Chapter Text
It was the first day of work at the office, and Yoo Sangah, an executive assistant, was helping a new office worker navigate through the building. This would not have been the case however, if that office worker weren’t Kim Dokja. Yoo Sangah’s friend and more recently, coworker.
“So basically, this area is where all the desks and cubicles are for the interns, and then this section over here is where you’ll be working. Understand?” She gestured to the room split in half, separated by a glass panel. One side of the room was visibly larger than the other.
“Yeah…” Kim Dokja faltered. He blankly looked at this size of the “room”, if it could even be called that. It was huge.
“It’s okay if you get lost, Dokja-ssi, the office is pretty big.”
“It’s enormous. How am I going to navigate through this labyrinth?” Dokja ran a hand through his hair and sighed while Yoo Sangah laughed.
“It’s not THAT big.”
“It is.”
“Well, in any case,” She smiled brightly, “I’m sure you will be able to find your way eventually. You can ask anybody in the office, really. They’re all incredibly kind.”
“Well, that does make me feel a bit better. Thank you, Sangah-ssi, I really appreciate it-”, Dokja was cut off with a yelp by someone suddenly falling onto him. He had stumbled into somebody while walking. “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! Here, let me help you up.” The stranger that he had bumped into had tried to pull his hand away, but Dokja’s grip was too strong and he ended up succumbing. One thing Dokja immediately noticed about the man when he got up was his height. He was tall, and bore a long black coat with a black turtleneck underneath as well. Actually, his whole outfit was black. He must really like the color.
“I’m so sorry about that, I should have watched where I was going!” Kim Dokja rushed a slew of apologies, not wanting to make a bad impression on his first day of work. His previous workplace had been much less prestigious than Minosoft, the company that he was going to work for. What if this man was the CEO of the company? He wouldn’t put it past him, his appearance was intimidating and loud.
“It’s fine.” The man grunted out. It didn’t sound like it was fine. He seemed to be examining Kim Dokja intently, not even making an attempt to hide his blatant staring, looking him up and down. Shameless. Of course, Dokja was also looking at him, so he had no right to call him out.
“My name is Kim Dokja.”
“Yoo Joonghyuk.”
“Pleasure to meet you.” He offered with a smile.
“...” He was met with silence. A few awkward moments went by and Dokja could sense the second hand embarrassment that Yoo Sangah was feeling right now, so he attempted to lighten the mood with a joke.
“What’s the matter, is there something on my face?” It was a weak attempt, for sure, but it was all he could manage to get out. If looks could kill, Yoo Joonghyuk would be a murderer.
“No.” The man briefly spoke before snatching his hand away from Dokja’s grip and walking away. Kim Dokja’s face expression briefly contorted in an unsure expression before he picked it back up in a grimace. Yoo Sangah looked at him with pity.
“Well, I’m sure he’s just not the easiest person to get along with. He’ll warm up eventually, right?”
Of course, Yoo Sangah knew this was just wishful thinking, yet a stubborn part of her wanted to believe that Yoo Joonghyuk would warm up to Kim Dokja, if not anyone else.
“Maybe.” Dokja said, not too optimistically.
“No.”
“Come on, you haven’t even given it a bit of thought! Please Yoo Joonghyuk, I need for you to do this!”
“Absolutely not.”
“Listen. You are one of the most handsome, if not the ONLY handsome man I know, and I need you on this show.”
“Pick some other man off the street, I’m sure he would be happy to entertain your idea.”
“It’s not an actual dating show! It’s just for entertainment! Like that one show in Australia!” Yoo Sangah pleaded. “My sister really wants to do this show and she can’t find any guys for it! There’s plenty of good looking girls that have already signed up. Don’t you need to get married soon anyway?” Yoo Joonghyuk sighed in exasperation.
“Listen, what you're trying to do for your sister is…admirable. But I do not see how my love life is of any concern to you. I’m just fine on my own.” While he respected Yoo Sangah as a coworker, he didn’t care too much for this show. The idea itself was cliche and the people there would most likely be insufferable if they were the type to willingly sign up for a reality TV show of this type. He did not want anything to do with it.
“Did you know you get paid to participate? And you get paid even more if the audience likes you. The payment isn’t cheap either.” Yoo Sangah had to fall back on her last resort. She could physically see Yoo Joonghyuk’s ears perk up at the mention of money, and he seemed more interested than before.
“We get paid, hm? How much?”
“10 million won.”
“10 million won? That’s quite a bit of money to be paying each participant. How do you have the funds for this?” Yoo Joonghyuk questioned. Sangah smiled in a sickeningly sweet way, a way that would seem completely genuine if you didn’t know her, but if you did, you would know that this was just a facade. She was a mischievous eel at heart, and a charmer. This was a bribery after all. Who's to say that she’ll pay anybody else if not necessary?
“My sister has connections, don’t worry. We’ll get you your money. And if you behave well and are good, we may bump you up to 12 million won. And that’s only the first season of the show. If it’s successful for the first two weeks and you continue through with a possible second season then you may get even MORE money.” Yoo Joonghyuk saw through her and gave her a smile of his own, picking up his coffee and taking a sip. The bitter taste coated his tongue smoothly.
“How about this? I’ll try out the first week of whatever this is. If I don’t like it, I’m leaving, but you still have to pay me the 10 million won. However if I STAY, then you pay me the 12 million won, plus whatever the audience votes get me. How does that sound?”
“Hm, the first part sounds good. How about if you stay, then you get paid 10 million, but also the audience votes? You’re a good looking man, you should get plenty of votes if you have chemistry with the other participants.” Yoo Joonghyuk knew this was the best he would get, so he took his chances.
“Alright, looks like we have a deal, Ms Yoo.” They both shook hands, getting up from the small cafe table and going off on their separate paths.
“Sure, why not?” Kim Dokja shrugged.
“I know it seems difficult but- Wait. Did you just say yes?” Yoo Sangah raised an eyebrow at her friend, cautiously watching him for any signs of sarcasm.
“I mean yeah, I’ve always wanted to see how those shows work anyway, might as well give it a shot, right?”
“If I had known you would be this complacent, I would have just asked you sooner.” She facepalmed. Dokja offered an apologetic shrug.
“Well now you don’t have to try to bribe me, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so. Finally realised that you’re not content with being single till you’re 40? ”
“I’m not that old!”
“You’re 28.”
“Well, I haven’t really thought about that type of thing if I’m being honest. I don’t think I’ll find anyone in this show of yours, but it should be a good break from work while still making money.”
“What makes you so sure that I’ll pay you?”
“It would be unfair to pay Yoo Joonghyuk and not me, Sangah-ssi.” Yoo Sangah suddenly sat up straight, narrowing her eyes.
“You overheard that?”
“You should’ve closed the door, I could hear you talking to him all the way from the faculty room. Don’t worry, everyone was too busy to notice.”
“Well in any case, you accept my offer, right?”
“I mean if it helps you out then sure. But you’re gonna owe me a favor after this.”
“I’m not buying you any more of the bakeries cakes, Dokja-ssi. You’re going to get sick, and you’re draining my wallet.” Dokja wanted to point out that she couldn’t really go broke anytime soon, after all, she was a trust-fund baby. But he held his mouth.
“Okay, okay. I guess if it’s to help your...sister? I didn’t know you had a sister Sangah-ssi.” Yoo Sangah couldn’t help but give a laugh at his confusion. Kim Dokja’s glare only intensified after being laughed at. “What’s so funny?”
“She’s not my sister, Dokja-ya. I said that because otherwise, Yoo Joonghyuk would have never agreed to the deal. The host of the show is Han Sooyoung, from HR.”
“Han Sooyung? That eel?”
“She’s not that bad. She’s just a bit...eccentric! Yes, that’s the word. Listen, I know her, and I know she’s not a bad person. She just likes to seem tough in front of everyone.”
“Everyone except for you, I’m assuming?” Dokja raised his eyebrow smugly. Yoo Sangah blushed and averted her eyes.
“We are...ahem, we are close friends.”
“Yes…? That is what I was implying. It’s not as if you two can be close friends while being enemies.”
“Of course!”, she cleared her throat. “But, you’ll accept my offer, right? I’ll pay you according to the audience's votes on who they favor.”
“That’s not fair! That bastard Yoo Joonghyuk is blessed with looks not all of us were able to receive.”
“Oh, is that so?” Now it was Yoo Sangah’s turn to look smug. Kim Dokja waved his hand dismissively. Then, he had the sudden odd urge to end the conversation. Before he knew what he was saying, he glanced at his watch. Silver and leather, and he had absolutely no clue on how to read it.
He remembered buying the watch for the interview of Minosoft, the company which he had just started work at today, and although the interview was only a week ago, it felt so long ago. Like a distant memory from a past year.
“Dokja?” Yoo Sangah looked at him with concern, and her head tilted a bit closer, as if to examine him.
“Yeah, I’ve got to go, thank you for this show opportunity but I have to get back to work or that snake Han Sooyoung will lower my paycheck. I can’t believe she’s one of the head people here.”
“It’s your first day of work, I’m sure she’ll go easy on you-” Yoo Sangah tried to reason with him but he was already halfway out the door. “Wait, Dokja-ssi! The show is tomorrow and-”
“Text me the details! Bye!” He walked out the door, making sure to close the door gently. He was not irritated with Yoo Sangah, and he certainly did not want her to think he was. She had been kind and understanding throughout the entire duration of their friendship so far, and he felt indebted to her, which is most likely why he even agreed to her crazy idea anyway.
He turned around, just about to walk to his cubicle when his face planted into a wall. A very angry wall.
“Kim Dokja.” He wasn’t so sure that it was a wall anymore. “Get off of my chest.” Dokja took a timid step back, away from what would face him if he opened his eyes. He attempted to walk back to Yoo Sangah’s office with his eyes closed but he ended up bumping into the door as Yoo Joonghyuk grabbed his shoulder. He was slammed further into the door. “Why were you yelling at Yoo Sangah and what did you mean by ‘text me the details’?
“I-...what?”
“Are you deaf?” Kim Dokja simply stared at Yoo Joonghyuk. He had a symmetrical face, and long full lashes that would appear feminine on anyone other than Yoo Joonghyuk. Kim Dokja couldn’t help but think that he looked particularly like the protagonist of an action film, with his edgy outfit, and his choppy yet somehow uniform hair. He could see why Yoo Sangah would offer him so much to be on her show. He would be an absolute hearthrob and definitely a fan favorite.
“Uh, no?” He then raised an eyebrow at the man currently holding him against the door. “Why do you want to know?” He then glanced at the hand holding him down, and back at Yoo Joonghyuk. A beat of silence passed between them. “So?”
Yoo Joonghyuk stared down at Kim Dokja from the position he was holding him. He noticed him give a questioning look to the arm he was using to hold him down. In all honesty, Yoo Joonghyuk was not quite sure why reacted in such a way. Perhaps it was Kim Dokja’s mannerisms that put him off guard. Those eyes were full of mischief and...something else that Yoo Joonghyuk couldn't identify. Or maybe, it was just the way he acted with Yoo Sangah. Yeah, that was it. This man, Kim Dokja; he must be a real creep to be giving attitude to such a nice woman like that. He must have forced her to give him a tour of the office this morning. He found it hard to believe that a man with such a...petite frame would be capable of doing something like that, but people were not as they seemed.
“So?” He had just then realised how intently he had been staring at the man in front of him. He quickly released him.
“Were you or were you not disturbing Yoo Sangah in that office?”
“How would I be disturbing her if she was the one who called for me to go there in the first place?”
“She...called for you?”
“Yes!”
“Hm. Are you sure?” Yoo Joonghyuk tried to move past this embarrassment by making his face look intimidating and stern, furrowing his eyebrows to deliver his message. Which he knew definitely backfired when Kim Dokja burst out in laughter.
“HAH! I-haha-I’m sorry, but...that was VERY funny.” Yoo Joonghyuk simply stared at the man, upset and slightly flushed, which caused Kim Dokja to laugh until his cheeks were pink and his eyes were tearing up. “It’s just funny seeing a man like you embarrassed.”
“A man like me?”
“You know what I mean. You’re so stiff and serious. What, were you worried that I was bothering Yoo Sangah? You sorely underestimate her. If I had disrespected her I would have been kicked out of her office faster than the time it took you to pin me down to this door. I can sue you for that, by the way.” Dokja looked directly into Yoo Joonghyuk’s eyes, not wanting to awkwardly evade eye contact. However, Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t seem to get the memo and made the eye contact even more awkward than it’s alternative by remaining eerily silent. He stared at Kim Dokja, trying to understand the man. He had a small beauty mark underneath his left eyes, and much less noticeable lashes than himself. What did he think of this man, Kim Dokja?
Well, he talked too much.
“You are free to move. I have not been holding you down for a while now. Unless you would like to remain stuck to the door?” Kim Dokja made no hesitation to step away from the door after that, as if suddenly breaking away from a trance. Yet, Kim Dokja continued to stare at Yoo Joonghyuk. With Yoo Joonghyuk too stubborn to be the first to look away, the two men found themselves locked into a staring contest, both of them too prideful to end this foolishness. It felt like an hour before Kim Dokja finally broke eye contact. Yoo Joonghyuk smirked.
“You’re weird.” Kim Dokja suddenly said.
“If I’m ‘weird’ then you’re just as weird as me.” This made Kim Dokja laugh. A raucous and obnoxious sound. Before he could say anything else, Yoo Joonghyuk walked away, his coat dramatically swishing, like a cape, before he made his exit.
“What a drama queen.”