I See You

his help

"Boss! Are you tuned in?"

Blinking a few times, his trance was shattered, and he quipped, "Yep, what's the scoop?"

"The latest shipment of those mind-bending drugs is a success. Word on the street is it's going to be the most addictive thing on the planet."

"Oh, I'm well aware. Dispatch them to the buyers, but keep it on the down-low. The cops are playing drug watchdog more than ever."

"Got it, boss. No worries."

With that, Taehyung turned on his heels and strutted to the elevator, heading up. The lift doors parted, and there was Yn, making her way to the exit from a distance. His expression tightened, grappling with the reality that he'd been fixated on her since they met. Annoyingly, he'd even gone so far as to have his agent spill everything about her, just because she felt strangely familiar. The morning revelation from his agent only fueled his irritation.

She hailed from Busan, a 24-year-old who shifted to Seoul at 18 with her folks, aced UOS at 22, prepped for the job post-grad, and now she works here with a handful of friends. The whole package—nothing less, nothing more.

Yet, Taehyung hungered for more details. He sensed they had a pre-company encounter, but the where and how eluded him.

On impulse, he called out her name, halting her in her tracks. She pivoted to see her boss swaggering towards her. A subtle frown etched her forehead. She longed to head home; her day had been exhausting, coupled with being fashionably late.

"Yes sir, need something?" she chimed with forced politeness, sensed by Taehyung.

Sideways, he cleared his throat, "Why linger here?"

"Well, I was scouring the storeroom for a file; it ate up time. Plus, I had to sketch out your tomorrow schedule on the dot."

"Could've waited until tomorrow."

"Sir, you've got an early bird meeting tomorrow. I have to be your wingwoman. Remember the 901 file for that meeting?"

"Oh yes, yes," he stuttered. The one who hammered the meeting details into her head was now suffering memory lapses. Ever since meeting her, everything seemed askew.

"Alright sir, I'm off. Goodnight," she made a move, but Taehyung snagged her with another interruption.

"Wait... let me drop you."

"What?" she eyed him, disbelieving. Her usually rude and aloof boss was suddenly offering assistance. She was perfectly capable of going solo.

"It's late, and you're working so hard for me," he explained with an uncharacteristically soft voice.

Her disbelief gave way to a small smile, "Okay. Sir."

Running his hand through his hair, he gestured for her to join him. The ride was a kaleidoscope of lights as Taehyung cruised on a clear road. Occasional glances at his secretary revealed her attention fixed on the outside view. The window was halfway down, letting the wind tousle her beautiful hair. Every glint of her hair under streetlights held his attention. Did he realize how entranced he was by her beauty at that moment? With his own fiancée, he never stared so intently, never noticed the subtleties. Yet, with Yn, no effort was needed, and he remained blissfully unaware of the metamorphosis within him.

"Here, stop here," Yn directed as they neared her place. "I'll walk from here; cars can't navigate my home lane."

"Alright," he agreed, hazel eyes fixed on her.

"Thanks for today; didn't expect you to be so helpful."

Frowning at her remark, he replied, "Excuse me?"

Wide-eyed, she corrected, "I mean... helpful! Okay, have a nice night, goodbye," and quickly hopped out. Her clumsy walk across the road amused him. A near stumble added to the charm as she navigated home.

Amused by her antics, he snickered, his hazel eyes gleaming. He hadn't experienced such a moment in a long time. When was the last time he laughed? The amusement waned as he faced himself in the mirror. A cruel man, helping his employee, yet affronted when she questioned his helpfulness.

This was how he should be—unhelpful, ruthless, inhumane. His gaze shifted to his hands, reminiscing about the lives he took and the people he tortured. Laughing, smiling, happiness felt undeserved. The weight of such thoughts spurred him away from her house.

Slapping her head for the fourth time after the embarrassing moment before entering her house, she announced with a strained voice, "I'm home!"

"Well, come here, Yn; look who's here."

Entering the living room, her parents and Jungkook were seated, all smiles and clearly having a great time.

"Jungkook! What are you doing here?" she asked with a surprised voice.

"You don't sound so happy; why, don't you want me here?" Jungkook pouted.

"Don't be silly, Kookie; I was just surprised."

His lips formed a smile as he said, "I love it when you call me Kookie."

"Yes, because you are a baby man."

"What? A baby man!"

"Yeeshhh."

"You both are still kids; you both carry on. Your father and I are going to check on food."

After Yn's parents left, Jungkook inquired, "So did your scum boss say or do anything to you?"

"Well... he did threaten me not to share about last night with anyone, but you know he's not that bad; he dropped me home."

"What... you... you came with him?"

"Yep."

"Why?" his voice oddly stern.

"He offered; I accepted."

"You could have asked me."

Getting irritated by his sudden interrogation, she said, "Jungkook, what's with so many questions? I'm his secretary, so he helped, big deal." She was about to get up from the couch they were sitting on, but he stopped her by grabbing her wrist. "Yn, wait! Listen... I'm sorry... it's just I don't like it when someone else helps you other than me. And I'm just really worried about you; you know your boss is a bit weird."

Sighing, she said, "Okay, but I hate being bombarded with questions like that."

"Okay, promise it will not happen again," he said while rubbing his ears.

Yn laughed and pushed his hands away from her eyes. She looked to the side and saw a very old picture of theirs, around 17 years ago, hanging among other photos. "Jungkook, do you remember this picture?" she said, pointing it out. He got up and moved closer to the picture. "I was crying so much; I can't recall why, but I was crying and crying. I can't remember anything from that trip, but only this moment, and you were telling me, 'I am here, don't worry or something.' And during this, Dad clicked a pic of us."

"I don't remember why I was crying so much; it is still a mystery to me. Do you remember, though?" Yn trailed off when she looked at Jungkook, who was almost boring holes into the picture with his eyes. There was a sudden glint of darkness that made Yn uneasy.

Grabbing his shoulder, she shook it and said, "Jungkook! Are you okay? Why are you looking at the picture like that?"

Still not moving his eyes from the picture, he said, "Nothing; it's just this trip was the shittiest trip of my life."

Frowning at his statement, she was about to ask the reason when Yn's mom called for them to have dinner, and Jungkook left without conversing any longer.

Looking back at the picture, she couldn't comprehend what about it disturbed him so much. She kept observing and saw a small boy standing really far from them. She couldn't see his face, but she could figure out that he was looking at them.