Stress
Press: RELEASE
"Darnit, Donghae! You had one thing to do. One!!! How can you be so-"
Clare stopped herself from saying it, but Donghae saw it in her eyes.
Stupid.
He forced the little ball of hurt and anger back to wherever it came from inside him. This was Clare. She's mean to everybody. Besides, he should be used to it by now. It's not a day with Clare without getting insulted at least twice.
"Will you please calm down? Give me time to figure it out." Donghae said, adjusting the gigantic bag of baking paraphernalia in his arms. He wished he chose another time to do his grocery shopping.
He came home this morning to a neatly written note stuck on his fridge door. It was a request for household materials from the ahjumma that Lily insisted on hiring to clean his apartment once a week. He had no idea what those things were since Lily always included him in her shopping. But there was no one around to ask, and he didn't want to bother his older brother, his former roommate and king of household stuff, about something so trivial. So he ventured to the supermarket alone. He told himself that it was an adventure.
It was there that he bumped into Clare. It was probably the first time he was genuinely glad to see her, even though she laughed at him for a good 5 minutes when he asked her what fabric softener was.
That gladness was short-lived. After hurriedly getting everything on his list, his cart got hijacked by Clare and was subsequently stuffed with cooking things. And somehow, he became her chauffeur for the rest of the day, making him drive all around Seoul to get her special chef stuff.
"How can you not remember where you parked your car?" Clare whined, both hands on her hips, face scrunched up in annoyance.
"Wha- you were with me when I parked! Why don't YOU tell me where it is, Ms. I'm-the-only-smart-person-in-the-planet." Donghae snapped back. He readjusted the heavy bag in his arms. This wasn't getting any lighter and the irritating whining of the woman beside him was not helping.
"Do I look like I have a GPS device stuck in my head? Besides, you're the driver. It's your job to mind the car, not mine," Clare shot back. She walked a few more meters forward, looked left and right, and groaned. "I don't see your stupid SUV anywhere! What's the license pl-"
"Clare, you ARE a genius!" Donghae exclaimed, cutting her off. "Give me your phone."
She hated it when people cut her off, but he just called her a genius, so all was forgiven. Clare fished her phone from inside her bag and handed it to Donghae. "Okay... I'm glad you know that. But what'd that tiny brain of yours come up with?"
Ignoring her tenth insult of the day, Donghae put the bag down and proceeded to swipe around Clare's phone. "GPS! I forgot to take my phone out of the radio dock awhile ago. If I activate the 'Find My Phone' feature..." he explained while typing in his password. "It will show us... There it is!"
He grabbed the bag and passed the phone back to Clare to let her navigate. Five minutes later, they were two floors up, finally in front of his black Hyundai Santa Fe.
"I never thought that there'd come a day when I'd be thankful for your absentmindedness." Clare said, leaning against the hood.
"Asa! One tiny step for me, a giant leap for pabo-kind!" Donghae joked, doing his happy dance.
He was leaning back slightly, slowly stomping his feet, shrugging his shoulders while each hand churned an invisible crank alternately. If it were any other guy, he would've looked like someone writhing with mice in his pants. But Donghae has this talent for moving with such fluidity, he makes the most mundane movements look fascinating. Heck, even when he trips, he catches himself with style that people think it's some sort of trendy dance move.
Clare smiled inwardly, seeing the charm that Lily sees in this bonehead. She has always jokingly told her best friend to go look for someone with at least a two-digit IQ. For the first few months of their relationship, Clare couldn't figure out why Lily was going out with such a guy (besides him being hot, that is). She didn't figure her best friend to be shallow, but as time went by, and after being on the receiving end of Donghae's generosity and loyalty (he actually never ate at another Italian restaurant when he found out where Clare worked, and he regularly brought guests there) she finally accepted that he wasn't so bad after all.
Still, she saw something problematic in him: he was too kind, too naive, sometimes to the point of stupidity. He's also a little too carefree in her opinion.
Lily, behind her responsible and intelligent demeanor, was also very childlike. Her best friend was raised in a very sheltered environment and led a charmed life. Not that she's like those pampered, spoiled rich kids who do nothing but wait for things to be handed to them. No, Lily was a hard worker, but she has good luck on her side, and that left her clueless about the ugly side of the world.
That's why Clare sees Lily with someone who's a little more cynical about the world, one who'll keep her idealism in check. Lily needed someone who can teach her to fight because sooner or later, she might have to. But for now, this adorabele little kid will do.
"Well, president of pabo-kind, since you helped me out today, even though you lost the car for a moment, I'm gonna cook for you." Clare offered. She had to stifle a laugh at the way Donghae's face lit up.
"Really? Daebak! Here, let's call Lily and tell her to come home a bit earlier tonight." Donghae said excitedly. He hastily stashed the big heavy bag of baking things at the back and promptly dove into the front seat, snatched his phone from the dock, and speed dialed Lily.
Clare calmly took her place at the passenger side and waited for the kid to finish making his call. She smiled back at him when he looked at her, phone to his ear, his two front teeth peeking under his wide smile.
Donghae listened as the ringing went on. Lily normally answered on the fifth ring, but it's now the 6th. 7th. 8th. 9th. 10th.
"The number you dialled is currently unavailable. Please try again later." said the automatic response.
He looked curiously at his phone. Maybe she didn't notice the call? Lily had her phone perpetually on vibrate. And sometimes it gets buried under paperwork...
Donghae touched the redial icon. After a couple of seconds, the ringing began. His excitement bubbled back up inside him.
A click, then the busy tone followed only after 3 rings. He felt all the bubbles burst unhappily. What was wrong? Why did it disconnect so quickly? He checked the network signal indicator. Three bars. That was strong enough to sustain a call, right? To make certain, he lifted his phone up and moved it around, trying to find a place with full signal. The fourth bar appeared when he held his phone beside Clare's head.
"What the heck are you doing?!" Clare demanded, trying to shove his hand away.
"Sssh! Don't move," he commanded, using his free hand to block her slapping ones. "We might lose the signal."
"Do I look like a satellite to you?" Clare shot back, moving away from him. "It's impossible for my head to have any sort of influence on your network signal."
"Aish! Just stay still!" Donghae commanded. "Look, you made it go back to 3 bars. Sit straight!" He pulled her to her previous position.
Clare rolled her eyes and let him adjust her. Really, there's no use reasoning with an idiot.
For the third time, Donghae called Lily, this time pressing the redial button a little more forcefully. Come on, come on, come on... he silently willed her to pick up.
The unmistakable answering click he's been waiting for came. The wide smile promptly returned to his lips. Keeping the phone steady beside Clare's head, he pressed the speaker button so he could hear her. "Lil, finally! Listen, Clare and I-"
"Donghae, I'm up to my neck in paperwork that I need finished by tonight so will you please quit calling me every five seconds?! Thank you."
Click. Beep beep beep beep beep.
Dumbfounded, both Clare and Donghae stared at his phone. She normally hated it when he starts making that lost puppy face asking for sympathy, but right now, the way his ginormous smile fell right off his face after that call, almost broke her heart.
Ah crap, I'm beginning to be a wuss, Clare thought, fighting the urge to pat him comfortingly on the head. Instead, she straightened up, put on her seatbelt, and said, "What are you waiting for? Drive! The food's not gonna cook itself."
Donghae snapped out of his trance, started the car, and backed out of the parking space. Even his driving, which was usually fast and a tad reckless, mirrored his feelings in its slowness. Clare wasn't really the type to say those mushy "It's gonna be alright" lines, but the urge to somehow improve the pained look on her driver's face was too great. She surrendered.
"Make a left after the next stoplight," she instructed.
"But the way back is straight...right?" Donghae stated uncertainly. He suddenly sounded really tired.
"I couldn't very well make you tacos without shells, can I? So bring me to the grocery store." Clare replied.
She saw the tiniest hint of a smile as he nodded in agreement. The prospect of eating his favorite food never fails to cheer him up. Seeing him brighten up even by just a bit made her feel better as well, which was why she added, "You can also help make them if you want to. Just don't mess up my kitchen. "
~ ~ ~
Her phone vibrated loudly for the third time. She exhaled sharply, irritated. Forcefully, she swiped the answer icon.
"Lil, finally! Listen, Clare and I-"
"Donghae, I'm up to my neck in paperwork that I need finished by tonight so will you please quit calling me every five seconds?! Thank you."
She threw her phone aside and resumed flipping through what probably was the hundredth file folder on her desk. She couldn't understand why these weren't in digital form. It's not like they didn't have computers back in 1999.
After marathon brainstorm sessions and meetings the whole week - yes, that included both Saturday and Sunday - they finally have a solid proposal ready to be presented to the client in Hong Kong. The weekend was spent in two 16-hour meetings that Mr. Kim himself, the president and CEO of Mobit Corporation, attended. He had a great last-minute suggestion: gather data that reinforces the need for the new factory and compile the benefits for workers as well as consumers that it would bring based on reports from the time the idea for this factory was proposed.
This left Lily with hanging open. As far as she knew, the new factory had been a pet project of Mr. Kim's father, the Chairman. Because of the limitations of technology in his time, this particular project was shelved. That was some 15 years ago. However, before he could revive it, Chairman Kim fell ill, which led to President Kim taking over the company five years ago.
In honor of his father, and because he also believed in its potential, President Kim revived this project and was able to make great headway into it. That is, before the scandal broke out.
Two days of rushing to complete the CEO's orders later, Lily was still drowning in old company files. She was in charge of locating and highlighting relevant information while Mr. Cho integrated them in the final report. They were down to the last year of information, yet somehow, the 1999 files refused to cooperate.
"SonofaGRRR!!!" Lily cried out in frustration, slamming her hands on top of the mess of folders on her desk.
Mr. Cho looked up from his laptop, startled for the second time in a span of five minutes. He observed his subordinate with a mixture of curiosity, worry, and annoyance. First, she was rude to whoever was on the phone earlier. Then, she sent her phone clattering to the floor. And now, her frustrated growling was distracting him.
He has seen his subordinate in high-stress situations and has seen her act out because of it, but two in a row? It must be that time of the month. He shuddered at the thought of it.
"Ms. Lao, this is an office, not a wrestling ring. If you want to punch and growl at things, I suggest you head to a gym. Or a zoo. With lions." Mr. Cho reprimanded.
Lily whipped around and met her superior's gaze with equal amounts of panic and annoyance. "Well sir, we're leaving for Hong Kong in 12 hours. We need to submit that report to Ms. Yoon in 2 hours, wait for revisions, finish, print, and bind copies of the final draft, then run home and pack, and go all the way to Incheon to make our flight. But everything's fine and dandy, now, right? 'Cause you're SuperCho, the man who can fix everything even when the DARN 1999 FILES ARE MISSING!!!"
Mr. Cho's eyes widened behind his glasses. What in the world has gotten into this woman? Did he do anything to suggest that she could speak to him in that manner?! He was her superior. He deserved respect! Who in their right mind screams at the superior?!
And yet he had to stop himself from smiling at the fact that she called him "SuperCho". At least that was an improvement from HulkCho. He wondered which superhero she'll equate him with next. IronCho would be nice. He was, afterall, awesome like that.
What the hell is wrong with you?! snapped a voice in his head. You're her boss! Make her pay for that!
Mr. Cho mentally shook himself. He pushed himself away from his desk, making sure that a scowl was on his face. Without breaking eye contact with Ms. Lao, he marched to the door and yanked it open.
"Out." was all he said.
Lily looked at him incredulously. "But sir! We still have a ton of-"
"You are being hormonal right now, Ms. Lao, and that is NOT helping get the job done." he cut her off. "So go take your frustrations out somewhere else first - I don't care what you do - just get rid of it so you can work properly!"
Did he just call her hormonal?! Lily wanted to yell something insulting back at him, but her mind drew a blank. Exhaling sharply, she stomped right out of the office wordlessly, but without first being told by Mr. Cho as she passed him by the door, "I expect you to have a level head when you come back."
~ ~ ~
The sun has just disappeared below the horizon when they approached Geng Bao Chinese Restaurant. Donghae the left signal reflexively and slowed down for the turn.
"Where are you going?!" Clare questioned.
Donghae's scrunched up eyebrows flicked up in surprise when he realized where they were. "Oh. Wow, that was automatic of me," he said as he looked right and left to make sure the coast was clear. He was deep in thought about Lily, trying to think of why she snapped at him like that.
It's stress. She's very stressed, said a calm voice in his head. Didn't she say something about a big scandal they're working on solving?
Yes, she did, Donghae thought, remembering the short rant she gave last night as he watched her munch on the xiao long bao he brought while he slurped up his favorite jajangmyun - the reason he frequents Geng Bao (unlike Lily, he didn't like xiao long bao or other dim sum dishes much).
But wasn't he stressed too? He barely got to rest the whole week because the choreographer who's responsible for training the trainees suddenly fell ill so the company asked him to cover for her. It completely threw off his schedule from next week onwards, which meant that whatever time he has set aside for Lily is history.
To think that he almost didn't take that job because it would mean even less time with her than what little they already get to spend together. It didn't even matter that it came with double pay. But he decided to take it because... Well, he's saving up for something big.
And to think that no matter how exhausted or busy he was, even when he's in the middle of a chaotic practice, he always found the energy to reply to her messages during breaks.
Yet she couldn't even take a minute to tell him nicely that she's busy. She didn't even bother to call back at all.
"Are you freaking kidding me, Lee Donghae?! I, an up-and-coming chef, offered to make you gourmet tacos and you want to get takeout from a Chinese restaurant?!" Clare exclaimed.
"It was a reflex! I always go here when I'm upset. Or tired. Or both. I guess my instincts just brought me here..." Donghae replied weakly. Slowly, he slid the car into his usual spot right below the big red illuminated sign.
Clare snorted. Even his instincts scream tasteless. Seriously? Chinese takeout over chef-prepared meal? This guy's idiocy knows no bounds.
"And what are you getting? More xiao long bao? Lily's not coming, remember?" Clare scoffed.
Donghae's sad expression darkened. "You don't have to remind me how my girlfriend rejected me," he said in a low voice of controlled anger. He yanked the emergency break up, sending the car shuddering to a halt. Snapping his seatbelt free from the lock, he pushed the driver side door open and stepped out.
"If this place irks you so much, you're free to walk home with your stuff," Donghae said before he slammed the door shut.
~ ~ ~
Lily repeatedly pressed the down button angrily. What the hell was taking the elevator so long? She let out an exasperated breath. She looked around for another way out. Her eyes landed on the fire escape door and for a microsecond, she considered taking the stairs just to get as far away from Mr. Cho as possible.
"I expect you to have a level head when you come back."
The high and mighty way he said it made her seethe. As if he always had a level head! He was a hundred times worse when he blows up - it's a wonder he doesn't turn green and muscle-y.
And what was that? Throwing her out of the office? It was their office - her name was also on the door, which meant that it was half hers. Lily made a mental note to check with HR if the office space they promised her a year and a half ago is finally available.
She sighed. She had a feeling that that personal office space will forever remain fictional.
She will be stuck with ChoFury for the rest of her life. The thought made her gasp for air.
Thankfully, the elevator door dinged open a second later, offering Lily her escape. With two long strides, she got in the lift and repeatedly pressed the close door button lest some unwanted character decide to take the lift too to torment more people.
It was rare in Mobit Tower to happen into an empty elevator, and this was one of those rarities. Soft elevator music filled the surroundings, calming her down. She leaned against a wall and closed her eyes for a moment. Screw Mr. Cho. He threw her out so he can look for the 1999 files and finish the report himself.
Which he will undoubtedly be able to do by the time she returns.
Ugh. Sometimes, she hated her boss for being too awesome at his job. It made her question why they needed her around when they had someone like him in the first place.
Maybe I shouldn't return then, she thought grumpily.
The elevator glided to a halt. The little screen above the door showed a glowing red G. Lily trudged out into the brightly lit lobby. If one were new to the building, he wouldn't think that the sun has already set by how bright the surrounding was. This was all thanks to the natural clean energy harnessed by Mobit Corp to power its facilities, even ones here in Seoul. Bringing this clean, renewable energy to the public had been the vision of Chairman Kim, and now his son, CEO Kim, was working hard to make that vision a reality - the first step of which was opening this factory that's all muddled up in a ridiculous scandal.
Lily took a seat in one of the lobby couches and rested her chin on her palm. No, she couldn't ditch just like that, not when such a huge thing as the future betterment of society was at stake. Two generations of Mobit's Kim family poured their heart into this project, and she didn't want to fail either. Even though she's never worked anywhere else before, she believed that they are the nicest big bosses around. Good people like them deserve to succeed, and she will help them get there in her own little way.
With a sigh, she heaved herself off of the couch. She felt tired, but there were 5 more days abroad to get through until she can come home. The thought of having to be away after such a ball-busting fortnight zapped her of some of her strength. But she couldn't give in just yet. She wished they'd finish the report quickly so she can go get a "fighting!" hug from Donghae before-
DONGHAE!
What she unthinkingly did awhile ago came back to her with a bang. How could she snap at him like that? Come to think of it, he sounded quite excited. What did he want to tell her? Maybe he was finally picked for that dance project abroad he mentioned before? She couldn't believe she did that to him.
Lily closed her eyes and pressed them with the heel of her hands, her tiredness going up by 10 more points. He must be really upset now. She had to call him right away. But her phone…
She groaned. She left her phone in the same room with ChoFury. She couldn't just go back there and make a personal call-
"Ms. Lao of PR, paging Ms. Lao of PR. Mr. Cho requires you back in the office right away."
Lily's head snapped up at the PA personnel's page for her. She hasn't even been out for that long yet. He's the one who threw her out, and now he's demanding her to be back 'right away'? What if her head wasn't level yet?!
The customary second announcement came. "Ms. Lao of PR, paging Ms. Lao of PR. Mr. Cho-"
The PA personnel's voice was cut off. A shuffling sound and a short, muffled argument followed before the voice she didn't want to hear amplified in speakers all over the building came on.
"Ms. Lao, I applaud the persistence of this Donghae fellow even after you told him off so nicely, but if you don't take his call right now and rid me of the irritating vibrating of your phone, I will be one who'll answer it."
That sent Lily running in heels towards the elevators.
_____________
At least it's not exactly 1 month that has passed before this update, right? Lol! I'm terribly sorry for the wait. I keep finding myself writing down snippets of future chapters when I try to continue the next one. Ugh. My bad. But it's just the way I work... Sorry. :)
Anyway, a big THANK YOU for everyone who stuck with me and waited for this. I know there's still nothing here, but stay tuned for the next ones because... Well, you'll see when I post them. :D
I hope you enjoy this chapter. Comments are appreciated! Thanks! :)
Oh, and if you wanna ask me questions, you can do so here. :D
Comments