Determination

❋

I'm desparate. I need to find a job soon or the landlady will kick me out of my small apartment. Can I even call this an apartment? I mean, I feel cramped in this place as if I were inside a janitor's closet. My bed is right in the middle and I can easily stand and reach the window, kitchen sink, refrigerator and bathroom door within a few steps from each other. I'm a very tidy person but even my cleaning skills can't save me from this horrid dump that's called an apartment complex.

I hear a knock on my door and I pray to heaven that it isn't the landlady asking for rent for the nth time today.

"Hyung! Open up! I've got great news for you!"

I can recognize that voice from anywhere. I open the door and Sehun, one of my neighbors, barges in like he owns the place.

"Asking permission to enter once in a while won't hurt, y'know..."

"Sorry, Hyung! But I just heard from Tao that a company has an opening for recent graduates and you fit the requirements!"

"Tao? You mean your new play thing?"

Sehun gets annoyed and throws a newspaper at me.

"Don't call him a play thing!"

"Jeez, you're overly sensitive today. Are you sure you're just roommates?" I joke with him as I pick up the newspaper that's now on my feet.

"What are you saying? Of course we are! We're just friends."

I roll my eyes.The kid's ears are turning red and he's not even maintaining eye contact with me. I can tell he's got a crush on his roomie but I'll stop the teasing. I'll play with his feelings some other time because right now, my future hangs in the balance and this job opening may be the ticket to end this suffering of mine. I open up the newspaper that is now in my hands and look at the yellow highlighted section.

"Wanted," I read the ad out loud. "Twenty-one to thirty years of age with an undergraduate degree in a business major or similar. No experience necessary. Must be male."

I read the last three words again. Must be male? When is this, the 16th century? Who knew gender restrictions still applied in an economy like this where job openings are at an all-time low and unemployment is at an all-time high?

"What do you think, Hyung? You up for it?" Sehun asks me, readily waiting for me to answer.

"I dunno..."

"Come on! It's LOTUS! That's one of the best companies in Asia! If I weren't still studying, I'd go for it."

"Even if you weren't studying, what makes you think they'd hire you?"

"Hyuuuung!" the 18-year old is now tugging my arm like a child.

"Why are you so insistent that I apply for Lotus?"

"Because Lotus pays big money for their employees! Or... so I've heard. Plus I heard the Chief Commercial Officer is a total hottie and the position is one that will work directly under that Manager!"

"...I don't see the point here."

"The point is - a good paying job and a hottie for a boss? It's like a fantasy!"

I throw one of my pillows at Sehun's face in order to shut that dirty, teenage mouth of his. All he ever thinks about is . Why am I even friends with him? Oh, that's right... we're neighbors. We can't choose our neighbors. Apartments should make that as an option in the future. Ah, back to the job opening.

"I'll think about it, Sehun-ah."

"Hyung! You should try it out at least!"

"I know I know. I'll think first and let you know, okay?"

"That's what you said about the last job offer! Stop being picky, Hyung!"

"I'm not being picky. Jeez. Can you get out now?"

"Hmph... fine! But you better apply for this job. And when you get in, I want to see LOTUS and the hot--"

"OUT!"

I slam the door on his face. I practically had to force him out. As I shut the door and lock it, I look back at the newspaper in my hand. It's a job opportunity at one of the best designing companies in the world...maybe Sehun finally gave me a chance to find some security and a regular paying job. At least this one's better than the last one he tried to convince me to join. He offered me to work at a strip club a few weeks earlier. Of course I didn't take it! But hey, the money rolls in those kinds of places. Wait! What the heck am I thinking? Sehun! Ugh. That kid's a total jerk. But at least he means well.

❋

I'm gussying myself up in front of the glass display at a clothing store. I'm prepped with a pair of raven black slacks topped with a white polo and a peach necktie around my neck and a matching black suit jacket to put it all together. I have my messanger bag strap over one of my shoulders. As I fix my hair and make sure it's swept nicely at one side, I look behind me to see if the bus has arrived. A blue bus stops right in front of the waiting shed and I rush to catch it. Luckily, there aren't a lot of people at this stop. I climb the bus steps and press my bag against the scanner. I hear the beep and I know my T-money card¹ was sucessfully scanned. I take a seat at one of the single seats beside the window. I can feel myself getting nervous as time passes. In ten minutes, I'll arrive at the station where the LOTUS building is said to be located. A lot of questions pop up in my head.

Will I be the only applicant? Will there be a whole lot of us? Will it be a group interview or a solo interview? No, that's a stupid question... it will be a group interview for sure. LOTUS is popular... there will definitely be a flock of applicants just dying to get that position. What kind of position is it though? Is it just an assistant's job? Maybe we'll be the assistant. Why only male applicants? Is the boss a woman? A man? Maybe he's gay... is he gay? Oh my God, maybe he is gay. It's possible... it definitely is possible! Wait wait... I'm probably just overthinking this. The boss may be a woman or a man but not necessarily gay. If they want a male assistant, they're probably trying to balance out the female and male population in the company. Yeah, that's right. That could be it. I'm sure there's logical explanation to it all.

The bus halts and I'm at my stop. I step down and look at the building in front of me. It's a tall glass building with multiple brand names at the front. Other brands such as Etude, Sony and LG apparently also have office space in this building. I enter the building and go to the lobby reception desk. I approach one of the ladies.

"Uhm, excuse me?"

"Yes, how may I help you?"

"I'm trying to get to Lotus. What floor is it?"

"Is this for the job application?"

"Yeah."

"Lotus takes up floors ten, eleven and twelve. Please take the last elevator on your right and go to the twlefth floor. This is where all the conference rooms and meeting rooms of Lotus are located. You will find your assigned room once you're there."

"Thank you"

I follow the instructions the lady at the desk gave me and take the elevator. It's kind of cramped as I have to ride the elevator with others but it's spacious enough for me to breathe, if you can call it spacious. I see the people around me wearing Lotus company name tags. All of their tags are either in purple or yellow. I guess that's the company colors. Some of the step down at the tenth floor, one person steps down at eleventh. I and two other people are now at the twelfth floor, the three of us in business attire but no company ID. The elevator doors ding open and we are greeted with a welcome sign that read: THIS WAY. We follow the arrow pointing to the left and then the next wall has a paper taped with an arrow pointing to the right where the hall turns. The hall then breaks again into two directions. 

On the left is a door that says 'WAITING AREA'. And on the right is a door of the same style but with 'INTERVIEW ONGOING' taped on it. A person walks up to the three of us and says we must go to the waiting area and get our interview numbers from the table. They tell us to search for our name in the list and take an interview number after signing. 

My number is 56. I guess I'm the 56th to be interviewed. When I enter inside the waiting area, which is just a large conference room made into a holding area, I read the numbers that are clipped on everyone's clothes. I see 45, 52, 39... the smallest number I see is 36. I hear people talking, saying that they bring in a group of 5 per batch. That means numbers 31 to 35 are being interviewed. How nerve-racking this must be for everyone... even for me. I'm sweating like crazy and I can't keep my legs from shaking. I've never been this jittery.

❋

I've been waiting for almost an hour now. The numbers 51 to 55 were called to the interview room earlier. I noticed though that no one new has come in after me. Does that mean what I think it means? 

"Mister Kim Junmyeon, it's time for your interview."

"Ah, yes!"

I take one deep breath and exhale all my bad energy out. It's my time to shine! I won't be unemployed anymore! I'm determined to get this no matter what! I step inside the room with my head held high and confidence up but as I enter the room, there are 3 men and 2 women seated with stern faces. My confidence suddenly drops to a low and I bow shyly while I take my seat which is placed right in the middle. I look at them men and women and I see that they are fairly young, probably thirties or forties. But I see one striking man in the middle, his hair dyed to a golden brown and styled up like how you see those male models in fashion magazines. He's the one seated in the middle. Is he the Chief Commercial Officer Sehun was talking about?

"Mister Kim Junmyeon?" one of the men at the ends ask.

"Yes, that's me."

"You don't have to be nervous. Please relax."

"Ah, y-yes..." my hands are on my lap but I'm gripping onto the fabric of my pants out of jitters.

"We see here that you graduated this year with a business degree from Dongguk University," one of the female interviewers tells me.

"Yes, that's right."

"Do you have any special skills you'd like to share with us?" she asks.

"Uhm... I-I can use software well."

"Any other skills?" the other female interview asks me.

"Uhm..." I blank out. I actually don't really know what I'm good at. Is singing a skill? No, how is that related with work? Damn it! Kim Junmyeon, don't fail this now!

"Alright, we'll just move on. We're looking for someone that can work well in this company. Do you think you can work well?"

"I-I believe I can."

"Okay, I think we've heard enough here." 

Are they stopping now? I waited nearly an hour just to get rejected in 5 minutes? No... this... this isn't how it should be. This isn't right! I stand up from my chair and the interviewers all look at me strangely, like they are surprised.

"Excuse me. I'd like to ask for permission to speak."

They all look at each other with confusion and then stop to look at the man in the middle. The name plate says he is Wu Yifan. He's not Korean like the others. Is he the 'hottie' Sehun talked about? I do admit he's good-looking... but I see he has a lot of power, too, since the other interviewers waited for his nod before they let me proceed.

"I waited for an hour for this interview and I think five minutes is not enough for me to show you what I can do. I'm not here to convince you to keep me. Actually, I shouldn't convince you to keep me since my attitude should speak for itself. I'm shy around people I meet for the first time and I'm using all of my courage to speak to all of you now. I know Lotus is one of the best companies in Asia and it has great potential in Korea. I want to be a part of something I can proudly say I helped in building. I'm determined to help Lotus grow as a company and there is no stopping Lotus at this point. I wish this company the best. That's all."

​​As I finished speaking, I bow to all of them and get ready to leave the room. Suddenly, I hear someone say, "Hold it." I turn around and the man--I mean, Mister Wu Yifan, is whispering with the others. After a moment, they break and he stands up.

"You are different. You wished us the best. The others don't actually wish us the best or tell us our company has potential. The others say we're at the top and they want to be part of the success. You on the other hand say you want to help us grow. You want to be part of the struggle. I rarely meet people that are willing to struggle for success. I like the way you speak."

I smile at what he says. He nods in delight and accepts my answer as one of the best he's heard out of everyone. He says he has waited for someone that thinks differently... someone that has determination. 

And with that, I end the day as a newly hired employee!

❋

To be continued...

.n.e.x.t.

Author's Notes

NOTES:

[1] T-money card (wiki)= rechargeable series of cards and other "smart" devices used for paying transportation fares in and around Seoul and other areas of South Korea.

Thank you for waiting for the next chapter! I'm surprised my fanfic even got 8 upvotes even though I only posted the prologue/intro chapter. And getting 60 subscribers? Are there a lot of Suho x Kris shippers in the world that I'm unaware of? HAHAHA! I'm very surprised. But I'm happy! :D 

I don't know if you have noticed that the title of the chapter is a type of flower. And the meaning of the flower starts off the chapter and is the main idea. This chapter "Amaryllis" is a type of flower that has the meaning of determination as well as pride and radiant beauty. The origin can be read here. Basically, Suho feels determined in this chapter that's why the title is "Amaryllis". 

Each proceeding chapter will be titled with a type of flower and the meaning will be at the start of the chapter. Is that cool? *crickets* Or maybe I'm just being too corny. Hehe;;

Subscribe. Upvote. Comment. :D Spread the love!

Thank you to my first 8 upvoters! 

noomico
inspiritblue
Kimyayee
Lovey_Agramon
LittleKyuubi
Suhot09
pinkygirl12
XRXCXE