flirting with professionalism | jing yuan [hsr]

✎ five

"good morning mr jing yuan." i greeted him as he walked into the office. jing yuan set a cup of coffee on the reception counter, pushing it towards me.

"for you." he smiled sweetly, causing a raise of my eyebrows. i take it from him with gratitude.

"you didnt have to, sir." i said sheepishly, looking around to see if any of my coworkers had noticed. jing yuan just chuckled, leaning on the counter, resting his cheek on his fist.

"but i did, y/n." his voice was softer, his eyes scanning mine. i broke the contact, becoming awkward and stiff. he noticed and backed away, clearing his throat. "i.. uh- need you for meeting notes in an hour."

"yes, sir." i replied, not making eye contact with him again. he grabbed his own coffee and left to his office, a slight frown plastered across his face. i sighed, a wave of guilt creeping its way up to me. "what am i doing...?" i whispered to myself, shaking unwanted thoughts out as i prepared for the day.

throughout the day, i tried to ignore the constant emails i was getting from the international figure skating association. every recognizable name i saw went into the trash bin of gmail. i couldnt bring myself to read most of them, but some had caught my eye.

i couldnt go back. i just couldn't. i didnt want to. skating wouldnt bring me the joy that it used to. im fine with my job now. decent pay, decent benefits, zero fame. everything i needed, and wanted.

"-n? y/n..?" i snapped out of my thoughts, looking up to see yukong standing in front of me, a playful smirk gracing her lips. "ah, now you're awake."

"sorry.." i shook my head and looked back at her. "do you need something?"

"the whole office is doing friday night drinks, wanna join? you can leave whenever, but we're planning on going to the new bar that opened downtown." she explained, smiling. i bit my lip and sighed, weighing the pros and cons of going. after a bit, i finally responded.

"oh alright, i'll go this time." i chuckled, slightly exasperated. yukong clapped and walked away, writing my name onto her list of people. i mentally slapped myself for the decision, then accepted what i said. it was about time i let myself loose, even if its with the same people i work with.

one hour till closing time. my eyes forced themselves to stay open as the computer light flickered. my right hand moved the mouse from tab to tab, clicking and scrolling and typing. the phone rang and i groaned.

"luofu tech this is y/n. yes he's in the office. he's not returning your calls? yes ill talk to him right now. yes. mhm. okay, no worries. uh huh, yep. alright, take care." i sighed in frustration, standing up with a number of files and heading over to jing yuan's office. without knocking, i stormed into his office, only to find him, sleeping, head resting peacefully on his desk. my eyes softened as i slowly approached him. i tapped his shoulder with my free hand.

"mmhm..?" he mumbled before stirring, now awake. "y/n?" i stepped away and placed the files on his desk.

"xianzhou international affairs called sir, said that you haven't returned any of their messages." jing yuan blinked before sighing.

"ill do it later." he replied, laying his head back down. i scoffed, tapping his shoulder again.

"sir, wake up." i said sternly. "you have work." i turned on his computer as he regained consciousness, however froze when i saw his taps. he was watching a video online, but just to the side, in the playing next area, was... me.

the video was posted ten years ago, my first figure skating routine in the senior division. i had just turned fifteen, and my show was called 'helio'. memories swarmed my mind, as my breathing quickened. luckily, it hadn't been watched before, so jing yuan was still unaware.

"y/n? im up now... whats the hold up?" fuck. i clicked out of youtube and pulled up the sale rates graph.

"s-sorry sir." i replied nervously. jing yuan raised his eyebrows.

"you okay?" his voice was gentle, leaning forward, his fingertips brushing against my wrist.

"fine. here, mr jing yuan, these spreadsheets need to be finished." i pulled myself away and quickly exited the office.

"wait- y/n." i whipped around at the sound of my name. "are you going to drinks after work...?"

a ghost of a smile graced my features. "yes, i am sir." he grinned, sitting up in his chair.

"then, i suppose i must get to work."

a/n: HE