The Pain of Being Left | pjm

~Chapter 4~

- "Can you answer me now that I have helped you?" he asked, looking deeply into my eyes, as if he was trying to read my mind and figure out himself why I had been here at such a late hour.

- "I assure you for sure that I am not some kind of thief or private detective or anything like that. I am Mr Lee's new secretary. You would have known it was me if you would have looked at me yesterday when I accidentally came into your office," I told him, letting out a deep sigh a bit annoyed by the way he acted the other day, and rolling my eyes as I broke the intense eye contact he had started, avoiding his gaze.

- "I see. But then what are you doing here at this hour?" he interrogated, not wanting to take off of me his deadly stare full of suspicion.

- "I just took my sister's phone by mistake that has the wrong time on and thought I had arrived at 9, I then realized it was 4 in the morning, and not wanting to go back home, I decided to stay here and wait for Mr Lee's arrival. Believe me, this is just a small mishap that will not happen again," I replied, finally turning my gaze back at him, to show him I was sincere and not lying to him.

- "Well, I believe you then, as you seem very sincere, hoping you are actually not just a very good actor and that you are not a secret detective to come and spy on our doings. I count on you for this to not happen again, unless..." he said, studying the ceiling intensely as if he was thinking of something, momentarily putting a smirk on his face. After some time, he finally turned to look back at me straight in the eyes, as what he was about to say somehow was frightening me. I didn't know this man at all, what was he to think of so deeply about.

- "I have a proposal to make you...and I would like you to think about it seriously..." he told me, this time with a face that released a rather playful thought, which I did not really like as I was not ready to do anything for a stranger. Especially for my deputy. What did he need from me. Why was he to propose something to me as I barely knew him.

- "Since you came here at such an hour with no apparent validation from the CEO, Mr Lee, your boss in person, if he was to know about you arriving here before the minimal time of 6 am, you would surely be fired. That would be such a shame, on your second day, already out of the company, I doubt such a thing would please you either. So here is what I propose to you if you want to stay here. You will have to come here at 4 and a half everyday to kindly help me with all my work and to clean my office. So, yes or no?" he questioned, still plastering a playful smirk on his face.

He knew I couldn't decline this proposal of his, as I did not want to get fired. He well knew by looking in my eyes I desperately wanted to stay here, not wanting to disappoint Sumin and myself. This was my first job and I was given such a big opportunity, as I got accepted as the secretary of a CEO of one of the biggest companies of Seoul, even of Korea I would say.

So, with no moment of hesitation, my gaze full of seriousness, got back to his, and I responded by holding out my hand over to his, waiting for him to squeeze mine in validation. And he did so, as I was expecting as this was his proposal. All was set at this moment, I had to come every morning at 4 and a half just to be his slave of some kind. This was the beginning of a miserable life awaiting me, full of work and tiredness.

- "By the way, I do not recall introducing myself. I am Mr Park. And you are... Miss Kim right?" he wondered, after we had both shaked hands, and him having stopped looking at me the way he did.

But, as soon as he had pronounced his name, I was brought back to my childhood memories. Mr Park, like Park Jimin. Only the thought of him coming back to me had made my heart ache, my heartbeat slowly increasing as I started breathing heavily. All those memories... where we used to always be together, when we had told each other we would grow up together, live together as best friends. It was our dream. But, he had left me, broken as I already was by the departure of my parents.