-Paper Rings-

Ch. 2

Matthew did not want to believe that he was at least an hour late on the second day of his new job- all thanks to working late and drinking out with friends the previous night. He could swear he set at least three alarms but somehow he was too deep in sleep to care about that. When he woke up and saw the time, however, he rushed. Hasty brushing, no breakfast, no shower, he just ran, tucking his shirt halfway in, hoping that he wouldn't get fired. When he finally reached the office, almost everyone side-eyed him, only Taerae looked sympathetic.

Matthew bowed in apology, although there was no one in the room to answer to. However, as he sat down, Taerae walked to him.

"What happened?" Whispered the taller male, "Why're you late?"

"I... Overslept." Matthew bit his tongue, "Last night was- um... Tough."

"Really?" Taerae looked apologetic, "Because you worked overtime? Told you to call me if you need any help."

"I did ask someone but" Matthew lowered his voice even more, just mouthing, "That's Sung Hanbin."

Taerae gasped, "And?? He helped?"

"He told me to fuck off." Matthew rolled his eyes. Taerae gave him an 'I-knew-it' face, then patted his back, "It's okay, just call me next time... Anyway, the CEO may come and check on us so..." Taerae hesitated before saying, "Unzip that first." He pointed at the other's open flyer all the way down there. Matthew's face reddened immediately as his hands moved to pull the zipper up, glancing here and there, being grateful that Taerae didn't speak that out loud. The latter chuckled at his action, then got back to his seat.

Taerae's words came true soon, because the whole room became quiet all of a sudden, two figures approached them one by one. Matthew recognised one pretty well, for he was their direct manager. A slim, tall, Chinese guy with thick brows and chocolate brown hair. Had Matthew not known, he'd definitely be taken as a model or actor- he was that handsome. His name, which the Canadian learned on his first day, was Zhang Hao. In short, Hao. Matthew liked him, because he was easy to talk to.

The second one, probably the head of the whole company looked really bold and composed. He had darker complexion, a little bit shorter than Hao, but broader and more buff. His face had a grim yet dreamy look, probably because of his eye bags. He too was very handsome. Matthew double checked inside his head- he wasn't actually working in a modeling agency.

One by one, it was Matthew's turn. Hao gave him a knowing smile, pointing that Matthew was a new worker in their company. The supposed CEO extended his palm, which the Canadian took after standing up.

"Kim Jiwoong." Said the man with a smile. Matthew smiled back. Yes his hair was sticking out, yes his shirt was crinkled and yes he was late; but he had that dazzling smile that you can never resist. It just makes you smile. Even the CEO wasn't an exception. He was known for having an angry face all the time, but the new employee made him smile. It was an automatic process, it just happened.

What's strange was how the whole room whoa'ed and murmured after the two had left. At first, Matthew decided to ignore all those, as he was to catch up with all the work- but even after half an hour, he could constantly hear his name. From everywhere! Mention of your name makes you cautious. So when he heard exaggerated stuff about the 'newcomer' and the 'CEO' coming at him, he couldn't help asking the lady next to him- what all the fuss was about.

"It's about the CEO." The woman named Lee Jiyu answered, "Rumours are that he's gay."

"So?" Matthew asked, no clue how that can cause such a huge wave.

"He might be interested in you."

"What?" Matthew didn't wanna sound rude but he was extremely ridiculed. Like they just met, just exchanged a hi, it was just his second day!

"He doesn't smile at anyone." The lady said, "Let alone shake hands."

"Ain't doing those normal? I'm his employee." Matthew asked.

Jiyu shrugged, "I just said what people are gossiping about, besides, he's known to call young males in his room often."

"Wah..." Matthew exclaimed, "You guys are so judgemental!"

"You're not?" Asked Jiyu, "Aren't you scared that he'll call you too?"

"Nope." Matthew grinned, "Just because someone's gay doesn't mean he has interest in every guy out there."

"Yeah, whatever." Replied Jiyu, then got back to work. Matthew once again sighed at the cheap mentality of his co-workers, then got to work.

-

It was almost 6 and Matthew once again found everyone leaving the office one by one. He looked at his screen blankly, burdened with how much he had left to do. He felt heavy, like he didn't wanna feel older than he was because of the stress. He didn't wanna do everyone's chores, but he legit went to make coffee seven times for seven different people. He couldn't help it though. He was too scared to say no.

He tried to cheer himself up by lifting his shoulders and bringing a smile to the face. 'You can do it!' He said to himself, in order to finish up and go home. Taerae had met him before leaving, just like the previous day, asking if he needed help. Matthew once wanted to say yes, but he could see how tired his colleague looked from his reddish, sunken eyes. He didn't have the heart to hold the other back, so he lied.

"I'll done in a bit, you go first."

"Sure?" Taerae had asked.

"Positive." Matthew forced out a smile. He watched Taerae go, then the others. One by one. Just like last time, he was soon left with one person in the room. The same, notorious Sung Hanbin.

Matthew looked at him once, he didn't realize why Hanbin worked so much. No one approached him, no one asked for his help. He just had his own part to play, and Matthew believed that with his skills, Hanbin would finish sooner than required. Yet he was always late to leave the office. Did he have a thing for working hard or was he trying to avoid something? Something at home?

"Gonna work or stare me dead?" Hanbin suddenly said, his calm voice echoed inside the whole room. Matthew jumped on his seat, taken aback. He stuttered, "N-nothing!"

Hanbin stared at him. His gaze was cold- almost piercing. Matthew cowered before that. He wished Hanbin would look away, or better, leave, but surprising him, the other talked, "If you keep listening to everyone, better say bye to your sleep."

"I don't want to do their tasks, Mr. Sung," Matthew spoke, "But do I have a choice?"

"Saying no ain't a choice?" Hanbin teased.

"How can I say no? What if I lose my job because of that?" Matthew asked. Hanbin only scoffed. To convince him, the Canadian spoke again, "This job is very important to me. If I have to work like this to keep it, I will."

Hanbin said nothing. He didn't feel the need to. It was out of his character to say anything, but he felt slightly bad to see the young boy moving to and fro doing everyone's small tasks. Not that he cared, he just tried to be a guy with conscience. However, Matthew clearly didn't deserve it.

"And you, Mr. Sung Hanbin." Matthew said, "You could use a teeny tiny bit of sympathy towards your junior on his first day, right?"

"Not for someone with so little self respect as you." Hanbin replied and left, stunning Matthew, making his jaw drop. Yeah, he was a bit too much, because he really really disliked Hanbin, but getting such a reply- outrageous!

He could actually use his biceps to strangle the arrogant man had he ever been given the chance.

-

Matthew's dance >>>>