Chapter Text
Doyoung had always considered himself a simple guy. An open book for everyone to read. He was still wondering, even now, while located on the 20th floor of Lee International, why they had selected him to be the personal assistant of a fashion mogul like Lee Taeyong. Sure, he had a definitely unhealthy obsession with everything fashion-related, but that didn’t mean he was more qualified for the position than others.
When his best friend and partner in crime, Johhny, had called him one day to tell him that the Lee International was looking to hire a new personal assistant for the CEO, he couldn’t believe his ears. It had always been his dream to work for a large fashion company but he couldn’t believe that an opportunity had arisen so soon.
Still, he was not going to let this slip through his hands so what he did was tell Johhny who worked for the HR office inside the company, to make sure his name would end up on the list of potential candidates. He knew what he was asking his best friend to do was not entirely legal or moral but he couldn’t care less. This was his chance of getting his dream job and he was not going to let it go to waste.
Surprisingly for him and also for Johnny, he had passed the initial round of selection and was waiting to be informed when to attend the potential hiring interview. It was well-known inside the company that Lee Taeyong ran this interviews himself because he was a complete perfectionist and the idea of hiring somebody even remotely below his expectations was out of the question.
Doyoung was a bit worried about this, not that’s actually a lie, he was worried as hell because, unlike perfect Lee Taeyong, he was a complete mess, both in his professional and private life. He had been dumped numerous times because he got distracted easily and ended up neglecting his partner without wanting too. Doyoung was aware that his chances of getting the assistant position were pretty low but he needed to try.
When they called him for the interview, he was really nervous. He met with his bestie before in the hopes that he would manage to calm a little bit and gain more confidence. His friend was not really helpful at all, however.
“I don’t know how to say this Doie but do you remember the movie 'The devil wears Prada'?”
“Yes, of course Johnny. That’s probably one of my favorite movies. The clothes in it were just fabulous.”
“That’s not what I meant Doie. What you need to know and may potentially save your life when you meet the one and only Lee Taeyong, is that he is practically the male version of Miranda Pristley. He is not only fierce but also ruthless. If he senses even a little bit of weakness in you, he will refuse you on the spot. All the employees fear him. Even the managers of the company walk on their tiptoes around him because he basically fires people everyday. A small mistake is enough for him to get rid of you with no remorse. I am not sure I want this for you because, although you have your mind in the clouds 99% of the time, you are a good guy and a caring person. He usually surrounds himself with persons like him and I am afraid he might hurt you.”
“Listen to me Johnny. This is the opportunity I have waited all my life. Why do you think I went to all those preparatory courses and got so many part-time jobs. I will be damned if I let fear ruin this for me. Lee Taeyong will just have to bear with me cause I am not going anywhere.”
Having already made up his mind, Doyoung walked together with Johnny to the company and waited for his turn to be called. Once he got into Taeyong’s office, he started trembling a bit because of the emotions coursing through his body.
Two things happened to Doyoung on that fateful day. The first one, he got his dream job and the second, he fell hopelessly in love with his future boss. The interview had run smoother than he had expected because Lee Taeyong had asked him only one question.
“Are you willing to work 24/7 for me? What I really want to know if would you give up on your private life for this company? I travel a lot so I would be needing you with me all the time.”
“I c-can do that sir. I have always wanted to work for a company such as Lee International and if I have to sacrife my personal life for it, this is a small price to pay in comparison to all the benefits I will get out of this job.”
“First of all, call me Taeyong. I don’t like it when people call me sir. It makes me feel very old. I am only 28 so there’s no need to be so formal yet. Second of all, I liked your answer. Consider yourself hired.”
Doyoung couldn’t believe what Lee Taeyong had just told him. He was hired?!? This was probably the best day of his life. He had just landed the position he had always wanted and not only that he would spend a lot of time with his gorgeous boss.
Clearly the pictures didn’t do him justice, because, when Doyoung had first entered the older’s office and got a good look at him, he was rendered speechless. Looking that good should be forbidden. He hoped he wouldn’t embarrass himself too much in front of his new boss. Handsome guys generally got him tongue-tied.
That’s how Doyoung’s adventurous life at Lee International started. And boy, it was adventurous. He found himself traveling from one country to another in less than 24 hours, Not only that, it seemed that Taeyong slept really little. He was pretty much like a puppy on crack and Doyoung was starting to dread his almost never ending energy.
He had a habit of dragging Doyoung at ungodly hours to who knows where just so that he could modify a piece of clothing that didn’t really need any modifications or to argue with a stylist for not doing his job properly when poor stylist had already been scolded like a millions times before.
While his boss looked more revived by the day, Doyoung started resembling more and more a very tired bunny. His dark circles were really visible and he usually slept about 5 hours per night. Sure the pay was something out of this world but the fact that he basically had no life whatsoever started weighing Doyoung down. He hadn’t seen his friend in months and that was scary.
He supposed the only thing that made him stay was the fact that he was so much in love with his boss. He didn’t even know if his boss was gay or something because he had rarely seen him going out with anybody, no matter the gender. It seemed that his employer’s love life was a complete mystery and it drove Doyoung crazy. He couldn’t even fantasize properly about Taeyong because he was afraid he might hypothetically hurt the person the older was maybe going out with’s feelings.
In fact, now that Doyoung was really thinking about this, he had no clue about his superior’s life at all. He had no idea if his parents were still alive, if he had any brothers or sisters, nothing. His family was probably Taeyong’s best kept secret. Doyoung had done his best to make the older man trust him and confide in him but it looked as if all his efforts were fruitless.
He wasn’t sure if Taeyong even liked him, at least a bit. The CEO had kept their relationship strictly professional in the six months Doyoung had been working for him and it somehow made him sad. He realized his crush was one-sided and would remain like that, but still he couldn’t help but hope that maybe one day Taeyong would notice him.
One day he got to find out a bit more about his boss because he was visited by his older brother, who Doyoung didn’t even know existed. The personal assistant found out his name was Taeil and that he was actually Taeyong’s step brother. They seemed to have a close relationship and it made Doyoung happy to see that Taeyong was not a complete loner. He needed more people to care for him and take care of him, Doyoung thought. He was surprised to get called in the older’s office, about an hour after Taeil arrived.
“You called for me, Taeyong?”
“Yes. The company is throwing a party for the employers in two weeks’ time and I want you to help with the preparations in my name. You have proved yourself a lot of times until now so I believe you are capable of managing the assignment I am entrusting you with. Don’t disappoint me.”
“I won’t. I will do my best so that the party turns out to be a success.”
“You didn’t tell me you had such a cute personal assistant. What is your name, pretty boy?”
“My name is Doyoung, sir.”
“Oh, you are so adorable. Please don’t call me sir! I am only 30. Just call me Taeil, okay?” Taeil winked at him and Doyoung found himself blushing though God only knows why. He couldn’t deny the older was also very good-looking. Too bad he only had eyes for Taeyong.
“Hyung stop bothering my assistant! You may leave now Doyoung. Start the preparations as soon as possible.”
Taking that as a cue to leave, Doyoung exited Taeyong’s office and went straight to his desk. He had a party to organize and he was going to do a great job in the hopes that maybe his boss would finally notice him and give him the attention he was craving.