It only took a couple of days for me to realise how stupid my own question was.

I mean, so far my first week as an employee of C&E Entertainment has been…

How should I describe it so that it’s truthful and honest…

Absolute ing é.

I’ve only just started this new occupation of mine, yet I’m already prepared to retire.

I can’t believe how much sh*t had went down in such a short amount of time, and I can’t imagine how high Blank-Beauty and Long-Leg’s EQs are to remain as an employee here for so long, like, Naeun has told how she’s been here for almost three years and that’s just insane to me.

I mean, here’s just a quick summary of what had went down thus far:

• Jung Eunji mysteriously disappeared for an entire day and scared the living soul out of her assistant when she merely sent her a text saying ‘I’m on the plane to China rn for a sudden meeting lmao, can u pls water the plants in my apartment for me later on?’
• Oh Hayoung’s group actually created a huge scandal during their break and got disbanded as soon as the news came out
• Park Chorong straight up fired every single employee that was responsible for the group
• I got to witness Son Naeun cry for the first time, and I instantly panicked for her
• Son Naeun desperately begged me to save Oh Hayoung from my boss’s wrath
• I proceeded to beg on my knees for the first time in my life, and they’re still bruised to this day
• I somehow got Oh Hayoung’s job back for her
• Park Chorong remained pissed-off for three consecutive days
• Park Chorong turned down all of my suggestions on how we can reduce her stress levels
• Park Chorong still wouldn’t assign me proper tasks, hence so far all I’ve done was pour tea and clean her already-clean office
• Obviously, Park Chorong’s still acting like a lil bitc-

“You alright there, Bomi-ah?” a calming voice snapped me out of my thoughts as she took a seat across from mine, casually sipping on a cup of coffee at three in the morning. “You don’t look so good.”

“That’s because I inherited my parents’ worst genes.” I mumbled from the other sofa, laying there lifelessly as if I was in a therapy session.

At least I managed to make my other boss laugh. “Not in that way, silly- but do tell me what’s wrong. I’m concerned about you.”

“It’s just… been too difficult to even smile these days, boss.”

“Is it stress? From switching jobs and all that?”

“It’s your freakin’ partner, Jung Eunji.”

“… Oh. I should’ve expected that.”

“You sure weren’t lying when you said she’s hella feisty and stubborn.”

“Yeah… well, what seems to be the issue?”

I pulled myself up and huffed out loud, ruffling my own hair in frustration. “Park Chorong wants nothing to do with me, okay? You hired me as her PA, but so far I’m more like a human drink-dispenser. I’ve never felt so useless in my life- and I’ve worked as a restroom attendant before.”

“Ms. Park has truly been uncooperative these days.” Naeun, who had stuck herself around me like a lost puppy during Jung Eunji’s disappearance and got to witness everything, chimed in with a pout of her own. “She doesn’t ask Bomi-sshi for assistance even when it’s obvious that she needed some. She has plenty of documents to organise and schedules to arrange, yet she only wants to deal with them by herself… as usual.”

CEO Jung nodded along to our words with a sad look in her eyes. “Gosh, that unnie really doesn’t want to make life easier for herself, huh…”

“Who hurt her, Eunji-sshi? Why does she have so little trust in others?”

“I’d like to know the answer to that question too, Bomi-yang…”

The three of us proceeded to sigh at the same time, with neither of us knowing what to do next.

Normally, I’d be absolutely thrilled to receive money for doing nothing, but this just wasn’t the case.

Because it was Jung Eunji’s money, and Jung Eunji’s a woman whom I deeply respect.

How could I ever waste my saviour’s money, especially after all that she has done for me?

Dishonour on me. Dishonour on my non-existent cow. Dishonour on my future offspring.

To be honest, I couldn’t care less about Park Chorong or her terrible attitude.

It’s only because the thought of a sad Jung Eunji makes me sad, I tried to care more.

Eye-Smile’s my literal saviour, and Dolphin’s the reason behind my saviour’s distress.

Although I knew I ed up the moment I signed a contract without even reading a single sentence on it, I can’t quit just yet.

I can’t give up.

Not after all Jung Eunji has done for me already.

Not after all the joy Son Naeun has brought to me.

Not after all the effort Yoon Bomi has thrown out just to save Oh Hayoung’s .

… .

“Say, Naeunnie,” Jung Eunji abruptly spoke up after a moment of dejected silence, “you told me that Bomi-yang somehow saved Hayoungie?”

“Yes, that’s correct- though she did so due to a rather selfish request of mine.” I saw Naeun blush along with her words, “Ms. Park had already made the decision of firing everyone involved with the group, but Bomi-sshi managed to convince her to change her mind.”

“Dang, I knew you had the potential!” Eye-Smile then cheered happily, making it my turn to blush from receiving a sudden compliment. “Chorong-unnie’s not the type to go back on a decision, so I’m quite surprised to hear that. May I ask how you did it?”

Upon hearing her request, I immediately burst out into a laughing fit.

I couldn’t blame them for looking at me weirdly, but I wasn’t capable of giving them an explanation right away.

“Sorry- I just imagined the sight of myself back then, and God I must’ve looked insane.”

“Okay, now I’m super curious to what had happened…”

I took a deep breath to prepare myself for the story-telling.

I can feel their anticipating stares as they waited patiently.

“So you see, after agreeing to Son Naeun’s request I was lucky enough to run into Park Chorong in one of those long and straight hallways. We were on the opposite ends to one another and she had just turned around the corner.” I began slowly, “I knew my nervousness would only worsen the longer I take to confront her, so I decided to just go for it on the spot. I can’t remember what was going on in my head back then, but I ended up expressing Naeun’s request by full-speed sprinting towards Park Chorong, dropping down to a Japanese Zarei bow half-way through, and knee-sliding in that position until I came to a halt right before her feet. I finished it up by screaming ‘PLEASE REHIRE OH HAYOUNG, MADAM PARK!’ at the top of my lungs to let her know the situation- and it was also to attract as many bystander’s attention as possible, just so she’d get too embarrassed to refuse.”

After another moment of silence, it was Jung Eunji’s turn to erupt into laughter.

I can tell how Naeun was trying to contain her own giggles, and she wasn’t doing a good job.

I could only rub the back of my neck sheepishly as I waited for them to calm themselves down.

“A-And that really worked?” Jung Eunji asked in between her wheezes while wiping a tear away. “H-Hayoungie was saved through t-that method? Yah, Yoon Bomi- you’re seriously an incredible person, I’m telling you! I’ve truly hired the right one!”

“T-Thanks, I guess. I’m just glad I didn’t get fired on the spot.”

And all of a sudden, our boss jumped up from her seat with a visible sense of excitement.

Both me and her assistant looked at her with confusion, incapable of understanding why she loves to abruptly do or say things like that.

“Thanks to you, Bomi-yang, I think I’ve come up with an idea!” she then exclaimed with sparkling eyes, “Listening to Chorong-unnie’s condition and your Oh-Hayoung-saving story just now, I want to try something out and see if it’ll have any effects.”

“Uhh, and that is…?”

“I’d like to send the two of you on a short vacation overseas.”

… The ?

We conducted a staring-battle for a few seconds before I blurted out those exact words.

Excuse my potty mouth, but my brain was suffering from too much confusion to care right now.

The brains of CEOs must work differently from regular peasants’, because I can never understand her ways of thinking.

“Say what now?”

“It’s so that Chorong-unnie can be forced to stop overworking herself, while you can be rewarded for saving Hayoungie.”

“Wait, I just realised- couldn’t you have just rehired Oh Hayoung yourself? You are the CEO of this goddamn place.” I gasped, “Damn, I can’t believe I embarrassed myself like that and ed up my knees all for nothing…”

“It’s not for nothing.” Naeun suddenly joined in the conversation with a retort, “Hayoung and I have known each other since our high school years, so to hear how she was fired for other people’s careless mistakes was absolutely devastating. Although you’re not close with Hayoung personally, you still immediately agreed to help me plead Ms. Park, and for that you’ve gained my respect and admiration. I truly owe you one, Bomi-sshi.”

“Hayoungie’s also a dear friend of mine who grew up before my eyes, so I’m also incredibly thankful for your help. Plus, we actually have this policy where we’re not allowed to rehire ex-employees, so we would’ve lost her for good if it wasn’t for your efforts.” Jung Eunji added, “As for the workload, you won’t need to worry about anything. I’ll arrange for some backup to take over while you ladies are away. I’ll also get the trip planned out right away, so please go home later and pack up for a three-day-two-night trip abroad.”

“Hold on, are we leaving tomorrow?”

“Technically, since it’s already 3:30 AM now, you’ll actually be flying in a couple of hours.”

“Wait wha- isnt that way too sudden?!”

“I’m afraid of the thought that Chorong-unnie might crash any second now, so I’d like to get her relaxing as soon as possible.”

“B-But is this sudden trip even possible? We don’t even know where we’re going yet.”

“There’s no need to doubt my holiday-planning skills, Bomi-yang.”

“How are we even supposed to book a flight or a hotel room so last-minute?”

“Like I’ve said, all you need to focus on is getting yourselves ready. Chorong-unnie’s not even to consider going on this vacation, so not only do you have to pack up your belongings, you’ll have to pack up hers too.”

“But… if she refuses to go, what on Earth am I supposed to do about it?”

Jung Eunji took a sip from her mug before giving me a playful grin.

Son Naeun seemed to have already figured out what she had in mind.

I subconsciously gulped upon seeing the mischievous look in both of their eyes.

“You’ll just have to kidnap her, Bomi-yang.”

… Aight.

… I mean, the boss has spoken.

I gotta go kidnap my boss.

Of course, I want her to agree through her own will, but I quickly found my ‘invitations’ getting treated like absolute jokes as she did nothing but scoff in my face about it; perhaps she doesn’t want to listen to any of my words after I embarrassed her so publicly before.

Can’t really blame her for that.

I did go all out.

Oh well, that doesn’t even matter.

It’s not like she actually had a choice.

She’s coming with me whether if she had agreed or not.

I was merely trying to be nice.

It was hella weird for me to go through her belongings, though. Probably illegal too.

I had to rush back to our apartment by myself after dropping her off at the company building at eight, just so I could secretly access her bedroom and pack up her sh*t without being killed instantly.

I definitely got to learn more about her throughout the process… perhaps a bit too much.

She owned some pretty scandalous-looking undergarments.

That’s all I’m gonna say.

“What’s going on? What emergency are you talking about?” my victim questioned after I returned to her office- just to drag her out of the building.

To my surprise, rather than snapping at me for disrupting her concentration, she seemed to be quite concerned about this ‘emergency’.

Well, she’s right to feel concerned. She was about to get kidnapped in broad daylight, after-all.

At 10:30 in the morning too. That’s quite early for this sort of bullsh*t, isn’t it?

As soon as we arrived at the BMW, I ordered for her to stand next to it.

For once she complied to a request of mine and obediently stood there while I opened the door…

Before I violently shoved her straight inside.

No need to worry about my safety, fellas.

I’ve fully prepared myself for this battle.

The moment she fell onto the back seats, I whipped out the duct tape I had hidden within the car beforehand and started securing her hands.

As expected, she desperately tried to fight back and began kicking her legs, landing a couple on my body but ultimately failing to get rid of me.

I was too determined to succeed for Jung Eunji to give in to her painful kicks, but honestly they really ing hurt. Violent bastard.

“What the heck are you doing, Yoon Bomi?!” she shrieked after I managed to tape her legs together as well, turning her into a human worm that’s trying her best to wriggle herself free. “You better explain yourself before I start arranging your funeral for you!”

“I wouldn’t be giving out death threats if I was in your shoes. You wouldn’t want to remain in that position throughout the entire flight, would you?”

“What the- what flight are you talking about? Where are you even taking me?!”

“Um… I actually didn’t check yet, but your partner’s lending us her private jet and apparently they’re all set for departure- meaning we gotta go.”

With that said, I kindly adjusted her position so that she’d be safe and comfy- while avoiding her face since she was now trying to attack me with her teeth instead- before closing the door on her screaming self and entering the driver’s seat.

I somehow managed to ignore all the noise that was coming from the back and simply drove on to the airport in my usual tortoise-like speed.

Miraculously, despite of the chaos taunting me from behind, we arrived in one piece.

I was greeted by a small team of people as soon as I stepped out of the vehicle.

Two ladies asked for my permission to let them handle our luggage, and I simply opened the trunk for them to do their thing.

My mind was too preoccupied with something else to refuse, and that ‘something else’ was currently glaring at me through the windows.

There’s a chance that I might actually die before we even board this plane.

“Okay, so Jung Eunji’s text says that we’re going to Tokyo.” I informed Park Chorong as soon as I opened the back door, hoping it’ll distract her enough to prevent any more screaming from damaging anyone else’s hearing.

It didn’t work.

“Why are we going there?!” she snapped in annoyance, “No one informed me about this beforehand, nor do I have any business to attend in Japan!”

“That’s because this trip was only planned out and finalised six hours ago, unnie.”

“That doesn’t make any sense- and who even dares to disrupt my schedules like this?!”

“Jung Eunji, duh.” I dared to roll my eyes, “She wants you to stop overworking yourself and just chill out for a bit.”

“That freakin’ rascal- I’ve told her before, how I didn’t need a break! In fact, I need to work more if I ever want to fin-”

“See? This behaviour is exactly why she’s sending us abroad.”

“I don’t care! I didn’t agree to any of this, so let me go!”

“Yeaaaaah… nah.”

Concluding with the fact that she’s still not willing to cooperate, I knew what I had to do.

I forcefully dragged her out of the BMW and swung her onto my shoulders with a painful grunt.

It looked as if I was carrying a bag of rice, but the rice is a currently screaming her lungs out.

Thank God our surrounding witnesses were all C&E’s employees, otherwise I would’ve definitely gotten the cops called on my by now.

“Stop squirming around, sheesh.” I nagged as I carried her over to the small jet, “It’s dangerous for the both of us, you know.”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me, Yoon Bomi- I even allowed for you to stay in my apartment!”

“Yeah, after Jung Eunji practically begged you to accept me.”

“Jung Eunji this, Jung Eunji that- why are you even listening to her? Aren’t you supposed to be my personal assistant?!”

“Pfft- you don’t even acknowledge my existence, let alone think of me as your PA.”

“That’s because I honestly don’t need a- YAH!!!”

My ears internally bled when I tossed her carelessly onto one of the luxurious-looking seats out of annoyance, still taking the time to extend the integral footrest so the human worm wouldn’t tumble off accidentally.

She glared at weakly as I crossed my arms before my chest, obviously not caving in to her behaviour.

“I’m not going to untie you unless I hear a verbal agreement on how you’ll go on this trip without any attempts on escaping.”

She surprised me by letting out a childish whine, perhaps trying to weaken my mentality with the abrupt display of aegyo…which did make my heart flutter, but she didn’t need to know that. I can’t let her win now.

Not after she kicked me in the stomach and groin.

They’re still sore.

“There’s no way out of this, Park Chorong. The only thing you can do is help yourself enjoy this entire process a bit more.”

“You can’t keep me like this forever, Yoon Bomi.”

“Ha- just watch me. I’ll carry your straight into the hotel lobby if I need to.”

“Gosh, exactly why are you and Eunji both so fixated on getting me to go on this stupid trip?!”

I couldn’t help but to sigh from the sight of her ignorance.

‘Yikes, Jung Eunji sure deserves better’ was what immediately came to mind.

This idiot doesn’t even know how much other people care about her wellbeing.

“Believe me or not, but it’s for your own good.” I finally snapped back with a clear attitude, seemingly taking her back with my raised voice. “You’ve been so focused on nothing but speed-clearing through all the workload you chose to dump on yourself, you don’t even realise how bad your condition is right now. You’re not even eating properly anymore.”

For once, she didn’t try to argue against my words.

She simply remained silent and listened carefully.

I made sure to use this golden opportunity well and continued on.

“You’re not aware of how huge the dark circles are under your eyes, nor how unhealthily pale your skin has become. You don’t notice how your bones have been cracking so goddamn much because you’re constantly glued to your office chair, and you don’t realise how the people around you can see everything. You don’t actually care to know why we’re so worried about you, because you don’t care about anyone else other than yourself. All you want is to work until you crash, and honestly to me, that sounds like you don’t care about yourself either. You’re forcing yourself to work extremely hard and nonstop for your company, but what good does it actually do? Do you want us to praise you for over-exhausting yourself? Do you want us to be happy for you when you die from overworking? I’m seriously confused here, so please explain yourself for me, Park Chorong.”

There was an extreme moment of silence within the private jet.

None of the crew members dared to move a single muscle, and I couldn’t even hear anyone breathing.

Are they going to suffocate themselves to death just for us?

“I…” Park Chorong parted her lips after being stunned for five minutes straight.

That was the only thing she managed to choke out before she retreated back into the silence, seemingly struggling to come up with a proper reply.

We waited patiently- and I said ‘we’ because the plane hasn’t taken off even though we’re all good to go, plus none of the crew members have unfrozen themselves yet- for another minute or two, before I saw her go for a second attempt.

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

“For?” I snapped coldly, since it was my precious time to be the b*tchy one.

“For… for not noticing any of the things you’ve just listed out…”

“Do you understand why we’re forcing you to go on this vacation now?”

“Y-Yes…”

“So are you going to promise me you’ll stay here with me and not run away mid-holiday?”

I can’t believe I managed to make this happen for real.

The moment I’ve been waiting for has arrived at last:

She nodded her head in agreement.

“AIGHT, LET’S GET THIS B*TCH FLYING, BOYS!” I screeched the moment I saw it with my own eyes, triggering the entire team to burst out a cheer of their own. This was an awesome victory of ours, and it was definitely celebrate-worthy.

But to be honest, they were probably just thankful that they can finally breathe in peace again.

After making sure that everyone’s strapped in, the plane made its way to the runway.

I stared out of the window in amusement as the plane started moving faster, the butterflies in my stomach already going insane before I can even determine whether if I was feeling excited or nervous.

This was my first time flying, after-all.

“What the-” I blurted out as soon as the jet abruptly sped up to an insane speed, forcing my back to be stuck tightly against my seat. “I-Is this supposed to happen? What is going on?!”

“What nonsense are you… oh.” my boss automatically stopped herself after seeing the sincere confusion slash fear in my eyes. “Don’t tell me… is this your first flight?”

“Duh, why else would I be aski- ARGHHH!”

I found myself gripping onto the seat’s armrests for dear life as the entire plane inclined, the clear sensation of the wheels levitating almost sending me into a cardiac arrest; I was expecting for an experience similar to those kiddie airplane rides in amusement parks, but what I felt was like a goddamn rollercoaster going straight for the heavens.

“H-Hey, it’s alright!” she quickly cooed as she grasped onto my hand, holding it tightly. “You’re okay. Everything is okay. That was completely normal, and it should be the scariest part of the flight. Things are going to remain calm now. You won’t feel a thing anymore!”

I took a couple of deep breaths as her words sank into my mind.

She… she was actually trying to help me.

She was being nice to me for once… holy sh*t.

I don’t know whether if she was affected by my truth bomb or if she’s merely feeling bad for me after seeing me almost sh*t myself, but damn this sure was an expected change. I wasn't prepared to see an improvement so fast into this trip of ours.

Jung Eunji would be hella proud of this moment- and perhaps she was right.

Not to toot on my own horn or anything, but maybe I do have the potential to help her partner.

Even though I always end up cursing myself whenever I feel hopeful, I really think that this is the beginning to a life-changing journey.

So with a hopeful heart and our fingers still intertwined, we headed towards our destination with God-knows what waiting ahead for us.