Optimism

❋

When I came back from the interview, I wasn't given a contract right away but I was told someone from the Human Resources department would call me within a few days to tell me about my employee requirements. It's been two days since I received the call and I'll be starting my new job as an executive assistant in a couple of days more! I'm excited! Ecstatic! I'm hugging my pillow imagining what my new job will be like. I've only done part-time jobs at cafes, factories, restaurants and deliveries. I realize now that my experience in the office is zero. I'm sure it's no different from what I've done in the past. I did take a business management course so I know what I should but... still I'm nervous but I'll stay positive. This is a new start for me! Maybe I should go talk to Sehun and thank him. I haven't seen that kid in almost a week.

knock knock

Here he is now. His impeccable entry scares me sometimes.

"What's up, Sehun-ah?"

"Hey, hyung! I've been pretty busy with finals but I want you to tell me about your interview."

I tell him to sit down on the bed with me as I pretend to be sad in order to trick him. My acting must be really good because now his hand is on my shoulder and he's wondering what's wrong. I keep my head down and fake cry making him worry even more. Haha! It's so easy to fool him. 

"I got the job!"

"WHAT?! YAH! DON'T PLAY ME LIKE THAT!"

"Hahaha! Your face! Hahaha!"

"I almost thought you didn't get in..."

"Haha! Sorry. I want to thank you for telling me about the job though."

"Don't get all sappy with me. It's not a big deal, hyung. So... did you meet the Commercial Executive? What's her name?"

Now that I think about it, I didn't put much thought into who I am about to work for. I tell Sehun that my new boss isn't a woman but a man named Wu Yifan.

"Wu Yifan? Ooohh... his name sounds cool and powerful. Is he Chinese?"

"I guess so."

"Do you speak Chinese? Is that how you got in? Why didn't you tell me you speak Chinese, hyung!"

"I don't speak Chinese, dummy. He speaks Korean well."

"Ahhhh. So what else do you know about him?"

"Uhh...nothing."

"Really? How boring."

I'm sorry then, Mister Oh Sehun, for not making a complete profile of my boss for you. I'm going to meet him personally in two days and I'm unsure what I will expect. Is he friendly? Strict? When I met him at the interview he seemed pretty cool. Maybe I should try googling his name... but that's something Sehun would do.

"It says here Wu Yifan started working in Lotus in 2005 and became the Chief Commercial Officer in 2010... and moved here to Korea by 2011."

"Sehun, did you just google my boss?" 

"Yep! It says here he's married, no kids."

"I see..."

He's married? A young guy like him to be married... I'm kind of surprised. Was he even wearing a ring when I saw him? Hmm... it's not like I can remember that tiny detail of him. Huh... why am I even curious about his personal life? Sehun's rubbing off his childishness on me!

"Hey, Sehun, it's getting late and you should be getting more rest."

"Nah, I'll stay here."

"...did you have a fight with your boyfriend again?"

"Wh-what?! I have no boyfriend!! What are you talking about??"

"You and Tao... aren't you two together?"

"Shut up! We're not!"

"Calm down, man. I just assumed you're an item because you two are just so close these days. Did something happen?"

"..."

It's the first time I've seen Sehun speechless. This kid can actually turn off his big mouth? I'm impressed. But he does seem bothered by something. He keeps denying he's together with that Tao guy. I'm sure he likes him but is just too afraid to say something... or maybe Tao confessed and Sehun's staying here to---ah, I get it now.

"You like him, too, don't you?"

"Hyung! Are you crazy?"

"You're avoiding him on purpose... I'm not that blind."

"I... I don't know how I feel about him..."

Seeing Sehun like this struggling with his feelings... I just pat him on the head to comfort him. I'm not very experienced in the love department because I've always had my heart broken so I don't want to bring his hopes up. I give him a smile to cheer him on. I tell him to let their friendship be a priority first and if he doesn't feel anything, don't lead him on. 

"You'll be fine, Sehun-ah."

"Thanks, hyung. Good luck at your new job!"

I definitely need all the luck I can get, my friend.

❋

A deep breath and clasp of my hands, I'm ready for my first day at Lotus! I'm wearing a pink polo and orange sweater in order to make a bright impression at my new workplace. I want to look preppy but still professional. Hopefully people will take notice and think 'wow he's new and stylish'. Okay. Here goes nothing. I step inside the building and take the elevator to the tenth floor as I was instructed by the human resources staff, Miss Tiffany. Since it's monday, it's rush hour here and I'm cramped inside the elevator like a canned sardine. Once the elevator reached the tenth floor, the sardines--I mean, people--began to step out and I'm finally able to breathe. I look around and I notice the entire floor is vast and spacious. Once you exit the elavator, the walls direct you towards your left and there is a reception desk. Behind that reception desk is a lobby area with sofas and tables, it looks almost like a five-star lounge at a cafe or hotel. Around that lobby are long tables with different signs above them inidicating the departments such as marketing, sales, design... with desktops, white boards and color palettes all around. The walls are covered with modern styled wallpaper and the floor is wooden but waxed and shining. This place is amazing!

"May I help you?" the receptionist asks me.

"I'm a new employee. I'm here to see Miss Tiffany."

"Oh, please just go straight ahead after the lobby area and at the left is the human resources table. You'll find Miss Tiffany seated there."

"Thank you"

I go to the table the receptionist tells me and I see Miss Tiffany. She greets me with a smile and tells me to take a seat beside her.

"Hi, Junmyeon-sshi. Good to see you in person."

"It's nice to meet you too."

"You have your requirements with you?"

"Ah, yeah"

I hand her a folder with all my papers like diploma, resume, ID photos, trasncript and other documents. She goes through each of them and files them appropriately in a folder with my name on it. She takes out a blank plastic ID and puts in a printer. After a few seconds and a press of a button, I see my face printed on the ID. She hands to me the just printed ID that's still warm together with a company lanyard. 

"You're officially a part of our company! Congratulations, Junmyeon-sshi."

"Oh, thank you!"

"I'll contact you again for your bank account and ATM card. I'll have to process your documents and apply for that account but don't worry, you'll get it within this week."

"Alright then. Thank you Miss Tiffany!"

"Oh, drop the miss! Just comfortably call me noona."

"Really? Thanks, noona!"

"You're so cute! Haha. Now, about your boss... you've met him right?"

"Mister Wu Yifan? During the interview."

"That's good. How about his wife?"

"Wife? I haven't met her yet..."

"I see. Good then!"

"Good?"

"It's nothing! Haha! Just go ahead to the eleventh floor. That's where the office of Executives are located. You can just take the stairs near the elevators, it's faster. If you need anything else, you know where to find me."

"I will. Thanks for your help."

She waves goodbye with her bright smile. She's so comfortable to be around and so cheerful. At least I know I can go to her if I have a problem but... why did she ask if I met his wife? Why is it good that I haven't met her yet? Is she a part of the company too? I'm even more curious about her now.

❋

By the time I arrived at the eleventh floor, I'm greeteed with the smiles of the assistants of other executives. The floor is as big as the previous floor but instead of a lobby it's surrounded with the desks of the executive assistants arranged to make a semi-circle with the opening giving way to the hall from the elevator. From the looks of it, there are four executives on this floor. Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operations Officer (COO).

Although there are only four executives, I notice there is a 5th desk among the assistants. I look at the table and I see the name plate--Secretary-Treasurer: Jo Kwon. I greet him with a smile but he ignores me. He's busy reading documents and typing on his laptop. I just shrug my shoulders and greet the other assistants there.

"Nice to see you, Kim Junmyeon-sshi! I'm Kim Jongdae. You're Mister Wu Yifan's new assistant, right?"

"Yes, I am. Nice to meet you," I greet him.

"Hello. I'm Seo Juhyeon. I'm the CEO's assistant."

"Hello, nice to meet you," I then bow to her.

"..."

One of them remains quiet and just bows to me without telling me his name. He's shorter than I am and has big doe eyes and thick lips.

"Oh, sorry about that. This guy's name is Do Kyungsoo, the CFO's assistant. He's usually very quiet but can be very fun once you get to know him."

"Ah I see. Nice to meet you, Do Kyungsoo-sshi."

I notice that out of the four only one is a girl. Why is that?

"If you're wondering why there's only one girl among us, there's a reason for that. Your boss wife--oh, ! Go to your desk now!"

"Huh?"

As my new co-workers rush to their disks and stand in position I, on the other hand, remain standing in the middle of the circle. I heard the elevator ding a while ago, I turn around to see the Executives walk towards me. My eyes widen and I freeze up unsure of what to do except bow 90 degrees. All of them walk past me as I see their feet walk to different directions and their assistants greet them as well. I'm still bowing and I let out a short breath of relief and then I see a pair of black leather shoes in front of me. I feel a pat on the head.

"You must be my new assistant," a deep voice tells me.

I stand up and I'm now facing (rather, looking up at) my new boss. He's really tall... I never expected him to be this tall. His hair is styled back and light brown colored. He looks very handsome in his own bright outfit. I bow to him and greet him a good morning.

"Good morning as well. Please come inside my office so I can give you a briefing."

"Yes, sir!"

I follow him to his office and look back at my fellow assistants. Kim Jongdae-sshi gives me a two thumbs up, Seo Juhyeon-sshi gives me a 'fighting' and Do Kyungsoo-sshi just waves his hand. My new environment seems to be very inviting...I should relax more and not be so nervous. As I'm inside my boss' office, he suddenly closes the door which shocks me. I'm just centimetes away from my boss' face. He's leaning on the door and his arm is supporting his upper body while he closes in on my face. He's giving me a smirk as his other hand locks the door. Wh-What's going on?!

"Kim Junmyeon's your name, isn't it?"

"...y-yes..."

"Cute name. You know, I've had my eye on you since you came to the interview."

"Wh-what?"

"Hmm... I guess you don't know much about me."

He leans in more and I just move my face avoiding him. He whispers something in my ear.

"Let's get to know each other more, Kim Junmyeon..."

IS THIS MAN A ERT?!

I hear the unlocking of the door and he walks to his desk. Luckily the offices of the executives are closed and private. If the others knew what he's just done, they'd surely report him! He tells me to sit down and right now I'm too afraid to go near him. He just laughs and tells me to hurry and sit or else he'll do more things to me. Of course I don't want him to do anything else so I obey his orders and sit on the chair in front of his desk. 

"Don't be in such a panic, Kim Junmyeon. I'm just playing you."

"P-Playing?"

"Haha! The look on your face. This is gonna be fun."

"I... I don't understand, sir."

"You'll understand once you meet my wife."

His wife. Even he has something to say about his wife. What is it about this woman that everyone's so worked up on? I hear a knock on the door and my boss tells the person to enter without hesitation. I hear the clicking of heels and a very intimidating aura. The woman is wearing a short dress and walks up to my boss and kisses him on the cheek. 

"Hi, honey. I brought your breakfast."

"Thanks, dear."

"Omo! Is this your new assistant?"

"Yeah that's him."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Im Jinah, Yifan's beautiful wife. What's your name?"

"...Ki...K-Kim Junmyeon," I work up the courage to even speak.

"That's your name? Pssh, you look more like a Hosu to me."

"Ho...su?"

"Definitely! Doesn't it suit him, dear?"

My boss then thinks for a moment and says,

"He's more of a Suho."

"You're right! Suho! Perfect! I'll be calling you Suho from now on. And you can just call me Madam"

"Dear, don't intimidate him. He's new."

"Silly me silly me~ Okay, I best be off now. I'll see you again, Suho! See you tonight, Hubby!"

I stand up in order to bow to my boss' wife. She walks away but walks back to whisper something in my ear.

"Don't get any f-cking ideas in hooking my husband up with a woman. If I find him in someone else's arms, I'll come after you first. Understood?"

I instantly freeze and just nod my head. She leaves the office with a bright smile and a skip in her step. She looks so innocent but even when she exits the office and closes the door, I hear her loud voice telling Seo Juhyeon to stay away from her husband's office. This woman... must I really see her again?

"Sorry about my wife," Mister Wu Yifan apologizes. "She's always had a hard time dealing with jealousy."

"I-I see..."

"But you don't have to worry. She only gets jealous with women. It's a good thing I'm gay."

"It's okay since it's normal for wives to get jeal--wait, what did you say, sir?"

"Oh, right.. you don't know much about me yet. I'm actually gay."

It's only my first day here and I think I've heard too much information today.

I want to be optimistic about all of this but I can't help but feel scared for my life.

Will I survive after this?!

 ❋

To be continued...

.n.e.x.t.

Author's Notes

Hi everyone! And so for this chapter, it's all about optimism. Chrysanthemum, the meaning and symbolism can be read here. Suho goes to work with positive energy then kind of goes through agony afterwards lol. Kris is a married gay man. Have any of you encountered fics with this character? When I read fics it can be that the guy is taken but not yet married. I wanted this series to have a different struggle... something that's not easy to overcome. 

Nana finally appears in the series. She's really friendly but is scary. Even I'm scared of her... and I know her since she's my character, lol.

And other characters. Tiffany, Jo Kwon, Seohyun, D.O and Chen! :"> Yay~ I actually wanted to make original characters but it's so much easier for me tokeep track of secondary characters when they are also idols. Dunno why~

Anyways~~~

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