CHAPTER 8

Kris.

“I'll take you home, Hana-ssi” Kai volunteers as we all stood outside of the bowling alley. Hana blinks her eyes and glances at me; I look away, pocketing my hands in my trench coat. “It's okay, sir” she smiles at Kai, politely declining and Tao laughs along with Chanyeol. “Aw come on, you've already rejected me for coffee, don't reject me now” Kai whines.

So she's the one who infamously rejected Kai, twice. Hana bit her lower lip and turns to me and asks “Is it okay Mr. Wu?”

Sigh. I looked at her with an annoyed expression plastered onto my face “Ms. Kim, I'm not your boyfriend nor am I your father to forbid you” she blinked her eyes and looked away; Kai chuckles and places a hand on her shoulder “Get your things, I'll drive you home” I toss her the keys and she catches them then walks off to the car to gather her stuff.

Kai turned to me as she walked off to the other side of the road. “I'll take care of her, Kris” he smiles at me as if he was teasing me. I send him a glare and a glare but he only laughs it off.

“Let me help you with that” Kai turns back to Hana and takes the folders and envelopes from her hands then opens the door to his car's passenger seat. Hana bows and bids the others good night, she also greets Chen once more then she finally turns to me with a bright smile and return the keys “I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Wu”

She got in the passenger seat and Kai sets the folders and envelopes on her lap before he runs around his car and got in the driver's seat. We all watch as he drives away then one by one also walked to our own cars. Tao pats my shoulder and walks me to my car as we bid the others goodbye. A tired sigh escaped my lips and I continue to look at the ground.

“Are you okay, Gege?” he asks me and I smirked at him “Ofcourse I am, why wouldn't I be?” he lets out a chuckle. He suddenly pokes me on the side of my stomach and I jump to the side a bit, not expecting it at all. “Yah, what was that for?” I hiss at him as we both stop and look at each other. “She's a strong one, isn't she?” he asks me and I raised a brow at him

“What are you talking about?” seriously, people have got to stop with the indirect questions. “Hana-ssi, she's a strong one” Tao takes a deep breath and looks up at the starless night sky. He pockets his hands and clicks his tongue “There are people who have it worst than you after all, Gege...” he smiles at the end of his sentence and looks at me.

I slowly look down to the ground once again. Damn Kris... you have it bad.

“Do you see the way she looks at you?” He asks me and I almost chuckled; that came off cheesy. “Tao, really?”

“She really looks up to you, Gege... as if you're the greatest person who's ever walked on this planet but do you know what I find most interesting?” I breathe out “What?” Tao gives me a bright smile “The fact that she can make you feel guilty”

I look at him with a blank stare.

“Did I hit the bull's eye, Gege?” He chuckles

Tao... you idiot.

It was quite the cold morning at Wu Enterprise and Luhan had just returned from his trip in Italy -he had to fly in on September 21st for Chen's birthday and leave at 3 in the morning again. But now, he was finally back and had already readied his reports for Kris.

Luhan walked towards the elevator, bringing up his hand to keep the doors from closing and joined the other employees making their way up to their respective floors.

“Have you seen the new Head of the Finance Department?” a female employee whispered but Luhan's sharp ears had caught on to the conversation. “Yeah, she looks pretty plain... nothing like the other Head, she was beautiful” the female's co-worker mumbled. “I wonder why she got replaced? I thought she was Mr. Wu's favorite?” Luhan raised a brow.

The elevator stopped at the 11th floor and some employees exited the elevator. There were only a few left including the two females. “Ofcourse she was but I bet Mr. Wu got bored with her body and found a new one” the girl pauses to giggle “Too bad the new one can't do a better job” Luhan frowned. “I bet he's looking for a , you know... I give it two months, she's out of here after Mr. Wu is done with her”

The elevator stopped once again and people got out. It left Luhan with the two females. Upon realization, the two girls smiled at him and greeted him. They had not taken notice of him earlier because the elevator was too packed. Luhan gives a curt nod but keeps a blank face; he brings a hand up and grabs his tie to fix it. The two girls have fallen quiet.

Sigh. Luhan takes notice that the next stop is close and looks at them through the mirror of the elevator's walls.

“Pardon me ladies but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation” the two of them were surprised. Luhan frowned “You know, I have every right to fire you both for bad mouthing someone who is in a senior position and not only that but you've also meddled with the CEO's name”

Luhan turned around to face the two of them “There is no such thing as a favorite in this company. But if you insist on it, go pack up” the doors opened and Luhan stepped aside, he let out a sigh and pockets his free hand while the other holds the black briefcase “Kris will hear about this so before he says the words himself I'll do the honours, you're both fired”

The two step out and the doors close leaving Luhan alone. Wu Enterprise has no room for people with narrow minds. He fished out his phone from his pocket and presses it onto his ear. “Sehun?”

“Yeah?” he sounded busy. Luhan could hear the shuffling of papers on the other side so he assumed that Sehun was in his office. “Hire two people for the marketing department” the other line falls quiet and Luhan chuckles when he hears a tired sigh from Sehun. “Damn it. This company really needs to stop firing people” Sehun grumbles “I'll ask someone to do it, I have to go... bye” Luhan smiles and pockets his phone then gets off at the 35th floor and walked towards Kris's office.

Knock. Knock. Luhan opens the door and pops his head inside, smiling at Kris who was busy on the phone.

He gestures Luhan to come in and the boy takes a seat on the leather seat infront of Kris's desk, setting the briefcase on the side.

“Yes Chairman... Bye” he puts the phone down and a tired sigh escapes his lips. He turns to Luhan who stood up and placed the briefcase on his desk. “Your dad?” Luhan asks.

“Who else?” Kris grumbles and takes the briefcase, popping it open and took out some folders then reviewed them one by one. Luhan walked over to the mini bar and took out a can of soda from the mini fridge. He pops it open and takes a sip. “Hey Kris...” Luhan calls him as he takes notice of something on the side wall of the minibar.

“Yeah?”

“What's this?”

Kris looks up from the folder of Luhan's report and saw him holding up a blue sticky note with the words written: Have a nice day, Mr. Wu :); Kris turns back to the folder, indifferently. “My PA has a habit of putting those at the last page of her reports to me” Luhan looks amused as he stares at the small piece of paper “Cute; Can I have her?” he questions Kris who scoffs a sarcastic chuckle “What?”

“Can I have her?” Luhan repeats the question, walking towards Kris's desk. Kris closes the folder and looks at him “You're kidding, right?”

“No, I'm serious” Luhan smiles “I really don't mind receiving sticky notes of sweet nothings from a PA”

Kris raises a brow at him before shaking his head. Luhan pouts and takes a sip of his soda “Aigo, selfish as always but...” Luhan sighs “Ofcourse, who would let go of someone as sweet as her, right? Have you taken a liking for her?” he asks in curiosity with a hint of playfulness in his voice. Kris doesn't look up from the folder and asks Luhan “Are we really going to talk about that?”

“Well ofcourse! It's the first time you've fallen inlove, right?” Kris's face falls blank. He looks up and meets Luhan's eyes “I'm not inlove with anyone...”

“Ah! But you've taken a liking for her, right?” Luhan continues to smile brightly. Kris glares at him. “Don't you have other things to do?”

Luhan sighed in defeat. “Right” he takes another sip of his soda and heads for the door “I'll see you later! Tell Hana, I said hi”

“Go tell her by yourself” Kris spat at him but he only chuckles.

Hana.

Thankfully, things have been normal.

However, Kris has been demanding lately. He's been letting me run around, back and forth with so many orders that I have lost count of how many times I've went in and out of my office and went up and down on the elevator. I laid my head on my desk to rest for a moment.

Ring. Ring. Ring. I close my eyes and sigh before lifting up myself and grabbed the phone “Yes, Mr. Wu?”

“Did you make an appointment at the salon?” I lean back on my chair and massage my forehead with my free hand. “Yes, sir... You have the 11 o'clock slot” I look at my watch and realized it was nearing eleven. “Good. Gather your things and meet me downstairs” I almost cried when I heard that. Why do I have to come along? Can't I just stay behind?

“Yes sir” he hangs up and I place the phone down. I grab my bag from under my desk and walk to the door, entered the elevator and waited downstairs for him. I sat down on one of the leather chairs in the lobby to rest my feet.

“Hana-ssi” I quickly shot up to my feet and turn around, smiling and giving Chanyeol a bow of courtesy “Hello sir”

“You look tired” he mentions. You have no idea... “Not really, sir” I smile, insisting as well as convincing myself. We both hear the 'ding' of the elevator and turn our heads, Kris walked towards us with the usual grumpy look on his face. Chanyeol gives a sigh “Can you give me a different expression?” Chanyeol asks him but Kris only raises a brow at him

A playful chuckle escapes Chanyeol's lips “Really though, you have to smile a little. Old grumpy pants” he teases Kris, who seems unaffected. Is he made of stone or something? Still, he looks admirable. “How's the Philippines?” Kris asks him, pocketing his hands.

“Bright and sunny” Chanyeol answers with a smile. “Hm.” was the only reply Kris gave before turning to me “Let's go?” I give a nod and turned to Chanyeol, mumbling a goodbye before walking ahead of Kris.

Franck Provost Hair Salon

Kris was pretty indifferent towards the employees of the salon whereas they looked like they were glad that he was there. He took a seat on one of the chairs and a stylist immediately came over to cater him while others still waited in line.

“Ms. Kim...” he calls out to me and I turn my head to look at him through the reflection on the mirror. He gestures me to come towards him with his hand and I quickly comply. “Yes sir?”

“Cancel my one o'clock appointment” I nod my head and back away; the female stylists smiles at him through the mirror “Will it be the usual, Mr. Wu?”

“No, cut it short and dye it black” my eyes widen a bit in wonder and even the stylist looks surprised by his request. “Are you sure, sir?” Kris gives her a sharp look through the mirror and she nods her head while I take my seat on the nearby sofa and wait for him to finish. Atleast I can rest while gets his hair done.

I cancel his one o'clock appointment with some private investors and rested my head back. This will take some time. I'll just rest my eyes for a bit.

Lay.

Knock. Knock.

“Kris?” there was no answer. Hm, that's strange. I grab the door knob and twist it but it wouldn't turn, his office was locked and that could only mean two things: he's gone back to his bad habit or he's asleep. I knock harder and call out again but still there was no answer. Damn. He said he needed these. I look down at the two pieces of paper in my hand; some random sample letters he said he needed to get a head start on a speech he would be delivering at a charity event.

I took out my phone from my pocket and dial Chanyeol's number.

“Yep?”

“Do you have any idea where Kris is?” I ask him. He hums in thought on the other line though it's obvious he already knows the answer “Chanyeol -”

“He went out with Hana” my brow raises. Okay... did I hear that right? “What?” Chanyeol chuckled on the other line “Surprise, surprise, Yixing” a smile cracks on my face and I head for the elevator “You're kidding me, right? He went out? With Kim Hana? On a... date?”

“Pfft. You're too excited... nah, he just went out to get his hair done but I bet my next paycheck that he'll treat her to lunch!” I let out a laugh, I actually thought they went out on a date. I mean, that would be... a miracle. “God Yeol! You almost gave me a heart attack!” I entered the elevator and pressed for the 32nd floor.

“But hey, that's a rare thing... I think these two will have an interesting relationship”

I got off the lift and walked towards the office with the open door; I hang up on my phone and entered Chanyeol's office. He was comfortably seated on his leather chair and smiled at me as I entered.

“So, what will be interesting in the possible relationship?” I ask him, plopping myself onto the white chair infront of his desk. Chanyeol twirled his phone between his thumb and forefinger. “Well... Kris might become nicer and nicer, maybe he'd even let the company have a year-end party”

“Or...” I interject “They'll both fall so hard and end up breaking each other”

Chanyeol thinks for a moment then pouts “Maybe but...” he gives me a grin “I still get my hopes up for the year-end party”

Tch. I shake my head and chuckle. “But hey, really... if Kris falls... wouldn't it be his first?” Chanyeol asks. Come to think of it... “You know how first timers are... they often don't know what to do; they get confused... what if Kris ends up hurting himself?”

I give him a small smile. We'll all be equally worried... as cold as he is, he's still a friend after all.

“What if Hana doesn't fall for him?” I ask him and he scoffs “Are you blind Lay? Haven't you seen the way she looks at Kris? She looks head over heels for him! I mean... if he wasn't so cold, if not the whole company female population then atleast the half would be throwing themselves at him... I mean, come on, he's one of the most eligible bachelors out there”

True... so is the rest of us. “Kai seems interested in her”

Chanyeol snorts a laugh “Pfft. That guy's a Cassanova, I think Hana could see that”

“But what if she ends up falling for him? You know how swift Kai moves” Chanyeol sighs before playfully smirking towards me and asked “Wanna bet?”

I blink my eyes and chuckled. “A week of relaxation in Hawaii? If she does fall for Kai then I win, if it's Kris then it's you” I ask him and he gives me a big smile “You're on”

Hana.

I felt myself being shook. I rubbed my eyes and opened them before stretching and sat up straight. It was an employee and she was smiling at me “Mr. Wu will be right with you in a moment” she said and went away.

I grab my bag and double check what's inside to make sure everything was there and that nothing was missing. Footsteps came and I got up, still checking my bag “Something wrong?” I heard Kris's voice ask and I shook my head “No sir, I was just -” I stopped mid-sentence when I looked up and my mouth hung open.

He's... he's... oh my God. My cheeks went numb all of a sudden. He frowned at my expression and hissed at me “What?”

  BEFORE

AFTER

I blink my eyes and pull myself back to the reality of the moment “N-Nothing sir”

I never noticed that he had piercings... until now. God, he really looks good with short hair and even more intimidating. Kris let out a sigh and walks off, telling me to come along. I swallow the lump in my throat before rushing to catch up to him. I bow to the employees and follow him out of the door;

“Ms. Kim” I abruptly stop before I could bump on his back. “Sir?” I run a hand through my hair and let out a quiet sigh. He turns around and looms over me, I blink and swallow hard. “Did you cancel my one o'clock appointment?” I nod my head and keep staring at him. His brows knit together. He's still so... attractive. “Would you stop staring?”

I felt my cheeks heat up but give him a smile “Sorry sir, you just look good with short hair”

He looks away and let out a low groan before walking around the car and enters the driver's seat. I chuckle and get inside the passenger's seat. Adorable when flustered too.

The drive was quiet and I have busied myself with replying to the texts of people inquiring about Kris's schedules.

“Where do you want to eat?” I suddenly freeze in my seat and blink my eyes before slowly turning to look at him. Did I hear that right? Kris keeps his eyes on the road, a blank look plastered on his face. I bit my lip momentarily and give a small smile before turning to my phone “I'm fine, sir”

Kris breathes in deeply and I keep my eyes on the phone, concentrating once more on typing replies. He kept driving and I didn't bother to question him, so long as I could still see buildings then that's fine with me. Eventually, he parked up the car and told me to get out. I'm not exactly sure where we are but when I see a sign, I immediately realize. S-Samwon Garden? Isn't the food here worth dollars?

“Sir, will you be having lunch here?” I ask him as I follow him inside. “Yeah... what else would I do here? Have a photoshoot?”

“Could be possible” I blurt out mindlessly and gasp when he turns around and looks at me “What?”

“Nothing” I squeak.

Kris and I took a seat and he ordered all sorts of food. I'm not sure how he would be able to finish it all but... Damn, I'm hungry. My throat is so dry and everything looks so mouth watering. Kris begins to eat as soon as the food arrives and I just sit across him quietly watching. Even when he eats, he looks perfect.

“Ms. Kim...” he sets down the glass of water and pokes on his meat before picking it up with the chopsticks “Are you gonna stare or are you gonna eat?”

“Sir?” I ask, confused. He lets out a sigh and looks at me with his piercing dark eyes “Just eat.”

“Ah... N-no, it's okay, Sir! I can't afford -”

“Just. Eat.”

I purse my lips together and look at the food filling the table and the empty plate infront of me before slowly picking up the chopsticks and did as he said. In the midst of eating, I suddenly realize something and bit my lower lip to suppress the smile that was slowly building up on my face.

I'm having lunch with the guy I admire the most. Kim Hana! You are so lucky! Damn you!

“Yah... stop thinking and keep eating” he says and I nod my head.

Right.

My crappy sidenotes:

The subscribers number keeps on climbing, EEEEY <3 so sweet :) and there are two upvotes already, thank you yulteen :)

I think i should hold chapter 9 as hostage... should it be 5 comments in exchange for Chapter 9? Kekeke, let me think :3

Should I be a chapternapper? kekeke, kamsahamnida! :)