‘Is today a special day?’ You asked yourself when you stepped into Blitz’s building.

There were posters reminding the staff to ‘vote’ during the lunch break. But that wasn’t the special part.

12pm to 2pm.

Now that above, people, is what you deemed as special.

Why?

Because lunch break was usually an hour long but just for today, it was extended to 2 hours because of this so-called ‘voting’ event.

You didn’t care much about the voting, you were only thinking about the possibility of heading to the next avenue where a Japanese all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant was located to stuff yourself silly.

Nodding, you decided you would do just that.

You pressed for the lift to take you up to your department on the 20^th floor when you felt an overpowering force from behind you.

You knew turning around would spell disaster but you just had to let curiosity get the better of you.

You turned.

You gaped.

You had to take a minute or two to catch your breath.

You then realised that your hands were now empty.

You didn’t have to look downwards to know that your files were definitely scattered all over the floor and the cup of coffee you had gotten for your hauntingly gorgeous department head earlier was stupidly poured all over yourself by yourself, explaining why you were now feeling drenched on the front part of your work attire.

Surely there was a law of some sort stating that Kim Jaejoong and Jung Yunho SHOULD NEVER be standing next to each other.

But they were.

And it was happening before your eyes right now.

‘Oh look, Yunnie! She became wet just looking at us,’ Jaejoong giggled.

‘Jaejoong, stop looking at Coffee-drenched-Latecomer and come help me pick the files up,’ Yunho was already squatting down gathering your files from the floor.

‘Okay, Yunnie,’ Jaejoong pouted angrily but helped out as well.

‘I’m so sorry,’ you finally recovered and bent down to pick your stuff.

‘Here you go,’ Yunho passed you the stack of files he collected from the floor so far.

‘Thanks,’ you gave an embarrassed smile while retrieving them from his hands.

Jaejoong dumped his pile onto your arms without a word.

‘Wait,’ Yunho swiftly stood before you and took all your files and carried them for you.

‘W-why?’ You were taken aback from your big boss’ actions.

‘You need to get Jaejoong’s coffee.’ Yunho reminded you.

‘Crap, you’re right! Thanks for reminding me, Mr. Jung!’ With that, you rushed off without questioning Yunho on further about his suspicious actions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You got to the office with Jaejoong’s coffee 5 minutes later, only to find Yunho sitting on your swivel chair while Jaejoong had his (pretty) sitting on your table, with the both of them chatting rather casually.

‘Err… why are you guys hanging out at my desk?’ You questioned.

‘Why’s my picture your desktop wallpaper?’ Yunho asked amusedly.

‘Because you’re hot? ! Erm, I m-mean, you’re an awesome boss!’ You cursed inwardly for the slip of tongue.

‘I’m hot too and I’m also counted as your boss, so why am I not on your wallpaper?’ Jaejoong challenged.

‘Next month?’ You tried.

‘Calm down, Jaejoong. Anyway, today’s the voting for the Department of the year. Unfortunately, your department is the smallest in Blitz so you’ll have to plot a little to win, I guess,’ Yunho informed you.

‘Department of the year?’ You repeated.

‘Yes,’ Yunho nodded, ‘The winning department will get 5 interns for 2 months.’

‘We need to win, Number 4! This department is dreadfully understaffed!’ Jaejoong got off the table and snatched the cup of coffee you had already forgotten that was still in your left hand.

‘Okay. And erm… Mr. Jung?’ You looked at Yunho shyly.

‘Yes, Latecomer?’

‘You’ve been extra nice recently.’

‘I’m always nice… and polite.’

‘Right,’ you almost rolled your eyes but controlled yourself.

‘Please change your clothes, I’m sure it’s pretty easy since this place is filled to the brim with garments,’ Yunho reminded you.

‘CRAP! I’m really forgetful today! Thanks for reminding me yet again, Mr. Jung! No wonder there were so many people giving me weird looks in the cafeteria just now…’

‘You really are unique, Latecomer,’ Yunho stood up, adjusted his tie and prepared to head out of the ‘Wardrobe’.

‘Just what do you mean by that, Yunnie?’ Jaejoong’s tone was almost accusatory.

And what’s up with Jaejoong seeming to be jealous recently?

Was it because of… you?

‘I don’t think my words have any hidden meanings, Jaejoong. Surely you know me well enough than to think that way of me.’

Wait… were they fighting?

You were shocked Jaejoong could do the whole ‘polite argument thing’ because exchanges between you two were excessively vulgar and informal.   

The next thing shocked you even further because Jaejoong briskly walked towards the already leaving Yunho and hugged him from the back.

‘I’m sorry, Yunnie,’ Jaejoong said softly and you never knew that diva was capable of such level of adorableness.

You grabbed a cashmere sweater from the clothes rack and squished it because the fluffiness playing before your eyes was too much to bear. 

‘It’s okay, Jaejoong. It messes with your emotions,’ Yunho turned around to pat Jaejoong’s head.

It?

What were they talking about? (Readers, I bet you know what Yunho was referring to…)

‘It does,’ Jaejoong pouted cutely, ‘Anyway, you should head back to your office already.’

‘Alright,’ Yunho nodded, ‘Have a good day ahead, you two.’

‘Bye, Yunnie!’ Jaejoong waved Yunho goodbye.

‘I wish you could treat me nicely too,’ you sat down on your chair.

‘Number 4!’ Jaejoong reverted back to his erratic self, his tone of voice changing from bunny-cute to dead-annoying/serious.

You sighed and answered, ‘Yes, Jaejoong?’

‘You better vote for our department!’ Jaejoong warned, settling down on his own seat.

‘Which department is Yunho under?’

‘You’re a moron! He’s at the top, so how can he be under anyone!?’ Jaejoong chided, ‘Besides, even if he’s in a certain department, I will never allow you to submit that vote of yours! WAIT! You like Yunho?’ Jaejoong’s face was suddenly in front of you and you gulped staring at those sinfully cherry red lips.

‘Totally kissable…’ you muttered while your mind was in fantasyland.

‘Seriously!?’ Jaejoong cried.

‘Yeah,’ you started to giggle, ‘WAIT, WHAT THE ! I mean… it, just forget it.’

‘I can’t just forget it! You think Yunho is totally kissable?’ Jaejoong slammed hard on your desk.

You were about to explain but if you did, that would mean you were going to admit that you were attracted to Jaejoong and you didn’t want to inflate that already massive ego of his so you just decided to shut up.  

‘Why? I can’t crush on Yunho?’ You decided to test Jaejoong instead.

‘O-of course no- Well, it’s your life! So do whatever you want!’ Jaejoong stomped back to his desk and harshly flipped open the first file the table.

You grinned. Maybe you did have a chance with Jaejoong after all…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘Which department are you voting for?’ You asked your lunch-buddy, Shim Changmin, during the long 2 hours lunch break.

‘The ‘Wardrobe’, of course,’ Changmin rolled his eyes, ‘Jaejoong kind of bought my vote.’

‘BOUGHT!?’ You spluttered.

‘Hey! Food is for consuming, not used to decorate the tabletop!’ Jaejoong pointed out as the pieces of chicken you were chewing half way were now visible on your side of the table.

You apologised and grabbed a couple of tissues from the box in middle of the table to clean up after yourself.

‘Jaejoong bribed me with a dinner treat tomorrow night,’ Changmin immediately beamed at the thought.

‘Oh,’ you never knew Jaejoong would be so determined to get the extra needed help from the interns, even if it was just for 2 months.

‘Jaejoong,’ you turned to him.

‘Yes? And make sure your mouth is empty of food before you speak to me,’ Jaejoong used his hands to shield his face from ‘incoming’ food.

You rolled your eyes at his exaggeration and said, ‘I’ll vote for our department.’

‘I thought you wanted to vote for someone else…’ Jaejoong muttered.

‘For your information, I never thought of voting for anyone or any other department!’ You spat at Jaejoong for jumping into conclusions.

Jaejoong looked at you with wide eyes.

He suddenly got up and left the table.

‘What’s wrong with him?’ Changmin gave you a confused look.

‘I wish I knew,’ you shrugged at Changmin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘Number 4, you’re invited to my apartment tonight. There’s no dress code, so dress as you deem fit. I’ll see you at 10pm later,’ Jaejoong grabbed his Louis Vuitton bag and a couple files filled with documents before leaving the office.

‘Huh?’ You ran to catch up with Jaejoong who was already making his way to the lift lobby, ‘Wait! Why?’

‘I’m accepting you into my inner circle of friends. It’s a privilege so be honored. Congratulations and I’ll see you later!’ Jaejoong got into the lift and smirked.

‘Address?’

‘I texted you already,’ and the lift door closed in your face.

‘ YES!’ You punched your fist into the air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You already knew Jaejoong had a butler (Revealed back in Chapter 5) but it was even more ridiculous to have one when you lived in an apartment.

Sure, his apartment was as big as your parent’s house after multiplying the size by 3, but usually, people associated butlers with mansions or manors.

Jaejoong lived alone with his beautiful cat, Jiji, and it seemed rather redundant to have a butler running around the place. You thought hiring a housekeeper that only came in during the weekends would be more than sufficient.

‘Welcome!’ Jaejoong beamed (GAWD, THAT’S ING BRIGHT) and opened the front door wide to let you in.

‘I seem underdressed,’ you gave Jaejoong a weak smile when you saw that he was in a rather tight fitting (OOO-LA-LA) flannel shirt and indigo dyed jeans.

‘You’re not,’ Jaejoong assured you and casually draped his arm on your shoulder as he led you towards the living room.

‘Oh my Gawd, his arm is around my shoulder. Oh my Gawd, his arm is around my shoulder. Oh my Gawd, his arm is around my shoulder,’ it kept replaying in your head.

You saw Yunho and Yoochun playing Monopoly on the carpeted floor in the living room.

‘You made it!’ Yoochun smiled at you and beckoned for you to join in the game.

‘You can take over from me,’ Jaejoong pushed the paper notes and title deeds towards you.

‘But…’ you muttered.

‘I’m losing anyway so I’ve got no more interest to continue,’ Jaejoong explained.

You shrugged and joined in.

Apart from still calling you Latecomer or Number 4, you learnt that Yunho and Jaejoong kept their working and private lives very separate and even their personalities were altered depending on the environment they were in.

The Jaejoong in real life was clingy, which was EXTREMELY ACCEPTABLE for you because he seemed to be glued onto you the whole nightlong. When he laughed (sounded like angels singing) he would slap your arm lightly or pull you into a side hug (Someone please make Jaejoong laugh all night long so he can keep molesting you. Please and thank you!).

As for Yunho, he was surprisingly fun to hang out with. Your fears towards him seemed to have been thrown into the bin because he was actually the most rebellious and childish of the trio, cheating money out of Yoochun and you during the board game session and running away after the game ended so he wouldn’t have to clear up.

‘So, this is your so called inner circle of friends?’ You asked Jaejoong.

‘Yups. I trust them with my life.’

You simply nodded.

‘So you guys were friends for a long time?’ You questioned and finished up your fruit punch.

As soon as your empty glass touched the coffee table, it disappeared and a filled up glass with the same drink was replaced.

‘Whoa!’ Talk about efficiency.

You thanked the extremely efficient butler, who smiled kindly and bowed before gliding swiftly back to the kitchen to clear the empty glass.

‘Yups. Yoochun was my high school and university classmate. And Yunho’s my stepbrother since I was 8,’ Jaejoong shared.

As soon as those last few words left his mouth, he grabbed a napkin and placed it over your mouth, capturing your drink as you spluttered it out due to the shocking revelation.

‘How did you know I would – ’ you wiped your mouth with another napkin on the table.

‘You spluttered your chicken during lunch just now, so I kind of anticipated the same reaction,’ Jaejoong chuckled.

‘That sure saved your expensive looking carpet,’ you looked at the soft looking fur carpet you all were sitting on.

‘I guess,’ Jaejoong shrugged.

‘Yun- I mean, Mr. – ’

‘Yunho’s fine. We’re not in the office now,’ Yunho corrected you as he grabbed a rather large chocolate chip cookie from the table.

‘Right. Err – I can’t believe you two are brothers,’ you confessed.

‘Me too,’ Yoochun agreed, coming back to the living room after putting away the Monopoly set into one of the rooms.

‘I had always been wondering why Yunho treated you specially and why you always call him ‘Yunnie’. And now, I know why,’ you smiled.

‘Dad remarried and that’s how Jaejoong came into my life. We weren’t on good terms from the start.’

You became curious.

‘Don’t you dare, Yunnie!’ Jaejoong got up and wrestled Yunho to the ground as he did his best to cover your boss’ mouth.

You started to laugh hysterically at the sight of two of the most unlikely people you have ever known in your life to act like kids as they childishly fought with each other and rolled all over the living room.

‘Master Jung, Master Kim, you both are dangerously near the vase on the side table,’ the butler appeared out of nowhere, causing you to flinch.

‘Oh, yeah, you’re right. Let’s stop this.’ Yunho got into his feet and helped Jaejoong up.

‘Fine!’ Jaejoong nodded as he finger combed his messed up hair and the both of them returned to their original sitting positions on the floor by the coffee table.

Yunho was about to open his mouth to reveal secrets when Jaejoong got up once again to tackle Yunho to the ground.

Just when you thought you knew Jaejoong by heart, he shows you another side of him you never knew existed.

And just when you figured you had a certain attraction towards him, you went home realising that it became a little more than that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘Number 4,’ Jaejoong called out when you were about to leave the office to head home.

‘Yes?’ You stopped in your tracks and turned to face your boss.

‘Have a seat, it won’t take long.’

‘Yes, Jaejoong?’ Your heart started to beat wildly when you saw Jaejoong fiddling around with a document in his hands.

Sighing, he handed it over to you.

‘You deserve this,’ he said.

You gasped.

It was a transfer letter.

No, please, not the Toilet Attendant position.

It wasn’t.

.

It was a transfer to the Blitz Writing Team.

And .

It was your lifelong dream.

But .

You weren’t the least bit excited about this.

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