Secretary Kool

The cold man at the top The sound of my alarm was the first thing I heard that morning. I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head. “Five more minutes.” “Kool!” I opened one eye. My bestfriend Lisa stood beside my bed with her arms crossed. “You said five minutes twenty minutes ago.” I slowly sat up and looked at the clock. My eyes widened. “Oh my God!” I jumped out of bed. Today was Monday. And Monday was the one day of the week I could not afford to be late. Not when my boss was Kang Tae-hyun. For four years, I had worked as his secretary. Four years. I knew his schedule better than I knew my own. I knew which meetings he hated, which coffee he preferred, which reports he wanted on his desk before nine, and exactly how quiet his office needed to be when he was working. I also knew one very important thing. Mr. Kang did not tolerate lateness. I rushed around my room, trying to get ready while Lisa laughed. “You're going to get fired one day.” “Not today.” “You said that last week.” “I wasn't late last week.” “You arrived two minutes before him.” “That still counts as being early.” She shook her head. I grabbed my handbag and hurried toward the door. “See you tonight!” “Try not to get fired!” I rolled my eyes. “Very funny.” Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of the enormous glass building that housed Kang Corporation. I took a deep breath. Four years. Four years of working here, and somehow walking through those doors still made my heart beat faster. Not because of my boss. Definitely not because of him. I had never looked at Kang Tae-hyun that way. To me, he was my employer. My difficult, frightening, unbelievably strict employer. Nothing more. I entered the building and greeted the receptionist before heading toward the elevator. “Good morning, Ms. Kool.” “Good morning.” “Morning, Kool.” “Good morning.” I smiled at everyone as I walked. Then the elevator doors opened. I stepped inside. Just as the doors were about to close, a hand stopped them. My smile disappeared. Kang Tae-hyun entered. The atmosphere changed instantly. He was tall, dressed in a perfectly fitted black suit, with his dark hair neatly styled and his expression completely unreadable. He didn't greet anyone. He didn't have to. People straightened the moment they saw him. I lowered my eyes. “Good morning, sir.” His eyes moved toward me. “Good morning.” Two words. That was all. I silently sighed. Same Tae-hyun. Same cold voice. Same intimidating presence. The elevator continued upward. I checked the schedule on my tablet. “Sir, your meeting with the directors is at nine. The financial review has been moved to eleven, and your lunch meeting with Mr. Park is at one.” “Cancel lunch.” I looked up. “Cancel?” “Yes.” “May I ask why?” His eyes met mine. “Because I don't want it.” I stared at him for half a second. Of course. Why had I even asked? “Understood.” The elevator doors opened. He stepped out. I followed quickly. The employees around us immediately became quiet. I had seen it countless times. Kang Tae-hyun didn't need to raise his voice to control a room. His presence was enough. He walked into his office while I headed toward my desk. I placed my bag down and started organizing the documents for his first meeting. Everything was normal. At least, I thought it was. Until I noticed something strange. One of the confidential files from Friday's meeting was missing. I searched through the documents again. Nothing. My stomach tightened. Where was it? I checked my desk. Then the cabinet. Then the meeting room. Nothing. I was beginning to panic when the door to Tae-hyun's office opened. “Kool.” I froze. “Yes, sir?” “Where is the acquisition report?” My heart dropped. The acquisition report. The missing file. “I—” He stared at me. “I asked where it is.” “I had it on Friday.” “That's not what I asked.” I swallowed. “I'll find it.” “You have ten minutes.” Ten minutes. I nodded. “Yes, sir.” He turned and walked back into his office. I released a breath. “Great, Kool.” I whispered to myself. “Four years of experience, and you're going to lose your job over one file.” I searched everywhere. Then I remembered. Friday evening. I had taken the file into the conference room. I rushed there. The file was sitting beneath a stack of papers. I grabbed it and hurried back. “Found it.” Tae-hyun looked at the file before taking it from me. “Good.” I smiled nervously. “I'm sorry.” He opened the file. “You should be more careful.” “Yes, sir.” He looked at me again. For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then his eyes moved back to the papers. “You can go.” I nodded. I turned around. “Kool.” I stopped. “Yes?” “Your phone has been ringing for the last five minutes.” I looked down. I had several missed calls. From my boyfriend. My expression changed. “Thank you.” I walked back to my desk and stared at the screen. Another call came in. I answered. “Hello?” His voice came through immediately. “Where have you been?” “At work.” “You couldn't answer?” “I was busy.” “You're always busy.” I frowned. “What's that supposed to mean?” There was silence. Then he sighed. “Can we talk tonight?” My stomach tightened. “About what?” “Just... let's talk when you get home.” “Okay.” The call ended. I stared at my phone. Something about his voice felt different. Something was wrong.