Shifting Tides

The tide will always turn at the set time

—

Jungkook

Monday morning came after an excruciatingly long weekend of nursing a hangover.

"Hey Soobin, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything you wanna know. I got you!" he replied flashing his pearly whites.

Meet Soobin. – The one that I couldn't do without in this labyrinth of an office. With so many people to know and so many meeting rooms to go to, having a friend is essential. He was my first friend at work and also the team's resident gossip. There was nothing happening in the office that he didn't know about.

"Who is that guy? Y-You know the one that led the strategy meeting on my first day..." I asked trying to sound nonchalant.

"Ahhhh... you mean Mr. Park Jimin. Such a hottie right? Such a mystery too," he responded with a raised eyebrow.

"Mystery huh? How so?" I asked trying to push for more information. I did not want to give anything about my interests away.

"Yeah. What you see is what you get. Apparently no one has any insights on his personal life. He is really good at separating his personal and work life."

"I see," I replied... nodding my head. That was so little to go with.

At this point, I was certain that there were a thousand and one questions going through Soobin's mind and I wouldn't be surprised if he caught on. A lot of the times, I wished he was slow. And then as if he had heard something surprising, he jumped up from his chair and came over to my desk with inquisitive eyes.

"What?” I asked him with an innocent shrug. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Pray tell", he responded with a smile.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about,” I insisted.

"Well, if you don't spill, I am never telling you what I know," he said in a sing song. It was like dangling bait for fish and I was hooked. Though, through it all I tried all that I could to keep my composure.

"Nothing, I just was curious. I wanted to know what he is like," I replied. "You know that I am taking over the collaboration with his team right? And I just want to get to know him so that I can know what to expect." I had to sell the lie and I could tell he wasn't buying but I continued nonetheless, "What is he like? Is he intense? How easy is he to impress? Is he a pain in the ass? You know stuff like that," I shrugged and leaned back in my chair maintaining eye contact to sound more convincing and less evasive.

It was far from what I wanted to know. What did he like to do? What did he do in his free time? Was he seeing anyone? Who were his friends?

"Oh well, we haven't collaborated a lot in the past. We did a little before he got promoted. You see this is his first big project where he takes lead since his promotion but, I can tell you for a fact that he is the easiest person I have ever worked with from the M&D department." He paused looked at me expressively and added, "Oh... and in case you are wondering, he is totally single.” With that, he walked back to his desk like he had just not drop the most important piece of information.

"W-what a-re you talking about. Pssshhh I wasnt wondering about that. W-what..." I couldn't explain why I was stuttering. I could feel myself turn crimson red under his gaze but I had to admit that this information made me bubble with happiness on the inside.

"Sure you weren’t,” he said and guffawed. I felt like a child who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Did I give off gay vibes? Why would he volunteer that kind of information if he didn't think I was gay?

After a few moments of composing myself, I got back to work. I looked over our presentation for that afternoon one more time and reminded myself that I had to make an impression that is if I hadn't already made one.

Suddenly I found myself drifting to the events of Friday night.

It took time for me to come to terms with what had just happened in that toilet cabin. What was that even? Embarrassment had washed over me as I admonished myself for not having proper control over my emotions. Did people do that in public spaces? But, what was I supposed to have done? I was at his mercy; he was like a master and I, his puppet. When it came to him, I lost every sense of reasoning.

After gaining my composure and throwing cold water over myself, I rearranged my thoughts and joined Tae back on the dance floor. Twenty minutes later.

"What took you so long?" he inquired as he downed a drink. I could tell he was well on his way to getting wasted. He would definitely be nursing a terrible hangover the next day.

"Nothing... long line,” I responded.

"In the men's room?" he asked. Even in his drunken state, he could smell the lie.

“Yeah Tae, I was just as surprised as you are,” I had responded.

I needed a drink. I was more relaxed now and the burning fires of desire that had coursed through my veins earlier had been reduced to slow simmering heat. Truth is, I had never experienced such an intense amount of self-pleasure in my whole life. Not even when I pleasured myself behind the bleachers in high school as I thought about my high school crush. This feeling was a thousand times amplified.

Everything with him was.

There was something about him.

The rest of the night had been uneventful. I didn't see him again. However, it was like he was like he was mocking me because he was constantly in every part of my brain. Have you ever tried to chase down a rat around the house and it keeps ducking into holes and corners in the house that you didn't even know existed? Yeah, that was him, running around in my head opening and closing doors; planting sinful ideas and making me feel all hot and bothered.

I had had erotic dreams of him all weekend that left me waking up panting like I wanton whore drenched in pools of sweat and soiled bed sheets. His lips, his tender voice... those hypnotizing hip movements and pelvic thrusts. I found myself stuttering as I tried to explain to Tae why I was changing my bed sheets two days in a row. What was he doing to me?

Then came my current predicament. How was I supposed to carry through an hour long presentation when he affected me that way? No one in my entire life had ever affected me the way he did and I needed to get my shit under control before I embarrassed myself by popping a boner mid-presentation.

The time seemed to flow fast and before I knew it, it was time for the meeting. Soobin and I made our way to the meeting room to set up f or the presentation and waited for everyone else to show up.

***

He walked into the meeting room with his "entourage". The kind of attention he commanded when he walked into a room was nothing like I had ever seen. It was cute. I mean the way he was the tiniest of his entourage yet was the leader. It was like he was the VIP and the other his personal bodyguards.

Unknowingly, a smile spread on my face.

"Someone's absolutely smitten," Soobin said beside me keeping the smile on his face while he spoke through his teeth.

I hadn't realized how wide the grin on my face was until he pointed this out.

"No I’m not!" I defended myself and turned to the presentation. Suddenly, I was nervous. Just the idea of presenting before him made my breathing rapid and shallow. I could feel my pulse pounding in my temples. I watched in a daze as everyone got themselves situated.

Shit. That was not the time for me to get nervous.

"Great…” he clapped to command everyone’s attention. “Now that everyone is here.... let's get it! This is so gonna be fun," he said suppressing a chuckle all the while maintaining eye contact with me. I almost wet my pants.

He was seated across at the head of the table. He crossed his hands over his chest and took his time to cross his legs. The movement in itself was so graceful yet sensual. He broke eye contact and laughed at a comment one of his team members said. I finally got a peak at his full blown file, pearly whites and all. It was gorgeous. Absolutely breath-taking.

For the first time, I noticed the misalignment in his front teeth that perfectly suited his face. It's like God had deliberately created them that way. The slight hint of pink that adorned his lips and the smoky eyeshadow made his eyes pop while they enhanced his well-defined facial features.

On his face, beauty and innocence co-existed.

He was wearing an oversized baby blue sweater over his black pants and the look gave him an innocence and purity that completely contrasted the rebel I had encountered on that Friday night.

The duality was out of this world!

“Look at him… he looks like someone who would never even hurt a fly,” I thought to myself.

A smile danced on his lips as he looked at me.

"Shall we?" he gestured at me and winked.

That gesture alone sent my heart racing and I could feel every pound of it in my chest. The wayward thrum of it sent me coughing and I quickly reached for the glass of water before me. To my left, I could see Soobin try his level best not to break into fits of laughter.

It took me a minute or two to compose myself before I proceeded with the presentation. "I think to make the product impressive and popular among our consumers, I would incorporate…"

The presentation went on without a hitch. Questions arising were answered, strategies were made and I came to the realization that this is the longest time since I met him that I had spent together with him in the same room and I was liking it. A lot. My heart had finally slowed down to a steady beat like a drummer, keeping rhythm, keeping beat.

I was completely in my element.

Jimin

"Jeon Jungkook?" I asked.

"Yes, he is the one who will be spearheading the collaboration between us and the product design team moving forward," my lead designer responded. "He is the newbie in the department but I hear he really knows his stuff. Extremely creative and has some of the best ideas.”

Lisa – my lead designer – had just handed me the memo to let me know how we were proceeding with our product launch. It detailed the changes we had made since our last meeting and what was still in production. She was also letting me know that there a couple of changes in the management of the whole project especially on the IT side of things.

"Really?” I asked. “Wow! Is he that impressive?" My interest had been piqued.

"He is that impressive,” she said. “And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Word about the rumour mill says he didn't go directly into employment after his graduation. Do you want to know why?”

“I don’t know but I am sure you are going to tell me aren’t you?” I responded.

She looked at me and rolled her eyes at my sarcasm before she continued, "Apparently about the time he graduated, his dad had just retired and established a business. He wanted to help his dad set up and stabilize so developed a sophisticated system for his dad's business. It was so impressive that a lot of the businesses around his hometown requested to adopt it and it won an award. Some ‘Young Talents in IT’ or something like that.” She paused her rumble before she continued. It’s like she was reading out his biography and I couldn’t help but be amused. “He has made quite a name for himself.”

"Well well well Lisa, you seem to know quite a lot about him," I teased her. “Someone has peaked your interest I see.”

Blushing, eyes narrowing, "Mnnhhh… since I am getting nowhere with you, I was hoping I could sink my fangs into him and make him mine. Have you seen the guy? He has got half of his department women and men alike wanting to worship at his feet."

Oh I know.

"Is he really that hot?" I asked. Pretending to not have laid an eye on the said guy.

Feigning shock, she said, "Get your head out of the clouds and get to know people around here. You might just get laid!"

"You are such a slut!" I said laughing almost falling out of my chair.

"I know! And I make no apologies for that," she said as she left.

I had first met Lisa when she joined the company as a rookie. I had been there for a year before she came on board. Our mutual interests bonded us and we became fast friends. When I moved on to become the managing director she filled my position as the lead designer and it was beneficial for me because we worked so well together.

I am not sure if I could say she was classically beautiful but her big liquid brown eyes held such an intelligence and serenity that it was impossible for anyone not to be held prisoner by them. Her cheekbones weren't especially high and her nose was a little too small to be perfect, but there was undeniable symmetry to her features and perhaps that's what held a lot of people so captivated. I'd see the other men trip over themselves in her presence, she was that uniquely beautiful.

She wore her long black hair in a ponytail most days but when she let it down, it flowed gently over her shoulders kissing her soft skin. She kept up with latest trends and never ever failed at making a fashion statement. We shared fashion as a passion and that amongst many other things made us friends outside of work.

I looked through the file that she had just dropped at my desk in preparation for the meeting later in the day. The ideas were fresh and impressive and I could tell that the mind behind them was just as creative and passionate. It gave off a completely different vibe from what had been presented earlier in the month. It did help to have a fresh set of eyes and I decided that this change was a pleasant one.

Thinking about this, I couldn't help think of Friday night.

I had made my way back to the guys and ordered another drink. I needed to cool down after I had put all my energies on the dance floor.

"Hey, did you succeed?" Hoseok had asked. A cheeky smile never leaving his face.

"You know me, I never fail,” I had replied confidently and winked at him. “I have a feeling I will be seeing him again very soon. But, time will tell.”

"Uuuuhhh! I love the mystery and I am here for it,” he said.

"Cheers to our lovely Jimin and his mission," Yoongi said raising his wine glass. "May you be successful in your endeavour!" he winked, taking a sip.

"Hear! Hear!" We both raised ours and drank to it.

At this point I even couldn't explain my actions on the dance floor. I mildly cringed at the thought of it. In the past I had acted that way just to mess with someone's head. A teeny tiny part of me loved it when someone was focused on me. I revelled in the attention but there was nothing more to it. I still would end up home alone. Don't get me wrong, I had nothing against meaningless sex and one night stands, however, it wasn't my cup for me. For me, intimacy and sex with someone was much more.

Having sex with someone was inviting someone into intimate parts of you and I believed that this is something that should never be taken for granted. There had to be trust and continuity. Giving myself completely to someone was something I held close to my heart.

As I danced, my initial interest of just riling him up turned into something else. I had realized with him, it was more than that. What made him so different? I found myself longing after his heart. I wanted to stare into those baby doe eyes any chance I could get. I wanted to wake up in his embrace. I wanted something meaningful. I wanted… more.

Then it hit me. This was the first time since that bastard, Dae-Hyun that I found myself opening my heart to the possibility of letting someone in. Letting someone break down my walls and see the raw side of me.

I had pushed the sentimental thoughts aside and decided to have fun for the night. I would think about all this later because thinking about it in that moment hurt my brain.

"I am gonna use the rest room. Be back in a second, okay?" I whispered to Hoseok and headed to the rest room before he could respond.

I walked into the bathroom and my oh my! Someone was getting busy in there. I smiled to myself as I heard a soft moan. I wondered what would have happened to make whoever that was to get to that point – a point where they could not wait to get home before they could get it on. I was a curious cat and my curiosity led me to waiting not far away from the restrooms just to find out who that was.

As time went by, I felt stupid. Why was I even doing that? It had to be the most irrational thing I had ever done. Just when I was about to give up, the restroom doors opened and he walked out. My eyebrows had almost met my hairline.

Him? No freaking way! My thoughts were running wild. Wait a minute? It couldn't be because of me could it? I was tripping. I mean, I didn't intend to rile him that way. Or maybe I was overthinking this, it could have been because of someone else.

He looked at himself in the mirror that was on the wall right in front of the door and took a deep breathe. I slid over to a darker corner so that he would not see me as he passed by and let out a breathe I did not know I was holding when he did not see me as he made his way back to his clique of friends. Minutes later after he had left. I left to join the others.

"Jimin darling that was more than a second. We were about to send out a search party", Hoseok lamented as I joined them almost half an hour later. I was still in a daze after the information that I had just uncovered.

"Hey! We are going to be late?" Lisa's voice snapped me out of it. I looked up and smiled at her.

"Are you okay?" she asked concernedly.

"Yes I am. Why do you ask?"

"I kinda called you three times before I got a response from you. Are you sure everything is fine?”

"I am perfectly fine. No need to worry. Just a lot of wonder in my head,” I replied standing up and assuring her that I was perfectly fine.

"Tell me about the 'wonder' sometime okay? That is if you wanna talk,” she offered.

And with that we headed to the meeting room.

***

His back was the first thing I saw way before I even got into the meeting room. It is times like this that I was grateful for the glass meeting rooms.

How did someone manage look that attractive from behind?

He looked over at his colleague and smiled over something he said and turned back to the laptop before him as he made final changes to his presentation. A few other people were already there as my team entered the room.

I have never understood the essence of serious meetings. I liked to keep my meetings fun because that way, people were more interactive and ideas just flowed. So I went about saying hello to everyone as I headed to my seat.

I caught him on more than one occasion stealing glances and by the look on his colleagues face, I could tell that he felt the chemistry between us. He whispered something to him and he suddenly flushed looking away.

A few minutes in – after all the pleasantries – I got everyone’s attention and requested that we get down to business. From the coughing fit, I could tell that my wink affected him so. I was dying to laugh but I held my composure. I would tease him about this moment somewhere in the near future.

He caught my attentions for the better part of the hour. It wasn't what he said though, it was the richness of his tones – luxurious and warm – they enveloped me like a safety blanket. I could listen to him all day.

“I would like to open the floor for any questions and suggestions,” he concluded as he pulled up the Q&A slide. It had a cute caricature of a humpty dumpty seated on a wall thinking. I couldn’t help but smile.

I was more than impressed.

While the ideas had been put together by his entire team, I was impressed by the way he communicated them. I loved his mind. His confidence seemed to build as he went on with the presentation. It was also impressive how he would let his team members chip with additional notes. He had made it everyone’s presentation. Immediately, I could tell he put others first and was the kind of person who had no problem taking a step back to let others shine as well.

I was no longer interested in riling him up and getting emotions out of him. I wanted to know him on a deeper level. I was intrigued. I could see how his personality shone through and it was calling tom me.

"Mr. Jeon?" I called as I walked up to him after I declared the meeting over.

"Yes?" he replied innocently with a smile exposing his bunny teeth. There was that sparkle. It's like he carried the entire universe in his eyes. He had the kind of dimples that one really had to pay attention to notice them. The silky white shirt tucked into his black pants, underneath the black blazer rested on his torso and I could make out the six pack underneath. The blonde highlights in his hair looked golden when the light hit different and gave an edge to his deliciousness. I was staring without even realizing it.

"I was really impressed with team’s your ideas. Thank you for putting them across so well. You work hard Mr. Jeon, keep it up!"

"Thank you Mr. Park," he said with a tiny bow. His eyes shone in delight and he resembled a child who had just been awarded a star by his kindergarten teacher. "Please… call me Jungkook. Mr. Jeon makes me feel aged," he added with a chuckle.

I needed to breathe.

I could hear the sound of my own heart beat. My heart often danced to non-existent music when he was near and I felt its echo through my ears.

"Only if you call me Jimin,”I countered with a smile.

“Okay, Jimin… your feedback is appreciated. Hearing that from you puts me at ease.”

I smiled again. My cheeks were starting to hurt with how wide I was smiling. “Okay then, have a wonderful day, Jungkook and see you next meeting. Remember to email me the final presentation that incorporates all the ideas and suggestions that were made during the meeting before the end of the day. Okay?"

"Sure thing! Have a great day too!"

With that I headed out and joined Lisa and the other team and we made our way back to our floor. I could feel his eyes follow me and knowing that I was under his intense gaze made me feel a little small. Why did he make me squrmish? I didn't even notice that my palms were sweaty.

Back at my desk, I busied myself with my tasks and the day flowed away smoothly as I accomplished them.

It was almost four o’clock when my cell phone rang. I checked the caller ID and it was Yoongi.

“Jiminah!" he called me with excitement. I could tell he was in high spirits.

"Yoongi hyung! What a surprise. Are you okay?" Though he had interrupted my work flow, he was a much welcome distraction.

"I am okay. You?"

"So so, but I will tell you about it later."

"I hope it isn't something bad? Are you having trouble at work?" he asked. I could hear concern in his voice and I felt more than thankful for having friends like him in my life.

"No no no... Nothing serious. Just life questions and me needing a sounding board and confidant," I said putting him at ease. "Anyway, enough about me. What's up?"

"Okay. I am here to talk if you want. Anytime… Remember the partner I mentioned I was going into business with?"

"Yeah."

"Well... he invited me to dinner to celebrate the beginning of our partnership and he said I am free to bring friends along. I would really love it if you came."

"Oh wow, this is such an honour Mr. Big Shot," I replied teasingly. "Anything for you! When is it?"

"This weekend… Are you free Saturday evening?"

"Mnnh.. even if I wasn't, I would make myself available, but, yeah, I am free."

"Perfect! I need to call Hobi and ask if he can join us. I will send you the address later in the week. Okay?”

“Okay. Is there a dress code?”

“Just dress nice okay?” he replied.

"When have I ever not.....?" I replied with a smirk.

He laughed and bid me goodbye. "I gotta go. Have a great day and take it easy okay?"

"Okay. See you on the weekend."

"Okay."

"Hyung..." I called before he hang up, "Congratulations on this partnership! Can wait to see you excel."

"You are so cheesy! But thank you," with that he hung up.

The tides in or lives were changing and I couldn’t wait to see where they led us.

•••