Valerie

The moment I heard the scattered footsteps and saw my colleagues rushing to their workstations right outside the glass door of the office, I knew that the VP of Wu Enterprise has arrived. I was sure of it because not even the CEO's arrival would make these people scatter away like rats. Looking up to the desk in front of me, I caught the executive VP's PA, Sora, raising a knowing brow at me.

"What's going on? What's with the sudden ruckus out there?" asked a voice and we both turned to the office on her side where the executive VP stood by the door.

"Mr. Park's here," I informed him and he chuckled.

"Aigo~ people fear him more than they fear the CEO," he said and I couldn't help but smile.

"Well, you know him, Mr. Kim. He's scary when he's not in the mood."

"Which happens whenever he fails to get laid or the girl wasn't good in bed," I heard Sora comment under her breath, but the girl should really learn how to lower her voice.

Her boss laughed. "Don't let him hear you now, Ahn Sora." Jongin told her playfully.

"You guys aren't talking about me again, are you?" Surprised, Sora and I jumped out of our seats and we all turned towards the glass door where Park Chanyeol stood.

"Morning, Chanyeol." Jongin greeted him with that charming smirk of his.

"Good morning, sir." Both Sora and I chimed after.

"Mmm... Can I talk to you after this, Jongin?" the man mumbled as he walked into his office, leaving us to raise curious brows at his weird behavior. It was common for us to welcome either a fairly good mood Chanyeol or a very moody Chanyeol into the office, but a sulky looking Chanyeol is definitely new.

Suddenly, Jongin chuckled and turned to his PA. "So, what do you make of that?" he asked, pointing a thumb towards Chanyeol's office.

Sora giggled and shrugged. "The girl rejected him?" she guessed playfully, earning another round of laughter from Jongin. I rolled my eyes at them both just as I heard my name being called from my boss. I hurried into the man's office and frowned at the sight of him looking so solemn behind his table.

"Are you alright, sir?" I asked as I placed down a folder onto his desk. He sighed and pushed the folder to the side before leaning his back against his leather chair.

"I'm fine," he said and I give him a doubtful look which he responded with a shrug. I decided not to pry any further and excused myself to the pantry to get him his cup of coffee. Just then, I heard footsteps and turn to see Sora walking in with an empty mug in hand.

"How's Mr. Park?" she asked and I pressed my lips together.

"He looks... troubled," I tell her as I add sugar into the black coffee and stir it.

"Well, Mr. Kim just entered his office. The guy seems worried about Mr. Park as well."

"Of course he is," I smiled and walked out of the pantry back into Chanyeol's office. The two bosses were sitting on the couch opposite of each other and they look up when I walked in.

"Clear my schedules for today, Val." Chanyeol suddenly said to me when I placed his coffee on the table.

"You have a meeting with the CEO at 9am though." I reminded him warily and he sighed for the umpteenth time this morning.

"Leave that be then. I need to talk to him as well."

"Hey Val?"

I looked up from my work to find Chanyeol approaching my desk with a thick file in his hand. "Pass this to the marketing department. Make sure it gets to Kyungsoo's hands, got it?" I nodded at the instruction before glancing at my watch.

"Are you heading off to the CEO's office now?" I asked and he nodded, fiddling with his tie. I frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"I feel stuffy," he responded and I sigh softly before getting up from my seat and rounding the table to stand in front of him. Casually, I reached for his tie and fix the material around his neck while he stood still with his eyes closed although he had his eyebrows creased.

"You seemed stressed," I voiced out, eyeing the frown on his forehead. He scoffed and opened his eyes to meet mine.

"I am stressed, Val."

"Did something happened?" I decided to question out of concern.

"Yeah, but I'll tell you later." he sighed.

"There..." I smiled once I got his tie and collar fixed. He buttoned the front of his suit and raised a brow, wordlessly asking for my opinion, and I give him two thumbs up as a response.

"Thanks, Val. You're a lifesaver," he saird with a small smile and I let out an amused chuckle at this.

"At your service, Mr. Park."

Chuckling, he patted my head and walks out the glass door to head up to the CEO's office.

"You guys look good together."

I turned to Sora, blinking in confusion at first before I began to understand her words. I scoffed as I head back to my seat. I actually forgot she was here. "I was just helping him out with his tie, Sora." I told her without bothering to look up. "Stop with all your nonsense."

Sora rolled her eyes at this. "I'll overlook that statement, Val. You two clearly have some chemistry together."

"I was fixing his tie." I stressed out, rolling my eyes.

"Casually," she snorted. "It looked too natural for me. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two are dating."

I sighed. "Whatever you say, Sora." I quickly gathered the file Chanyeol needed me to send to the marketing department and stood up from my chair. "Right, I'm heading to marketing for a bit. See ya later."

"Say hi to Minyoung for me!"

"You did what?"

Jongin shook his head while their CEO blinked stupidly at his cousin. Chanyeol sat down on the couch with a sigh before placing his throbbing head into his hands.

"You know I had to," he pointed out. "Everytime they insisted I come home to visit, there's always a girl they're trying to introduce to me. I grew tired of it so I lied!"

"Yeah... by saying that you have a girlfriend." Jongin scoffed incredulously. "You don't even do relationships," he continued and Chanyeol nods in agreement.

"Yes, I don't do relationships and committments." he clarified. "I did it to shut them up and it worked wonders."

"Before. But now they want to meet your girlfriend," Suho pointed out with a sigh.

"What did you get yourself into, Yeol? You knew better than to lie to grandma and aunty." Jongin reprimanded him, much to the taller's annoyance.

"I know that, . I had to."

"So, what now?" Suho asked, concerned for his friend. Being a close friend to the family, Suho knew how Chanyeol's mother and grandmother would react if they find out he lied all this while. They'd scold him, no doubt, and dramatically reacted by marrying him with one of their friend's daughter - and knowing Chanyeol, Suho could already see a World War III happening in the household.

"You could say that you guys broke up you know," Jongin suggested and the taller groaned.

"You think I didn't thought of that? The first thing mom asked when she called was if I was still with my 'girlfriend' and I automatically said yes. Only after that did she drop the bomb." Chanyeol explained hotly, much to Jongin's amusement.

"You know, Baekhyun would kill to see you like this." his cousin suddenly commented with amusement twinkling in his eyes.

Chanyeol frowned at the mention of his other cousin. "He lives off my miserable life." he muttered and Jongin couldn't agree more.

"So, what now?" Suho asked again, causing the two cousins to turn to him.

"You didn't really describe your girlfriend to them, did you?" Jongin suddenly asked after a moment of intense silence, leaning forward from the couch. Chanyeol raised a questioning brow but nevertheless nodded his head. "I have a solution."

This sparked the interests of both the VP and CEO.

Chanyeol

The moment I stepped back into my office area, my eyes turned to my PA who was busy typing something on her laptop. She didn't even realised that I've arrived and I sighed as I walked off into my office.

"Oh, Mr. Park." I heard her utter before the sound of her heels silently sounding against the carpetted floor of the office could be heard as she followed me into my office. I sat behind my desk and looked up to see her approaching with a small smile on her face and a folder in her hand. "How'd the meeting go?" she asked casually.

At the thought of the meeting, I closed my eyes briefly with a silent groan. She was giving me a weird look when I turned back to her and shook my head, telling her not to worry. Eyeing the blue folder in her arm, I reached my arm out and she handed it to me without delay.

"Mr. Do told me to pass that back to you. He said he's already left a note for you inside, saying that you should know what to do with it." I flipped the papers inside the folder and found the said note, nodding my head to myself before putting it aside. "I'll be at my desk if you need me," she said before turning to leave.

"Val, wait."

It's now or never, Park Chanyeol.

"Yes, sir?"

Sigh.

"Close the door, will you?" I asked and stood up from my leather chair to sit on the couch in my office before inviting her to sit in front of me. She gave me another weird look which made me roll my eyes and Valerie slowly sank into the couch, eyeing me suspiciously. She knows I'm up to something, I think to myself. Valerie has been my PA for two years now, and it's safe to say that she knew me better than I do myself sometimes since she's a very observant person. So it's no surprise that she seems to be suspicious with me at the moment.

"You know that my sister's getting married next weekend, right?" I asked and she nodded. "Although the wedding's on the weekend, I will be at the family villa the whole week because I need to help out with the wedding." I informed her and she nodded again. Weirdly, I could imagine an invisible pencil scribbling down the words I was saying into her head and inwardly chuckled.

"But...?"

See? She knows me so well. 

I sighed. "That's not all there is," I told her and she eyed me warily when I clearly began to hesitate. In the end, I decided to just blurt it out. "My family wants me to introduce my girlfriend to them, so I'm going to bring you with me."

"H-Huh?"

"I said, I'm bringing you with me," I repeated but it's clear that it wasn't what she wanted me to say.

"Y-You just said you're going to introduce your girlfriend to your family, right?" she asked and I nodded. "Then why are you taking me with you? But hang on, since when have you dating? I thought you never wanted to be in a serious relationship?"

I groaned mentally at this and cursed myself for digging my own grave. But I needed her help so the least I could do was be honest. "I'm not dating anyone, Val. But my family thinks I am because I lied to them." I could see the question in her mind and decided to answer it before she could actually voice it out. "Since my so-called girlfriend does not exist, I need someone to act as my girlfriend and I am taking you with me."

I decided to give Valerie a moment to process everything I just told her. Realization hits her a few minutes later and opens and closes like a fish as she tries to form some words. I quickly put a hand up to stop her and make myself clear. "You don't have to do much, Val. Just come with me and act as my girlfriend, and occasionally there will be some interactions but it's not much. It's just to convince them that we're dating. After the wedding is over, we head back to the city and everything ends."

"B-But why me?" she asked, bewildered. "Why'd you choose me?"

"Because you know me well, Val. Sometimes, I even think that you seem to know me better than I know myself. And my mom would love you. I need your help for this, or else my grandma is going to marry me to someone else. You don't want your dear boss to end up married to someone he wouldn't care less now, would you?"

I can't believe this but I am currently begging on my knees (not literally) for my PA to accept my proposition.

Valerie seemed utterly confused and troubled, and I decided to take pity on her. "You know what? Just think about it first, okay? You can take the rest of the day off and think about it. But I need to know soon, Val. I'm expected at the villa in two days, and I'm supposed to bring my girlfriend with me."

Her brown eyes stared into mine for a moment before she nodded slowly. "Okay, I'll think about it."

I smiled gratefully at this. "Thanks, Val."

As she walked out of my office looking like nothing was bothering her, I felt the guilt crawling up my body and cursde myself for bringing her into this mess. But as much as I hated troubling her, I knew I needed her help. I just hope she'll agree to Jongin's crazy idea.

Author's note:

My God... I'm suddenly craving for strawberries. And Nutella! ㅠㅠ  Nutella and strawberries are love!~^^ ♡

07.01.15 I edited the chapter (again). Do check it out. I have five more months to fix this story before submitting the completed version. Hmm..