Chapter Text
“Latest news, surrounding two of the most infamous electronic companies in South Korea, reveals how the companies’ CEOs have devised a truce after a decade of rivalry falling between them. Spokesmen from the companies share information surrounding the unity and that Bangtan Electronics and Exodus Electronics will be working on a partnership programme for the very near future. Let’s wish them luck on this new – “
Having enough of the woman’s nasally voice, Jongdae slams his thumb down on the ‘standby’ button before chucking the remote control to the corner of his dull, grey couch. The 24-year-old assistant ruffles his hair with a frustrated growl before grabbing the abandoned beer bottle from his coffee table.
Kim Jongdae, assistant to Kim Junmyeon, the son of Exodus Electronics’ CEO, had woken this morning expecting another regular day; priding himself on the lack of complexity surrounding his schedule with barely any changes to it, in the two years he has worked under the CEO’s slightly dysfunctional, but overly kind, son. He wakes up, takes a shower before dressing into his custom suits that were bought for him by the company, eats his breakfast and then heads out to grab Junmyeon’s caramel cappuccino, accompanied by the remainder of the day filing paper work, printing and photocopying, taking notes if there’s a meeting, and adhering to any task his boss bestowed upon him; followed up by a company paid meal and the rest of the evening relaxing in his average, one bedroom apartment watching boy love dramas and weekly idol. No, he doesn’t sing along to the songs and he doesn’t have a crush on Block B’s Zico. However, today had been different. Too different. Junmyeon called him into his office early, telling him to forget his Starbucks, and join him for a meeting with the CEO and the CEO of Bangtan Electronics. He will admit, he was terrified. He was nothing more than a mere assistant just trying to get through his apprenticeship so that he could graduate with a partial degree and get a better job.
Jongdae had been directed to the board meeting the moment he set foot in the building, having been ushered by the security guard Oh Sehun who is way too expressionless for the assistant not to be concerned. Upon his arrival, his boss and Junmyeon rose to their feet to greet him, two unknown men sat next to them who merely nodded their heads in acknowledgement with looks less interested than Sehun’s.
“We have a new job for you, Jongdae.” Junmyeon had spoken; smile all too eager and disconcerting enough for him to want to flee the scene and hide where no one can find him. Never in a million years would he have guessed that he would be sent to a rival company to play “assistant” to the CEO of Bangtan Electronics’ son. Kim Taehyung. The male had puppy-like features, standing a good two inches taller than him (no, it didn’t annoy him), with silver hair and droopy eyes shadowed with too much eyeliner for his own good. Of course, all of this is accompanied with a shit-eating smirk as he noticed Jongdae’s not-so-subtle flinch at the mention of playing assistant for some other uptight twerp that didn’t deserve the clothes on their back.
“This is the perfect opportunity for you, Jongdae!” His CEO beamed at him, eyes crinkled behind his thick rimmed glasses which were emphasised by his already present wrinkles from age.
“It will give you the experience you need to complete your apprenticeship. This is a once in a lifetime chance that you’d be stupid not to take.”
Jongdae isn’t an idiot, far from it. He could immediately sense the urgency behind Junmyeon’s words, the poor sod still trying to mask his emotions, and knew that this would bring a change in the two companies’ dynamics and allow for a bigger rapport to be built. Only for the money, however. A partnership between the two largest companies in Seoul, or South Korea as a whole, would bring in profits like there’s no tomorrow and will change the stock markets for good. Also, if it meant ending his torturous training he’d do anything to get away from being the company’s “bitch”. He refuses to be exploited any longer, and he’ll be damned if this opportunity goes to waste.
*Beep Beep*
“Urg, piss off already!” Jongdae screams at his phone, knowing the notification signifies a new email; no doubt from Junmyeon. The sound continues to ring through his mind, despite it having passed over a minute ago, as he grabs the retched thing and opens it up. Surprise, surprise, he was right. The envelop icon glares at him from the corner of his task bar until he finally decides to read it.
To Kim Jongdae,
Hi Jongdae, this is Junmyeon. I am messaging in regards to your new job and am proud to inform you myself that you will begin at Bangtan Electronics effective immediately. Kim Taehyung himself requested so earlier this morning, stating there was little point in withholding your transfer and our CEO agreed.
You are to start at the same time you normally would, just refrain from following your usual schedule because you’ll be given a new one. Your office supplies have already been sent to your new workstation.
It has been an honour working with you and the entire company wishes you well with the remainder of your training.
Yours sincerely, Kim Junmyeon of Exodus Electronics.
He fails to hold back his laugh at the formal message, having hoped, in the recesses of his mind, that their two years working together would warrant a more personal send off, but you can’t afford to be picky in this industry. The moment any weakness is displayed, you are chewed up and spat out before you can even dream of the profits; because of that, Jongdae theorises that Junmyeon will fail to last more than a week when he takes over as the CEO, since he’s too emotional and lets his personal life interfere more than it should. He can’t help but recall one incident when Junmyeon had taken a month off because his girlfriend cheated on him. A day, maybe, but a month? Not in this line of work. If his ex-boss wasn’t the CEO’s son then he would be gone by now.
We’re all pawns in one big game of chess. You will never know the others’ move until it’s too late and by then the only words ringing through your head will be “checkmate”.
-
He’s late.
Jongdae checks his watch again, noticing ten minutes have passed since he had been escorted to Kim Taehyung’s office, and the other has failed to make an appearance. The rules he had been handed after the meeting last Friday stated that punctuality is key, and that being late was unacceptable in any circumstance unless permitted by your boss or if it is due to a situation beyond anyone’s control.
“Certainly know how to break their own rules.” He muses, unaware of the presence behind him; smirk contorting his lips in the coyest of fashions.
“That we do, Mr Kim.” That dreadful deep voice chuckles from behind, his body seizing up after being caught calling out his new company within the first fifteen minutes of being here.
Well done, Jongdae.
“Kim Taehyung!” He stands, awkwardly, bowing 90 degrees as a silent apology and out of respect towards his superior.
“Forgive me, Sunbaenim. I didn’t hear you enter.”
“Clearly.” His boss laughs, deep voice rumbling and sending shivers down Jongdae’s body. The assistant fails to conclude whether his reaction is positive or negative, yet the thought becomes quickly lost in the back of his mind when the other waltzes around to the other side of the clear, glass desk, ordering the newbie to take a seat just as he gets comfortable himself.
“Now, the reason I was late, Mr Kim… Actually, I’ll call you Jongdae. The reason I was late Jongdae, was because I just came from an emergency board meeting whilst stopping to print your schedule on the way back.”
Jongdae feels himself blush in embarrassment towards being so presumptuous and because he loved the way his name rolled off his boss’ tongue like that.
Get it together, Kim!
“O-of course, Sunbaenim. I apologise.”
He fails to notice the other’s smirk towards his stuttered response, as he eyes the few sheets of paper that had been smacked down in front of him. One of them displayed a busy-looking schedule, taking up nearly every waking hour of every day apart from Sunday. Even Saturday contained a few hours for debriefing which was accompanied by a block with the words “catch up” typed into the centre. The other two pieces of paper were composed of a back-to-back list of “what to do in the case of a fire”, with the final one being a set of rules that are stated to be “strictly between Kim Jongdae and Kim Taehyung”, with a box for their signatures in the bottom right hand corner; his name and his boss’ name scribbled in with black ink that has been slightly smudged with, what Jongdae assumes, the other’s haste to get here.
“Any questions?” The silver- haired male breaks him out of his confusion, causing him to nod his head in response.
“I have a couple.”
“Fire away.” His boss turns his attention from something on his computer to clasp his hands in front of him, on the desk, whilst shining a boxy smile towards the new assistant. The latter internally cringes at the bad joke.
“Firstly, why am I required to have a ‘catch up’ session on Saturdays?”
“The time is to be dedicated towards any work that you might be falling behind on. Obviously, it’s down to you to make use of that time.”
“Okay… And why have you given me this contract which states that it’s just between me and you?”
The other’s features shift just for a moment before they return to normal, making the newbie question whether it happened in the first place.
“It’s to protect you against other people in this company.”
This peaks his interest. “What do you mean?”
“This may be my Father’s business, but in this world, you can’t trust anyone, as I’m sure you already know.” Jongdae nods in confirmation before the other continues. “This contract will make sure that you aren’t exploited by anyone else in this building and confirms that you are my assistant and mine only. It ensures your safety in this job and gives me the security that you will not be harmed by anyone.”
He knows he should be listening, but the only words going through his mind are “you are my assistant and mine only”. A wave of heat flows through his body, a faint blush creep onto his features and causing him to turn his head away; suddenly feeling small and vulnerable in front of his boss.
“O-okay.”
“Good! Sign here, then you can go and get my coffee.”
-
“Oh, man.” Jongdae sighs, running a hand through his dirty blonde hair that he refused to style this morning. His new boss, Kim-fucking-Taehyung, hasn’t beaten around the bush with all of these expectations. He’s had Jongdae order and file away nearly ten boxes of paperwork, he’s had to do over twenty different coffee runs, three of them being to Starbucks down the road and the others being to the second-floor staffroom to use their coffee maker because the one on the eighth floor (where they work) was broken by one of the Accountants, Kim Namjoon. Jongdae has then been forced to attend a second emergency meeting, regarding company shares that had him almost falling asleep on top of the notes he had to make, before running around to different offices because their printer had run out of paper and their company wasn’t due to restock until Wednesday. Now, here he is, his own coffee cold after being abandoned in the rush to attend the meeting. He hadn’t returned to his and Taehyung’s office since.
Oh, yes… they share an office. So, on top of his busy-ass timetable, he has to room with one of the most attractive men in existence.
Great.
“Jongdae, can you print the documents I just sent to you and then give them to Seokjin? He’s on the same floor as Namjoon. You know… the clumsy one.” His boss orders him, not even glancing up from his computer; fingers tapping away like there’s no tomorrow.
Resisting the urge to groan in frustrated exhaustion, the assistant opens his email, taking only a few taps before they are sent to the printer. He’s about to leave when he spots the number of pages the document is compiled of.
158!?
“Fucking bastard.” He mumbles under his breath. If the other heard the expletive, he made no indication that he did.
-
“Sorry to interrupt. I was told to deliver this document to you.” Jongdae knocks on Kim Seokjin’s door, timidly poking his head through the gap in the door out of fear towards coming face to face with the Financial Supervisor; who he envisioned as a big, muscly man with strong features and a personality to be reckoned with. However, he’s pleasantly surprised at the soft, motherly smile that’s emitted by a gentle looking man with soft brown hair and kind eyes. His appearance seems as tender and comforting as Junmyeon’s.
“Oh! You must be Kim Jongdae! It’s good to meet you!”
Jongdae wonders how such a kind sounding man came to get this job. He looks like he should be the house wife for a Financial Supervisor. Jongdae concludes that this is just plain confusing. Even the other’s skin is soft and tender, he discovers when Seokjin holds out his hand in a foreign greeting which Jongdae returns with pleasure, handing over the stack of paper as soon as they move apart.
“Oh, thank you.” The supervisor gratefully smiles.
“No problem.”
“So, what’s it like working under our little Taehyung?” Seokjin inquires, ushering for Jongdae to enter his office as he returns back to his wooden desk to place the oversized file onto the surface; the brunette turning back to face the newbie whilst leaning against the furniture, causing it to creak slightly under his weight.
“Uh… it’s okay, I guess. Although, my schedule is ridiculously busy and Mr Kim has me running around doing enough tasks to make me lose my mind.” He admits, flushing slightly at the realisation that he’s already complaining and the day hasn’t even ended.
“Really? Normally our assistants’ timetable should be relatively empty. That’s to allow for gaps just in case anything additional crops up that has to be dealt with immediately.” The other frowns, brows furrowed as if in thought until he snaps out of his mini revere.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine. Taehyung must have a good reason for doing that.”
“M-maybe.”
-
Overall, his first week wasn’t too gruelling or strenuous. Most of the days had been the same, running after any pieces of paper he could find to meet the high printing demand from his boss, making sure that the coffee business is rolling in it with the amount Taehyung requests, on a daily basis. He lost count after the tenth cup. On top of that, he somehow managed to make friends with the Financial Supervisor, Seokjin, and one of the many other Accountants, Jeon Jungkook, who had joined Bangtan Electronics a few months ago for his own apprenticeship. He and Jungkook connected over their opinions on how dumb the Government apprenticeship scheme was and how it was too complicated.
Despite his week having gone well, he’s reaching the end of his tether as soon as he and Seokjin leave the weekly board meeting, held every Saturday at 7:00am without fail.
“I’m so done.” He groans in displeasure; the folder in his arms so heavy that it causes his muscles to burn with the exertion to hold the mounds of paper, paper and more paper.
“Aren’t you going home, now?” The elder raises and eyebrow when the assistant heads in the direction towards his office, rather than towards the exit.
“Nope.” The blonde growls. “The boss said he needs to see me after the meeting. Plus, he gave me a shit ton of paper work to sort through yesterday, and I’ve only done half. This is supposed to be the ‘catch up’ block of my timetable.”
“O-oh… Well, I’ll see you on Monday, Jongdae.” The brunette smiles in pity, bidding the smaller a goodbye before turning and rushing into the elevator before it closes; leaving the newbie on his own outside the meeting room, with nothing more than a withering expression clouding his face as he storms off to greet the man that God, unfortunately, didn’t forget.
“You’re late.” Are the first words that greet the poor boy, the moment the door closes behind him.
“S-sorry. The CEO’s presentation ended up running overtime, and Namjoon managed to break the projector so the technician, I think his name was Yoongi, had to find another one.”
“I don’t care for your excuses. You have filing to do, now get to work.”
Taking his seat, Jongdae is startled by his boss’ sudden attitude. The latter has never acted this way and it sends a jolt of displeasure through the blonde’s mind. Shaking off the uneasy feeling in his chest, he grabs one of the boxes piled up next to his desk before slamming it onto the surface of the wooden piece of furniture; beginning the tedious task of sorting through every document, every piece of paper, and every loose envelope he can find.
He’s halfway through his third and final box, when the weight of someone’s chest presses against his back, having him stumble in surprise and topple forwards; sending the box and all the organised papers to the office floor when his chest collides with his desk.
“Jongdae.” A deep rumbling voice sounds, an octave lower, from right next to his ear, the sound so familiar but foreign at the same time.
“S-Sunbaenim? What a-are you d-doing?” He stammers, utterly mortified that he finds the press of his boss’ crotch against his ass pleasurable. All he can focus on are the deep breaths the other takes, the feeling of his heart hammering against his ribs ready to break free, and his blood rushing down south to fill his steadily hardening cock which presses against the edge of his desk almost painfully.
“Having our ‘catch up’ time. Have you forgotten already?” The other laughs, the sound doing nothing to quell his half hard dick.
“B-but… I-I thought that was to finish work?”
“Oh, Jongdae. My sweet naïve Jongdae.” Said male can hear the smirk on his boss’ face.
“W-what?” He utters; confusion apparent in his breathy words.
“I’m just joking with you… you know that right?”
If looks could kill, Taehyung would be nothing more than an empty shell spread out across the floor. Left utterly speechless, the new assistant watches in disgusted awe as the other laughs at Jongdae’s flustered appearance; moving away to continue what he must have previously been doing before he decided to make a complete fool out of this newcomer. Yes, Jongdae is beyond fuming.
“Clean up that mess, will you?”
I fucking hate him.