"- yes, sir, but you do realize that the table was originally made in separate pieces - hello? hello? i - ugh!"
 

seulgi flinches as soojung throws her hands up in frustration. "tough customer?" she offers sympathetically.

"try 'complete '," her friend says, fuming. "calling up to complain about something so stupid - of course the mahogany table comes in pieces, it's supposed to be assembled - and then hanging up when i'm trying to explain for the hundredth time -"

"whoa there," seulgi raises her hands, as if to say calm down. "deep breaths."

soojung obeys, inhaling and exhaling rhythmically. but the dark look in her eyes remains. "what a complete head. i bet that was the guy everyone talks about."

"uh, am i the only one who doesn't know?"

"you know, the guy who always calls up customer service to complain about bull - that being utterly nonsensical - and then hanging up whenever he wants. he complains about the tiest things: no bubble wrap in a cushion package, not shipping goods within the day of the order, no extra gifts even though it clearly says on the site, an extra gift when you order over $100..."

the two girls work at an online shopping mall, as assistants in the customer service center. they sit in front of computers everyday, waiting for customers to call into the company for some kind of inquiry or complaint - whatever it is that's waiting for them. the job offers a good salary, but it's not always fun - as proved by now.

seulgi gags. "wow, okay, what a -"

"- dip," soojung finishes for her. "apparently he's been doing this for the past year, at least twice every week. and i happened to be the unlucky one today." she wrinkles her nose as if she's smelled something incredibly unpleasant.

"well, can't you ban him or anything?"

"can't. he's an , but he's a vip customer - he always buys at least five things per week. all used for complaints. he's a big part of our profits."

seulgi raises an eyebrow at that. "do you know his name?"

"nothing except for the fact that his last name is min. but all you have to know is that he's a rich kid with nothing better to do than pissing us off," soojung responds irritably. "you're lucky, seul. you've never talked to him, right?"

"don't think so. if i did, i would have remembered."

"lucky you," her friend says wryly. "ugh, i need a coffee. be right back."

"see you," seulgi calls out as the girl leaves her desk. her mind fills with slight wonder about the mysterious man wreaking havoc in her company's customer service center, and of his possible motives. simple boredom, maybe? but her curiosities soon fade away she responds to a call forwarded to her.

----

the next day goes on in seulgi's normal routine - breakfast coffee, work, and lunch break. just until that part. the girl had no idea of what was to come, until she received the call forwarded to her after returning from lunch break.

"shilla mall international. how may i help y-"

"i'm calling you because i might just sue you for scamming," a young man voices irritably. "you people are insane. you make your ads seem like your products are of the best quality, but i got a complete piece of  for my 'oven'. come here and tell me, right to my face - does this look anything like the product you advertise?"

a wave of dread hits seulgi, and she checks the customer information. vip customer for two years, twenty one years old. male. name: y. min.

well, so much for a good day.

"...complete ery, if i don't get my refund-"

"hello, mr. min," seulgi interrupts calmly. "rough day?"

the line goes silent for a few seconds, and seulgi can tell he's taken aback by her level-headed response. "does it look like i'm having a good day?" he snaps back.

"well, evidently not. what it is it again now?"

"so you do know you have problems with your products. doesn't your company even check them before putting them up on the catalog? no basic steps taken at all?"

"oh no, we check all of our products before uploading them onto our official product list," the girl replies in a completely unaffected voice. "of course we go through the elementary process of selecting the finest products for business. so, what's the issue again?"

the girl hears him cough over the line. "uh, are you new in the company?"

"no, sir, i've been working here for two years. but please, tell me what the problem is. i wouldn't want to wait all day just to hear you get to the point." burn, she thinks.

more silence. "uh, what's your name?" he finally asks, in a different tone from before. his voice is a lot less angry, for sure.

this time, seulgi is the one who's taken aback. she sighs. "i'm not sure what relevance it has to our conversation, but it's kang seulgi. i'm no different than all the others in th-"

"is your voice always like that?"

she's beginning to feel the irritation bubble inside her. "again, not sure what relevance it has, but this is my voice, like it always is. i mean, i can't change my voice, right?"

"mr. min, i have a lot of calls on hold, so please tell me your problem, because i really don't have a lot of t-"

"no, never mind," if seulgi's not mistaken, he sounds rather amused now. "forget it. i'll call you next time."

before seulgi can muster up a response, he hangs up.

----

it's been quiet for a few days, but seulgi knows mr. min won't disappear completely, by his i'll call you next time. her expectations are confirmed on friday evening.

"shilla mall international. how may i help y-?"

"ah, finally. hello, miss kang."

"er, hello, mr. min," seulgi replies. "how may i help you to-"

"how many people are in there anyway?" he suddenly asks.

"about a hundred?" she answers offhandedly. "why would you ask?"

"too much," he comments disapprovingly. "explains why it took about seventy calls to get to you."

seulgi can hardly believe her ears. "excuse me?"

"seventy six, to be exact," he goes on nonchalantly. "we could use an employee cut.."

"what we-? that's horrible," seulgi exclaims angrily. "we're not going to fire people just because you think there's too much."

"alright, alright, calm down," the young man answers, taken aback by her heated reaction. "i'm sorry."

the fact that he's just apologized to her is almost unbelievable, but she decides to make no explicit comment on it. "let's just get back to the point, mr. min-"

"can you stop calling me that?" he interjects in an annoyed voice.

"calling you what?"

"mr. min. it makes me sound so old."

"well, what else am i supposed to call you by then? i'm speaking to you in terms of my job, and besides, i don't know your name-"

"min yoongi."

"excuse me?"

"i said, my name is min yoongi. remember it. no mr. min next time, seulgi."

"i'm still speaking to you in terms of my job, and excuse me, i don't remember giving you permission to use my first name-"

"i'm a year older than you, so of course it's acceptable. just no mr. min, alright? mr. min is my father, not me."

seulgi is at a loss of words. "how do you know my age?"

"i have my sources." his response is vague. "and i called to complain to you about how you keep on calling me 'mr. min'. have a good day," he adds airily.

"i-"

the line goes dead, and seulgi is fuming. she's sure her patience is running the limit, and soon, it might just detonate like a nuclear bomb.

----

for the next month, min yoongi continues to disturb her with his unreasonable complaints about anything and everything. but the strangest thing is that he insists on talking to her and her only - whenever she's back from her lunch break, she finds a post-it stuck on her computer monitor, reading: call requested - y. min. the man himself seems to find her reactions to his complaints amusing. her friends and co-workers send her looks of sympathy whenever she meets eyes with them. she doesn't blame them at all.

but today is a little different, to say the least.

the phone on her desk rings, and seulgi scans the caller id - it's the reception desk. she's not sure who'd be looking for her at this time, but she receives the call anyway. "hello?"

"miss kang?" a woman - probably a receptionist - says. her voice is laced with disbelief. "there's - there's someone wishing to talk to you. says you'll know him."

seulgi blinks. "who-?"

"guess who."

the girl's eyes narrow. "mr. min, why are you-"

he sighs. "it's yoongi, not mr. min,"

she doesn't comply. "mr. min, please state your inquiry."

he seems to have given up. "fine, it's just that i get really pissed off every time i get another shipping from you guys, i thought i should complain to you in person."

the girl is utterly dumbstruck. coming to talk to her in person? he's mad, she thinks.

when her silence continues, he speaks up again. "i'm in the lobby, obviously. which floor do you work at? two? three?"

this guy has problems, seulgi thinks fervently. real problems. "wait there, i'll arrive in a second," she answers shortly. she's determined to put an end to this, for once and for all.

-

seulgi takes short breaths when she gets to the ground floor, her energy drained from running. when she looks around the lobby, she sees no one fitting the description of the young man - none in the busy lobby seem to fit her image of him, at least.

but there's one slim young man near the reception desk. everyone walking by stares at him at least once, and it's quite impossible not to -  he's well-dressed in a grey suit and a loose blue tie. his dyed pale-pink locks cover his face from view. while leaning against one of the columns, he's looking at his phone, the shining rolex watch on his wrist reflecting the ceiling lights. it's more than obvious that he's rather well off, far more than she thought him to be.

when she approaches him skeptically, he looks up. the distinct amusement in his expression confirms that it is him, indeed. "hi, kang seulgi."

he’s cute, she has to admit that. it makes her wonder why the hell someone who seems to come off as completely normal is a complete to her and her company.

"kindly state what made you irritated enough to visit me here." she replies dryly.

he waves away her question. "we can save that for later," he gives her a wicked smile. "i just really wanted to see you. in person."

seulgi can almost feel her blood pressure increasing. "that's it?"

"i'm not regretting it," he continues, unaffected. his smile is mischievous. "your voice suits you, though."

the girl blinks dubiously. "what do you mean?"

"it just does," but there's still a hint of mischief in his expression. "but i thought you might need a break. and it seems like you do." seulgi doesn't deny - she's been working overtime the whole week. "what's your favourite coffee?" he suddenly asks.

"er," seulgi doesn't know why she's even answering, but - "pumpkin spice latte."

"good. off to starbucks, then. my treat." before she can protest, he takes her hand.

.

"who are you, really?" seulgi questions doubtfully as she receives the beverage from yoongi.

he snorts. "what do you think?"

"not a jobless freak, for sure."

the young man bursts into laughter while holding the door for her. "seriously? that's it?"

"well, what would i know? all i know is your name and your age."

yoongi shrugs. "i guess it's better you know me that way, then."

"well, you seem completely normal. why do you choose to make us pissed off?"

"not my fault your products are defective," he responds nonchalantly. "and don't you mean the others? i never really saw you get pissed off anyway."

seulgi sighs. "i just keep my patience in check. what's your complaint this time, though? after all, that's the point of us meeting."

"i'd love to spew about that new fourty-inch led screen tv, but i'll just say this: the manual that comes in it doesn't explain , and it's not even fourty inches, it's fourty-point-two-three," outraged, the girl opens to retort, but the male ignores her reaction and checks his watch. "time for me to go. see you, kang seulgi. i expect a refund by the end of the day."

deep breaths, seulgi. the customer is always right. "have a nice day, mr. min." she says sarcastically.

he groans. "yoongi."

"we're still speaking in terms of my job."

"fine, have it your way then," yoongi sighs. "see you the next time i call."

when the girl steps into the building again - this time with a drink in hand -, she's bombarded with some of her female co-workers for some unspeakable reason.

"seulgi!" it's soojung, looking absolutely enthralled. "how do you know him?"

seulgi blinks. "know who-?"

"the guy you just met," another girl - seulgi thinks her name was wendy - jumps in eagerly. "min yoongi. how do you know him?"

"i- he’s a customer," she answers, unsure of what to classify their relationship as.

"him?" soojung echoes, confused. "wait-" she gasps. "is he the one who called? y.min?"

seulgi refuses to believe her ears. "excuse me?"

"uh, didn't you know?" soojung laughs. "he's the son of the president of the shilla corporation. so technically, this company is his."

the girl almost drops her coffee.

----

the weather grows colder by the end of the month. it's almost december, and it's been a while since yoongi's called seulgi. she isn't surprised, though. the fact that the unreasonable customer was him has been the hottest topic of gossip in the company for weeks - and of course, the president of shilla corps has most likely heard of it. but what does surprise her, is his identity. it's a mystery to her, why he would prank on a company that's going to be in his hands soon. at least that explains a lot of the suspiscious parts.

as for seulgi, she's coming down with a cold - but she still comes to work, stuffy nose and all. she's tired, but there's not much she can do if she's going to make a living.

she's dozing off when her line connects with a customer. fortunately, she catches herself in time.

"shilla mall international. how may i help you?"

"are you trying to pretend it's not you? good try." 

yoongi. "for your information, i didn't pretend anything. what can i help you with?"

"i'm pretty sure i ordered headphones in the colour of metallic gold, not the colour of ," he says casually.

seulgi's too tired to argue. "i'm sorry to hear that," she enters his profile, and selects his recent purchase, clicking on the refund option. "your purchase has been refunded. sorry for the inconvenience." he might as well stop if i give in. she's tired of having to deal with his nonsense. in fact, she doesn't even understand why he's resorting to such childish activities with his wealth. "and i suggest you call someone else if you want to disturb them. with your position, you could probably do anything." but really, she's disappointed because all he does is complain about more bull in a while. she doesn't know what she expected herself, but she's just...disappointed.

the line is quiet for a moment. "how did you find out?" he asks, unable to disguise his astonishment. "i-"

"i've heard things," she cuts him off. "we're sorry for the inconvenience. you didn't mention the purchase number, so i made the refund myself. your money's back in your credit card, so you'll be fine-"

"your voice," he interrupts as well. "you're sick, aren't you? why aren't you resting?"

"i am, but i'm too busy to rest. anyhow, you'll be fine now. we hope your next experience at our mall will be a better one. thank you, and goodbye-"

"..wait."

seulgi's about to hang up, but yoongi's quiet voice stops her from doing so.

"should i take you to the hospital?"

"excuse me?"

"you heard me. what time do you get off?"

"no-" the girl is confused. "no, you don't have to-"

"just tell me what time you get off. i'll take you then."

"but it's oka-"

"shh," he shushes her. "it's an order, from the boss of your boss."

the girl sniffs. "that's not fair."

he chuckles. "still legit."

.

yoongi's waiting outside when she leaves the building. he snorts softly as she approaches him, giving her his coat(you look freezing, he says.) seulgi obliges, and sits in his car. the sight of him being concerned of her well-being is sort of new, but she guesses it's not a bad thing. in fact, this is a lot better than when he's screaming at her for a refund.

.

thankfully, the doctor says it's nothing serious - just a light cold. he still prescribes some cold medicine for her though.

afterwards, yoongi stubbornly insists on buying her dinner - and seulgi gives in after numerous attempts of declining. now he's trying to feed her, which is all sorts of embarrassing. 

"you've never taken care of someone sick, have you?" she comments.

he looks at her with a sheepish expression she's never seen before. "does it show?"

"well yes, but you've had a different upbringing, so i'm not surprised."

yoongi sighs. "i was really hoping you wouldn't find out."

"it was inevitable."

"still."

"why do you bother the customer service center anyway?" seulgi inquires - it's a question she's been holding onto since forever.

"to be honest, i started it because i was bored," he admits. "my father's the head of shilla - and the mall's a branch of his business. i wanted to spite him, and it seemed pretty damn fun to have his head rolling around my antics. the old man thinks i should take his place sooner or later. which is bull, if you ask me - he thinks he can control my life. so technically - when i said 'boss of your boss', that was a lie. i'm not anybody's boss, nor is anyone mine." the male shrugs.

"glad to see you acknowledge that. and apology accepted, sort of. what's the reason for continuously pestering me, then?"

"you were interesting," he states, his answer fairly simple. "and that's why i was motivated to see you in person."

she doesn't know why that makes her heart skip a beat. "interesting as in..?" seulgi asks skeptically.

"the good way, of course." yoongi spoons the soup for her. the girl leans back.

"mr. min, i'm sure you know my hands are perfectly fine-"

"stop calling me that," he says, looking annoyed. "just call me yoongi, alright?"

"we're talking customer to employee."

"your work hours are over. so that doesn't apply to us in this moment," he reaches forward and tucks her hair behind her ears. "you're going to eat your own hair," the young man teases.

seulgi suddenly feels the blood rush to her cheeks. "what relationship would you classify us in, then?" she asks hastily.

yoongi's quiet for a moment. "why not person to person?" the male finally answers. "friend to friend?"

the girl just shrugs.

"guy to girl."

"what?" is this what i think it is-

his lips curve into a quizzical smile as she blinks at him.

"guy to girl, as in a guy and the girl he's attracted to."

seulgi's at a loss for words - she turns positively crimson at the unexpected confession. he laughs.

"obviously, i'm asking you out, kang seulgi."