Nivritti was not paying attention to where she was going, all she knew was she wanted to get away from that dog as if her life depended on it. She just kept glancing behind her and running towards the door. But before she could reach the exit, she bumped into someone.
That person held her shoulder and stopped her from getting hurt. She looked at him. For a minute she had no idea what to do. And then she recognised the man.
The tall, handsome man, dressed in a white shirt and brown chinos was the leader of ASD, Nam Kyung-Soo. Everyone knew him as King. For a minute she could not stop staring at him. He was just gorgeous. His porcelain skin was glowing. His cute eyes and sharp nose were highlights of his face.
No matter how gorgeous the man before her was, she could not stop her mind to feel safe. She was still afraid. Her face was screaming with fear.
After a minute she realised that she was staring at his face. She realised that his hands were resting on her shoulder. She jerked herself away from him. She was sweating before, but now her forehead was all wet due to nervousness and fear.
While she was busy staring at Kyung-Soo, she noticed four men running past her. One of them ran to the dog and lifted him in his hands. She instantly recognised them as Pae Jeong-Eun, Kang Thae, Jee Jung-Hwa and Man Young-Chul. She did her research before starting her job. So, she knew who everyone was.
She knew Young-Chul was the scary one. He was the one who everyone was afraid of. He never feared anyone and always spoke his mind. And he loved dogs. She was afraid of him. She wanted to wipe her sweat, but her hands stopped working.
She looked at Jeong-Eun, Thae and Jung-Hwa. Everyone was heart-stopping to look at. Their beauty was out of the world. She gasped as she saw four beautiful men walking her way. Jeong-Eun was way cuter than everyone, but Thae was the most handsome. His facial features were sharp and would stop anyone's heart with just one look. He was carrying the dog in his arms. Jung-Hwa was equally handsome but had mischief written on his face.
Before those four men would come close to her, she realised two more men stood near Kyung-Soo. Her eyes widened as they fell on Korain's face. The heart-shaped face, sharp eyes, sharp nose, full lips were mesmerizing. She recognised the last man as Joh Him-Chan. She had heard only good things about him. He was skilled in dancing and equally good-looking.
She was surrounded by eye candies, yet her mind was busy thinking about the dog. Thae was coming close to her while carrying the dog in his hands. Her feet again wanted to run away but she had no way. It was blocked by three gorgeous men and four were approaching her.
Thae was breathing heavily. His eyes were red. His nose was flaring. He held the dog tightly in his arms as if it was the most precious thing to him. He was continuously staring at her. He squinted his eyes, scrunched his nose and came face to face with her.
"Are you an idiot?" shouted Thae. Nivritti could just look down. She was not even able to look into his eyes. She just kept gulping and breathing heavily. She clenched her fists tight due to fear. "How dare you hurt my 'Yong', my sweet 'Yong'? What kind of person are you?" Thae kept ripping into her. The whole floor was outside the room listening to what was happening in the script department. No one else was talking. Only Thae was shouting. "You hurt an innocent animal that can't even defend himself. How can someone be so cruel? If something happens to him, I won't forgive you and make your life hell." He gritted his teeth.
She kept staring at the floor listening to him scolding her in front of the whole office but due to her fear, she was still unable to speak. Him-Chan and Korain were standing near Kyung-Soo and Nivritti.
The first one to speak was Korain. "That's enough. Calm down, Kat. First, send 'Yong' to the vet for a check-up. Let's see what he says and then issue threats." His angelic voice soothed everyone. Thae was almost calm after just a few sentences.
"But Hyung," protested Thae.
"He is right, Kat," nodded Kyung-Soo.
"Fine, if you guys say so," said Thae. He then looked at Nivritti who was still staring at the floor, "what are you doing here still standing, get lost."
Thae went ahead and handed the dog to his staff. They immediately exited the room and ran with Yong in their hands. It was clear that they were taking him to the vet.
Nivritti walked slowly to her seat. Every eye was on her. Thae was still giving her the stink-eye.
"I hate her," barked Thae who was still staring at Nivritti.
"Calm down, Kat," ordered Kyung-Soo.
"She hurt Yong, Hyung," replied Thae.
"It was not intentional," Kyung-Soo tried to make him understand but he was too angry. He loved that dog, and everyone knew it.
"Yeah, yeah," muttered Thae and started moving out of the room. Now the corridor outside the room was empty. Everyone returned back to their department. But they saw Nivritti getting scolded. It was her first day and she was the talk of the town. She was hating that.
"Where are you going?" asked Korain.
"To the practise room, Hyung," replied Thae, softly.
"What about our script?" asked Kyung-Soo.
"You need all of us here for that?" asked Thae.
"You get the script and meet us in the practice room. I will take everyone there," Him-Chan chimed in.
"Thanks, Johan. Take everyone there. I will meet you in a jiffy," said Kyung-Soo.
"Okay," said Him-Chan
Every other member started walking away from the script department and went to the practice room which was on the first three floors of the building. It was by design so that their footsteps would not disturb other departments in their work.
Kyung-Soo approached Chung-Ho. "Annyeonghaseyo, Choi-ssi."
"Annyeonghaseyo, King. That was something," commented Chung-Ho.
"I apologise on his behalf. He should not have shouted in your department," apologised Kyung-Soo, politely.
"It's okay. Here for the script?" asked Chung-Ho.
"Yes. For the daily video we post on "Nettube"," Kyung-Soo rolled his eyes.
"Don't be so excited," teased Chung-Ho.
"Ha-ha, no, it's just our schedule is jam-packed. Rencontre is in six months, and we have to practice a lot," replied Kyung-Soo.
"I can understand. Let me print copies for you," said Chung-Ho.
"Please also send me soft copies," requested Kyung-Soo.
"Of course."
While Chung-Ho was typing on his computer and giving print commands, Kyung-Soo turned around to look at Nivritti. He felt bad for how Thae treated her. To his surprise, he saw a tear drop from her eyes. Very stealthily she kept wiping her tears, but the tears never stopped. They kept streaming down her face.
Nivritti could feel that all eyes were on her. She felt everyone was judging her, talking about her, thinking about her. It was too much to bear. It was her first day and she was scolded by one of the important people in the company. Not a single day was over, and she already made an enemy.
She looked around. Wiped her tears and ran away towards the exit stairs. She closed the door behind her to cry away from prying eyes. Kyung-Soo noticed that.
"May I ask something?" Kyung-Soo asked Chung-Ho.
"Yes," replied Chung-Ho without removing his eyes from his system.
"Who is she? I never saw her before," asked Kyung-Soo.
"Ohh… she is the new recruit from India. This is actually her first day," replied Chung-Ho, sadly.
"What?" shouted Kyung-Soo. Everyone lifted their head to look at Kyung-Soo and to find out why did he shout. He then lowered his voice and said, "and Kat shouted at her on her first day?"
"Yes, new country, new people, new job, etc are already hard to get adjusted to but getting shouted at on the very first day is the hardest. I hope she is strong," said Chung-Ho.
"Me too," Kyung-Soo said thoughtfully.
"I have sent the soft copy to your phone and grab the printouts on your way out," said Ching-Ho. He kept working while talking to Kyung-Soo.
"Khamshamnida, Choi-ssi," said Kyung-Soo. Chung-Ho smiled and nodded at him.
Kyung-Soo walked to the copier room, grabbed the copies of the script, and started walking towards the lift to go to the practice room but he couldn't stop thinking about why she ran from her seat towards the stairs. He looked around and found no one in the corridors. Everyone was busy with their work so very stealthily he walked towards the stairs where he found her. She had her face hidden in her palms and was crying while facing towards the wall. For a minute, he hesitated but then moved towards her.