dirty little secret - shiu kong
the beginning - part one
synopsis: starting work at your father's company brings you a lot of things you expected, things you were familiar with. the thing you did not expect nor were you familiar with was the man who you were undeniable attracted to the moment you laid eyes on him, Shiu Kong
content: allusion to future dynamic (controversial age-gap, power dynamic, smut), basic introduction, pining, fluff, new job stuff, very minor angst if you squint
wc: almost 3.5k
a/n: don't know how many parts this will be, but when i started planning this out it was clear it would become a series, oopsie <333
masterlist
The break before your final year in college was a lot of things for you.
For one, it was the start of your internship at your father’s company. Working most hours of the day as you attended to clients, sat in on meetings, drafted contracts, all the things you’d need to do to prepare you for your eventual takeover. After all, who would want to follow someone who had no idea how anything operated.
For two, it was the first time you’d really felt the pull into adulthood. This was your last school break before the rest of your life. The years spent at college passed before your eyes as you began to reminisce on all the things you’d done, and hadn’t done yet. The doors to life seemed only a few feet away, the drive to be reckless one last time presenting itself at the forefront of your mind.
For three, it was the start of the very controversial relationship that would change your life forever.
But you didn’t know that yet, all you knew now was the sound of your shoes against the wood floors of the office, the feeling of your bag slung across your shoulder, and the weight of the future sitting heavily on your chest.
It was the first day of your internship, the most pressing thing on your mind was the first impression you made on everyone you met throughout the week.
Which was why you showed up in an immaculate business professional outfit, your hair neatly styled, makeup flattering, and you topped it all off with your favorite perfume. The combination created a lethal image of professionalism and preparedness. You knew all of these things had to be perfect in order to achieve your highest confidence levels.
As you strode out of the elevator, offering a smile at the receptionist as you passed, you knew you succeeded in achieving the levels of confidence you needed to take on the day.
Your father had briefed you on everything you needed to know before you ever set foot into the office. Things like your exact desk location, even going as far to offer a map of the layout he probably had some poor assistant draw. The profile of the person who would be leading your training, everything you needed to know about their background, position at the company, and even some personal details for conversation starters. And of course, what to expect for your first day. He had drafted an outline of what meetings you’d be attending, the work assignments you’d be given, and even potential times for breaks.
By the time you set your things down at your desk, you were greeted by the sight of a tall, beautiful, blonde woman.
“It’s so lovely to finally meet you, I’m Yuki, the Vice President of Operations,” she held out her perfectly manicured hand that you shook firmly, everything you’d read about her running through your mind as you smiled. “Today we’ll be sitting in on the board meeting before we begin anything else.”
You greeted her, offering your name before gathering your notes and following her to the board room on the next floor up. Everything was going exactly as you anticipated, your first test would be to sit in on a meeting and take notes.
Your father warned you not to speak up until the second week, unless someone asked for your input. It would be too arrogant to offer your opinion when you knew nothing, despite the fact you grew up in these halls.
The open floor plan, light wood floors, and warm lighting were a constant in your childhood. A sense of familiarity that brought a wave of comfort every time you were here. Of course there were things that changed throughout the years, like who held personal office spaces, but among the things that didn’t change was the sound of constant chatter and the brisk movement of people.
The desks were connected in rows, each person designing their space to their own liking with knicknacks, photos, and office supplies. The small offices for the few manager positions were gifted with dark green walls and a glass pane that separated them from everyone else on the floor.
But the big executive offices on the next floor up were gifted with a wall of floor to ceiling windows, overlooking the Tokyo skyline. These offices were large and uniquely individualized.
One day, without a doubt, one of those would be yours.
The thought solidified as you stepped into the conference room, the people around the large center table were lightly chattering amongst themselves. You could hear talk of work, but also genuine conversations about weekend happenings as you settled near the back wall.
The conference room had a simple setup. A door at the back of the room that was set into a solid wall, maintaining the sense of privacy that was necessary for these meetings. The large table in the center was accompanied by executives from each department, board members, and soon your father, the CEO.
The head of the room had a projector, a solid wall allowing anything to be seen upon it. The remaining walls were those same familiar floor to ceiling windows, high in the sky above the people walking around the city streets.
Those people were who you found yourself glancing upon as you waited for the meeting to start, trying to distinguish shapes as you watched silently. The few people sitting on the outer edges were personally invited by someone in this room for one reason or another.
Your jobs were to observe and take notes, after all these meetings determined the direction of the company and addressed any pressing issues.
When the final few people came in just before the start time, you opened your notebook and began to fill in the date, ensuring your pen worked. The last thing you needed was for your pen to fail you, especially since you had forgotten to bring a backup.
The doors to the conference room opened, the silence that blanketed the room was immediate as everyone sat up straight. Your father entered, a smile on his face as he continued the conversation he was having with the person behind him.
His eyes scanned the room, the amusement still in them as he looked upon his team, “Good morning everyone.”
The sounds of returned greetings reached your ears, the room relaxing a bit at your father’s mood. But those greetings were only indiscernible words as your eyes stayed fixed on the man who entered behind your father.
His black hair was neatly styled to one side, a few shorter hairs sticking up at the ends, despite this, it still looked put together. His dark suit was neatly pressed, and tailored to his broad frame perfectly. He had to at least be a few inches over six feet, you noted, as his long legs carried him beside your father easily.
You’d never seen him before, that was sure. But somehow, he clearly knew your father well as they quickly wrapped up their conversation by the time they were at the front of the room.
When they both faced the room, you were finally able to lay your eyes on the most unbearably handsome man you had ever seen in your life.
His brown eyes were warm as he looked around the room, nodding his head at a few people every now and then. You could just make out a neatly trimmed mustache framing his perfectly tempting lips. And when he smiled at your father, you knew you had to do whatever you could to stay away from this man.
“It’s good to be back,” his deep, smooth voice was like a caress to your ears as he carried across the conference room. “After seven long years, we’ve finally solidified our expansion into Korea. The corporate office out there is running at its full potential, likely having the very same meeting we are now.”
The room erupted into applause, your father and the man joining in, bright smiles on their faces as they looked around the room.
“While that was quite the introduction, due to your seven year absence we have plenty of new faces that I think would like to know your name,” your father joked lightly, a few chuckles sounding through the room as he waved the man on.
“My apologies,” he flashed a smile that had your eyes glued to him, anticipation dancing through your body violently despite your desperate attempts to calm yourself. “My name is Shiu Kong, Chief Global Expansion Officer.”
Shiu Kong.
There was no issue with the name itself. In fact, it was a simple name, easy to pronounce and roll off your tongue.
No, the issue was that by learning it, an uncrossable cavern had opened up between you. And unfortunately, unbeknownst to you both, you two would find yourselves standing at opposing ends, wondering how you could cross it.
Your father clapped Shiu on the back, bragging on him for a bit before having him take his seat in one of the chairs at the front of the room.
The meeting started and a sense of normalcy finally returned to you as you listened, immersing yourself in the details of what was being said. Taking notes on everything as each point of order was checked off the agenda.
It was a standard meeting, a few key points that different members led presentations on. Someone spoke about a few expansion opportunities in the city that were being explored. Another spoke of some new high stakes clients that were currently being acquired. And the last item presented was quarterly employee retention reports.
It was fascinating to be on the other side of something you’d witnessed your entire life.
By the time you were closing your notebook and following Yuki outside the room, your brain was picking over each item and how each person could improve on their efforts.
You had barely made it a few steps before you heard your father addressing you. A smile spread across your face as you told Yuki you’d only be a few minutes and assured her that you’d find her upstairs.
When you turned to face him, your smile tightened at the sight of the man behind him. But you were your father’s daughter, so you kept your face as natural as possible, accepting the small hug your father offered you.
“I’d like for you to meet Shiu personally, he’s a great asset in our C-Suite, but an even better man,” your father gestured towards him, a genuine smile lighting his face that part of you hated the sight of.
Ever the businessman, your father had an array of smiles for every occasion. Many of these you’d learned to distinguish at an early age, so there was no doubt in your mind that his fondness for Shiu was genuine.
“Mr. Kong, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” you held out your hand as you gave him your name, maintaining your politest smile as you counted down the seconds until you could make an excuse to step away.
“Your father speaks highly of you, I look forward to working with you in the future,” his voice was like honey as he smiled, his intoxicating scent of cologne, smoke, and natural musk invading your mind as he closed his large hand around yours.
You kept your face neutral despite the shock wave that ran up your hand, spreading warmth throughout your body as you clutched his hand and shook firmly. Everything about this man was the most tempting sin you had ever encountered and it would take the training that had been instilled in you your entire life to navigate being around him.
Some innate part of you was drawn to him, the pull unbearable despite the circumstances. The most animalistic nature of the human mind was consuming your thoughts and replacing them with only him, tuning your mind and body to respond to him.
“As do I,” you dropped your hand, quickly wrapping both around your notebook to hide the slight tremor in them as you looked at your father. “Yuki is waiting for me, I’m sorry for having to leave so abruptly. It was great meeting you Mr. Kong.”
“Make me proud, I’ll be home for dinner with you and your mother,” your father offered you one of his professional smiles. To everyone else there was no difference at all, and truthfully there was only a slight difference from the one he offered Shiu, but the significance was not lost on you as he turned away and started walking.
Shiu only offered you a small nod before heading towards the offices on this floor with your father, their conversation picking up as they walked. You took your out, quickly making your way towards the stairs, hoping to burn at least a little adrenaline before you had to sit and work for the rest of the day.
Luckily Yuki continued with her plan in stride, completely oblivious to your inner turmoil as every thought attempted to circle back to everything you’d noticed about Shiu. Every time your mind drifted, you forcefully brought it back into whatever mindless task you were learning.
This was arguably the most important day for determining the outcome of your future here. The last thing you wanted to do was mess something up or for Yuki to notice your lack of focus. You threw yourself into everything head first, observing every last detail you could about how your job would work for the next three months.
When Yuki mentioned taking a lunch break, you figured that meant the two of you would be together. Wrong. She smiled at you, telling you she was meeting her boyfriend and would be back in an hour. You waved her off, wandering down to the ground floor before finding a convenience store to get lunch from.
You were sitting at a small table in the courtyard behind the building under a tree, the sounds of the city somehow quieting the noise in your head as you unwrapped your sandwich. When you looked up, you saw Shiu step outside. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, swiftly lighting one as if he’d done this same routine a million times. He probably had, you figured.
You quickly averted your eyes, trying to angle yourself away from him in hopes that he wouldn’t take notice of you sitting alone. You actually wished for a peaceful lunch, a small moment of the day where you could just be yourself, without the weight of expectations and the future hanging over you.
Should’ve wished harder, you thought as you saw his eyes drift over the courtyard and land on you.
You offered him a small wave, quickly turning back to your lunch, watching from your peripheral as his large body turned and started moving in your direction.
Surely he’ll continue on, maybe there’s someone else here he knows, or maybe he would prefer to sit while he smokes, your mind racing through every possible reason he could be coming near you.
You were wrong, he stopped in front of you, gazing down at you as his cigarette dangled from his lips, “Mind if I join you?”
“Go ahead,” you gestured to the empty seat across from you, silently cursing his friendliness as he sat.
Of course this would happen, you thought. Yuki steps away for lunch today so you’re the odd person out sitting by yourself. Who else would sit with you but the only other person you’d been introduced to at the company, other than your father? Speaking of, why weren’t they having lunch together. If your father had actually taken his break on time this wouldn’t have happened.
This also wouldn’t have happened if you had walked further down the street and found somewhere to eat, away from the office. You’d have to do that next time, you noted, making sure to get as far away as possible in order to avoid this situation from repeating.
As he settled into his seat, he angled himself to have you clear from the path of his smoke, a simple gesture that you noticed as he continued to take drags.
“How’s your first day going,” he asked casually, because being around you was easy for him. It wasn’t suffocating like it was for you, like you were navigating around with landmines hidden beneath your feet.
“Great, I’m lucky to have Yuki training me,” you answered, taking small bites of your sandwich as you looked anywhere but him. There was no easy out to this conversation unless you said you weren’t hungry anymore, which was clearly a lie. The other option would be to stuff your face and eat as quickly as possible, which seemed infinitely worse.
“She’s blossomed into an incredible employee, from what I’ve heard,” he took a small hit, letting the smoke settle in his lungs before exhaling. “She was my replacement, actually.”
“Really?” You raised a brow, letting your eyes drift over to him, only to find he was already looking at you.
“Really,” he nodded once, tilting his head slightly as he gazed at you. You watched with rapt attention as he took his cigarette from his lips, letting it dangle from his fingers. “At the time we already had a Chief Operating Officer, still the same woman by the way, so your father decided to promote me to the position I have now.”
“Quite the pivot,” you noted, earning a small huff of amusement from him that had you looking out towards the city streets.
He took a long drag, exhaling slowly before he spoke again, “Even that is an understatement. I had no idea what your father was thinking, and I told him as much.”
“Let me guess, he laughed and said you’ll figure it out before ushering you out the door,” you shook your head, thinking of the countless times that scenario repeated in your life.
Forget to do an important assignment for school that required something you didn’t already have on hand? You’ll figure it out. Angered the children of one of your father’s business partners while you were hanging out with them? You’ll figure it out. Struggled to make friends due to who your father was? You’ll figure it out.
“Exactly that. It was almost nine years ago, but I’ll never forget it,” luckily for Shiu he could look back on that singular memory with humor, it was evident in the way his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners, his mouth upturning slightly.
How could he not when everything did work out for him in the end? He completed the goals that were set for him, ultimately doing exactly as your father said, and figured it out.
You wished you could say the same, the small little girl inside of you who begged for your father’s guidance, wished you could say the same.
“He really has such a way with words,” you said drily, earning Shiu’s gaze again. His eyes turned inquisitive as he looked at you, and you realized it was highly possibly he was picking up on the lack of jest in your tone or your poor body language, so you shifted everything about your tone and posture. “At least it all worked out in the end,” you smiled.
His eyes were still watching, even as he took another drag, they were seeing more than most people wanted to see. Any time you ever slipped up like this or worse, it was still entirely too easy to make it seem like nothing had happened at all. People never wanted to dwell on the negative when it came to business relationships, especially something that wasn’t noticeable or gone in a flash.
“That it did,” he exhaled, his eyes finally drifting away, allowing you to relax a miniscule amount. He flicked the stub of his cigarette to the ground, crushing it beneath his shoe before standing. He looked at you again, letting his eyes trace over the details of your face, your posture, before speaking, “I’ll see you around.”
“See you, Mr. Kong,” you smiled again, turning back towards your sandwich without another glance at him.
Your chest was heavy the rest of the day with a weight you never liked to acknowledge. An annoying addition to this weight was something you never thought would be added, fear.
You were fearful of someone looking at you too deep, seeing the things you hid under a perfect facade. Seeing the things most people never cared to look for, let alone share. But what you were most afraid of, the thing that terrified you the moment you realized it, was the fact that it didn’t seem so bad to let Shiu Kong look.
next part | masterlist
a/n: i wonder what will happen between the reader and shiu......
