yoon jeonghan loves his job.
really, he does.
but there are some days where he just wants to march up to his boss' office, scream a few things that would make his mother faint, flip him off and walk out with two victory peace signs raised in the air, to the cheers and applauding of his co-workers.
clearly today is not that day.
as one of the head reporters of the pledis newspapers, one of the leading news companies in the area, he sat obediently at his desk surrounded by mountains of event clippings which desperately needed assorting, mixed papers and files, accompanied by the constant bombardment of phone calls from clients, neighbouring businesses, or simply those who wished to submit an eye-catching piece of news (most likely to be rejected and thus an utter waste of time).
jeonghan leaned back in his chair which did little help to comfort his aching back. He reached for his phone and tapping it awake. it shows thirty minutes after three in the afternoon.
jeonghan refrained from groaning in despair. not that time even mattered. he wouldn’t be able to leave this god-forbidden place until he at least finished off the rescue from the car-crash story and sent it off to be finalized and published.
“jeonghan-sunbaenim would you like some coffee?”
jeonghan swore in surprise and fumbled with his phone before glowering at the individual waiting patiently behind him holding a tray of white paper cups.
"haven't you ever been taught to knock before entering? why are you even still here?"
the raven haired boy blinked at him. "i couldn’t knock, i was holding the tray. wonwoo sunbaenim said it would be fine to come in."
jeonghan sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. "there's no point in wasting my time lecturing you. you'll just repeat it again tomorrow like some broken record. and since when did this place offer internships? i had to climb up the ladder without short cuts when i was your age to get to where i am now."
"but you’re only four years ol-"
"why the hell are you still here chan?"
the boy holds the tray towards jeonghan, an earnest expression on his face. the brunette snatches a small cup and pointed it towards the door. "there, happy? now get out. i'm extremely busy." the older didn’t miss the way chan eyed his other hand which was still clutching on to the mobile and he stood, yelling defensively as the intern hurried out.
"i was checking for important messages, alright? because i have a job and you don’t." he sat back down breathing heavily out of his nose. gosh, he hated that kid. (not really, he just wants to give him the tough love to make his back straight cause that what reality is.)
"it's only three thirty and you're yelling already? clearly someone's stressed."
jeonghan waved dismissively at wonwoo, who had peeked in to his office, coffee in one hand and expression completely placid. wonwoo was one of the very few co-workers he favoured. he was in charge of the photos which were selected in to the papers, and thus the two often worked closely together on the important headliner stories. he was also never late submitting his works which jeonghan was forever grateful for.
"letting chan to barge in to my office like that. i won’t forgive you so easily this time."
wonwoo raised one eyebrow. he sat down in the seat nearest to the door. "i don’t think he’s that bad. if anything, i feel sorry for the kid having to deal with you breathing down his neck all the time."
jeonghan snorted and shook his head in denial. "i've never done such a thing. name just one incident where i’ve done wrong to him." he raised a brow back, challenging him and when wonwoo was about to retort, he holds his hand up. "and yes, that was a rhetorical question so don’t bother answering that. besides, he was the one breathing down my neck just then. i bet he was trying to sneak a peek at one of my stories. trying to steal my hard-earned works, that brat.”
wonwoo stared at jeonghan looking thoroughly unimpressed. "sure. so what’s the progress on the rescue story down at block seventeen?”
jeonghan let out a woeful noisr, thumping his head on the table. wonwoo clicked his tongue in disapproval and stood to leave. "i need an email of the draft by tomorrow morning, so i can figure out what pictures to use. i've got a few in mind but i can’t start until you’re done." the other grunted in response. wonwoo turns around before pausing and coming back.
"you'll probably need this more than i do.” he placed his coffee next to jeonghan's untouched one on the desk. the brunette lets out pathetic whine and his friend huffed in amusement, giving a firm pat on the shoulder before leaving.
the major downfall of jeonghan's work was fast pace of it all. news is constantly occurring, one major event after the other. reporters are only given a few hours to gather up their story before being able to send it off to editor lee— who hates submissions and will deck you without hesitation, for it to be finalised and published to the public. this meant there is no such thing as planning ahead or set schedules.
and this also meant relationships were basically a no-go. jeonghan had given up after several attempts and he could only handle so many slaps to the face and angry partners storming off before he decided to give it a quits too. the main focus on his mind was what was considered news-worthy and how fast can he finish it in order for it to be published to the public before other rival news businesses.
he glared at the half-completed article on his desk before cracking his knuckles.
"alright, let’s get this over and done with." he muttered to himself, chugging the two cups of coffee and stretches his hands over his head.
this story was just another obstacle to get out of the way and once it was done, he never had to look at it again.
