Li Jun stood in front of the coffee shop, which coincidentally was just across Seren Corp Building's main entrance. Many young people were gathered outside, excitedly discussing the reason they were here.
Today was the last day of interviews for the Talent Acquisition Program.
Initially he had disregarded this option, whether it was out of pride or out of embarrassment he didn't know. Maybe it was both.
He had tried to find any job available for the last three weeks. As a valet, construction worker, waiter, delivery man, assistant, anything that would be able to pay for his tuition fees, but it was to no avail. He was always rejected straight away, making his situation more desperate by the minute. If he didn't do anything soon he would be unable to pay his tuition, and he was already late with his rent. Eventually, and with no other choice, he found himself here. Right were he had met Iris, pondering if he should step through those doors that were open wide as if inviting him in.
He took a last look at his almost empty bank account to steel his resolve and finally crossed the street, being greeted by one of the event's staff.
"Hello! Are you here for the interviews as well?"
The chirp voice didn't match his gloomy mood, but he still chose to nod.
"Great! Just go and write down your information on the booth over there. They will give you a nametag and the schedule for the day. Good luck!"
"Thank you."
After writing his name down, he stood in front of the glass doors with an uncertain expression. His tie felt tighter than usual, and his suit seemed suffocating, but he truly had no other choice, so he swallowed his pride and walked inside.
----
Iris ate a sandwich in the elevator going to the hall in the first floor. Her schedule was extremely packed so she had no other choice but to satiate her hunger while on the go.
Today was a very important day for Seren, as it was the first talent acquisition event they ever launched in Asia. And given that these events were where Seren got its best employees, to say the place was hectic would be an understatement.
She looked back at the crumpled paper containing her opening speech once more and made her way to the back of the auditorium, where she would wait for her name to be called.
Just in time, she heard the announcer's excited words.
"-before we go to the interview rounds, please give a big round of applause for the head of the conglomerate, Iris Zhou!"
Iris stepped into the stage and stood before the podium, where the microphone waited for her. She looked at the full auditorium in front of her, the faces obscured by the harsh lights that blinded her eyes.
Her silhouette contrasted against the huge Seren logo displayed on the wall behind her, but more than being swallowed by it, she seemed to carry it on her shoulders, making her petite frame appear as a gigantic presence in the eyes of the audience. She did not look pressured by the burden, smiling with ease as her back stood straight in confidence.
"Good morning, everyone. Please let me begin by thanking you all for coming here. The Talent Acquisition Program is an initiative I raised myself in the early stages of the company because I truly believe the only way we can grow is with talented people, regardless of where they come from. Many people from the executive board began as trainees scouted from these events, they participated just like you and they have surpassed my expectations, becoming leaders in their areas and pushing us all forward as a group."
"The main idea for this program is to test people on various skills, trying to see who stands out independent of their background. You will go through various interviews, tests, and practical exercises to see where your talent is at. An who knows? Maybe you are just what we need."
Excited murmurs were heard all around her, making her smile grow wider.
"Now, let's begin the first Asia Seren Talent Acquisition Program!"
A roar of applause accompanied Iris down the stairs from the stage.
Li Jun, standing at the back of the hall heard the excited conversations among the attendees.
"She's so cool!"
"I can't believe we are here!"
"Oh god, I hope I pass."
"I think I'll do best in the interview, but I'm not really sure about the negotiation workshop."
"Really? I'm honestly more scared of the programming test."
Lines of people walked out of the auditorium who were then ushered into the next thing on the schedule. Li Jun looked down at the paper that he received after registering for the event. The fist test he would face was the mathematics one.
With another resigned sigh he finally gave into his fate and walked to the test room.
----
A week later, Li Jun received an email congratulating him on being accepted in the internship program, followed by a text message from the CEO herself.
"We need to talk. I will go to the noodles restaurant close to your college. Can you meet me there?"
A myriad of thoughts passed through his head, but embarrassment from being found out trying to get into her company after cutting ties with Iris was the one that held the most weight.
'Maybe she will ask me to resign?'
With a heavy heart he made his way to the restaurant.
When he got there, he could see Iris' familiar silhouette, with her trusty glasses and hat to hide her identity sitting in one of the tables at the window. She gestured for him to come over and sit down across her, which he did.
"Hello. It's been a while."
"Yes, a month I believe."
Her eyes scanned his broad shoulders, long fingers and beautiful face before she could contain herself. She couldn't believe it had been a month already. Thankfully, the glasses made her eyes barely visible, concealing her shameless ogling from the man.
She noticed he looked more tired, with dark circles as if he hadn't been sleeping well, and also...
"Have you lost weight?"
"Huh?"
No expecting the sudden question, Li Jun looked down at his own body instinctively. He had been eating less lately to save a bit of money in order to reach the end of the month, but he didn't think it would be noticeable. Still, he acted ignorant.
"No, I don't really think so."
Thankfully, Iris decided to drop the subject as their noodles arrived.
"I ordered the one you liked last time."
Li Jun felt a pang in his heart at the gesture.
'She still remembered after all this time.'
"Thanks."
Silence fell on the table like heavy lead.
"So... You called me over because..."
"I saw your name in the internship candidates."
"Ah, yes."
Li Jun couldn't meet her eyes as she continued.
"I felt like we needed to talk things out before we begin working in the same office."
His gaze snapped to her face when he heard that. So she wasn't here to tell him she would kick him out?
Seeing her firm, clear eyes, he could only scold himself.
'What was I thinking? She would never do something like that.
"You were among the top candidates throughout the tests, so you were assigned to the mentorship program. That's how I saw your name. I don't really tend to see the list of everyone who got in since they are too many."
"The mentorship program?"
"Ah, yes, the email we sent is the general one. You won't receive this information for a few more days since we still have to assign you somewhere. Instead of doing a normal internship with regular tasks, the top five scorers across many subjects are sent to their mentors, members of the executive board who they shadow for six months before being assigned in their apartment. These are the talents we nurture the most, acting like a sort of assistant and companion to our everyday routines. Eventually, people who have been mentored show way better results that average employees because they have a wider understanding of the area they work in."
"So, I will follow around a member of the executive board?"
"Well, yes. The thing is, every few years I take a mentee myself and this time I decided to take one in as a last minute decision to, um, distract myself."
Before Li Jun could even try to understand the implication of her words Iris cleared her throat and continued.
"I usually take in the best evaluated candidate. This year that candidate was you."
Li Jun's eyes widened.
"Me?"
"Yes. This is why I wanted to talk to you beforehand. I know it would probably make you uncomfortable given how things went down between us and I don't want to have any problems with the Human Resources Departme-"
"I'm okay with it."
This time it was Iris' turn to be surprised.
"You're... Okay with it?"
"Yeah. We never really dated anyway and it's not like I hate you, so... Besides, I don't think you would take advantage of your position as my superior to coerce me into anything so there should be no problem with Human Resources at all."
Iris didn't know whether to feel happy or angry. She would be lying if she said she wasn't glad at the idea of seeing him regularly again, but did he really have to be so dismissive about everything else? She had cried for this man for god's sake!
"Are you sure? I'll be honest, I'm not really entirely over everything, so I don't want you to think that I'm completely indifferent to all that happened."
"Will that affect your work ethic?"
"Well, no."
"Then, yes, I'm sure."
Li Jun remained firm in his decision. Iris was someone he admired so he would be completely idiotic if he let the chance of learning from her go. Besides, he assumed the pay would be higher for the mentees and he really needed the money, regardless of his ego.
He actually missed hanging out with her too, even if he felt guilty about not being able to give her what she wanted from him in the end, that didn't mean he would give up on the option of being friends if it was available.
She looked at his calm face and frowned.
"Does it really not bother you at all?"
"No. I trust you."
Iris wanted to scream. This damned dog looking at her with those unworried eyes, couldn't he at least hesitate a bit?
She took a couple more seconds to try to ease the crease in her brows before sighing.
"Fine. You start on Monday."