s fondness for that name.

****

Luhan meets his first department head on the second day. The man enters the room with a hurried introduction, and jumps right into his proposal. Luhan listens to the proposal in earnest, paying attention to every bit of the man’s detailed plan as he goes over goals and budget plans, and Luhan lets him go with a promise to look over it and check their budget.

Luhan also spends most of the morning getting to know Joohyun. Despite her nervousness on the first day, he quickly learns just how smart and quick-witted she is, and Luhan decides he has found one more comfort to make his new career bearable.

A half an hour before noon, Luhan finds himself bored. He had already requested budget information from the person in charge of finance, and Luhan and Joohyun had toured the company meeting with department heads and being told what they were in charge of.  He was beginning to feel restless, and no amount of pressing buttons to watch things reveal themselves and go back into hiding was going to remedy it.

“Sir, Do Kyungsoo is waiting to speak to you on line 1,” Joohyun’s voice sounds through the intercom, breaking him out of his boredom inflicted daze. Having not used the built-in phone system yet, Luhan looks at the various buttons on his desk, pressing the one that was suddenly glowing red.

“Kyungsoo,” he calls out into the air, uncertain.

“Luhan, you need to get to Sehun and Kai’s apartment now,” Kyungsoo states. It comes out like a command, short and brusque, the way Kyungsoo usually speaks when he’s livid. Luhan had only experienced livid Kyungsoo twice before, while his former manager was often angered and upset by his actions, he was still able to keep his emotions under control. A livid Kyungsoo, a Kyungsoo so consumed by his anger and emotions, lacked that control.

“I’ll be there as soon as possible,” he replies, he can already guess what has Kyungsoo upset, and he’d rather not prolong that anger. If he’s aware of Luhan’s involvement with the matter, then making him wait would only drive the younger male deeper into rage.

I'm sorry about how long it took to update, I was so distracted by EXO in February that it was hard to focus on this fanfic and try to get pass my writer's block. However, the next update should take no longer than two weeks to be posted.

So I, like most fanfic writers, notice my upvote count and subscribers and so... I want to say THANK YOU!!!!! I honestly get excited with just one upvote and to have 100 people upvote this means so much to me since I feel like I'm still lacking as a writer so once again... Thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU <3.

And on a final note, we're approaching the end. It might take a while since I'm such a slow updater, but we have really huge reveals in the next few chapters and other terrible things to look forward to, so if you've stuck around this long, thank you, and hopefully you'll stay until the end.