No time to talk to the Devil

I have no idea why Park Daisuke took it upon himself to work on a project that should have been concluded and submitted. I don't understand the weird expressions he displayed, but I know I shouldn't have snooped, I should have gotten my sneakers and left.

Ah dammit! I would need to apologize again. And mean it this time. Maybe I could avoid him and let it all blow over.

I stared solemnly at my sore feet, knowing full-well that avoidance just couldn't work for this issue, because this time I had forgotten both of my only shoes in his room.

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There was one day left on the trip and Park Daisuke had blatantly ignored me ever since the room incident. And that coupled with the fact that I too had been too busy preparing every area of this team-building trip made it impossible for us to have a discussion about anything; much less the designs I found.

I stared at the meal in front of me and tossed my napkin into my tray. I wasn't hungry. As I shifted my chair out, a hand pushed me back into place.

"Leaving already?" The hand belonged to Gil Taeyang. He smiled at me and adjusted his glasses.

"Shades indoors?" I smirked at him, already knowing why.

"Let's say I got into a fight with a man twice my size." He lifted his glasses to reveal a terrible black eye.

"Gross." I winced. "Must have been some door." I gibed.

"Ah, you already heard about the door incident." He sliced into his chicken. "Just came out of nowhere." He laughed slowly. There had been an accident last night at the bar. The guys had gotten drunk, and a few of them had accidentally walked into a glass door that was sliding close. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?" He turned his fork at me.

"Nothing." I lifted my juice to my lips, but he kept asking and staring at me, so I gave in. "Fine. I just didn't expect you to do silly things like that."

"It's not like I wanted to do." He furrowed his brow as if hurt.

"You could have told them you didn't want to drink anymore." He stopped eating and dropped his fork. I wasn't trying to make him angry. I didn't even know why I was making a big deal out of this.

"Did you and The Manager fight again?" I stiffened my posture. "You probably did nothing wrong Mizuki, it's not your fault." He insisted, smiling up at me, I squeezed the glass cup in my hand moments away from crushing it in my fist. "Park Daisuke has a terrible attitude, he shouts at everyone, he is demanding, brash, so don't take it personally. It's best not to take it personally because there is no helping that terrible entitled attitude of his, he is our boss after all." He leaned over to eat with a smile across his face.

What was he even getting at? Why did the conversation shift to Park Daisuke? We were addressing his inability to say no to peer pressure, not my supposed fight with Park Daisuke. I pushed my seat out and rose quickly. My anger had gotten the better of me, and I automatically slammed my hand on the table, silencing the diners and the servers.

"Can you please shut up!" My voice echoed through the room, I could feel my breath hitch as my palms stung from slamming them. The stares of those around me became deafening, and I just stood frozen for seconds until the vibration of their whispers brought me back to my senses. The look of wonder spread out on Gil Taeyang's face was replaced with pity. "I'm sorry," I muttered while reaching to lift my tray up.

"It's understandable. You have a lot on your plate. It's not your fault Mizuki. You did nothing wrong." He continued, and once again, I felt my temper flare.

"Gil Taeya-" I felt my words get cut short by someone else's behind me.

"Gil Taeyang" I turned around to see Park Daisuke. "That's my seat." He dumped a bag on the table and tapped a finger on the table. Gil Taeyang sat frozen, and once the tapping got louder, he pushed his chair out and scurried away to drop his dishes. I fisted my napkin when I noticed the juice had poured on my hands. With my head still bent, I pushed my seat out and lifted my tray. Park Daisuke just sat there with his legs crossed devouring a…

"Is that a chocolate bar?" My hands hesitated. He looked up at me slowly, his soft features were calm, and without the deeply furrowed brows, he looked like an innocent little boy.

"What!" And just like that, the childlike innocence was gone, and there it was, the angry expression he seemed to be born with.

"You'll get ca-cavities." I stammered, still avoiding eye contact.

"I'm not two, I don't get cavities." He bit into the bar, leaving it half-eaten just to pick up a different one. What was I even witnessing? How had he even survived this long?

"Do you always eat candy for dinner?" I pulled the seat back and slumped into it, remembering the chocolate bars I saw in his trash.

"Do you always make a scene at dinner?" He gabbed back. The arrogant moron. I was trying to be nice, and here I was being treated like a fool for being considerate.

"Where did you even get candy from?" I swirled my cup. He turned to look at me.

"Why are you still here?" He pulled a book out of his bag and began to…

"Have you been on the same page since the plane ride?" I reached over the table to snatch the book.

"No." He pulled away. "I'm a slow reader." He wasn't a slow reader, he was still on the exact same page. "Don't you have somewhere else to be, and possibly causing a scene at?"

"If you eat too much candy, your dick will fall off." I folded my arms and watched him stare petrified. He shifted in his seat. "Oh, you don't believe me? Then I guess you will learn for yourself in just a few short years." I tapped the table with my cup.

"You can't expect me to believe that bullshit." He tossed the chocolate back into the bag and stared fixedly at his book. "What were you getting so riled up over anyways?" He finally flipped a page when he noticed I wasn't buying the pretend 'reading' act he was putting on.

"You." I stretched up my hands. And turned my attention towards Park Daisuke who was staring flushed at me. Did I say something weird?

"Me?" He shifted uncomfortably. My eyes widened in realization.

"I meant something completely different." I pushed out my seat and swiftly picked up my tray. I didn't want to continue this conversation. Because the truth was that I didn't know why I got angry. I just did.

"Ho Mizuki..." I paused and turned to look at him perched elegantly at the other end of the table. "I need your help with something." He stared fixedly at the pages while dictating at me. "So be downstairs tomorrow at 9:30 sharp." He took a sip of his water.

"Tomorrow is a free day." And I didn't want to waste my chance to explore the city by attending to some stupid, self-centred errand from Park Daisuke.

"And?" He closed the book and stared at me as if my asking for some personal time was a thing of mere fiction.

"Yes, sir." I mentally elbowed myself for being so stupid. I was going to use the opportunity to buy Eiichi something for his birthday, which was in two days.