"You’ll be late for your meeting.”

He’s sitting on their bed, jacket slung over one arm and cufflinks undone.

“I won’t,” he said, staring straight ahead, thoughts far away.

He heard her coming up behind him—felt the bed sink with her weight as she slinks into his space to straighten his already impeccable collar.

“What do you want for dinner tonight?” He felt her breath against his neck, resisted the urge to shiver and instead shrugged one uncaring shoulder.

“You choose.” Like you always do.

“I chose last night. What about salmon? You like salmon.”

I suppose.

She’s buttoning up his cufflinks now, hands working deftly from years of practice.

“I’ll open up a bottle of Chardonnay, how does that sound?”

He takes a second longer to reply to her question. He always needs a second now. Jiwoo’s words are always sharp, always purposeful; he never wants to look like an idiot in front of her.

“Perfect.”

The word didn’t come from his mouth, but that was what he would’ve said anyway. Jiwoo smoothed her hands down his front, banishing away any creases on his shirt. There was a self-satisfied smile on her face that he had grown used to seeing.

“There. You look very handsome.” She kissed him sweetly.

His lips felt numb but still he forced them to say, “Thank you.”

♦

Thank you. She had murmured to him as he held the door open for her. He hadn’t seen her before around the office, so she must’ve been new.

Taehyung was raised a gentleman, and could never ignore a pretty girl when she was in need.

He considered asking for her name, but she had looked like she was in a hurry; she was young enough to be an intern, but he had never seen an intern so professionally dressed before.

Although her sensible heels were slightly scuffed, despite being well polished, and her blazer was made of a cheaper material than what he was used to, but was properly tailored to fit her perfectly.

Taehyung couldn’t expect everyone working in the company to be as well off as him, though nearly all the employees here drove an imported car and strut around in designer clothes.

That made the new girl even more intriguing, in Taehyung’s opinion. He always did love a good Cinderella story.

And she must be very smart, and very hardworking to land a job like this, at so young an age.

(Taehyung’s own age not withstanding—his father was an important board member, and so he didn’t even have to hand in his resume to be able to work here.)

He decided he would ask around about her. Maybe stop by the mess hall during lunch—if he got lucky he would bump into her and he could ask her out to lunch. She seemed like the type of girl that would enjoy fancy dining rather than standing in line at the cafeteria.

♣

“How was work?” Was her usual greeting, punctuated by the click-clack of her satin pumps.

“Fine.” He removed his jacket for her to hang carefully back into their coat closet.

“The meeting went well I hope?”

“The merger is coming through perfectly. Just like you said.”

He didn’t have to turn around to know that she was beaming.

“And you’re getting your year-end bonus, yes?”

At this, Taehyung felt his nerves twist into a little ball as he struggled to gather his courage for his next words.

“I am. They also gave me a free trip to the Bahamas, if I want it.”

“A free trip... for two?”

He couldn’t read the tone in her voice, but his heart gave a quick little flutter which he forcefully tampered down—he didn’t dare hope, not yet.

“Yes, it could be a vacation for us. We can sunbathe on the beach, and you can walk along the ocean at night, like you always wanted... remember?”

He chanced a glance at her, noticed that her lips had quirked a little to the side. That could mean anything.

“But... they’ll be a lot of mosquitoes at night.”

He felt his own lips move into a smile, the first in a long while. “We’ll have bug spray...”

Jiwoo seemed to be thinking about it, and honestly that was the most he could ask from her.

“How long is this trip?”

“Two weeks,” he responded, quieter now.

“That long? Two weeks off from work doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

And there it is. Just like that, Taehyung felt the last of his hope wither and die.

“They can last a while without me.”

“You know that’s not the point...” Jiwoo stepped closer to him to adjust his tie—she liked him to dress nice for dinner.

“I know you’ve been working too hard, but it’ll pay off in the end. You’re so close to that promotion... we can have all the time in the world to travel once you’re the president of your own company.”

She wrapped her arms around him then, tucking her head under his chin.

“We can have everything that we’ve ever dreamed of... all you have to do is trust me.”

I trust you, was what he meant to say.

“I love you.”

He couldn’t hear the words he spoke because of the ringing in his ears, but he felt her arms tighten around him, felt her the nape of his neck affectionately, comfortingly, the way she knew he liked.

“I know,” she finally said.

♥

His friends liked to joke: for a guy who makes six digits a year, it’s ridiculous to think that he would have trouble getting a girlfriend—though Taehyung insisted that it was not for lack of trying. He had no shortage of admirers, but none of them he had connected with like he had with Jiwoo.

She was the one, he told his mother when she had scoffed at him for ‘choosing to date below his station.’

“You don’t know her; she’s special. She’s so driven... she works harder than anyone I know. And she’s so caring, I just... I really want to be with her.”

His mother stared at him for a while longer, before she turned around and dismissed him.

“Fine. Do what you want. Just don’t regret it.”

He wouldn’t.

“Never.”

♠

end. 

should i do bmin next