His sweet boss

Eunsu was busy. Terribly so. He couldn't even take a break. The workload was crazy but what irritated him the most was the amount of errors the files had.

Erroneous data, typographical errors, and even wrong formatting! Wasn't this company supposed to be the center of excellence? Were all those glowing reviews just full of horsesh*t?!

Overtime after overtime.

The nights blended in with the days.

The company had shower rooms and sleeping pods so he took his baths in the company and when his eyes could no longer comprehend the data on the screen, that was only the time he would go to the sleeping pod to go and sleep.

He didn't notice that three months had already passed by. It was all a blur. His colleagues were happy-go-lucky and didn't do much overtime but it irked him to see imperfect work so he would go the extra mile to correct even the work of his colleagues.

"We have a CEO town hall meeting to get to, Min Eunsu. Stop working for now," his boss said.

"But I can just stay here so I can finish the pro-" Eunsu said.

"No can do. The CEO wants to see all of us. I'll be reprimanded if she finds out that I let you stay behind. Come on now," his boss said.

Eunsu groaned.

He hated meetings. He found them mostly useless. He didn't have any interest on what the CEO was going to say. Heck, he didn't even know who the CEO was! He was too busy to care for that kind of stuff.

Eunsu followed his boss and his other colleagues to the auditorium. He took his seat.

"They say she's a real beauty."

"It's true. I saw her once and damn! I thought my heart was going to stop! She looks like an actress!"

"Aren't we lucky to get such a young and pretty CEO?"

"I heard that she still doesn't have a personal secretary. When they announce the vacancy, I'm going to apply instantly!"

Huh.

The CEO had a reputation for being really beautiful but what of her work ethics? Was she a good worker?

"And now let's welcome our CEO, Miss Song Ae Rin," the speaker behind the podium said and stepped down from the stage.

Song Ae Rin?

Why did that name sound familiar?

A round of applause filled the room and from the side of the stage, a beautiful young woman emerged.

Eunsu's eyes widened.

She walked towards the podium with grace and when she got there, she smiled pleasantly.

It's her!

The beautiful girl who fainted in the lobby!

"Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining this town hall. I'm glad that all of you are here," she said.

He still couldn't believe it. She was the CEO?! He carried the CEO in his arms?!

"I won't make this long. I just have a short announcement to make. I will now be appointing my personal secretary," Ae Rin said.

There were whispers among the crowd.

"I'm sure that all of you must be confused because there was no internal vacancy announced. Well, I first met this person coincidentally. He helped me, actually," Ae Rin continued.

"I was suffering from . . . a physical ailment and no one else tried to help me but him. Of course, you can't just appoint someone a position for that reason. For three months, I observed his workstyle, output, and behavior without him knowing," Ae Rin said then gave off a shy smile. "I hope that didn't sound creepy."

The crowd laughed.

"I wasn't disappointed. He was the most hardworking person I've ever seen in my life. He was even sleeping here in the company just so he could maximize his time to work!" Ae Rin said.

Wait . . . Why did he have a bad feeling about this?

"I won't drag this out anymore. Let's give a round of applause to my savior and to the most hardworking employee of this company . . . Min Eunsu!"

There were gasps in the crowd but everyone clapped around him.

Around him?

Him?!

"Min Eunsu, could you please join me here on this stage?" Ae Rin asked.

"Hurry up!" His boss urged him.

Eunsu reluctantly went up the stage. He still couldn't wrap his head on what was happening.

She gave him a smile like she had been waiting for him all this time.

"If it's not too much trouble for you, would you be my personal secretary?" Ae Rin asked.

The crowd cheered around him.

What else was he to say?

"Yes," Eunsu said.

Ae Rin clapped her hands in delight.

"I'm so excited to be working with you," Ae Rin said.

*

*

*

"This is my office. Your office is in the room next to mine but there's an extra desk here so you can just sit here with me so I can have someone to talk to," Ae Rin said.

"Are you sure?" Eunsu asked.

"Of course. I'd rather have you working beside me than be alone," Ae Rin said.

"No, I mean are you sure you want me to be your secretary?" Eunsu asked.

"Why? Do you not like it?" Ae Rin asked.

"No, of course I'm honored to be your secretary. It's just that I'm really new here. I've been working here for only three months," Eunsu said.

"Me too. We started on the same day," Ae Rin said.

"I'm sure there are more qualified people here than I am who would be more suited for this job," Eunsu said.

"Perhaps but I don't want them. I want you, Min Eunsu," Ae Rin said grinning at him.

"Why?" Eunsu asked.

"You're the one who carried me to the clinic. Not them. Also, I've seen you work. I've been observing you for those three months and I've never seen such dedication. Heck, you even work on weekends!" Ae Rin said.

"Thank you for this opportunity but I'm asking you again, are you sure?" Eunsu asked.

"I am. Now sit down beside me so you can taste the cupcakes I've brought," Ae Rin said.

Eunsu sat down beside her and picked up a red cupcake with white frosting.

"Is this a new product to be launched?" Eunsu asked.

Ae Rin laughed out loud.

"No, I baked them. Taste them please or do you hate eating sweets?" Ae Rin said.

"I don't hate eating sweets. I just don't usually buy sweet food," Eunsu said and he bit on the cupcake.

His eyes widened.

"Mmm.. Mmm!!!"

"How is it?" Ae Rin asked.

"This is so good! What's this? Did you make this?" Eunsu asked in amazement.

Ae Rin nodded.

"Yup. How is it? It's red velvet cupcake" Ae Rin asked.

"That's the most delicious cupcake I've ever had!" Eunsu said.

"I'm so glad you liked it," Ae Rin said.

"This is amazing! You're an excellent baker," Eunsu said.

Ae Rin looked really happy with his praises.

"Thank you. Actually, it's always been my dream to be have a pastry shop, bake pastries, and see people eat what I've baked," Ae Rin said.

"Why don't you open a pastry shop?" Eunsu asked.

Ae Rin gave him a sad smile.

"Because I'm the CEO here," Ae Rin said.

*

*

*

Ae Rin taught him what his job was going to be. It was a lot but it felt easier because Ae Rin was very organized and didn't commit time-wasting errors. Eunsu could see that she was also very hard-working like him. He didn't feel that he was still alone. She was also doing her best at her job and he liked assisting her.

A year passed by and they became more comfortable with each other. Eunsu felt like he had a work partner. It felt great. He didn't feel as exhausted like before.

"Eunsuuu . . ." Ae Rin said in an exhausted tone.

It was almost ten in the evening already. It was around this time when Ae Rin would be extremely tired and she would . . .

Ae Rin wrapped her arms around him from behind.

Eunsu's heart beated fast.

Yes, she would do this.

She would hug him from behind.

He put down the papers he was holding on his desk. The first time she did this, he accidentally let go of the mug he was holding and it broke into pieces on the floor.

"Eunsu, I'm tired," Ae Rin said.

"Y-yes, I can see that. Shall I call for your driver so he can drive you home?" Eunsu asked.

"No, I don't want that," Ae Rin said.

"Then, what do you want?" Eunsu asked.

"You. I want you, Min Eunsu," Ae Rin said hugging him even more.