3

"Nathan," He greeted Mr.Kim back with a mischievous glint in his eyes and I knew all too well that Mr. Min was very good at provoking people without even letting it affect him in the slightest. He was quite a smart man, almost as smart as Mr. Kim himself.

"Why do you people like to annoy me?", he asked in a hard tone and my eyes widened. He was never cold to Mr. Min and he too knew that Mr. Min wasn't the one who was at fault.

"Why are you getting annoyed? I'm just here to patch things up between us," he stated calmly springing back up to his feet and sighing. The aura in the room was a little too cold and unusually calm for my liking. It signified only two things: either both the boys were going to patch up or Mr. Kim was about to jump Mr. Min any coming second and I was ready to prevent anything from happening.

"I don't wanna patch things up with you! You slept with my Fiance!", Mr. Kim spat as Mr. Min took a few careless steps towards him. Mr. Kim was taller than Mr. Min by quite a few inches but he was older and I would like to believe that Mr. Kim respected him enough.

"Nat, you know what happened, please stop blaming everybody for one person's mistakes," Mr. Min's eyes had softened now but he seemed to have touched a particular spot which was quite sensitive since Mr. Kim growled loudly and almost pulled his fisted hands out of his shorts pocket but fortunately I was close enough.

"Sir, please step back," I whispered holding his large wrists in my hands and standing right in front of him with a pleading look in my eyes. 

"No Sophie! I can't always step back! I've had enough!", he yelled and I flinched holding tighter onto his wrists but not looking back into his. I know how terrifying they can be when he's angry.

"Mr. Min, I think you should go," I said softly and nudged my chin towards the door that was open agape. He swallowed harshly and walked backward with a bitter smile turning around just when he reached the door and slammed it shut behind him.

I was scared to turn around but I knew I had to do it. His chest was puffed up completely, eyes red with fury as my fingers dug harshly in the skin of his wrists. I let go of his wrists and closed my eyes, sighing deeply.

"Let's count to ten together," I said rubbing his forearm up and down. He gulped harshly but nodded anyway looking down into my eyes with the same hard look from before.

"Ten," I said walking forward and he stepped backwards with me, "ten".

"Nine," He repeated letting his hands fall limp at his sides.

"Eight," Following the same protocol for every time he launches himself on people around him, I maneuvered him towards the kitchen not stopping till his back hit the counter.

Once I was sure he wasn't angry, I stepped away from him and grabbed a glass of water for myself downing it in one go. He looked down at me through his lashes expecting me to offer one to him too but that wasn't happening today. I could be upset too.

"Are you just gonna keep looking at me like that?", he asked but I ceased to look away and kept glaring at him from a distance, my foot tapping impatiently against the floor of the kitchen.

"Come on, you know I would never hurt Jae," I huffed out and turned to my side walking out of the kitchen while he groaned following me.

"Sophie! I'm your boss, you can't just ignore me like that," he complained in a stern tone but I gave him a blank look.

"Oh yeah? Watch me do it, Mr. Kim," I challenged slipping my shoes on and tying my hair up into a bun.

"Okay listen. You should know that I would never hurt him, I was just pissed off over the fact that he slept with Teressa and I know I shouldn't have been upset with him because it wasn't his fault but he was trying to annoy me!", he accused holding up a finger in the air.

"Mr. Kim, that's not the point. You should know that it was very wrong of you to just launch yourself on him. That's not how the world works, I wouldn't be here to stop you all the time and you'll end up doing something you'll regret," he walked closer and closer to me while I spoke, continuously nodding with the feeling of victory in his chest since he knew he had managed to distract me from ignoring him again.

"You should apologize to him while I go return that ring to Teressa's sister," I said spreading my palm out flat in front of him.

"Oh, I didn't think of that," he frowned at the beautiful silver band on his fingers tracing his fingers over it delicately. I sighed as I watched him struggle with it.

"There are a lot of girls who'd be willing to fill up the spot this one's leaving," I muttered softly to soothe the pain Teressa has caused in his heart and stopped pulling his ring out mid-way to looked up at him with a thin-lipped smile.

I breathed out holding his gaze and nudged to the ring on his fingers. He didn't say anything else but placed his fingers over mine helping me slide the ring off, the touch made parts of my body heat up while the others went numb with cold and goosebumps.

"Are you?", he asked sliding the ring in his fingertips and onto my finger without me knowing.

"What?"

He stepped away still with eyes locked and offered me the politest smile I've seen him wear.

I was about to question him again but he turned around quickly rubbing the hair of his nape while I stood there, behind him with his ring on my finger and my heart thumping against my ribs.

"I guess not." 

-

"Are you? Are you? What does he mean 'are you'?", I mumbled to myself as I walked up the stairs to Teressa's sister's apartment. What could he mean by asking that? Was I thinking too much into it? 

I hmphed out of frustration and pressed the bell to her apartment with my arms crossed in front of him. Mr. Kim was out for a run in the park near his villa which meant I had enough time before we would need to head to the gym. The brown mahogany door opened only in the slightest before Teressa's mother's head popped out of it. She smiled at me and immediately widened the door opening inviting me inside but I just shook my head. 

"Good morning Mrs. Lee, I was just here to return this ring," I said softly smiling at her and extended the ring towards her. Her brows clashed together as she looked back and forth between the ring and my eyes. Honestly, who could blame her, Mr. Kim had agreed to marry Teressa because of Mrs. Lee and she herself would've never thought that they'd call the marriage off. 

"Wha- Why?", she questioned loudly and I took a breath in, thinking of a way where I could just tell her everything simply. She looked up at me through her lashes, trying to search my eyes for something that would give her an explanation. 

"Mr. Kim and Teressa had been experiencing a few personal issues, that's all I know," I said giving her another tight smile which she returned with a doubtful expression. Of course, she'd doubt me, Teressa had been going out with Namjoon since last year so her family too was aware of all my jobs as his manager. 

"I don't believe you. You must know the real reason and I demand that you tell me everything," she said in a stern loud tone. I licked my lips which had dried out of nervousness and nodded. 

"Your daughter cheated on Mr. Kim," her expression darkened and a low growl escaped her mouth almost confusing me if she was the same person. 

"I should've known. I should've known she wasn't the one for Nat. Tell him I'm really sorry for what happened, okay darling?", she asked patting the side of my face with the pads of her fingers and I nodded quickly giving her a small comforting hug. 

She sighed bidding me goodbye and closed the door as soon as I had turned around to face the car he had sent me in. I pushed my hands into my back pockets while strolling to the car chewing the insides of my cheeks. Why couldn't she be like her mother? 

"Sophie! Hurry up, we're getting late!", the driver whose name I still wasn't aware of, exclaimed while waving his hand in the air. I grinned at him and sped up my feet quickly. 

"I'll be back with Mr. Kim by the time you come back down."

He stopped outside my apartment complex telling me that I still had thirty minutes to be ready. It was just Wednesday meaning I still had three days of continuous work before I would get an off day.

What a life. 

I punched in the passcode of my almost empty apartment and slid my shoes off as quickly as I could. I quickly stripped myself of all my clothes throwing them in different corners of the house and stood under the showerhead, letting the waterfall down my shoulders and face. 

By the time I got out of the shower and somehow managed to quickly get into my sportswear, it was already ten-twenty which meant I only had ten minutes left for myself. I groaned looking around the very dusty and out-of-the-place apartment I was living in, it was alright when I had a roommate but ever since Nayeon moved out there was nobody to take care of the place behind my back. The least I could do was get a nice roommate and turn this 'apartment' into a 'home'. 

I shook my head and locked the door behind my back running down the spiraled stairs in hurry. As soon as I set my feet on the ground floor, the engine of the black Porsche revved to life telling me that he was in there, ready to go and definitely not ready to wait for more. 

"You're late," I mentally rolled my eyes at his very first comment for me but sat on the seat opposite him with my legs crossed over one another. 

"Hello to you too sir," he shook his head and got back to scrolling his phone letting a very awkward atmosphere take shape in the car. I incessantly tapped my foot against the door of the car waiting for something to happen so I can escape this situation. I placed my chin on top of my upturned palms which rested on my knee discreetly watching Mr. Kim as he went on doing his thing. 

"Stop doing that," he said without looking up from the screen but I caught the red dusting his cheeks adorned and couldn't help but find it adorable. I wasn't sure if he was talking about me staring or that my foot was causing noise in the usually silent car.

"You can control my schedule Mr. Kim, not my actions," he lifted his gaze from the screen, pressed the side button locking the phone, and threw it to the side before entangling his leg with mine. He hooked his foot under my calve and pulled me towards him with ease, his bare legs brushing against mine as I gasped and held onto his thighs, stabilizing myself. 

"See Miss Sophie? I can control your actions too," he said smirking slightly. I huffed and rolled my eyes till they fell on the accidental placing of my small palms. I gulped feeling his muscular thighs under my palms and supported myself by pressing my palms harder against them and leaned back to my original spot. 

"You look a little bothered, is everything alright?", I could tell from a hundred feet that he was smirking, finding amusement in my flushed state. It wasn't the first time this had happened.

After working with him for the past four years, I had understood that he was aware of the effect he had on me and others around him.