Chapter Seven: Request

Xi Wang looked at him, “We aren’t supposed to go in there,”

Clutching his heart at the shock, he gulped and replied, “I know,”

“I’m pretty sure you know how private Mi Yeon-ssi is,” Xi Wang furrowed her eyebrows

“I do,” Hyun Ki breathed in

Not impressed by his short answers, Xi Wang held on to her folder book and murmured, “Let’s talk in my office,”

Once the door is closed and they’re both sat down, Xi Wang didn’t hesitate to ask, “How did you get inside? There was a lock there, and Mi Yeon-ssi never lets anyone go in,”

“I was curious,” He mumbled guiltily

“So am I and the others, but we know that she doesn’t like to share private things. And we respect that,” She lectured, “What is your connection with her?”

“I’m her brother,” He sputtered, since he thought they knew already

Xi Wang didn’t, however, and she was a bit surprised because she and the others assumed they were dating, “Oh, I see,”

“Don’t tell her, I don’t want her getting mad at me again,” Hyun Ki pleaded

“I won’t this time, but don’t go inside without her permission again,”

“Thank you,”

She didn’t reply after that, and it was quiet for a while before he spoke again, “Does she work all the time?”

The organiser thought back at how her boss always left at the latest times, and how she doesn’t take time off at all – except for yesterday. Xi Wang suddenly felt ashamed that Mi Yeon would always give her and the others the easy jobs, and that Mi Yeon had the ones that make dark circles under her eyes appear.

Now that Xi Wang thought about it, Mi Yeon was the one that worked the hardest out of all of them, despite being the youngest. 

“Yeah, all the time,” Xi Wang swallowed

It was silent again as Hyun Ki grew worried about how it could affect her health, and such, “Can I make a request?”

She looked up at him, confused, and stammered, “What is it?”

“Is it possible if she took a break for a while?”

Xi Wang’s eyes widened, knowing how much Mi Yeon needed it, “Of course she can! She's the boss after all...but does she know about this?"

Hyun Ki scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, "Well...uhm, no. But me and parents were getting worried about her lately since she's overworking herself, and she's starting to lose some weight as well,"

Xi Wang felt another rush of guilt inside her, "I'm sorry,"

"For what?" He asked confusingly

"It's just that...I realised that she's giving us the small jobs and we don't do much at all while she works long nights for the hard ones," she stated, looking at the floor

"Ahh, it's okay," Hyun Ki understood, "She can be stubborn sometimes, and she likes to take responsibility," 

"Oh," she replied

Another awkward silence.

"We should tell the others," Xi Wang quietly said

They both stood up and headed for the staff room where Seung Hyun and Mayumi were.

“Oh! Are you Mi Yeon-ssi’s boyfriend?” Mayumi questioned cheerily

“Haha, no, I’m her brother. My name’s Hyun Ki” Hyun Ki laughed awkwardly, now knowing how his sister felt back at SM

“Ah, sorry. I’m Mayumi,”

“It’s okay,” he responded, and looked at the guy next to her, “You must be Seung Hyun, right?”

“Yep, nice to meet you, Hyun Ki-ssi,” Seung Hyun smiled

“Please, no formalities,” He waved it off

The three felt a déjà vu moment from when Mi Yeon first said that.

They really are siblings, they thought

“Anyways, uh…Hyun Ki has a request,” Xi Wang looked at her co-workers

“What is it?” Mayumi and Seung Hyun questioned at the same time

Hyun Ki looked back at the door to make sure it’s closed, before speaking, “I was wondering if Mi Yeon can take a leave from work for a while since she’s overworking herself lately and, uhm yeah…”

The two looked paused for a few seconds, looking at each other before turning their gazes back to Xi Wang and Hyun Ki.

“Now that I think about it, she has never taken time off before, and she’s been working late hours too,” Mayumi placed a finger on her chin

“We understand what you mean, Hyun Ki,” Seung Hyun nodded, “The three of us are fine working on our own until she comes back,”

“She can take us much as she wants, she’s the boss anyways. We’ve been depending on her a lot too, so it’s mostly our fault,” Xi Wang added, the others agreeing

“Thank you so much, I’m really grateful for it,” Hyun Ki bowed, to their surprise, “If you need any help whatsoever with the gallery and stuff; just give me a call,”

“Don’t worry, Hyun Ki-ssi. We can handle it,” Mayumi answered, giving him a thumbs up

 “No formalities, remember? And I’d really appreciate it too if you didn’t tell her, since you know how…scary she can get,”

---

Hyun Ki opened the door to her office to find Mi Yeon still working on her desk

She peered over her laptop and asked, “You took your sweet time,”

“Well I’m sorry that your gallery feels like a freaking museum,” He rolled his eyes and sat on the couch, “When are you gonna finish that?”

“As long as I need to,” she replied, typing away

The older one stood up and went over to her side, “It’s like nearly three already, can’t you take a break?”

“No, I was meant to do this work yesterday but I couldn’t because of a BREAK,” Mi Yeon emphasized

He scrunched his nose and said, “Pft, whatever. What time would you be finished?”

“I don’t know but I’m nearly done with it, so calm your , okay?” she inhaled sharply

“Okay, okay. Sorry,” Hyun Ki put his hands up

By the time she finished, it was already 3:45, and decided to go home because of her brother’s annoying reasons.

“Why are you suddenly making me go home?” Mi Yeon pointed out suspiciously as she put her coat on

“Do I have to have a reason to?” Hyun Ki crossed his arms

She grabbed her bag and went for the door, “You usually do,”

“Well I don’t have one now,” He rolled his eyes as they passed the hallways

Mi Yeon ignored him and  went bid goodbye to her co-workers in the staffroom

“Rest well, Mi Yeon,” Xi Wang waved

“Yep, we’ve got everything under control here,” Mayumi smiled as Seung Hyun nodded

The three were trying to be discreet as they can without getting their boss to be suspicious of their behaviour. They mouthed a ‘Fighting!” to Hyun Ki while Mi Yeon’s back was on them, and he gave a ‘thumbs up’ in return.

“Uhh…okay? Bye,” Mi Yeon said and walked towards the car park with Hyun Ki trailing behind her, “That was weird,”

He took out his keys and opened the door of his car, “Just go home and rest, Minnie,”

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” she sighed and got to her own

When Mi Yeon parked her Mercedes on her usual parking space on her apartment complex, she spotted a familiar BMW two lanes from her

What the hell is he doing here?  She thought

Quickly, she hopped off the vehicle and walked towards the black car to find it empty.

Mi Yeon took her iPhone out and dialled Hyun Ki’s number as she sped inside the building

Ring…ring…ring…

“Yoboseyo?” He answered

“Where are you?”

“Uhh, behind you?”

She turned around to find her brother waiting for the elevator with an evil grin on his face as he put his phone down.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, walking towards him with her eyebrows furrowed

The elevator doors opened and the siblings went in. Hyun Ki pressed the ‘20’ button, “I came to visit you,” he said with a mischievous tone in his voice, then pressed the ‘21’ button, “And because I live here,” 

Author's Note

Wahhh, finally updated, hehe. 

Ooh, what could this mean for Mi Yeon? 

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