(Inspired by the k-drama Romance Is A Bonus Book)
He watched as she continued to find more tasks around the office. From dusting, to restocking bookshelves with our book publishing company's newest materials, to preparing coffee for all the managing staff...
She would just never stop.
He's never seen an intern so dedicated to their job, going above and beyond what was required of them. Her paycheck would never be as high as his, however, she continued to work as if somehow the extra tasks would help accumulate more moolah in the bank.
He'd never come across someone almost as hard-working as he was. Though he admired this trait, it also aggravated him. Watching her from his desk, he grinded his teeth, his nails digging into his empty coffee cup.
Why is she so hard-working?
Most importantly, why aren't the other interns working just as hard?
His tired brown eyes glanced around the office, landing on the other interns. They were much younger than her... and much less dedicated. One of them was busy filing a hang nail, their face making a sour expression as they focused on their manicure issues. The other one was attempting to create a tower of pencil erasers, groaning with frustation when the "tower" would collapse for the fourth time.
What did we see in these people?
"Hey, Deena, could you take the trash out?" One of the book editors requested, pointing to three very round trash bags aligning the wall.
She immediately jumps up from her desk and happily walks towards the trash bags, rolling up the sleeves of her oversized sweater.
"Yes, sir," she replies.
"Be careful of that one, it has a small hole. I tried tying it the best I could--"
"Oh, sure!" She smiles hugely while grabbing the overstuffed bag in one hand, her knuckles turning white. She grabs the two smaller ones in the other hand before happily waddling away.
Who is that happy to be touching garbage?
He heaved a sigh, watching her disappear from the office before, with his coffee cup in hand, getting up and following her.
--
She had barely made it to the doors, dragging the heavier bag, when he ran in front of her and held them open.
"Here, let me help you," he says. He focused on her delicate but matured face. Crows feet appeared as her eyes smiled his way.
"Oh, thank you, sir."
She smiled at him while dragging the bags through the door he was so nice enough to open for her.
He then rushed towards the golden elevators, pressing the button to call it up to their floor, the tenth and highest floor of their building.
He stood by the doors, eyes never leaving her face as she approached him.
"Could you imagine if elevators were never invented? You'd have to lug all of that down ten flights of stairs." He shakes his head with disgust. "Agh, how times have changed."
She grins and nods in agreement. "That would be a long trip, but I'm use to it. When I was younger, I helped my grandfather on his farm. He made me carry so many big bags of animal food here and there. I was so little, but I had the biggest muscles in my kindergarten class," she giggles.
His eyes widen at her story, not that it's anything significant, but he's surprised she feels comfortable enough to share this personal story with him.
