A Little Slice of Heaven [Namjin]

Chapter Thirty-One: Self-Important Penguins

AN: I'm not dead!

Hope you enjoy this next chapter.  Let me know!

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Data entry was boring, but at least it was easy. Namjoon's day consisted of the morning meeting where everyone's efficiency was on display for the rest of the teams to judge – he thought that perhaps it was a tool to try to shame those who were underperforming into doing better – then a few hours of typing names and figures into preset forms, double-checking that they were properly in the system, coffee break, more entry, more double-checking, lunch... type, type, type, check, check, check.

For the most part, he kept to himself. His numbers weren't the highest on the efficiency list, but he was well within the top five in his own team. He arrived on time and left an hour or two after his shift was officially over, more than happy to put in the overtime; every won earned was one step closer to Jeju, and to his Jin.

He typically just ate at his desk during lunch, inhaling whatever it was that Geongmin had given him without really tasting it. She was a better cook than he was, but only marginally. He was grateful that she made sure he was fed, though. He couldn't have asked for a better sister.

He had just clocked in on his fifth day and was tucking his lunch bag into one of his desk drawers when a hand reached out from the cubicle next to his and tapped him on the shoulder. Curious, Namjoon followed the hand up the arm to the attached person.

He was a stocky man with a round face that strongly resembled a potato. His eyes looked small behind his thick glasses, but his expression was open and friendly. Namjoon had seen him in passing, but he was part of a different team so, despite sharing a cubicle wall, they hadn't really spoken before.

"Hi." Namjoon closed the desk drawer with the toe of his shoe as he raised his eyebrows at the other man.

"Hey, new guy. Namjin, right?" The hand was held out over the cubicle wall in a western request for a handshake.

"Namjoon," he corrected as he took the offered hand and gave it a firm shake. "Kim Namjoon."

"Kim Byungwook. Everyone calls me Wookie, though." He pushed his glasses up his nose with a thick finger. "How you likin' it, Newbie?"

Namjoon shrugged. "It's work," he offered. He glanced at the clock on the wall; they had ten minutes before the morning meeting. He would normally spend that time getting himself set up for the rest of the day, but he'd noticed many of the employees took it as an extra break time, puttering about and socializing with their work-friends.

"Yeah, kinda drudge-y, huh?" Byungwook leaned his forearms on the top of the cubicle. "You're on Park's team, yeah?" At Namjoon's nod, the other man continued, "You should join our team. We've got a group that's bound to get hired on."

At that, the blond shook his head slightly. "I'm only here for a couple months, then I'm off."

Wookie frowned. "Dude, this place pays bank if you get permanence. The company they merged with is one of the biggest accounting groups in South Korea."

Namjoon was well aware of that. His father had worked for SK Financial for twenty-something years; it was slightly ironic that Namjoon was now working for the same company, if indirectly. Thankfully, as his workstation was based in the office building of the newly acquired National Accounting Firm's Seocho-gu Seoul branch, he didn't have to worry about running into the man. As far as Namjoon knew, his dad still worked out of the SK Group's headquarters in Seoul's Jongno-gu, over half an hour away across the Han.

"I'm just getting enough money together so I can afford to move." Namjoon shoved his hands into his pockets, shifting his weight slightly. He was a little flattered that this Wookie guy wanted to headhunt him, but he didn't want to get his wall-mate's hopes up.