"Bye, Miss Han," Said Mira Bae, Isabelle's colleague, whose desk was right beside hers.
She was a simple girl with a simple smile.
She always quietly encouraged Isabelle and had been worried when she did not come to work on Friday.
Everyone asked after her, of course, but Mira was the only one who asked, specifically...
"Is the work catching up to you? Do you need my help?"
Such a sweet girl.
Isabelle refused her help politely and assured her she was fine, which led to Mira leaving as well.
Now, there were only two beings in the office.
Isabelle Han, a model employee who was about to win a medal for the amount of overnights she had spent working in a month, and Elias Yoon, who was in his corner, behind those glasses... Presumably working.
Isabelle briefly stared over at the light reflecting brightly from his side.
He seemed to be working hard.
But then shook it off.
She needed to finish her own work. No time to entertain thoughts of other people. Her mental health depended on how quickly she could finish her work.
But as she clicked away on her keyboard, her eyes began to grow heavy. She tried to shake off the sleep but it came to her like a knife to her throat.
So she gave in and slept without realizing it.
The low and sleek bun Isabelle had styled her hair into that day had come undone with her messy schedule.
Her wavy black hair cascaded loosely over her shoulders as she slept with her head pressed on her desk.
And then, slow and steady footsteps approached her.
Isabelle was deep in sleep, so she had no idea someone was walking towards her.
Not only that, she had no idea when they draped their coat over her shoulders to keep her warm, and sat down next to her.
She simply slept until their presence etched into her skin, making her aware.
Slowly, she opened her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering open and then she saw him.
Elias Yoon.
Leaning casually against the desk beside her, Elias Yoon flipped through a file–the project she was working on–his expression unreadable.
He looked so focused and didn't even know when she had woken up.
He was impressed by her work, as always, but it didn't show on his face. He simply kept scanning the files and Isabelle snapped her head up in shock.
It took a moment for her to come to terms with what was going on right at that moment but she finally understood it.
Why was Elias Yoon next to her right now?
And to think she had fallen asleep at work.
She quickly cleaned the side of her mouth, worried that she might've unconsciously drooled and made a fool of herself.
"You're up," Elias said, his eyes flicking away from the paper, and landing on her.
"Uh, yeah." She said, feeling a bit messy. "I... Did I sleep long?" She asked but realized it must've been a dumb question to ask.
Why would he know how long she slept anyway?
But then he answered her.
"No, you didn't." His eyes whisked towards the wall clock. "I'd say you slept for about an hour." He turned to her. "You must've been exhausted."
"Ah, yes." She said, looking away from him. 'It's all thanks to someone.' she thought, dryly.
"I came to talk to you regarding the agreement we talked about at your place." He said, placing the file down. "But I saw you sleeping and thought it would be rude to wake you up."
As soon as he said that, her brow gently slid up in an arc. Since when did he care about being rude or not? Her expression asked.
Even if Elias saw this expression and knew what it meant, he acted like he didn't understand and continued talking.
"I decided to look at your work instead, since I had a bit of time on my hands and it's quite impressive."
"Ah, you must be talking about the project you will end up rejecting tomorrow, am I right?" She asked, not even trying to act composed since he already saw her true self at her house the other day.
Elias propped his body up from the desk and balanced himself on his two feet.
"I won't reject it." He said, sounding so certain that Isabelle was almost fooled.
"Yeah, right. Like you've not rejected every other project I've used my entire blood and sweat to draft." She shrugged, scoffing sarcastically.
"Yes, I did. But I took them in the end." He said and she frowned.
So what was the point he was trying to make?
Did she have to draft up multiple projects for the same purpose just so she could test the waters?
This was the Business Development Department where every second and every planning counted. She had no time to waste drafting multiple for one.
She folded her arms.
"So, are you trying to say you won't reject it because you'll take it in the end... After you've sent it back like five times?" She asked but he shook his head.
"You don't seem to notice but you've managed to take note of every error I have ever pointed out in your work. Thanks to that, there's little to nothing to worry about in this current project you've drafted. Which means, I have no reason to reject it, Miss Han. Does this clear things up for you?"
Her face slightly twisted.
Was he saying that because of the errors he kept pointing out that she was finally able to draft a perfect project? Giving himself credit, was he?
He wasn't just cold and a beast, he was also full of himself.
This was the boss she was working with.
Elias stared at her for a while, somehow able to tell what she was thinking due to the way her eyes kept twitching and her lips kept twisting.
He still had a long way to go if he wanted to be in her good books.
"Now, that aside, let's talk about something else." He said and took off his glasses.
Then, he suddenly turned her chair so she could face him, dropping both his hands on her armrest and staring directly into her calculating eyes.
"Let's talk about our little agreement, shall we?"