"Uh-hum!" I hear a familiar voice cough behind me. I look up to see the usually dark and grim babyfaced devil. His face looks irritated, and his dark eyes glare at me. The rest of the employees shifted away from Park Daisuke, so he had his own space in the elevator. But I was in such a hurry I didn't even notice who he was, and now I was standing above his feet right in front of him, dripping everywhere. He reaches and presses the 'open' button again. When the doors slide open, he shoves me out of the elevator. Park Daisuke takes one look at my employee tag and rolls his eyes as the elevator doors are closing. Some employees who witnessed the ordeal mutter as they pass. Not only was I going to be late, but I was probably going to get fired for dripping all over his shoes.
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I finally arrived at my department office and trying to ignore the rest of my surprised colleagues; I shuffled to my cubicle. We all knew the penalty for being late. Park Daisuke would halve your pay for the day. But I didn't care about the babyfaced devil halving my pay; I was terrified he would fire me. Shouldn't I start packing up my stuff into a moving box? Wouldn't it spare me the embarrassment of doing it while his henchmen announced to my colleagues that I would no longer be a part of their department and company? Is this how it ends? I never even got to meet the CEO of Sunnies Reach. This. Is. The. Worst. Day. Of. My. Life.
My stomach turned, and my chest sunk, I felt the floor shift beneath my feet. If Park Daisuke fired me today, I would give him a piece of my mind (screaming, cursing and all). I'll leave this hell with a bang, it is the least I could do after dealing with him and his henchmen for the past two months.
"Ho Mizuki!" Seol Soomin calls from across the room. Everyone falls silent, they probably think I'm going to get an earful for coming late, but chances are I'm going to be turning in my resignation letter.
"Park Daisuke wants to see you now," she purrs. I hated how Seol Soomin said his name. I hated how she spoke in general, like nails on a chalkboard. Her perfect hair, pretty face, full chest, and immaculate employee record didn't stop her from being a massive, egotistical bitch. (Forgive my language) She was his favourite side wench, dishing out the insults just as bad as the devil himself. She never hesitated to pull me down or take my credit. Seol Soomin was always gossiping about my appearance and demeaning my work. She carried herself in the office like she was the devil's wife. She goes home, two hours before closing time, and is the only one that Park Daisuke lets come late to work. I wouldn't even be surprised if they were secretly dating, they are perfect for each other.
I step towards Park Daisuke's door, rehearsing my response for when he fires me.
"Go in idiot," Seol Soomin slides the door open and pushes me inside, then shuts it behind her. I can't believe this is happening, it has barely been three months, and I have to start looking for a new job. I couldn't even put this devil man as my reference for my next job.
"You were late. Why?" Park Daisuke asked as he draws out some lines on a large white sheet of paper. He preferred to work on paper first before putting it on the computer and editing it with a design tool like Adobe XD. The rest of my colleagues found it so archaic and tedious, but I never minded. Paper prototypes allowed you to create and test multiple designs faster without the cumbersome nature of digital software. Besides Park Daisuke was some kind-of design master, he rarely made errors, and all his work came out perfect when converted to digital prototypes.
"Are you listening..." He paused to look up at me like he forgot my name.
"Ho Mizuki, I started working here two months ago" I point at my employee tag that now had my image and name, instead of the red font that screamed 'You aren't important yet!'
His brows arched, and he stared at me as if he had never seen me before. This damn man made me so mad. I have worked here for two whole months, and you even shoved me out of the elevator half an hour ago. If this were back in my kickboxing days, I'd uppercut him and slam him into the floor, but he signed my paycheck, and I needed a paycheck.
"I was in the elevator this morning, and you pushed me out," I lower my head in embarrassment.
"The wet girl" he gets off his seat, and walks across the room to his wardrobe, in what seems to be...socks? Park Daisuke was wearing just socks.
Sound the alarm, ring the town bell.
And they weren't regular socks they had polka-dots on them; how childish.
"What are you laughing about? Take this and get out, I'm busy" he shoved his shoes at me. He then stalked back to his seat to continue his drawing. Was I meant to read his mind and know what I am supposed to do with his shoes?
"Um, excuse me, sir. What am I supposed to do with your shoes?" his head whips up in irritation.
"Burn them. Drown them. I don't care. But bring me back clean-dry shoes that look the same. If you want to buy a new pair, they cost $250. Do whatever. I need them before 12:15 PM. Now get out. I'm busy."
Holding his shoes to my chest, I reach for the door handle.
"By the way, if you come late again, you're fired. If you bring my shoes late, you're fired too."
I swing the door open and race out. New shoes. NEW SHOES. I need to get him, new damn shoes. Do I look like your servant, you tall-little baby man? Do I look like your housemaid? I go through my wallet searching around for enough cash to get him his damn shoes. This money was supposed to be for groceries, yet I'm spending it on the devil's shoes. I only have $100, and I can't go to the bank in this rain, there are no ATMs around either. So, in the end, I really will be fired.
Mum and Dad in heaven give your little girl some luck.