Chapter Four

I wasn’t going to lie- this was harder than I thought it would be. Every time I look up, Minho was staring at me. So, naturally, I stared up more often to check if he was continuing to look at me, which only led to most of our ‘work time’ to be constant staring at eachother. I’m sure his neck was fine because his sight never left me, but my neck was not because I continued looking up and down.

“Minho,” I call out after having enough of this. I endured for as long as I could, this was the third day in, after all.

“Yes, Taemin?” His voice is amused, matching with the playfulness in his eyes and smile.

“May I please go back to my own desk now?”

“Why? Do you not have enough space in here?” He asks, immediately moving his stuff aside, but that is certainly not the problem, his desk was far too big in the first place.

“No, simply, I can’t seem to-“ I stopped myself because I could not believe what I was about to say. Concentrate? I, Choi Minho’s secretary, cannot concentrate? How shameful.

This could not happen. Could not come from me. That is not what a competent secretary should be. I had two options- either find a way to fix myself or get a new, suitable secretary for Minho. None of the interns were ready yet, meaning I had to go with option number one.

“Concentrate?” He finished my sentence after I stayed silent only staring at him mid-sentence. So, he was aware! My lack of skills had become so evident even my own boss could notice, this was bad and had to be solved immediately!

In a hurry to feign innocence I stand up, slamming my hands at my side of the desk, “Absolutely not! I am more than capable of concentrating, a simple change of desk arrangement doesn’t change that! What are you trying to say!”

The shock I felt inside was instead shown on Minho’s face. He stayed staring at me with wide eyes for a couple seconds before finding the words to reply with, “That’s not what I meant… at all. My apologies if I offended you?”

“N-no offense, just please don’t question my abilities again. I will go get your medicine and tea ready now,” and with that I was out of the office.

How could I just lose my composure so quickly, so stupidly? And what was going on with my concentration when before I was such a great secretary- nothing could hinder my work flow.

I needed to figure it out and fix it as soon as possible, because this simply couldn’t go on.

“Wow, making tea for the whole office or what?” I hear from my left and look up to see none other than the best secretary there was out there. Was this meant to mock me?

“Hello Kibum, how have you been?” I sigh and give my greetings, but he only chuckles instead.

“Wow we don’t see eachother for a couple weeks and I become a stranger? Should I remind you that you wouldn’t be in the position you are now if it weren’t for me?” His voice was teasing, but when wasn’t it? This was Kim Kibum, the most cocky-yet-playfully sly man out there.

It was true, before me he was Minho’s secretary. The perfect secretary and I was the perfect replacement. Was. How disappointed would he be to find that I was instead deteriorating at my position? Could it be that I simply needed some re-training from the best?

“No, no. No stranger Key. I’ve just been a little… a little distracted.” I confessed, suddenly agreeing with myself that if anyone was to help me with this it was him. I’m now looking at him with full concern in my eyes, but his playfulness never leaves his eyes.

“Distracted? That simply can’t be, not the Lee Taemin I trained.” He was leaning against the counter, grabbing a cup of tea I had just prepared, but it seems not to be a problem as in the midst of my distracting thoughts, I had apparently made several cups too many.

“Can you please help me? My incompetence has gotten to the point where Minho has noticed, he is so incredibly bothered with my recent work he is overly supervising my every move.”

“Wow, you’re serious. I mean, of course you are, when aren’t you… I guess we can go out during lunch and talk about how you can improve performance, after all I’m not ready to see a different secretary around just yet.” As quick as he entered, he was gone, but at least I was left reassured that he would help me. This was good. Key was the best secretary there was.

I felt a dozen times more reassured, and the short trip away from Minho’s critical eyes, only helped me feel more confident to go back in and continue my work. Now if I could just find a way to avoid his stares for the rest of the day, my heart could stop beating so fast.

“It’s time to take your medicine. I brought some black tea to help you keep energized as well.” I state as I walk back in and place the tray with his drink in front of him. Walking to the side of his desk, I open the mini-fridge to give him a water bottle as well.  

I only receive a curt nod as a thank you and I sit back down at my desk… well, what has become my temporary desk, anyways. I am utilizing the left corner opposite to him and I think if I just stop using my laptop to work, maybe I could fully avoid his gaze by looking straight down at papers. But that would be impossible, I don’t chose what work I have…

“What is on my schedule for the rest of the evening?” Minho pulls me from my thoughts, only now realizing that, yet again, I was distracted by useless thoughts.

“Your lunch meeting was canceled, but you do have another short meeting at 3, also Mr. Kim requested you go and talk to him after the meeting. Besides that, you don’t have any thing else scheduled.”

“Taemin, would it be possible for me to take you out to lunch today?” I am a bit confused by the question, because we already spend most of our lunches with eachother when he doesn’t have lunch meetings, why did his eyes look like this one question had so much significance?

Regardless, this gives me time to let him know I am unavailable today, “No, you may not take me out to lunch. I already have a date.”

“A date?”

“Yes.”

Oddly enough, I didn’t have to worry about Minho staring at me for the rest of the day, for after this conversation he kept his eyes on the computer screen in front of him, paying me no mind.

But this left me more confused… if Minho constantly staring at me was such a distraction, then why did him not looking at me keep me even more distracted?

A/N:

Yup he just got asked out.

And yup he just turned him down... unknowingly....