#i feel like i should’ve paid like a considerably good amount of money to read this… ����😊😊😊

[wonustars]

my reaction through out reading the epilogue was like:

went from happy to sad really quick because i realized this was the end and then happy again cuz i was like “she got her happy ending” 🥹😭😭😭😭🤕💕

AQUAMARINE: EPILOGUE

April Showers (M)

Dedication: For my girls, who like like their men secure and obsessed.

JEON WONWOO X READER

WORDS: 14k+

GENRE: ARRANGE CONTRACT MARRIAGE AU! ENEMIES TO LOVERS!

FLUFF!FLUFF!AND SMUT (I THINK WE HAD ENOUGH ANGST FOR 8 CHAPTERS)

A/N: So, I guess this is it huh? well Happy Reading!!

4 years ago Zurich, Switzerland KIU

Y/N entered the lecture room, a spacious gallery-style classroom with long wooden benches and rows of paintings adorning the walls. The large windows bathed the room in natural light, and it felt more like an art gallery than a typical lecture hall. She quietly pushed the door open and entered, the soft creak of the hinges barely audible over the lecturer's voice.

The professor at the front of the room, Jeonghan, continued with his lecture on the definition of meaning during the Enlightenment era. He stood confidently in front of the class, with a relaxed yet engaging demeanour. His dark hair was neatly styled, and his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, giving him an air of intelligence.

As Y/N found a seat at the back of the room and settled in, her eyes met Jeonghan's for a brief moment. There was a flash of recognition, but he didn't let it disrupt the flow of his lecture. With a warm smile and a nod, he acknowledged her presence before returning to his discourse.

"During the Enlightenment," he began, his voice both soothing and authoritative, "philosophers like Voltaire and Rousseau grappled with the concept of meaning. What does it mean to lead a meaningful life? Is it found in the pursuit of knowledge, happiness, or something more profound?"

The students listened intently as Jeonghan paced gracefully across the front of the room. His words were thought-provoking, encouraging his students to consider the philosophical inquiries of the past and apply them to their own lives.

Y/N couldn't help but be captivated by his lecture, not only because of the subject matter but also because of the way he presented it. She had known Jeonghan for years, and seeing him in his element was both familiar and awe-inspiring.

He continued, "Voltaire famously stated, 'Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.' This is a profound notion because it encourages us to continuously seek understanding. In an era marked by intellectual growth, philosophers challenged the status quo and sought to unravel the mysteries of existence."

The students absorbed the wisdom he shared, their eyes reflecting the curiosity sparked by his teaching.

Jeonghan, with his usual eloquence, continued his lecture, delving into the void that exists within humanity, a craving for meaning that often goes unnoticed. He cited Nietzsche's concept of this void, the insatiable longing for purpose that some fill immediately with their surroundings and become fervent devotees of a cause, never realizing the hollowness they've concealed. "The process of discovering that void for the first time," he explained, "is a pivotal moment in our lives. It's when we come to the stark realization that something is lacking in that department."

As he spoke, Jeonghan gestured passionately, his words resonating with the students. "Albert Camus presents us with an ultimate example of struggle and suffering, only to have our efforts amount to nothing. This is a metaphor for life, for Camus. We exist in a vast, inconceivably large, and complex universe, and with every step we take, we're battling against a tidal wave of forces that could end our existence at any moment."

He paced back and forth at the front of the class, emphasizing the challenges of human existence. "We live through good times and endure bad ones, all while accepting the reality that the universe, in all its grandeur, couldn't care less about our individual actions. It's true that in a humanistic lens, what we do matters within the microcosm of our lives, but on the universal scale, we're a mere speck on an ordinary galaxy. The sun will eventually explode in 5 billion years, and our existence will come to a definitive end."

Jeonghan's eyes scanned the room, and he implored his students to consider the meaning of all their suffering, effort, and sacrifice. "Where does it all lead? At the end of the day, we're like Sisyphus, condemned to push the rock up the hill only for it to roll back down, forcing us to begin again. But in our condemnation, we should strive not to agonize over the process but to find enjoyment in the act of pushing the boulder as far as we can."

He paused, his gaze intense, and then continued. "The experience and reflection come into play. What we're reflecting upon may appear meaningless to outsiders, but when we are experiencing it, it means the world. Yet, at what point do we realize it's all meaningless? It's the moment we stop being present, take a step back, and question why we're doing this in the first place. We look around and condemn it all as meaningless. This is where the concept of meaning comes into play."

Jeonghan raised a finger, emphasizing the contrast between reflection and lived experience. "When we reflect, we stop doing whatever we're engaged in, and we use our capacity for reason to ask questions. But it's important to recognize how presumptuous this entire process is. We apply this tool of reason to the universe, attempting to derive conclusions, yet what if the reason isn't the right tool for the job?"

He took a deep breath before continuing. "Reflections and reason, as human capacities, may not be the right tools to determine the meaning or meaninglessness of the things we do. What if, instead, we focus on the task at hand, to immerse ourselves fully in what we care about? Reflection is valuable, and a necessary part of life, but it can lead to diminishing returns. If you reflect too much, the only thing it'll do is deteriorate the quality of your lived experience."

As the lecture neared its conclusion, Jeonghan's eyes sparkled with a sense of purpose and resolution. "Embrace the absurdity of the universe, and then immerse yourself fully in the tasks you care about. Just like Sisyphus, who made the rock his own, we should learn to love what we do. Appreciate the grooves in the rock, the hindrances in your path, and the patterns to success. Love what you're doing without constantly pondering if it will have any meaning. After all, if the ultimate doom is inevitable, if everything will cease to exist, why not live and die doing what you love and believe in? Enjoy every moment of pushing your own boulder, and do it with passion and determination."

With a final nod and a warm smile, Jeonghan concluded his lecture on the meaning of life during the Enlightenment era.

As the students packed their bags, Jeonghan left them with a parting comment. "Remember, class, your term papers are due at the end of this week. And my sincere condolences to any grandparents, uncles, and aunts who are going to meet their end at 11:59 on the 29th."

The room filled with a mixture of laughter and groans, the students either appreciating Jeonghan's dark humor or dreading the impending deadline. Y/n gathered her belongings, slinging her purse over her shoulder, and made her way down to Jeonghan's desk.

"That was impressive, Dr. Yoon," she complimented him with a warm smile.

"Thank you, but what brings you here?" Jeonghan inquired.

"Oh, the dean just invited me to give a speech for the department," Y/n explained. "Our company is going to join one of the on-campus recruiting events, so I thought I'd see what you've been up to."

Jeonghan nodded in understanding. "Ah, that sounds interesting. Want to catch up over lunch?"

Y/n's laughter rang through the classroom. "Of course, it's not like we didn't meet for dinner last night." The two of them shared a friendly chuckle before leaving the classroom.

........

........

Present day.

London.

The morning light filtered through the window, casting a soft glow in the hotel suite. Empty bottles still littered the room, and discarded shirts and pants were strewn across the furniture. Wonwoo slept soundly on the bed, his deep slumber undisturbed even by the honking of cars on the street below. The sound was just background noise until it eventually stirred him. His hand reached out, searching for you, but the spot next to him was empty. A sense of panic rushed through him, and he jolted awake.

He looked around the room, his eyes darting from one corner to another. The droplets of tears on his pillows from the night before served as a painful reminder. "No…" he groaned, his heart sinking as he believed that you had left him.

As the ensuite washroom doors opened, you walked out, dressed in the clothes you had worn to Jeonghan's wedding. Your hair was still damp as you towel-dried it. You stood in front of the mirror, unaware of the emotional turmoil Wonwoo had just experienced.

However, his reaction was quite different from what you expected. Wonwoo dashed from the bed, letting the quilt fall to the floor, and enveloped you in a tight hug from behind. "I thought you left," he confessed.

"Shall I pinch you to make sure I'm still here?" you teased, but he remained mostly silent, holding onto you. As you began to apply moisturizers to your arms and neck, you spoke again. "Babe, I appreciate the affection, but can you please shower? We have to pick up Noel and then head to the airport."

You looked up at the mirror to catch his reflection. His hand was nestled against your neck as if he were sleeping while standing. You couldn't help but question the abundance of bottles in the room, asking, "By the way, why are there so many bottles?"

Wonwoo cleared his throat, a bit flustered. "You're right; I should shower."

With that, he planted a kiss on your clothed shoulder and headed to the shower, leaving you to roll your eyes at his antics. As you got ready for the day ahead, you couldn't help but think about the significant conversation you'd had with him the previous night

The previous day, you had called Jeonghan to assure him that you were safe. After shouting and sobbing at you for 15 minutes finally left for his Honeymoon and left Noel with Leila for the night. You and Wonwoo had spent the evening talking, staring from your whole trajectory of Noella and Joshua to Nikolia's death threats.

Now, in the hotel suite, you finished putting on your shoes when Wonwoo emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He began to dress in a black suit, and as you watched him, your eyes couldn't help but linger on the marks your nails had left on his defined back. You quickly looked away, back to the task at hand.

After buttoning and tucking in his shirt, Wonwoo rolled up his sleeves, leaving his veined forearms exposed. You picked up your earrings when he softly called your name, his voice tinged with a hint of nervousness.

"Hmm," you replied, struggling to clasp the earring lock.

Wonwoo walked closer, stopping beside you. Both of your reflections were visible in the full-length mirror. When you finally managed to clasp the lock, you let out a sigh of relief and reached for the other one when he took your left hand in his and turned you to face him. His thumb traced soothing patterns on your knuckles as he began to speak.

"I know our beginning was far from perfect, but even with its imperfections, it has given me something more than I could wish for. Today, as we walk out of this room, I want us to step into a new beginning—a future where there are no more secrets, no more contracts, just us and Noel. I know I don't deserve you, but I'm willing to humble myself before you."

Wonwoo then got down on one knee, and your eyes widened. A soft gasp escaped your lips as he continued, "I will try every day to prove myself worthy of you if you'll have me."

With trembling hands, he unclenched his fingers to reveal your wedding ring. "Wonu…" you whispered, a lump rising in your throat.

His eyes glistened with tears as he spoke from his heart. "I don't know when it happened, y/n. There were times when I even detested people who changed entirely when they entered a relationship. After Eleanor, I didn't bother seeking that kind of connection. But here I am, on my knees, asking my wife to let me love her, to allow me into her heart. Will you, y/n?"

The tears blurred your vision, but you managed to nod vigorously. Wonwoo carefully slid the ring onto your finger, and as he stood up, he immediately pulled you into a tight hug, overwhelmed with emotions.

As you and Wonwoo walked out of the suite and into the parlor, you were slightly surprised to see four tall, equally buff, and slightly intimidating men standing in the middle of the room. You glanced at your husband with a quizzical expression, and he gave your back a gentle push, saying, "Don't worry, they are your and Noel's new bodyguards."

You blinked in astonishment and turned to look at the four men who were still standing in a respectful bow. "Wonu, I don't need bodyguards," you protested.

Wonwoo gestured to the men to rise and wait outside before addressing your concerns. "Y/n, I am well aware that you're capable of protecting yourself, but I'm not taking any risks or having any discussion on this matter. Please, darling, humor me. You won't even notice them. They've been following you and Noel since the day you arrived."

You hesitated, wanting to argue further, but his words made sense. "But it looks awkward to walk around with guards like…"

"Y/n, although I'm gravely grateful to Noel's grandfather, I can't forget or forgive what his son did," Wonwoo declared with determination. "You have to realize that you're not just an L/N anymore; you're a Jeon now. I'll be damned if I even allow a fly to harm my wife."

Before you could say anything in response, Wonwoo sealed his statement with a tender peck on your lips and began walking toward the exit, your hands clasped together as you followed him.

........

.........

Nikolia found himself in a disorienting darkness, tied securely to a cold, unforgiving chair. He struggled to grasp any sense of time, all memory of the past hours and days escaping him. After his arrest, he had been transported to an undisclosed location, but he had no way of knowing for how long he had been in this inky abyss. The van that brought him here had taken a bizarre turn into the unknown, and that's when the men had covered his face, shrouding him in a suffocating blackness.

His desperate cries and frenzied curses echoed in the void, but they were swallowed by the oppressive silence that clung to him like a shroud. The journey had been a nightmare, a cacophony of fear and dread. When the vehicle finally stopped, his captors grabbed him and dragged him into this unseen space.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, and he heard footsteps approach. His heart raced as the men, with hands like steel, grabbed him and removed the blindfold that had been his only connection to the world. A rush of blinding light stabbed at his eyes, and he squinted, disoriented, and dazzled.

Nikolia's first instinct was to struggle against the restraints that bound him to the chair. "Let go of me, you bastard! You're messing with the wrong man here, All I need is one phone call and your whole family is done for" he yelled, the defiance in his voice strained with anger and frustration.

Wonwoo, took a languid drag from his cigarette, his eyes hidden beneath a veneer of cold detachment. "Am I?" He arched one meticulously groomed eyebrow as a henchman in the room landed a brutal punch on Nikolia's face, sending shockwaves of pain coursing through his body. Blood sprayed from his mouth as the impact made his jaw rattle.

As the coppery tang of blood mingled with the acrid scent of tobacco, Wonwoo continued, seemingly unperturbed." you know Nikolia, when I first saw you in the court I understood what a weakling you are, tch, such a waste of a pretty face" Wonwoo tilted his head to the side, as though pondering an intriguing conundrum. "You didn't even have the caliber to fight like a man. If you wanted the money all you had to do was come and beg us"

Nonchalantly, Wonwoo discarded his cigarette and crushed it underfoot, further emphasizing his indifference to Nikolia's suffering. "But no," he continued, rising from his seat with calculated elegance, "you had no go and get yourself get fucked over by your own stupidity"

Wonwoo seized Nikolia by the hair, his grip merciless, and forced him to meet his unrelenting gaze." you should've known your enemy before messing with them, if you get the chance from all the bending, ask who Jeon bo Hyuk was" With those ominous words, Wonwoo swung a heavy fist, striking Nikolia squarely across the cheekbones. The sudden, blinding pain sent white spots dancing before Nikolia's eyes. "That's for even thinking about harming my wife" He gasped as the warmth of blood gushed from his nose.

For a brief moment, Wonwoo stood above him, an imposing figure against the harsh light, before he delivered another devastating blow," and that's on behalf of Noel" he declared, his voice laced with cold fury.

The room filled with the dissonant sounds of Nikolia's choking gasps and labored breathing.

The man in the black suit handed Wonwoo a towel, while behind Nikolia, a maniacal laugh and a series of painful coughs echoed. Nikolia's laughter, punctuated by bloodied gums, grated on the nerves of everyone present, "You're gonna regret this bell boy"

Without turning to face him, Wonwoo retorted, "And what are you going to do, tattle to Yunho?"

Nikolia's eyes widened in alarm as Wonwoo turned to the man in the black suit and commanded, "Return him to Richardson, make sure to tell him to treat him with so much care that he regains his faith in god again"

With a murmured "Yes, boss," the men swiftly began the process of transporting Nikolia out of this nightmarish confrontation.

"And to think," Nikolia sneered, even in his bloodied and beaten state, "that bitch has you wrapped around her finger. I guess her pussy has that effect I still rememb--""

Before he could complete his sentence, Wonwoo's fist struck with unrestrained force, and the chair, still bound to Nikolia's body, fell to the ground. The world swirled into a whirlpool of darkness as Nikolia's consciousness slipped away. Wonwoo gazed down at the battered and broken Nikolia, his voice laced with icy authority. "Rule of the thumb, you keep my wife's name out of your mouth," he declared, the weight of his words bearing down upon the man.

(A/N: Dude why didn't I made wonwoo mafia opens another wip )

........

........

One Month later

The evening of the 75th Anniversary gala was marked by an air of anticipation as you sat in a plush chair, the skilled hands of your makeup artist, Ashton, expertly crafting your hair into a glamorous masterpiece. You held a phone call with Racheal, going over the final details for the night.

"Make sure no more than five interviews," you instructed, your voice firm.

"That's done," Racheal confirmed promptly. "Each will get 2 minutes, and no personal questions."

"Good," you replied with a nod. "Are you there yet?"

Racheal's voice sounded through the phone, "No, just about to reach."

"Okay, then drive safe," you told her before ending the call. The preparations were in full swing as you adorned a stunning red-plated off-shoulder cape dress with a high slit. The fabric draped elegantly around your form, exuding an air of regal sophistication.

Just as you were getting ready, there came a discreet knock at the door. Chan, who had once stood as a symbol of discord between you and Wonwoo, now entered the room, holding a blue box in his hands. While things had improved between him and Chan, the tension still lingered his presence often an uncomfortable reminder of past misunderstandings. Wonwoo was prepared to go so far as to fire Chan in his act of contrition. However, you intervened, reminding him, "Why should someone else suffer for something you initiated?"

"Mr. Jeon sent you this," Chan explained, "and expressed his desire to see you wear it tonight."

You excused everyone from the room, leaving only Ashton behind, and Chan proceeded to open the box with a sense of reverence. Revealed within was a necklace that bore a stunning piece of history—an emerald and diamond creation that had once belonged to Catalina the Second of Russia. The gem sparkled with a rare, captivating beauty that made even Ashton gasp in awe.

"This is from the Anakami collection, part of the royal vault of Russia," Chan informed you, his tone respectful and impressed.

You nodded, your knowledge of the piece shining through. "From Catalina the Second."

Chan's understanding smile mirrored his acknowledgment of your profound familiarity with the necklace. Your appreciative smile revealed your thanks, and you gestured for Ashton to place the exquisite piece around your neck.

As the necklace adorned your neckline, he couldn't help but compliment, "Indeed, your husband has an eye for a gem."

Thanking Chan for his delivery, you expected him to take his leave, but he remained in place. After Ashton left the room, Chan went into a polite bow. You looked at him and turning back to your reflection with a more somber expression, you addressed him.

"Get up, Chan," you said gently, "the workers should not apologize for their loyalty to their boss. You did what any subordinate would do. I am not angry with you."

Chan's smile returned, and he bowed once more, an expression of gratitude and humility in his eyes. As he prepared to leave the room, you stopped him with a final piece of advice.

"Chan," you began in a soft but firm tone, "next time, try to keep your experiences and advice to yourself. Hmm?"

"Duly noted, madam," Chan replied with an appreciative nod. The understanding between you felt like a small step toward restoring a sense of normalcy to your relationship.

You were nearly ready, as Ashton entered again to finish the final touches.

The grand gala was a spectacle of opulence and glamour. The chandeliers hung from the ceiling, their crystal facets glistening in the soft, warm light. Servers in impeccable uniforms weaved through the crowd, offering trays of exquisite hors d'oeuvres and champagne flutes. The air was filled with the clicks of cameras and the hum of hushed conversations as guests from various elite circles, including A-listers, entrepreneurs, and influential individuals from both sides of your families, mingled and celebrated.

The event's announcer took center stage, standing beside the grand stairs, and her voice resonated through the room as all eyes turned toward her. "Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all to the grand celebration of 75 years of L/N Diamonds and Special Stones. We gather here to honor the visionary who started it all 75 years ago with his hard work, dedication, and passion for a woman's best friend. What makes this evening even more special is that it is also a celebration in honor of the newlyweds, the heiress of the L/Ns, and the prince of JJ Group, Jeon Wonwoo."

The crowd erupted into applause, and Wonwoo, surrounded by business partners, raised his glass, receiving smiles and nods from those around him.

The announcer continued, "Now, without further ado, I would like to call upon the stage the star of the evening, the diamond heiress and the CEO of Fareed Switzerland, Y/n L/N."

All eyes turned to the top of the grand stairs, and the clapping of the guests filled the hall. You descended the stairs gracefully, your red cape trailing behind you, giving you the appearance of a character from a classic film. The necklace adorning your neck, a magnificent royal heirloom from Russia, captured everyone's attention.

Everything seemed to slow down for Wonwoo as he watched you descend the stairs. He was struck by the realization of his incredible luck in being married to such a remarkable woman. His chest swelled with pride and second-guessed his luck.

As you reached the stage and adjusted the microphone, you smiled at the host and began your address, "Thank you, Lana, for that lovely introduction. Although the second half was lost to me because I was busy thinking about how not to trip on the stairs."Laughter rippled through the crowd. "Since I'm not a big fan of long speeches, I'll keep this address short and sweet. This evening is not about celebrating L/N Diamonds and Fareed but about those who dare to dream and the realists who support their dreamers, like Mr. Locke, Mr. Kim, and Mr. Jeong, who are present here this evening."

The spotlight fell upon their table, and you acknowledged them with a nod as they raised their glasses. "They started this journey with my grandfather 75 years ago, and, most importantly, to the backbone of this foundation who are present here—from the miners to the designers." You paused a round of applause resonated through the crowds, "When I was young, my grandfather would often be stuck in his office, spending hours analyzing the diamonds. He talked to me passionately about their history."

You continued, "One day, in my naivete, I asked, 'Grandpa, who do you love more, the diamonds or Grandma?' It might seem like a silly question, but he turned to me and said, 'Your grandma.'"

You recalled his words, "How come? You rarely spend time with her." He laughed and replied, "Because when I make a bracelet she likes, the smile on her face and the pride with which she wears that piece make me feel like she's carrying my love with her everywhere she goes. Love is never constant. Some days can be bad, and some good, but we do not live in days; we live in memories. These diamonds remind us of why we choose to wake up every day and be with the person we love."

You expressed your gratitude for the past 75 years, "For the last 75 years, we have not only been making diamonds but tokens of love that eternalize our memories—resilient, forever cherishable, and bound by legacy. So, let's raise our glasses to the 75 years of trust from our customers and the passion of our designers.

To my parents, who taught me love, to my son, who reminds me of how to love."

Your eyes found Noel standing with your father-in-law, holding his hand just a few feet away from the stage. Your eyes find Wonwoo's across the room when you smile as you address your husband, "And to my husband, who has shown me what it feels like to be loved."

The entire room joined in, raising their glasses and echoing your words, "To love."

Wonwoo mouthed the words, "To love," as he emptied his flute, a contented smile on his face.

(the angel on the left "This is getting too fluffy"

angel on the right "It is an epilogue it is supposed to be fluffy")

The music resumed, and you gracefully stepped down from the stage, leaving Rachel to deal with the waiting media. After about 20 minutes of enduring half-baked sexist questions and borderline invasions of privacy regarding your marriage and the recent conflict, you finally returned to the party and began greeting the guests one by one.

On the other side of the party, Rachel had finished her duties and decided to take a break at the bar. She ordered a drink and was savoring the moment when someone approached her. There was a slight hesitation in his demeanor, but he continued, "Shall I give you my card? I think you're going to need an attorney tonight."

Rachel furrowed her brows in confusion, asking, "Why?" Lowering his voice a bit, he replied, "Because you're dressed to kill." She rolled her eyes and smiled behind her glass. "Come on, it wasn't that bad," he defended.

"I didn't say anything," she replied, looking up at him. Their eyes locked, and Rachel felt hers drifting down to his lips. Unconsciously, she bit her lip and shook her head to snap out of her trance. That's when Jungkook cleared his throat and began, "Listen, Rach, about the other day…"

Rachel cut him off, saying, "It's alright. It doesn't matter. It was just a kiss. We met by chance, had an argument about wines, and then one thing led to another. It was a mistake, so let's forget about it, okay?"

Jungkook felt a pang of rejection, something quite unfamiliar to him in his experiences with women. He clenched his hands inside his pockets and wanted to say he didn't want to forget it, but before he could, a server interjected. "Excuse me, Ms. Lee. Madam Y/n is calling for you." Following the server's indication, Rachel spotted you standing in a group and beckoning her over with a subtle gesture as your eyes met. She got down from the stool, took her drink, and told Jungkook, "It was nice meeting you, Jungkook. Take care," before leaving him.

Jungkook, feeling a strange wave of melancholy, needing some air, took a glass of scotch and walked towards the balcony.

As you saw Rachel approaching, you gently pulled her to your side and introduced her, "Nora, Minny, gentlemen, this is Rachel Lee, currently the Managing Director at L/N's. Rach, this is the board of Fareed." They all exchanged greetings and shook hands, sharing a few words and smiles. You continued, "People, I hope you all treat Rachel well. She's my nomination for the COO candidate for Fareed."

Rachel could feel her eyes widen in astonishment, and her mouth slightly opened, but she quickly schooled her features. Bubbles of excitement tingled through her, just like they did when she kissed Jungkook. She stopped herself from following that train of thought and focused on answering Minny's questions.

.......

You were engrossed in a conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Kwon, Joon-hee's in law's, who was complimenting your exquisite necklace Mrs. Kwon, leaning towards you with a sly smile, said, "Thank you, I'm glad you both could make it. I thought you'd be in Japan."

Mr. Kwon nodded in agreement as his wife continued, "We were, but then Sunmi insisted we attend, especially since we didn't get the chance to meet her daughter-in-law due to your wish for a quick and private wedding."

You responded with a thin-lipped smile and a nod, but before you could reply, a familiar arm wrapped around your waist, enveloping you in a comforting scent.“There you are sweetheart, Sorry I am late, I was looking everywhere for you” Wonwoo smiled down at you and planted a soft kiss on the corner of your lips.

"Evening, Mr. and Mrs. Kwon. How have you been?" Wonwoo greeted them.

Mrs. Kwon interjected, "We're fine, as much as age allows us to be. I was just telling your wife that her preference for private meetings can sometimes leave a bad impression regarding close relationships."

You were about to respond, but Wonwoo beat you to it. He explained, "Well, it was my wish to have a private wedding. I didn't want to waste plates, where mouths would be busy chatting instead of chewing food."

Mrs. Kwon's expression soured, and she clicked her tongue against her teeth. On the other hand, Mr. Kwon smiled and reached out to shake hands with Wonwoo. "How are you, young man? Why don't I see you around the club anymore? You know, Y/n, he'd give even Matsuyama a run for his money."

Wonwoo gave a humble shake of his head. "Mr. Kwon is too kind. Well, if it's okay with you, may I steal my wife?"

Mr. Kwon let out a hearty laugh and said, "Sure, young man."

Wonwoo swiftly pulled you away from the couple, and as you walked side by side, he leaned in and whispered in your ear, "You look absolutely gorgeous."

You teased back, "You don't look half bad yourself." The subtle flashes of cameras continued as you asked about his interviews. He gave you a tired look that conveyed his reluctance to discuss it at the moment.

As you both approached your parents, Noel ran to you and hugged your legs. "Baby boy, are you having fun?" You asked, and he nodded, pointing towards Somi. "Can Somi and I go to the chocolate fountain?"

"Sure, why not," you gestured for them to follow Tham, As he waved goodbye to your dad.

With the kids occupied, you talked to your parents, complimenting both your mother and mother-in-law on their incredible planning and coordination. Your parents were going to Italy for a bit of business that your father had, followed by a leisure trip to Sicily.

As you were about to move on to greet other guests, Lana took the microphone and said, "Although the average wedding reception occurs within an hour of the ceremony this one took 3 months" subtle chuckle from the guest "upon the suggestion of Mrs. Sunmi Jeon herself, I would like to request Mr. and Mrs. Jeon to bestow the honor of their first dance."

You looked around, a bit surprised, as all eyes were on you, anticipating your dance. You were about to shake your head in refusal when Wonwoo extended his hand towards you, his eyes locked onto yours. "May I have this dance, Mrs. Jeon?" he asked with a charming smile.

You looked at his outstretched hand and then met his gaze. There was a shared understanding, a connection that ran deeper than words could express. With a nod and a graceful curtsy, you accepted his invitation. You placed your hand in his, feeling his strong, warm grasp, and he pulled you gently towards him.

The crowd hushed in anticipation as the first notes of the waltz enveloped the room. You and Wonwoo moved together as if you were the only two people in the world. The dance floor felt like a world of its own, a place where only the two of you existed.

Your red dress swirled around you, its cape fluttering in harmony with the rhythm of the music. Wonwoo's tuxedo looked impeccable, and the soft colors of your outfits complemented each other perfectly. With each step and twirl, you moved as one, your eyes locked, and smiles shared.

On the balcony, Jungkook stood gazing at the night sky, an air of melancholy surrounding him. The soft glow of the stars above painted a serene backdrop to his contemplation. The world seemed to move on around him as he lost himself in his thoughts.

A voice broke through his reverie as Joonhee opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony. She had a teasing tone in her voice as she asked, "Hey, you aren't planning on jumping, are you?"

Jungkook didn't turn to look at her. He replied with a hint of wry humor, "Not without leaving a testimony that if I'm found dead, the first person to look for is you."

She walked over to him and stood by his side, her back against the railing, and her elbows resting on it. Curiosity laced her words as she asked, "You're wearing the same expression you had when we had to put Dora down."

Jungkook offered a rueful smile, reminded of their first horse, and said, "Not really, just thinking about a few things. Where's your husband?"

She glanced towards the hall where you and Wonwoo were dancing. "He's near the chocolate fountain with the kids."

Jungkook let out a dry chuckle. "Do you ever think that you're raising two kids, not just one?"

Joonhee smiled and nodded. "Every day."

A comfortable silence settled between them as they both leaned against the railing, watching the two of you dancing inside the hall. Eventually, Joonhee began to speak, her words filled with wisdom. "I've learned in life that if something doesn't work out, it means something better is waiting around the corner. You just have to be patient."

Jungkook clicked his tongue and voiced his doubts. "Sometimes certain things don't get better with time. They always take a part of you with them, and you're left incomplete, no matter what you do to fill the void."

Joonhee offered her perspective. "Then maybe you're filling that void with the wrong things." Both of them turned their gaze towards you and Wonwoo, who were concluding your dance.

"Remember when Eleanor left, oppa?" Joonhee hummed, her thoughts drifting back. "He was nothing but an empty shell, always working, never laughing, and not even attending the same places as she did. I hated her for what she did." She turned to Jungkook. "But that didn't stop you, did it?"

Jungkook shrugged, nonchalantly. "I can't be bothered about her. Her husband is an important client of my firm, and you know how it works. We don't really have a choice."

Joonhee nodded thoughtfully. "Look at him now. You know, Jungkook, things do get better with time. But if you find something you really want, then you have to fight for it."

Jungkook questioned with a hint of uncertainty, "What if fighting makes it worse?"

"Then let it go," Joonhee advised. "If it's meant to be, it will be." They watched as you and Wonwoo concluded your dance, finding solace in the knowledge that sometimes, life had its own way of bringing better things when least expected.

As the final notes of the music filled the air, you and Wonwoo came to a graceful stop, and the room erupted in applause.

.......

As the night wore on and the party grew livelier, the atmosphere became even more festive after the dinner. You had just sent Noel home and Wonwoo was engrossed in conversation with some old college friends, their laughter echoing from the other side of the room. you found yourself near the bar, waiting for your drink. From amidst the crowd, you spotted a familiar face approaching, and a smile of recognition crossed your lips as he stood in front of you.

"It's been a while," he said as he slid next to you.

You nodded and replied, "Three years, I suppose. How have you been, Mr. Choi?"

Seungcheol grinned, "Y/n, please. I thought we were friends." He tilted his head, and you nodded in agreement.

"I've been good, just returned from Denmark," you told him.

"I see. And how's Mr. and Mrs. Choi?" he asked.

"Same old, playing the Cupid," you replied, and both of you shared a laugh.

"I would say you could relate, but here you are, married, leaving your comrade all alone," he said with a mock frown.

"Oh, come on. You know there was a limit to how far we could keep up the ruse. My mother caught on before the third date," you reminded him.

Wonwoo couldn't help but smile as he took a sip from his glass, listening to his friend's humorous recollection of their past swimming adventures, including the infamous incident where they had stolen his clothes, leaving him standing naked. However, his laughter concealed as His gaze wandered around the room and eventually landed on you, near the bar, sharing a hearty laugh at something Seungcheol had just said. Wonwoo's eyes were fixed on you, his brow furrowed in thought as he tried to place where he had seen Seungcheol before.

He watched as you laughed freely with someone else, your joy radiating from you like a warm glow. A tinge of unease settled in his chest as he realized that he couldn't easily divert his attention from the sight of you both having such a good time together.

"That's a cute kid," Seungcheol commented as you showed him pictures of Noel from Jeonghan's wedding. "Wow, so that's Jeonghan and Victor you were telling me about?"

You nodded and locked your phone. He raised an eyebrow, seemingly remembering something. "And what about that friend of yours, what's her name?"

"Noella," you assisted.

"Yes, what about her?"

You cleared your throat and informed him with a sad smile, "She and her husband passed away in a car accident two years ago."

A look of remorse flashed in Seungcheol's deep, dark eyes. "My sincere condolences, Y/n. I didn't know."

You smiled, saying, "It's alright, just life, you know."

He nodded in agreement, and a moment of silence passed between the two of you. Seungcheol then picked up his glass and said, "Well, I wasn't going to make it tonight, but I was curious to meet the man who managed to sweep you off your feet. Where is he?"

Before you could answer, Wonwoo's voice sounded from behind. "Why don't you meet him yourself?" You turned, slightly surprised, to find Wonwoo standing beside you, emitting a slightly intimidating vibe while keeping his eyes trained on Seungcheol.

You tried to break the stare-down, saying, "Seungcheol oppa, meet Jeon Wonwoo, my husband." You grabbed Wonwoo's arm and continued, "Wonwoo, this is Choi Seongcheol, you must have heard of him, Choi Motors and Tyres."

Wonwoo frowned and shook his head, saying, "Nah, doesn't ring a bell." You gave him a wide-eyed look, shocked by his response.

Seungcheol just laughed and reassured, "Y/n, maybe we have to work harder to reach the tall towers," extending his hand for Wonwoo to shake.

Wonwoo's hand was still in his pocket, and you dug your nails into his bicep. He reluctantly took his hand out of his pocket and gave a tight grip and shake. Seungcheol raised an eyebrow, saying, "It's a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Jeon."

Wonwoo replied, "Likewise. May I know how you know my wife?"

Seungcheol explained, "Y/n and I go way back. Our mothers are friends, and they decided to set us up together. So, we used to date."

"Fake date," you corrected.

Seungcheol teased, "Really, it was real for me." He felt Wonwoo's grip tighten, but he was enjoying making the man squirm. "Our mothers set us up to save the hassle, so we'd say we were on dates when, in truth, we'd just meet for 4-6 minutes and then part ways."

You chuckled as you continued, "Then, oppa had to leave for Denmark, and that's that."

"Tch, if not, you'd be Mrs. Choi today," he said with feigned remorse, further provoking Wonwoo. Wonwoo's smirk grew as he clenched his jaw.

He took his right hand out of his pocket, which was brushing your side. You released your grip on his arm and rested on your hand side, As he wrapped an arm around your waist, a little lower on the hip. You gave him a quizzical look.

"Then I should treat my mother-in-law better for being so quick-witted," he remarked.

"Wonwoo, did you know—" you began, but he cut you off.

"Y/n, Dad said he was leaving. Do you want to see him off?"

You felt a slight irritation flare within you as he cut you off, but you masked it with a smile, nodded, and turned to Seongcheol.

"It was so nice catching up with you, Oppa. If you're here for a while, why don't you come to our house? I'm sure it would be fun."

"Ah, I wish, but I have to fly back in a few days. But it was nice seeing you again, Mr. Jeon," Seongcheol said.

"Mr. Cho."

"Congratulations on your marriage and 75 years of L/N's."

"Thank you, Oppa."

Seongcheol looked at Wonwoo and advised, "Take care of this one; she can be a little feisty."

Wonwoo responded, "You don't say." With that, Seongcheol turned and left with a smile on his face.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Wonwoo turned to you and said, "Funny man. So, how many more have you fake-dated?"

You gave him a glare. "What was that?"

He looked down at you, confused. "What was what?"

"How many have I fake-dated before Seongcheol oppa?"

"Oh, now he's your oppa," Wonwoo mumbled.

"I can't believe this, Rude bastard" you muttered, shaking your head as you walked away from him. He glanced at your retreating figure and asked Himself, "Was I really that rude?"

.........

It was 2 am by the time you both reached home, your whole body aching from standing all evening. Adding fuel to the fire was Wonwoo, who still lingered around you. You managed to give him a little cold shoulder, still pissed at how he cut you off and treated your guest and asked that question. You never asked him how many women he indulged in, now did you?

As you were about to shut the door, a hand stopped it. "This is my room too," he said matter-of-factly.

"Right," you replied as you picked up the phone you threw on the bed. You were about to leave when he stopped you.

"Y/n, don't be like that. Come on, baby."

"Don't 'baby' me. Why did you have to act like some territorial brute, as if I have—"

"I know, I'm sorry. I just… I don't know, I didn't like seeing you laughing with another man. It pissed me off, okay?"

You raised your brows, pressing your lips into a thin line. "So, can I ask you if I do that as a profession? Fake date people? Do you even know what it feels like to have someone always nagging on top of your head, huh? With another shit-ton of things going on in life?" Your voice fell an octave.

"I know, baby. I'm sorry. It's just… fuck, I was just so pissed that I don't know what got over me, and I said that. I was just jealous."

You turned to him. "Would you forgive me if I admit I was?" He looked like a kicked puppy, and your anger radiated off of you.

You both walked back to your bedroom. Wonwoo's knees hit the edge of the bed as he plopped down, looking up at you. You gave him a knowing look, teasing, "How jealous?"

You placed your knees between his legs, pressing your kneecap against his groin. A soft hiss escaped his lips. He admitted, "So jealous that I wanted to take you right there in front of all those people. The moment you walked down those stairs, I couldn't believe my luck, that I am married to you."

You felt your heart quicken, and the familiar fire ignited within you. Slowly, you reached to remove the pin holding your hair in a half updo, letting your hair cascade down. You were about to take off your earrings when he stopped you, saying, "Leave them on."

He grabbed your hips, making you take a step back with one foot on the bed, causing you to fall back down. He pulled you to straddle his lap. Both of you leaned in, and your lips brushed against each other. You grabbed the back of his head and jerked it back, teasingly saying, "Nuh-uh."

You got off his lap and walked to the dressing table, settling down on the plush chair.

You gestured with your fingers in a "come hither" motion. On your command, Wonwoo discarded his suit jacket, tossing it somewhere in the room. He walked over to where you were sitting. When he was just two steps away, you raised your hand to halt him in his tracks, and he stopped.

"On your knees," you ordered.

"Y/N," he warned.

You raised your brows, taunting him. "So you don't want your forgiveness?"

He hesitated. You repeated your command, "Come here to me on your knees, Wonwoo, or I'll leave the room."

Without missing a beat, he dropped to his knees and took the remaining two steps, bringing him between your parted legs. A glimpse of your panties was visible from the slightly hiked slit in your dress. Wonwoo licked his lips and swallowed as he knelt before you.

Once he was on his knees between your legs, his hands reached to touch your thighs.

"Did I say you can touch me?" you asked.

"You're playing with fire," he threatened.

"Why, are you afraid of being extinguished?"

"Open my shoes," you demanded.

His eyes were burning with desire, but equally aroused and dilated. His hands reached your feet, and you raised your feet as the shoes fell with a thud, the relief of finally removing them washing over you.

Wonwoo brought your ankle near his mouth and bit on the Achilles tendon, making you hiss.

"Show me how sorry you are," you breathed out. His hands gripped your thighs to pull you to the edge of the seat.

"Tch, no hands," you commanded.

"How will I?" he asked.

"That's not my problem," you replied.

He removed his hands from your thighs and gripped the sides of the chair's cushion, his knuckles turning white as he slowly kissed his way up from your calves to your inner thighs, biting, kissing, and licking until he reached your panties. He took a whiff, rubbed his nose, and muffled, "How will I remove them?"

Your excitement was building, evident in your soaked panties. You condescended, leering down at him, "Foolish man can't even do this much alone."

Suddenly, he gave a hot lick and a soft bite on your labia, making you jolt and yelp. You grabbed his hair and pulled him away, a smug smile on his lips. "You think you're funny, huh?" Your chest heaved. "Just couldn't resist," he said with feigned innocence. You clenched your jaw and leaned back.

Your back was against the dressing table, and your feet, previously resting next to his thighs, were now pressing against his bulging, aroused crotch. You pressed your heels into him, making him hiss, and rubbed them up and down with slight pressure. Cocking your head to the side, you asked, "Don't you think you were a little out of line just now?"

His eyes slightly shut, enjoying the sensation, he responded with a low hum. You pressed harder for an answer.

"I'm sorry," he admitted.

"But I don't feel like you're sorry, darling."

You halted your actions and slowly bunched the dress around your waist. "Use your teeth."

On your command, Wonwoo leaned in and bit the side hem of your thong as you raised your hips to slide it down your feet.

"Now, here's your chance for redemption. Make it like you mean it."

Without further ado, Wonwoo gripped the cushion in a vice grip and delved into your bundle of nerves, exploring every nook and corner with his tongue and small bites. Your hands grabbed his hair, and you pushed him further in, your labored breaths and gasps echoing in the room.

One of your legs hiked up on his shoulder. "Fuck… ahhh… Won… Wonuuu…"

He continued with an unforgiving pace, your hips automatically trying to ride his face. The familiar tension started building in your womb, and you threw your head back, jaw slack. Your body and senses succumbed to the pleasure as the orgasm finally consumed you, with chants of his name leaving your lips. You came down from your high, panting.

Wonwoo felt a surge of pride course through him. It was his name on your lips, and your release belonged to him. He had been a fool to let a petty thought ruin the mood, but now he understood the beauty of redemption.

After you finally calmed down, he looked up at you and said, "Am I forgiven, baby?"

You nodded and teased, "Can I touch you now?"

"That's not how you ask for permission, Wonu," you playfully chided, "Do I have to give you a special etiquette class?"

He shook his head in response and corrected himself, "Can I please touch you?"

"Yes, you may," you granted him permission.

Without a second thought, he sprang to his feet, pulling you up from your seat. He captured your lips in a feverish kiss as his hands reached for your zipper. The dress pooled at your feet, and your hands were busy undressing him. You threw his coat and belt aside, opened his shirt, and then dealt with his pants as his hands touched and groped every part of you.

He was throbbing painfully as your hands grabbed him, rubbing along his slit. He sat on the bed and pulled you to straddle his lap, raising your hips as you rubbed his head against your lips. You slowly descended down on his length, both of you moaning together. Your hips matched each other's pace as you rode him, and the pleasure was overwhelming.

Your hair was sticking to your back as you reached to gather it into a makeshift ponytail. The earrings and necklace were the only accessories adorning you. He groped and sucked on your nipples, rolling his tongue around them and grazing with his thumb while the other hand played with the other.

You reached your other hand down and gave his balls a squeeze, eliciting a loud moan from him. "FUCK, Y/N," he exclaimed as he looked up at you, an enticing sight for his eyes.

"Not so soon," you panted. But he was desperate and wanted more. You fiddled with his balls, letting go of your hair, and pushed him back onto the bed. You began to ride him vigorously.

Even in the midst of overwhelming pleasure, he couldn't close his eyes. Your hips picked up the pace, and your chests matched the rhythm. He couldn't tear his eyes away from your neck, which was adorned with the expensive necklace he had gifted you, worth every million.

Your hands gave him another squeeze, and his release shot up. "Will you cut me off again?" you commanded.

Wonwoo shook his head in desperation. "No, no, never, never," he declared, his hips chasing the final ropes of pleasure.

He reached for the back of your head and brought your lips to his, your chests pressed tightly against each other. His thrusts chased the climax. "You fuck me like this and then question why I get jealous when another man tries to come close to you? How would you feel if some other woman tried flirting with me?" He gasped against your lips, and you bit down on his lips, tasting a slight tinge of copper.

"That's just wishful thinking, darling," you retorted, "as if you'd even desire another woman after getting fucked by me." You clenched around him, his now softening dick, making him gasp as your pleasure overtook you.

Wonwoo couldn't help but agree, realizing that you couldn't be more right.

.........

.........

2 Months Later

You were sitting in the living area, waiting anxiously for Noel and Wonwoo to return from their baseball game with your father-in-law. The news you had learned that morning had your heart racing and your palms sweaty. You couldn't help but feel jittery as you waited.

Finally, Noel and Wonwoo walked in, and to your shock, they had a puppy with them. You looked at both of them with a puzzled expression, "What is this?"

Wonwoo appeared confused and asked, "What? This little furball?"

You huffed, "Yes, that golden retriever puppy."

"Oh, come on, Y/N, don't be like that. That's Noel," Wonwoo replied, trying to explain.

A chorus of "hey" came from the boy, who was now playing with the little golden retriever pup. You glared at Wonwoo, crossed your arms, and tilted your head to the side, clearly displeased.

Noel began, "On our way back, we saw a woman putting this puppy litter on the road. She was giving them away because her dog died while giving birth, and she couldn't raise them all alone. So she was giving them to whoever wanted to take them."

You scowled at Wonwoo and retorted, "You could have asked me first, you know."

He defended their decision, "Yeah, that would have ruined the surprise."

Wonwoo then took the pup in his hands and held it up in front of his face, using a fake cute voice, "Don't you think I'm cute?"

You looked down at Noel, who was giving you the same puppy-dog eyes as the actual puppy. He pleaded, "I promise I'll take care of him. I'll take him for walks, feed him on time, and even give him a bath, I promise."

Wonwoo chimed in, "He promised."

You sighed and continued to examine the dog, lowering yourself to its eye level. You extended your hand for it to smell, and it automatically started licking your hand. You looked up and inquired, "Did you at least get him checked by the vet and have him registered for vaccines and stuff?" Your tone was laced with a warning.

Wonwoo hesitated, avoiding eye contact, and a sense of guilt washed over him.

But before you could press further, Noel interjected with enthusiasm, "Of course, we did, Dad and I took him to the vet, and I've even named him."

"So, what did you name him?" You looked at Wonwoo and then at Noel, curiosity in your eyes.

Wonwoo began, "Well, I first suggested Tony, you know, after Tony Stark—"

"But then he kind of reminded me of Baden," Noel interrupted. The pup gave a yelp, as if responding, and Noel continued, "He liked it, see? He even responds to it. So I named him Baden."

You and Wonwoo exchanged a knowing glance. You had informed Noel about Baden's passing in an accident and had made sure his funeral was well taken care of. However, you refrained from attending, choosing instead to pay your respects a week later.

You gave Noel a tight smile and reached to take the dog from your husband's arms, raising him to your eye level. "So you are Baden," you mused. The little puppy wagged his tail and stuck out his tongue, letting out a small bark. "But I'm going to call him Denny," Noel innocently added. You silently approved, knowing that you'd likely be calling the dog's name at some point, and you didn't want to summon the spirit of Baden Bulavia inadvertently.

"Then welcome to the family, Baden. I hope you take good care of my son," you said to the puppy. As if understanding every word, the little dog turned his head to the side, listening intently.

With a nod of satisfaction, you sent Noel off to take a shower and asked Ahjumma to buy some milk and puppy diapers. You couldn't deny the cuteness of the new addition, but you had no intentions of cleaning up after his mess on your new carpets and bedding.

"Wonwoo, we need to talk," you said, your voice carrying the weight of seriousness. Wonwoo, who was in the middle of sharing details about the game, immediately stopped speaking. He could sense the gravity in your tone. Following your lead, he walked to his ground-floor office.

Upon entering, you closed the door behind you. adorned with rich mahogany bookshelves, stuffed with leather-bound books, and filled with the intoxicating scent of Paper and Tobacco. Files were meticulously arranged on the desk, and a sleek laptop sat at its center, the flickering screen casting a bluish glow on the polished wooden surface.

"Y/n, if it's about the dog, then I'm sorry. I know I should have informed you, but I couldn't say no to Noel and -"

Your heart was racing, and his rambling only made it worse. You fiddled with your wedding ring, taking quick breaths.

"…and I know you don't like surprises. If you want, then I guess I'll return it back."

"Wonwoo, I'm pregnant!" you blurted out in a quick breath.

As soon as the words left your mouth, all the rambling died in Wonwoo's throat. His mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, and all the switches in his brain seemed to go off. The world slowed down around him, and anxious anticipation coursed through his veins. In a whispered tone, punctuating each word, he asked, "You are what?" His eyes widened, and his eyebrows almost touched his forehead.

"Well, for the past few days, I was feeling kinda queasy, and my periods were late. I went to the doctor earlier when you both were at the game because I wasn't sure, considering the uterine device…"

Wonwoo took a step towards you, and you continued, "The doctor ran some tests, and… I am four weeks pregnant."

You kept your gaze on your hands as you spoke. When you felt Wonwoo's hand on your shoulder, you raised your head to see him. His eyes glistened with unshed tears, and your eyes welled up as well. "You are pregnant," he said, his voice trembling towards the end. "We are going to have a child, a baby."

A sense of doubt arose in his voice as he asked, "Are you unhappy?"

"Are you kidding me? I am the happiest man on Earth right now," he said and picked you up, spinning you around. You laughed and playfully slapped his shoulder. He halted his spinning to look into your eyes.

"We can't tell anyone, at least for the next two months."

"But—"

"No 'buts.' I just don't want to jinx it."

He looked a bit dejected but understood your point. "But we should at least tell the housekeeper to be extra careful and Noel that he's going to be an elder brother now."

A smile faded from your face, and Wonwoo gently put you down, cupping your face in his hands. "What's wrong?"

"It's just… I don't want other people's malice to affect Noel. You know how they talk behind our backs, and what if Noel feels neglected and hates it."

"My love, Noel is a very wise and smart boy who knows that no matter what, your love for him and his place in your heart will always be irreplaceable, okay?"

Bending down to your eye level, Wonwoo kissed your forehead and then your cheeks. "You have no idea how happy I feel right now. I can't wait to hold her."

You furrowed your brows and looked up at him. "How do you know it's a 'her'?"

"Call it a father's instinct," he said, and you rolled your eyes, letting out a sarcastic laugh. "Load of shit."

"What—" He laughed. "You don't believe me. You'll see. The way she managed to dodge the uterine device with her resilience and stubbornness, there are no other arguments but to think it's a girl. Just like her mother." You pinched his hip. "Ouch! Haha."

He embraced you tightly, taking a step back to hold your chin between his thumb, bending down, and getting lost in a heartfelt kiss.

.......

Later that night, after dinner, Wonwoo went and told the housekeeper and Noel's nanny that you were expecting and to be extra careful with you, not even allowing you to step into the kitchen. And signing off that if this information goes outside he will know who leaked it.

The room was painted in shades of red and gold, resembling an Iron Man theme room. Beddings, action figures, and toy cars lined the shelves, creating an exciting atmosphere. The door was left open, and Wonwoo leaned against it, watching as Noel sat on his bed, ready to sleep. He was reading a book to Denny, the pup, who sat on his stomach with a diaper on, listening attentively.

"Hey, bud, got a minute," Wonwoo called.

"Oh, Dad, come in," Noel responded, looking up from his book.

Wonwoo sat on the side of the bed near the bedside table and wrapped his arms around Noel's shoulder. The pup jumped onto Wonwoo's lap, and his hands instinctively started petting the soft fur.

"What are you reading there?" he asked, pointing to the book.

"The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse."

"Hmm, that's deep stuff," Wonwoo remarked.

"So did you have fun today?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was fun. By the way," Noel turned his body to face his dad, "does Grandpa get that excited about every match like that?"

Wonwoo snorted and said, "Pretty much, yeah. He used to be like that when I played in college."

"You played baseball in college?" Noel looked curious.

Wonwoo nodded. "Do you like any sports?" he asked.

"Well," Noel started, thinking for a moment, "I like horse riding, but baseball is cool too."

"Anything else?" Wonwoo suggested.

"Hmm, football. Uncle JJ told me that he and my father used to play football together sometimes."

"Football, huh? If you want, you can play too. JK is really into football. I'll ask him if he knows any good clubs."

"No, it's okay, my school has a team," Noel added.

"So, I wanted to talk to you about something," he cleared his throat and started. "Tante wants me to return Denny."

"What? No, she doesn't. The thing is, you're going to be an older brother."

"How?"

"Please don't make me give you a birds and bees talk right now; I am not prepared."

"Do you mean Tante is going to have a baby?"

"How do you know this?"

"We were taught in Moral and Physical Ed class about good touch and bad touch. They also told us how babies come in their mom's stomach."

Wonwoo felt it was best that he left this conversation to You. "Right."

"Yeah, when a man and a woman come together, and—"

"Got it, bud. Yes, we made a baby." Wonwoo cleared his throat at the end of the sentence.

"But I just wanted to talk about you being an older brother now. So, you're going to have a lot of responsibility and have to look out for your sibling and grow taller and stronger."

He closed his eyes and started again. "Noel," Wonwoo breathed. "There are going to be times when people's opinions grow a vicious voice in our heads and make you feel bad about yourself and other things. I just want you to know that even though we are not related by blood, you will always be a special part of our hearts. So, no matter what people say, you will always be our son. We will always love you, okay? So whenever you feel like that, you can come and talk to us, hmm?"

Wonwoo gave a reassuring squeeze on Noel's shoulder, and the boy wrapped his small arms around his ribs, hugging him and nodding against his chest. Wonwoo smiled and looked down, caressing his back, then kissed him on the top of his head. They realized they were almost squishing the pup between them when a small bark interrupted their moment. Parting, Wonwoo said, "I still think we should've gone with Noel Jr."

"DADDDD!!" Noel whined, making Wonwoo laugh. "Okay, okay."

........

........

In the cold, sterile jail visitor cell, Nikolia sat on one side of a thick glass partition, separated from his lawyer, who occupied the other side. They conversed through old, scratched telephones affixed to the wall.

Nikolia appeared unkempt and disheveled, with wild, devilish hair, dark eye bags, and an unruly beard. His wrists were encircled by handcuffs, a constant reminder of his current predicament.

“What do you mean my appeal got fucking canceled?” Nikolia growled, his frustration evident in his every word.

His lawyer, a man in his 50s with thinning hair, closed his eyes for a moment, collecting his thoughts before explaining, "It hasn't been canceled, Nikolia. It has been taken for further consideration."

“Then how much time will they need for consideration, huh? What do I feed you for? Fifteen years you've worked for me, and this is the best you could do, you pathetic fat pig.”

The lawyer sighed, realizing he had to tread carefully. “Nikolia, I understand your frustration, but you've been charged with four murders—three of your own family members—and other illegal arms trade activities. This led to the cancellation of our license as well. If that were not enough, you gave death threats to Jeon's daughter-in-law. They have everyone in their pockets.”

“I DON'T GIVE A FLYING FUCK WHO THAT BITCH HAS IN HER POCKETS. I AM NIKOLIA BULAVIA!! WHERE ARE THOSE PIMP-ASS FAMILIAS, HUH? DO THEY WANT ME TO OPEN MY MOUTH?”

The lawyer leaned closer, his voice hushed. “I'd suggest you keep your voice down and mouth shut about the Familia. They are already waiting for you to make a move so they can pull the trigger. If you want to stay alive, then stay put and mind your own business.”

Before Nikolia could unleash another tirade, the line emitted a beep, signaling the end of their call. An officer approached to escort Nikolia back to his cell, but he jerked his hand away defiantly, muttering, “I can walk on my own.”

The lawyer sighed heavily and went to sit in the waiting area. His phone suddenly rang, and his hands trembled as he glanced at the caller ID. Without wasting a second, he brought the phone to his ear.

"Yes, boss."

A deep, gravelly voice came from the other end, inquiring, "How was the meeting? How did that bastard look?"

"Very miserable, sir. He kept whining about how no one would help him, but he threatened to take the Familias down with him."

The man on the other end burst into a hearty laugh. "Let him suffer. That's what he gets when he underestimates the Knoxes. And if he makes even a slight squeak, you know what to do next, don't you?"

"Yes—yes, sir."

As the two men engaged in their conversation, a breaking news story flashed across the television screen.

"ACCORDING TO OUR WITNESSES, DURING THE PRIME MINISTER ELECTION, THE DEVELOPMENT MINISTER AND DAUGHTER-IN-LAW OF CANDIDATE LEE HYUN JOON, WIFE OF CONGRESSMAN LEE JOON SUK'S WIFE, ELEANOR LEE WHO WAS ACCOMPANYING HER FATHER-IN-LAW AND HUSBAND DURING THE RALLY WENT INTO LABOR A MONTH EARLY AND NOW HAS BEEN BLESSED WITH A BABY BOY," the news anchor reported.

The old woman nodded approvingly, her fingers interlaced in her lap. "Aigoo, such a considerate young lady," she mused.

The woman next to her, also engrossed in the broadcast, chimed in, "Their party has always been very family-oriented."

"You're right," the old woman replied, her voice filled with admiration. "They hold these values very dear. I guess he is a very promising candidate to vote for."

The two women continued to watch the news, their discussions about the Lee family, and their commitment to their political party.

.........

.........

3 Months later

The morning sun streamed into the lavish living room of your mansion, casting a warm and inviting glow. The day after Christmas had left remnants of the holiday festivities scattered all around. The majestic Christmas tree stood tall and proud, adorned with twinkling lights and ornaments, while the couch was strewn with colorful gift wrappers that had been torn apart in excitement.

You sat comfortably on the couch, legs tucked beneath a cozy blanket, taking in the cheerful chaos of the room. It was around 9 am, and beside you, Noel was still engrossed in unwrapping his birthday and Christmas gifts. This year was extra special as it marked your first Christmas after getting married, and it was also your beloved son's birthday.

You had decided to host a family gathering along with some of Noel's school friends, and the festive spirit lingered. However,. Jeonghan and Victor were celebrating the holidays with Victor's family, and Rachel was settling into her role as the new COO of Fareed in Switzerland.

Surprisingly, Jungkook had also missed the gathering. He had to rush to Zurich due to an emergency meeting with a client, leaving his mother inquisitive.

Noel continued to tear through the gift wrappers with enthusiasm, his excitement evident in the smile on his face. Amidst the chaos of wrapping paper, Denny was indulging in a game of peek-a-boo, occasionally popping out from beneath the torn remnants of gift wrap.

Despite your best efforts to keep your pregnancy a secret from family and friends, your husband Wonwoo seemed to be on high alert at all times. You weren't showing yet, and your choice of loose-fitting clothing helped maintain the illusion. However, subtlety appeared to be a foreign concept to him.

Wonwoo's protective nature was on full display, as he doggedly hovered around you, rarely venturing more than a few meters away. His concern for your well-being was unwavering, and he had a tendency to ask the same questions repeatedly. Whether it was inquiring about your comfort, worrying if someone was pressuring you to do something, or making sure you weren't on your feet too much, Wonwoo's vigilance, love, and care for you were unmistakable, even if his overprotectiveness sometimes bordered on comical.

During a conversation with Sunmi and your mother, Sunmi couldn't resist making a comment. "Have you gained weight?" she inquired, her eyes traveling up and down your figure.

You took a nonchalant sip of your hot chocolate, the smell of meat and eggs making your stomach churn. Even though these foods were essential for the baby's development, they had become almost unbearable. Wonwoo had made it his daily mission to ensure you ate at least one boiled egg before he left for work.

"Maybe I haven't checked," you responded with a hint of indifference.

Sunmi let go of the subject with a simple, "Hmm." However, your mother-in-law continued to eye you for the remainder of the evening, her eyes revealing a knowing glint. It felt like she knew your secret, and you couldn't help but think of her loose-lipped palm tree wannabe son.

"I'm going to tell them next week anyway," you thought, as you and Wonwoo had already confirmed the baby's health, assuring a healthy heartbeat.

Noel was over the moon with excitement ever since you'd shared the news with him. He would often come to the master bedroom to tell stories to the baby and inquire about its current fruit size. Sometimes, he'd fall asleep on your bed while Denny, who had become his inseparable companion, would curl up by your feet.

As Wonwoo entered the living room with two cups in his hands, he handed you the decaffeinated coffee. You offered your gratitude with a mumbled "Thank you, baby," and he leaned down to give you a quick peck on the lips. In a hushed tone, he whispered, "No worries, love," against your lips.

He then picked up Denny and settled down on the couch, the dog hopping from his lap to yours. Your nails naturally scratched the top of Denny's head while Noel nestled comfortably between the two of you.

"Noel, who's this from?" you asked as he was eagerly tearing into another gift.

"Nana and Pop's," he replied, his eyes filled with excitement as he managed the last rip of the wrapping paper. When he finally unveiled the gift, he exclaimed, "Cool, a hoverboard!" You and Wonwoo exchanged smiles. "Your parents will spoil him with gifts like these."

"My parents? Yours gave him a PS5 and a new tablet," you countered and smiled. When Noel asked, "Mom, can I go and try this out?" you felt a sudden shiver down your spine as if someone had paused you in the moment. "What—" you spluttered, "What did you just call me?"

"Mom," Noel looked a bit confused at your reaction. "Did you not like it? But Somi and my other friends said yesterday that since you're my godmother, I can call you 'Mom' too. I already call Dad 'Dad.' Should I not call you that?" His anxiousness peeked through his nonchalant tone.

Your eyes began to water as an overwhelming feeling washed over you. You set the cup aside and enveloped the boy in your arms. "Of course, you can, baby boy," you assured him, kissing the side of his head. "Go try the new gift." Noel eagerly unboxed the hoverboard and ran out, with Denny following closely behind. You shouted after him, "Don't forget to wear the protective gear! Mrs. Tham, please make sure he does that."

Your tearful eyes met Wonwoo's, and he approached, pulling you into his chest. "How are you feeling?" he asked, gently rubbing your arms in light traces.

"Not sure," you replied. "I feel happy as well as guilty. This was the third birthday without his parents. Every day he grows up, I'm grateful to witness it, but I feel bad that Noella and Joshua aren't able to. I hope wherever they are, they're proud of their boy. I still can't believe that he turned 8 yesterday."

Wonwoo didn't say anything, content in simply listening to you speak your heart.

He set his cup down and gently placed his hand on your now slightly protruding stomach. In the past, when you'd sleep together, his hands were wrapped around your waist or ribs. But now, he would sleep with his hand slipped under your t-shirt or nightdress, his palm resting on your stomach.

"I sometimes think about what would've happened if I'd let you walk out of the office that day," he began, his eyes slightly cloudy as he reminisced the moment.

"What do you conclude from it?" you asked.

"That I would curse myself until the day I die," he replied. He nudged you. "What about you?"

You tightened your grip around him and replied, "I don't know. I don't like to think of a future where you're not with me."

"My goodness, Mrs. Jeon, from where do you conjure these lines of flattery?" he teased. You looked up, your eyes finding his.

"A place different from where you get your corny ones," you retorted.

"Come on, they can't be that bad."

"Have you heard yourself when you speak, old man?"

"You make me sound like I'm ancient."

You just laughed and nuzzled your nose into his chest as he traced light circles on your stomach. Then, you mentioned, "Eleanor had a baby boy. People were talking about it yesterday."

"Yes, I heard. Good for her, I suppose," he replied.

"Hmm, maybe we should send them something."

"No need," he replied quickly, and you fell into a few minutes of silence. Then, you thought out loud, "Yesterday, I feel like your mother caught on to the pregnancy."

"How come? I was sure I was discreet about it." You moved out of his arms and looked at him with slightly raised brows. "Were you? Are you sure?"

"Okay, I may or may not have gone a little overboard with the concern," you confessed.

You moved closer and planted a kiss in the corner of his lips. "It's alright. We'll tell them on Saturday either way. I can't wait for the advice and Mama Bear mode overload."

Wonwoo laughed and leaned down to capture your lips in his. The pecks turned into kisses, and the kisses turned into a full-blown makeout session. Suddenly, Wonwoo got up from the couch.

"What's wrong?" you asked.

"Too many eyes," he replied, referring to the housekeeper and a staff member moving around in the kitchen, cleaning up the aftermath of yesterday's party. He then carried your bridal style to the master bedroom.

.........

.........

2 years later

Nestled in the outskirts of the city was nothing short of a luxurious paradise. It offered a 5-star experience, with its stunning landscapes that overlooked the entire city. The sprawling pool glistened under the sun, surrounded by lush greenery and pristine gardens, creating an atmosphere of opulence and relaxation.

The gathering was nothing short of grand, with everyone in attendance. The Jeon family, your own family, and all your dear friends had come together to celebrate a special occasion. Jeonghan and Victor joined the festivities, their newly adopted newborn son, Yuri, cradled in their arms.

As you looked at Noel, now a little older, you could see that he was growing more and more into his mother's features and his father's personality. His mischievous grin was reminiscent of the happiness Wonwoo had shown when the doctor revealed that you were expecting a daughter.

Iris, your little girl, was nestled comfortably in Wonwoo's arms. Her bright eyes held a sense of wonder as you held both of the children's hands. Together, you cut the ribbon to Oasis, marking the grand entrance to the celebration. The entrance was a perfect blend of grandeur and hospitality, adorned with an array of paintings representing different cultures.

As the gathering and welcoming ceremony continued inside the grand resort, you decided to take a quiet walk outside. You strolled along a serene pathway near a pond, where you noticed a duck entangled in some branches. Determined to help, you crossed a picturesque bridge and carefully reached out to free the distressed bird.

Lost, you didn't hear Wonwoo approaching. He found you engaged in a scene that felt oddly familiar – much like the first time he saw you. The duck pecked at your hand, and you assured it with a soothing voice, "Just a moment, I'm almost done." With a gentle touch, you managed to free the duck, watching it swim away to safety. As you took a step back, you collided with a sturdy chest, and when you looked up, your eyes met Wonwoo's warm gaze, accompanied by a contented smile.

"When did you get here? I didn't hear any noise," you asked, puzzled by his silent approach.

Wonwoo chuckled softly. "Well, some years ago, a little girl told me I should walk softly or else I might scare them."

Your eyes widened as he continued with a story from your past. "Then I asked her why she was helping them even if they were hurting her."

The girl, it appeared, had a wise reply. "Sometimes people who are hurt say or do harsh things because they don't know how to ask for help."

With realization dawning upon you, you gasped and covered your mouth. "You were that tall boy with the emo fringe haircut."

Wonwoo grinned and admitted, "Ouch, but yes, it was me."

The newfound knowledge left you surprised. "So the first time we met wasn't at my parents' place?"

He shook his head, confirming your suspicions. "And how long have you known this?"

"Since the moment I saw your picture on my desk," he replied, the affection in his eyes evident.

A gentle breeze ruffled your hair, and Wonwoo tucked a loose strand behind your ear. He then looked deep into your eyes and spoke from the heart, "I must have done something good in my life that God blessed me with you."

Moved by his words, you closed your eyes, savoring the warmth of his hand on yours, and let out a contented sigh. "You know, Wonwoo, if someone were to ask me today if I would endure everything all over again if it meant it would lead me to you and our kids, I would say yes a thousand times over."

In the grand tapestry of the universe, where the stars align in intricate patterns and destinies are etched before birth, finding meaning in life's every task may indeed seem like an exercise in futility. But perhaps, it is precisely this realization that can bring a sense of contentment and gratitude for where life has led you at this moment.

You and Wonwoo found yourselves leaning in for a passionate kiss. Lost in the tender moment, you were suddenly interrupted by a cheerful voice.

"There they are," Jungkook's fiancee exclaimed as she approached you, cradling a crying Iris in her arms.

The baby girl was frantically looking for her parents, her babbles pleading for "mama, mama."

With a loving smile, you reached out to take Iris into your arms. "What's wrong, my princess?" Your soothing presence seemed to calm her, but she then began reaching for Wonwoo and switching to his arms with a happy cry of "dada."

With a smile on his face, Wonwoo gently took her into his arms, cradling her close. "Yes, my princess, Daddy is here," he whispered as she nuzzled her head into his neck. The tenderness between them was heartwarming, and Iris continued to babble about her brother, "El no playing."

Assuring her, Wonwoo replied, "El is not playing with you." He continued, "What is he doing?"Iris reached for her headband, as if her speech delay was due to it, and took it out, blinking at you. She threw it to the ground and finally said, "El, Denny, Somi."

"Denny, El, and Somi are playing together and not playing with you," Wonwoo telepathically reasoned with his daughter she nodded at energetically at her father’s comprehensive skills. "It's alright; Dada will play with you. Let's go meet Grandpa."

As he started to walk toward the waiting family, Wonwoo turned to you with a warm smile. He extended his hand, inviting you to join him. "Come on," he said. You took his hand, and together, you walked toward the gathering of loved ones.

Jungkook was engaged in a playful game of frisbee with the kids and Denny. He noticed your approach and waved, acknowledging his fiancee before turning his attention to you and Wonwoo. As you settled down with your family, you couldn't help but look around and bask in the contented atmosphere.

Tham took Iris into her care, where Yuri was playing. Your gaze met Jeonghan's across the space, and he raised his glass with a friendly salute, and you nodded in acknowledgment. He resumed his conversation with Joon-hee and her husband, and you turned to Jungkook's fiancee, who was standing next to you.

You struck up a conversation, asking her, "So, Rach, how's life?"

............................The End..................................................

EXTRA

Noella ascended the stairs, her thoughts meandering as Joshua was away at work. Her steps were reflective of her inner contemplation. When Noella was young, she had never understood why her parents, seemingly always fighting, and her mother, who seemed to resent her father's profession, didn't just leave. It wasn't until she reached the age of 27 that it all became clear. Sometimes, when people are in love, they can become incredibly selfish. So selfish, in fact, that they'll go to any lengths to hold onto their last vestige of hope in the harsh, unrelenting reality of life. Despite her physical resemblance to her mother, at the end of the day, she was her father's daughter, through and through.

She was deep in thought, musing over her own obliviousness to your hesitations, your puffy eyes, and your quiet demeanor when she and Joshua first started dating. Did Joshua know about her feelings or the feelings she once had for him?

Noella had been out drinking with some colleagues when she ran into Jeonghan, who had indulged a bit too much in alcohol. In the midst of his inebriation, he confessed that you had been in love with Joshua and proceeded to shed tears for you. It felt like her illusions were crumbling, and her beliefs were disintegrating into the vast expanse of life's infinite possibilities.

She was about to reach her room when a soft, heartwarming "Mama" halted her in her tracks. Warmth enveloped Noella's heart as she bent down and scooped up her 5-year-old son, asking, "What's wrong, honey boo?"

"I can't sleep," he pouted, nuzzling his head in the crook of her neck.

She rubbed his back gently as his small hands clung to his pillow and teddy bear. She asked, "Want to sleep with Mama tonight?" To which he nodded.

Noella entered her and Joshua's bedroom and laid down next to him, "Hey, El."

"Hmm?"

"Do you ever think that if you could have any power in the world, then what would it be?"

"I would love Flash's powers; he can run super fast, you know," Noel replied with a glint of admiration in his eyes.

Noella couldn't help but chuckle at his response. "Flash's powers, huh?"

When Noel turned the question back to her, "What about Mama?"

Noella looked at her son's curious eyes and then up at the ceiling. After a moment of contemplation, she replied, "Time travel."

"Wow, that's so cool, but why that?" Noel inquired.

Noella's thoughts were already racing, formulating an answer when, in the midst of her thoughts, she added with a tinge of melancholy, "There are a lot of regrets to undo."

"But wouldn't that change the future?" Noel asked with innocence.

"Maybe," she shrugged, "maybe that's why we can't travel back in time to fix things."

Noel's eyes were heavy with sleep as slumber finally claimed him. He mumbled, "Tante says that not everything needs fixing. Sometimes time and patience are the best friends, and everything works out for the best."

"My son, when did you become so smart, huh?" Noella whispered, her fingers gently caressing his forehead. She began to sing the lullaby her mother used to sing, a soothing melody that cradled her son into a peaceful slumber.

Que sera, sera

Whatever will be, will be

The future's not ours to see

Que sera, sera

What will be, will be

With Love,

MSH

XXX

[taelme]

Enemies-to-lovers!Bang Chan

request: Hey! Can i request and enemies to lovers slow burn with bang chan where they dont like each other but theres undeniable chemistry

genre: enemies-to-lovers!au, workplace/office!au, (fluff, slow burn, lots of denial of feelings lol) 

pairing/s: Chan / Reader (ft Seungmin and some ocs!) 

word count: 21k rip I got pretty carried away 

tw: not any prominent ones that I can think of, kind of hints of the whole misogyny in the workplace kind of thing 

a/n: I got super carried away writing this I hope you guys like it haha im currently working on the other requests so do look forward to those!! ill try to put them out as soon as I can~~ all this staying at home is really giving me time to write... ( I HAD TO use this gif I just HAD TO) but yes this was a little hard to find reasons why y/n wld hate chan bc im for the chan is an angel agenda but I ended up having so much fun ok BYE 

“Hey, you free to get lunch later?” You’d bumped into your friend who worked in the company’s legal department, Seungmin, on a Thursday morning while you were in the pantry preparing coffee and tidbits for your boss. 

You nodded, “uh-huh,” mixing the coffee absently, “what are you doing here?” 

Seungmin shrugged, leaning against the counter as he munched on a cookie, “felt like taking a walk. Things have been pretty busy in the legal department lately.” 

“Why?” 

Seungmin gave you a cheeky smile, shrugging, “can’t say, but you’ll find out soon enough.” 

You rolled your eyes, gritting your teeth with feigned menace towards him (his smile stayed unwavering, even sticking his tongue out at you to mock you).

“Who’s that for?” Seungmin gestured to the coffee mugs on the tray. 

“Mr Bang’s supposed to be meeting his nephew or something, he made it seem really important but all he told me was that it’s for his nephew,” you shrugged, glancing down at your two cups of coffee, realisation hitting you. 

“Shit, that just reminded me. He said his nephew doesn’t drink coffee. Do you want this?” You shot Seungmin a pleading look, holding up your now unneeded cup of coffee. 

Seungmin scoffed, taking the mug from you wordlessly, “how exciting your job is, huh,” he deadpanned, sipping the coffee, “wanna reconsider joining the legal department now?” 

You rolled your eyes. 

“I’m perfectly satisfied with my job now, thank you very much.” 

You’d prepared a pot of tea, careful not to spill the water onto the counter as you did so, transferring the pot onto your tray, “and plus, considering the amount of money I get paid for the amount of work I do, I’m more than happy.” 

Seungmin scoffed, “should’ve known it was because of the money.” 

“Alright, I’ve gotta go, see you later,” you said, picking up your tray as Seungmin waved his hand with cookie crumbs on his fingers, the clicking of your heels growing softer as you walked further away. 

Reaching the door of your boss’ office, you’d been able to faintly make out 2 silhouettes through the window from where you stood, composing yourself to make a good impression as you knocked on the door. Hearing your boss grunt, you’d pushed the door open with your shoulder, your gaze focused on the coffee table as you greeted your boss.

Setting the pot of tea on the table, you’d cast a glance at the recipient, your eyes widening when you’d spotted the boy with dyed hair sitting on the plush leather sofa facing your boss, dressed in a clean white button-down and tie, an equally well-ironed pair of pants, his posture relaxed with his legs spread casually. 

His gaze was on you, as if analysing your movements, making you direct your gaze back to your task at hand, setting the saucer with the cup of coffee onto the coffee table, placing the small biscuits your boss liked in the middle of the two. 

Holding the tray close to your chest, you cast a glance at your boss, about to bow in greeting and head back out when his voice had stopped you. 

“Y/N, please, stay here. I’d like to discuss something with you and my nephew.” 

Your eyebrows raised, lips pressed tightly together as you nodded, “oh…cool, alright.” 

“Please, take a seat,” Mr Bang gestured to the space on the sofa next to his nephew, making you seat yourself awkwardly on the other side of the sofa, your body pressing against the armrest as if trying to create as much distance as you could between him and you. 

“So, Chan, this is my secretary, Y/N,” Mr Bang gestured to you, “Y/N, this is my nephew, uh… Chris,” he spoke, the name sounding fairly familiar to you. Chris Bang? You sounded the name over in your head, not being able to connect the dots as to why it was so familiar at this point of time. 

“So, sweetheart, because I’ve been planning on resigning for a while now, I thought I should let you know that I’m planning on handing my position over to Chris.” 

Maybe this was what Seungmin was so busy with. 

You nodded slowly, trying to understand the implications this decision meant for you, “will my contract be terminated, then?” 

Chris glanced at you, as if searching your expression. He found you fairly younger than he’d expected, since his uncle had mentioned earlier that you’d already been working for him for quite some time, going onto 2 years already.

Of course, he didn’t want to underestimate you, but knowing the directors’ reputations regarding secretaries, he wasn’t sure if he could put a label on your abilities without seeing them for himself, first. And to him, he wasn’t quite understanding of why his uncle was so insistent that he needed a secretary, his past experiences with secretaries all being quite unimpressive. 

“That… is unfortunately up to Chris, but ideally your contract will resume as per normal.” 

You glanced back at the boy, who looked at you with an unreadable expression, something about his stare successfully unnerving you, the way he looked at you almost with a certain level of contempt. 

“We’ll be having a company dinner tonight to welcome Chris to the team, it would do the both of you well to get acquainted with each other before the board meeting for ceo elections.” 

You nodded slowly, still clutching the tray close to your chest as you wondered how old he was, the whole ordeal seeming as though it were something out of a movie: a young apathetic heir getting authority over a large corporation at such a young age. Was he even qualified for this position? The rest of the directors were nowhere near his age, well, appearance wise. 

As if having read your mind, your boss spoke, “I’m sure you two will get along just fine, considering you two are so close in age.” 

Your eyes narrowed, something in you not feeling comfortable with this arrangement. Dismissing the thought quickly, you shrugged, figuring it would be a change of scenery from being around the old directors all the time. 

You watched as Chris shrugged.

“We’ll see.” 

=== 

“Who?” Seungmin dabbed at his lips with his towel, picking up his glass of water to take a sip, making you frown, still trying to do your research on Chris Bang as far as your browser app would take you. 

“Chris Bang. He’s gonna take over the company from President Bang.” 

Your words seemed to have elicited a giggle from Seungmin, “doesn’t that make them both ‘President Bang’?”

Seungmin ignored your eye roll, continuing, “this was what I was referring to just now, you know. I thought you would’ve known who he was by now,” he told you, making you set your phone down on the table, open on his LinkedIn page that frankly wasn’t giving you much other than stating how very qualified he was for the job. 

“You know, Bang Chan? Ring a bell? That guy that’s been switching departments for God-knows-how-long since last year. The one that got all of us donuts one time,” Seungmin gave you a ‘duh’ look, considerably unamused. 

“Oh,” only then were you realising just who that was. You knew exactly who he was. You’d heard many rumours from the other secretaries on how he was impossibly good at anything he’d set his mind to, his work ethic and standard incomparable to anyone else in the company they’d ever seen. 

Which was why all that switching departments start to make sense to you, since it could’ve been his way of making sure he learnt the ins-and-outs of every department by the time he took over. If that wasn’t just more evidence that he was definitely a crazy workaholic.

At the time, you’d made a passing comment on how you hoped you would never have to be his subordinate, after having heard stories on how intimidating he was whenever it came to work (especially work that was improperly done). Little did you know that your comment would come back to bite you in the ass so soon. 

“Yeah, ‘oh,” Seungmin mimicked you, taking another bite out of his burger, “why d’you seem so…,” Seungmin made a pained groaning sound as he gestured to you for lack of a better word, “about it, anyway? Shouldn’t you be happy? He’s super nice!” 

You scrunched your nose up, locking your phone in your dismay, not wanting to see his face on his stupid profile mocking you with all his stupid qualifications anyway.

“I don’t know, just kind of feels a little sudden. And I hate the feeling of not knowing if I’m gonna be fired since it’s not up to Mr Bang anymore.” 

“Which one?” Seungmin joked, making you scoff, finding it just a little funny. Only a little. 

Seungmin continued, “you’re just mad because him taking over means you actually have to do work.” 

You shot him a glare, your silence being an acknowledgement that he wasn’t entirely wrong. 

“And because I love Mr Bang! He was such a nice old man that checked in on me and gave me life advice. I’m not gonna get any life advice from someone that’s basically my age.” 

Seungmin huffed in amusement, bringing his hand up to cup his mouth as if to divulge a secret, dropping his voice to a strained whisper, “transfer to the legal department.” 

You sighed, “no, I still love my pay.” 

“Then stop sulking! Chris is the nicest guy I’ve met, you’ll be fine. Just show up to the company dinner tonight and fluff him up a bit,” Seungmin shrugged, “it’ll be smooth sailing from then on.” 

=== 

You figured you should’ve tried to do a lot better to fluff Chris up during the company dinner, instead of just going over to grill the meat for the directors, under the instruction of President Bang. 

The action itself didn’t sit right with Chris, who didn’t understand why it was so imperative to the directors that you be the one to grill the meat until he realised just why they were keeping you there. 

His own uncle was oblivious of course, simply obliging at any chance he got to show off how capable you were (even if it was just grilling meat), however Chris was quick to notice the way they stared at you as you reached between them to grill the meat, your face feeling hot with the steam from the grill. 

“Y/N is very hardworking, graduated at the top of her class in college,” Mr Bang mentioned pointedly, making Chris’ eyebrows raise in surprise. 

“Really? What did you study?” He spoke, knowing very well you were listening, the other directors not paying any attention to learning your background as they prompted you to pour them a drink. You didn’t miss the way his words were accented, remembering hearing from Seungmin that he’d spent a large chunk of his life in Australia. 

Tipping the bottle, you’d answered (albeit a little preoccupied). 

“Law,” you sat back on your heels, “minored in journalism.” 

Chris frowned, not being able to understand why you would’ve chosen to work here as his uncle’s secretary of all things if you had pretty good prospects on your own. 

“How’d you end up working for my uncle, then?” He voiced, your attention diverted when you’d been prompted by a director to take a shot of your own, clinking your glass obnoxiously and leaving you with no choice, an embarrassed flush on your face. 

Taking the shot, you winced at the burn of the drink, glancing back at Chris, who was still looking at you curiously, wondering how you’d felt under the attention of the directors.  

“Did it as a temp job at first,” you told him, “but I guess I realised halfway that I don’t mind it so much, and it paid me pretty well.” 

Chris hummed, you ‘don’t mind’ this? 

One of the directors let out a grunt of distaste, “you shouldn’t worry about that, doll. The job of a secretary is to look pretty, the pride of the company is in its secretaries,” he said, clearly having already had one-too-many drinks, his words leaving an awful aftertaste on your tongue, his hand going over to grasp your shoulder, his hand going down to your arm and squeezing. 

“I always told her she’d do well as a housewife. That way she wouldn’t have to work and just mooch off her husband.” 

You mustered a smile, setting the bottle of drink down and bowing to them, Chris having lost his appetite at the way you’d just let their comments slide. 

“Maybe she prefers mooching off of the directors, instead,” Chris murmured, his sharp tongue getting the better of him, catching your attention as you were walking past him, making you stop in your tracks.  

Chris’ uncle tut his tongue, nudging the boy harshly, making him raise his hands in surrender. 

“What? Just speaking off of observation.” 

You turned around, a surge of confidence arising in you (from where? You weren’t sure, maybe it was the fact that in your eyes he was still what was standing in between you and your possible severance pay), “excuse me?” 

“I’m sorry, was there any untruth in what I said?” Chris turned, his gaze almost challenging you to speak out against the directors, not knowing that it was only serving to spur you on to speak out against him instead. 

 You scoffed, Chris standing up and awaiting your answer, a voice in you screaming at you not to be intimidated by him, especially with the way his head tilted down ever so slightly, his eyebrows raising expectantly. 

“Didn’t know they would just let any rude petty kid run any company these days,” you narrowed your eyes at him, folding your arms and straightening your posture. 

Seungmin, who was watching from his table with the legal team, grimaced, deeming Chris’ expression to be anything but friendly at the moment. 

“I don’t know, maybe it’s just a little unbelievable to me that I’m supposed to be answering to someone who just got the company handed to him,” your words were coming out faster than you could help it. I mean, you were probably going to get fired anyway, right? Might as well go down with a fight. 

“You don’t know anything about me,” Chris muttered, his voice firm, annoyance laced in his tone. Your words seemed to have triggered a spark in him, annoyed that you were doubting his abilities, blatantly disrespecting him even after knowing he could be your superior. 

Mr Bang had tapped Chris’ calf harshly, “enough, don’t keep y/n from eating.” 

Ignoring his words, Chris had stepped forward, staring you down as the tension had only thickened between the both of you. 

“But then, what would you know, right? What was that again? Right. What are you here for other than to look pretty, hmm?” He tilted his head at you, flashing you a smile that was practically dripping with sarcasm. 

You practically seethed with anger, your fists clenching as you unfolded your arms, your finger coming up to point at him, “you know what? I’d rather eat beansprouts for the rest of my life than work for you.” You scoffed. 

Chris' amused lilt to his smile was only serving to annoy you even more, making you storm over to your table with the other secretaries, all of them casting you looks of concern or shock that you would have confronted him like that. Picking up your jacket, you’d scoffed, casting him one last look before you left, not expecting to see him again afterwards. 

Well, that was the part you were very very wrong about. 

That night, you’d called your boyfriend over to submit him to a seemingly never-ending rant about Chris, getting a text from Seungmin halfway. 

“I mean, isn’t it good, then? That you can find another job?” Your boyfriend tried to reason, pressing a kiss to your neck as you straddled him where he was sitting leaning against your headboard. 

“That’s not the point,” you insisted, pausing to read the text that Seungmin had sent, oblivious to his urgent kisses trailing up to your jaw. 

seungmin (personal)  2:12am -consider yourself lucky. Spoke to Chan just now, make sure you show up to work tomorrow.- 

“The point is that, he’s arrogant. What? Telling me that I’m only here to look pretty?—“ 

“In his defence, you insulted him first.” 

You glared at your boyfriend, “Yeah, fine. But he provoked me first. And I don’t know, something about him just pisses me off,” you tried to reason, your boyfriend’s kisses beginning to distract you from your anger. 

“You know what, maybe you should just give him a shot. Maybe he’s not as bad as he seems?” 

And so you did as Seungmin had instructed, doing what you would’ve always done, grabbing your boss’ morning coffee before going to the office, ‘leisurely’ making your way upstairs as you tried to avoid any possible suit-clad blond-haired man. 

Upon reaching your desk, you’d set your things under your desk, opening your scheduler and doing a quick run through of Mr Bang’s schedule for the day, grabbing the coffee and knocking on the glass doors before entering. 

“Y/N! Just the person I wanted to see.” You nodded, walking over to place his coffee onto his table.

“You have the board meeting in half an hour, sir,” you informed him.  

“Right, thank you. Would you be a dear and be there to serve the refreshments?” 

You nodded, “yeah, sure.” 

“If all goes as planned, Chan- I mean, Chris, will be taking over from next week onwards. So this week will be the last week i’m here.” 

You frowned, “it’s a shame you’re retiring, you know,” your disappointment was evident in your tone.  

Mr Bang simply waved you off, “it’s about time, I’m sure little Chris will do a good job.” 

You’d kept your mouth shut, nodding as he stood up with his coffee cup in hand, looking at you with a smile, “shall we head down a little earlier, then?” 

You nodded, opening the door for him to exit and following him silently to the venue of the board meeting. You were surprised, to say the least, when you’d reached only to find Chris there already, currently in an animated conversation with one of the directors, smiling like you’d never seen before, dimples showing on his cheeks. 

Excusing yourself quickly, you’d gone to the pantry to prepare the drinks, your time here having made you familiar with the respective directors drink preferences. Carrying your tray carefully, you’d pushed the door open with your hip, seeing all the directors seated already, all seeming fairly comfortable around Chris, only serving to make the feeling of dread build in the pit of your stomach. 

Making your way around the table, you’d distributed the drinks to the directors personally, refusing to make eye contact with Chris as you gave him his stupid cup of tea. 

Once the meeting had started, you’d dismissed yourself outside the room, a part of you trying to listen in on the board meeting but not being able to hear much through the thick panelled glass. You were surprised when barely half an hour had passed and you’d heard applause in the room, peeping through the window to see Mr Bang give you a signal that you could come in. 

Pushing the door open carefully, you saw the directors practically lining up to congratulate Chris, leaving promptly after looking all-too satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. 

Mr Bang was speaking to Chris as the rest of the directors were leaving, “well, I guess this means my work here is as good as done. I’m sure your parents will be thrilled to hear the news,” he pat Chris on the back. 

You were about to head out with Mr Bang, eager to avoid Chris when you’d heard him speak, “Y/N, I’d like to speak with you for a moment. Is that alright?” He cast a look at his uncle, who waved him off. 

“Of course, she’s not my secretary anymore, remember?” You cast Mr Bang a look of distress, seeing him chuckle before giving you a thumbs up, exiting the room happily.  

You winced, turning around so you were facing Chris, seeing him walk over to where you were, holding out a thick bound stack of papers for you to take. 

“What’s this?” 

"A contract. You can pass it to me by the end of the day once you've made your decision. I trust that you're familiar with reading contracts?" he asked as you stared at the papers, flipping and scanning through the print, realising that his terms were considerably more demanding than his uncle. 

"You'll be able to find an additional attachment where I list what I would expect in a secretary. Feel free to consult me if you're unclear about any of them, though I don't think you would need to." 

Your eyes lingered on the section of the contract, stating that you would be on a year of probation, but that the contract could be terminated whenever he felt appropriate. 

"Whenever you deem appropriate?" you scoffed, looking up at him in disbelief. 

He smiled, "very pretty wording, don't you think?" 

"That's all I wanted to say. Remember, I'll expect your response by the end of the day." 

You stared blankly as he shrugged his jacket off, draping it on one arm. 

"Go ahead, what are you waiting for? You can go for your lunch break now," he urged, before his features pulled into a look of realisation, "oh, forgot. That is, unless you would rather eat...what was that again? Beansprouts?" 

Your mouth opened, making as if to retort before you shut your mouth quickly, your eyes widening as he walked over to you, his gaze intense and serious, a contrast to the demeanour he wore while chatting up the director previously. 

"I can handle myself, you know," you attempted to defend yourself, watching as Chris had shrugged. 

"You have one whole year to prove that to me." 

In that one year of working for Chris, you'd learnt a lot of things. Not only about your position as a secretary, but about Chris, ( not to mention, just exactly how spiteful he could be ).  

1. Sleep was a luxury. 

In your first week as his secretary, Chris had surprised you with the sheer rate of progress he was aiming, and moving at. It was as if all the rumours you'd heard before about his work ethic were a gross understatement of his tenacity. 

You'd been having trouble adjusting to his deadlines, especially since he had entrusted more tasks to you. From surprise presentations, to drafting up proposals and reports, not to mention submitting research to him. To you, it felt as if you were doing half the job for him. 

In short, you had never missed Mr Bang more than you did then. 

Of course, Seungmin being your voice of reason, would shut your rants down, claiming it was ‘about time you do your job’, but of course, you loved to complain. Especially since it was someone you didn't have very fond feelings for that was assigning you the work. You grew increasingly irritated in the time you were adjusting to your sleep schedule, which Chris, and your boyfriend had definitely noticed. 

Because of your changes in brain activity levels, you assumed (google could only diagnose so much), whenever sleep came to you, you welcomed it with open arms.  Since waking up had become even more of a chore to run over to the coffee shop and squeeze yourself between the crowd of working adults and panda-eyed college students to get his very specific breakfast order. 

You'd gone home from a birthday party of your boyfriend and your mutual friend, things having gotten a little...out of hand at your boyfriend's apartment since it'd been so long since you'd been able to spend time together, not with you always falling asleep during video calls or refusing them altogether for the sake of getting your work done. You'd missed him, and something about being apart made you miss his touch. 

Jolting awake, (as if your body had been able to tell that your sleep was too smooth), you'd instantly sensed that something was wrong when you saw the light streaming in from behind the curtains, knowing for a fact that you usually woke up when it was still a little dark out. 

Turning around, you'd fumbled for your phone on the bedside table, letting out a loud gasp when you saw the time. You were already a whole half-hour late. 

"Shit!" 

Your boyfriend startled, letting out a groan, his arm still lazily draped over your stomach. 

"Did my alarm ring?" you asked, shoving his hand off of you and groaning, slipping out of bed quickly as you put on your clothes from the day before, not having any more time to go back to your apartment and get a fresh change of clothes. 

"I don't know, I didn't hear anything," you heard your boyfriend mumble from where he lay. 

Cursing, you'd ran over to his bathroom, washing your face quickly, a gasp leaving your mouth as you inspected the angry marks on your neck through the mirror. 

"I hate you so much," you tugged up the collar of your turtleneck, successfully hiding the marks when you’d let your hair down. 

Grabbing your things, you'd sprinted downstairs, hailing the first cab you could see and heading to your office. 

Was he going to fire me? You were still on probation, so there was no reason he couldn't, right? 

You'd fixed your hair anxiously as you jogged into the lobby, your shoes clacking noisily against the floor as you ran into the lift, even debating on whether taking the stairs would have been a better idea as the lift went up at an achingly slow pace. 

Finally reaching your floor, you’d made your way to the meeting room, tossing your bags outside the door and entering with your laptop, notebook and pen, keeping your head down and avoiding Chris’ gaze as he was presenting to the room. 

Taking your seat at the only empty seat left, (unfortunately, closer to the front of the room), you’d let out a small sigh. Expecting to hear Chris comment on your tardiness or whatnot, you opened your laptop, picking up on the minutes where you could. 

Keeping your head down, you’d felt your colleague from the marketing team lean over to you as Chris had given everyone some time to analyse what he was showing on the screen, his lack of a comment making you even more anxious. 

“Your hair’s a mess,” she whispered, making you wince, your hand going up to comb your hair into a ponytail in your attempt to look neater, hearing your colleague gasp. 

“Dude! Put your hair back down, your neck,” she whispered, your eyes immediately darting to Chris’ direction, seeing that he was in fact staring at your jaw and neck as well, turning away quickly, the reddening of his ears giving him away.

Your hands let go of your hair as though you were burned, hearing your colleague snicker beside you, “I see someone had fun last night. Was that why you were late, too?” 

You shushed her as Chris cleared his throat, embarrassment flooding your senses as you continued to take minutes, hoping that he wouldn’t be as mad at you if you showed that you were trying your best. Fat chance, but hey, you could dream. 

Chris had started to assign things that he’d wanted the different departments to focus on for the project at hand, flashing a slide of deadlines that you watched people scramble to confirm with their existing information. You were secretly hoping someone would hold him back with a question so that he was too busy to confront you. 

Unfortunately for you, that wasn’t the case today. The meeting ended promptly, Chris leaving you in relative silence as you packed up your things, your colleagues giving you a look of sympathy as you followed him silently out of the room back to your desk. 

“In my office, please,” he murmured. 

You fiddled with your fingers, already anticipating for him to fire you. 

“Can you explain to me what happened this morning?” 

Your eyes widened, not daring to meet his gaze as it flickered between anything in the room other than him, “I uh..I didn’t um…I didn’t hear my alarm ring and nobody woke me up so I overslept.” 

Chris’ stare was unwavering, leaning against his desk and folding his arms, “so is it not your responsibility to make sure you show up to work on time?” 

“No, yeah of course it is—“ 

“Then I would like to see you be accountable for your mistakes,” he continued, “I’m not saying you can’t make mistakes, everybody makes mistakes. But if your mistake is what puts an entire room of people at an inconvenience, I would prefer if you were a little more apologetic about it.” 

You’d let a short period of silence fall between the both of you, “I’m sorry,” you mumbled, your gaze fixed firmly on his shoelace, “am I fired?” 

Chris let out a small sigh, shaking his head. “No, but, you know, if you ever let anything like this happen again, I won’t hesitate to fire you,” his voice was stern, annoyed almost. 

“And Y/N, if this,” you looked up at him watching him gesture to his neck with his hand before gesturing back to you, making you cower, tugging your collar further up your neck, “is what’s the issue here. I’d suggest you start prioritising.” 

“Sorry. It won’t happen again, I swear,” you rushed to speak, bowing quickly before exiting the room as fast as you could, wanting to tear your hair out in both annoyance and embarrassment. 

You’d jumped when you heard the sound of your desk speaker, Chris’ voice sounding through the phone, “Is there a problem, Y/N?” 

Your eyes widened, rushing over to your desk phone, shaking your head as you pressed the button to reply, “no, no! Not at all. There was just a… a bug here.” 

Chris huffed, bringing his hand up to hide his amusement, watching you scramble to regain your composure. 

2. Chris was a workaholic 

It was seeing (and experiencing) all the late nights in the office and the erratic pattern of his emails on weekends that drew you to this conclusion. His routine of sleeping late and then proceeding to get up at ungodly hours to either get work done or give up on the idea of a smooth sleep, since you were aware that he tended to have trouble sleeping. Not to mention the way it seemed to you as if the top priority in his life was his work, wanting to do his best to get the company to where he wanted it to be. 

After a few months of working for him, it was very clear to you that your job entailed not only taking care of his work, but taking care of him. 

You were going over to the legal team's office to collect the binders Chan had left to them, seemingly needing one of them now, thankful to have spotted Seungmin along the way as he was leaving his desk. 

Shooting you a look of sympathy, he'd peeked his head out to glance at your area, noticing everyone else in your team had gone home already. 

"Working late again?" 

You were sure you looked horrible, with bags under your eyes and your complexion looking dull from lack of sleep, but well, you had to earn a living, right? 

You shot him a pointed look, "you know the rules, can't go home until the boss goes home," you heaved a pained sigh. 

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if he even has a social life," you thought out loud, earning an amused grunt from Seungmin. 

"I could say the same about you." You ignored his comment. 

"What d'you need?" he asked, though you were already making your way to his superior's desk, grabbing the file and leaving a post-it to say it was with Chris. 

"Nothing, just this." You let out a small grunt at the weight of the binder, your wrists aching from all the filing you'd done that morning and afternoon (you never did notice until now how inefficient Chris' uncle's document organization system was). 

"All the best," he gave you a thumbs up, earning a pitiful pout from you before you'd headed back to Chris' office. 

Knocking on his door, you'd heard him murmur for you to come in, pushing the heavy doors open with your shoulder as you shoved your way through the doors,  placing the binder onto the coffee table where he'd had his documents and laptop laid out haphazardly. 

Chan's hair was a mess, likely from running his hands through it as he worked, his tie discarded and the top few buttons of his shirt undone, looking at you with tired eyes. 

He was about to ask you for some water, but you'd seemed to have read his mind, walking over to the table near his desk and pouring him a glass of warm water from the flask. 

"I'm almost done with the filing, but I'll be outside so you can let me know if you need anything." 

You'd felt your pocket buzz with a notification, momentarily taking your attention away from Chris. 

Chris glanced at the files before looking back at you in thought, stopping you before you could exit the room, "actually, can you help me to write a report on this, I'll need this by tomorrow afternoon." 

Knowing Chris' deadlines, that meant he would've needed it by tomorrow morning, which left you no choice other than to start working on it now. 

Chris picked up a small file with a post-it note stuck onto the file, handing it to you. 

"The points are all there. I would've done it myself but by the looks of it this is gonna take a while more than I expected," he sighed, his hands on his hips as he stared at the pile of papers in front of him in disdain. 

Chris never would've admitted that he'd started preparing the post-it notes for you in case he wasn't able to complete his work in time, since he usually opted to write from his head, but he knew you worked better with structure. He'd only realised after starting to do it that it helped him draft the write-ups more concisely, so of course, the reason was always 'for his own convenience', never creating opportunities for you to think he actually tried accommodating to you. 

"This current arrangement is very un-environmentally friendly," you mumbled, staring at the papers as well. 

"I'll go get this done now," you gave him a nod, exiting his office as you pulled your phone from your pocket, the text from your boyfriend practically glaring at you, asking if you were able to meet that night. 

10:47pm - sorry, working late :( gotta work on a report due tomorrow morning - 

Biting back your disappointment at having to bail on your boyfriend again, you'd nodded resolutely, pulling up your delivery app to order food for Chris before you started on the report lest he start to get irritable because he was hungry. 

And lastly, the point you couldn't quite seem to wrap your head around, was that 

3. He was very nice, just...not so much to you. 

After the oversleeping incident from before, it was safe to say you'd never let a similar mistake repeat itself. You were constantly making sure you were alert and responsive to anything Chris could possibly throw to you (and he knew this too). 

The only downside Chris saw to this, was that it seemed as though your attitude towards the directors hadn't changed. Still swallowing their disgusting comments and serving them with a smile, even if they were looking everywhere but your face. It irked Chris. And it irked him even more that the only one you seemed to serve without a smile, was him. 

Unbeknownst to him, you'd shared the same sentiments. 

"Do you ever look at someone and wonder what is going on in their head?" you spoke. 

Seungmin snorted, "wait, are you talking about the meme or..." your lack of a response made Seungmin follow your gaze (or glare) to where Chris was seated at the other end of the table, giggling and smiling as he spoke with the other secretaries. 

"Ah," Seungmin nodded, understanding now why your spoon hadn't moved an inch from your bowl, your grip around it almost death-like. 

"What are you so mad about? He's not doing anything?" 

You shot Seungmin a pointed look, your voice lowering to a murmur, "can't you see it? With them he's all rainbows and unicorn shit but with me it's like just smiling would kill him." 

You heard the secretaries letting out giggles and impressed sounds at something Chris had just said, the sound itself enough to make you annoyed. 

Seungmin's eyebrows furrowed, looking at you in scepticism, "you know the secretaries are only being nice because they're interns, right? I heard from one of them that they're actually really scared of him." 

Seungmin brought his chopsticks to his mouth, taking a piece of food from your bowl that he knew you weren't going to eat anyway, "especially after they saw how he spoke to you during the meeting the other day,"

You scoffed, "good to know that I was the warning." 

Your phone buzzed, signalling a text from your boyfriend. Strangely enough, it'd been a while since you'd texted him, since you were busy with work and he was busy with school. 

Ignoring it initially, too distracted by Chris, it wasn't long before you saw his caller ID show up on the screen, getting Seungmin's attention. 

"I think you should answer that," he gestured, making you glance around the table in your hesitance, not knowing if it would be rude to just exit halfway. 

Picking up the phone-call, you'd turned your head, lowering your volume to a murmur, "hello?" 

"Hey, can we talk? I really need to tell you something." 

You winced, "is it urgent? I'm at a team dinner right now." 

Your boyfriend sighed, scoffing, "it really is always work with you, huh." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

You glanced at the table, standing up to excuse yourself. Chris's expression read confusion, eavesdropping on a secretary asking what happened, Seungmin replying that it was your boyfriend calling. 

You'd made your way outside the restaurant, Chris glancing in your direction and spotting you walk past the restaurant's windows, a part of him shaking off whatever curiosity that lingered in him as he focused on his conversation. After all, you did tell him you could handle yourself, right? 

Where you were, you'd moved to a quieter spot outside the restaurant, "okay, I can talk now. What's up?" 

You kicked at the ground absently as you awaited his reply. 

"Look, are you free to meet tonight? There's something I need to tell you." 

"Uh..." you glanced into the restaurant, making eye contact with Chris before looking away, "I've got to work later, though. I need to get some research done for this review that i'm behind on, I don't wanna meet you if i'm just gonna end up on my computer while you're there, you know?" 

Your boyfriend nodded, "you know, that's kind of what i wanted to talk to you about." 

"Oh," a feeling of dread was building in your stomach, recognising your boyfriend's tone to be the one he used whenever he was talking about something serious. 

The first time you heard it was when you witnessed him on a work phone-call, the second being how he spoke to your parents the first time they'd met, but this time, you had a feeling you knew what was coming. 

"Let's break up." 

You fell silent, not knowing how to respond to his words. 

"Is it, um.... is it because of my work?" You asked, a part of you not being able to come to terms with the fact that it could have been your fault, "because you know I can't do anything about that." 

Your boyfriend sighed, "I know. I'm just talking about how you've been so emotionally invested in your work you don't even have the energy to maintain this relationship." 

You frowned, "what, what do you want me to do, quit my job? Will that be better for you?" 

"Look, i've been seeing someone," he began. Your heart sank. 

"And i'd be lying if I said that wasn't part of the reason. But... it was only when I started seeing her that I realised... things between us just weren't the same as before." 

Your heart felt heavy, a part of you knowing that he was making it a lot easier to be mad at him by confessing what he did, but another part of you couldn't help but prompt him further. 

"When did it start?" 

"That doesn't matter-" 

You sighed, taking your lower lip between your teeth, "it's fine, I just wanna know." 

"Fine, it was about a month in from you working for your new boss." 

You nodded slowly, still trying to process his words. You weren't quite sure what came over you when you saw Chris exiting the restaurant, turning to face your direction and spotting you in the alley. But it was as if you were so mad at yourself, mad at him, mad at your boyfriend (or ex-boyfriend now), that you'd ended the call, shoving your phone into the pocket of your blazer before heading over to where Chris was. 

"You guys aren't going home?" you heard one of the secretaries ask as you and Chris had approached his car, his driver already sitting in the car and waiting. 

Chris shook his head with a smile, "nope, we're heading back to the office." 

You mustered a smile as you bid them goodbye, you guessed this was probably the best time to bury yourself in your work as a poor coping mechanism after a breakup, as far as movie breakups went.  

The car-ride was silent, despite the pinging of your phone, making you switch it to silent mode halfway, earning a curious look from Chris, though he didn't make to ask you about it. 

Upon reaching the office, the both of you had gone back into your clockwork routine, as you sat in his office working on your computer and scribbling down on your notebook the important details you wanted him to check. Chris found that your background in law and journalism made it a lot easier whenever it came to reading and condensing information, which had only allowed him to trust you more when it came to getting tasks like that done, saving him precious time he could spend working on other things. 

The buzzing of your phone was growing more frequent, though it was as if you were oblivious to it now as you typed away at your computer. 

"Right, can you help to postpone tomorrow afternoon's meeting, and help me to make a reservation at the steak place, 2 people." 

You hadn't made to move, pulling your phone out but having gotten distracted at the multitude of missed calls and texts just because your boyfriend wanted to 'make sure you were okay'. Please. 

"Hello? Can you hear me?" you heard Chris call, snapping you out of your daze as his gaze searched your expression, trying to read your emotions. 

"Sorry, can you repeat that? I didn't hear you." 

Chris sighed, his annoyance at your phone that had lit up with a call again getting the better of him, "you know I don't ask you to stay later just for you to waste my time, you know." 

Your gaze hardened. There it was, the side of Chris that you had the 'privilege' of being at the brunt of, nowhere near the smiley giggly Chris you witnessed at the restaurant just now. 

"I said I was sorry. What do you want me to do?" 

Chris huffed, his gaze darting to your phone as he spoke, "reservation for 2 people tomorrow afternoon, the steak place my mom likes. Postpone tomorrow afternoon's appointment with Director Lee." He told you slowly, his tone as if speaking to a young child, which only served to piss you off even more. 

"Who's calling you?" he asked. 

You shook your head in dismissal, "my...uh..." you weren't sure how to respond, watching dumbly as he made his way to where you were, lifting your phone to read the contact before letting out a huff. 

"Okay, well you can tell your boyfriend that if you're gonna be this distracted at work, you can kiss your night goodbye." 

You inhaled deeply, absolutely upset but knowing there wasn't much you could do about it. You loved your job, even though you hated to admit it. Ever since Chris came in, you were getting a lot more work experience and exposure, especially with how he would make it mandatory for you to attend certain language courses that would help him whenever you accompanied him on networking events or business galas. 

And in that moment, you couldn't help but think back to what he'd said the first time he'd scolded you when he'd told you to figure out your priorities. Maybe your boyfriend called you at the right time, maybe you just weren't ready to focus on things other than your career at this point of time. 

Turning your phone off, you'd made sure Chris saw that it was off, raising your hands up in surrender, "done. I'll book your stupid reservation now." You stalked out before Chris could chime in with a 'watch your tone'. 

=== 

You'd been working for Chris for what was coming to 2 years now. The company had been reaping the results of their hard work for a while now, and you were thankful that even though you weren't as busy as before, you still managed to keep your job. Other than the fact that Chris’ hair was now back to dark brown, not much else had changed. 

Although, one tiny change you were starting to wish for was that Chris would at least try to make things a little more bearable for you. 

You were currently at a meeting with the directors where Chris was presenting the overview of the company's performance in the past month. You would have to say you were pretty satisfied with the work you'd both done on that, working a lot more efficiently now compared to when you'd first started out. 

Your silent admiration of the presentation was interrupted when one of the directors summoned you over to ask for a cup of coffee.

Doing as you were told ( much to Chris' dismay ), you'd gone and come back in record time with his hot cup of coffee, bending down and making your way to where the director sat, not wanting to prevent any of them from seeing what Chris was presenting. 

While he was presenting, it didn't take Chris very long to realise why the director had kept asking you for things, your position from where you were squatting next to him making it all-too-easy for him to ogle at you without you noticing. 

For some reason, this seemed to have gotten on Chris' nerves, especially because that director's secretary was simply minding her own business at the back of the room. 

Did Chris think what you were wearing that day was nice? He'd say he didn't but of course he did. But unlike the director, he preferred not to be so blatant about it, especially because you were always so rude towards him. 

You'd tensed momentarily when the director had grabbed your arm, about to get up when you heard Chris' voice get louder. 

"Y/N, I'd appreciate if you would stop distracting the directors and go back to your seat." 

(Later on, Seungmin would be struggling to hold back his laughter in the printing room when Chan told him to tell you to button up your blouse a little more. 

“Why can’t you just tell her yourself?” 

Chan scoffed, “knowing her, she’s just gonna think I was looking at her… chest or something.” 

Seungmin narrowed his eyes at Chan teasingly, “well, were you?” 

Chan waved him off with a groan, “just tell her, okay? The directors are having a field day with her looking like that.”)

You'd almost scoffed at the way the director had immediately let go of you, and you straightened up quickly, heading back to sit with the other secretaries. 

"That was harsh," you heard one of the secretaries murmur to you, making you shrug. 

"Whatever, not like I expected more from him anyway." 

(You did, you totally did. You'd kill for him to be less grating with his words). 

After the meeting, you'd felt a phone ring in your bag, pulling it out to see that Chris' mom was calling, obviously not having been able to reach him. Making your way to where he was, you'd interrupted his packing of his things. 

"Your mom is calling you," you'd told him out of habit, holding his phone out for him to take, jumping slightly when you'd heard one of the directors let out a dismayed grunt. 

"Is that any way to talk to your boss?" 

Your eyes widened, Chris seeming to be enjoying the situation play out before him as you regained your composure, looking back at Chris with a sickly sweet smile on your face. In front of the directors, you couldn't act up like how you usually did when it was just the both of you, so you had no choice but to be all smiles

"President Bang, your mother is calling you," you told him, and if you were annoyed, you didn't show it, having years of practice from dealing with the directors. 

"uh-huh," Chris smirked, taking the phone from your hands and answering it as he gestured for you to help him gather his papers. 

"No, mom. I’ve told you already, i’m really fine with how things are now. I'm not going on another one." 

Not that you cared, but you had to admit you were kind of curious as to what he was so insistently refusing.

"Yes, okay, bye," he hung up, handing the phone back to you. 

You'd tried your best to suppress your curiosity, seeing as he was about to be late for his next meeting with one of his friends if he hadn't hurried. 

Fixing your blouse, you'd carried your laptop in your arm as you walked with him back to his office, with you going into the lift first, Chris having chosen the wrong time to step in as a girl you recognised as one of the interns had done so too, the number of people squeezing into the lift causing her to jerk her arm, her coffee landing unceremoniously on Chris’ tie and shirt. 

Chris let out a hiss at the temperature of the liquid, eliciting a long string of apologies from the girl. You knew that if it was you that had spilled the coffee, he would be going on and on about carelessness now, but the intern obviously wasn’t you, and so you watched in envy as Chris had given her a smile, dismissing her apologies quickly. 

“It’s fine, really. I just hope you still have some coffee left to drink,” he laughed. 

Not only was he not upset, but he was joking with her too? 

You scoffed, rolling your shoulders back as you’d watched the numbers on the elevator rise till it reached your floor, the girl looking scared for her life when you’d cast her a look, bowing to you apologetically. 

“Where did you keep the spare change of clothes?” Chris asked as he’d begun loosening his tie. 

You hadn’t responded as he let you walk before him into his office, making your way over to one of the cupboards at the side of the room and opening it, pulling out a hanger with a nicely ironed set of work clothes. 

“You can go and get changed, I’ll wait here,” you murmured, Chris walking over to where you were and giving you his stained tie. 

God, you hoped his dry-cleaning run wouldn’t make you late for your lunch appointment. 

Looking at his tie, you brought it up closer to your face to inspect the material, it was a well-made tie, you had to say. Not too skinny, the material feeling almost luxurious in your hold, tempting you to put it on in your boredom. 

Hanging it round your neck, you mustered your best ‘Chris accent’.

“You should be accountable for your mistakes! Don’t you know how many people you’re inconveniencing? Now I have a tie that reeks of coffee, look,” you held up the tie with a gasp, “and my secretary’s gonna be late for her lunch meeting!” You pointed accusatorially at the small black penholder that sat on his desk. 

“Yeah! Do you know how much you’re inconveniencing me? I don’t ask you to show up to work to waste my time—“ 

You’d stopped in your tracks when you heard Chris clearing his throat, grimacing as you tried to regain your composure, taking off the tie as quickly as you could, holding it tightly in your palm as you turned to face him. 

“Having fun?” 

“No,” you shot back quickly, not even wanting to ask how long he’d been standing there. 

Walking over to you, he’d handed you his stained shirt, his expression like that of a parent that had caught their kid doing something they weren’t supposed to be doing. 

“You know, sometimes I wish you’d talk back to the directors like how you talk back to me.” 

Your eyes widened, confused at his sudden comment, but not having the time to respond as Chris continued. 

“Get these dry-cleaned over lunch. The stain’ll be harder to get out the longer you wait.” 

You huffed, already walking away from him, “well, when you say it like that I’d might as well go do it now.” 

You'd been keeping yourself busy with replying emails when you heard the elevator ding, the sound of footsteps getting louder before you saw a considerably young, suit-clad man walking towards your desk. 

"I'm here to see Chris? I'm Director Kang," he told you, though you didn't need him to introduce himself, knowing very well who he was. 

"He's in there," you held a finger up to signal him to wait as you picked up your desk telephone, pressing a button to page Chris. 

"Director Kang's here to see you." 

"Okay, send him in."

Chris closed the work he was doing on his desktop, making his way over to the leather couches as he saw his friend enter the room. 

"Yo, when were you planning on telling me about your hot secretary?" 

Chris' eyebrows raised, "didn't think that was something worth mentioning."

"Well, why not?" his friend frowned, his features pulling into one of shock, "wait, don't tell me... you guys are dating?" 

Chris rolled his eyes, "no, we're not. And please, for both our sakes, don't try anything funny with her." 

The director was about to respond, interrupted by your knocking on the door, the door opening slightly so you could enter. 

"Can I get you anything? Like a drink? Coffee? Tea?" you asked. 

The director simply looked at you curiously, sitting with his ankle resting on his other knee, "only if you'd care to join me." 

Chris glared at his friend, shutting him up quickly before he could say anything more, "coffee for him, I don't want a drink."

You nodded, exiting quickly.

"What did you come to tell me about?" 

"Must I have a reason to come and visit my beloved friend?" 

Chris rolled his eyes, "my time is precious." 

This made the director scoff, "is that your excuse now? Anyway, I came to ask if you were going for Brian's wedding next weekend." 

"Oh, yeah, right. He asked me about it last night and I said I would go, you?" 

Director Kang rolled his eyes, "can't, I've got a business trip that weekend." 

Chris hummed in acknowledgement, "that reminds me. I should get a gift for them soon. Who'd he say he was marrying again?" 

"This girl he met at work, she's nice. But, you know, not my type." 

As if that wasn't enough, Director Kang continued, "anyway, are you bringing a date?" 

He was interrupted once again by the sound of your knocking, the door opening as you made your way over to them, bending to place the cup of coffee down onto the table, making Director Kang gesture to you with his head, mouthing 'you should bring her'. 

Waving him off, Chris was eager to get Director Kang’s attention away from you, almost as if wanting to protect you from getting swayed by him, knowing the outcome was never too bright. 

"Y/N, you can go for an early lunch break today." 

Your eyebrows raised, the prospect seeming almost too good to be true. Since when was he so nice? 

"Huh? But I still have some stuff to hand the legal team..." you sounded unsure, though you did consider this to be luck since you were supposed to meet one of your friends from college for lunch today. 

Chris gave you a stern look, waving you off, making you raise your hands in surrender. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll go.” 

On your way out, you’d texted your friend that you were gonna be able to meet earlier, pleasantly surprised when she’d told you she was already in the area and that she was able to head over now. 

You’d managed to drop off Chris’ clothes for dry-cleaning before heading to the restaurant, spotting your friend already seated at your table. 

“Hey! Wow, you look great!” She told you, giving you a hug in greeting. 

“Feel a lot better compared to last year,” you joked, making her frown. 

“Your boss still giving you trouble?” 

Shrugging, you’d taken a seat, “nothing out of the ordinary. Seems like it’s part of his daily routine to annoy me.” 

She laughed, “I ordered our food already, if you don’t mind.” 

Shaking your head, you waved in dismissal, “no, yeah, I don’t mind. Thanks. Anyway, you look pretty good yourself, how’ve you been?” 

You didn’t miss the way she’d leaned closer to you, tucking her hair behind her ear in a pointed gesture, drawing your attention to the large gemstone on her ring. 

Your eyes widened, “no way.” 

She nodded, “I wanted to tell you sooner but you were so busy! I was glad enough I managed to squeeze in this lunch with you,” she told you, making you pout. 

“When’s the wedding?” You asked. 

“Next week. We’re going to have it in this beautiful church out of town, really really nice place,” she told you, “really romantic, too,” she added as an afterthought. 

You let out a deep sigh, “I hope you’re not going where I think you’re going with this.” 

She gave you a scandalised look, pausing as the waiter had come to deliver your food, “first of all, Brian has a lot of good-looking friends!” 

You gave her a look, prompting her to continue, “well, not that I’ve seen all of them but he tells me that a lot of them are single! And you know who else is single…” she pointed her finger towards you with an overly excited glint to her grin. 

“We’ve been through this a million times, Eujin. I’ve tried but it’s really hard to find a guy that’s willing to cope with… you know, my kind of schedule,” you gave her a tired (wistful) sigh, “and with my schedule, I doubt I have the time, not to mention the energy to date.” 

Eujin’s lips twisted into a frown, “but it’s been so long! Don’t you want to get back in the dating scene?” 

You scoffed, cutting into your food harshly before taking a bite. 

“Of course I do. But the last time I went on a date the guy basically shat on me for being a workaholic,” you huffed, “I mean, my boss’ working hours means my working hours, shouldn’t they just shit on him instead? Why is it my fault that he’s basically destroyed what I have left of a social life.” 

Eujin shot you a look of sympathy, “I’d say I pitied you, but it’s not like you can’t get a job anywhere else, you know?” 

You’d kept your mouth shut at that, “I know… it just… I can’t just leave when I’ve already gotten so used to how things work here.” 

Of course that was one reason, but you would never admit that there was a nagging inside of you that didn't trust Chris to look after himself if you weren't here, remembering how he'd overworked himself during a crucial period after he took over the company, and you'd found him passed out on his desk when you showed up to work that day. 

You'd sort of made a silent promise that as much as you didn't like him, you still cared for him in a way. In the way a secretary would care for her boss, totally. 

You decided to change the topic, not wishing to talk about your hopeless love life at the moment. 

“What’s the program gonna be like?” 

Eujin’s eyes lit up, setting her cutlery down as she clasped her hands together, “Okay, so. The plan is for it to be a sort of weekend-long thing,” she told you, holding her finger up. 

“Firstly, on Thursday night we’ll have a little girls night type thing, and then Friday is the rehearsal dinner, Saturday will kind of be a little rest day and then Sunday is the actual wedding,” she said, now holding up four fingers to you. 

Your head was spinning at the (rather enticing) thought of taking basically 4 days off of work, before the dread settled in that you had to ask Chris for permission to take those days off. 

“I hope my boss will let me take time off…” you murmured, already rehearsing in your head possible ways on how you could tell him. 

Eujin gave you a resolute look, “you can do it! If he says no just let me know, I’ll go over to your fancy office and fight whoever he is myself.” 

=== 

“How many days?” 

Chris had asked at your desk as he prepared to leave to meet his mom for lunch since she’d happened to be in the business district. 

You fiddled with your pen anxiously, “uh..4 days? Technically 3 and a half. But 2 of those are weekends I just need you to make sure you just don’t bother me on that weekend it’s a really important weekend.” 

Chris narrowed his eyes at you, unsure why you were so insistent on him leaving that weekend alone, nodding slowly. 

Whatever, he figured, she’s just lucky I’m busy that weekend too. 

���Okay.” 

“I swear I’ll—wait, you’re okay with it?” 

Chris shrugged, straightening his tie, “yeah. I’ve got something on that weekend too.” 

You let out a surprised hum, “oh… cool. Thanks…Mr Bang,” you added as a force of habit, not wanting to risk getting scolded for ‘insubordination’ again just because you didn’t call him by his honorific. 

Chris huffed, leaving before you could see his ears reddening. 

Over lunch, Chris’ mom had been inspecting him carefully as he ate, as if the answer to her worries lay in every piece of sushi he ate. 

“Is there something you’re not telling me? Are you… gay?” She asked, continuing, “because if you are you know you can just tell me, instead of constantly upsetting the girls I try to set you up with.” 

Chris gave her a unamused look, “mom, I’ve told you a thousand times. I would really love to date, but it’s hard to find someone with a similar work ethic as myself, that can keep up with my… lifestyle and who really understands my needs, you know?” 

This made Chris’ mom perk up, “that’s it! Why don’t you just date your secretary!” 

Chris almost choked on his sushi, fumbling to grab his glass of water to calm himself down and compose himself. 

“What,” he spoke between coughs, “gave you that idea?” 

His mom looked at him in disbelief, “whatever you just said, you were basically describing her, no? And plus, we’ve heard a lot of wonderful things about her from your uncle.”

Chris couldn’t help but entertain the possibility in his head. It was true, you did work at a very efficient pace with him, not to mention how spending almost everyday in such close contact with him made you understand his own needs and wants even better than he did on occasions. Chris shook his head, that wasn’t possible, right? You looked as though you’d absolutely hated him half the time, he’d be expecting too much from you if he’d expected you to fall for him. 

Chris shook his head, dismissing the thought from both him and his mom’s minds quickly, “no, mom. I’m fine with how things are between us right now.” 

Chris had let you leave the office earlier on Thursday, (much to your surprise) allowing you to have ample time to pack your bags and get a cab to the destination, Eujin having taken the liberty and helped you book your hotel beforehand. 

Upon reaching, you’d texted Eujin saying you’d reached. 

eujin 6:54pm -yay!! Lets just chill in one of our rooms, we can discuss it in the chatgroup!!- 

Trust her to be excitable even about the smallest things. 

You saw an incoming text from Seungmin. 

seungmin (personal)  6:54pm -what where r u I went over to find u but both u and Chris weren’t here- 

6:55pm -im at a friends wedding, took the weekend off-

seungmin (personal)  6:55pm -wow finally using your employee perks nvm then have fun- 

You’d checked in, marvelling at the cozy yet elegant look of the hotel as you made your way through the lobby, letting the lift take you up to your hotel room floor. 

Changing into more comfortable clothes, you’d seen the group chat saying to gather in Eujin’s room, with mentions of ordering pizza. Considering this was your first weekend away from work in a very, long while, you were determined to make the most of it, heading over to Eujin’s room. 

You hadn’t expected to be welcomed as warmly as you were, hearing comments of ‘we were so happy you could make it!’ Or ‘thank God you could take time off!’, sharing the same sentiments as them as you’d let Eujin pull you onto the bed, the softness of the sheets and pillows instantly making a content sigh leave you. 

“I ordered room service,” Eujin sing-songed, gesturing to the Champagne bottles and whatnot on the tray next to the bed. 

“I’ll have one,” you raised your hand, earning a laugh from one of your friends. 

“Tired from work?”  

You let out a loud groan, nodding. This made Eujin nod gravely, “I swear, if I ever see your boss in real life, I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind.” 

You scoffed, “you don’t even know what he looks like.” You’d gratefully accepted the glass of champagne that was handed to you. "and plus, he's not that bad, other than the fact that he finds joy in pissing me off. He just works too hard in my opinion." 

You’d spent your time enjoying the once chance you could relax to your heart’s content without feeling dread at having to wake up early the following day, enjoying yourself as you leant against the headboard of the bed, listening to stories about how they’ve been and how all of them were either planning on getting engaged soon, were in long-term relationships or already married. 

“You guys make me wanna get married too,” you pouted, earning bouts of laughter from them. 

“You’d have to actually date to do that, you know,” they told you pointedly, making you sigh. 

“You’re basically married to your job, already,” your friend chimed in, making you laugh. 

“Seems like that, doesn’t it? I was super shocked he’d let me have the weekend off, usually he’d be swarming me with emails about now.” 

“I’m excited to see Brian’s friends tomorrow, maybe there’ll be someone that catches your eye,” Eujin told you, making you shrug. 

“Just out of curiosity, though, what are you looking for in a guy? You know, we could help you keep an eye out too.” 

You hummed, shrugging. 

“I’ve never really thought of a specific…criteria I guess. I guess I’d just like someone that’s kind, looks out for me, doesn't underestimate me...sort of has the same lifestyle as me? Since it’s honestly been really hard to find someone that doesn’t hate my schedule.” 

You'd almost scoffed at the way your brain had refused to picture anyone else other than Chris while you thought about it, figuring it was probably because he was the only guy you were in constant contact with. 

Eujin looked at you resolutely, “we’ll do our best,” she held up a fist in an action to cheer you on. 

You shrugged, You figured maybe going into this with an open mind would do you some good. 

You changed the topic, directing the focus back to Eujin, “whatever, let’s just have fun, it’s your big day soon, let’s just celebrate!”

===

At the rehearsal dinner, you had yet to arrive, since you’d spent a little longer getting ready, choosing to use your opportunity to dress up a little more, not having the luxury to do so during your usual work days. 

You had texted Eujin that you were on the way with some of the other bridesmaids, her attention directed elsewhere when her fiancé had called her over. 

“Hey, wanted you to meet some of my friends from law school.” 

While being introduced, Eujin couldn’t help but wonder if they were single, remembering your mentioned criteria from the night before. 

“Oh, so are you guys all working in the law sector now?” 

Her husband shook his head, “All of them, except Chan here. He’s the ceo of Bang Mobile Media company.” 

Eujin’s eyes widened, glancing at the brown-haired boy cautiously, as if sizing him up. Y/N worked in a mobile company too, right? If she was remembering this correctly. Was it mobile or broadcasting? 

“Oh, wow. That’s impressive.” 

Eujin had let them introduce themselves more, not being able to help but think that Chan was nice, friendly, and rich on top of that? 

“I don’t get it, how are you single? You’re basically the whole package!” She wondered out loud, making Chan flush, giggling as he shook his head. 

Her husband seemed to have begged to differ, “Chan is incorrigible when it comes to his love life.” 

Eujin raised her eyebrows in surprise, not having expected someone so good-looking to have such a fate, “really? Is there a reason behind that?” 

“He’d never dated much, even back when he was in Australia. He was always super dedicated to his work,” this had served to make Eujin even more positive about this guy’s prospects as a suitor for you. 

“Oh my god, you’re exactly like one of my friends, I should totally introduce her to you when she comes later.” 

“Hey, cut him some slack,” one of his friends had spoken up, “Chan can’t cheat on his job.” 

Eujin felt her phone vibrate signalling a notification, pulling it out to see that you’d arrived already, excusing herself and practically running over to the entrance of the venue. “Chan, you stay put, I have just the perfect girl to introduce you to!” 

“Y/N! You have to come quick, I think I found the perfect guy for you.” 

Your eyes widened, clutching onto the chain of your bag as you followed her into the room. 

“He’s really nice, and friendly, and he’s good-looking! Really cute dimples! And on top of that he’s loaded. I’m so excited for you to meet him.” 

Letting her drag you along, you’d distracted yourself with the atmosphere of the area, wondering just how much it would cost to book a venue like this, tugging down your dress that was hiking up from practically running after Eujin. 

“Hey, I have someone I’d like you to meet. Chan, this is Y/N,” Eujin chirped, the names causing the both of your heads to shoot up, locking eyes with each other as a feeling of doom built in the pit of your stomach. 

Your eyes widened in panic, glancing down at your attire, back to him, who was dressed in a flowy black shirt that you were sure cost more than your one week’s pay, the top few buttons of his shirt undone to reveal a simple silver necklace, and fitted black pants, your gaze landing on the small silver rings on his ears, almost feeling as though you were looking at a different person. 

Chris thought so too, seeming to have the same panic as you as he tried not to let his gaze linger too long on your dress, nodding his head at you in greeting, “nice to uh…meet you.” 

His ears had felt hot as you nodded back at him, almost startling when Eujin had cheered, leaning over to whisper to you, “I’ll make sure you guys get to sit next to each other.” 

You were about to protest when she’d left, leaving you standing at the bar with Chris. 

“So, Y/N, how do you know the bride to be?” 

You gulped, wanting to slap yourself for how your gaze had kept returning to Chris, unable to shake the feeling of needing to be in work-mode now with his presence before you. 

“Oh, uh, we were friends since college,” you answered simply. 

“Cool, did you guys have the same major?” Chris had to stop himself from glaring at his friend, a strange feeling inside of him as he recognised the look on his friend’s face and his posture to be that which he used whenever he was interested in a girl. 

You shook your head, “uh, not quite. I majored in law but she majored in journalism.” You tried to respond as calmly as you could, not being able to shake Chris’ gaze off of you, feeling as though at any moment he was going to call you out for something you weren’t even aware of.

You saw the guy practically light up at the mention of law. 

“Woah, that’s really coincidental. All of us met in law school,” he gestured to the group of them, making you laugh nervously. 

“Where are you guys um… dates?” You asked, immediately regretting the question when you saw the way Chris was practically glaring at you. 

You didn’t understand why he was glaring at you, wasn’t it a valid question? 

“We didn’t bring dates, unfortunately. Did you?” 

You shook your head, making Chris snort. “Does it look like she brought a date? She literally came in alone.” 

You narrowed your eyes at him, unsure where his spitefulness was coming from, especially when his friend was just trying to make conversation with you. 

You scoffed, folding your arms. “Yeah, pity. Maybe I’d have time to date if I wasn’t always so busy running around doing shit for my boss,” you cast a pointed glance at him, bringing a hand up to nonchalantly run it through your hair. 

Chris smirked, two could play at this game.

“Same here, I’d probably have the time to date too if my secretary wasn’t always causing trouble.” 

“Your secretary?” His friend spoke up, “I heard from someone she was pretty cute, and nice too.” 

You’d almost wanted to agree, realising that if you did it would put you in a pretty compromising position, simply acting surprised. 

“If I had a secretary like that, I’d just date her,” one of his friends had spoken up, making your eyes widen, wracking your brain for possible responses. 

“Who knows, are you a workaholic?” You asked pointedly, earning amused grunts and laughs from his friends, “ah… it’d be too bad if I was your secretary, then. I absolutely can’t stand dating workaholics.” 

Chris narrowed his eyes at you, the both of you knowing you were just as bad at him, replying calmly, “oh, you can’t stand dating workaholics? Me neither.” 

You were thankful that Eujin had given you a small break when she'd invited everyone to take their seats so dinner could be served, wincing when you'd ended up sitting next to Chris out of habit, momentarily forgetting that you weren't attending a networking session. 

You'd hoped and prayed that you wouldn't slip up more than you already did. As much as you'd wanted to spite him, he was still your boss, and you knew he'd give you an earful for even the slightest hint of disrespect ( which you were sure you'd surpassed already ). 

Focusing on the gorgeous food they'd served you, you saw the waiter pick up the bottle of wine, pouring it for you. 

Having been oblivious, the waiter was about to pour a glass for Chris as well, making your secretary-instincts kick in, your arm darting across Chris to stop the waiter in time. 

"No, Mr Bang, you shouldn't drink that." 

Chris would have looked fairly amused if he wasn't stressed out by your proximity, with you practically leaning over him to speak to the waiter. 

You'd cursed internally, wincing at the way Chan's friend had looked at you, tilting his head in confusion. 

"Mr Bang? And how do you know his alcohol preference?" 

Chris let out a nervous giggle as you straightened up, "uh...well um like...you know it's a really funny story actually... we're um..." 

Not being able to bear his awkward fumbling any longer, you'd butt in, "We work in the same company. Yeah." 

You were lucky his friend had bought it, simply nodding in understanding, "no wonder, you guys were being so weird just now." 

Chris scoffed, "what weird?" 

You turned around in your chair, pretending to pick up your bag, "stop, you're making it worse," you murmured so he could hear you, making him bring his glass of water to his lips. 

One of your girl friends had spoken up, halfway through the meal, "wait, i just realised. If you guys work in the same office, then you must know her boss right? That dude is crazy. We all thought it was a miracle that she could take time off for the wedding," 

You glared at your friend, trying to subtly shake your head in your attempt to stop her, but she was oblivious, "she doesn't like it when we badmouth him but it's true! Ever since she started working for him it's like her social life just disappeared. Her boss is always her first priority." 

You'd never related more to how people said they wished the ground would swallow you whole. Looking down at your food, you'd tried to remain nonchalant about it, but Chris who was next to you was looking at your friend with wide eyes. 

"Oh, really? What else does she say about him?" 

You laughed nervously, waving your hands in dismissal, "nothing that concerns you."

Chris turned to you, dropping his volume to a murmur, "is that so? because i'm hearing all this and i'm getting the feeling it definitely concerns me." 

You let out a huff of anxious laughter, bringing your glass to your lips, consuming your drink in sips because your boss was sitting next to you, but secretly wishing you could down it all in one go. 

Soon enough, all your anxious sipping had made you reach an empty glass, the waiter coming over to refill it for you, earning an eyebrow raise from Chris. 

"Leave me alone," you huffed. 

Chris simply laughed, "what? I didn't say anything." 

You'd tried to pay attention to the proceedings of the wedding rehearsal, and after dessert was served people had started to mingle around more, the drinks having started to kick in as you'd felt a lot more relaxed. 

It was safe to say Eujin was as well, going around to talk to the guests and thank them for coming out of town for the celebrations. 

Soon enough, you were almost done with your fourth glass, oblivious to the way Chris was looking at you, impressed yet concerned. Feeling skinny arms drape over your shoulders, you turned your head to see none other than Eujin, cooing at you affectionately. 

"Tell your boss a huge thank you for letting you have this weekend. I couldn't even get to see you on my birthday or for the engagement party, but i'm so so glad you're here now." 

You couldn't help but glance at Chris, knowing that you'd missed both of those events because you were helping him with something. The first being when he'd almost overworked himself enough to warrant a visit to the hospital since he hadn't been sleeping or eating well (after that, you swore you'd make sure this man was getting his three meals if you could help it), and the second time being when you had to accompany him to a keynote session out of town. 

You were starting to think maybe there was a little more to unpack behind your reasons why you stayed working for Chris Bang. Your only consolation at this point of time being that the rehearsal dinner was ending soon, meaning that you could finally escape the suffocating tension you were feeling. 

"Wanna hitch a ride back together? I drove here." 

You'd almost declined, feeling as if you didn't have a right to be in his car if it wasn't work-related. Chris had seemed to sense your hesitation, simply not waiting for a reply and walking off, hoping his smile wasn't too obvious when he'd heard you jogging to meet his pace. 

He'd surprised you even more when he'd opened the passenger door for you, shutting it gently after you'd gotten in. 

You'd given in to the comfort of his car almost immediately, more-so when Chris had gone to take something from the boot of his car, getting into the driver's seat and draping the soft blanket over your lap. 

"The drive back's pretty long, might wanna make yourself comfortable." 

And you were comfortable, very comfortable. Chris had started to play some music from his playlist, something about his behaviour almost making you forget that he was the same boss that had worked you to the bone for over a year. 

"I'm sorry," you suddenly spoke, once you were in the city, "about what my friends said," you weren't sure where all your courage was coming from, maybe it was the many glasses of wine, but whatever it was, it was putting Chris in an awfully reflective mood. 

"And what I said," you added as an afterthought. 

Chris took his lower lip between his teeth, shaking his head, “nah, don’t worry about it.”

Obviously, that seemed too good to be true, and you’d looked over at his expression in your attempt to figure out if he was being sincere. He was definitely gonna fire you. 

“I’m not gonna fire you, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m just kind of…like, you know, wondering,” he began, “the uh… engagement party and the birthday party that you um… you know, that you missed. Were they both because of me?” 

You pursed your lips, nodding, “but it wasn’t your fault, you know. The first one was when you’d passed out… you know, at the office, remember?” 

He nodded, prompting you to continue, “the next one was a keynote session that I had to follow you to.” 

Chris gulped, his throat feeling dry all of a sudden. This whole time he wouldn’t have guessed you’d been giving up these things for him from how willing you’d seemed to work. Was this considered neglecting the needs of my employee? Probably. But whatever it was, Chris knew that he was being harsh on you more for his own sake than yours, but he was only starting to realise now that that might not have been such a good tactic.

Chris was already pulling into the hotel, stopping at the valet services as you’d slung your bag over your shoulder, Chris coming out to open your door for you, making you grimace, feeling as though you should've been the one to open it for him. 

Walking into the hotel lobby, you'd glanced at your phone, seeing as Eujin had texted you tomorrow's plans, "did you get the schedule for tomorrow? I can forward it to you-" 

Chris let a giggle escape him, nodding, "you know they would've sent it to me too, right?" 

Your lips parted in realisation, nodding as you went over to press the lift button before he could even reach over to do so, "right, forgot." 

You were sure it was something about your intoxicated state that was making you instinctively go into work mode, whatever relaxation you thought you would be getting on this weekend now seeming all too far from reach. 

"Uh... I can check what time the hotel serves breakfast and arrange for something to be sent to your room if you want-" 

"Y/N," his tone was enough to make you straighten up, goosebumps rising on your skin for some reason. 

Chris was looking at you in amusement, one hand shoved into his pocket, "you're not working, remember? This is your rest weekend." 

Your eyebrows knit in a frown, chewing on your lip as you averted your gaze, "I know but it's just... like I didn't expect to see you here and now that you are I can't help but feel like I'm at work or something," you'd turned to wonder what was taking the elevator so long, watching as the numbers had gone lower and lower, completely skipping your floor and heading to the carpark. 

"You know what? How about this," he began, pausing momentarily when you heard the elevator ding, stepping inside the empty elevator and pushing your floor button, your heart almost stopping when he hadn't made to press any button. 

"You're on the 14th floor too?" He nodded. 

"Anyway, as I was saying. To make things easier for you, let's just pretend we don't know each other, that i'm not your boss, you're not my secretary. We're just... two people that met at a wedding? You don't have to do anything for me as long as we're here, hmm?" he offered, seeming to sense your hesitance 

"Look, I'll go first," he stretched his hand out as if to ask for a handshake, "hello, nice to meet you, i'm Chan." 

"Chan?" 

He nodded, "my friends call me Chan. People only call me Chris at work." 

You'd brought your hand up slowly, grasping his in yours, the cold metal of his rings against your skin more obvious when he'd given your hand a small squeeze. 

"Nice to meet you, Chan. I'm Y/N?" you tried, looking at him for approval and earning a nod from him, trying your best to ignore the way he was smiling. 

"Yes, that's your name," he laughed. 

Letting go of his hand, you were thankful the elevator had reached your floor without any interruptions, realising just how lucky you were to have not bumped into him earlier on as he'd continued walking with you to your room, gesturing to the door opposite your room with wide eyes. 

"My room's here." 

You made to take out your hotel room key, hearing him clear his throat, and you'd turned around rapidly to face him, strangely eager to know what he was about to say. 

"Say, Y/N, I'd love to, you know, get to know you more. What do you think about getting brunch with me tomorrow?” 

You opened and closed your mouth for lack of a response. This was inappropriate, right? But then again, you weren’t working this weekend. And technically, in this situation, Chan wasn’t your boss. So, there was nothing to lose. 

You nodded, “Yeah. That sounds…nice.” 

=== 

“Sounds kind of suspicious if you asked me,” you heard Seungmin’s voice over the speaker, making you sigh. You were already ready, lounging on your bed as if to mentally prepare yourself for a stupid lunch. 

“Right? I don’t know what he’s trying to get out of this.” 

Seungmin knew. But it’s not as if he was going to tell you, no, that was Chan’s job not his. Frankly, he’d had enough of listening to the both of you whine about your apparent personal vendetta against each other. He watched his fair share of movies, Seungmin knew how these things worked. 

“Maybe it’ll give you a chance to actually talk to each other like normal human beings instead of just bickering all the time for no reason.” 

“I have a reason, I’ll have you know.” 

Seungmin scoffed, “really? Enlighten me, then.”

You’d fumbled for a reason, stuttering in your failure to find something that validated your annoyance towards Chan. 

“I don’t know, his dimples are stupid.” 

Seungmin wanted to laugh, “so you’re telling me, you just can’t stand him because of his stupid dimples?” 

Your attention was diverted when you’d felt your phone vibrate, signalling an incoming text from Chan. 

boss  11:20am -meet u outside your hotel room in 10?- 

“Shit, he wants to meet me in 10 minutes.” 

Seungmin shrugged, “10 minutes is more than enough time for you to come up with a less shitty reason why you don’t like him. Or for you to realise that you don’t actually hate him.” 

You scoffed, burying your face into your sheets as you thought of a reason. 

“Okay, I’ve got it. I just don’t like how he treats everyone so nicely and then treats me like I’m some incompetent kid.” 

“You know for a fact he doesn’t think you’re incompetent. He literally trusts you more than he does the other staff.” 

You scoffed, “yeah, whatever. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s so condescending about it, he thinks of me i’m some kid that doesn’t know anything.” 

Seungmin snorted, remembering the incident where Chan had asked him to tell you to button up your blouse after the directors behaviour during a meeting. 

“Oh, he definitely doesn’t see you as a kid,” Seungmin cackled, earning an eye roll from you.

Glancing at the time, you saw how it was almost 11:30, “okay, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.” 

Ending the call, you’d slung your small bag around your shoulder, giving one last glance at your appearance in the mirror in the bathroom before leaving your hotel room, startling when you’d spotted Chan there. 

Dressed in a black pullover and jeans, Chan smiled at you, bringing a hand up to touch his ear, “morning,” he greeted. 

“Good morning,” you huffed nervously.

He’d already begun walking, making you follow beside him, “did you get a good sleep?” 

His eyebrows raised at your question, nodding at you. His hair was curlier than usual, not styled up like you usually saw. “you?” 

You nodded, following him in silence as you’d gone down the list, realising he’d pressed the ground floor instead of where they were serving food on the 3rd floor. 

“You pressed the wrong floor,” you began, not expecting to see the pleading smile on his face.

“Actually, I was thinking of bringing you to this place nearby, I’ve been there before and it’s pretty good.” 

Your first thought was to wonder if it was expensive, knowing that this time you didn’t have the company card to fall back on. 

“Is it expensive?” You asked, seeing him shrug. 

“Not really.” 

Only when you’d reached the area did you realise how much of an understatement Chan made. The restaurant was a small cozy-looking place that served food that you’d only heard of up till now, located along a line of boutiques selling unusual trinkets and handmade items. 

Upon reaching, you and Chan had been led up upstairs to an outdoor seating area of the restaurant, the view of the scenery accompanied with the breeze instantly putting you in a relaxed mood. 

“Do you like it?” He asked, almost sounding nervous. 

Nodding reassuringly, you’d wanted to run away when you saw the way he’d walked over to where you were, pulling your chair out for you to sit on, making you flush. Never in your life would you have thought your boss would be pulling out your chair for you.

“You know, you don’t have to do that,” you told him, using the menu to hide your face from view, pulling it down slightly to watch how he’d rest his forearm on the table, scanning through the menu with a smirk on his face, his (stupid) dimples appearing on his cheeks. 

“I wanted to. You’d never let me do it for you on any other occasion.” 

You had to admit that there was some truth to what you were saying, choosing to change the subject by telling him you’d decided on what you wanted to eat, choosing something that was still within your budget for the weekend. 

Beckoning the waiter over, Chan pushed his sleeves up to his elbows as he ordered for the both of you, the waiter asking what drinks you would want, a teasing smile on Chan’s face when you’d insisted on water.

“What?” You scoffed, earning a shake of the head from him. 

“Nothing.” 

You’d leant back in your seat, about to tie your hair up into a ponytail, hearing the buzzing of your phone, reading the caller id to see that it was your mom trying to video call you. 

Sitting up quickly, you were about to excuse yourself when Chan had reached over, swiping to answer the call as he lifted the phone, pointing it towards you, his other hand beckoning for you to continue. 

“Hey, mom,” you spoke through gritted teeth, your rubber band between your teeth as you worked quickly to bunch your hair into a ponytail, Chan wanting to slap himself with how his ears had started to feel hot. 

“Hey, honey. Where are you? I called the office but they said you were on leave?” 

You secured your hair, taking the phone from Chan with a grateful murmur of ‘thanks’, making your mother’s eyes narrow, “who are you with?” 

“I’m attending Eujin’s wedding this weekend. I’m just uh…with a friend.” 

Chan looked away to clear his throat, catching your mom’s attention, “guy? I thought you told me you weren’t dating anyone.” 

This had caught Chan’s attention, having remembered Seungmin telling him that you’d broken up with your boyfriend. 

“No, yeah, mom it’s just a friend. Can I call you later?” 

Your mom’s eyebrows lifted, looking at you with a cheeky smile on her face, “oh, oh. Yes, of course you can. Have fun, baby.” 

You hung up quickly, shoving your phone back into your bag, looking up at Chan in question as to why he looked so surprised. 

“Your mom doesn’t know you have a boyfriend?” He asked, as if wanting that confirmation for himself, not feeling comfortable with pursuing his feelings if you were still in a relationship. 

You shook your head, “no uh…I broke up with my boyfriend a long time ago.” 

Chan’s lips pursed, nodding, “oh… sorry.” 

You shook your head, not being able to help a breathy laugh from leaving you, “don’t be. He was…it was for the best.” 

“D’you mind if I ask why? You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to, I’m just kind of…curious.” 

You shrugged, not feeling as inclined to hide the information, since it was in the past now. 

“Nah he just… our schedules always clashed and I was always too tired by the end of the day to go out to find him and I guess it like, you know, sort of reached a point where I started prioritising my work and it didn’t work out.” 

Chan nodded slowly, the waiter coming over to serve you your food, “go ahead, you can start eating first.” 

You shook your head, insisting on waiting for his food to arrive before starting. “But I’m honestly fine now, it’s been more than a year since we broke up.” 

Chan huffed in amusement, “is that why you said you can’t stand dating workaholics?” 

Your giggles bubbled out of you, “honestly, I only said that to spite you. I’d much rather date someone that understands my schedule and reaches a compromise with me instead of just always expecting me to drop everything at their beck and call.” 

Chan nodded, “I get that. Yeah, work is important and all but… I feel like if you really loved someone you’d find any moment you could to be with them. Well, for me at least.” 

You laughed, “kind of hard, when we spend almost every waking moment with each other.” 

You’d looked up from your food when Chan hadn’t responded, the waiter finally coming over to serve his food, though his expression remained, looking at you as though he’d wanted to say something. 

“yeah,” he huffed eventually, starting to eat his food. 

You’d shocked yourself with how comfortable you were in his presence with the knowledge that you weren’t working. This was what you wanted, wasn’t it? To have Chris treat you nicely like how he did the other employees. Only now you were realising how easy it was to catch feelings for him just from this one change. 

Maybe you were kind of thankful he made it easier for you to hate him previously. 

It was true that you understood him better than most, and that he understood you as well, knowing what got on your nerves and what didn’t, how you worked and how you responded to things. Albeit there were a few things he still didn’t understand, you couldn’t deny that Chan was well-liked in the office for a reason, and you were beginning to experience that reason for yourself. 

Chris had been mulling over what his mother had told him about you, wondering if you were feeling the same tension that he was even as you talked about pointless things that made you wonder why you hadn’t talked about them sooner. 

Not that it was a bad kind of tension (or maybe it was), but it was akin to the feeling of knowing that you would both have to confront a realisation soon. 

“Are you doing anything tonight?” He asked as you were heading back to the car, earning a shrug from you. 

“My friends wanted to have some kind of girls night thing, you?” 

He sighed, nodding, “same, the guys and I are going out for drinks.” 

You shot him a look, “drinks?” 

He laughed, shaking his head, “I can hold my alcohol, I just choose not to drink.” 

Your eyes widened, “and I’m only finding this out now because? Do you remember when I had to drink your drinks for you during the first networking session because you lied to me and told me you couldn’t drink that!”

Chan flushed, “I wasn’t lying, technically. I really couldn’t drink that, I don’t like white wine.” 

You shot him a harmless glare, this time, letting him open the door for you as you got into the passenger’s seat. 

“Don’t drink too much tonight, yeah?” He gave you an amused huff as he started the engine of the car. 

“You too,” you held your pinky out for him to make a promise. 

Chan nodded, linking his pinky with yours as he leaned closer to you, “deal.” 

=== 

You’d heard the sound of beeping at your door that night, wondering what all the ruckus was all about, getting out of bed, taking your hotel room key and pausing the show you were watching on your phone, making your way over to your door carefully. 

“Why isn’t the card working?” You heard a tell-tale Australian accent muffled through the door, looking through the peephole to see a head of messy brown hair, looking as though Chan was leaning against the door. 

Opening the door slowly, you’d acted quickly to grab Chan by the shoulders to steady him before he could stumble forward, the confused boy holding up his hotel key and looking at you in confusion. 

“This isn’t my room?” 

You couldn’t help but laugh, turning him around as you’d ushered him a few steps forward to his hotel room door, “this,” you pointed at the door, “is your room, Chan.” 

He giggled, “you called me ‘Chan’.” 

Taking his hand, you scanned his hotel key, bringing him into his room, finding it awfully neat (unlike yours), smoothly guiding him to his bed and letting him flop onto it. 

Letting out a sigh, you couldn’t help but to feel rather endeared, seeing him open his eyes slowly to look at you, tilting his head. 

“Sorry, I promised I wouldn’t drink so much.” 

You shook your head, reaching over him to grab at his blanket, your movements ceasing abruptly when you’d felt his hand on your back as you hovered over him, his hand moving from your back to your head, patting it gently. 

Pulling the blanket up harshly in your panic to cover him, straightening up as quickly as you could. 

“Shut up, go to sleep. Goodnight,” you said, hurriedly exiting the hotel room and going back to your room, closing the door behind you and trying to calm your rapid heartbeat. 

The next time you’d seen him was at the hotel lobby, where you’d agreed to meet him so you could head to the wedding venue together. Chan had come down wearing a nice suit, something you were more used to seeing him in, his hair styled up in a familiar manner. 

Greeting each other, you’d both decided to pretend the night before hadn’t occurred. With you being one of the bridesmaids and Chan being one of the groomsmen, you were separated almost immediately upon reaching the venue, with him having to help his friend while you helped Eujin. 

“A little birdie told me you came together with Chan,” she sing-songed. 

You scoffed, “aren’t brides usually supposed to be freaking out by now?” 

“Don’t change the topic! So, did you guys hang out yesterday?” 

You shrugged, “yeah, I guess we did.” 

She narrowed her eyes at you, “so? Is there a verdict?” 

You went behind her to take her bouquet, handing it to her as you waved her off in dismissal. 

“Too early to tell,” you lied. 

“Stop avoiding the question! Or else I’ll just have to ask Chan myself,” she huffed sulkily, making your eyes widen. 

“No, don’t do that! Okay, fine. It’s good. He’s nice.” 

Even Eujin’s makeup artist was giving you a knowing look now, making you cower under their gaze. 

“Shut up, focus on your wedding, please.” 

You wished you could’ve done some focusing for yourself, with Chan’s friends nudging him when you’d gone to the back of the church to line up with the groomsmen, all of them seeming to have conspired to let you walk with Chan. 

“Why do you look more nervous than the bride?” He teased, holding his arm out for you to take, making you roll your eyes, bringing your hand up to grasp his arm. 

“You’re delusional.” 

Okay, maybe he wasn’t. You wished you could’ve taken your advice, having been distracted throughout almost the entire ceremony, your gaze constantly flickering over to Chan, and you were sure he’d noticed too, with the way he would smirk and avert his gaze to the floor in his attempt to stop himself from laughing. 

Shouldn’t he be the one that was nervous? He was the one that had shown up drunk at your hotel room. 

After the ceremony had ended and you were all done taking photos with the bride and groom, Chan had offered you a ride to the reception venue, and you’d accepted, not knowing that you would’ve had to squeeze in a car full of his friends too. 

Sitting at the passenger’s seat (thankfully), you’d prayed for the ride to be shorter as his friends had started to question you and Chan. 

“Is there something going on with you two?” 

“None of your business,” Chan sing-songed, only serving to spur his friends on even more, your eyes widening when you’d heard one of his friends murmur.

“Wait, but didn’t he say he had a thing for his secretary?” 

Your hand went up to cover your mouth as discreetly as you could, clutching the bag of your wedding gift for Eujin and her husband and looking out of the window in your attempt to keep your composure. 

Chan had seemed to share your sentiments, his eyes widening as he panicked behind the steering wheel, his mind racing with things he could possibly do to prevent you from hearing what his friends were so freely spouting.

“Oh, did he? Then there can’t be anything going on with her, right?” 

Chan had reached over to turn the volume of the music up, much to your fortune, not knowing if you would’ve been able to handle hearing them talk more about Chan’s love life. 

Eujin wasn’t kidding when she said that she’d make you and Chan sit next to each other, and you’d ended up at a table with Chan nearer to the front, with a few of your friends and their partners. Watching Eujin and her husband enter the hall, you’d been filled with excitement at how happy she had looked, clapping and cheering for them along with the rest of the guests. 

Once they were seated, Eujin and her husband had begun to make their own speeches, thanking the respective groups of people for coming, and you didn’t miss her pointed mention of how she hoped the guests would use this time to get to know each other as well. 

The way Eujin had done things was that dinner was served so that the guests could listen to the speeches and enjoy their meals at the same time, which you didn’t mind since you were absolutely starving. 

You didn’t miss the way Chan had been subtly looking out for you during the dinner, like how he would casually ask if you needed anything whenever he would get up to go to the bar, or how he’d brushed your hair behind your ear so it wouldn’t get into your food (not without a tut of his tongue), earning many surprised looks from your friends which he was oblivious to. 

You figured he was really making use of the ‘let’s pretend we don’t know each other’ thing as an excuse to be nice to you, not that you were complaining.  

You glanced at your phone, skimming over the texts that one of the intern secretaries had sent you to ask you for help, making your friend curious. 

“Is that your boss?” 

You shook your head, “nah it’s just one of the interns asking me for help with something,” you shrugged, setting your utensils down as you swiped into your email app, ready to clarify the problem for her, making Chan furrow his eyebrows in annoyance. 

Reaching over, he’d taken your phone from you, locking it and dropping it back into your bag, ignoring your look of confusion. 

“Hey, I was just gonna email her!” 

“They’re not supposed to be asking you to do things for them while you’re on leave. No working, this is your rest weekend.” 

You’d shut your mouth at that, deciding that it wouldn’t do you any well to go against him, wanting to pull your phone out to just read the emails but dropping your phone back when you saw the look he gave you daring you to continue. 

Your friend had seemed to be fairly amused by your exchange, shooting a look at Chan, “wow, now I’m really glad you’re here. You’re the only one so far that’s managed to stop her from checking on her work when she’s supposed to be resting.” 

You scoffed. Yeah, because the source of your work was sitting right next to you in a stupid suit. 

“Good to know,” he gave you a knowing smile, making you direct your attention back the waiters, seeing that they were serving desserts now. 

“Your friends make me sound like i’m a hard-ass,” he leaned closer to you to murmur, making you smile, nodding. 

“Well, they’re not entirely wrong,” you drawled, making Chan scoff, though not being able to help the laugh from leaving him. 

He nodded slowly, his expression looking fairly amused, “I’ll keep that in mind.” 

You wondered just for a moment if he was only being nice to you for the sake of his own conscience (though Seungmin would beg to differ). And by the late afternoon, you were already starting to feel drowsy from the afternoon weather, the skies darkening as though it were about to rain. Chan had figured it would be good to start heading back. 

After you’d bid goodbye to Eujin, who seemed more than eager for you to leave together with Chan, Chan had offered to drive a few of his friends back to the hotel together with you, and thankfully this time they hadn’t mentioned anything about his love life. 

“Tired?” Chan huffed with a smile, glancing at you momentarily before fixing his gaze back on the road. 

“Yeah,” you murmured, yawning. 

“You should get some sleep when you get back to the hotel.” 

You nodded, “you too.” 

Chan nodded patronisingly, earning a huff from you, too tired to bicker with him. something in him stirring at how he could’ve been acting like this with you a lot earlier if he wasn’t always masking his concern with rude phrasing. 

His mom sure was gonna be excited the next time he updates her. 

=== 

You hadn’t gotten as much of a rejuvenating sleep as you would’ve liked, reality having kicked in that you were back to work tomorrow, the feeling lingering unsettlingly in your chest as you tried to make the most of the rest of your night. Somehow, you’d found your way to the lounge in the hotel, though that didn’t help much in lessening your dread for tomorrow seeing as the only other people here were people working on their laptops.

You figured it was not so much of dreading work than dreading Chan’s change in personality once he went back to being your boss. 

Letting your head rest on the stiff cushion of the chair you were sitting on, you’d fiddled with your phone, texting Seungmin about what had happened today. 

You’d almost startled in your seat when you saw someone take a seat next to you, turning to see Chan, his tie long gone as his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, his hair already falling out of place as he simply looked at you. 

Raising your eyebrows in a silent question as to ask why he was here, he scoffed, looking away from you but failing to hide the reddening of his ears, “shut up, I just didn’t feel like sitting with a stranger.” 

You huffed in amusement, “did you take a nap?” 

Chan shook his head, “nah, just finished a conference call.” 

Your eyes widened, “wait, why didn’t you tell me? I was doing nothing this whole time—“ 

Chan shook his head in dismissal, “you were tired. I told you, this is your rest time, I’m not allowed to touch it.” 

You frowned, your mind racing with thoughts on how tomorrow could possibly go, looking at the carpet with a hint of a pout on your face, “yeah, and then tomorrow, everything goes back to normal.” 

Chan inhaled deeply, leaning back in his seat as he turned his head to look at you, his hands clasped and resting on his lap. 

“It doesn’t have to, you know… like…” he shrugged, “if you don’t want it to.” 

Your lips parted, unsure how to respond to the implications of his words, unsure how to even process his words. 

“It’d be… unprofessional for me to continue to act like… this towards my boss.” 

Chan raised an eyebrow at you, shrugging, looking at you with an unreadable expression. 

“I think I’m way past being professional already when it comes to you.” 

You’d sworn the air had felt thicker, something about the way the night mood had felt, or how the music in the lounge had succeeded in relaxing you, but something inside of you was telling you to just do it, to lean forward and kiss him. And probably promptly resign the next day out of embarrassment. 

You stood up quickly, “oh, I think my cab’s here, I have to go,” you lied blatantly, Chan not making any move to stop you, simply lifting a hand to wave you off with a tired smile on his face. 

“Go, go. See you at work tomorrow.” 

===

“Can’t we ask Y/N to ask him?” The secretaries and interns were currently huddled in the pantry, having gathered to discuss how great it would be to have a field day soon.

“But Y/N’s equally as scary as him!” One of the interns spoke up, making the secretaries hum thoughtfully. 

You’d stepped into the pantry, walking through the secretaries to retrieve a juice packet for Chan. 

“Hey, what’s up?” You asked, one of the secretaries turning to you with a resolute look on her face. 

“Y/N, do you think you could um… like, you know, ask President Bang if we could arrange for a team outing soon? Like a field day or something, just as a break for the staff. We haven’t had one in so long!” 

You tilted your head at them in amusement, “why don’t you guys just ask him? He’s in his office now, I can go tell him you guys wan—“ 

“No, no! It’s different, you’re the only one that can convince him. We tried last month but he’d just told us he’d think about it.” 

You shrugged, nodding, “alright, sure. I’ll go and ask him.” 

Making your way back to his office, you’d tried to ignore your nerves as you knocked on the door, opening it to reveal Chan who was on the phone, holding up a finger to you to signal you to wait. 

Walking over to him, you’d placed the juice packet on his desk in front of him, earning a smile and a grateful nod from him, before he’d switched back to a serious expression. 

“No, yes, of course. We would want nothing more than to ensure a… mutually beneficial agreement between our companies.” 

You didn’t have to ask to know who he was talking to. Chan had been trying to negotiate a deal with one of the shareholders, since they had been trying to propose to get Chan to merge with another prominent electronics company in the industry. 

You knew Chan was more than annoyed, but he had no choice but to be civil with the president of the company since they did have many shares in the company from the time his uncle was in charge. 

“Yes, we can discuss this more in person over lunch, how does that sound? Yep. Alright, bye.” Chan sighed, setting the phone down and leaning his palms on the table, supporting himself with a pained look on his face, looking up at you with a pout. 

“I really don’t like him.” 

Chan sighed, “same here.” 

“Anyway, I’m glad you came here, I kind of wanted to talk to you about something.” 

“What?” You asked, watching as he’d fiddled with the papers on his desk. 

“Uh… I won’t ask you to handle things outside of work for me anymore.” 

Your eyes widened, “is this because of what my friends said? Because I’m honestly fine it doesn’t matter,” you shook your head, seeing him scrunch his nose. 

“It may not matter to you but I’m personally not fine with it,” he pressed his lips together. “Really, I mean it. Whatever I ask you to help me with from here on is only gonna be work-related.” 

You nodded. Was he trying to distance himself from me? Was it because of the trip? 

Your lips pulled into a frown, nodding more to yourself than to him, “okay…uh anyway I wanted to ask you um… the secretaries were wondering if we could have like a field day or something soon? Like just as a small break for the staff?” 

Chan shot you a look, knowing they’d asked you to ask him. 

“Do you want that?” He asked, earning a nod from you. 

“Yeah, I guess. It’d be fun to just have a day for staff bonding and all…” 

Chan shrugged, “alright, tell them to go ahead and arrange it.” 

Your eyes widened, finding the exchange to have went a lot more smoother than expected. 

“Will you be needing me for anything else?” 

He looked at you as if in thought, taking his lower lip between his teeth and letting it go, shaking his head, “other than to help me book an appointment with President Kim, nothing else.” 

You nodded slowly, exiting the room. 

By only asking you for work-related things, you’d expected your work-load to decrease, but it seemed as though you were currently having the most uneventful day you’d ever had. Other than drafting proposals for the President of the electronics company, there wasn’t much on your plate. 

You’d figured you would’ve been a lot busier tending to Chan’s requests but the boy had barely come out of his office, the only times he did being to head to the washroom, barely casting a glance in your direction when he walked past you. 

As if that wasn’t strange enough, he’d even let you have a longer lunch break, much to Seungmin’s amusement. 

“Doesn’t being in the legal team sound a lot more enticing now? At least you’d be doing something there.” 

You rolled your eyes, “I still have quite a bit of research to do, so no thank you.” 

“Admit it, you’re only staying because you can’t bear to leave Chan.” 

You’d almost choked on your drink, patting your chest to regain your composure, “where the hell did you get that idea from?” 

Seungmin scoffed, “you act like you didn’t call me a thousand times during the trip to tell me about things he did.” 

You’d fallen silent at that, averting your gaze. 

“Whatever,” you scoffed. 

“Isn’t it misconduct, though? If I were to date him.” 

Seungmin shook his head with an amused snort leaving him, “what are we in, the stone ages? Go wild, literally nobody cares. They’ll probably be happy if you manage to get him to be less of a hard-ass,” Seungmin told you, glancing into his cup to see how much drink he had left, “god knows when was the last time he got laid.” 

You flushed, shoving Seungmin, “how can you say that?” 

“What? It’s true!” 

You gave him a dismayed glare, standing up with a sigh as you straightened out your skirt, glancing at the time on your phone. 

“I should probably be heading back now, I’ve got work to do,” you gave Seungmin a pointed look, pulling him up from the bench. 

“I don’t wanna go back to work,” Seungmin let out a loud strangled sound of protest, his shoes stomping on the wooden panelled floor of the rooftop. 

You giggled, a teasing smile on your face, “weren’t you the one saying the legal team was what again? Enticing?” 

Seungmin pouted, pressing the elevator button, abruptly flailing his limbs in a mini outburst before straightening up and composing himself. 

“Fine, I’m fine. Enjoy your stupid office romance with Chan.” 

You rolled your eyes. 

Chan had a consultation with the legal team later that afternoon regarding the issue with the shareholder, and you’d been all-too-distracted during the meeting as you thought about what your possible ‘action-plan’ regarding your situation with Chan was. 

Taking down notes during the meeting, you’d let your train of thought wander, almost doodling onto your notebook, with one hand supporting your head on the table before you heard the legal advisor from the shareholder’s side speak up, a guttural groan leaving him. 

Looking up with an annoyed furrow of your eyebrows, you heard him lean back in his chair, “what does a man need to do to get a drink around here?” 

“You,” the man pointed a finger at you, “go and make yourself useful, sweetheart. Get me a cup of coffee.” 

Chan’s eyebrows knit into a frown, looking at the legal consultant with clear disdain on his face, looking at you to gauge your reaction. Already expecting you to do what you always did, get up with a smile and come back with the man’s coffee, Chan figured he was too annoyed by it to let you do just that. 

About to speak up to the man, you'd shocked Chan when you narrowed your eyes at him, giving him a sweet smile, "sorry, that's not my job here. Since you're not contributing much to the discussion, why don't you make your legs useful and head right over there and get yourself some water." 

You huffed, staring him down as he glared at you, directing his gaze to Chan. "Are you just gonna let her talk to me like that? I'd fire such a rude brat if I were you. Who's your supervisor, I'm gonna make sure he hears of this." 

Chan did his best to conceal his smile, simply turning his chair ever so slightly to give you a small smile, "that would be me, and I heard it loud and clear. Now, shall we continue with the meeting?" 

=== 

You’d been spending hours at your desk, distractedly doing research as you’d kept trying to peep into Chan’s office to figure out what he was doing, to no avail. (Chan had put the blinds down halfway through the day since he couldn’t stop staring outside at your desk either). 

You were technically done with your work, and Chan did mention that you were free to go home once you were done. On any other occasion this would have been considered a miracle, and you wouldn’t have hesitated to go home. But now, there was a nagging feeling in your heart that you couldn’t just leave him here, especially with how stressed out he was because of the business with the shareholder. You didn’t trust him not to spend the whole night here. 

Glancing at the time, you saw that it was already past 10, deciding that you would give him some time to make an appearance before you left, just to make sure he was alive and breathing inside his office. 

Distracting yourself with replying emails, even playing more than a few rounds of a word-search game on your phone, you figured he would’ve come out by now, but there was still not a sound coming from inside the room. 

Once the clock had almost struck 11, you figured you’d might as well go in and check on him for yourself. Going over to the pantry to make a hot drink, you’d walked back to his office, your grip tight on the saucer in your anxiousness. 

Inhaling deeply and breathing out with a resolute nod, you knocked on the door of his office, waiting a while only to be met with silence. 

Pushing open the door slightly, you’d tried again. 

“Mr Bang, is it okay if I come in?”

Upon receiving no response yet again, you’d pushed open the door fully, your eyes widening in realisation when you saw him seated at his desk, fast asleep on the chair. 

Walking over to the leather sofa as quietly as you could, you’d picked up the blanket from the sofa, making your way over to where he was, setting the hot drink onto his desk and making to drape the blanket over him. 

Only when you were adjusting the blanket did he stir awake, making your fight-or-flight instincts kick in, strangely embarrassed if he were to catch you doing such a gesture for him. 

Blinking slowly, his eyebrows furrowed before his gaze had landed on you. 

“I thought you’d gone home already?” He pouted, making you fumble to find an excuse why you’d stayed behind. 

“Sorry, Mr Bang, I was—”

He gave you a lazy smile, shaking his head, “none of that ‘Mr Bang’, nonsense. How come you haven’t left yet?” 

You pressed your lips together firmly, pulling your hands away from the blanket as you tried to straighten up, sighing softly. 

“I couldn’t leave… for some reason. I kind of wanted to make sure you were okay, since I barely saw you the whole day.” 

Chan’s satisfied smile had grew, nodding at you as if prompting you to continue. 

“but I’ll go soon. I guess,” you blurted, “unless like you know, you need me for something, then I’m fine with staying.” You stopped yourself, nodding before you could embarrass yourself any further. 

You couldn’t help but let your breath hitch when he’d reached out to grab your hand. 

“Thank you, for checking up on me,” he murmured, his close proximity making your gaze dart to his lips, averting your gaze quickly. 

“Did you not come out of your office on purpose?” You narrowed your eyes at him, hating the way your heart was doing flips at the way he grinned, his dimples showing cutely. 

You were about to pull back out of your own internal panic, but Chan’s grip on your hand was firm. 

“I’m sorry, I know I said I wouldn’t ask you for anything that wasn’t work related from now on. But It’s killing me, because you were sitting outside the whole day and I couldn’t do anything about it…” he paused, tilting his head as he searched your expression. 

“You can refuse, but I just need you to do one little thing for me,” he murmured,  pulling you forward so you’d ended up seated on his lap, your arms going out to grasp his shoulders to steady yourself. 

“What do you need me to do?” You asked, your voice a mere murmur with how the tension was absolutely suffocating you, wanting nothing more than to just close the gap between the both of you. 

Chan’s hand went up to your chin, running his thumb over your lower lip as they unconsciously parted, “close your eyes.” 

Chan couldn’t help but smirk at the way you’d done so obediently, his hand going to where your neck met your jaw, leaning closer to press his lips against yours. 

Almost as if it was second nature, he’d let his other hand grasp your hip, his thumb rubbing the area soothingly. Tilting his head to kiss you deeper, you’d practically sighed into the kiss, your hands wrapping around his neck loosely as you felt him smile into the kiss. 

“I’m glad it’s you,” he murmured against your lips, his tongue swiping against your lower lip making you let out a surprised hum, not being able to help your smile as well. 

“We should stop,” you pulled away, breathless. 

“Why?” 

You shook your head, “I could kiss you for hours. It’s already so close to midnight.” 

Chan glanced at the clock apathetically, looking at you and shrugging, his hand running up and down your side. 

“So be it, then,” he said, pulling you back to meet his lips. 

===

“Is it just me, or has President Bang been a lot less moody these days,” Seungmin heard one of his colleagues in the legal team asking her desk-mate, making her colleague nod gravely. 

The mention of President Bang had him glancing towards his office, spotting your desk empty and figuring you were inside his office. 

“Definitely. At first I thought it was just me, but he’s been a lot less harsh to Y/N as well,” she agreed. 

“Don’t you think so, Seungmin?” 

And almost as if on cue, you’d exited his office, pulling your hair out of your ponytail to readjust it, looking around as if scanning the area to see if anyone had seen you. 

Locking eyes with Seungmin, you shot him a wink, straightening out your blouse as you’d gone back to sit down at your desk. 

Seungmin scoffed, not being able to help the smile on his face as he rolled his eyes, “yeah, I think I know why.” 

[anabear67]

I had applied for a job, and was basically hired on the spot, maybe should’ve been a red flag, maybe not. I got good vibes, and had given off good vibes and was basically offered the job after a little conversation. I kept being asked what I thought, and how I felt which I thought was considerate but there’s not a lot to go off from just meeting them. They send me home with paperwork to sign and something to get notarized. I read the policy/company handbook and there were multiple red flags. I’ll be paraphrasing below:

1.) Terminated if you talked about wages with other workers

2.) you need a doctors note if you’re sick around the holidays. But also don’t come to work sick because you can spread germs

3.) don’t stay late, you won’t be paid extra

4.) if we’re busy and it’s the end of your shift, you must ask if they need help before leaving “it’s my time to go” is not an excuse

5.) if it’s busy and you’re on your lunch break, you have to come back out (paid for being back on the floor)

Now these are just the most prominent. Now this is a small town company, not a big corporation. For starters, I’m fairly certain after research it is ILLEGAL to terminate someone for talking about wages with another employee. I called the company back the next day and said I would not be a good fit, they questioned why, I said I didn’t agree with their policies, and named that one as the big reason I wouldn’t work there. I was informed “all businesses are like that, and (I) would come across this rule anywhere.” Nowhere else I’ve worked had this policy. They might discourage it and not WANT you to talk about it but that is NO reason to terminate someone. Im tired of money being a taboo thing to talk about, I know my worth, and so should others. Business owners are just trying to get away with paying people less than their worth.

Sometimes seeing a doctor takes weeks, and around the holidays? Double it. Now I’m an honest person and a hard worker, if I don’t feel well enough to come in, mentally or physically, I’m not coming in. Requesting a doctors note is arbitrary, you need to have more trust in employees, i don’t care how many have burned you before.

Reasons three and four contradict each other. I understand don’t stay late because you don’t want me twiddling my thumbs wasting more time on the company’s dollar, but also respect my time. When my scheduled shift, that was assigned to me, is up, I’m leaving. If you need help and it’s busy season, it’s your business and your responsibility to make sure you have the coverage when I leave, not me. I shouldn’t have to “ask to help” at the end of my shift, you need to ask me if I can stay late.

Last of all, like I said before, I’m a hard worker, I put my all into a job. If I’m going to be dealing with the public for ANY amount of time, I deserve to have my 15-30 minute break uninterrupted. That’s time for me to decompress and compose myself before I have to go back out on the floor. Once again, it’s not my business, I don’t need to make sure there’s coverage for breaks.

All in all, tired of businesses trying to get away with underpaying and overwhelming employees. My time deserves to be respected as much as anyone else’s. I know a lot of places are short staffed and small businesses might be hurting more because of it, but in no means does that mean I need to drop my self worth. Treat your employees right or don’t own a business at all.

[magioftheseas]

Stick It To Dis Bear!

Summary: An alternate/bonus scene about THE STICKER in Chapter 25 of Super Danganronpa 2: Matsuda Yasuke’s Battle of Despair and Wits.

Rating: PG

Warnings: None really.

Notes: I just didn’t feel right leaving out the stupid sticker. I still haven’t gone to a theater in over a year. For obvious reasons. I think I’m done with theaters. Like, forever. The last film I saw was Birds of Prey. That was good. I don’t need to see another movie.

Read this fic among others HERE

Main story is HERE

Commission? Donate?

They managed to get all the testing done in one day, although if Hinata played along in hopes of being told everything, he ended up sorely disappointed. Another to add to the list of people who found Matsuda in general to be a disappointment as a person. At least, Matsuda had an inkling that such was how the chestnut felt.

He was dealing with his own disappointment—with Komaeda still dragging his feet even after Hinata got too exhausted to keep fucking around with them.

“I feel like nothing of value actually happened,” Hinata groused.

That’s because it did. So little happened that it’s barely worth a passing narration, Matsuda thought.

“You’ve done well, Hinata-kun!” Komaeda chirped. “Great work! As expected of an Ultimate!”

“Shove it,” Hinata snapped. “It would’ve been nice if any of that felt like it mattered.”

“Aw, Hinata-kun...” Komaeda does pout, and it visibly gets Hinata more flustered and frustrated. “I really am sorry that you feel like your time was wasted.” Komaeda turns the full force of that pout to Matsuda. “Hinata-kun feels that his time was wasted. Isn’t that sad? Don’t you feel sad?”

“Yeah,” Hinata agreed through gritted teeth. “Doesn’t that make you sad?”

What romcom bullshit did I wake up in now?

“...I guess... It’s sad?”

“It’s so sad!” Komaeda exclaimed emotionally. “Matsuda-kun, you must make up to him! If only it’d abate his pain a little!”

“I mean, I guess it was a pretty big pain,” Hinata agreed with that, too, even if he seemed more confused about it. “It’d be...nice if I got some compensation...”

“What the hell?” Matsuda balked at the idea. “You volunteered?”

“I don’t REMEMBER that!” Hinata shot back. “For all I know, you lied to my face AGAIN! You do seem to like lying if it benefits you!”

Matsuda opened his mouth but hummed thoughtfully. When he went to speak again, he thought against it and hummed some more.

“C-Can you at least pretend you’re ashamed?” Hinata asked, exasperated. “Like, if you agree, surely you see that it’s wrong...”

I don’t really care.

He especially doesn’t care to pretend he cares. That said...

Komaeda was pouting at him. Lower lip stuck out, puppy eyes, the works. For a kid who looked half on death’s doorstep, it shouldn’t have been that effective. What the fuck.

Matsuda sighed loudly.

I don’t really care, but...

“Alright. Compensation. I guess I can do that,” he said before muttering, “What kind of compensation, though...? Do you want a coupon or what?”

“What would I use a coupon for?” Hinata asked, raising an eyebrow. “I mean—I would’ve been fine with just an apology.”

“Oh, Hinata-kun, such a martyr...” Komaeda gave him a pitying look. “You need to raise your standards.”

Hinata flinched for reasons beyond the current conversation.

“...I guess...”

“Yeah, you’re not getting an apology when I’m not sorry,” Matsuda said. “Pick something else.”

“Seriously?” Hinata gave him a look. “I... What the hell am I supposed to ask for?”

“A raise!” Komaeda exclaimed. “Extra vacation days! Or maybe a cruise!”

“I’m not paying for a fucking cruise,” Matsuda snapped. “Just how much money do you think I have?”

“Eh? But, Matsuda-kun, you’re a renowned neurologist,” Komaeda pointed out. “Even if you’re still a minor, you should be making a considerable amount of money...”

“Paid intern,” Matsuda corrected. “I could afford rent and instant food without having to pick up a parttime job on the side. Better than most...other people of my status...” He paused, having to stop himself for a moment before continuing, “I’m still not living the fancy life, though.”

Living as an orphan is never easy, especially in this country.

“That seems unfair,” Komaeda pointed out.

“What rock do you live under? That’s just how it is,” Matsuda scoffed. “Maybe if I had rich parents or even grandparents, it’d be different but I don’t.”

My worthless dad fucking ran the second shit got only a little difficult. Come to think of it, how did I manage after...?

“Rich parents,” Komaeda echoed as Matsuda rubbed his temple irritably. “I see.”

What now?

“Oh nothing!” Komaeda chirped, waving his hand as he was stared at by both Matsuda and Hinata. Right. Hinata.

This was supposed to be about Hinata.

“I, uh, don’t know much about making money,” Hinata confessed rather pitifully. “I’ve done some job-hunting...and I guess I’ve helped out at a convenience store? But only because my parents knew the owner...”

“How down to earth,” Matsuda remarked. “I knew a convenience store owner who gave me a sandwich because she felt sorry for me.”

“The one I knew hated me,” Komaeda chirped. “She said I was cursed! Which I guess was true!”

Both Matsuda and Hinata stared at him again, this time harder than before. Despite that, Komaeda remained bouncy and cheerful.

“Since financial compensation isn’t an option, I guess the best we can do is find something on the island to give Hinata-kun!”

“There’s a supermarket,” Matsuda pointed out dryly.

“I can just go there myself and grab whatever I want,” Hinata said. “I don’t need you picking up anything for me.”

“Do you want to be compensated or not?” Matsuda snapped.

“You’re not the kind of person who gets easily taken advantage of, right?” Komaeda asked, looking at him pityingly again.

“I’m not answering that,” Hinata griped. “But yes, I want compensation, I just... I don’t think I’m going to get the kind of compensation I actually want...”

Komaeda looked at Matsuda next.

“Sucks,” is all he had to offer.

Hinata grumbled, but wasn’t one to give up easily, almost as if he was motivated by a higher force.

“There’s stuff to do, right? Like, go to the beach...”

“I guess I can take you a beach and toss a frisbee for you to fetch,” Matsuda conceded.

“O-Or maybe relax at the park!!”

“Oh, should I bring a leash instead?” Matsuda asked, head tilted.

“T-There’s the movie theater!” Hinata exclaimed in a fit of desperation. “Let’s try that! Let’s go to the movies!”

Matsuda stared. Komaeda stared. Hinata took their silence as agreement.

“The movies,” he decided. “L-Let’s go to the movies.”

Matsuda and Komaeda traded looks.

It was decided, but not without reservations.

--

“Surely there’s more than one film showing,” Hinata said, looking up at the sign. “I mean... I know I wanted to come here but... This film is supposed to be really bad, right?”

“It is,” Matsuda confirmed.

“It really, really is,” Komaeda agreed. “No offense, Hinata-kun, but you’re going to have to watch this alone if you have your heart set on it.”

“I-I thought I was supposed to be getting treated?!” Hinata protested. “And—I won’t want to see it anyway! I just...” He trails off. “I just...thought it might be nice to watch a move... I wasn’t thinking about...”

Wasn’t thinking is right. I’m also surprised you have the energy.

“Guess it can’t hurt to check,” Matsuda said as he made his way inside. “Of course the main issue is asking...”

Komaeda whistled before Matsuda even had a second to truly dread what came before.

“WHAT AM I, A DOG?!” Monokuma shrieked. “Call me by my NAME or at least a TITLE if you can MANAGE IT?!”

“Why would I when you already answered?” Komaeda retorted. “I just wanted to ask some questions about any films playing?”

“Why? So you can break my fragile little bear heart all over again?” Monokuma sniffled. “Critics are vultures! Vultures, I tell ya!”

“Get the fuck over yourself,” Matsuda snapped. “We’re only here because this dumbass wants to see a movie.”

“I-I’m not a dumbass!” Hinata protested, but Monokuma looked at him as if he were, in fact, a dumbass. “What?! Do you have a problem with that?!”

“Eheh... Upupupu, and here I thought you didn’t want to watch it!” Monokuma cackled. “You were just being tsundere all along! Should’ve known!”

“I don’t want to watch that film, just a film,” Hinata hurriedly corrected but Monokuma just squealed.

“Such a tsundere that you even threw away millions for a sticker!”

“Millions...?” Matsuda echoed.

“For...a sticker?” Komaeda wondered, wide-eyed.

“Don’t worry about it!” Hinata yelped, waving his hand frantically. “I-It’s nothing to worry about!”

“I think tsundere syndrome IS pretty worrying!” Monokuma exclaimed, smacking Hinata on the ass and retrieving the one and only sticker. “I mean, honestly! Imagine paying 150 million yen for this lovely sticker just so you don’t have to watch a movie! Check it, check it!”

“Stop, don’t!” Hinata shrieked, but Monokuma couldn’t be deterred, flinging that sticker into Matsuda’s face.

Matsuda got a good look at it, as did Komaeda. The Monokuma sticker grinned back at them, with the cheekily written following words underneath: I’m sorry, I was born stupid.

Matsuda stared. Komaeda stared. The sticker smugly kept on staring back, radiating contempt and malice.

“H-Hinata-kun,” Komaeda began shakily, sounding close to tears. “You bought this for 150 million yen?”

“I-I had to take out a loan,” was Hinata’s pitiful explanation. “I didn’t...pay for it upfront...”

“What were you going to do if it accrued interest?” Matsuda asked blankly.

“And what are you going to do now that you’re gonna watch the movie anyway?!” Monokuma exclaimed. “All that money—wasted!”

“I can’t believe you’re going to go bankrupt over this shitty sticker,” Matsuda lamented, feeling genuinely apologetic for his cruel fate. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

And Hinata.

Just.

Screamed.

“ARGH FORGET IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!”

--

In the end, Hinata ran out of the theater. In the end, Matsuda and Komaeda wordlessly left as well. In the end, Monokuma surely laughed his furry ass off.

Another day largely wasted.

“Do you think Hinata-kun’s going to want his sticker back?” Komaeda asked, grimacing at the thing as if it had committed great offense. Which it had. Simply by existing. “Monokuma didn’t write up a contract. His word isn’t legally binding. Hinata-kun might not have to pay.”

“Hm.” Matsuda stuffed the sticker into his mouth, chewing it and swallowing it much to Komaeda’s awe. “It’s his word against ours. I can at least afford a lawyer.”

“I’ll pay for legal fees! Just for Hinata-kun!” Komaeda exclaimed, fired up now. “And—!”

“Once we get out of here, we’ll take him to see an actual movie,” Matsuda said.

Komaeda shut his mouth.

“Once we get out of here,” Matsuda repeated.

Komaeda said nothing else for the rest of the day, but there was a particular glimmer to his gaze. One that Matsuda took note of, and couldn’t help but hope for a greater significance.

[hermannsthumb]

Gonna request some camb0y newt who has Hermann as a regular follower who may or may not be requesting used clothing from Newt...😳

this one is less h0rny and more dumb and I died every time I typed newt’s screen name but (ALSO THE FACT THAT TUMBLR KEPT BLOCKING THIS MESSAGE....unbelievable) 18+/not sfw below cut

-------------------

The whole thing only started because of the kaijus.

It seems foolish to place the blame on them, considering the severity of the damage they’ve caused in every other aspect of life, but it’s the truth. Hermann was never brilliant at romance even in the best of times; he never knew quite the right words to say, or quite the right way to kiss, and certainly not how to keep men interested enough to come back for more than a date or two. Then the end of the world came, and the jaeger program ate up what little free time Hermann had, and dating simply fell to the very lowest tier of his priorities. He had work to do. He had lives to save.

Unfortunately, his libido continued to run rampant.

Masturbation could only get one so far, though Hermann was undeterred and tried almost anything: dildos, vibrators, expensive lubricant, a paid subscription to a high-quality pornography website. He cancelled this after a week, when he realized none of its featured men--though undeniably good-looking--fit his particular area of interest. Besides, it was far too impersonal. Hermann did not like spending half of his time watching a video or scrolling through a photo gallery wondering what that man was doing now, or whether or not he’d enjoyed himself, or what he was like in person... In a fit of desperation, Hermann picked up a subscription to another website that promised live men 24/7. And, well. To make a long story short, Hermann is pretty sure he’s in love.

The object of his affections is twenty-something and stocky, a good few inches shorter than Hermann (he’d wager, anyway), with a chestful of tattoos and a voice that’s almost high enough to be grating. Hermann has seen his face only fleetingly, but it’s enough for him to know it’s a highly agreeable one. He’s got a nice sense of humor, seems intelligent enough, and the glimpses Hermann’s caught of the bedroom he streams from (at the perfect time of day, late enough that Hermann’s inhibitions are entirely nonexistent) indicate a healthy love of science fiction. 

Hermann is mostly in love with him because of how good of a show he puts on, though. Where Hermann fails in his use of dildos or vibrators and other nonsense, the man succeeds, and indeed excels, and he’s endlessly creative with dressing in lace and other funny little costumes. It makes for some very inspired jerking off on Hermann’s end. More importantly, it makes for a calming of his libido.

Hermann doesn’t know his real name, only his chosen screen name, though it doesn’t really matter: kaijulover69 is most certainly the man of his dreams.

Well. Nobody’s perfect.

“Tonight’s stream is dedicated to a very special fan for all his support,” kaijulover69 begins. He’s wrapped in a bathrobe, though Hermann has a feeling he knows what’s beneath it, and he flushes pleasantly with warmth at what’s soon to come. “And for what I’m wearing right now. You know who you are. Thanks again, dude!”

His lips are just visible on camera, and he grins coquettishly before slipping the sleeve off his right shoulder. Then the left. “That very same fan requested a strip tease tonight,” he continues, “and--well, I’ll let the rest be a surprise, huh?”

The belt is undone. The robe slips down to the bed, revealing the object of Hermann’s affections clad in nothing but a rather small pair of lacy black undergarments. (And a bloody expensive pair, at that--cost a third of Hermann’s weekly salary. It’s worth it.) You look very attractive, Hermann types encouragingly into the chat box, and hope it’s visible between the pleads for kaijulover69 to flash his face or pull his genitalia out already. 

He doesn’t appear to see any of them. “My week was pretty lame,” he continues. He begins to idly run his hands up and down his bare chest; Hermann mirrors the action on his own, enjoying the shiver he manages to elicit from himself even through two layers of shirt and sweater. “Work stuff has been kicking my ass. And--” His fingers falter. “Well, there’s this guy I really like, and we’ve kinda been...seeing each other, but I just found out he’s actually seeing someone else. So I guess it’s like, I realized I’ve been making all this shit up in my head?”

Who would ever turn down such a marvelous specimen of human? Hermann’s temper flares with a mingling of both righteous offense on the man’s behalf and a little bit of jealousy that he’s not the one who’s so captured his heart. He would like to knock some sense into them, whoever they are.

“But you don’t care about that,” he says, and forces a laugh. “You want to see me mess these up, don’t you?”

His hand drifts down to his panties, and he gives himself a squeeze through them.

“Please,” Hermann says happily, though he knows there’s no one to hear.

------

There’s an email from Newton waiting for him in his inbox the next morning. No subject.

Hey, dude-

Sorry I left you hanging yesterday. I was just a little shocked. Not shocked that you have a partner or whatever, of course you do, that’s totally normal, just that you never told me about them until now. I read over your latest article, and I just wanted to say what an utter load of--

“Hmph,” Hermann says, and quickly scrolls up and away from Newton’s annoying little rant.

Even as he does so, he feels a pang of guilt he doesn’t quite understand. Newton is shocked he has a partner: so what? And, er, so what if that partner isn’t quite as real as Hermann is pretending? The question came at him fast, and unexpected, and so very quickly into the switch from letter correspondence to email; kaijulover69 on his mind, Hermann panicked and wrote yes, I do have someone in my life. It’s not entirely a lie. Though Hermann holds no illusions about the nature of their dynamic, the man has certainly taken up the same amount of Hermann’s time and money that a real partner would. And besides--it’s easier. Less messy. Newton would probably try to set Hermann up with someone, or pester him about his sex life, or even--God forbid--try to offer him advice. (Once I blew a guy in the bathroom of this shitty dive bar, try that, he told Hermann a few weeks ago, and I always take my dates to the aquarium so I can talk about shit and look smart.) 

It’s also helpful in dissuading Hermann from his daydreams and illusions of dating not kaijulover69, but Newton; that, he fears, is an even grander pipe dream.

He skims Newton’s--rather poor--critique of his work, ignoring entirely his comments on Hermann’s partner, and types up a fast rebuttal. Kaijulover69 has another stream tonight, and he doesn't want to miss it.

--------

“The trick,” kaijulover69 pants, “is to just, uh, relax your muscles as much as possible. It’s easier when you’ve got someone doing it for you, obviously, but...”

His chosen method of masturbation tonight is a frightfully large tentacle dildo, wider and longer than any prick Hermann’s seen in his life. Hermann’s not sure if such a dildo would fit inside him; he’s not even sure if it’s going to fit inside kaijulover69. The man is rather compact. It’s stopped about halfway into his body, and even from the rather distant angle Hermann can tell it’s stretching him tight. 

“...I might’ve jumped the gun a little,” the man says, and bursts out into breathy laughter. “Should’ve, uh, should’ve gotten the smaller size. Or worked up to this one.” He works another centimeter into himself before his body goes taut. “Go--go big or go home, I guess?”

One hand moving steadily around his prick, Hermann uses the other to type an encouraging message: Excellent effort.

Kaijulover69 pulls the dildo out to the thinnest section, then once he relaxes, begins a rhythm of short, shallow thrusts. Each time, it goes in a little deeper. It’s very good to watch, and listen to as well; his little gasps, the creaks of his bedsprings, the spread of his legs widening. Hermann briefly considers how badly he would like to be the one pushing it into him and dragging out those sounds, and is surprised to find himself orgasming.

He tips generously once the stream is over: he does like to consider himself some sort of gentleman, and he likes seeing how excited it gets kaijulover69.

-------

The package arrives on an entirely ordinary Tuesday some three weeks later. Autumn has come, bringing with it a rather heavy series of rains, and Hermann is drenched and shivering when he finally ducks into the relative warmth of his flat. The knowledge of what the box tucked under his arm contains warms him considerably; he rented a P.O. Box for one reason and one reason exactly, not even daring to have his name attached to it. It’s gauche, he knows, but--isn’t it a bit like recycling? Kaijulover69 gets a fresh, exciting outfit from Hermann, and Hermann gets it back after he’s--well.

Hermann needs to unwind somehow. There’s nothing wrong with it!

The black lace undergarments are wrapped neatly up inside the box, with a sweet little pink bow on top. Attached to that is a simple handwritten card: To my number one fan! ❤️ There’s plenty more where this came from...

Simple, and innocently flirty. And so familiar it makes Hermann’s blood run cold.

“It’s not possible,” he says.

And yet--isn’t it? Hermann’s never seen his face--either of their faces--and the screen name--

There is no return address on the package, but a frantic search of its wrappings reveals its origin: stamped in black ink over frog-themed postage is BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. “No, no,” Hermann mutters to himself, even as he reminds himself (unhelpfully) that plenty of people are from Boston. He tosses it to the bed and clacks over to his desk, clutching the card so tightly it crumples. Newton’s letters are all in the top drawer--he just needs--

The handwriting is a perfect match.

“Bugger,” Hermann groans.

[missvgj98]

It’s a Match!  Chapter 1

Confrontation

It’s midnight and I am still up working on a paper for my Anatomy class that’s due tomorrow morning. No, I did not procrastinate. I worked on it throughout the two weeks we were assigned them. I just decided to take on the hardest and most elaborate topic: Cancer. There are multiple types of Cancer and I have to write about every single one making this a ten paged Research Paper.

           Ugh, Kill me.

Hinata is also with me but, not physically. Through facetime. We decided that this semester was gonna take some of the same classes. She’s in school to become a doctor. Following the footsteps of her infamous Father. And I’m in school to become a nurse. We told each other it would be better to do it together even though I’m not going to be in school for the same amount of time.

           “Temari…” Hinata groaned out.

“Yes.” I said keeping my eyes glued to my computer screen.

“I’m dying.”

           “That sucks,” I said still not looking at her.

“Temari.”

           “What.” I looked at her.

           “I’m tired of reading about how Ischaemic heart disease is the number one leading cause of death across a number of countries.”

           “I’m not the one who told you to take that topic.”

“Can we take a break?”

“It’s midnight, I don’t think we have room for a break.” I looked back over at her again and watched as she began to massage her temples. I know she’s stressed out because not only is she doing school full time but, also shadowing her Father in the Lab. He’s a big-time Bio-Medical Researcher and a Surgeon. He wants Hinata to take after him and continue on the Empire that is Hyuga. And not only her but, her older cousin Neji as well, and her younger sister too, Hanabi.

“Hinata, you know I’m not going to be easy on you. When we graduated High school, we talked about this.” I said.

           “I know.”

           “I asked you, do you want to become a doctor? And because of your Dad, you said ‘Yes.’ I said to do this only if you want to do this.”

“I know, Tem- “

           “I know you’re overworked. I know you’re stressed. But Hina, the time to change your mind is over. If you back out now, all it’s gonna bring is trouble.”

“I should’ve listened to you. You knew I wanted to follow my own dreams but- “

           “But the fear you have for your Dad is more than the wants you have for your dreams.” I took off my glasses and massaged my neck. “Hinata, you need to get over this fear. Not only for your Dad but, fear over all things that scare you. Cause one day you’re gonna look back at your life and you’re gonna regret not doing this or doing that. And I don’t want that for you.”

“Well, how about you?”

           “Don’t turn this on me. You know why I made my decisions. You have freedom, you just don’t take it. I have to take consideration of my family and the benefits it makes on them.”

“And you’re happiness? When are you going to take that into consideration? You’re becoming a nurse, yes, because it’s gonna make more money for your family. It’s a lot quicker than anything else; you’re gonna be in school for only two to three years and off to work you go. But that’s not what you want to do either. You’re just doing it to make your mom happy. So, you’re in the same boat as me.”

           “Yea, but you had a choice. You have a dream. I didn’t know what to do exactly after high school. This gave me something.” I told her. “Hinata, we can do this. Slowly, over time maybe we’ll start to love it.”

           She took a breath. “Okay…” Her breath was shaky.

“Don’t cry…” I said.

           “I-I’m not…” She wiped her eyes. “Let’s just talk about something-“

*DING*

           A text message had popped up on my phone.

“Hidan?” Hinata guessed with an attitude.

I sighed. “Yeah…”

           Hidan: Hey Babe… U awake?

“This brings up another thing…” Hinata said. “Hidan.”

“Hinata I already know what you’re going to say. We’ve been through this before.” I said while texting him back.

           “Why are you responding?” Hinata complained.

“Why not?” I put her back on the screen. “He’s my boyfriend.”

“A BAD one at that.” She shot back.

           “He’s not bad. You just don’t like him.”

Me: Yea… still studying ☹

           “I have my reasons. A. He associates himself with the wrong crowd. B. He has a bad influence on your brother’s, and you know that. C. He does drugs- “

“Weed is not a serious drug and was made legal.” I defended.

“It’s not like he has a medical reason to be smoking it. D. He-“

“Are you going through the whole entire alphabet?”

           “That’s the problem Temari! I could literally go through the whole entire alphabet listing his problems. And that’s not even enough! I’d have to make up new letters.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

           “Am I?” Hinata crossed her arms.

“You’re just bringing this up so you don’t have to focus on your paper,” I said.

           “I’m bringing this up because I love you and I care about you.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m being so serious right now, Tem. You’re too good for him. He’s just playing you in an act. Keeping an eye out for your brothers, giving you money-“

“He takes care of me!”

           “Yeah, just so he can get the one thing you haven’t given him yet. Sex.”

“That’s not it.” I glared.

“It’s been six months Tem! Since the day I first met him all he’s eyes screamed was LUST after you. He’s trying to get with you! And then he’s going to throw you away like trash. He’s buttering you up for easy access. It’s. An. Act.”

           “Hina…”

“You know I’m right. And it’s not just him who is at fault here, you are too. You’re using him too-“

“Enough!”

“No! You confronted me. Now I’m confronting you. It’s my turn.” I huffed. “I know you’re in a tough situation. Your mom is working two jobs, she’s barely in the house, your brothers are messing with the wrong crowd, getting in trouble with the police and at school, you’re juggling school and work helping your mom pay bills. I know- it’s tough Tem. Ever since your Dad died things have been stressful. And I get it Hidan helps distract you from it all. But there are better ways Temari.”

“It’s not like I’m doing anything bad,” I said.

           “But eventually you could…. Your mingling yourself with people who entertain the lifestyle of drugs, sex, and alcohol. And that’s not gonna keep your brother’s away from them if you’re in stupid love with one of them. They’re gonna think, “Oh, my sisters cool with them so, it’s okay now.” It’s just going to bring them into more violence and more issues. You’re their leader, Tem. They look up to you. If you want them to do good, then love what is good. Right now, you’re loving the wrong side. You may not see it now but, stay there long enough and soon it’s gonna hit you.”

*DING*

           Hidan: Meet me outside.

“He’s there, isn’t he?” She guessed correctly.

“I’ll call you back?” I felt bad…

           “No. I’m just gonna finish this paper then head to bed. I’ll pick you up in the morning.” She said simply.

“Ok…” I paused. She looked at me with a face of slight disappointment. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.” She gave me a small smile then hung up.

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

           I sat at my desk for a minute before I got up, threw my hair into a messy bun, and made my way outside to meet Hidan.

Hinata’s not wrong…but, I just need him now.

           “Heyyy!” He smiled at the sight of me and threw his arms out before him. “How’s my baby doing?”

“Good.” He embraced for a while as if he was taking every bit of me in.

“Ah, I missed you today. Sorry, I was so busy. We had a delivery today.” He wrapped his arm around my waist keeping me close. “Almost got in a mix up with a couple guys but, I took good care of them.”

           I smiled looking longingly into his eyes with my arms around his neck. “Wow, you're sooo strong.”

He grabbed my waist as I planted my lips on his. It felt so good. It made me feel… like I’m alive… like I matter. Hidan saw me when I felt like no one did and even if he’s not the right guy…

           He broke the kiss and looked me in the eye. His eyes looked hungry and before he said a word, I knew what was next.

“You wanna… go to your room?” He smiled.

           I nodded.

I want this.

_______________________________________________

­­­­            When I woke up, it was six o’clock in the morning. The sun was barely up. And Hidan laid with one arm over me, snoring softly. I starred up at the ceiling as I wrapped the sheets around my bare chest and took in a deep breath.

           My family and I moved here to Kohona about six years ago and through our cousin Sasori, my brothers met Hidan and the rest of the gang. Ever since then… it has been hell but, we’ll get into that sometime later. Hidan and I got together about six months ago. I would pick up my brothers from time to time at his place and obviously, he noticed me. Since the beginning, Hidan always had tried to get with me and I always rejected him. Because back then when I still had some sense I knew that he was apart of a gang, does drugs, sells drugs, and has a bunch of women at his disposal anytime he wants. So, to be with him (for the longest time) was ridiculous to me. I would never put myself through that… but then as years passed and my life getting no better… I became vulnerable. I became desperate.

           My parents fought and my dad was in and out of the house. My brothers being disobedient and getting in all types of trouble. And ever since my father’s untimely death I felt as though I had to carry my family. Whenever one of them was down or in a ditch, it was me who was there for them. It was me who heard them out, paid the bills… it’s like I sold my soul for my family. I sacrificed everything for them. And in return, I didn’t get anything back. So, I felt like nothing but, I felt like something when Hidan was around. He noticed me and gave me attention so I… gave in. And I saw that I could get something out of this.

           I turned and looked at him. He was still fast asleep.

It wasn’t love at first sight. Not at all. He didn’t woo me into it. Never really even felt a spark. This isn’t love. Hinata’s very correct. He’s nowhere close to being the one for me. But I am so empty… depressed even… The sex, the alcohol, the occasional drugs that I take from time to time….

I turned back towards the ceiling shedding silent tears. I muffled sobs with my hand.

           It gives me something to live for… and yet… it’s still not enough. I’m just using him. In high school, there was no one really there that peaked my interest. I only talked to Hinata; she was my only friend. No one even tried to mess with me because they knew who my brothers were and their reputation. So, no one bothered. And it wasn’t like I was searching for attention at the time. I was so fixated on taking care of my family that I didn’t have time to enjoy my youth and fool around. I had to grow up pretty quick. And take care of my mom. After my dad died, that’s when I became desperate and loneliness really became a burden to me. And Hidan kept bugging me.

           So, one day, I asked him, “What are you willing to give me?”

“Excuse me?” He smiled.

“What am I gonna get out of this?” I turned to him completely and played with the hem of his shirt.

           “I’ll take care of you,” He said. “Whatever you need baby… I got you.”

And I gave in. I gave into it all. I gave into his whole lifestyle and now I feel worst. I don’t want to tell Hinata because it would just kill her. And I wish I could but, I’m in too deep.

A/N: Please comment, like, share or whatever!

How did you all like the first Chapter? And don’t worry Shikamaru will make his first appearance in the next upcoming chapter. Hope you all enjoyed 😊

~ MissV

[shamelessmilkshakepanda-blog]

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nevada insurance department jobs

nevada insurance department jobs

Cheap car insurance for 17 year old male?

I passed my driving test a few days ago and in two days i will have completed the PassPlus scheme. I was wondering if anyone knew of anywhere that i can get a cheap car insurance quote for a 1.2L 1996 corsa. Ive tried go compare, money-supermarket, confused... but the cheapest one is still just over 4,000! Quinn-Direct was 6,000! I am still in college and have a 2 jobs but i could never afford 4000 a year! I have heard of some places that have a rule that your not aloud to drive within certain time limits eg. 11pm - 5am. but i wouldn't be driving then anyway so that doesn't bother me. Any advice/tips would be appreciated, thanks""

My son-19- is a full time college student.His Ga peach care insurance ends august 3.can he get medicaid?

He is receiving student aid in the form of scholarships and the pell grant for low-income families. I don't want him to be without insurance coverage. His only income is back child support that will end in a few months. What are my choices? Please help. Thank you. I only receive disability income from social security disability.

Where is the best insurance company to insure a subaru wrx turbo?

Im 40 years old and am going to be buying a subaru wrx turbo ,can anyone suggest a good insurance company and how much roughly would it be to insure it fully comp .THANKS .""

Can my bf receive settlement from a car accident if he doesn't have insurance but the car that hit him does?

My boyfriend just got in a car accident. It was a hit and run. The police found out that the car that hit him was stolen but had full coverage insurance. The problem is my boyfriend's insurance expired 2 months ago. The police saw the accident happen and had him to come down to the station and file a report. Since he does not have insurance can he still receive a settlement for damages since the car that hit him has full coverage

""I heard about this non-owners auto insurance, what exactly is it?""

I heard about this non-owners auto insurance, what exactly is it?""

Looking for health insurance for our kids???

We just moved to oklahoma and we make to much for medicaid but not enough to pay $500 a month in insurance plus have a $1100 deductible per person then a 80-20 split after the deductible. We can afford to pay our own Doctor bills but if we had a serious problem (tonsils, appendicitis,surgery) we wouldn't be able to afford that so does anyone know of any health insurance we could get??? How does a HSA plan work??? Can you get one without it being sponsored by your employer???""

How much is the car insurance for a 18 year old boy with a dodge viper ACR 09 model?

ow much would i be paying a year with full coverage. Its a dodge viper ACR 09 model. Im an 18 year old male. Its a $112,000 car.""

Cheapest car to insure?

im looking to buy a car but im a 18 yr old male and my insurance will be very high. so im trying to find the cheapest car out there to insure and something good on gas. i know ill probably be paying around 3000 a year. but any ideas?

""APPROXIMATELY, how high would insurance be on a 16 year old male driver with a manual Evo X as a first car?""

I just turned 16 and i am about to get my license.I just want an estimate like 200-300 or 300-400 or 400-500, etc. My brother is 18 and currently has an Evo and is paying ~ 500 a month for his insurance but has a terrible driving record. Totaled his car and another persons (completely his fault) speeding tickets, unsafe turn ticket. and a bunch of parking tickets. And please dont give me an answer like youre gonna kill urself or evo is too fast for a first car and too hard to learn stick in an evo because the past 8 months i have been driving my brothers STICK Evo quite alot and have absolutely no problem driving it.""

My first car notes and insurance?

i'm 16 and plan on getting A JOB BY MAY 2008. I wanna buy a USED CAR at least a 1997 model -2000 model. Do you think I can afford the car note? Could i possibly get on my mom's insurance plan to make it cheaper for my car to be insured or am I just putting myself up for a future of bad credit??????

Is it better to say i live alone instead of with my grandparents when buying car insurance?

i already bought the policy but i said at the time i lived with my sister which bumped it up $100!!! so its been a month and i called to say i live with my grandparents now but there saying i have to come in to take my sister off and put my grandparents on. i told them i lived with my grandparents in hopes that it would go down! not put them on my policy. they have their own insurance, have had it for years, and they will NEVER be driving my car soo WTF insurance is a ripe off. what should i tell them??""

Have to get medical insurance with Obamacare?

I am enrolling in health insurance and was curious.. I know that Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) requires you to get insurance, but what kind does it mandate? for example, if I get dental coverage, does the act require me to still get Medical?""

Texas Insurance Question.?

My parents always freak out when I have to drive their car because mine is in the shop. We have different insurances and I am not on theirs. If a cop stops me will he take their car because my name is not on their insurance. This is my parents worry and I am also not really sure. This is in Texas of course.

About how much do you think my car insurance will cost?

my parents just switched to liberty mutual, I have a car, a blue 99 manual chevy cavalier and I'm 18. I'm trying to figure out how much money from my job I need to save up before I get my license, because I have to pay my own insurance and I've had my permit for a year and a half because I couldn't find a job until last month. I just want a guesstimate please!""

Insurance or out-of-pocket?

The bumber and trunk of my new 2006 Honda Civic was hit by someone unknown when my car was parked in a lot. The damage is a sizeable dent. How much will it cost for a repair in the dealership? Is it better to pay it myself or let the insurance do it (worry about increasing insurance rate). Any other ideas will help? Thanks

Young Drivers Insurance question?

I'm 18 years old and passed my driving test on the 30th September 2010. I don't have a car because I cant afford the insurance. I'm working full time. I found a nice little car, a 2001 RENAULT CLIO, 1.2 16V 3dr Hatchback. I used a price comparison site to get a basic idea of what the insurance would be on it - and using my real own details and it was 5993. So I messed around a bit and added my mum as a second/extra driver. The price crashed down to 3,153. The option to add another driver was still there so I added my dad too and the price is now 2,617 - much more in my price range. I called them in and was like look at this and what do you think and they both agreed that there was something wrong with it and there would be a catch somewhere but I disagree. They said it would affect their own no claims however when added a extra driver no information about an extra driver is there. Are they right that there would be a catch? And can someone give me some more information about this please! Thanks!""

Someone explain car insurance to me!?

Basically im helping my boyfriend look for cheap car insurance...The cheapest we found is on the co-op website BUT, having a little issue with costs and things. Basically it gives me a deposit amount of 500 then it gives me a monthly instalment of 250 and then it says how much in total it is. By the total though it says that there is interest of my credit charge of 200, what does this mean? that its been put in with the total amount/deposit or do i have to pay extra for it? if i do have to pay extra for it do i have to pay that monthly or all in one? SO CONFUSED!""

What is the best car insurance to get?

Cheap, reasonable, and the best.""

I need cheap insurance for me and my baby?

I recently moved out of my mom's house to live with my boyfriend. She was covering me on her insurance but now it's been dropped, We moved to where his new job is and we are letting a friend live with us. My boyfriend's yearly income is about 65,000. I can't be covered under his insurance because we aren't married. I have a 11 month old baby and I have to take pills regularly... I need to find an insurance plan that can cover me and her. If it makes any difference I'm 18 and I'm turning 19 in October... I know some insurance plans cover certain ages. I'd prefer something kind of cheap but I also need something that has decent copay..even if it raises the price a little. Does anyone know a good carrier?""

Why is my car insurance so high?

Just finished paying a year of car insurance at like 125 a month. Just got my new bill for the year. They want 195 atleast first month. Are there cheaper car insurance companies out there?

Why is driving without insurance wrong?

if you are responsible for an accident, can't you still be made to pay up by law?""

Motorcycle Insurance?

I got into a car accident almost 2 years ago and I was wondering if it will effect me when I get insurance for my motorcycle?

16 year old car insurance?

Im a 16 year old boy and am looking to buy my first car. How much more will insurance cost on average if i buy a 2 door car as opposed to a 4 door? I am thinking of buying a 1997 Toyota Celica or a 96-01 Acura integra either 2 door or 4. I am going to take drivers ed too because i know that lowers your rates. I also have 4 A's and 3 B's in school.

""1993 Integra 2dr LS, automatic High Insurance COST?""

Hi, So i am debating with my family whether or not if the 1993 Integra 2 dr AUTO is considered a sport car? Usually, most sport card has HIGH INSURANCE. Our Insurance company is Wawanesa, and i can NOT get a hold of them at the moment. MY QUESTION IS; is a 93 integra 2dr insurance cost HIGHER than a 95 integra 4dr? or are they about the same cost?""

Is there a place I can get affordable life insurance?

for someone who is terminally ill and not expected to live for another year?

nevada insurance department jobs

nevada insurance department jobs

""I'm 57, am learning to drive a car, will need the best and cheapest car insurance, how will I know which is re""

i just want to be able to drive my car, and know there is help there for me, when and if I ever need it, without all the hassles of being stranded. Am in the process of checking out AAMI, RACT. Comprehensive for a first off driver is about $859 a year!! would i be better to Join RACT emergency on road assistance AS WELL AS taking out fire and theft third party insurance separately? I will be about the only driver, with a friend or two......is this the best cover for me? Say...for 1,2 years until I build up a reliable record? enough then to qualify for cheaper comrehensive insurance car cover?How will I know what is really the best for me?""

""On average, how much does a speeding ticket cause insurance to go up?

About how much would a speeding ticket for 85 in a 65 make your car insurance go up?

What to do when someone has an accident in your car...no insurance?

A friend took my car without exactly having my permission (had permission to drive, but not where the accident took place). We are in WI where insurance is not required so our lapsed (bad move on our part, but we are past that now). The friend was at fault in the accident and our car is badly damaged although the other car was not...what do we do now?""

Need help with car & insurance (Just starting out)?

So I am 18 and want to move out of my mother's house because of reasons I shouldn't mention. Not because I am some spoiled teen looking to do what ever I want. But are you willing to help me? My question is: How do I get my liecense with out limited insurance or a car? How do I get insurance without a liecense or a car? How do I get a car without a liecense or insurance? This is the vicous cicle D: How can a new adult jump out into the world when my mother isn't willing to help me? I have a stable income. I just need some advice.

Is paying around $300.00 a month total for driving my truck to much?

I pay about $50 for insurance and about $250 in gas. I have NO truck payment! So my total cost every month is around $300 total for EVERYTHING for me to drive! Is that a lot? or to much? Thanks!

Farmers Market Liability Insurance?

My girl friend and I are starting a new company that would sell smoothies and baked goods at Californias farmers market and it is our understanding that we need 100,00.00 liability insurance coverage to get into most markets. My question is how much on average do people pay for this and would the cost be different if we were to go under the cottage food act? Any information or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks""

Car insurance for 17year olds? ?

Please answer this question for my cousin: I'm 17 in november and I'm planning on taking my theory on my birthday and the practical 3/4 weeks later because I can already drive well but before my practical I just want to have 3weeks worth of lessons on the road with the public instead of friends cars and stuff. My mum has said she will help me buy a car but when I look at insurance quotes they are very very expensive. I wanted to put my long term boyfriend who I live with during term time on my insurance policy so he can drive it as well. He has his own car but he is thinking of getting rid of it soon. He has been driving for 3 years and is 22. Is it cheaper just to have myself on the policy or with him on it too? What cars are nice (no old fashioned ugly cars) are cheap to insure for a 17year old girl?

What is the average price of car insurance for a Volkswagen gti mark 1?

First time driver soon and my mum promised to buy one for me as a first car

How many of you own a Life Insurance Policy and for what amount.?

Are young ppl thinking about life insurance?

How much will insurance go up with 2 points on drivers license in CA?

Im from California. So I have 2 points on my driving record how much will the insurance go up? I work for a company as a driver. They have The Hartford car insurance. Thanks.

I live in SC and I need to get my own Insurance Policy to buy a car. ( I'm 17) Can I get coverage alone?

My Parents don't want to add me to their insurance because we have several vehicles already and adding another car and a teenager will cause their insurance to be even more outrageous. Can I get my own insurance policy without effecting my parents at all? (With their permission of course.)

Cost of liability insurance for medical doctor?

What's the average cost for a private physician's liability insurance? What tips and advice do you have for someone starting a private practice?

Range Rover insurance for a young new driver?

A friend and I where having a debate about whether or not, a new young driver could actually get insured on a brand new Range Rover? We decided to do some research on the subject and we have seen many cases where for example Andy Murray paid 100,000 to insure his Ferrari shortly after he passed his test. Can anyone provide and examples or rough estimates on how much it would actually cost to insure a new young driver on a Range Rover or if its even possible?""

What cars are good/affordable for first time drivers+ about how much would the insurance be for that car?

im wanting to buy a second hand car but want to know if i can afford all of the costs etc...so i was wondering if i could have any suggestions on good affordable cars, and an estimate on the insurance cost.""

Car accident question and if I need to report to insurance company?

Ok so here's the scene, I'm backing out of my driveway from my garage. My friend parked his car at the end of driveway (he was leaving but parked there to answer a phone call). My driveway is a downhill so when I backed I couldn't see his car there. Anyway, I backed into his car and caused a minor scatch. Unfortunately, his car is a new BMW and he needs to fix it. The police came and said it is under $1000 fix and it is up to us if we report to our insurance company or not. So now I am waiting him to get a estimate to fix. What do I need to do? I guess it is my full responsibility since I am moving and he is still. If the fix fee is under $1000, do I need to report to my insurance company? How much does the insurance usually increase due to this kind accident? thanks

Can Drivers under 18 without a car drive with their parents insurance?

I just got my drivers license and I don't have a car. Im not 18, and i don't think i will be driving enough to have to need a car, or to pay insurance every month. But if ever ...show more""

Does Florida auto insurance have some sort of new windshield coverage?

I need an arguement solved. i was on interstate and some rocks/debris flew off truck in front of me and damaged my windshield. everyone keeps telling me that my insurance will cover the windshield to be replaced but I do not see this in my policy at all. I only carry the basic minimum needed to insure car. Is there something I am missing or does anyone what these other people are talking about? I do not carry comp or collision.

What are the steps needed to sell health insurance and/or become a broker/agent in Minnesota?

What are the steps needed to sell health insurance and/or become a broker/agent in Minnesota?

Car insurance?

My husband and I are planning on getting a new car and we're looking through auto-trader.com and finding a lot of good cars but is there a website you can go to to calculate how much the insurance of each car to help us narrow our decision down?

How much is insurance for the Acura RSX?

I really want on badly but I'm concern about the costs. I am eighteen year old male and this will be my first car. I just got my license as well.

""No vehicle, Need SR22 Or Non Owners Bond? Ohio.?""

Situation- September 2009 I got my license suspended due to an OVI. I live with my parents whom own vehicles but I do not have one in my name. I am in the military, and my mother is ill. Both need me to get my license so your information is much appreciated. I want to get my license reinstated so I can drive my mothers vehicle when required. I am not sure where to get a non owners bond, or the correct SR22. I have called insurance companies and they say they cannot help me. I know I need to pay the reinstatement fee and provide proof of FR. Does the Non owners bond count as FR. Can I drive legally with it or do I need an insurance policy on top of that. Thank you for your help.""

""On average, how much does car insurance cost for a 17 year old male?""

Dear reader I am a 17 year old male. I am searching for car insurance once I get my driver's license I will be required to pay for my own car insurance. I want to get an average cost (monthly) for someone my age- regardless of the company I am not sure what factors play into a policy's amount- however, if it does matter, I am a straight A student with a 4.2 GPA (scale of 4.0)- I have never been convicted, nor prosecuted for a felony or anything of that sort. To sum up, I am quite responsible for a male my age. Please do not be rude in your responses I appreciate your help PS. the car that I would be driving is a Toyota Camry 2005 (all paid for). I also live in the state of MD""

Suzuki swift insurance for 17 year old? (UK)?

a 1.3 is insurance group 4 and I dont know how much that would actually cost? for a 17 year old please dont say too much or too hard to say I just need to know the range of how much it would cost to insure e.g. 3000 - 4500 Also im not 17 yet so I cant get insurance quotes. 10 points to best answer.

Where can i get a car insurance policy which lets me drive any car including hire cars anywhere?

i have a normal car insurance policy in the uk which allows me to drive my own car in europe. i want a policy which allows me to drive other cars anywhere in the world

How much does it really cost to own a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S in California? MSRP is...?

...$88,400. What other costs are there? http://www.porsche.com/usa/models/911/911-carrera-4s/ I am trying to own one of these. Just wondering what's is in store for me (i.e. tax, ...show more""

nevada insurance department jobs

nevada insurance department jobs

I need health insurance?

but its hard to find a job that will provide it because I am in school and need the job to work around my schedule. Can anybody suggest health insurance I can buy out of my pocket ...show more

Insurance on a cbr 600rr for a 20 year old in California?

Ive had my normal license (California) for 3 years and just got my motorcycle license. I am looking to buy a street bike, a sport bike specifically. I've looked at all the sporty bikes from 250 to 1000 and I plan on getting a 600 because I've been riding dirtbikes since I could walk so I know I'd get bored of a 250 but at the same time I know I'd kill myself on a 1000. I have a clean driving record aside from one speeding ticket(wasn't even speeding horribly) and a couple parking tickets. So what I'm ultimately trying to figure out is what the cost of my insurance would be and what insurance provider would give me the best coverage on my bike. I know I plan on getting liability since it is cheaper but any and all insight or examples would be very helpful. *people on yahoo love to hate on questions, so if you're one of those poeple, don't even comment. I know how bikes work and I've ridden them before, just need advice on insurance. Thank you!!""

How can I get US health insurance for my (non US residents) parents (in late 50's)?

This is both an Immigration question and a Health Insurance question. My parents will start living in the US several months a year or more as legal visitors to live with us until they get green cards and can move here permanently. They are close 56, 59 years old. How do I go about getting them health insurance so unexpected health concerns don't ruin them, they can get their prescriptions filled w/o paying an arm and a leg, etc? Are there specialized US insurance companies that offer insurance to non-residents that's worth anything? I don't need the gimmicky travel insurance that won't cover anything or require outrageous deductibles and paperwork sent to some tax haven country ... I need a reliable US insurer who can be found, operates under laws of US, has customer service who can explain their policies, etc.""

Insurance rates and quotes?

hi im Robert, im From the MD NJ NY areas. lived mostly In Maryland and central New Jersey my life im 19 i lived in florida for a little over a year. wanted to stay but the Economy has done its toll on me and my bank account & Loosing a job there but back in MD i have a new job and also an opportunity to work out of the Baltimore Office or the Freehold NJ Office. i know when my father had an Courier delivery company he paid Alott and out raged prices to insure his trucks. and even paid 950 a month for one car in staten island NY. which was the place we lived for time. but anyways. i have a chevrolet G2500 Express Cargo Van that i do nothing really but commute and put tools in for side work and remove trash and stuff. and take on road trips because i can turn it in to a RV within 30 minutes and hook up a genertor. its pretty cool. but thats in-material, so anyways. i don't want to Pay through the Nose for Common/Average Car/Truck insurance Any Answers or suggestions will be glady Appreciated! Thank You!""

Supplemental health insurance provider?

Does anybody have supplemental health insurance? Do you know of a good provider? I have never heard of it, my Mom was telling me about it. I looked and I found some places that said quotes for supplemental health insurance. but when I filled out the info it seemed like it gave me a quote for regular health insurance plan not supplemental health insurance. My health insurance I have through work has a high deductible so i am always paying out of pocket for I have not met my deductible.""

Question about car insurance?

I have divorces parents. one lives in philly and one lives in collegeville. I'm 18 and I'm shopping for car insurance and obviously it would be cheaper to be on my dads in collegeville. I live with him part time, so if i changed my state address to his, would I be able to go on it?""

""There have been caps of $250K for healthcare lawsuits in California for years, and insurance premiums didnt?

....go down one cent! If fact they are still among the highest in the country. How will this help reform healthcare according to conservatives? When in fact all it does is funnel more cash into their Wall Street supporters pockets?

How much can i expect to pay for storage insurance?

I plan on getting a street bike, and sitting my truck. I pay 1400 dollars a year for full coverage right now.""

Is this true about insurance?

i recently tried to tell my insurance agency (freeway insurance) in california that i want to remove a vehicle from my plan. however, they told me that i would still have to pay them the next month regardless because its a law or something. is this true? and can they really charge me a serivce fee for something like that? Thanks in advance!""

Health Insurance For Full Time College Students?

I overheard another student in class talking about how she gets free health insurance coverage because she is a full time student? Has anyone else heard of any programs or companies that do that? if so can someone give me some links to the sites of those companies? (Because since im no longer in the class with the girl, i cant get it from her)""

What is the cheapest car to insure for a 17-19 year old guy from the UK in 2013?

I'm 16 and will be taking my test next year and I want to know what to get for my first car?

Need a quick answer on car insurance?

My first question is, if your car is hit and the other insurance company admits fault - aren't they supposed to come meet YOU to assess damages? Secondly, is an insurance company allowed to deny you whats owed after already admitting fault and after already getting an estimate from a body shop? How do I prevent them from low balling me?""

Should I accept a $500 settlement from an insurance company for a stiff neck suffered in a car accident?

I was a passenger in a car accident two weeks ago. My only injury is a stiff neck. The insurance company of the at-fault driver has offered me $500 to settle. Should I accept it or fight for more (for example, by threatening to sue)? Should I see a doctor and bill the insurance company for that, even though I wouldn't normally see a doctor for this injury? I'm not really concerned about the seriousness of the injury; the pain will probably go away eventually. I just want to get the amount of money I deserve.""

If my parents have insurance under all three of cars and I want to drive...?

Do I have to purchase a separate insurance or do I just add my name under theirs? I just wanted to know how much would it cost for me to drive per month or year. I'm 20 years old and I've had my license for about half a year now.

Total lost car INSURANCE?

I own a 1997 dodge intrepid std 4 dr sedan 6cyl gasoline 3.3 liter 4 speed in fair conditions cd player no rust with 197,242 miles. My car was was in a hail and tornado damage where the hood has a dent and the driver and passanger side have dent and the trunk. I have full coverage insurance and they telling me that my car was total last i love my car and i spent alot of money fixing it and it drives great no problem. So I was trying to get some help from some one that could tell me how much is my car worth so they wont give me less money and if they offer me less what could I do. I am not trying to bew greedy but i do love my car and spent alot of money on it. I would rather get it fix . PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HELP ME""

Classic Car As A Daily Driver In Michigan?

I'm a hot rod & kustom guy, have building and restoring old cars for awhile now..love the looks of em and the feeling I get driving them, I'm opening up my own shop soon too. I drive a 2001 Grand Am GT and it's about to die 190,000 miles needs tires, brakes, bearings, engines making noises but for the price I paid and miles I put on it, it worked well. Now I need a new daily drive to school 72 miles round trip 2-3 times a week. I live in Michigan, was wondering what it would be like to drive an classic car as a daily...say a 1958 Chevy Bel Air with a 283 motor...the insurance is cheaper, easier to fix and find parts..but may be more in gas...just wondering if anyone drives a classic everyday and how is it in the winter...I'd have to figure out heat some how. I have many cars 1968 Caddy Deville on air bags, 1930 Model A Coupe hot rod, 1951 Mercury custom, 1956 Cadillac Deville...etc""

Are there any penalties for tricking your car insurance company?

My friend has been living & working in NYC for the past 5 years, but she's been telling her car insurance company that she never moved from Georgia to keep paying low rates and she never changed her driver's licence from Georgia to NY. But she drives her car here in NY every day so how did she manage this? If they found out would she get fined or anything?""

How much would it cost to rebuild my townhome ? an Insurance quote question.?

I am buying a townhome for 215K and it has a association which has insurance to covers outer part. As home owner I need H06 policy to take of interior and my personal property. I am closing next week and need to buy a home insurance and whenever I am getting quotes everyone is asking me what value you want for home replacing coverage to be. They are asking home much would it cost to rebuild my townhome, how would I know this. Here is the scenario: Its a PULTE built 2004 construction and was sold around 300K in 2004 for first owner, now since prices have come down I am getting the townhome for 215K.(3 bed, 2.5 bath,2 car garage,basement, 2 story,2000 Sft.), its in Chicago suburbs (Schaumburg IL). So how would I know how much would it cost me to rebuilt incase of a full fire damage to the home, since I own the land I can reconstruct I guess. Any approximate dollar amount as how much would it cost to rebuilt ?""

How much is this car's insurance..?

Iam 22 male (Married) and have a squeeky clean driving record. I am in the market for a new car and here is a list of the cars I am considering. If you could tell me which one would have the lowest cost for insurance (Full Coverage) that would great! -2005 TL acura -2005 Mini Cooper S -2007 Civic 4 door Si Thanks.

Car insurance under my parents name w/o parents being present?

Hi, i live in Miami and my parents are currently out of state. I just bought a car and i need insurance in order to get the title. I was wondering if i can go under my parents insurance without them being present or if i can do it over the phone? also the car is a honda civic ex 99 and i am 19 years old. Its my first car and i have good credit, i am a university student with very good grades, and have not had any tickets or gotten into any car accidents. About how much will my insurance be? and would it be cheaper to be under my parents name, which i might add has been in a lot of car crashes, had a lot of tickets, bad credit, and jus has bad history, or would it be cheaper to just get it on my own??? thank you!!!!!""

How to terminate my insurance policy?

i've 2 policy insurance, life policy & investing policy. now i have finance problem, i really cannot afford the premium. so i want to terminate either one of these 2 policy. if i terminated it, can i get all back my premium that i've paid during this few years?""

How much does a new camaro 2010 cost?

And how much would minimum insurance on one cost? I would be willing to get a white one if it meant lower insurance costs. Thank you and god bless!

""I got a wet reckless, and filed the SR-22. What happens if I cancel my insurance?

The California DMV says you have to maintain proof of financial responsibility (car insurance) for 3 years after a license reinstatement after a wet reckless charge. What happens if I cancel my policy and change insurance companies? What happens if I just cancel my policy and just don't choose to drive?

Car insurance help!!!!!!!?

how does the car insurance work if your car was stolen but had full coverage

Short term health Insurance for my parents who coming to California from China ?

My parents are coming to visit me (California) from China. They plan to stay in U.S. for 6 months. They're 67 yrs old, my father has Diabetes (not so serious) and my mother is very healthy. I'm thinking to get a short term health insurance for them just in case they need to see a doctor. Since it's the first time they come to U.S. they have a visit visa, I'm US citizen. What insurance I should get for them? Thank you very much for your response in advance!""

nevada insurance department jobs

nevada insurance department jobs

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whats-best-car-insurance-company-2-get-lowest-price-rates-ethan-moore/"

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Bird Droppings: Can’t Hold It

I’m coming in hot. Somehow I’m more worked up about the game now than I was during and immediately after it. But now that I’ve watched it almost three full times – live, condensed game last night, and offensive plays this morning – I’m more upset that ineptitude on the part of the coach and untimely miscues cost them a winnable road game against a potentially elite team. Make no mistake, this was a winnable game, and for three quarters, the Eagles were arguably the better team before it all unraveled in the fourth, when they flushed it down the drain.

To the Droppings!

Defense

First, the good thing. The defense was absolutely outstanding. The line is top 5 in football. They get constant pressure and keep the quarterback uncomfortable in the pocket. Credit both Kirk Cousins and Alex Smith in consecutive weeks for weathering the storm and using their legs to keep their teams in it (or win it) late. The Eagles for the most part kept the Chiefs run game and Kareem Hunt in check with swarming coverage at the line and in the immediate area behind it. Jordan Hicks and Timmy Jernigan tossing Chiefs around was just the icing on top of a mostly dominant performance:

This is pretty non-descript but I like this tackle by Jordan Hicks. Had a little violence to it. http://pic.twitter.com/O9obVXmzrQ

— Kyle (@IgglesNest) September 18, 2017

http://pic.twitter.com/szDH23wB0m

— Couch Correspondent (@notkerouac) September 17, 2017

When the Eagles decide to blitz, they’re borderline unstoppable. Sean Cottrell touched on it in his “Three and Out” last week and the point still stands – Jim Schwartz times his blitzes impeccably and they almost always pay off. And somehow a secondary without Ronald Darby prevented Tyreek Hill from torching them over-the-top at all (save for one play where Alex Smith overthrew him in the end zone). It’s unfortunate that the late Hunt touchdown, on which the Eagles over-pursued….

… might be what we remember from this game. The Eagles could make the playoffs on the strength of their defense alone.

  Doug Pederson

The 46-17 pass-run breakdown is ludicrous, partly because the Eagles were running the ball effectively early.

Excuse me? No, Kyle, you’re a fucking idiot and don’t know football.

That’s what Twitter says.

Here are the Eagles’ run plays:

Sproles: 12 yards

Sproles: 6 yards

Sproles: 3 yards

Smallwood: -2 yards

Sproles: 2 yards

Sproles: -3 yards

Sproles: 6 yards

Sproles: 11 yards

Sproles: 3 yards

Smallwood: 8 yards

Sproles: 3 yards

Sproles: 5 yards

Smallwood: -2 yards

A few stuffs at the line, particularly on the Eagles’ second drive, led to them abandoning the run almost completely. Surely, feeding the ball to Darren Sproles all game is unsustainable, but there’s no reason Smallwood couldn’t have been the beneficiary of the push the Eagles got on the outside on these two plays:

The Chiefs’ defensive line is quite good, and we should credit them for the Eagles’ offensive line struggles and lack of a running game. But even going back to the well for a middling two-yard gain is worth it to keep them honest. It’s easy to make the Madden joke about Doug Pederson, but this is exactly how I play Madden— I’ll try a few runs and if it doesn’t work I’ll just start slinging the ball. That was the worst of early era Andy Reid, but he has matured to the point that he kept going back to the well yesterday until it paid off with a 50-yard touchdown run.

This was a close game. There was no reason, until maybe their last two drives, the Eagles had to pass on nearly every play. They were arguably in control of most of the game. I don’t like LeGarrette Blount very much (more on that in a second), but it’s laughable that he didn’t get one official carry. He should’ve gotten at least enough to make him an effective play-action decoy so Carson Wentz could underthrow a deep ball to Torrey Smith.

  LeGarrette Blount

It’s Week 2 and Blount got one touch in a game and was then accosted by the media at his locker afterwards because a vast majority of people now think he’s an incompetent running back (not the least of which might be his coach) on the verge of a full-on freakout. That’s where we’re at. But, I said I wouldn’t break out the I told you sos on Blount until mid-October (or when Blount gets cut), so I won’t. I’m a man of my word.

Couldn’t agree more with @SheilKapadia: https://t.co/s33DciAkk7 http://pic.twitter.com/sKjC6fBQqS

— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) September 18, 2017

It’s funny how when Saint Sheil says it, it’s gospel. Here’s what I wrote immediately following the Blount signing:

Noooooooooooo I hate this. God this is such a cuck signing. Blount was the beneficiary of a Pats offense that could make a trash can look like a formidable running threat. He’s 30, curiously was a free agent until today, and saw his average yards per carry hit a five-year low last year despite scoring 18 touchdowns because HE PLAYED FOR THE FUCKING PATRIOTS.

I hate the notion of signing guys Bill Belichick is done with. I’m telling you, no, he’s not that good. The deal is reported to be one year, $2.8 million, and Blount will put some much needed size in the Eagles’ backfield, so it makes some sense and is hard to get truly outraged about, but the signing strips away almost all the positive feelings I had about Howie Roseman this offseason. Signing a guy like Blount is exactly the sort of thing Dream Team Howie would do, and I thought that guy was dead or at least locked in an airplane bathroom somewhere.

It’s telling that Howie Roseman thought signing a system running back to complement a super old third-down back and a harem of underachieving young players was the solution to a problem that typically can be solved by sound drafting – HELLLLLLLLO THE CHIEFS – and strategic waiver wire pickups. Never mind the fact that Roseman siphoned away offensive line depth in the process to open up roster spots for the collection of misfit toys that currently make up the Eagles’ running-by-committee attack, which is spearheaded by their fucking franchise quarterback who is GOING TO GET HURT. I was flat-out assaulted by Eagles Twitter for my initial Blount take, and yet…here we are.

I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU’D READ ANY OTHER SITE.

  Carson Wentz

He is a phenomenal talent who has a physical skill set that could eventually turn him into one of the great ones. His effort yesterday, behind a porous line and with a tower of sculpted clay calling his plays, is to be commended. He hung tough in the face of pressure, never went full Bradford with his at times frantic pocket demeanor, and racked up impressive passing totals while also leading the team in rushing. He is at his best when he is out of the pocket and forced to make plays on his own. Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson are much the same way, and that’s good company to be in.

HOWEVER.

Wentz is far from perfect and he is still incredibly raw. Lost in his effort yesterday is the fact that he still makes a considerable amount of mistakes, forces balls where they don’t need to go, and is, generally speaking, an inaccurate passer.

As noted last week, he struggles with the short touch passes. As evidence, here’s the NextGen pass chart showing Wentz as 12-of-21 on passes under 10 yards:

That includes three balls that were thrown into the line (one of which led to the Chiefs’ go-ahead touchdown), two fumbles behind the line (one of which resulted in a turnover), and two incomplete inept screen passes to Sproles.

Surely the offensive line contributed to these errors, but that doesn’t necessarily excuse them. Carson Wentz is 6’5, and though there generally isn’t much correlation with size and pass deflections, his three batted passes yesterday – 6% of his 46 passes – were above the league-average rate. There’s not a ton of data available in this regard, but in a 2015 article in which Football Outsiders listed the batted passes from the 2014 season, not one quarterback had a rate higher than 3.8% (Blake Bortles). Interestingly, Nick Foles had 0 passes batted on 310 attempts, leading you to believe that there was something to Chip Kelly practicing with fly swatters.

That’s the short game.

The long game isn’t much better.

We all can see that Wentz has a BIG ARM, but he simply does not throw a good deep ball. Perhaps all of our views are colored by a few beautiful passes at the start of last season. But often times he underthrows or overthrows receivers, or is just generally inaccurate, on passes over 20 yards. And he of course routinely throws high, including on this (catchable) pass to Torrey Smith that should have been a touchdown:

Yes, Smith should’ve caught it. But the throw was high. Good quarterbacks – not great ones – like Kirk Cousins, Philip Rivers and Matthew Stafford – routinely make this throw more accurately. It would be great to have an Eagles receiver, just once, step up and make the play, but that does not excuse the throw entirely.

It’s also worth noting that, for whatever reason…, these are the same sort of small mistakes that Donovan McNabb would get lambasted for, or that we laughed at Sam Bradford over. Michael Vick was cast aside as an untenable quarterback because of stuff like that. Wentz is lauded for being a gamer.

I got abused on Twitter last night for tweeting these observations, I’m guessing by many of the same chucklefucks who jumped all over me for my Blount take early in the offseason. Some accused me of clickbait – interestingly on Tweets that didn’t contain a link to the site – and trying to make money of hot takes. In fact it’s the opposite. Takes like this lose audience – I lost at least 40 Twitter followers – and hardly compel you, the reader, to pony up for our Carson City t-shirt. But I don’t think Wentz is beyond critiquing. He is still very raw, and fixing a few of these issues would turn his upside from a good quarterback (Philip Rivers) into a great one (Brett Favre).

More worrisome is that the first three years of Wentz’s career and growth could be stunted by Doug Pederson calling his plays.

  Doug Pederson

There is absolutely no flow. By the second half it became clear that Pederson would abandon the run game entirely, and that left receivers covered and Wentz frantic in a collapsing pocket. That’s not the way to nurture a young quarterback. Pederson rarely allows Wentz to get into a rhythm. When he does, the offense is almost breathtaking. The Eagles’ third quarter touchdown drive – which included two runs and a toss that was essentially a run – is a good example of this:

They moved the ball on the ground and freed up some air space, through which Wentz threw a touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery. The Eagles then ran four straight pass plays to start the next drive, which was salvaged by Wentz running on third down. Brutal.

Another thing: Credit to Pederson for running a good number of 10- to 20-yard pass plays– something we called for last week. This is where Wentz excels as a passer, and indeed he had a big day on those curl and out routes to Jeffery. Here’s his route tree:

But the Eagles seem to lack on slant and timing plays. It feels that so many of their passes take so long to develop. Wentz lacks rhythm. This is my bad memory of the worst of Andy Reid’s offenses. And to that point, it seems damn near criminal that Eagles didn’t attempt one pass in the underneath area of their best receiver’s side of the field. Look:

How does Sproles not get a dumpoff in that area?

Speaking of, here’s visual evidence that the outside run, with Sproles, was effective when used:

  Little Birdie

The same person who allowed me to break essentially every major piece of Eagles offseason news weighed in both last week and yesterday on the Lurie-Roseman dynamic and the existence of Doug Pederson as the Eagles’ head coach. These are his words:

Following the Reid/Banner era of the Eagles Lurie no longer had “any boots on the ground” with the exception of Howie Roseman.  What I mean by this is that many of the day-to-day operations from a football operations standpoint were unknown.  Not because they were purposely being hidden from Lurie, but because he believed that the operation was running well.  We all know how this backfired during Chip’s tenure.

This was the reason Lurie opened his checkbook up to Howie when Chip took more control in year two.  Lurie needed Howie to stay to make sure Chip didn’t sink the ship.  This move by Lurie in year two of Chip’s tenure has also created a rather interesting dynamic still present in the team today.

Howie Rosmean has remained the sole voice and ears of the team to Lurie following Chip’s tenure.  Yes, Doug participates in a these meetings on occasion now but he is in essence a puppet of Howie’s.  This has essentially created a filter where Howie has the ability to spin things to put himself in a better light to Lurie if and when issues arise.

Let me make one thing clear, I don’t know how long Howie will be our GM for but Lurie has made it abundantly clear he wants and needs to know more from a team operations standpoint, and Howie is the only guy doing that at the moment.  It sounds like barring any kind of colossal fuck up Roseman will be the GM for the foreseeable future.

And another:

Make no mistake about it – Doug was not hired as the long term answer.  This was known the day he walked in the building and anyone in Football Ops who says otherwise is a liar.  If Doug somehow managed to be lightning in a bottle (Early Andy Reid Era) then it would have been a win/win for us but this was never expected and clearly isn’t the case.  Doug was and is continuing to prove that he’s simply our stopgap at the coaching spot.

Here are some of the internal frustrations – Doug isn’t hard on the guys, he tries to be everyone’s buddy and it’s an issue.  Simply put, he doesn’t drop the hammer in the lockerroom.  He’s so focused on being a “player friendly coach” that he’s actually hurting this team and stunting development.

This is in essence a direct result of Chip Kelly’s transgressions as Chip divided not only the locker room but the entire facet of football operations.  Lurie and Howie needed to fix the mess, so we hired a puppet in Doug that would help heal the wounds from Chip.

Doug is a good man, but he’s not worthy of being an NFL head coach at this point in his career – if ever.

Do with that what you will.

  The media

I am no LeGarrette Blount fan. Of this you may be aware. But what the Eagles media did to him yesterday was shameful. Regardless of whether or not he proves to be a bust, Blount was criminally underused yesterday. Getting one touch in a close near-defensive slugfest is simply inexcusable. He had every right to be upset, but I thought he handled himself quite well after the game:

LeGarrette Blount says he cant remember last time he didnt get any carries

"Thats how the game went"#Eagles🦅 http://pic.twitter.com/oV8P8qIpoe

— John Clark CSN/NBC (@JClarkCSN) September 17, 2017

This is why players hate the media. The assembled beat reporters were trying to extract something that wasn’t there, and extract a pull-out quote they did indeed:

LeGarrette Blount on his role in the #Eagles offense after 1 touch: 'Ask Doug Pederson, I can't predict the future': https://t.co/MdeHM29YvO

— Matt Lombardo (@MattLombardoPHL) September 17, 2017

The media is desirous to turn Blount into a malcontent. Perhaps he’ll become one. But that’s not what he was yesterday (at least publicly), and it’s not what he was with the Patriots, as evidenced by this interaction with Robert Kraft in Katie Nolan’s excellent ring ceremony video:

The media reached yesterday.

  No handshake

Two brutal gaffs by FOX yesterday:

Not showing Travis Kelce’s unsportsmanlike conduct that led to a certified lashing from the Fat Man.

Not showing the post-game handshake between Andy Reid and Doug Pederson. How does that happen? It was like the biggest layup in the history of TV production since using the wide shot on FOX News anchors.

At least CSN got Brotherly Love:

❤️video of @JasonKelce @tkelce jersey exhange from @TheRealHinser

"Now Im going to be upset the rest of my life"http://pic.twitter.com/KMWRdG5W0e

— John Clark CSN/NBC (@JClarkCSN) September 17, 2017

Giants next week. Thumbtack.

  Bird Droppings: Can’t Hold It published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

[flauntpage]

Bird Droppings: Can’t Hold It

I’m coming in hot. Somehow I’m more worked up about the game now than I was during and immediately after it. But now that I’ve watched it almost three full times – live, condensed game last night, and offensive plays this morning – I’m more upset that ineptitude on the part of the coach and untimely miscues cost them a winnable road game against a potentially elite team. Make no mistake, this was a winnable game, and for three quarters, the Eagles were arguably the better team before it all unraveled in the fourth, when they flushed it down the drain.

To the Droppings!

Defense

First, the good thing. The defense was absolutely outstanding. The line is top 5 in football. They get constant pressure and keep the quarterback uncomfortable in the pocket. Credit both Kirk Cousins and Alex Smith in consecutive weeks for weathering the storm and using their legs to keep their teams in it (or win it) late. The Eagles for the most part kept the Chiefs run game and Kareem Hunt in check with swarming coverage at the line and in the immediate area behind it. Jordan Hicks and Timmy Jernigan tossing Chiefs around was just the icing on top of a mostly dominant performance:

This is pretty non-descript but I like this tackle by Jordan Hicks. Had a little violence to it. http://pic.twitter.com/O9obVXmzrQ

— Kyle (@IgglesNest) September 18, 2017

http://pic.twitter.com/szDH23wB0m

— Couch Correspondent (@notkerouac) September 17, 2017

When the Eagles decide to blitz, they’re borderline unstoppable. Sean Cottrell touched on it in his “Three and Out” last week and the point still stands – Jim Schwartz times his blitzes impeccably and they almost always pay off. And somehow a secondary without Ronald Darby prevented Tyreek Hill from torching them over-the-top at all (save for one play where Alex Smith overthrew him in the end zone). It’s unfortunate that the late Hunt touchdown, on which the Eagles over-pursued….

… might be what we remember from this game. The Eagles could make the playoffs on the strength of their defense alone.

  Doug Pederson

The 46-17 pass-run breakdown is ludicrous, partly because the Eagles were running the ball effectively early.

Excuse me? No, Kyle, you’re a fucking idiot and don’t know football.

That’s what Twitter says.

Here are the Eagles’ run plays:

Sproles: 12 yards

Sproles: 6 yards

Sproles: 3 yards

Smallwood: -2 yards

Sproles: 2 yards

Sproles: -3 yards

Sproles: 6 yards

Sproles: 11 yards

Sproles: 3 yards

Smallwood: 8 yards

Sproles: 3 yards

Sproles: 5 yards

Smallwood: -2 yards

A few stuffs at the line, particularly on the Eagles’ second drive, led to them abandoning the run almost completely. Surely, feeding the ball to Darren Sproles all game is unsustainable, but there’s no reason Smallwood couldn’t have been the beneficiary of the push the Eagles got on the outside on these two plays:

The Chiefs’ defensive line is quite good, and we should credit them for the Eagles’ offensive line struggles and lack of a running game. But even going back to the well for a middling two-yard gain is worth it to keep them honest. It’s easy to make the Madden joke about Doug Pederson, but this is exactly how I play Madden— I’ll try a few runs and if it doesn’t work I’ll just start slinging the ball. That was the worst of early era Andy Reid, but he has matured to the point that he kept going back to the well yesterday until it paid off with a 50-yard touchdown run.

This was a close game. There was no reason, until maybe their last two drives, the Eagles had to pass on nearly every play. They were arguably in control of most of the game. I don’t like LeGarrette Blount very much (more on that in a second), but it’s laughable that he didn’t get one official carry. He should’ve gotten at least enough to make him an effective play-action decoy so Carson Wentz could underthrow a deep ball to Torrey Smith.

  LeGarrette Blount

It’s Week 2 and Blount got one touch in a game and was then accosted by the media at his locker afterwards because a vast majority of people now think he’s an incompetent running back (not the least of which might be his coach) on the verge of a full-on freakout. That’s where we’re at. But, I said I wouldn’t break out the I told you sos on Blount until mid-October (or when Blount gets cut), so I won’t. I’m a man of my word.

Couldn’t agree more with @SheilKapadia: https://t.co/s33DciAkk7 http://pic.twitter.com/sKjC6fBQqS

— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) September 18, 2017

It’s funny how when Saint Sheil says it, it’s gospel. Here’s what I wrote immediately following the Blount signing:

Noooooooooooo I hate this. God this is such a cuck signing. Blount was the beneficiary of a Pats offense that could make a trash can look like a formidable running threat. He’s 30, curiously was a free agent until today, and saw his average yards per carry hit a five-year low last year despite scoring 18 touchdowns because HE PLAYED FOR THE FUCKING PATRIOTS.

I hate the notion of signing guys Bill Belichick is done with. I’m telling you, no, he’s not that good. The deal is reported to be one year, $2.8 million, and Blount will put some much needed size in the Eagles’ backfield, so it makes some sense and is hard to get truly outraged about, but the signing strips away almost all the positive feelings I had about Howie Roseman this offseason. Signing a guy like Blount is exactly the sort of thing Dream Team Howie would do, and I thought that guy was dead or at least locked in an airplane bathroom somewhere.

It’s telling that Howie Roseman thought signing a system running back to complement a super old third-down back and a harem of underachieving young players was the solution to a problem that typically can be solved by sound drafting – HELLLLLLLLO THE CHIEFS – and strategic waiver wire pickups. Never mind the fact that Roseman siphoned away offensive line depth in the process to open up roster spots for the collection of misfit toys that currently make up the Eagles’ running-by-committee attack, which is spearheaded by their fucking franchise quarterback who is GOING TO GET HURT. I was flat-out assaulted by Eagles Twitter for my initial Blount take, and yet…here we are.

I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU’D READ ANY OTHER SITE.

  Carson Wentz

He is a phenomenal talent who has a physical skill set that could eventually turn him into one of the great ones. His effort yesterday, behind a porous line and with a tower of sculpted clay calling his plays, is to be commended. He hung tough in the face of pressure, never went full Bradford with his at times frantic pocket demeanor, and racked up impressive passing totals while also leading the team in rushing. He is at his best when he is out of the pocket and forced to make plays on his own. Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson are much the same way, and that’s good company to be in.

HOWEVER.

Wentz is far from perfect and he is still incredibly raw. Lost in his effort yesterday is the fact that he still makes a considerable amount of mistakes, forces balls where they don’t need to go, and is, generally speaking, an inaccurate passer.

As noted last week, he struggles with the short touch passes. As evidence, here’s the NextGen pass chart showing Wentz as 12-of-21 on passes under 10 yards:

That includes three balls that were thrown into the line (one of which led to the Chiefs’ go-ahead touchdown), two fumbles behind the line (one of which resulted in a turnover), and two incomplete inept screen passes to Sproles.

Surely the offensive line contributed to these errors, but that doesn’t necessarily excuse them. Carson Wentz is 6’5, and though there generally isn’t much correlation with size and pass deflections, his three batted passes yesterday – 6% of his 46 passes – were above the league-average rate. There’s not a ton of data available in this regard, but in a 2015 article in which Football Outsiders listed the batted passes from the 2014 season, not one quarterback had a rate higher than 3.8% (Blake Bortles). Interestingly, Nick Foles had 0 passes batted on 310 attempts, leading you to believe that there was something to Chip Kelly practicing with fly swatters.

That’s the short game.

The long game isn’t much better.

We all can see that Wentz has a BIG ARM, but he simply does not throw a good deep ball. Perhaps all of our views are colored by a few beautiful passes at the start of last season. But often times he underthrows or overthrows receivers, or is just generally inaccurate, on passes over 20 yards. And he of course routinely throws high, including on this (catchable) pass to Torrey Smith that should have been a touchdown:

Yes, Smith should’ve caught it. But the throw was high. Good quarterbacks – not great ones – like Kirk Cousins, Philip Rivers and Matthew Stafford – routinely make this throw more accurately. It would be great to have an Eagles receiver, just once, step up and make the play, but that does not excuse the throw entirely.

It’s also worth noting that, for whatever reason…, these are the same sort of small mistakes that Donovan McNabb would get lambasted for, or that we laughed at Sam Bradford over. Michael Vick was cast aside as an untenable quarterback because of stuff like that. Wentz is lauded for being a gamer.

I got abused on Twitter last night for tweeting these observations, I’m guessing by many of the same chucklefucks who jumped all over me for my Blount take early in the offseason. Some accused me of clickbait – interestingly on Tweets that didn’t contain a link to the site – and trying to make money of hot takes. In fact it’s the opposite. Takes like this lose audience – I lost at least 40 Twitter followers – and hardly compel you, the reader, to pony up for our Carson City t-shirt. But I don’t think Wentz is beyond critiquing. He is still very raw, and fixing a few of these issues would turn his upside from a good quarterback (Philip Rivers) into a great one (Brett Favre).

More worrisome is that the first three years of Wentz’s career and growth could be stunted by Doug Pederson calling his plays.

  Doug Pederson

There is absolutely no flow. By the second half it became clear that Pederson would abandon the run game entirely, and that left receivers covered and Wentz frantic in a collapsing pocket. That’s not the way to nurture a young quarterback. Pederson rarely allows Wentz to get into a rhythm. When he does, the offense is almost breathtaking. The Eagles’ third quarter touchdown drive – which included two runs and a toss that was essentially a run – is a good example of this:

They moved the ball on the ground and freed up some air space, through which Wentz threw a touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery. The Eagles then ran four straight pass plays to start the next drive, which was salvaged by Wentz running on third down. Brutal.

Another thing: Credit to Pederson for running a good number of 10- to 20-yard pass plays– something we called for last week. This is where Wentz excels as a passer, and indeed he had a big day on those curl and out routes to Jeffery. Here’s his route tree:

But the Eagles seem to lack on slant and timing plays. It feels that so many of their passes take so long to develop. Wentz lacks rhythm. This is my bad memory of the worst of Andy Reid’s offenses. And to that point, it seems damn near criminal that Eagles didn’t attempt one pass in the underneath area of their best receiver’s side of the field. Look:

How does Sproles not get a dumpoff in that area?

Speaking of, here’s visual evidence that the outside run, with Sproles, was effective when used:

  Little Birdie

The same person who allowed me to break essentially every major piece of Eagles offseason news weighed in both last week and yesterday on the Lurie-Roseman dynamic and the existence of Doug Pederson as the Eagles’ head coach. These are his words:

Following the Reid/Banner era of the Eagles Lurie no longer had “any boots on the ground” with the exception of Howie Roseman.  What I mean by this is that many of the day-to-day operations from a football operations standpoint were unknown.  Not because they were purposely being hidden from Lurie, but because he believed that the operation was running well.  We all know how this backfired during Chip’s tenure.

This was the reason Lurie opened his checkbook up to Howie when Chip took more control in year two.  Lurie needed Howie to stay to make sure Chip didn’t sink the ship.  This move by Lurie in year two of Chip’s tenure has also created a rather interesting dynamic still present in the team today.

Howie Rosmean has remained the sole voice and ears of the team to Lurie following Chip’s tenure.  Yes, Doug participates in a these meetings on occasion now but he is in essence a puppet of Howie’s.  This has essentially created a filter where Howie has the ability to spin things to put himself in a better light to Lurie if and when issues arise.

Let me make one thing clear, I don’t know how long Howie will be our GM for but Lurie has made it abundantly clear he wants and needs to know more from a team operations standpoint, and Howie is the only guy doing that at the moment.  It sounds like barring any kind of colossal fuck up Roseman will be the GM for the foreseeable future.

And another:

Make no mistake about it – Doug was not hired as the long term answer.  This was known the day he walked in the building and anyone in Football Ops who says otherwise is a liar.  If Doug somehow managed to be lightning in a bottle (Early Andy Reid Era) then it would have been a win/win for us but this was never expected and clearly isn’t the case.  Doug was and is continuing to prove that he’s simply our stopgap at the coaching spot.

Here are some of the internal frustrations – Doug isn’t hard on the guys, he tries to be everyone’s buddy and it’s an issue.  Simply put, he doesn’t drop the hammer in the lockerroom.  He’s so focused on being a “player friendly coach” that he’s actually hurting this team and stunting development.

This is in essence a direct result of Chip Kelly’s transgressions as Chip divided not only the locker room but the entire facet of football operations.  Lurie and Howie needed to fix the mess, so we hired a puppet in Doug that would help heal the wounds from Chip.

Doug is a good man, but he’s not worthy of being an NFL head coach at this point in his career – if ever.

Do with that what you will.

  The media

I am no LeGarrette Blount fan. Of this you may be aware. But what the Eagles media did to him yesterday was shameful. Regardless of whether or not he proves to be a bust, Blount was criminally underused yesterday. Getting one touch in a close near-defensive slugfest is simply inexcusable. He had every right to be upset, but I thought he handled himself quite well after the game:

LeGarrette Blount says he cant remember last time he didnt get any carries

"Thats how the game went"#Eagles🦅 http://pic.twitter.com/oV8P8qIpoe

— John Clark CSN/NBC (@JClarkCSN) September 17, 2017

This is why players hate the media. The assembled beat reporters were trying to extract something that wasn’t there, and extract a pull-out quote they did indeed:

LeGarrette Blount on his role in the #Eagles offense after 1 touch: 'Ask Doug Pederson, I can't predict the future': https://t.co/MdeHM29YvO

— Matt Lombardo (@MattLombardoPHL) September 17, 2017

The media is desirous to turn Blount into a malcontent. Perhaps he’ll become one. But that’s not what he was yesterday (at least publicly), and it’s not what he was with the Patriots, as evidenced by this interaction with Robert Kraft in Katie Nolan’s excellent ring ceremony video:

The media reached yesterday.

  No handshake

Two brutal gaffs by FOX yesterday:

Not showing Travis Kelce’s unsportsmanlike conduct that led to a certified lashing from the Fat Man.

Not showing the post-game handshake between Andy Reid and Doug Pederson. How does that happen? It was like the biggest layup in the history of TV production since using the wide shot on FOX News anchors.

At least CSN got Brotherly Love:

❤️video of @JasonKelce @tkelce jersey exhange from @TheRealHinser

"Now Im going to be upset the rest of my life"http://pic.twitter.com/KMWRdG5W0e

— John Clark CSN/NBC (@JClarkCSN) September 17, 2017

Giants next week. Thumbtack.

  Bird Droppings: Can’t Hold It published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

[flauntpage]

Bird Droppings: Can’t Hold It

I’m coming in hot. Somehow I’m more worked up about the game now than I was during and immediately after it. But now that I’ve watched it almost three full times – live, condensed game last night, and offensive plays this morning – I’m more upset that ineptitude on the part of the coach and untimely miscues cost them a winnable road game against a potentially elite team. Make no mistake, this was a winnable game, and for three quarters, the Eagles were arguably the better team before it all unraveled in the fourth, when they flushed it down the drain.

To the Droppings!

Defense

First, the good thing. The defense was absolutely outstanding. The line is top 5 in football. They get constant pressure and keep the quarterback uncomfortable in the pocket. Credit both Kirk Cousins and Alex Smith in consecutive weeks for weathering the storm and using their legs to keep their teams in it (or win it) late. The Eagles for the most part kept the Chiefs run game and Kareem Hunt in check with swarming coverage at the line and in the immediate area behind it. Jordan Hicks and Timmy Jernigan tossing Chiefs around was just the icing on top of a mostly dominant performance:

This is pretty non-descript but I like this tackle by Jordan Hicks. Had a little violence to it. http://pic.twitter.com/O9obVXmzrQ

— Kyle (@IgglesNest) September 18, 2017

http://pic.twitter.com/szDH23wB0m

— Couch Correspondent (@notkerouac) September 17, 2017

When the Eagles decide to blitz, they’re borderline unstoppable. Sean Cottrell touched on it in his “Three and Out” last week and the point still stands – Jim Schwartz times his blitzes impeccably and they almost always pay off. And somehow a secondary without Ronald Darby prevented Tyreek Hill from torching them over-the-top at all (save for one play where Alex Smith overthrew him in the end zone). It’s unfortunate that the late Hunt touchdown, on which the Eagles over-pursued….

… might be what we remember from this game. The Eagles could make the playoffs on the strength of their defense alone.

  Doug Pederson

The 46-17 pass-run breakdown is ludicrous, partly because the Eagles were running the ball effectively early.

Excuse me? No, Kyle, you’re a fucking idiot and don’t know football.

That’s what Twitter says.

Here are the Eagles’ run plays:

Sproles: 12 yards

Sproles: 6 yards

Sproles: 3 yards

Smallwood: -2 yards

Sproles: 2 yards

Sproles: -3 yards

Sproles: 6 yards

Sproles: 11 yards

Sproles: 3 yards

Smallwood: 8 yards

Sproles: 3 yards

Sproles: 5 yards

Smallwood: -2 yards

A few stuffs at the line, particularly on the Eagles’ second drive, led to them abandoning the run almost completely. Surely, feeding the ball to Darren Sproles all game is unsustainable, but there’s no reason Smallwood couldn’t have been the beneficiary of the push the Eagles got on the outside on these two plays:

The Chiefs’ defensive line is quite good, and we should credit them for the Eagles’ offensive line struggles and lack of a running game. But even going back to the well for a middling two-yard gain is worth it to keep them honest. It’s easy to make the Madden joke about Doug Pederson, but this is exactly how I play Madden— I’ll try a few runs and if it doesn’t work I’ll just start slinging the ball. That was the worst of early era Andy Reid, but he has matured to the point that he kept going back to the well yesterday until it paid off with a 50-yard touchdown run.

This was a close game. There was no reason, until maybe their last two drives, the Eagles had to pass on nearly every play. They were arguably in control of most of the game. I don’t like LeGarrette Blount very much (more on that in a second), but it’s laughable that he didn’t get one official carry. He should’ve gotten at least enough to make him an effective play-action decoy so Carson Wentz could underthrow a deep ball to Torrey Smith.

  LeGarrette Blount

It’s Week 2 and Blount got one touch in a game and was then accosted by the media at his locker afterwards because a vast majority of people now think he’s an incompetent running back (not the least of which might be his coach) on the verge of a full-on freakout. That’s where we’re at. But, I said I wouldn’t break out the I told you sos on Blount until mid-October (or when Blount gets cut), so I won’t. I’m a man of my word.

Couldn’t agree more with @SheilKapadia: https://t.co/s33DciAkk7 http://pic.twitter.com/sKjC6fBQqS

— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) September 18, 2017

It’s funny how when Saint Sheil says it, it’s gospel. Here’s what I wrote immediately following the Blount signing:

Noooooooooooo I hate this. God this is such a cuck signing. Blount was the beneficiary of a Pats offense that could make a trash can look like a formidable running threat. He’s 30, curiously was a free agent until today, and saw his average yards per carry hit a five-year low last year despite scoring 18 touchdowns because HE PLAYED FOR THE FUCKING PATRIOTS.

I hate the notion of signing guys Bill Belichick is done with. I’m telling you, no, he’s not that good. The deal is reported to be one year, $2.8 million, and Blount will put some much needed size in the Eagles’ backfield, so it makes some sense and is hard to get truly outraged about, but the signing strips away almost all the positive feelings I had about Howie Roseman this offseason. Signing a guy like Blount is exactly the sort of thing Dream Team Howie would do, and I thought that guy was dead or at least locked in an airplane bathroom somewhere.

It’s telling that Howie Roseman thought signing a system running back to complement a super old third-down back and a harem of underachieving young players was the solution to a problem that typically can be solved by sound drafting – HELLLLLLLLO THE CHIEFS – and strategic waiver wire pickups. Never mind the fact that Roseman siphoned away offensive line depth in the process to open up roster spots for the collection of misfit toys that currently make up the Eagles’ running-by-committee attack, which is spearheaded by their fucking franchise quarterback who is GOING TO GET HURT. I was flat-out assaulted by Eagles Twitter for my initial Blount take, and yet…here we are.

I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU’D READ ANY OTHER SITE.

  Carson Wentz

He is a phenomenal talent who has a physical skill set that could eventually turn him into one of the great ones. His effort yesterday, behind a porous line and with a tower of sculpted clay calling his plays, is to be commended. He hung tough in the face of pressure, never went full Bradford with his at times frantic pocket demeanor, and racked up impressive passing totals while also leading the team in rushing. He is at his best when he is out of the pocket and forced to make plays on his own. Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson are much the same way, and that’s good company to be in.

HOWEVER.

Wentz is far from perfect and he is still incredibly raw. Lost in his effort yesterday is the fact that he still makes a considerable amount of mistakes, forces balls where they don’t need to go, and is, generally speaking, an inaccurate passer.

As noted last week, he struggles with the short touch passes. As evidence, here’s the NextGen pass chart showing Wentz as 12-of-21 on passes under 10 yards:

That includes three balls that were thrown into the line (one of which led to the Chiefs’ go-ahead touchdown), two fumbles behind the line (one of which resulted in a turnover), and two incomplete inept screen passes to Sproles.

Surely the offensive line contributed to these errors, but that doesn’t necessarily excuse them. Carson Wentz is 6’5, and though there generally isn’t much correlation with size and pass deflections, his three batted passes yesterday – 6% of his 46 passes – were above the league-average rate. There’s not a ton of data available in this regard, but in a 2015 article in which Football Outsiders listed the batted passes from the 2014 season, not one quarterback had a rate higher than 3.8% (Blake Bortles). Interestingly, Nick Foles had 0 passes batted on 310 attempts, leading you to believe that there was something to Chip Kelly practicing with fly swatters.

That’s the short game.

The long game isn’t much better.

We all can see that Wentz has a BIG ARM, but he simply does not throw a good deep ball. Perhaps all of our views are colored by a few beautiful passes at the start of last season. But often times he underthrows or overthrows receivers, or is just generally inaccurate, on passes over 20 yards. And he of course routinely throws high, including on this (catchable) pass to Torrey Smith that should have been a touchdown:

Yes, Smith should’ve caught it. But the throw was high. Good quarterbacks – not great ones – like Kirk Cousins, Philip Rivers and Matthew Stafford – routinely make this throw more accurately. It would be great to have an Eagles receiver, just once, step up and make the play, but that does not excuse the throw entirely.

It’s also worth noting that, for whatever reason…, these are the same sort of small mistakes that Donovan McNabb would get lambasted for, or that we laughed at Sam Bradford over. Michael Vick was cast aside as an untenable quarterback because of stuff like that. Wentz is lauded for being a gamer.

I got abused on Twitter last night for tweeting these observations, I’m guessing by many of the same chucklefucks who jumped all over me for my Blount take early in the offseason. Some accused me of clickbait – interestingly on Tweets that didn’t contain a link to the site – and trying to make money of hot takes. In fact it’s the opposite. Takes like this lose audience – I lost at least 40 Twitter followers – and hardly compel you, the reader, to pony up for our Carson City t-shirt. But I don’t think Wentz is beyond critiquing. He is still very raw, and fixing a few of these issues would turn his upside from a good quarterback (Philip Rivers) into a great one (Brett Favre).

More worrisome is that the first three years of Wentz’s career and growth could be stunted by Doug Pederson calling his plays.

  Doug Pederson

There is absolutely no flow. By the second half it became clear that Pederson would abandon the run game entirely, and that left receivers covered and Wentz frantic in a collapsing pocket. That’s not the way to nurture a young quarterback. Pederson rarely allows Wentz to get into a rhythm. When he does, the offense is almost breathtaking. The Eagles’ third quarter touchdown drive – which included two runs and a toss that was essentially a run – is a good example of this:

They moved the ball on the ground and freed up some air space, through which Wentz threw a touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery. The Eagles then ran four straight pass plays to start the next drive, which was salvaged by Wentz running on third down. Brutal.

Another thing: Credit to Pederson for running a good number of 10- to 20-yard pass plays– something we called for last week. This is where Wentz excels as a passer, and indeed he had a big day on those curl and out routes to Jeffery. Here’s his route tree:

But the Eagles seem to lack on slant and timing plays. It feels that so many of their passes take so long to develop. Wentz lacks rhythm. This is my bad memory of the worst of Andy Reid’s offenses. And to that point, it seems damn near criminal that Eagles didn’t attempt one pass in the underneath area of their best receiver’s side of the field. Look:

How does Sproles not get a dumpoff in that area?

Speaking of, here’s visual evidence that the outside run, with Sproles, was effective when used:

  Little Birdie

The same person who allowed me to break essentially every major piece of Eagles offseason news weighed in both last week and yesterday on the Lurie-Roseman dynamic and the existence of Doug Pederson as the Eagles’ head coach. These are his words:

Following the Reid/Banner era of the Eagles Lurie no longer had “any boots on the ground” with the exception of Howie Roseman.  What I mean by this is that many of the day-to-day operations from a football operations standpoint were unknown.  Not because they were purposely being hidden from Lurie, but because he believed that the operation was running well.  We all know how this backfired during Chip’s tenure.

This was the reason Lurie opened his checkbook up to Howie when Chip took more control in year two.  Lurie needed Howie to stay to make sure Chip didn’t sink the ship.  This move by Lurie in year two of Chip’s tenure has also created a rather interesting dynamic still present in the team today.

Howie Rosmean has remained the sole voice and ears of the team to Lurie following Chip’s tenure.  Yes, Doug participates in a these meetings on occasion now but he is in essence a puppet of Howie’s.  This has essentially created a filter where Howie has the ability to spin things to put himself in a better light to Lurie if and when issues arise.

Let me make one thing clear, I don’t know how long Howie will be our GM for but Lurie has made it abundantly clear he wants and needs to know more from a team operations standpoint, and Howie is the only guy doing that at the moment.  It sounds like barring any kind of colossal fuck up Roseman will be the GM for the foreseeable future.

And another:

Make no mistake about it – Doug was not hired as the long term answer.  This was known the day he walked in the building and anyone in Football Ops who says otherwise is a liar.  If Doug somehow managed to be lightning in a bottle (Early Andy Reid Era) then it would have been a win/win for us but this was never expected and clearly isn’t the case.  Doug was and is continuing to prove that he’s simply our stopgap at the coaching spot.

Here are some of the internal frustrations – Doug isn’t hard on the guys, he tries to be everyone’s buddy and it’s an issue.  Simply put, he doesn’t drop the hammer in the lockerroom.  He’s so focused on being a “player friendly coach” that he’s actually hurting this team and stunting development.

This is in essence a direct result of Chip Kelly’s transgressions as Chip divided not only the locker room but the entire facet of football operations.  Lurie and Howie needed to fix the mess, so we hired a puppet in Doug that would help heal the wounds from Chip.

Doug is a good man, but he’s not worthy of being an NFL head coach at this point in his career – if ever.

Do with that what you will.

  The media

I am no LeGarrette Blount fan. Of this you may be aware. But what the Eagles media did to him yesterday was shameful. Regardless of whether or not he proves to be a bust, Blount was criminally underused yesterday. Getting one touch in a close near-defensive slugfest is simply inexcusable. He had every right to be upset, but I thought he handled himself quite well after the game:

LeGarrette Blount says he cant remember last time he didnt get any carries

"Thats how the game went"#Eagles🦅 http://pic.twitter.com/oV8P8qIpoe

— John Clark CSN/NBC (@JClarkCSN) September 17, 2017

This is why players hate the media. The assembled beat reporters were trying to extract something that wasn’t there, and extract a pull-out quote they did indeed:

LeGarrette Blount on his role in the #Eagles offense after 1 touch: 'Ask Doug Pederson, I can't predict the future': https://t.co/MdeHM29YvO

— Matt Lombardo (@MattLombardoPHL) September 17, 2017

The media is desirous to turn Blount into a malcontent. Perhaps he’ll become one. But that’s not what he was yesterday (at least publicly), and it’s not what he was with the Patriots, as evidenced by this interaction with Robert Kraft in Katie Nolan’s excellent ring ceremony video:

The media reached yesterday.

  No handshake

Two brutal gaffs by FOX yesterday:

Not showing Travis Kelce’s unsportsmanlike conduct that led to a certified lashing from the Fat Man.

Not showing the post-game handshake between Andy Reid and Doug Pederson. How does that happen? It was like the biggest layup in the history of TV production since using the wide shot on FOX News anchors.

At least CSN got Brotherly Love:

❤️video of @JasonKelce @tkelce jersey exhange from @TheRealHinser

"Now Im going to be upset the rest of my life"http://pic.twitter.com/KMWRdG5W0e

— John Clark CSN/NBC (@JClarkCSN) September 17, 2017

Giants next week. Thumbtack.

  Bird Droppings: Can’t Hold It published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

[flauntpage]

Bird Droppings: Can’t Hold It

I’m coming in hot. Somehow I’m more worked up about the game now than I was during and immediately after it. But now that I’ve watched it almost three full times – live, condensed game last night, and offensive plays this morning – I’m more upset that ineptitude on the part of the coach and untimely miscues cost them a winnable road game against a potentially elite team. Make no mistake, this was a winnable game, and for three quarters, the Eagles were arguably the better team before it all unraveled in the fourth, when they flushed it down the drain.

To the Droppings!

Defense

First, the good thing. The defense was absolutely outstanding. The line is top 5 in football. They get constant pressure and keep the quarterback uncomfortable in the pocket. Credit both Kirk Cousins and Alex Smith in consecutive weeks for weathering the storm and using their legs to keep their teams in it (or win it) late. The Eagles for the most part kept the Chiefs run game and Kareem Hunt in check with swarming coverage at the line and in the immediate area behind it. Jordan Hicks and Timmy Jernigan tossing Chiefs around was just the icing on top of a mostly dominant performance:

This is pretty non-descript but I like this tackle by Jordan Hicks. Had a little violence to it. http://pic.twitter.com/O9obVXmzrQ

— Kyle (@IgglesNest) September 18, 2017

http://pic.twitter.com/szDH23wB0m

— Couch Correspondent (@notkerouac) September 17, 2017

When the Eagles decide to blitz, they’re borderline unstoppable. Sean Cottrell touched on it in his “Three and Out” last week and the point still stands – Jim Schwartz times his blitzes impeccably and they almost always pay off. And somehow a secondary without Ronald Darby prevented Tyreek Hill from torching them over-the-top at all (save for one play where Alex Smith overthrew him in the end zone). It’s unfortunate that the late Hunt touchdown, on which the Eagles over-pursued….

… might be what we remember from this game. The Eagles could make the playoffs on the strength of their defense alone.

  Doug Pederson

The 46-17 pass-run breakdown is ludicrous, partly because the Eagles were running the ball effectively early.

Excuse me? No, Kyle, you’re a fucking idiot and don’t know football.

That’s what Twitter says.

Here are the Eagles’ run plays:

Sproles: 12 yards

Sproles: 6 yards

Sproles: 3 yards

Smallwood: -2 yards

Sproles: 2 yards

Sproles: -3 yards

Sproles: 6 yards

Sproles: 11 yards

Sproles: 3 yards

Smallwood: 8 yards

Sproles: 3 yards

Sproles: 5 yards

Smallwood: -2 yards

A few stuffs at the line, particularly on the Eagles’ second drive, led to them abandoning the run almost completely. Surely, feeding the ball to Darren Sproles all game is unsustainable, but there’s no reason Smallwood couldn’t have been the beneficiary of the push the Eagles got on the outside on these two plays:

The Chiefs’ defensive line is quite good, and we should credit them for the Eagles’ offensive line struggles and lack of a running game. But even going back to the well for a middling two-yard gain is worth it to keep them honest. It’s easy to make the Madden joke about Doug Pederson, but this is exactly how I play Madden— I’ll try a few runs and if it doesn’t work I’ll just start slinging the ball. That was the worst of early era Andy Reid, but he has matured to the point that he kept going back to the well yesterday until it paid off with a 50-yard touchdown run.

This was a close game. There was no reason, until maybe their last two drives, the Eagles had to pass on nearly every play. They were arguably in control of most of the game. I don’t like LeGarrette Blount very much (more on that in a second), but it’s laughable that he didn’t get one official carry. He should’ve gotten at least enough to make him an effective play-action decoy so Carson Wentz could underthrow a deep ball to Torrey Smith.

  LeGarrette Blount

It’s Week 2 and Blount got one touch in a game and was then accosted by the media at his locker afterwards because a vast majority of people now think he’s an incompetent running back (not the least of which might be his coach) on the verge of a full-on freakout. That’s where we’re at. But, I said I wouldn’t break out the I told you sos on Blount until mid-October (or when Blount gets cut), so I won’t. I’m a man of my word.

Couldn’t agree more with @SheilKapadia: https://t.co/s33DciAkk7 http://pic.twitter.com/sKjC6fBQqS

— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) September 18, 2017

It’s funny how when Saint Sheil says it, it’s gospel. Here’s what I wrote immediately following the Blount signing:

Noooooooooooo I hate this. God this is such a cuck signing. Blount was the beneficiary of a Pats offense that could make a trash can look like a formidable running threat. He’s 30, curiously was a free agent until today, and saw his average yards per carry hit a five-year low last year despite scoring 18 touchdowns because HE PLAYED FOR THE FUCKING PATRIOTS.

I hate the notion of signing guys Bill Belichick is done with. I’m telling you, no, he’s not that good. The deal is reported to be one year, $2.8 million, and Blount will put some much needed size in the Eagles’ backfield, so it makes some sense and is hard to get truly outraged about, but the signing strips away almost all the positive feelings I had about Howie Roseman this offseason. Signing a guy like Blount is exactly the sort of thing Dream Team Howie would do, and I thought that guy was dead or at least locked in an airplane bathroom somewhere.

It’s telling that Howie Roseman thought signing a system running back to complement a super old third-down back and a harem of underachieving young players was the solution to a problem that typically can be solved by sound drafting – HELLLLLLLLO THE CHIEFS – and strategic waiver wire pickups. Never mind the fact that Roseman siphoned away offensive line depth in the process to open up roster spots for the collection of misfit toys that currently make up the Eagles’ running-by-committee attack, which is spearheaded by their fucking franchise quarterback who is GOING TO GET HURT. I was flat-out assaulted by Eagles Twitter for my initial Blount take, and yet…here we are.

I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU’D READ ANY OTHER SITE.

  Carson Wentz

He is a phenomenal talent who has a physical skill set that could eventually turn him into one of the great ones. His effort yesterday, behind a porous line and with a tower of sculpted clay calling his plays, is to be commended. He hung tough in the face of pressure, never went full Bradford with his at times frantic pocket demeanor, and racked up impressive passing totals while also leading the team in rushing. He is at his best when he is out of the pocket and forced to make plays on his own. Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson are much the same way, and that’s good company to be in.

HOWEVER.

Wentz is far from perfect and he is still incredibly raw. Lost in his effort yesterday is the fact that he still makes a considerable amount of mistakes, forces balls where they don’t need to go, and is, generally speaking, an inaccurate passer.

As noted last week, he struggles with the short touch passes. As evidence, here’s the NextGen pass chart showing Wentz as 12-of-21 on passes under 10 yards:

That includes three balls that were thrown into the line (one of which led to the Chiefs’ go-ahead touchdown), two fumbles behind the line (one of which resulted in a turnover), and two incomplete inept screen passes to Sproles.

Surely the offensive line contributed to these errors, but that doesn’t necessarily excuse them. Carson Wentz is 6’5, and though there generally isn’t much correlation with size and pass deflections, his three batted passes yesterday – 6% of his 46 passes – were above the league-average rate. There’s not a ton of data available in this regard, but in a 2015 article in which Football Outsiders listed the batted passes from the 2014 season, not one quarterback had a rate higher than 3.8% (Blake Bortles). Interestingly, Nick Foles had 0 passes batted on 310 attempts, leading you to believe that there was something to Chip Kelly practicing with fly swatters.

That’s the short game.

The long game isn’t much better.

We all can see that Wentz has a BIG ARM, but he simply does not throw a good deep ball. Perhaps all of our views are colored by a few beautiful passes at the start of last season. But often times he underthrows or overthrows receivers, or is just generally inaccurate, on passes over 20 yards. And he of course routinely throws high, including on this (catchable) pass to Torrey Smith that should have been a touchdown:

Yes, Smith should’ve caught it. But the throw was high. Good quarterbacks – not great ones – like Kirk Cousins, Philip Rivers and Matthew Stafford – routinely make this throw more accurately. It would be great to have an Eagles receiver, just once, step up and make the play, but that does not excuse the throw entirely.

It’s also worth noting that, for whatever reason…, these are the same sort of small mistakes that Donovan McNabb would get lambasted for, or that we laughed at Sam Bradford over. Michael Vick was cast aside as an untenable quarterback because of stuff like that. Wentz is lauded for being a gamer.

I got abused on Twitter last night for tweeting these observations, I’m guessing by many of the same chucklefucks who jumped all over me for my Blount take early in the offseason. Some accused me of clickbait – interestingly on Tweets that didn’t contain a link to the site – and trying to make money of hot takes. In fact it’s the opposite. Takes like this lose audience – I lost at least 40 Twitter followers – and hardly compel you, the reader, to pony up for our Carson City t-shirt. But I don’t think Wentz is beyond critiquing. He is still very raw, and fixing a few of these issues would turn his upside from a good quarterback (Philip Rivers) into a great one (Brett Favre).

More worrisome is that the first three years of Wentz’s career and growth could be stunted by Doug Pederson calling his plays.

  Doug Pederson

There is absolutely no flow. By the second half it became clear that Pederson would abandon the run game entirely, and that left receivers covered and Wentz frantic in a collapsing pocket. That’s not the way to nurture a young quarterback. Pederson rarely allows Wentz to get into a rhythm. When he does, the offense is almost breathtaking. The Eagles’ third quarter touchdown drive – which included two runs and a toss that was essentially a run – is a good example of this:

They moved the ball on the ground and freed up some air space, through which Wentz threw a touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery. The Eagles then ran four straight pass plays to start the next drive, which was salvaged by Wentz running on third down. Brutal.

Another thing: Credit to Pederson for running a good number of 10- to 20-yard pass plays– something we called for last week. This is where Wentz excels as a passer, and indeed he had a big day on those curl and out routes to Jeffery. Here’s his route tree:

But the Eagles seem to lack on slant and timing plays. It feels that so many of their passes take so long to develop. Wentz lacks rhythm. This is my bad memory of the worst of Andy Reid’s offenses. And to that point, it seems damn near criminal that Eagles didn’t attempt one pass in the underneath area of their best receiver’s side of the field. Look:

How does Sproles not get a dumpoff in that area?

Speaking of, here’s visual evidence that the outside run, with Sproles, was effective when used:

  Little Birdie

The same person who allowed me to break essentially every major piece of Eagles offseason news weighed in both last week and yesterday on the Lurie-Roseman dynamic and the existence of Doug Pederson as the Eagles’ head coach. These are his words:

Following the Reid/Banner era of the Eagles Lurie no longer had “any boots on the ground” with the exception of Howie Roseman.  What I mean by this is that many of the day-to-day operations from a football operations standpoint were unknown.  Not because they were purposely being hidden from Lurie, but because he believed that the operation was running well.  We all know how this backfired during Chip’s tenure.

This was the reason Lurie opened his checkbook up to Howie when Chip took more control in year two.  Lurie needed Howie to stay to make sure Chip didn’t sink the ship.  This move by Lurie in year two of Chip’s tenure has also created a rather interesting dynamic still present in the team today.

Howie Rosmean has remained the sole voice and ears of the team to Lurie following Chip’s tenure.  Yes, Doug participates in a these meetings on occasion now but he is in essence a puppet of Howie’s.  This has essentially created a filter where Howie has the ability to spin things to put himself in a better light to Lurie if and when issues arise.

Let me make one thing clear, I don’t know how long Howie will be our GM for but Lurie has made it abundantly clear he wants and needs to know more from a team operations standpoint, and Howie is the only guy doing that at the moment.  It sounds like barring any kind of colossal fuck up Roseman will be the GM for the foreseeable future.

And another:

Make no mistake about it – Doug was not hired as the long term answer.  This was known the day he walked in the building and anyone in Football Ops who says otherwise is a liar.  If Doug somehow managed to be lightning in a bottle (Early Andy Reid Era) then it would have been a win/win for us but this was never expected and clearly isn’t the case.  Doug was and is continuing to prove that he’s simply our stopgap at the coaching spot.

Here are some of the internal frustrations – Doug isn’t hard on the guys, he tries to be everyone’s buddy and it’s an issue.  Simply put, he doesn’t drop the hammer in the lockerroom.  He’s so focused on being a “player friendly coach” that he’s actually hurting this team and stunting development.

This is in essence a direct result of Chip Kelly’s transgressions as Chip divided not only the locker room but the entire facet of football operations.  Lurie and Howie needed to fix the mess, so we hired a puppet in Doug that would help heal the wounds from Chip.

Doug is a good man, but he’s not worthy of being an NFL head coach at this point in his career – if ever.

Do with that what you will.

  The media

I am no LeGarrette Blount fan. Of this you may be aware. But what the Eagles media did to him yesterday was shameful. Regardless of whether or not he proves to be a bust, Blount was criminally underused yesterday. Getting one touch in a close near-defensive slugfest is simply inexcusable. He had every right to be upset, but I thought he handled himself quite well after the game:

LeGarrette Blount says he cant remember last time he didnt get any carries

"Thats how the game went"#Eagles🦅 http://pic.twitter.com/oV8P8qIpoe

— John Clark CSN/NBC (@JClarkCSN) September 17, 2017

This is why players hate the media. The assembled beat reporters were trying to extract something that wasn’t there, and extract a pull-out quote they did indeed:

LeGarrette Blount on his role in the #Eagles offense after 1 touch: 'Ask Doug Pederson, I can't predict the future': https://t.co/MdeHM29YvO

— Matt Lombardo (@MattLombardoPHL) September 17, 2017

The media is desirous to turn Blount into a malcontent. Perhaps he’ll become one. But that’s not what he was yesterday (at least publicly), and it’s not what he was with the Patriots, as evidenced by this interaction with Robert Kraft in Katie Nolan’s excellent ring ceremony video:

The media reached yesterday.

  No handshake

Two brutal gaffs by FOX yesterday:

Not showing Travis Kelce’s unsportsmanlike conduct that led to a certified lashing from the Fat Man.

Not showing the post-game handshake between Andy Reid and Doug Pederson. How does that happen? It was like the biggest layup in the history of TV production since using the wide shot on FOX News anchors.

At least CSN got Brotherly Love:

❤️video of @JasonKelce @tkelce jersey exhange from @TheRealHinser

"Now Im going to be upset the rest of my life"http://pic.twitter.com/KMWRdG5W0e

— John Clark CSN/NBC (@JClarkCSN) September 17, 2017

Giants next week. Thumbtack.

  Bird Droppings: Can’t Hold It published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv