Chapter Text
“Congratulations, Monkey D. Luffy. You’ve been selected as Mr. Donquixote's personal secretary intern. To Our Chief Executive Officer.”
The silence inside Luffy’s apartment lasted for exactly three seconds.
- C… E… O… The CEO?!
“Wha… What time? NO, what? Wait… O MY GOSH!? I’ve seriously been accepted…?” a quick rush of a hush tone, or more of a whisper yell in the welcoming of the darkness outside his window.
Sitting in his bed, in his lovely soft bed, utterly bewildered by the email he had received. Thinking carefully, but the mind is filled with drowsiness. As Luffy snapped out of his daze, there was another pop-up in his primary email: a certain greeting and certain information regarding his soon-to-be starting job.
It remained there so.
Clear.
Unread.
Official.
From the company itself.
Outside his window, the distant noise of East Side Sunset continued normally—cars passing, neighbors laughing and snoring, someone arguing over the parking lots—but inside his own unit, Luffy looked like his soul had momentarily left his body.
- … I got accepted?
Not only accepted.
Even more, not just any regular internship, now even the intern word is merely an excuse or made up in between the title.
Not some hidden assistant role buried in a random department, where nobody would, might notice him.
No.
A Personal Secretary intern.
To the CEO himself…
Luffy slowly lowered the phone, then immediately raised it again. Double-checking, then he closed his eyes for several long moments.
“I’m thankful for getting the job, but… what does a secretary even do? What more, a personal…”
The phone had been set aside, both hands unknowingly tapping on both knees anxiously. Then softly ran both hands through his messy hair, along with the drowsiness out of his body system.
“I applied because the pay looked good… I could finally help my big brothers.”
And because the company had prestige.
And because it's the only one he has applied to so far.
And because fourth-year students were practically being hunted down by reality before graduation, and the reality of what’s even a stable job is.
And because Ace and Sabo are so stupidly responsible for everything and anything for his needs and wants.
And because Ace is currently in the hospital for recuperation as a result of the accident that happened years ago, and pretending he wasn’t but was indeed struggling.
And because Sabo had started working extra hours once again recently, and doing some sideline jobs for the bills.
Luffy always noticed things.
Even when people thought he didn’t.
His brothers are annoyingly never, never directly told him to help.
But he wanted to. Always.
That was enough.
Still—
“Personal secretary to a CEO sounds hunting…”
Luffy flopped face-first back onto his bed dramatically, as the mattress squeaked in protest.
His mind immediately drifted back toward that elevator.
That chilling, deep voice, tattooed in the back of his mind.
Those ridiculous, cute pink feather-shaped glasses.
And that stare, he knew, the stare is there.
Luffy buried half his face into his pillow.
“...Weird. Hella weird.”
For some reason, he can’t explain, remembering it now made the back of his neck through the blades of his shoulder feel ticklish and warm.
He abruptly kicked his legs once against the mattress before sitting upright again.
“No! Focus! We have a reason and responsibility!”
His hand reached his phone beside him, and his eyes returned to the unread email.
Below the greetings message were further instructions regarding orientation schedules, building access permissions, required documents, required training period, and reporting time.
Then—
His eyes stopped at one specific line.
Reporting Office:
Executive Floor A20 — Donquixote Corporate Holdings.
Executive Floor.
Luffy’s soul almost ascended again. “...Executive floor sounds rich-rich.”
Another pause.
“...Wait.”
His expression slowly shifted.
“...Pink glasses.”
"You!! You crazy boy, what are you doing here? Do you know whom you're riding with--"
Before the guy finished his worldly speech, another guy cut his word and said, "It's fine, not like this boy occupied the whole remaining space it has." His voice was deep, naturally intimidating, yet calm in a way that made the entire elevator fall silent. Like a king in the middle of his territory, not a single person dared oppose him.
Silence.
Then realization hit him like a truck.
“Damn… NO WAY.”
Luffy shot upright so violently that he nearly tripped and slammed his face on the floor.
“That elevator wasn’t wrong?!”
His voice cracked.
“That… that was the executive elevator!?”
Everything suddenly kept on replying in horrifying detail.
The silence.
The people inside.
The furious employee.
The way everyone shut up when that man spoke.
The terrifying aura.
The confidence.
The stare…
Luffy grabbed his pillow and screamed directly into it.
“MMPHGHDHFGHHHH!!”
Breathing heavily, Luffy looked back at his phone with pure disbelief.
“...I? I accidentally entered the CEO elevator…”
And somehow survived.
Actually—
Not just survived.
He got hired.
But wait—
- wait, as far as I knew…that kind of elevator is also for the shareholders, very, very important people, and even for family.
“Yeah… lets not draw to conclusion… yeah…”
“ARGGG! Still, even if it is not the CEO, it could be like a very important part of the company. I’m still not might good for?!”
Luffy narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and his shoulder sagged.
“... Did I? Did I accidentally do something impressive?”
Honestly.
That sounded possible and hopefully plausible.
Because nothing about his life ever made sense so normally, as told by everyone to him.
His phone vibrated again.
This time from the group chat, and from his big brother Sabo.
Straw Hat Shenanigans: Dreamy Corrupt🍊; Btw, @FOOD!enthusiasm did the company finally email you?
↡ …
Big Brother Sabo!; How’s your application run been doing? If you need to find some places, let me know, okay? Ace and I will always be there to help you! ^^
Luffy stared at Sabo’s message longer than he meant to.
His brothers always sounded so confident when reassuring him.
As if they weren’t carrying half the world already.
- Oh dear, spare me…
The city lights of Marbella glittered like fallen stars beneath the velvet darkness of midnight.
Beyond the towering windows of the Grand Celestia Hotel, the entire coastline shimmered with luxury—massive yachts sleeping against the harbor, expensive sports cars crawling through glowing streets, and endless flashes of cameras waiting outside the venue below.
Tonight’s event was not merely a gathering.
It was a battlefield.
Only, instead of weapons, the attendees carried influence.
A world built on power.
A world built on money.
A world where every word spoken carried hidden intentions underneath.
The annual international business summit hosted by the Valencia Consortium was infamous among elite circles. Invitations were limited to those powerful enough to move economies with a single decision or dangerous enough to ruin them overnight.
And among all those names—
One stood above the rest.
Donquixote Doflamingo.
Chief Executive Officer of Donquixote Holdings.
A man praised publicly as a visionary entrepreneur while whispered about privately like some untouchable urban legend.
The ballroom itself glowed gold beneath enormous crystal chandeliers while soft classical music drifted elegantly through the air. Investors from Europe, East Asia, and America mingled beneath practiced smiles and hidden agendas.
Yet despite the beauty of the event—
Tension lingered everywhere.
Because he was present.
Near the highest section of the private lounge overlooking the ballroom below, Doflamingo sat comfortably with one leg crossed over the other as though the entire event belonged to him already.
Which, in many ways—
It practically did.
Those ridiculous pink feather-shaped glasses reflected the golden lights beautifully, concealing his eyes entirely. A half-finished glass of expensive wine rested loosely between his fingers while several executives across from him visibly struggled not to sweat through their formal attire.
The atmosphere around him felt different.
Heavy.
Like standing too close to a predator pretending not to be hungry.
“Mr. Donquixote,” a foreign investor finally spoke carefully after nearly thirty seconds of silence, “regarding the proposed partnership with our technology branch, we are prepared to increase our shares by twelve percent if Donquixote Holdings agrees to—”
“Boring.”
The investor froze.
The single word had not been loud.
Nor angry.
But somehow the entire table immediately fell silent anyway.
Doflamingo lazily swirled the wine in his glass.
“I traveled fourteen hours for this meeting,” he drawled smoothly. “And all I hear are numbers everyone already discussed through email.”
Nobody responded.
Nobody could.
Across the table, one assistant subtly lowered her gaze while another executive shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Trebol, standing quietly beside Doflamingo like a loyal shadow, grinned unpleasantly at the suffocating silence filling the lounge.
People feared Doflamingo for many reasons.
Not merely because he was wealthy.
Not merely because his company practically influenced every major industry imaginable.
But because nobody ever truly knew where his limits were.
Rumors followed him everywhere.
Political bribery.
Corporate sabotage.
Executives are disappearing from industries after crossing him.
Secret affairs with celebrities and socialites.
A married senator was ruined after being photographed leaving one of Doflamingo’s private properties at four in the morning.
Another CEO went bankrupt three months after rejecting a contract proposal from Donquixote Holdings, and suddenly, it became the newly established one from them.
Scandals surrounded him constantly.
Yet somehow—
Nothing ever stuck.
Every accusation vanished before becoming dangerous.
Every controversy is buried beneath money or fear.
And Doflamingo?
He laughed through all of it.
“Fufufufu…”
The low sound suddenly escaped him again.
Several executives visibly stiffened.
Because the laugh came unexpectedly.
One moment, he looked bored enough to leave.
The next—
Amused.
Trebol blinked.
“…Young Master?”
Doflamingo leaned back further into the luxurious velvet chair, resting his cheek against one hand.
Inside his mind, something entirely ridiculous replayed once more.
Messy black hair.
Bright eyes.
A boy shoving his hand recklessly between elevator doors without hesitation.
“Can I join in, please? I’m in quite the rush, hehehe.”
Another laugh escaped him.
Across the table, confusion spread rapidly.
One executive cautiously cleared his throat.
“…Did something happen, Mr. Donquixote?”
Doflamingo tilted his head slightly. “Have you ever encountered something so absurd,” he mused casually, “that it becomes impossible to ignore?”
Nobody answered immediately.
Because men like Doflamingo did not ask harmless questions.
Trebol scratched his chin thoughtfully.
“The intern?”
“Mhm.”
“The security team reported that he accidentally entered the executive elevator.”
“Accidentally?” Doflamingo echoed with amusement.
The memory replayed vividly.
That boy had entered the elevator carrying absolutely no fear.
No calculation.
No desperation to impress.
Nothing.
Just a boy in a rush for an interview.
He had looked at Doflamingo the same way one might look at an oddly dressed stranger at a convenience store.
That alone was abnormal.
Most people avoided eye contact with Doflamingo entirely.
Others tried too hard to gain his favor.
But that boy—
The realization made his smile widen faintly.
Interesting.
“So?” one foreign executive carefully attempted to ask, trying to follow the conversation. “Was he removed from the building afterward?”
Trebol nearly laughed.
But before he could answer—
“No.”
Doflamingo’s voice cut smoothly through the air.
“He got hired.”
The silence afterward became immediate.
A younger executive blinked repeatedly.
“H-Hired…?”
Doflamingo hummed lazily.
“As my personal secretary intern.”
Several people nearly choked.
One assistant outright dropped her pen.
Trebol snorted loudly at their reactions.
Honestly, even he had been surprised.
Not because the boy lacked qualifications.
The intern's documents showed decent enough credentials for a fourth-year student.
Average grades.
Good communication skills.
Strong adaptability assessments.
Lots of Certifications.
But nothing extraordinary.
Nothing that should have placed him near the executive floor.
Yet Doflamingo had personally chosen him.
And when Doflamingo personally chose something—
Nobody questioned it twice.
The foreign investor forced an awkward smile.
“You must see great potential in him.”
Doflamingo’s grin stretched wider.
Potential?
Maybe.
Or perhaps—
He simply wanted to see what kind of person could step into a lion’s den without realizing where he stood.
“Maybe I’m bored,” Doflamingo answered lightly.
Nobody laughed.
Because that answer somehow felt more dangerous.
One woman seated nearby cautiously spoke next.
“There are many rumors about your company lately, Mr. Donquixote. Allowing a student intern direct access to the executive floor during such timing seems…”
She hesitated.
“…Risky.”
The entire lounge fell quiet again.
Trebol immediately frowned.
But Doflamingo only smiled.
Rumors.
Ah yes.
Those.
His company had been dominating headlines recently.
A controversial acquisition in Singapore.
Illegal monopoly accusations in Japan.
Political ties questioned by several media outlets.
And, of course—
The latest scandal.
A famous actress photographed leaving Doflamingo’s private penthouse at nearly dawn three nights ago.
The media had gone insane over it.
Especially after discovering the actress had previously been engaged to another businessman tied to Donquixote Holdings.
Messy.
Entertaining.
Ultimately irrelevant.
Doflamingo tilted his wine glass slowly.
“What’s life without a little scandal?” he mused carelessly.
The woman immediately fell silent.
Nobody could ever tell whether he was joking.
That was the terrifying part.
One of the younger businessmen suddenly laughed nervously in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere.
“Well, at least your intern will certainly never forget his first day.”
The moment the sentence left his mouth—
Doflamingo smiled.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
“Neither will I.”
The businessman’s laughter died instantly.
Trebol almost pitied him.
Almost.
The classical music shifted softly in the ballroom below as more guests entered the event floor. Through the massive windows behind him, the city glittered endlessly beneath the dark sea horizon.
Doflamingo stood.
Immediately, everyone else rose with him instinctively.
Even the foreign dignitaries.
Even the investors are twice his age.
Because that was the effect Donquixote Doflamingo had on people.
Control without asking for it.
Fear without demanding it.
He adjusted the cuffs of his expensive suit casually before turning toward the windows overlooking Marbella’s sleeping skyline.
Far away from this world of polished lies and expensive masks—
A certain black-haired university student was probably panicking inside his tiny apartment over internship orientation documents.
The thought amused him strangely.
“Trebol.”
“Yes, Young Master?”
“Prepare the final authorization papers.”
“For the intern?”
“Mhm.”
Trebol grinned knowingly.
“I’ll arrange everything before we return to Japan.”
Doflamingo’s fingers lightly tapped against the glass in a slow rhythm.
Then—
Softly.
Amused.
Possessively.
“Make sure the boy's eye scar arrives personally on his first day.”
Trebol paused briefly.
Not because of the order.
But because of the nickname.
Interesting.
Very interesting.