The Impassioned Interchange (Park Chanyeol)

09: The Cynical Meeting

Chanyeol cursed for the nth time that afternoon. The clock had kept on ticking, slightly irritating the CEO as it reminded him of the sixteen minutes left before the most awaited meeting finally starts. Ever since his secretary had left his office, he had readily snatched the pocket-sized mirror from his drawer and held it in front of his face, practicing his smile just like Hana instructed him to.

He had awfully tried his best to flash the best smile that he could muster, but to no avail. He muttered another round of profanities under his breath and tried smiling at the mirror yet again, his confidence urging him to do it perfectly, and fast.

Hana, on the other hand, watched him through his office's doorway silently, not wanting the latter to discover that she was watching his practice. Apparently, the CEO was too focused on practicing his so-so-smile that he had failed to catch her peeking.

It was a relief that his desk was far from the doorway as well, so it was possible to open the door with less squeaks, if she was careful of course -- and she was.

She then watched her boss do it again in front of the small, rectangular mirror that was pocket-sized, snickering to herself as she realized how awkward he looked.

Has he never smiled since before?

That question had invaded her mind since she peeked through the doorway, wondering how long it was since her boss last smiled that he was even awkward in front of the mirror. The tips of Chanyeol's lips had kept on quivering as he struggled to lift the tips upwards, and almost two of three seconds later, it automatically morphed into a frown, as if it was a natural.

"Fuck," she heard him curse, making her throw a fit of silent giggles as she continued to watch. "Just think of happy thoughts, Chanyeol. Just like you're happy," he murmured, giving it another try but failed yet again. He couldn't help but frown deeply upon realization. How could he smile when he wasn't even happy?

Happy thoughts?

What possible happy thoughts could he even muster? His mother died. His father, whom he considered as his only family since then, had left him for his other family that Chanyeol didn't even know to being with. Then he and his girlfriend had broken up after he discovered how she was cheating on him. Now, he was shouldering the heavy burden upon handling an entire corporation, adding the issues and controversies concerning him and the whole company as well.

Fuck my life, he thought.

"You're doing it all wrong, sir," Hana, who couldn't take it any longer, spoke up and made her way inside his office, closing the door lightly behind her back. She knew that the frown that etched on his face almost immediately had meant that he was thinking deeply into things -- most probably his life -- as he couldn't even smile properly.

Chanyeol, who was obviously startled with his secretary's appearance, jumped up from his seat and immediately opened his drawer and threw the mirror inside, his face flushing from both embarrassment and shame. Hana only chuckled, but didn't say anything further as she knew it best not to infuriate her boss.

"What are you doing in my office, Miss Choi? Have you not learned the proper etiquette to knock on your boss' door before entering?" He said, mustering his most authorative voice, yet the flush on his cheeks had told Hana otherwise making her giggle lowly, which surprisingly took the CEO aback. "Stop laughing," he hissed, a tint of pink rushing to his cheeks from both anger -- because he was caught red-handed -- and embarrassment.

"Can you blame me, sir? You're way too funny," she continued to giggle, successfully ticking her boss. "Anyway, what you said was right, sir. You should think of happy thoughts. It's easier to smile if you think of a moment that you truly treasured perhaps?" She said, immediately speaking as she saw her boss' mouth open to retort.