You were walking to your seat after finishing the presentation you prepared for the past week.

"Good job, y/n!" each of your colleagues present in the conference room congratulated you and passed words of praise when you walked by them while you thanked them and gave them a small smile.

"We should celebrate your hard work, tonight is my treat! Let's go to the new restaurant that opened at the end of the street!" your colleague Chul said enthusiastically.

Chul was a ball of sunshine, it would be really hard not to get infected by her contagious behaviour but you were an exception, even though you both sat next to each other's cubicle.

"That's fine, Chul. I'm busy tonight and I'm a bit tired but thanks for the offer" you declined her kind gesture as politely as possible without hurting her feelings.

Chul let out a big sigh and pouted, it wasn't the first time you rejected her offers. You always kept your interactions with everyone at the office as short and formal as possible.

You only spoke if you absolutely had to.

You never participated in activities with your co-workers that wasn't work related. You always kept everything to yourself.

Chul never saw you laugh or talk to someone for more than 10 seconds, obviously from the exception of work.

You would always give your signature small smile but she knew deep down that it wasn't genuine.

It was more like a professional one. But something that most people didn't know was the fact that Chul was adamant.

Both you and her have been working for the last 7 years together.

She found you very interesting and made it a goal of hers to become your friend and see your 'true' smile.

She wasn't going to let her failed millionth attempt discourage her from her end goal.

You, on the other hand found Chul as interesting as she found you. You have seen many of your colleagues give up on you and leave you alone but Chul was the only one who never gave up and always tried.

But you weren't going to make the same mistake twice.

You moved to the opposite side of the country, changed your last name to your mother's maiden name and started everything a fresh after that horrible incident that scarred your life.

You sacrificed and went through a lot to start on a brand new slate.

You couldn't throw all those things away by allowing and trusting someone once again in your life. So you closed yourself.

The once bubbly girl turned into a quiet girl.

The once gullible girl turned into a wary girl.

"Oh did you know that the new boss will arrive tomorrow? I can't believe that Mr. Lee is really going to retire.." Chul said while typing on the keyboard.

You listened to her while working on your documents as well.

Mr. Lee was a great man with a big heart and utter professionalism. You didn't know any other people as your boss since you didn't work under anybody else, he was the person who you worked under ever since you started your job as a business development manager.

You didn't reach this position overnight, it was a position that you received after your boss saw your hard work & skills after three years of working with him.

But your acknowledgement didn't stop there.

Mr. Lee completely trusted you and made you carry certain work as his personal secretary as well which was compensated with money, of course.

Knowing Mr. Lee wouldn't be here anymore made you feel sad but more than anything, you felt a bit.....

apprehensive.

After moving, you always felt and made sure that you were in control of everything.

It was something that made you feel stable after everything that happened.

His retirement and the arrival of a new boss made you feel like you were losing a bit of control but you didn't show this anxiety on the outside.

"Most people in the office are excited for him since they couldn't wait to see and work with him ever since he came last year" Chul carried on talking while you turned your head with a confused expression.

But like always, you didn't ask the question that made you confused but quickly turned back your head to look at your desktop screen.

Chul who now knew your behaviour and expression in a beat, quickly answered the question you never asked.

"Actually, the new boss came last July for a seminar here but you were on annual leave during that time so you couldn't meet him but he made quite the impression. He's literally our age and he's very handsome and charismatic if I say so myself. Holding such a high position in the business industry at such a young age is a big deal"

"I heard that his father is a big entrepreneur but still he didn't want to follow his footsteps and wanted to create his own mark by himself. He graduated at a prestigious university in Seoul and started this business with his friends/peers during the final year at uni before it turned to what it is now...."

you were both impressed by Chul's knowledge about the new boss and by the new boss in question.

"He literally has his own fanbase in this branch haha! I mean who wouldn't be when one of the CEOS is going to be working here as the boss, isn't it?" you nodded your head and gave her your usual smile.

"When Mr. Lee personally asked him to replace him, he couldn't say no since Mr. Lee worked so hard in this branch to grow the way it is now from the very beginning. Can you believe that a CEO could be this humble? So far, I only know this much information. I will tell you more tomorrow once I find more details!" Chul giggled while sorting out her papers.

You only hoped that the arrival of this new person wouldn't change anything at your workplace and you would be able to work peacefully without any issues.

~