“Who the is that” was the first thing Kibum said as he walked into his office that morning and saw a complete stranger sitting in his office. The subordinate he was currently interrogating in the men’s bathroom shrugged his shoulders unphased.

“Your new assistant of course!” Kibum hated that smug, -eating grin Taemin always had on as if he had conveniently forgotten that Kibum was his boss.

“Please don’t tell me he’s one of that lot we interviewed last week because I thought I made it very clear what I thought of them…”

“Noooo” Taemin quickly interrupted seeming intent on drawing out the reveal for as long as possible as if it was some wonderful surprise. “This guy is someone I found, you should look at his resume! He graduated from Seoul University with a doctorate, he’s worked part time in finance...”

“And were you going to tell me before you hired him?” The last thing Kibum cared about right now was how ‘qualified’ this guy was, his priority at this moment was debating how best to murder Taemin.

“Well, considering you’ve turned away the last, hmmm let’s see how many…” he made a show of counting up on his fingers as Kibum looked on unimpressed, “…sixty applicants, I thought I should just sort it out for you”

“I can’t believe this...” breathing out a heavy sigh, Kibum bonked his head against the tiles “The reason I am so picky is because I need a capable assistant who would be suitable for my needs. And I certainly don’t want some freshly graduated, inexperienced kid to sort out my ”

“Okay, okay!” Taemin showed an ounce of shame as he held up his hands I mock surrender while Kibum went back to cornering him further and further into the cramped spot between the urinal and the wall. “I may have overstepped, but could you at least give this guy a chance? He seems like a really nice guy, very diligent. I mean he arrived super early and brought coffee for most of the office!”

“Fine.” That smug smile was back on that little ’s face. “I’m not a complete so I’ll give him a chance, say a week, to prove himself - otherwise he’s out.”

“Thank yoou! And you’ll be the one thanking me later!” Taemin sing-songed as he fled the bathroom to safety. Kibum was left thumping his head against the wall before he took some deep breaths, straightened his suit, pausing to briefly admire himself in the mirror, and left the bathroom.

-

Lee Jinki was starting to get rather anxious. He had heard his new boss come in ten minutes ago as his co-workers greeted him but since then he seemed to have completely disappeared. ‘Should I go check on him? Would that be too intrusive? Should I have taken this job? I mean that interviewer was a bit odd maybe I should take this opportunity and make a break for it?’ As if his thoughts had summoned him, the odd interviewer in question popped his head round the door.

“He’s just coming now! Just a little head’s up he may not be in the best mood but you’ll do great don’t worry!” And with a thumbs up he swiftly left again, leaving Jinki bewildered as he watched the strange guy scuttle back to his desk. Right after he caught sight of what must be his new boss walking purposely towards him. Jinki quickly straightened his tie and stood up, bowing as he entered the office.

“Good morning Mr Kim sir! I’m your new assistant Lee Jinki. I will put hundred and ten percent into this job and will work my hardest on whatever you need me to do.”
Jinki heard him chuckle and mutter what sounded a lot like ‘what a cheesy introduction’ before he sat behind his desk, leaning on his forearms to give Jinki a proper examination.

“Stand up please”

“Umm okay” Jinki diligently stood up, despite being confused by the request.

“Turn around slowly”

Jinki was starting to fidget, feeling his boss’ intense gaze practically bore holes into him.

“What sort of company is this?”

“The management and editors behind the fashion magazine, ‘Little Freaks’” Jinki’s mind meanwhile was frantically trying to understand where this conversation was going.

“Right. This is a fashion magazine, not a finance company.” Kibum wiggled an elegant finger up and down Jinki’s outfit, “and this, this ill-fitting suit and those outdated, ugly shoes don’t exactly scream fashion, do they?”

Jinki gulped, ''. Kibum’s eyes widened, “Oh I mean- did that come out out-loud? I’m so sorry, I mean yes sir my fashion taste isn’t the best and I realise that that will reflect badly on the company sir but I will try my best to improve it as soon as possible sir.”

Instead of frowning, Kibum broke out in a laugh (more like a cackle) catching Jinki completely by surprise.

“You’re a strange one just like Tae, but you do indeed seem very diligent and respectful which is what I value highly in an assistant so I’ll trust you, for now.”

The ‘for now’ part wasn’t particularly comforting but Kibum looked like he wanted to rip Jinki’s head off a little less than before so it was enough for now.

-

Kibum summoned that odd one, Lee Taemin, back in and ordered him to give Jinki a tour around the office. Jinki could sense the daggers Kibum was clearly sending Taemin’s way but seemingly oblivious the strange kid grinned back at ‘his dear Kibummie’, before quickly whisking Jinki away.

Taemin laughed seeing Jinki’s shocked expression, “Oh that? That’s nothing. I always treat Kibum like that, you should know he’s just a big softie underneath all those layers of stone cold ”

“And you’ve not been fired? How is that possible?” Jinki was in awe.

“We go waay back. I mean we basically started this company together! But don’t tell him I said that.” Taemin gave him a wink before pushing Jinki further into the room, “But enough about me here’s Krystal one of our main editors…”

Jinki went round the office, diligently bowing and greeting his new co-workers.

“…this is Kim Jonghyun our main writer, a self-called artiste” Jonghyun looked up incredibly unimpressed.

“So, you have this showing you around” Jonghyun turned to Jinki with a gorgeous smile, “Ignore him, hi I’m Kim Jonghyun but please just call me Jonghyun”

Taemin gave a loud snort.

“Okay Jonghyun, we get it, you haven’t gotten in a while, stop trying to flirt with the newbie”

Jonghyun shot Taemin a dirty look, “Look who’s talking, if this was pre-Minho you would have been grinding up all over him by now”

Jinki physically retreated. This was definitely not a conversation he wanted to get into with his new co-workers. God, why couldn’t he work with normal, boring office workers who would talk about the weather and their kids instead of their ual preferences.

“Excuse me” Jinki turned round to see a tall, attractive man behind him balancing a laptop in his arms.

“Minhoo!” Taemin grinned as he launched himself at the man, who laughed and wrapped his long limbs around him. In doing so he completely forget about the laptop. In a panic Jinki jumped out and saved just before it hit the ground.

“Nice save” Minho said, from over the top of Taemin’s head, “See that was all an elaborate test to see if you were capable for this job and you passed, congrats!”

“Aha sure Choi” Jonghyun snickered, mouthing a ‘thank you’ to Jinki as he took the laptop.

“Oi Min, introduce yourself” Taemin urged as he untangled himself from Minho.

“Hey I’m Choi Minho, I work as the photographer for the magazine, nice to meet you.”

“Hi I’m Lee Jinki, Mr Kim’s new assistant”

“Haha nice one, what are you really?”

“…I’m his assistant?”

“What the hell?” Minho looked to Taemin for confirmation and Taemin nodded, a smug look on his face, “You conniving little , I can’t believe you went through with that...”

“With what?” Jinki interjected, suddenly tense.

“Oh, oh nothing! It’s just that Kibum is very, uh, difficult to work with should I say?”

“Yeah well he already made a comment on my appearance so I’m off to a good start.”

“Ouch. Well, he’s quite picky with the details, a bit of a perfectionist, but he’s a good guy. All of us here will vouch for that.” They all nodded, Jonghyun reaching out to pat Jinki reassuringly on the back.

“I needed to hear that, thanks a lot guys.” Jinki felt the anxiety weighing on him lessen a bit.

“But you really should change that outfit though” Taemin piped in, and the other two shot him a pointed look. “What? He dresses like he’s 70”