Work Text:
Work is stressful enough with the end of the sales quarter approaching, so it definitely doesn’t help that Sangwon just happens to spill his coffee on the worst person possible while on the way to his cubicle.
He’d slept a whole hour past his alarm — the consequence of pulling an all-nighter and deciding to take what was meant to be a short nap. He already fears for his life on the daily at work, but trying to arrive late without getting caught by his boss was like living in some sort of cheap spy movie. Although, with the recent turn of events, it might be more accurate to call it a horror.
Sangwon feels the blood drain from his face at the sight of his iced americano splattered across He Xinlong’s blazer. His hands tremble as he attempts to wipe at the stain with his sleeve. “Oh my god, I’m — I’m so sorry, Xinlong-ssi, I wasn’t watching where I was going…”
“No, no, please don’t worry!” Xinlong unsuccessfully tries to placate Sangwon. He glances down at the mess, mumbling quietly to himself in disappointment. “Ah, this was new…”
For the record, Sangwon has nothing against Xinlong as a person. The other is sweet and well-mannered, albeit maybe a bit of a pushover at times, but there’s nothing really wrong with him. At least, there’s certainly no reason for Sangwon to be scared of Xinlong by himself. No, the reason Sangwon has to live in fear every day is…
An ominous shadow looms over him.
Ever so slowly, Sangwon turns around to stare up at his boss, Kim Geonwoo. The man stands at a towering height of 6’ 6” that’s rumored to grow with his body count (and not the sexy kind). No one can tell whether his shoes are actually elevated or not because no one dares to look. Sangwon is also 99% sure the blazer Geonwoo wears is obscenely oversized since there’s no way someone’s shoulders could be that broad. Countless lunch breaks have been spent theorizing how the man keeps those sleeves up.
Sangwon lets out an audible gulp. He’s not ready to die. Landing this job in itself was already hell. “Hey, boss… beautiful day today, isn’t it…?”
The man completely ignores him, swiftly removing his blazer to reveal another blazer underneath. The display does nothing to quell Sangwon’s worries, his brain using this moment to helpfully remind him of the rumored gangster tattoos hidden underneath the boss’s clothes. Carefully, Geonwoo drapes his first blazer to practically envelop Xinlong’s upper half and reaches out a massive, callused hand to caress the other’s face. In a low voice, he growls, “You’re hurt.”
How?! It’s iced coffee! Sangwon wants to protest, but he holds his tongue. Voicing his thoughts would be a death sentence — that is, if he isn’t already doomed. Past coworkers of his have been punished for less.
It didn’t always used to be this way. Back when Sangwon had first started out at Alpha Drive Inc., Geonwoo was just a cold, ruthless CEO who held few interests aside from growing his company at his unusually young age. It all changed when Xinlong got hired. Around Xinlong, Geonwoo began to show a new side to himself that, honestly, nobody really wanted to see. It was around then when things started getting dangerous for the average employee.
Geonwoo’s eyes flash threateningly at a still-trembling Sangwon. But before Sangwon can even start pleading for his life, a delicate hand darts out to lightly tug at Geonwoo’s sleeve.
Instantly, Geonwoo’s gaze softens ever so slightly as he turns his attention back to Xinlong. “What is it, kitten?” He leans down while the other balances on his tippy toes to whisper something indistinct into his ear. Whatever Xinlong said might be best left unheard, seeing as to how Geonwoo’s expression quickly smooths out into something hungrier while he effortlessly sweeps the smaller off of his feet in a bridal carry.
They’re gone in seconds, leaving Sangwon to stand there and process what had just happened. He glances down at his shaking hands in disbelief. …He’s alive. He’s alive!
Feeling his lower lip start to quiver on its own accord, Sangwon takes a deep breath. On unsteady feet, he resumes his route to his cubicle. He’s been given another chance, and in return, he’ll be sure to be extra productive today.
Huh… for once, he’s actually looking forward to work.
🐺⛓️🖤
Six pairs of eyes stare down the same neatly-organized stack of documents, all enclosed in an unassuming beige folder. They’re the materials for an upcoming meeting with Alpha Drive Inc.’s major stakeholders, and it’s an important enough matter where someone from Sales Team 1 needs to deliver it straight to Geonwoo’s desk as soon as possible.
As for that someone…
The six glance at each other warily. Hesitantly, they each raise a hand in preparation for a competition where losing isn’t an option.
“Rock… paper… scissors!”
They repeat the process a few times before shaky breaths and relieved exhales fill the room. However, where there are winners, there must be a loser.
A single tear rolls down Junseo’s cheek as he closes his eyes, accepting his fate. Out of respect for the sacrifice their dear coworker is about to make, the rest of Sales Team 1 (except for Xinlong, who tends to spend more time in Geonwoo’s office than at their floor) remain silent. Wordlessly, they stream past Junseo, placing hands on his shoulders in a show of solidarity as they head back to their respective workstations.
Junseo takes a shuddering breath and wipes his face with his sleeve, steeling himself for the perils of document delivery. He carries both the folder in his hands and the weight of the world on his shoulders as he walks resolutely to the elevator.
Only when the doors close behind their eldest member does conversation hesitantly begin to pick up. “…Will Junseo-hyung be okay?” asks Sanghyeon, the newest member of their team. His question hangs heavy in the silence.
“It doesn’t look good…” team leader Leo admits, gnawing at his lower lip, “but Junseo-hyung is strong. He’ll pull through.”
“Okay.” Sanghyeon nods to himself nervously. “Okay, I just — I heard from Marketing that sometimes when this happens, people… people…” He trails off.
“They don’t come back,” Leo finishes grimly. The room is quiet after that, the only noises being the light whirring of the ventilation system and the clacking of fingers against keyboards.
Then, after what feels like an eternity, the elevator dings.
Chairs roll and papers rustle as the employees of Sales Team 1 scramble towards the opening doors. Junseo staggers out from the elevator on shaky legs, his face pale with a slight tinge of green. Jiahao quickly wheels over a chair for him to collapse into. The others hover over their eldest, half-relieved at his return and half-worried for his wellbeing.
“What did you see?” Anxin presses, curiosity momentarily overtaking his concern. He’s quickly shushed by Jiahao, who solemnly shakes his head at the younger. This isn’t the time.
Sangwon lightly dabs at Junseo’s forehead with a damp cloth, wincing at the sheen of perspiration there. Junseo’s eyes roam over his coworkers’ concerned faces as his lips part to say something. He halts, however, seemingly unable to form words as he closes his eyes and wilts further into the chair. Leo starts fanning him with a sheet of paper.
After a moment of silence, Anxin reluctantly pipes up again, “Was Xinlong-ssi there?” Junseo jerks in response as if burned, sending the office into an uproar.
“Okay, let’s not go there-”
“Why would you say that?!”
“Anxin!” Jiahao hisses, sending panicked looks between the younger and the shriveled prune in the chair. “Don’t remind him.”
“Uuaaauuueeeoogghh,” Junseo croaks out.
“Poor hyung…” Sanghyeon sniffles, wiping at his eyes with Leo’s sleeve. “He… wasn’t that young, but… you know… it’s still a shame…”
“Sanghyeon, that’s enough.” Leo murmurs. “Let Junseo-hyung rest.”
🐺⛓️🖤
Sanghyeon hums happily to himself as he waits for the coffee machine to finish making his drink. He’s managed to wrap up most of his tasks for the day despite having a slightly heavier workload than usual, and at this rate, he’s getting off work early (yippee!) which is even more awesome because Sanghyeon’s got big plans tonight.
Just the thought of finally meeting up with his friends after what feels like ages is enough to have him beaming brightly. Despite the terrible work environment (or maybe because of it?) Alpha Drive Inc. pays its employees good money, hence why Sanghyeon’s got a juicy paycheck just waiting to be used to treat his buddies to some K-BBQ.
He’s so excited, he can hardly wait. They’ll probably get a little drunk and hit up a noraebang after dinner, then head back to Sanghyeon’s cozy studio apartment to binge watch movies and scarf down popcorn until they fall asleep on the couch with the TV still on. Heck yeah!
His stomach growls at the idea of grilled meat and soju. Thankfully, he’s the only one in the breakroom at the moment.
“Oh, hi there, Sanghyeon-ssi!”
Nevermind. Well, that’s okay.
“Xinlong-ssi! How’s it going?” Sanghyeon chirps back, exchanging polite bows with his coworker.
Xinlong shrugs good-naturedly. “Not bad. I’m actually done for the day, but,” he pauses to yawn, “I could really use some coffee.”
Sanghyeon makes a sympathetic noise. “Aw, I feel you. Can’t wait to finally clock out.”
Glancing back at the coffee machine to see that it’s finished, Sanghyeon quietly does a fist pump and takes careful hold of the steaming cup to walk over to where they keep the creamers. The entire time, he makes sure to stay at least six feet away from Xinlong. He’s heard enough from Sangwon at this point to know better.
It’s peacefully quiet for a while. Sanghyeon is still pouring creamer into his coffee when the silence is broken by Xinlong’s sneeze.
“Sorry,” he sniffs, scrunching up his face. “I think I have something in my nose.”
“No worries, Xinlong-ssi,” Sanghyeon easily replies, shrugging it off. He sets down the creamer to pick up a packet of sugar and tear it open.
Not even a minute later, Xinlong sneezes again. A few seconds pass, and he sneezes again. “Ah…” He sniffles, reaching for a nearby tissue box. “…Sanghyeon-ssi?”
Sanghyeon looks up from where he’s opening his third sugar packet. “Yes?”
“Do you have any pets? Like… any cats?”
He thinks of his precious baby Bi, probably taking a nap back at the apartment. A sinking feeling starts to form in the pit of his stomach. “I have one. Why?”
“I see…” Xinlong nods in understanding, eyes now looking a little watery. He sneezes again. “Ah, it’s nothing, I’m just allergic to cat fur.”
Sanghyeon feels a dark presence behind him. Oh.
Xinlong perks up at the sight of their CEO. “Hyung! What brings you here?”
“Stay back, babygirl,” Geonwoo rumbles. “𝖎 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖙𝖊𝖈𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚.”
Cold sweat drips down Sanghyeon’s neck. His eyes flit down to his own blazer, feeling like an idiot at the sight of Bi’s fur covering the fabric. He’s usually pretty good about keeping it off, but Bi wanted cuddles this morning and Sanghyeon simply couldn’t say no.
In a desperate attempt to salvage the situation, Sangehyeon lets out a nervous laugh. “Boss! Funny running into you here. I — I was just about to do my daily lint rolling.” Shooting an arm out to rummage through one of the drawers, he quickly retrieves said tool, mentally thanking Jiahao for always keeping one there.
Geonwoo’s frown deepens, if that was even possible.
Frantically rolling the lint roller on himself, Sanghyeon grins shakily. “Haha… ha… ha…” Met with utter silence, his aggressive lint rolling slows and his smile steadily drops.
Dammit, he really wanted that K-BBQ.
🐺⛓️🖤
A high-pitched scream startles Jiahao out of his thoughts. He glances around at his surroundings, but sees nothing out of the ordinary. Shrugging to himself, he adjusts his hold on a stack of documents and continues walking.
The breakroom is empty when he arrives, which is somewhat unusual for this time of day. To his mild annoyance, the spare lint roller he usually keeps in the drawer has been left on the floor.
Setting down his things on a nearby countertop, Jiahao clicks his tongue in disappointment as he stoops down to pick up his lint roller. He pauses briefly at the sight of delicate white hairs on the tool — who would come to work with cat fur on them? It’s common knowledge that a certain someone is allergic.
He disregards it for the time being as he returns the lint roller to its rightful place (after discarding the cat fur, of course). His confusion quickly resurfaces, however, upon seeing a cup of coffee left on the counter.
Jiahao eyes the empty breakroom around him. Well, if nobody else wanted it, finders keepers. The cup is warm in his hand as he tilts the edge towards his mouth.
He immediately spits it back out as soon as he registers the coffee — no, the pure sugar on his tongue. Spluttering at the absurd sweetness, he nearly misses the sound of footsteps approaching.
“There you are, Hao-ge!” Anxin exclaims, peeking into the breakroom. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”
“What’s the matter?” Jiahao asks, hiding a cough into his fist as he recovers from experiencing his daily sugar intake in a single sip.
“This way!” Anxin beckons him. “The printer’s broken and nobody knows how to fix it.”
Jiahao glances back at the coffee machine, the reason he visited the breakroom in the first place. But his tastebuds have probably been taken out of commission for the next hour at the very least. His coffee can wait.
“Sure. Lead the way.”
The printer is, in fact, not broken. It simply wasn’t plugged in.
“Amazing!” Anxin applauds as the printer comes back to life. “Leo-hyung said to try turning it on and off again, but I couldn’t even get it to turn on.”
“Did you guys fix the printer?” Xinlong’s voice asks from the corridor, the man himself appearing in the doorway not long after.
Anxin nods firmly in response. “Yeah! Hao-ge managed to figure it out.”
Xinlong’s mouth forms an ‘o’ as he nods back. “That’s a relief, I was worried we’d have to get a new one.” He turns to Jiahao. “Thanks, Jiahao-ssi! I don’t know what we’d do without you.”
A sweet comment that would’ve been harmless from literally anyone but Xinlong. Waving it off, Jiahao lets out a small laugh, shoulders tensing ever so slightly. “No, it’s not like that.”
“Hao-ge’s super smart,” Anxin insists. “He’s also way too humble, really.”
Jiahao ruffles Anxin’s hair affectionately to the younger’s indignant squawk. “Ah, this kid…” He casually leans in closer until he’s right by Anxin’s ear. Barely moving his lips, Jiahao says in a low whisper, “Anxin, I appreciate it, but this could get dangerous.”
The confusion in the other’s face quickly gives way to realization upon following Jiahao’s gaze to Xinlong. Almost imperceptibly, Anxin nods in understanding.
“But, like, Hao-ge's not that amazing…” Anxin tries to backtrack, “…yeah. He’s pretty average overall. Not nearly as cool as the bossman, aha…”
Xinlong makes a thoughtful noise. “I don’t know about that… I really look up to Jiahao-ssi. He’s a very capable hyung — charming, too.”
On one hand, Jiahao is genuinely touched — he wasn’t aware Xinlong thought so highly of him. On the other hand, his grave has just been dug before his very eyes.
Jiahao doesn’t need to look behind him to know who’s there. The 6’ 7” shadow falling over him says it all.
Posture going rigid, Jiahao turns around and cranes his neck up to meet Geonwoo’s dark gaze, careful not to make any sudden movements. No one knows what happens to the employees who mysteriously disappear after facing Geonwoo’s wrath, but Jiahao has no intention of being next. He needs to find a way out of the building — after that, he can only hope for the best.
“Hao-ge!” Anxin whisper-yells. “What are you doing?! Run!”
His thoughts exactly.
Geonwoo stalks towards him, seething with rage. His hands twitch where they hang by his sides, balling into tight fists. Veins pop out against his skin in a pulsing display of fury.
“Grrrrrr… You dare mess with me?” Geonwoo snarls.
Jiahao spots Anxin making exaggerated gestures at him in the corner of his eye, presumably trying to get the message across to get the hell out of there. Jiahao clears his throat. “Not at all, sir. I was just trying to help. I should be heading back to work now, so if you’ll pardon me…” He takes a few discreet steps backwards.
“Lies!” Geonwoo thunders. “Hah… to think that a meek beta like you would have the guts to try and leave while the alpha is speaking.”
Anxin immediately tries to protest, “Hao-ge’s an enigm-” Jiahao slaps a hand over the younger’s mouth, frantically shaking his head.
But it’s too late. A dangerous look crosses Geonwoo’s face as his breathing becomes heavier. “What was that?”
Jiahao opens his mouth to deflect, but he’s cut off by Geonwoo’s fist slamming into the wall with the force of a truck. The wall easily makes way for the self-proclaimed alpha, splitting open where Geonwoo’s fist makes contact.
The building itself seems to shake at the display, cupboards swinging open to let their contents fall out. Above Xinlong, a cascade of unopened ink cartridges heads straight for him.
Jiahao lunges forward on instinct. Before he knows it, he has an arm wrapped around Xinlong’s waist, shielding the other with his back from the onslaught. The little boxes easily bounce off of him, clattering to the floor.
He’s about to ask if the other is alright when Xinlong’s eyes go wide, staring at something behind him. Jiahao reaches back without looking to smoothly catch a cartridge midair.
“O-Oh…” Xinlong stammers out, stunned. “Wow…”
Shit. He’s really done it now.
“Hao-ge!” Anxin wails, “Run!”
Jiahao obeys this time, charging out the exit and booking it down the corridor at full speed. A thunderous voice bellows from the breakroom, “Zhang Jiahao!”
Nope nope nope nope nope nope nopenopenope —
🐺⛓️🖤
Anxin has been inconsolable for the past hour and nobody knows why.
“Hyung, you try next,” Sangwon urges Leo as soon as he gets back from his meeting, ushering him over to stand before their team member’s curled-up form.
Leo holds out his hands to gesture for the other to slow down. “W-Wait a minute, Won-ah. What’s going on?”
At this distance, he can just barely discern the sound of muffled crying from where Anxin’s face is buried in his arms, shoulders shaking. Despite not knowing the situation, Leo’s heart cracks a little.
“I found him in the printer room,” Sangwon whispers to him. “He refused to budge, so I used a trolley from storage to bring him here. I’m not too sure what’s wrong, but, uh, I think I have an idea.”
‘The boss?’ Leo mouths silently. Sangwon nods. Leo quietly curses in return.
Kneeling down in front of their coworker, Leo gently calls out Anxin’s name. He receives no response, only a pitiful sniffle.
He’s about to try again when Junseo walks in, flipping through a packet as he asks aloud, “Has anyone seen Sanghyeon-ie? I asked him to take care of a few things for me while I was on medical leave.”
With nobody answering, Junseo pauses to glance up at his surroundings. His expression quickly turns puzzled at the sight of them huddled oddly in the corner. He looks at Anxin, then Leo and Sangwon, then back at Anxin again.
“Only you three are here? Where’s Jiahao?”
Anxin throws his head back and bawls, snot and tears alike gushing down his face. The rest exchange alarmed looks as they scramble to calm the younger down.
“It’s — it’s because of me,” Anxin blubbers. “It’s all because of me that Hao-ge — Hao-ge-!” He buries his head back into his arms.
“What?” Leo places a careful hand on his sobbing coworker’s shoulder. “Anxin-ah, what do you mean?” As the other continues crying, he gently adds, “We can’t help if we don’t know what’s going on.”
That sparks a reaction from the younger, who furiously shakes his head. “N-No, it’s too late — he’s gone!”
Leo’s heart drops. Sangwon gasps softly, “Anxin-ah… you don’t mean…”
Anxin hiccups. The ensuing silence says it all.
Hours pass, and both Sanghyeon and Jiahao’s desks remain vacant. The sight weighs heavy on Leo’s conscience for the rest of the day, persistent thoughts of how could you let this happen and what kind of leader are you driving him to bury himself nose-deep in paperwork.
At some point, Sangwon tries to pull him out of it. “It’s past work hours,” he insists. “Let’s go home, hyung.”
Leo doesn’t look up from his computer. He can’t bring himself to. “In a minute, Won-ah.”
“Hyung.”
Leo’s hands falter from where they’re typing at the keyboard. He reaches up to rub at his temples, blinking rapidly. “You go on ahead — I’ll wrap up soon, seriously. I… I just need to get this done.”
Sangwon is quiet for a moment. “Leo, it wasn’t your fault.”
Leo stills. He swallows thickly, turning to give the other a tired smile. “Don’t worry about me, Won-ah. Just go.”
He’s at his desk for the next few hours until he finally decides to call it a night. The office is a ghost town, floor lights off and corridors empty. Leo’s footsteps echo in the hallway, the only sound aside from the faint noise of the heater running.
“…o to sle~ep…”
Leo slows his pace, grip tightening on the handle of his briefcase. What was that?
Carefully, he heads closer to the source of the mysterious noise, sounding like something between a gargle and a yawn. The volume grows as Leo nears a closed room with dimmed lights.
His curiosity getting the best of him, Leo gingerly puts his ear against the door.
“Go to sle~ep, go to sle~ep. Go to sleep, little baby~.”
It’s… a lullaby? And that voice — could it be?
“Go to sle~ep, go to sle~ep. Googoo gaga time for you~u~.”
A snort rips itself out of Leo before he can fully process it. The singing stops.
Fuck.
Leo falls back onto his butt as the door flies open to reveal an absolutely pissed-off Geonwoo. Behind him, Xinlong peeks out, stifling a yawn.
The addition of the smaller’s presence has Leo mentally cussing up a storm. He scurries backwards until his back hits the wall, eyes locked on the fridge-like man before him. Judging from how his boss bares his teeth, Leo’s chance of survival has just about vanished.
A vision then flashes before his eyes: a mischievous, gummy smile. Gentle, glittering eyes that put a starry night to shame. A soft hand that always finds its way into Leo’s own, holding on tight like an unsaid promise.
He can’t die like this.
Before Geonwoo can snap at him, Leo pushes himself to his feet and summons all his strength to chuck his briefcase in Xinlong’s direction, mentally apologizing as the other lets out an alarmed shout. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Just as Leo had hoped, Geonwoo roars and dives to protect the smaller, giving Leo the chance to launch into a full-on marathon sprint away from the couple. They’ll probably spend the next minute staring into each other’s eyes, so that gives Leo a decent amount of time to run for the exit.
The elevator is taped over with an OUT OF ORDER sign, forcing Leo to burst into the stairwell and head down from there. His hurried footsteps echo in the hollow chamber, heart pounding in his ears.
He renews his efforts to maintain speed when he picks up on the sound of rapid footsteps coming from above. Shit, has it already been a minute? Momentarily distracted by his thoughts, Leo misses a step and falls straight down the last flight of stairs, landing hard on his side.
Pain spikes through his leg, hot and sharp. Great. Just great. Gritting his teeth, Leo picks himself off the ground and limps his way out from the stairwell, leaning against the wall to balance his weight. He exhales shakily at the sight of the company’s entrance, pristine glass doors promising a future above ground.
Just a little more. Only a little more to go, and then he’s out. He’ll be free.
Let’s go home, hyung.
His leg gives out from under him, so Leo settles for dragging himself across the tiled floor, desperate to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. The exit is right there, opening for him with a rush of the cold night air.
Just a little further he’s so close almost there almost there only a little more Sangwon just wait for him please —
“Tsk. Why do they always try to run?”
🐺⛓️🖤
They got Leo.
Anxin didn’t see it happen, but the team leader’s cubicle is empty despite it being eight in the morning and Sangwon looks like he’s either about to cry or commit mass murder. Maybe both.
The office is unusually quiet with only three of them occupying the space. Anxin discreetly scoots his chair over to nudge Junseo. It takes him a couple tries to get the other’s attention, Junseo blinking at him with hollow eyes that Anxin can unfortunately understand all too well (after all, missing coworkers meant heavier workloads for the rest of them). Junseo follows Anxin’s gaze over to where Sangwon has been standing since before the other two had even arrived, eerily still, in front of Leo’s empty cubicle.
What do we do, Anxin tries communicating with his eyes.
To be, or not to be, that is the question, Junseo’s eyes seem to say back. But Anxin is also really bad at reading people’s eyes, so he guesses he’s probably saying something like we should talk to him instead.
Well, they might as well give it a try. “Sangwon-hyung,” Anxin wheedles, walking over to lean on the divider between Leo and Junseo’s cubicles. The other doesn’t reply. “Hyung, are you alright?”
Sangwon hardly blinks, still staring blankly at Leo’s empty seat. His eyes are tinged red, bloodshot. “This means war.”
“O-Oh, uhm… what?” A cold shiver runs down Anxin’s spine as he exchanges glances with an equally confused Junseo.
“They won’t get away with this,” Sangwon says quietly, the faintest tremor in his voice. It’s not from sadness, Anxin realizes — it’s anger.
“Hyung, wait,” he tries, “what if Leo-hyung’s just running late? He can’t always be here on time.”
“He didn’t call.”
Anxin blinks owlishly. “He… bwuh?”
Sangwon’s head jerks sharply to the side to stare daggers into Anxin’s soul. “He always calls. Every morning and every night.”
Junseo takes this moment to cut in, “Don’t you two live together?”
Sangwon furrows his eyebrows. “Why would we? It’s not like we’re dating.”
Anxin opens his mouth to say something, but ends up just closing it. They probably shouldn’t open that can of worms. Junseo seems to think similarly from how he tries to redirect the conversation. “Then perhaps his phone died.”
“Leo-hyung would never let that stop him,” Sangwon says like it was obvious. “Even when he got hit by that car and was bleeding out against the asphalt, barely conscious — he still took the time to call. I was the one who had to get the ambulance.”
Anxin struggles to think of anything to say to… well, that.
“What are you guys talking about?” The three of them freeze, Anxin and Junseo slowly turning to see Xinlong innocently standing by the elevator. In trying to process Sangwon’s bizarre behavior, they seem to have missed the sound of their coworker’s arrival.
For a moment, it’s quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Anxin finds himself holding his breath, eyes flitting over to Sangwon’s bitter expression.
Xinlong, utterly oblivious to the tension in the air, continues, “Is everything alright?” When he receives no response, he hesitantly asks, “…Did I do something wrong?”
Immediately, Anxin and Junseo scramble to fix the other’s concerns. “No, not at all!” Anxin says a little too loudly. “Never in a billion years!” Junseo nods vigorously beside him, the energy in his movements the most Anxin had seen from him in a while.
Sangwon only scoffs incredulously, the venomous sound shocking the room. Nobody’s ever done that around Xinlong — ever. Xinlong’s expression crumbles at that, clearly having come to an undesirable conclusion. “I see…” he says softly to himself.
The blood drains from Anxin’s face. “He’s right behind us, isn’t he.”
He doesn’t bother waiting for an answer.
The force of gravity has nothing on how fast Anxin whirls around and drops to the ground, yanking the others down with him to kneel before their boss, who now stands at a terrifying height of 6’ 9”.
Anxin trembles as memories from the day before come flooding back to him. He’d been so close to not making it, and Jiahao… oh, Jiahao… This can’t be happening. Not again, not again, not again!
Junseo tries to protest, “S-Sir, it’s not what it looks like — ”
Anxin screeches at the top of his lungs. “Spare us spare us spare us please boss you can’t do this please spare us please please please!” At the unamused look on Geonwoo’s face, Anxin rubs his hands together and sobs, “Please boss just one more chance I have a high school reunion coming up plus I haven’t bought my mom a birthday gift yet please please please I have a family we all do and I still need to let Hao-ge’s family know he’s gone and — oh my god Hao-ge’s gone he’s gone what am I supposed to do — ”
“Geonwoo!” Seemingly fed up with Anxin’s crazed groveling, Sangwon leaps to his feet to glare their boss right in the eye. “This has gone too far and you know it.”
A growl rumbles from Geonwoo’s chest. “Are you challenging me?”
Sangwon stands his ground. “You can’t seriously be thinking you’ll get away with this. We’re employees, not minions. And all those missing people? That’s grounds for a very interesting legal investigation, don’t you think?”
“How dare you threaten me and my kitten!” Geonwoo howls, incredibly-broad shoulders rising in aggravation.
“I never said anything about Xinlong-ssi,” Sangwon tersely replies, tone clipped. Anxin clutches onto Junseo for support to which the other is quick to reciprocate, hands sweaty and faces pale. They’ve never seen Sangwon this angry before.
Xinlong rushes to place himself between Geonwoo and Sangwon, hands out to placate the two. “S-Stop fighting, please! Geonwoo-hyung, this isn’t you!”
Their boss glances away, taking deep breaths to calm himself. “Urgh… kitten, you shouldn’t see me like this… the darkness inside me… it’s not safe.”
“But… pookie, you promised not to hurt them!”
“Not here, kitten whiskers,” Geonwoo hushes the smaller. “Daddy will discuss it later.”
Eyes nervously darting between the fridge-like man and his own coworkers, Xinlong stammers, “Hyung, let’s — let’s just hear them out, okay? It doesn’t have to be like this!”
A heavy sigh. “Fine… only for you, babygirl.” Doing nothing to hide the disdain dripping from his expression, Geonwoo snidely asks them, “So what is it you want?”
Sangwon closes his eyes for a brief moment, taking a shuddering breath to recollect himself. Finally, he says, “Stop this abuse of authority. We can’t be tiptoeing around this place any longer — we need change.”
“And a raise,” Junseo meekly tags on.
“And Hao-ge and the others back…” Anxin whimpers.
Geonwoo huffs in exasperation, raking a hand through his jet black hair. “You greedy betas…”
Appearing to have expected this, Sangwon reaches into his pants to fish out a white envelope. He shoves it forward, letting the paper hang in offering. “My resignation letter,” he explains through gritted teeth. “Which unless you get your act together, will be on your desk by the end of the day.”
A low chuckle leaves Geonwoo’s mouth, encouraging Anxin and Junseo to clutch onto each other even tighter. “That’s your bargaining piece? Pathetic.”
“Alpha Drive Inc. hasn’t hit its sales target yet,” Sangwon replies, a fire burning in his eyes. “The quarter ends soon, and our team is just about to close a deal with Star Creator Entertainment that’ll hit our target and then some. You’ll need employees for that, won’t you?”
Geonwoo’s expression darkens. “You forget there would still be two of you left — more than enough for such menial work. Don’t provoke me, beta. You won’t like me when I’m angry.”
Sangwon’s gaze falls over to Anxin and Junseo, both still on their knees. He stares at them pleadingly.
Anxin startles as Junseo releases his grip from him to stand up. “…I’ll also turn in my resignation,” the older man announces. “I’d like my severance pay soon.”
“M-Me too!” Anxin scrambles to get back on his feet. “It’s just… not the same without everyone else here, y’know?”
Geonwoo seethes with poorly-contained rage. “You betas disgust me.” Stalking forward with his teeth bared, Geonwoo is quickly held back by a panicked Xinlong, holding his small hands out against the taller’s broad chest.
“Hyung, stop! You can’t do this!” With Geonwoo’s attempt to move past him, Xinlong cries out, “Please, Geonwoo-hyung, you have to hold on — for me!”
Geonwoo exhales harshly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he scrunches his eyebrows together. “What is the point of this idiotic rebellion,” he asks slowly, drawing out the syllables like he’s talking to a five year old. “It sounds like you’re all asking for the same fate as your beloved coworkers. What was the last one’s name again? Oreo?”
Sangwon’s expression becomes downright murderous. “Don’t you dare disrespect him like that, you fucking bastard!” Hurriedly, Anxin and Junseo scramble to hold him back. Sangwon struggles in their grip to no avail. “You piece of shit,” he hisses, tears welling up in his eyes as his voice breaks painfully. “Where the hell is your conscience? For god’s sake, you’re a murderer. Don’t you feel any guilt for the lives you’ve taken? The lives you’ve ruined?”
Xinlong’s jaw drops, head whipping around to stare up at Geonwoo. For once, their boss looks taken aback, speechless. Xinlong’s mouth opens and closes several times as he tries to form words. “That’s…” He swallows, nervously wetting his lips with his tongue. “I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding? Your boyfriend’s literally killed people and you choose to turn a blind eye,” Sangwon rants, words spewing out from him like a dam unleashed. Next to him, Anxin watches as Xinlong pulls out a phone to hurriedly tap at its screen. “I don’t know if he’s holding something against you or what, but those goddamn rose-colored lens you wear for that monster — ”
“Won-ah?”
Like a man possessed, Sangwon launches himself forward to grab Xinlong’s wrist and pull the phone close to his ear despite the device already being on speaker mode. “L-Leo-hyung?” he calls out, voice suddenly fragile. “Is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me,” Leo’s voice rings out from the phone. “I’m sorry I couldn’t call earlier — the boss banned us from reaching out.”
Sangwon’s lower lip begins to tremble. “You’re alive!”
“Of course he’s alive,” Geonwoo scowls. “Who do you take me for, a thug? I’m a businessman, you pathetic beta.” His words go largely ignored by the others, too busy processing this turn of events.
“S-So everyone’s still alive? Including Hao-ge?” Anxin asks, eyes shining with newfound hope.
There’s a rustling noise from the phone. “I’m here, Anxin,” Jiahao calls out. “Alive and… somewhat well.”
Anxin crumbles to the floor in relief, grabbing onto Junseo’s pants for support and nearly pulling them down with him in the process. “I thought — I saw the bossman running after you and — and with all that screaming — ”
Geonwoo rolls his eyes and snarls, resting a large hand on Xinlong’s itty bitty waist as he uses the other hand to pry off Sangwon’s death-grip. “I should just send the rest of you over to where your friends are.” It’s meant as a threat, but nobody in the vicinity seems to treat it as such, cheering happily in support of the idea.
However, it’s a different story with the people on the call. “Don’t do it, boss!” Sanghyeon pleads, appearing to have seized the phone. “Leave them alone!”
Anxin perks up. “Sanghyeon!”
“Hyungs,” their youngest whimpers, “don’t come over here, please. Stay in Sales Team 1. You — you don’t know what it means to be sent over here.”
Their boss lets out a dark chuckle. “At least one of you seems to understand the situation. Your lives may not be at risk, unfortunately,” he coughs out that last word, subtly avoiding eye contact with Xinlong’s disapproving gaze as he squares his shoulders to continue, “but your salary certainly is.”
A collective gasp echoes across the room. “Sir, you don’t mean…” Junseo trails off.
“Twenty percent pay cut. Increased hours. Team relocation. Smaller office space. Reduced insurance benefits,” Geonwoo counts off the atrocities like items on a grocery list. Junseo joins Anxin back on the floor.
“Y-You monster,” their eldest gasps.
Geonwoo only smirks. Glancing around the room to watch his employees’ stricken expressions, he lets out an amused sigh. “I’m the boss here, I do what I want. And with the terrible unprofessionalism I’ve witnessed here…” He trails off, checking his watch before continuing, “as well as the time it’s cost me, this is really an act of mercy. I could do so much worse. Be grateful, betas.”
“I-It can’t be,” Anxin stammers out, scrambling backwards as cold fear grips his heart. “Boss, please!” Next to him, Junseo says nothing, only bowing his head in defeat.
Geonwoo seems to revel in their misery. His gaze meets Sangwon’s, who seems torn between rejoicing at the prospect of a reunion with his situationship or being as devastated as the others. Geonwoo smiles, a frightening sight from the normally-stoic CEO. “Effective immediately,” he says, “consider yourselves demoted.”
Turning his broad back to the mournful wails of protest that follow, Geonwoo drapes an arm over Xinlong’s smaller frame and guides him over to the elevator. They’re staring into each other’s eyes like they’re the only ones in the building — no, on the planet. A wordless exchange that has not and will not ever concern the workers they leave so easily behind.
Anxin watches from his place on the ground as the doors slide shut behind the couple, a glowing arrow pointing upwards from the elevator sign. Just like that, it was the end of Alpha Drive Inc.’s Sales Team 1. Gone in an instant, like it had never existed in the first place.
Ah, Anxin distantly thinks to himself, so this is what it’s like to be a side character.
He wonders how it’d feel to be favored by the narrative.