We always heard that there are only two types of love:
Intimate love and platonic love.
But people like Yu Kim believed there is a third type of love:
The one-sided love.
And it's the most beautiful one.
You feel the moments alone.
You feel the happiness alone.
You feel the pain alone.
And...
You love all alone...
Li Qiao was not planning on listening to Yu Kim. He took yet another step away from her. Yu Kim narrowed her eyes at him. "Li Qiao, get your damn a** right here before I drag you myself."
Li Qiao's eyes widened at her loud voice. But the words were not shocking at all. They were more amusing. But the surprising fact was; It had been years, she stopped calling him Li Qiao. She always stuck with Sir or Mr. Li. Too formal. As if creating a barrier of ranks between them.
But the amusement in Li Qiao's eyes was swapped with plaintive glint as she held his wrist and dragged him to the sofa and almost pushed him from his broad shoulders to take a seat.
"Give me your hand." Her voice held authority making Li Qiao extend his hand obediently.
As she dabbled the disinfectant on his cut, he winced in pain. He had to bit down hard on his tongue to stop that damn scream from escaping. If every person is strong in their own way, every person is weak in their own way as well. Strength and Weakness are not that different.
Some people are just too good at hiding their weaknesses and some are good at hiding their strength.
Yu Kim had glistening tears in her eyes threatening to fall any minute and to hide them from Li Qiao, she kept her head stooped low. She was in as much pain as he was just by seeing him hurt. Or maybe her pain was worse. Because it was her heart that was bleeding while his was only a hand.
Keeping her head down had an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage was that she didn't notice the way Li Qiao's gaze held accusation for her in them. He was looking at her as a sacrificial lamb looks at the butcher.
But the disadvantage was that she also missed how the feeling in his gaze shifted as he saw her trying to blow a loose strand of hair away from her eyes. With his other hand, Li Qiao picked that strand and languidly tucked it behind her ear. Her body stiffened at the sudden contact of his callous thumb with her earlobe. She was surprised but Li Qiao took it as her disapproval.
"Sorry." He mumbled under his breath keeping his distance. She didn't see the hurt in his eyes while she used the gauze to wrap his wound.
A worker from the cleaning department came during this period and started cleaning up the place without making any noise.
After a long while, his voice punctured the silence. "Mey was at the hospital."
That got a reaction out of her. She looked up at his handsome face. "Why? What's wrong with her? Is she okay? Should we visit her?" In a single breath, she shot all the questions while fidgeting impatiently.
Her anticipating eyes were stuck on his face not even blinking. 'I was hurt and you kept your face down. My Mey's name came and you have the audacity to even stare at me like this. What a masterpiece you're.'
Getting tired of his silence, she held his arm and shook it to break his daze. "Sir? Tell me something."
That 'Sir' ticked him off once again. "Stop calling me Sir from now on and I'll tell you."
Yu Kim let go of his arm. "Are you negotiating with me? And that too at a time like this?"
"You call my friends by their name. What's so odd about me?"
"You're my boss now. That's the odd part."
"I'm your boss... Right... I am..." His voice was so low that Yu Kim couldn't catch a word of it. He looked at her. "Don't worry. Mey is fine. She's in denial. That's all."
"Denial?"
"She doesn't want to believe in her heart's signals."
"Is she falling in love?" Yu Kim was quite happy thinking about it.
Li Qiao saw the radiant smile on her face and an odd bitterness spread in his heart. "Close... She's in that anticipation phase. Where every simple word or action brings a storm of butterflies." His expression was distant but pleased.
"Like you felt around Song Yuling back then?" Why these words came out of her mouth was out of her own mind. She didn't even realize it but the impact of these words was huge.
Li Qiao gritted his teeth as a searing fire rose in his eyes. He closed his eyes and dug his nails in his already hurt palm to let the pain overcome his anger and disappointment.
"Yes... Exactly how I used to feel back then." He enunciated each word through gritted teeth putting more force in them than necessary.
Yu Kim's face fell at his words and she left making an excuse of having an important file to process. Li Qiao was left alone in the office with his painful hand and that pierced heart. He couldn't determine which was hurting more; The hand which was cut by a splinter or his heart that was cut by her brutal words.
No matter which one it was, it was painful for him.
He picked up his phone and tapped on it. The lock screen had a group photo of all his friends. Using his fingerprint, he unlocked the phone and the wallpaper on the screen displayed. It was a side profile of a girl standing alone under the starry night. The girl in the photo had short hair falling right on her shoulders.
She was wearing a black crop top matching the darkness of the night and her eyes were exactly like those stars that were brightening up the darkness of the night.
He caressed the screen with his thumb. "At least my Mey is just trying to deny her feelings because she's scared. But you're the most ignorant person, I've ever met in my life... Yu Kim." His voice was soft and low.
I believe if you owe something to anyone, you should pay it back twice. Even if it's a smile or just a kind word. After all, 'A kind word never hurts the mouth.'
I owe you guys a lot and in return, I try to write as well as I can. The biggest achievement for me as a writer is that my words are relatable and if my words brought a single smile on even a single person's face. I'll feel like my like life purpose is achieved.
Bury me under your debt a lot more; just write a review for this book.
A person doesn't always hide in the murk because he's fearful of the people around him.
Oftentimes, a person just conceals himself in the dark because he's petrified of his own silhouette.
'You keep a lot to yourself because it's difficult to find people who understand.'
More often than not, your own silhouette rather than grasping the mayhem running wild in you, end up abandoning you.
It's not strenuous to find a person to hear you out.
But...
It's arduous to find a person who cares. Who actually understands you. Who actually gives a damn.
From the moment Xu Mey entered her office, she placed Ye Jie in the far backseat of her mind. She would have loved to kick him out of it completely but apparently, not just her heart, even her mind was not ready to pay heed to her desires. Humph, Traitors!
-The President's office at Vintage Gems-
Xu Mey's typical serene, alluring and beaming semblance was nowhere in sight. The prim and proper President Xu was just like a lethargic old lady. With her hair sticking out of place, shoulders drooping in a sluggish manner and the lack of energy was clear evidence of her withdrawn interest in working.
For Qin Hao, this behavior was more terrifying than the one, when she goes on a rampage. As much as he was familiar with her, he'd observed how she always prioritized her work. As if her life and death depended on achieving something.
"Boss?" He called her cautiously.
Xu Mey looked up with weary eyes. Qin Hao gulped down his saliva with great effort. "I just received the news that Jade Stones' representative team met with Ms. Louise from the CoCo Jewels."
"What about it?" Xu Mey's disinterest in listening to his report was visible. We might lose our investors and Boss is acting like it's not even a big deal? What's wrong with her today?
Qin Hao could only swallow these words and continue on with his report. "They might try to end their contract with us. After all, the contract is just verbal even after a month's discussion."
Xu Mey sighed. Qin Hao saw the way her fingers were tapping on the office tabletop rhythmically. In the tranquil office, the rhythm was audible and it seemed beautiful to Qin Hao. His uneasy heart was calming down unknowingly.
The frustration that was adorning her beautiful features since the time she walked in the office was substituted with her enchanting serene bearing. It was one of those moments when Qin Hao couldn't take his eyes off of her face. Even with that haggard look, just her facial expressions were enough to put someone in trance.
He remembered the time he first came for an interview for the job right after graduating from college. The first time he saw her gorgeous looks, just like a normal person, his views were, "Just another beautiful face trying to climb up through daddy's wealth." He clicked his tongue and shook his head.
But the way she won him over in just a single day made him worship her like a goddess.
"Put that expression and your cheap mind out of this room, if you want to continue with this interview." She had said with a stern face.
"What?" Qin Hao frowned in confusion.
"My face and my mind are two different things. If you want to judge me on the basis of my face, you can get the hell out of here right this moment." Qin Hao's mind went blank hearing her words. Her expression and tone were like she was talking about the weather but those words... Those words were like sharp swords cutting him. "Also, my company is quite small and I don't think people with such splendid minds like yours can work at such a congested place."
Qin Hao felt bad about his self conjectures. He respectfully stood up from the chair and bowed his head a little deeper than necessary saying, "Ms. Xu, your company is not small. It's my own mind that is. I'm a fresh graduate with no experience of the world. For me, everything is true what the world believes to be true. I won't lie. I did judge you on the basis of how you look. But I'm sincerely sorry about it."
He turned to leave the room when he heard her calm voice. "Mr. Qin, You're hired." Qin Hao abruptly turned his body to look at her poised countenance. She wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were reading through the Resume in front of her. "Don't look so baffled. I like honest people. It's easy to make mistakes but it's not that easy to accept it and ask for forgiveness. For your sincerity, I'm hiring you. Don't let me down."
Coming back to the present, Qin Hao's face held a faint smile thinking about that interview years ago.
The rhythmic tapping came to a stop. "Continue keeping an eye on them."
Her order was odd. He expected her to contact the CoCo Jewels to demand an explanation or something else but he never expected her to say, 'keep an eye on them.' But no matter how odd the order was, for Qin Hao, it was like an Imperial decree.
He would do whatever she wanted no matter how odd her wishes were. It was not because she was his boss rather it was because, in these years of working with her, he came to have trust in her. A trust that was unparalleled. He had always seen her calm and collected bearing even in the most difficult of times.
And maybe, it was that calm aura that allowed him to feel relax and have full faith in her. He nodded his head and replied. "I will, Boss."
We don't always need words of assurance to put us at ease. A casual smile or a casual look can do magic. Sometimes, a person's aura is enough for another person to feel relaxed.
A smile can overturn the gloomy sky...
A word can overturn the frenzied mind...
An action can overturn the absurd heart...
But you...
A single you can overturn someone's whole world...
We always question ourselves; Who is going to stand on my side? Who's going to push me? To encourage me?
And we often end up saying; "No one stood by my side."
You're wrong. There is always someone standing by your side.
Who?
Stand in front of a mirror. The person looking back at you is always there just for you.
-----
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