3 A New President

An hour passed. After cleaning this spacious apartment, I took off my pajamas, then went into the bathroom and soaked in the bathtub.

Amid the silence, I remembered Donghwa from the past few years and made me smile. Our togetherness in those previous years was bitter and sweet, and we passed it with a smile.

But, when I thought about it, my head suddenly hurt so badly. I winced in pain with my hands gripping my hair tightly.

It was an intense pain that seemed to burst my head. But, fortunately, it didn't last long, I could have died as holding in this headache made me feel like I was out of breath.

I was stunned like an idiot in the bathtub with a bitter smile and this sickness.

After taking a bath, I got ready to head to work immediately and left without stalling any longer. I arrived at the company a few minutes later.

Today was an unlucky day for me. Mr. Hye, a manager in this company was furious when he knew of my lateness for almost an hour.

In the Design Department where I worked, everyone was too busy. There were many designs piled on the table. All of them were unfinished advertising projects for the new brand of this company, while the marketing schedule was like a shadow hanging beneath our feet, and like a ghost that was haunting.

"Ehm! Attention everyone!"

Mr. Hye walked in, and we stood up immediately. Behind him, there was a man without a smile with a cold face.

"He is the new president of this company. Starting today, he will replace Mr. Kim Myungdae."

Everyone bowed to pay their respect, including me as a formality.

The man then stepped forward until he was in front of the manager, then looked around coldly, yet with alluring eyes.

When I saw him, he was like Donghwa ...

I wanted to laugh at my thought just now, but since I still needed this job, it would be better if I didn't do it at all.

"I am Kim Daehyun." he paused his sentence, eyeing people in this room expressionlessly, then continued, "From now on and in the future this company will be fully held by me."

Hearing his name, I was shocked instantly. It was the same name as someone I knew, but it had been drowned in my mind since a long time ago.

'Is that Daehyun? Or do they just have the same name?'

"Hey, you!"

Seeing the new president set his sight on me, I pointed to myself to reassure, "M-Me?"

The new president was silent and looked at me with his sharp investigating eyes.

"Ah, Mr. Kim, he is Park Chunghee. He is one of the trusted staff in this department." Mr. Hye spoke proudly.

The president named Kim Daehyun raised his eyebrow after Mr. Hye introduced me, then his gaze became gentle immediately and quite familiar, but still in an arrogant tone while talking, "Oh, I see... Alright, starting today, you become my assistant. Come to my office 30 minutes later."

Hearing that, my eyes suddenly widened when I heard the sudden decision. "Huh?! B-but sir ... I—"

Without a response, he left this place indifferently, followed by Mr. Hye behind him. However, before the door closed, I could see a warm smile etched faintly on his face.

I sat back down limply. Being an assistant had never crossed my mind.

The people in this department congratulated me, but it didn't make me delighted. I just forced a smile to cover up my anxiety about this new position.

Lucky or unlucky?

It had been 30 minutes. I walked into the elevator to go to the president's office. There were several staff and employees in it, but all of them stopped at a lower floor than me.

Arriving at the floor that I was headed for, I stared at the new president's office for a moment before knocking on the door.

However, even though I knocked on it a few times, there was still no answer and it made me a little annoyed.

After a few minutes of waiting and there was only silence, I was about to return. However, when I turned around, I accidentally bumped into someone in front of me.

I lifted my head quickly.

At first, I was about to curse, but as I was surprised to see that this person was our new president in this company, my lips suddenly closed by themselves. I immediately bowed and apologized.

The president smiled. His cold and arrogant demeanor turned into friendliness which made him seemed like a different person.

"Chunghee, come on in ..." While saying, he walked in and I followed him behind.

I looked around. This room also looked different than before, and if I asked my opinion, I would choose the current room design for this new president. He had good taste, it suited his appearance.

"You're a meticulous person too ..." the president was still smiling, and somehow that smile always reminded me of Donghwa.

I looked at him in surprise but didn't give any response.

"Sit down." he sat on the desk and looked at me elegantly.

Sighing, I spoke, "May I ask you something, sir?"

His gaze turned serious. He folded his arms across his chest, then raised his left eyebrow. And without speaking, that expression already showed his words.

I sighed once again, "Are you serious about it, sir?"

"About what?" he asked indifferently as if he was asking as a formality.

"About... assistant ... I ... hmm ..." I didn't need to explain it anymore. By just saying the word 'assistant', his expression seemed understanding.

He exclaimed, "Oh, yes, I am!"

At first, I hesitated, but finally, I forced myself to say, "But, I'm sorry. I can't, sir ..."

I tried to say the refusal as politely as possible so as not to offend him.

I truly couldn't accept that decision, regarding the assistant. It didn't mean that I didn't like it, but I just didn't want to get busier than this presently. Apart from wanting to spend time with Donghwa, lately, works made me feel exhausted and dizzy.

I felt that I was unwell these days.

In this state, I was still thinking about our relationship. It was an unbearable sadness.

'If I can do it, why can't you, Donghwa?'

I kept repeating the same question every second, every minute, every night before I fell asleep with the hope that Donghwa could hear it and gave an answer for me immediately, but nothing.

"Do you have a cigarette?"

I nodded, then took the cigarette from my pocket and held it to him. He moved behind the desk, looking for something in the expensive-looking black desk drawer.

Knowing what he was looking for, I held out a lighter, and he grabbed it with the same smile.