บท 10: At Work, I Want To Be Safe

With no other quick alternative, Pingguo had to make a risky decision. Although she thought about the consequences, the circumstances gave her no other choice than... To take Taiyang with her to work. Knowing Yuanwei Hua, this probably wouldn't please him, but at least she could watch over her sun.

Pingguo knew she attracted all eyes with the baby seat in hand; nevertheless, she wanted to hide from the gazes. She walked discreetly, with sunglasses on her eyes and a scarf around her head. Her efforts were nonetheless in vain because her colleagues recognized her and greeted her before asking whose baby was in the seat. To avoid any questions, the young woman ran to her boss's office, praying that he hadn't arrived at work yet. When she opened the office door, Yuanwei wasn't sitting at his desk. That meant he wasn't there yet. She entered on tiptoes, trying to muffle the sound of her heels. She looked from left to right, but it was futile because Yuanwei appeared behind her. The young man watched Pingguo advance like a crocodile; evidently, the ridiculous did not affect this woman. The CEO decided to ask her what was happening again.

"What are you up to?"

"Oh my!"

The young woman jumped, losing her balance. Yuanwei rushed to her rescue and caught her just in time to prevent her from falling. He pulled her by the arm towards him, holding her by the hip; he had never seen her this close. They looked at each other, straight in the eyes. Yuanwei felt himself blush; his breath changed, and his heart beat a little too fast. Perhaps it was anger because Pingguo was stepping on his shoe.

"Okay," Pingguo nervously signaled, removing her foot, "you can let me go now. And sorry, did I hurt you?"

Yuanwei regained composure; he released her without enthusiasm. So early in the morning, he already had to scold his clumsy secretary.

"B-But what's wrong with you? And address me formally, for heaven's sake."

Yuanwei's aggressive tone made the young woman shudder; she immediately became smaller, pouting.

"I can't help it; you scared me, sir."

"I scared you... I scared you by entering my own office? I've already told you, this place is not a circus!"

As he began to raise his voice, Pingguo gestured for him to kiss her.

"Don't speak so loudly; Taiyang doesn't like it."

Yuanwei hadn't even noticed him, the cradle in the young woman's hand. He pointed his finger at it, shocked; she surely hadn't dared. However, Pingguo had indeed done it.

"Y-You didn't bring him here, tell me?"

Pingguo shyly avoided her boss's accusing gaze, taking steps backward.

"I had no choice. I couldn't entrust him to my neighbor; she was working today."

"What are you talking about? Yah, this is a workplace, and do you find it normal to bring a baby because your neighbor wasn't there? You... you're doing everything to drive me crazy!"

"Please, sir, calm down. I promise you," said the secretary with little conviction, "Taiyang won't disturb. Not even for a second; he'll be quiet as a cloud. Right, Taiyang?"

The baby made a sound, as if to express his approval. Yuanwei massaged his forehead; Pingguo's madness was contagious. With this girl, they were going from the unthinkable to the impossible. Exasperated, Yuanwei declared abruptly:

"Yah, get out right away with that seat, quickly."

"But you, you'll work alone today, are you sure?"

"Work alone? Are you kidding me? You're my secretary; your role is to assist me constantly. So, you'll kindly hand me that baby over to social services and come back to work!"

Pingguo frowned; she had already explained to her boss that she wouldn't entrust her angel to anyone, so she didn't want to hear any allusions.

"Yah, Yuanwei Hua, I've already told you Taiyang stays with me. And if you don't want to put up with him even for today, then I resign!"

"Yah!"

"What!"

Suddenly, a noise came from the cradle. Obviously, Yuanwei's tone displeased little Taiyang; he began to grimace, ready to scream at the top of his lungs. Yuanwei stopped, and both held their breath, praying that he wouldn't start crying. But, in the end, Taiyang gave up on his idea and preferred to stick out his tongue.

"What a relief," sighed his guardian before giving her boss a nasty look. "Well, there you go, I told you your actions would make him cry."

Yuanwei was like disoriented; he was being dictated to in his own office by his employee and an infant.

"Damn," the young man exclaimed, going towards his desk, "I can't believe it..."

He watched them settle in comfortably, smiling, as if they were in their living room. Before sitting down, Pingguo bowed to her boss, as if apologizing and thanking him, although she was aware he did not accept the situation at all. She avoided his intense eyes; they filled her with guilt and embarrassment. She set up her little angel next to her and began to work.

To avoid her boss's screams, Pingguo, on her own initiative, listed the duties that were usually assigned to her. Scheduling appointments, filing documents, organizing catalogs – she did everything in advance. Yuanwei had to resign himself to speaking calmly, even if it annoyed him to be dictated to in his own office; otherwise, Taiyang promised him an unflattering sonata.

Surprisingly, today he wouldn't need to direct Pingguo vehemently because his secretary was fulfilling her daily tasks correctly, in advance, and with a smile.

"We're waiting for you for the launch of the men's product line," the young woman reported.

"Oh... oh, um, okay. Can you cancel the one o'clock appointment? I have..."

"I know, it's already done. I know you don't like lunch outside, so I rescheduled it for Friday so I could replace you."

"Oh..."

"Sir, would you like a cup of coffee?"

Before he could gather enough breath to answer, Pingguo was already gone. Yuanwei couldn't believe it; he had been waiting for this day for over eight years. In fact, he wondered if he wasn't in a dream that was a bit too realistic. He shook his head; no, he wasn't dreaming.

A noise resonated; Taiyang had probably just woken up. Yuanwei got up to take a closer look; he circled Pingguo's desk to see him. She was trying to minimize eye contact between her boss and the baby seat; she didn't want to upset him further.

Yuanwei hesitated a bit; in truth, Taiyang was the first baby he had approached so closely. Being an only child, he knew absolutely nothing about them and had never attended any family baby showers. So, as much as his interactions with adults, those with children were almost nil. Yuanwei observed the baby from above; these miniature beings all looked alike in one way or another. He found Pingguo's reactions ridiculous; she saw him as unique since he didn't have any particular features.

"Your eyes are... frightening, glassy, and huge, it's awful. But don't worry; your case can improve with time, at least I hope so."

Yuanwei bent down to observe this tiny specimen more closely, and for a moment, they looked at each other without blinking.

"You're stronger than me, apparently," he said to him. "You managed to change her in one day, whereas I haven't succeeded in ten years."

Then, Taiyang smiled at him and extended an arm. Yuanwei remained frozen, not knowing exactly how to react; Taiyang then extended both arms and seemed to insist, at that moment, Yuanwei understood what he really wanted.

"Do you want me to carry you, is that it? Dream on; you'll ruin my suit with your drool. She complains about Trésor, but... forget it, we don't speak the same language yet."

Taiyang continued to smile at him, and Yuanwei found himself joining in the frenetic laughter. Immediately, Yuanwei felt caught up in the game; he straightened up quickly, outraged.

"You won't make me foolish like your protector; it's impossible. It takes more than a kitten's face to..."

"Who are you talking to, sir?"

Pingguo suddenly burst into the office and found her boss standing next to her desk, talking to himself. She had surprised him so much that Yuanwei couldn't help but take a little leap; he also held back his heart, which almost jumped out of his chest.

"You scared me..."

"You were talking to Taiyang, right? He's cute, isn't he?"

"T-Talking to whom? Are you crazy? Can't you see he's a baby? What on earth could he hear?"

Yuanwei took his cup and returned to his seat, avoiding Pingguo's silly smile. But the young woman kept looking at him nonetheless; she wanted him to feel uncomfortable. It was the case, but in the room, there was only one boss, so he threatened the young woman; if she continued, she would be out the door with her baggage. More seriously, Pingguo addressed her boss, who responded, of course, with renewed vigor.

"Sir?"

"What?" Yuanwei replied, starting to go through his files again.

"You know, sometimes we need someone like Taiyang to feel better. Someone who listens without any judgment and gives you a smile to say that everything will be okay."

"I... I didn't expect that."

Although her thought was disturbed by her reflection, Yuanwei responded with all his naturalness:

"I don't understand what you're talking about; get back to work."

He wasn't stupid; Pingguo knew he had indeed understood. That was the most important thing, thought the young woman.

1:30 PM

Lunchtime arrived, precisely when Pingguo's phone vibrated. When she saw the name appearing on her screen, she couldn't help but grimace, annoyed. This relentless pursuit had started again, and at the worst possible moment. She didn't answer the call, but a second later, a message reached her. It said, "I'm downstairs, jagiya, don't force me to come up. Kisses!" It sounded like a threat except in Kim Yeongwon's world. The young woman sighed, tangling her bushy hair to release her annoyance. Yuanwei was troubled by her constant grumbling; he raised his head.

"What's wrong with you again?"

"Hmm? No, nothing. Um, I was thinking."

"Hmm. You'd better have lunch instead of playing the fool. Later, when I give you a task, you'll accuse me of being a tyrant mistreating you while your stomach is empty."

"Hmm... you're right. I'll order food here; it's better."

"No, go down. I want to be alone for a moment, leave."

"Oh..."

It wasn't the right time to show her the door; Pingguo didn't want to leave. But she didn't want Yuanwei to know why she didn't want to go down either. The young woman gritted her teeth; she got up, taking the baby seat with her, but Yuanwei stopped her.

"You can't go down with... him. I don't want other employees to copy your bad example; I won't tolerate it."

"But then?"

"Leave him here; anyway, he's asleep. He can stay while you go have lunch; it won't bother anyone."

In truth, if Yuanwei acted, it was actually to give the young woman a break. In half a day, she had already done the work of a lifetime, between taking care of Taiyang and fulfilling her professional obligations. She needed a moment to catch her breath, just one moment. But putting it that way was beyond his abilities; Yuanwei couldn't formulate things in that way; so, he used his haughty demeanor to get her out without suspecting his true intentions. She finally agreed, still a little worried.

"Okay," she hesitated, leaving the office, "but watch him carefully, okay?"

"Outside," the boss repeated, in a sharp tone, as he had his nose in his documents.

Pingguo resolved to obey; she took the elevator route, more anxious than ever. First for poor Taiyang, and then for herself. Going down to the ground floor against her real will to meet Yeongwon and returning, the young secretary saw herself a few years back, on the way home after a long and perilous day of classes. She always hoped her parents wouldn't be there, or at least her father wouldn't be. She made the journey home with a knot in her stomach, like now. Unknowingly, Yuanwei had pushed his secretary to a precipice, but if he knew, would he have done otherwise? Would he have tried to save her from Yeongwon's clutches?

"He doesn't know. And even if he knew, I don't think he would do anything to help me. No one can, I'm trapped."