Mad As A Hatter | bl | ORV

Episode 1: Little AUs

Episode 1: Little AUs
Alt. Title: WHAT IFs

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Act 1: breaking the law

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"Do you need a ride?"

Kim Dokja almost threw his bag in fright when a car suddenly stopped in front of him. That night, the train had to undergo emergency maintenance and there were no buses left this late at night, so Dokja could only stand by the bus station. He wondered if he should get a cab but he didn't like riding on one.

The car that stopped in front of him belonged to a superior at Mino Soft. He was someone that Dokja barely interacted with but once had the luck to be assigned under his team. The window rolled down, revealing a pretty face that no words could properly describe.

It was Ahn Eun-Byeol sunbae.

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"I see that your team leader has been making you work overtime, Dokja-shi."

Was the first thing Eun-Byeol sunbae said.

The reader felt dejected for a moment, putting on the seatbelt at the same time. The car's engine came to life and began driving down the road. "No, I'm just not very good at my work so I have to compensate for that by working more."

Silence brewed inside the car. Dokja ended up looking outside the window when his sunbae said nothing. Streaks of light passed by and Dokja appeared absentminded for a while. Every day was so monotonous that Dokja grew more and more bored every day. The only things making him wake up early were the webnovel he reads.

The car came to a stop and Dokja was just about to thank his sunbae for the ride when he realized he never even told Eun-Byeol sunbae his address. When he looked outside, it definitely was not his place!

"Uh, sunbae, where are we?"

"My place," Eun-Byeol sunbae smiled so bright that the moon appeared dimmer compared to him.

"... huh?"

"Dokja-shi, I think you shouldn't trust people so easily. Especially not someone like me who has bad rumors going around."

"Sunbae—"

And then, Dokja saw black.

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Act 2: business deal

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Kim Dokja wondered what went wrong.

He was simply accompanying his team leader to negotiate a partnership with another company but he never would have thought this would happen. Dokja, an ordinary worker, happened to have the opportunity to meet Ahn Eun-Byeol, one of the current reknowned computer scientist.

Did he happen to use up all the luck he had in this last time?

Surely not.

But with him pinned against the wall, with two arms blocking his path of escape, Dokja simply wondered if it was all his misfortune crashing down on him in one go. Never once had he met Ahn Eun-Byeol yet this person stopped him from leaving the room. His team leader has no choice but to leave him behind lest the deal they have with this company comes crashing down as well.