Rin dropped the boxes of files on his desk, heaving a sigh before sitting down on his squeaky ergonomic office chair. His seatmate in their cubicle gave him a brief glance before hulking over to his own work. Well, lucky him—that's probably the only task he had for the whole week,

The smell of stale, brewed coffee filled the work room, irritating Rin's nose. He couldn't even go to a coffee shop without being reminded of the mountain of work his boss had piled on top of him. Hye-jin didn't seem to notice his aversion to coffee and anything connected to it, nor would she ever. It's not like Rin had enough energy to tell her.

He sighed again and brushed the hair off his forehead. It didn't matter what he looked like, considering he left the office at dawn and already had to report back at the first working hour. If not, he'd have his paycheck slashed for every minute late. Sleep hung heavily on his lids, joining the growing headache in his temples. A break. That's what he needed. A damned long one at that.

But to earn enough credited leaves, he had to pull his weight and please his boss. Easier said than done. Karla Ashley was the most unreasonable and most senseless person he had met in his whole career. There's no pleasing her and getting on her good side was enough work in itself.

He stood up and opened the box he had hauled from the archives room. This wasn't even his job, but for some reason Ashley made him do it because it would "affect the department's image". Probably her image to the higher-ups. He just couldn't care less about images and all that schtick. He's here to get paid. That's all.

One by one, he laid the records on his desk, covering the other task he should be doing. Unlike the archives, that one was actually part of his JD. He flipped through the pages of the binder he held and numbers upon numbers greeted him. They swam in his frayed consciousness, making his headache flare further.

Ugh. He might snap and turn to coffee any day now. It's better than drowning himself with alcohol even when there's no department huddle to plan and attend.

A figure whizzed past him, settling on the opposite side of the divider. It was Andrews, one of Rin's teammates. "Boss is asking for you," he jerked his chin in the general direction of her office. "Now."

Rin swallowed another incoming sigh. He pushed his office chair deeper under his desk. It's a miracle if he was able to sit in it for longer than thirty minutes. "Got it," he said. His teammate gave him a brief nod before Rin was able to follow-up. "Thanks, Andrews."

The tall man raised a hand in acknowledgement as he walked away. Rin pursed his lips, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Then, he trudged towards Ashley's office. The moment he opened the door, her needlessly-expensive perfume slapped his nostrils. It was worse than the coffee permeating in the work room. At least that had been a pleasant smell if only he hadn't gotten tired of it.

His boss sat on a high-backed, leather chair—more vain than the higher ups. She squinted in front of a square desk mirror, puckering her painted lips at it. When she sensed Rin's presence the moment he closed the door and locked themselves inside the sound-proof, fire-proof, and probably bullet-proof glass room, she beamed.

"What do you think of this color?" She made kissing sounds in front of the mirror and tucked her luscious, brown curls behind her ear even though she wore her hair in a high pony-tail today. "Should I just buy the whole palette?"

Rin stayed where he was, forcing himself to not blurt that she looked like a stylish fish with fake eyelashes. "I'm not the best at women's products," he said. Hye-jin wasn't the best at getting dolled-up either. Her entire skincare regimen includes hordes of facial cream and rejuvenating serums. If he as much as breathed words about those, Ashley would sack him on the spot. "You should be asking Sanchez or Banks. Do you want me to call them?"

Of course, he'd do everything to avoid himself getting more work outside his JD. And being a secretary to this primping woman was something he'd rather die than get.

"You better start learning, then," Ashley arched a sketched-on eyebrow at him. "Unless you don't want my recommendation?"

Rin felt his fists clenching at his sides. How dare this woman...

But it had been truly his mistake. He didn't think twice to let his intentions and his goal show. Ashley, now that she knew what he really wanted and having enough power to make it happen, decided it was time to push him around and get him to do what she wanted.

It's not like Rin had a choice, though. Hye-jin made a huge sacrifice so he should get on his side of the couch and provide the balance they so deserved. "I want it," he said, hating himself even more. He wasn't even doing something illegal but the fear and guilt of being caught red-handed pressed against his shoulders more than the exhaustion did. "What more do you need?"

That's the only invitation Ashley needed. As Rin marched out of her office, the note on his phone labeled Ashley Tasks had five more bullets. He was supposed to take her by car to the club downtown in order to let loose—not even to close a deal with a client. And it fell on a weekend, when he should be home and helping Hye-jin with his own family. Then, he's to take her home, which meant waiting for her until the wee hours of dawn.

After that, it's a couple more personal errands like buying jewelry, make-up, handbags, and shoes. Everything needed to be done also by the weekend, so that meant Rin having to take the time shopping right after he got off work.

He made it back to his desk. His stare could have lit the binders and his buried keyboard on fire. He's on the edge of everything, teetering to his death without anyone to stop him. Just a little more and he would tip over, letting the winds take his lifeless self. Hang in there. It's only a little while. The promotional board would be convening soon. If he played well for Ashley's favorable side, he'd get a chance to be recommended. Maybe.

Hold on—that's all he could do. Because he promised Hye-jin he'd get far. Because his family's depending on him. Because if he didn't, if he failed, then he'd let a lot of people down. Then, they would leave him, just like the people who had done so over the years.

He couldn't let that happen, so he's doing the only thing he thought to do. Bite back the hate. Smile like nothing was wrong. Everything would be alright. These things would pass.

Like a light he wasn't sure to have existed at all, he let himself believe so. Because he had no other choice.

Glasses clinked together and stray droplets of liquor rained over their table. Lights flashed blue, green, and pink, but still doing nothing to illuminate the dim, cramped room. Outside, the deep pounding of club music was stripped to nothing but dull thrums which still managed to force Rin's heart to beat on time with it.

He should be home at this time, but Ashley had to go home and she was sure to get wasted after a major stockholder meeting with the higher-ups. True enough, she sat on the head of the table their department rented (which she made Rin do, of course), downing what seemed to be her fifth glass of whiskey. It's going to be a hell of a hangover tomorrow and she'd blame it on Rin. Again.

She slammed her glass on the barely-wiped laminated table. "I swear, those thugs at finance will never see the light of day once I'm done with them," she slurred. "All this talk of budgeting and operations. Of course, it's going to cost money. Of course, we need to cash out so we can get cash in! Those airheads just don't get it. It's the law of nature. Of nature!"

The rest of Rin's colleagues bobbed their heads in agreement. Otherwise, they would be betting their chances to be noticed by Ashley, and if she's nasty sober, she's hell to deal with drunk. Which said a lot with what Rin had endured for the last year of being Ashley's unwilling secretary.

"You're not going to drink?" Andrews, the only person in their department still bothering to talk to him, asked. "Ashley's paying. Make the most of it."

Rin wanted to, but he had about a thousand reasons to counter every drop of craving in his system. He shook his head. "They don't have what I like," he said. Of course, he couldn't say he'd be the one driving Ashley home—he had his dignity and pride to salvage—or that he hated to go home to Hye-jin out of his wits. She didn't need another person to care for come morning.

What's more, he had to make sure he's present enough to somehow still attend to the chores at home. Hye-jin wasn't talking but he knew she was struggling too. He had skipped a ton of turns he had lost count now.

Silence filled the space between him and Andrews. The kid was nice, albeit a bit lost in his own head sometimes. He was two batches of interns after Rin and had already managed to rise to a step behind Rin despite only being in the company for three years. Talk about unfairness. There's also rumors within the department that he'd be promoted soon.

And yet there wasn't any down the grapevine for Rin. Ashley was true to her word, and she was making sure it was that way.

The huddle finished at around ten when Ashley's head slipped from her palm and slammed into the table. She began snoring, earning slurred jeers from her underlings who were otherwise no better. Rin muttered his excuses as he stepped over splayed legs and collapsed bodies towards his boss. Then, it's a matter of wrestling her towards the car and sticking her into the backseat.

He had attended his fair share of huddles to get used to it now. By the time she's snoozing behind the driver's seat, her legs folded just to fit her height into the car's width, Rin climbed before the wheel and started the car. After a short while of mind-numbing highways and bursts of traffic, he pulled over in the parking of the high-rise avenue in Whiteridge.

Ashley would have to figure out how to get to her room all by herself. Rin dared not bring her back to the estate she shared with her husband, after all. She also have to think of an excuse as to why she wasn't coming home recently. Knowing her, she'd probably make Rin think about that too.

He stalked away from the high-rise, hands tucked into the pockets of his pants. His messenger bag bounced against his thigh as he walked. A few miles down would be their own apartment building and there were cabs willing to drive up to there, but Rin wasn't ready to go home yet. He had his own drinking to do.

That's how he found himself ducking into the familiar bar right around the corner of Ashley's street. The cheap, watered down liquor they serve was the only thing Rin allowed himself to consume without feeling as if he's throwing his life away. He sank into the nearest empty stool and poured himself one shot after the other. Ryon used to laugh at him for being a lightweight, but now, he doubted his friend would be able to match him.

Alcohol was a temporary relief to everything that sucked in Rin's life. And he hated it.

But, the alcohol was gone in an instant and soon, he was staggering up the stairs to their apartment despite not having any idea how he got there. The door clicked open, the sensation of his fingers sliding across the keypad lock barely noticeable. He didn't hear the lock's tune as it clicked shut. His ears rang and his head felt like it was filling up with air. Damn. How much did he drink?

A shadow followed by a distant voice blasted his senses. "Where were you?" Hye-jin was saying. She followed him towards the couch and stood over him as he let himself sag into the cushions. The material clung to skin and made too much noise whenever he shifted, but Hye-jin disliked getting the stench of alcohol in the sheets, so here he was.

"Do you know what time it is?" Hye-jin continued. Through the dimness of the apartment and the light of her laptop shining in the distance, all Rin could see was a dark silhouette flailing her arms in the air as she ranted. "I've been worried sick, wondering if you'd ever come home at all. What happened? You're not usually held up at work up to what—three in the morning?"

See? She just answered her question, and Rin's as well. So, it's 3 AM. If he blinked out until 5 AM, he'd have enough time to get sober, stop by Ashley's complex, pick her up, and drive her to work just in time for their 7 AM call time. He'd have gotten 2 hours of sleep. That's an improvement.

He just needed Hye-jin to stop nagging. Then, he could sleep in peace. "You could have been in an accident and I wouldn't know," she continued, waving her phone near his face. "You could have called saying you're late. I would never have stayed up all night waiting for you."

Rin turned away, facing the cushion's backrest. Nevermind the crunch and squeaks. "Sorry, Hye-jin," he tucked his hands to his chest and relaxed his face muscles. "I've got to head back to the office later. I'll catch a few hours."

The nagging stopped. He had no idea what Hye-jin heard from his lips, but he was sure it was what he said. Well, tomorrow—or two hours later—was another day. Hye-jin would worry that everything was taking a huge toll in him, and he couldn't have that. She had enough to worry abou; he didn't need to add to it. That's why she needed to not know how tired he was, and how much he wanted everything to be over. He didn't need to tell her how much he wanted to strangle Ashley for treating him like he's not human and like his life didn't exist outside of her perception.

There were a ton of things Hye-jin didn't need to know, because she'd be happier that way. In the shaky ground they stood now, it's the only thing Rin could do to make sure they both stayed upright and afloat.

Tragic as it might be.