.06

DANIEL POV

Can I say that I have the greatest boss ever? While most of the employees are stuck with working overtime or have to bring their work home for the weekend, my boss just called me to inform that we are going on a trip. Well, a business trip but technically, it is still considered as a trip. She also promised that after finishing my work, I will get some free time to enjoy myself in this place that I never even thought that I would go. I guess that is one of the perks of working with the CEO of a big company.

“Sorry for the rush, but I only got the answer from Mr Tey at the last minute. He is quite busy and this might be the only chance for us to meet him before he decides his business partner in South Korea. Here is a folder that contains everything you need to know about him and the partnership. Don’t worry if you didn’t bring enough clothes or sanitary items, we will get them once we arrived the- Daniel? Are you listening to me?”

“Huh? What?”

My eyes were almost closed and I didn’t really listen to whatever Roseanne had said just now.

“I am sorry, I must have disturbed your sleeping routine last night. Go to sleep now, you can read the documents when you wake up later. We still have a plenty of time before we get there and meet Mr Tey.”

The fact is, I barely got to sleep yesterday night because I was so excited for the business trip. I spent my whole night calling my already sleeping friends just to brag, figuring what I should pack and search for info about Switzerland. I am flying first class with Roseanne and I simply cannot describe how comfortable it is in words. It didn’t take me long before I wander to my dreamland. If I had the chance, I will never fly in other class of flight anymore. If and only if.

“This will be our stay for a few days. We will have our own room and everything you need is already prepared inside. Change into something warm and I will meet you in the living room in 10.”

We are staying in a hotel suite in this ski resort. The suite is really spacious, even bigger than the apartment that I am renting way back in Korea. My room has its own attached bathroom, which I supposed the same with Roseanne’s. It is warm inside although the outside is covered with thick white snow. I quickly change into thicker sweaters and choose a jacket from the cupboard. To complete my looks, I also wear a beanie over my head. I think I just did a great job in dressing myself up. Now that’s what I call fashionably practical. After that, I come out from my room to the living room to see that Roseanne is not there yet. She must be still getting ready. I take my time to explore more of the suite and stop by the windows. Through the windows, I am amazed by the breathtaking views right in front of me. I can sit here all day looking at it while enjoying some hot chocolate, just like how they did in the movie I watched.

“Did you wait for long?” Roseanne just came to the living room.

“No, I got dressed fast so I took my time to admire the scenery.”

“You will have a plenty of time to do so after we are finished with our job. The attires look good on you, by the way, you can keep them if you like to.”

“Really? Thanks.”

“Now let’s get going, we are going to meet Mr Tey in the ski field.”

“Hello Mr Tey, it is nice to meet you. I am Roseanne of the PARK CORPORATION and this is my personal assistant, Daniel.” Roseanne greets the man first.

“Hello to you both such lovely young lady and gentleman. It must feel good to be youngsters like you!”

“We do have a lot of things to learn after you, Mr Tey.”

“I am going for a round of skiing now. While you are at it, feel free to join me, we will talk about business later.”

“We would love too.” She answers.

“Uhh, Miss Roseanne?” I whisper my words so they are only audible to her.

“What?” She whispers back to me.

“Do you mind if you do it alone? Because I… umm…”

“Are you going to tell me that you do not know how to ski?”

I only nodded my head in embarrassment. She mouths an ‘O’ before a smile is formed on her face.

“Mr Tey, you can go ahead first. We will catch you up later,”

“Alright then!”

Without further hesitation, he starts to ski all the way down the slope. He makes it looks so easy and I am feeling very impressed.

“You can go now, I will just wait for you right here.” I pout and sigh softly, disappointed that I can enjoy the excitement.

“No, since you are already here and got all the equipment, it will be a waste if you do not try to ski. I will teach you the basics of skiing, step-by-step. Now listen carefully: First you must set your feet hip-width apart. Keep your legs in line with your hips. As you get the feel on the slopes, you can move your feet further apart or closer together. Keep your skis mostly parallel but with your toes pointed slightly inward. Then, bend your knees slightly to improve your balance and to help you take on the impact of bumps in the slope. Lean your body to the front but don’t go for too far…”

Roseanne is explaining the basics of skiing to me like a pro, which I bet she is. Despite how serious she is, my face can’t help but flushes a bit by the sudden touch (on my knees, back and chest) when she is talking. Thankfully, It is barely noticeable due to the cold weather.

“... To turn, you can turn by twisting your hips in the direction you want to go. If you want to stop, turn the front points of your skis so they are closer together. Get the front of your skis as close as you can without touching them to stop completely. Are you clear?”

“What? I mean sure!”

“Then you are ready to go, I think. Just relax and go slowly, I will be just by your side so don’t worry. Skiing is actually really fun.”

ROSÉ POV

I noticed how Daniel’s face turned red when I touched him just now. Am I going way overboard? Did he not like it? When I mentioned about how to turn by twisting the hips, I almost went to pat his hips, but instead, I only demonstrate them with my own hips. It is kind of creepy if I did so and I don’t want him to feel more awkward than he already is. But am I glad of my decision? Maybe, I guess.

This business trip; I cannot really say that it is a last minute invitation since I have been working on it way before Daniel becomes my personal assistant. The plan was actually for me being accompanied by Jennie but she later told me that I should go with Daniel instead, saying that he is my personal assistant but I know she definitely has something else on her mind, which I don't really mind as long as I can get the deal done. Frankly speaking, Daniel is the only one who got the last minute invitation here.

The hotel suite was originally for Jennie and me and I had considered changing it into two different suites after she has backed away, but in the end, I didn’t. I think I just did a great job in saving some budgets for the company. That’s it.

“Seems like you are catching pretty fast.”

I can see that Daniel is getting steadier the more he practices. He hesitated at first, afraid to make his moves and fell down quite a few times. However, he got up, gathered his confidence, try again and eventually mastered the basic of skiing now.

“That is because I have such a good mentor.” He is getting better with his words too.

“Now this mentor of yours will become your opponent instead. Race you to the ending line!” I accelerated my way down the hill, ditching him behind.

“Wait, Miss Roseanne!”

“I cannot believe you just won! It’s not fair at all!”

I can’t help myself to feel bitter and sulk after being defeated by my own mentee that only knew how to ski literally a few moments ago. Daniel now has the smile of victory all over his face but strangely it helps in making my heart me warm in this cold weather.

“I cannot believe that you are trying to cheat by pushing me away when I almost reached the ending line either.” He argues.

“I shouldn’t have taught you how to ski in the first place!”

Seriously, what happened to you, Roseanne? Don’t lose your cool!

“Looks like you both had a lot of fun today,” Mr Tey comes to us and laughs. If it wasn’t for Mr Tey, I don’t think I will get over my defeat that easily.

“We certainly did, and I hope you had a good time as well Mr Tey.”

“See you both during dinner?”

“Sure.”

I was making my way to the hotel when I suddenly tripped over something. I prayed hard that I won’t fell funnily or even if I did, there were no people around that saw it. I almost embarrassed myself there but luckily a hand just caught me in time. It was Daniel’s.

“Are you okay?” He holds me up and helps me to stand still.

“Yeah, thank you.” I blushed. At least that is what I think I did.

In the hotel suite

“Daniel? Daniel?”

I knock the door of his room but there is no response. Out of curiosity, I open the door and walk into his room to see that he is not inside. I am almost convinced that he is not here until I heard the sound of the door being opened.

I really hope it is not what I think it is.

Slowly, I turn my head and saw him standing right there, practically with only a towel wrapped around his waist. I don’t even know where should I look at in this moment, definitely not those abs, not that shoulder or those wet messy hairs. Our eyes just meet and nothing is going be more awkward than this. Both of us have become as red as a tomato, not knowing what to say. There is a long silence across the room that we can hear the sounds of heavy breathing.

It really just has to be like what I thought. This is basically just like the plot of the rom-com dramas that I watched sometimes when I am free.

“Are you… searching for me?” He breaks the silence first.

“Yeah! I just want to remind you to bring all the documents to the dinner later. I think that’s all, I will go out first. See you later.” I say without any pause.

Then, I storm out of his room as fast as I could, not feeling like to stay in there any longer… probably.

“And we are done! Mr Tey had finally signed the agreement. Like what I said before, we will get to enjoy our free time here. Not only that, you are also granted a day off when we are back to South Korea.”

“Thank you, Roseanne. Hey, you should smile more, you look really good when you are doing that.”

“Uh, okay… I will try.”

I do not realise that I am smiling right now, it must be because of I am feeling good to be here. How long has it been since I smile this sincerely?

Both of us are now at the outdoor part of the restaurant we just dine in. From here, I can see the buildings in the small town that are illuminated by lights. It is different from city lights, it is not as colourful but is not dull; it radiates a warm feeling, something that we do not usually experience in the city.

(Sorry, I don’t really know how to describe it but this is what I Imagined:
Credit to the owner. Thanks for sharing this majestic view!)

I close my eyes to reimagine the view in front of me as a way to keep it in my memories, the chilly breeze is whispering over me. This is such a perfect moment and do you know what can make it better?

A cup of hot chocolate.

“Hey Daniel, do you want some hot chocolate?”

There is no response. I turn my head to see that he is not around.

‘Maybe he is just in the bathroom,’

I go to the bathroom to look for him but he is not there. Anxiety starts to fill me as the time goes by. I try to find him in the restaurant but still have no luck as well. ‘Where could he be?’ ‘Did he leave without me?’ ‘Did he do not like this place, or that he just does not like me overall?’ All of this fills my mind and slowly suffocating me, making me feel weaker. The crowded area only helps in making me feel worse. I feel so lonely and left behind in this place.

‘Is he leaving me like how father did?’

The ultimate thought that almost made me lose it. With the limited strength left in my body, I run to the hotel lobby, hoping to find him there. There is still no trace of him around. I approach the receptionist and say,

“Ex-excuse me, Miss, do you happens to see my friend around?”

“May you describe how your friend looks like?”

“He is a guy. He is in the age of twenties, quite handsome, tall, have broad shoulder and always have a smile on his face. His hair is brown in colour, an-and…”

“You mean like him?”

She points in the direction at my back. My eyes follow the way she points at, and there he is, walking toward me. I do not think twice and run to him immediately.

“Daniel! Where have you been?”

I hug him tightly while tears flow all over my face. My uneasy feelings are slowly fading as I finally saw him in person. His soft scent of cologne mixed with the soap he used to shower which I never really keep in mind of is what calms me down, as it proved his presence that pulls me away from the thought of losing him.

“Umm, I thought that you want to stay outside for a bit longer so I went back to our hotel suite to take another jacket, in case you are feeling cold. I was about to tell you but when I saw you shut your eyes, I do not want to disturb you and left without telling. On my way back, I saw a kid who is lost and I have to help him to find his parents, hence the delay.” He begins to explain.

“Please never do that again! I despise the feeling of being left alone.”

“I am sorry…” He pats my back while I am still holding him tightly. My body still cannot stop its trembling since all those negative thoughts rushed in just now.

DANIEL POV

In the hotel suite, 3 a.m.

I get up from my bed to get some water in the kitchen. When I come out from my room, I am surprised to see that Roseanne is still in the living room, sitting on the couch while staring at the TV blankly. It’s not even switched on. I take a glass of water and walk toward her quickly.

“Roseanne? Roseanne!” She doesn’t seem like to notice my presence until I call her name out loud.

“Ohh, hi Daniel! Why aren’t you sleeping yet at this time?”

“I actually slept for a while but then I feel thirsty and come out for some water. What are you doing here and not sleeping in your room?”

“I tried to but you know, my insomnia. Same old thing.”

I put my glass on the coffee table and sit on the couch with her, “Are you scared that I left suddenly again?”

“Of course not!” She tries to look convincing.

“But your face says the otherwise,”

“Daniel, I am so sorry for overreacting just now. I mean what am I even thinking, you are an adult that is fully capable to take care of yourself, I shouldn’t have worried about you that much.”

“It’s fine for me, but you must have your reason to be this affected when you are being left alone, right?”

“Well, I… I…” Her breaths become faster and heavier.

“It is okay if you don’t want to talk about it,”

“I feel the need. I wasn’t like this before actually, it was until years ago… On that time, I was still studying in the university. My dad came all the way from Korea to visit me, but something happened and I had to go back to Korea, all by myself. You must’ve known about it, it’s a hot topic and was all over the news before.”

She is trembling hard while catching up with her words. I want to tell her to stop talking, but I can see that she does not have the intention to do so. She wants to let all that is in her mind to come out once and for all. I reach out to her hand and grab it tightly as a way of comfort.

“The whole thing is real-really scary. He just arrived there but he-he died. In front of me. That is why when you-you left just now, I was traumatized. It was like a deja vu; I was scared that the same thing is going on all over again. I feel so empty, I feel so helpless, I feel that I am going to break really soon.”

“I think that’s enough.”

She is already sobbing hard. I pull her into an embrace to calm her down. I’ve read about this incident a few years ago but to hear it from the person who is suffering because of it breaks my heart. It must be really hard for a girl to get through all of this at such a young age. I instantly regret my question earlier that made her remember all of these bad memories all over again. Sometimes I just can’t help with my big mouth and the curiosity in my heart. I never even thought about how big of a deal it is to the others...

“I am sorry…”

“No you didn’t do anything wrong, it was just me being such a mess right now.”

“Now don’t cry, it's all already passed. You got me here…”

She is getting stable emotionally. I break our embrace but continue holding her hand, giving it a little squeeze once at a time. Then, I pull her up from the couch and start to walk across the living room.

“Where are we going?” She asks.

“To put you to sleep. Now lay down in this big comfy bed. You can make me as your human teddy bear today, hug me and close your eyes.”

She did what I told her. Both of us didn’t think much as the intentions are really pure and comforting.

Slowly, we doze off soundly.

ROSÉ POV

I wake up from my sleep, feeling energetic and calm, basically better than last night. It was a really good sleep.

“Finally you are awake.”

I look up to see Daniel smiling at me. I am still holding him. I quickly break the embrace and sit up, hoping that I am not flustered right now.

“What time is it now?” I say to divert my mind.

Daniel shows his phone screen to me and says, “It’s almost 1 in the afternoon.”

“WHAT? Wow, it’s been a long time since I sleep until this hour. How long have you been awake?”

“Quite a few hours ago.”

“Then why don’t you wake me up?”

“Well, we don’t have any schedule ahead today, and it is one of the rules for me to not wake you up when you are sleeping.”

And now I feel guilty because of the ‘rules’, “I am sorry."

“Don’t you think both of us are being too apologetic with one another? We have said too many sorry since we met, the most being yesterday.”

“Kinda… then I should say thanks to you. Let’s go for lunch, I am pretty sure you are starving now.”

“Literally.”

BONUS SCENE:

What happened during the night

ROSÉ POV

I open my eyes later to see that Daniel is already sleeping. He must have been really tired after everything today.

It is not easy for me to open up to people but with Daniel, everything just comes out naturally. That is so sweet of him to hear me out patiently and putting effort to help in calming me down.

After making sure he is in deep sleep, I softly give him a peck on the cheek as my way to appreciate things he had done for me. Good night, Daniel. I hope that you can dream of something good because I am going to dream about you tonight.

What happened during the morning

DANIEL POV

It was 9 a.m. in the morning when I was awakened by Roseanne’s alarm. Seeing that she is still sleeping, I turn off the alarm and look at her. She still looks pretty when she is sleeping. If Sleeping Beauty is real, then Roseanne must be Princess Aurora. I can’t help myself but plant a soft kiss on her forehead, hoping that she will not notice it, or she will be creep out and that will be the end for me as her personal assistant.

I think this is the most beautiful view in Switzerland, right after the one outside the windows. I can watch her like this all day.

Some parts of this chapter feel kinda heavy after what had happened recently.

Nevertheless, I hope the other parts can make you feel better while reading it. 

It's already Christmas Eve in my place. 

See you in the next update!