Rain or sunshine. Snow or hail. It was all the same to Baekhyun, when he was sitting at his desk at work. He rested his chin on his palm, while the other hand was busy playing with his pen. He had to reprint some of the documents later on, since he doodled all over them. He had some important accountings to do later on, after all.

 

A silent sigh left his mouth. Today it was gloomy outside, perfectly fitting his mood. The heavy clouds looming over the city of Seoul did not keep his attention for long though; his eyes wandered over his coworkers. Each and every one looked different, did something different, had a different name and they all had a completely different life; but at the same time they were all the same.

 

Waking up in the morning, just to go to work. Working their asses off just to earn money. Earning money just to waste it on unnecessary things. Wasting money on those things, just to find out that they couldn’t really enjoy it, because they had so much work to do.

 

A famous line of a song described the whole process pretty good: You’re a slave to money, then you die.

 

Baekhyun couldn’t agree any more. Not that he was any different. He liked money too. Unlike what others often liked to say, Baekhyun had the opinion that money was indeed able to buy happiness. Many people struggled because of money. Be it the undying wish to see the world, or getting the best medical treatment when diagnosed with some kind of illness; it all required money, didn’t it?

 

Well, Baekhyun didn’t really like his job that much; it was always the same, not challenging him in any way, not giving him any sort of satisfaction; and the worst thing must have been the payment.

 

Should he bother talking with the department manager? Asking him about a pay raise seemed long overdue. Baekhyun worked for the company for 6 long years and the money had not even once increased since then. The only other option that Baekhyun would consider was quitting. But that only meant to find a job in another boring company, where he wouldn’t get more money either.

 

So what was there to lose? Nothing.

 

Baekhyun put the pen down and stood up. He felt a bit stiff from sitting all day long, but he walked to the office of the department manager with steady steps. When he reached the door, he took one last breath, in order to calm down, then he knocked.

 

A loud voice directed to Baekhyun was heard through the door. “Not now!”

 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. He was ready to ask for that ty pay raise now. He was mentally prepared now.

 

“Maybe it’s important.” There was another voice, it was much softer and friendlier. Baekhyun wasn’t sure who it belonged to. But he waited for a second longer.

 

A bit hesitantly, the first voice shouted again, “Alright come in, but make it quick!”

 

Baekhyun opened the door and walked in. At first he bowed his head, greeting the head of department. He was sitting at his heavy cherrywood desk and glanced at Baekhyun in a dismissive way. “Mr. Byun, what brings you here?”

 

Baekhyun didn’t answer straight away. He glanced at the person sitting opposite from the department manager. A tall, lanky looking figure with the nicest shade of light brown hair, Baekhyun noticed. Then that person looked over his shoulder. Baekhyun was at loss of words for some seconds, not having expected to see the CEO here, and he was giving Baekhyun the brightest smile he’d ever seen.

 

Baekhyun quickly bowed again, this time a little deeper. “Ah, I’m sorry to interrupt you.” Baekhyun finally found his voice, and he pointed with his thumb to the door. “I can come later, or tomorrow.” The department agreed, and Baekhyun was ready to leave, bowing his head once more. The CEO however wouldn’t let him.

 

“How long have you been in the company?” he asked, sounding quite curious.

 

Baekhyun widened his eyes ever so slightly, “I’ve been here since I’ve graduated. That’d make this my sixth year, sir.” It felt awkward to call someone younger than him ‘sir’. And Baekhyun really hated that he had to be so polite towards someone around his age, but not like he had much of a choice, had he?

 

“Okay”, the CEO nodded slowly, and seemed to think about something.

 

“Yeah, well, you can leave now.” The department manager then said and waved Baekhyun off, as if he was some cat he could shoo away. Baekhyun was pissed, to say at least, and that’s why he simply smiled and left the office.

 

He had some important accountings to do anyway.

 

---

 

Baekhyun didn’t go back to the office that day. And he didn’t go there the next day either. Since he saw the young CEO Baekhyun was put back in his place. Some people were just born into wealth and glamour. While others weren’t.

 

Baekhyun hated to act polite, he hated how the department manager treated him like some replaceable piece of and he hated how he can’t stop himself from thinking that yes; maybe he really was just that.

 

So Baekhyun stopped thinking about asking for a simple pay raise, because he hated to feel like . And looking at the department manager, his disgustingly expensive suits, that still didn’t help him look any better, made him feel worse like .  

 

After that day Baekhyun noticed that the CEO was walking through the accounting office at least every second day. Well, in order to get to the department manager, one had to cross the office first.

 

Baekhyun tried to look as busy as possible, just like everyone else, whenever the CEO entered. But after a few days, Baekhyun stopped caring about that. It’s not like the CEO really looked at any of them lowlifes, right?

 

But one day he was proven wrong. Baekhyun made eye contact with the tall man, accidently. The CEO’s lips curled into a smile then, and he nodded his head at Baekhyun as a greeting. Baekhyun was too confused to greet back.

 

That stupid face of his was something Baekhyun truly despised. Why was that guy able to smile as if it was the easiest thing in the world, while Baekhyun struggled to even lift a corner of his mouth at work?

 

It was not fair. That guy probably had everything he could ever dream of, and more.  

 

And then there was Baekhyun; a young man, who was pretty aware of his own issues, but wasn’t able to do anything about them. Because everyone else seemed to accept at least after college that life just wasn’t all sunshine and fluffy unicorns riding rainbows. They accepted that there was just this frustrating monotony of everyday life, and they had to make the best out of it.

 

But Baekhyun, even though he knew that truth, still refused to live like that. Which made him somewhat bitter.

 

One certain day however, it was a day that seemed to have no end, Baekhyun was glad when he looked at the clock and it was five minutes before he was free to leave the office. He finished up all the things he started, when he suddenly heard the department manager’s shout.

 

“What the hell have you been doing? That’s all useless! You’re good for nothing!”

 

Baekhyun looked up and glanced to where the manager was causing a scene. He held some papers in his hands, but after one of Baekhyun’s newest coworkers muttered a quiet excuse, he got even more furious and threw the papers all over and around the coworker’s desk. It wasn’t his first time insulting this guy, and it probably wasn’t the last time either.

 

“You think you get paid for playing around? Sorry to inform you, but this is no playground! I expect all of this redone by tomorrow morning.” With that the manager walked off, while adjusting his tie with a frown on his face.

 

Much to Baekhyun’s displeasure, the new coworker was looking straight at him, as if he knew that Baekhyun was watching. Now Baekhyun tended to be quiet self-centered, but he was far from being a , unfortunately. He would’ve rather left the place without a care, but the blank face of that guy was enough to make Baekhyun show his actually much too soft heart. He walked up to him, and helped him pick up the documents. “Don’t mind that dickhead, he always blows off his steam on the new guys.”

 

“You’ve been through it too?” The guy asked shyly. Although on second thought Baekhyun wasn’t sure if the guy really was shy, but at least he looked… well a bit lost. Concerned? Frightened? Baekhyun wasn’t able to read that guys face well.

 

“I guess”, Baekhyun mumbled and looked up to meet the boy’s eyes once again. Thinking about it, Baekhyun really couldn’t remember. Maybe he pushed it to the back of his mind a long time ago, which would explain why Baekhyun hated the department manager that much. “Just don’t take it to heart.” Baekhyun offered a small, encouraging smile.

 

“Well, I try.” The guy said, as Baekhyun handed him the documents.

 

“Good then,” Baek nodded, scoffing bitterly. “What’s your name by the way?”

 

“Kim Jongdae”, the guy said as he started to sort the papers, “You’re Byun Baekhyun, right?” A grin appeared on his lips

 

Baekhyun was surprised that people in this office actually knew his full name, especially the new guy. He nodded then. “Yeah.”

 

Jongdae didn’t answer, but Baekhyun noticed the concentrated look on his face, and that’s when he pulled the chair of some other coworker from the neighboring desk away and moved it beside Jongdae. The younger boy looked quite surprised at first, but Baekhyun just snapped the documents away from his grip and briefly looked over them. “You just forgot to include that amount from last month, it’s fixed in less than a minute. That overreacted again.”

 

“Thanks for helping me. I wasn’t sure what I did wrong.” Jongdae smiled slightly at him, “I would’ve probably spent half the night looking for the mistake.”

 

Baekhyun patted his shoulder. “Don’t mention it, if you’re having trouble with anything just ask me, okay?”

Jongdae nodded, "Thanks man."

 

Baekhyun left the company 15 minutes later than planned, but at least his mood was better than before. He might should try to make friends at work. It would make the time he had to spend there at least a little better, right?

 

---

 

The good mood didn’t last long, though. As soon as he sat down on his desk the next day, the phone on his desk rang. Extension 44 was calling.Everybody feared a call from 44. That was the phone in the department manager’s office.

 

Baekhyun thought about ignoring the call, but it’s not like he had much of a choice. He let out a deep sigh before he picked up, “Good Morning?”

 

“Come to my office.” And the call was ended. Baekhyun suddenly felt his stomach turn. Maybe he overheard Baekhyun insulting him, when he talked to Jongdae the day before? Would he get fired now? Well, worse could happen. Running his fingers through his neatly styled hair, Baekhyun made his way to the manager’s office. He was passing Jongdae's desk, who gave him a slightly concerned look, but Baekhyun just smiled at him.

 

Baekhyun knocked when he reached the door. “Come in, Mr. Byun.”

 

Baekhyun raised a brow. What was with that friendly voice? It made him feel sick in an instant. When he walked in, it was like a déjà vu; the CEO was sitting exactly in the same position as he did last time, when Baekhyun came to the office to ask for a pay raise. He turned exactly the same way and gave Baekhyun exactly the same smile, which Baekhyun returned with a small bow.

 

“You’ve wanted to see me?” Baekhyun asked, carefully.

 

“Yeah, why don’t you take a seat first?” The manager showed an awfully fake smile.

 

“Okay,” Baekhyun slowly walked to the one remaining chair beside the CEO and sat down. Baekhyun rested his hands on his lap. What was this all about?

 

“You know, I wanted to talk to you about a raise”, the manager started, and Baekhyun couldn’t believe his ears. “You’ve been here for some years now, and it was about time, but….”

 

Yeah. The famous but. Baekhyun noticed the CEO’s smile from the corner of his eye. And the CEO was the one who continued speaking. “I’d like to promote you instead.” He made short pause, then corrected himself, “Well, it’s more like a job offer for another position.”

 

Baekhyun raised a brow and cocked his head to the side. Was he hearing things? “Promote me?” He muttered.

 

“Mr. Byun, I want to offer you the position of my personal assistant. Of course this comes with a nice increase of salary as well, but it will be a challenging and demanding job. The work hours aren’t as regular as you’re used to, and sometimes it means to work on weekends too. Planning and joining me on business trips will be part of the tasks, and-“

 

“You’re offering this position to me of all people?” Baekhyun interrupted him, not caring about being rude. He was directing the question more to the department manager though.

 

“Mr. Park personally picked you”, the manager said. Baekhyun could have sworn that he frowned at him for a second there, when the CEO wasn’t looking.

 

The CEO, Mr. Park, smiled at Baekhyun, who turned to give him a doubtful look, then he handed him a thin, black folder. “Please read the contract first and think about it, but I hope you can make a decision until tomorrow evening.”

 

Baekhyun stared at the folder, dumbfounded.