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"As everyone knows, the next design submissions are in two weeks. Just reminding everyone to finish it by next week." Mr. Lee said seriously.
"Oh! Minho, you saw my designs, right? They're beautiful aren't they? Why haven't you got the 10th floor slaves to work on it yet?" She asked tugging on his suit. I rolled my eyes at the way her voice suddenly pitched up, she could hit a high note if she wanted to.
Mr. Lee looked in her direction, looking down at her with no expression. "They're busy." He said bluntly. "And it's Mr. Lee for you."
"Minho!" She whined, gripping the bottom of his coat, pulling it every two seconds. If only I could vomit there right on the spot, I wouldn't hesitate, but boss being here is the only reason why I haven't done so.
Not sparing a glance at the clingy girl, he spoke again. "We'll have Mr. Han speak."
Jisung nodded and Mr. Lee took his seat, Jisung goes to the back of the room, where the big white screen was placed. Everyone's eyes trailed on the squirrel-like boy, huffing his cheeks out as he tries to remove his uneasiness. It wasn't his first time presenting to boss, but whenever he does, it feels like the first time.
"Han?" Boss asked the boy, poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue, impatient.
"Y-yes, I'll start now." He choked out in fear, starting the presentation for each month. The white screen suddenly projected a line which only directed up for the first half and then a straight line for the other side.
"The sales are consistent, and if ever always going up. Customers say our products are good quality and they will keep returning here to buy more." He gulped before continuing. "But—"
Mr. Lee's ears perked up. "But what?" He asked, his voice in a lower octave.
"C-customers think there are too many—" He gulped in nervousness. "Skin showing clothes and not many men's clothing." He finished. My eyes darted to Jihyeon who looks incredibly proud of herself, I also then noticed everyone else was also glaring at Jihyeon.
"They hope to see more closed-off clothes like sweaters and oversized shirts on the racks, also a few longer dresses. More male clothing selections too" Jisung finished his presentation, letting out a quiet but powerful exhale as he sat back down on his seat.
Mr. Lee put both his hands on the table with loud but no-so-loud bang, looking at everyone of us. "Since this is now an issue for the company, we'll be moving the submissions to next week instead of two weeks from now—".
"Oh, Minho! I've been preparing so many new designs already, I have at least eighteen new designs I have been dying to submit." Jihyeon said, intertwining both her hands together and holding them up to her left cheek.
"Actually you've submitted quite enough for at least six months, you don't have to submit this time." Mr. Lee said, taking a folder from his secretary.
"But Minho, I've been working so hard on those de—" She got cut off.
"Let me rephrase what I said earlier, you don't need to submit this time." He told her in such a deadly low pitch, glaring at her. Jihyeon went silent as her whining stopped, the atmosphere in the room also became tense.
"Continuing," he said. "Any project proposals to boost popularity and sales?" He asked the employees sitting at the meeting table.
I actually had one idea in mind, but I didn't know if boss will think it's a good idea. It has been on my mind for quiet a while now, couldn't keep it to myself for long so I told Chan and he thought it would be a good marketing strategy. His words gave me a boost in confidence but boss' serious aura makes me cower back in fear, he always make me speechless but not in a jaw dropping way, more of the words get stuck in my throat and I end up gulping them back in.
Chan leaned over to me and moved closer to my ear. "You should tell Mr. Lee your idea."
"No! He might say it's lame." I whispered back at Chan.
"The keyword is 'might'." Chan whispered, smug evident in his voice.
"I take it back, 'he will say it's lame', while at it let's add stupid." I whispered and laid back in my seat.
"You're stupid for thinking that." Chan rolled his eyes and crossed her arms.
"Hey! Take that back, stupid—!"
"Miss Kim and Mister Bang." He cut me off. "If you nothing to say that will contribute to this meeting then please don't speak." He said and as soon as he said our names, a chill ran down my spine. His voice is like lighting, it strikes on you and you get electrocuted. If you're caught off guard by Mr. Lee talking to you, then you'll feel exactly what I'm feeling right now.
I gulped. "We're so sorry—"
"We were discussing about an idea Y/n thought about which may help market the products." Chan interjected. I sent him a glare which I low-key hoped bore holes through his eyes. At this point, I forgot that I actually like this man.
I gritted my teeth, facing him I whispered, "Traitor." And he just flashed a cute smile at me, which took me aback a little. My heartbeat speeding up a little as the room suddenly felt a little hot.
"Y/n." He called my attention. "What do you have to say?" He asked, crossing his arms as he leans back in his chair a little.
I refused to make eye contact with Mr. Lee because I can feel his eyes boring holes in my head, not looking away from me. Despite the stare he was giving me, I spoke anyway. "Maybe to promote our clothes and the brand we can host a fashion show to the public, somewhere where everyone goes to a lot so there will be more audience."
"We're going with that." He said without hesitation.
Wait, what did I just hear? My mouth slightly gaped open with his words, body stopped functioning. Did he just say they're going with my idea? And without hesitation?! He wrote on one of the papers his secretary handed him with a fountain black-ink pen and gave it back to her. Chan looked at me and when ours met, he winked in my direction. My cheeks turned one shade red and I nudged him playfully, not looking at him in the eye.
"Told you it's good." Chan whispered, and I rolled my eyes.
After a few more minutes of discussion, boss finally dismissed us. Everyone walked out of the room, the chatters fading away as they brought it with them. Standing up to leave the room, following behind Chan, a call of my name was heard before I exited the room.
"Miss Kim." The voice called. I stiffened at the sound, the same chill ran down my spine as I hesitated to look at the speaker. When I mustered my courage three seconds later, I turned around making eye contact with my one and only boss.
"I need to talk to you."
~~~~~~~~
There is a storm here at the moment and since electricity is down, I might publish this chapter a little late. Stay safe!
To add on my first note, the power of data is amazing.
Finished: November 12, 2020 Published: November 12, 2020
