"Nooooooo!"
Sam's chair screeched across the floor as he nearly flipped it over, pointing toward the door like he'd just seen the apocalypse.
"Wh–wha–what is that?!"
Cyan blinked and followed his gaze.
And then… silence.
They all stood frozen in shock.
A man had walked in—wearing frilly, girlish pants and a matching blouse, long silky hair, bright red lipstick, thick eyelashes… lace gloves, a sparkly tiara, and, most importantly, a perfectly square jawline adorned with a small but proud moustache.
The newcomer stepped in like a runway queen, holding a glossy pink handbag over his shoulder, hips swaying dramatically.
Ding… dong… ding… dong…
Sam, who had once seen his "señorita" walk this way, turned pale and gagged. "Bleghhh—!" He bent over and threw up his morning dessert.
Cyan, who had started the morning blessed by a vision of beauty, now felt that blessing stabbed to death—by Sam's moustached señorita.
Alia, who had already seen the newcomer before, didn't show much expression. She glanced at Cyan and asked, "Isn't he kinda cute?"
Cyan, already fed up with the morning's chaos, gave a small, reluctant nod. "...Yeah, he is kinda cute."
Sam, who overheard, made a face like he'd swallowed poison.
"Alia… what are you saying? Cute? Cuuuuute?! That thing is cute?! Are you blind?!"
"I was—" Alia began, but Sam cut her off.
"Don't tell me that kind of people is your type!"
Alia replied, "What type? My taste isn't that bad."
Sam didn't answer. Instead, he stormed straight over to Boss Mai.
"Boss! Boss! Is this the cute pretty one you mentioned?!"
Mai, enjoying the comedy show, tried to hide her giggle.
"You're laughing?! You were playing with my feelings?!" Sam teared up, genuinely hurt this time.
The usually over-the-top Sam looked truly sad, his vibe shifting. He quietly slumped into his chair.
Mai, seeing this, felt a pang of guilt. She walked over and spoke softly, "Sorry, Sam. I was just teasing you… I guess I went too far. Sorry."
Sam didn't lift his head from the desk, but a tiny smile tugged at his lips.
Mai, feeling guilty, suddenly had an idea. "How about I set you up on a blind date with a pretty girl?"
Sam shot up from his chair so fast Mai stepped back.
Mai looked at Sam—
Vooosh!
He vanished, leaving only a faint afterimage in the air.
Mai froze, eyes wide, as if she had stepped into a fantasy world where supernatural powers actually existed.
But Sam… was nowhere to be found.
In the next second, she felt someone holding her hand. Looking down, she saw Sam gazing up with sparkling eyes.
"Is it true? You'll set me up with a pretty girl? She won't have a moustache like this guy, right?"
Mai giggled and whispered, just for herself, "Cute…"
Then she raised her voice so Sam could hear,
"And no, she won't have a moustache. She's really pretty."
Sam's eyes lit up. "When will you set me up?"
"Next week, I'll try," Mai promised.
The sadness on Sam's face melted away, replaced with pure joy as he skipped back to his chair in small, happy jumps.
Cyan, watching him, muttered under his breath, "Idiot."
Alia noticed Cyan's eyes following Sam and thought, I guess Boss Mai was right… Cyan only has one real friend, and it's Sam. Yeah… they're close.
Boss Mai then walked toward the newcomer and said, "Alright, introduce yourself."
"Hi everyone! I'm Lucian Fleur, and you guys can call me Luc."
Luc finished with a flamboyant wink — aimed especially at Sam.
Sam, who had been over the moon moments ago, felt his joy instantly die.
He leaned toward Cyan, whispering frantically, "Cyan… I think our first gay employee is that
guy… and, and… I-I wanna move my seat. He's gonna sit in front of me. I'm not safe
anymore—ahaAAAAA!"
He began scratching his hair in pure panic.
Alia leaned over and whispered, "He's not gay. Don't talk like that. And you know, that kind of people are more fun to get along with. Plus, one thing's for sure—look at his fashion style. Way better than yours."
Sam glanced at Luc's long legs, silky brown pants, and crisp white blouse. "You call that fashion? You're really blind."
"No, just look at him," Alia pressed. "You don't like it because a male is wearing that outfit. But… imagine replacing his figure with Boss Mai wearing the same thing."
Sam squinted at Luc, trying to picture exactly what Alia said—
Luc noticed Sam's stare, blushed,
His lips curled into a playful smile.
Then—mwah!—he sent a tiny flying kiss toward Sam.
The pink, shimmering heart floated into the air like it had a mind of its own, spinning slowly as it
glided forward.
Sam's pupils shrank.
(Inner voice) No… NO… it's coming right for me!
He ducked.
The kiss sailed over his head in slow motion.
Sam peeked up—
—and saw the heart drifting toward Cyan.
Cyan, completely unprepared for this nonsense, just stared in disbelief.
Sam grinned. Heh… take that, Cyan. Your first kiss is from Luc. How romantic.
The kiss got closer… closer…
Cyan's expression didn't change—calm, unreadable.
Then, without a word, he slowly reached into his drawer.
Sam frowned. "Wait… what are you—"
Cshhhk!
Cyan pulled out a small mirror.
The kiss hit the glass—PING!—and spun in mid-air like a magic projectile.
It turned around.
Sam's jaw dropped. "No… no… no no no no no—!"
The heart zipped forward at impossible speed and—smooch!—landed right on Sam's cheek.
Sam slowly stood, a bright red heart mark still stamped on his cheek.
"(Nooo… why always me?) Sam slammed the desk again.
Mai clapped her hands. "Alright, fun time over. Luc, go sit over there—last seat."
Sam followed her finger and froze. No way… I can't let this guy sit there.
His eyes darted to Alia. Heh… time to trick her.
"Alia," he started innocently, "you said you like getting along with this kind of people, right?"
Alia nodded. "Yeah"
"And they're fun to hang out with, right?"
Alia nodded again."Hmm,hmm"
"Ha! So why don't you sit in front of me and let that guy sit in front of Cyan, so you can get along with him?"
Alia frowned, tilting her head slightly. "...Huh? Isn't it the same even if he sits there?"
Sam's smile twitched.
Alia's eyes narrowed, a slow smirk forming. "Wait a second… you're trying to dump him on Cyan, aren't you?"
Sam froze, caught red-handed.
"Nooo, Alia, please! Don't let him sit there, I can't! He's scary! haaaa…"
Sam puffed out his cheeks, tilting his head like a sad puppy. "Please, Alia…"
But Alia just smirked, crossing her arms. "No. Let him sit there…"And I think he likes you too—you guys can easily get along.
You know… he also gave you a kiss."
She stifled a laugh, but a pfft slipped out.
Sam gasped. "No! I'm sure Cyan would make a much better friendship with that guy than me!"
Alia glanced at Cyan and burst out laughing. "Cyan? Don't joke! Hahaha!"
Cyan, not even paying attention, looked over. "What are you guys talking about? What about
me?"
Alia waved it off. "It's nothing. Sam's just joking."
Cyan: "Hooo…"
Alia: "Hoooo…" [echoing him]
Their voices echoed each other for no reason.
Luc walked over to his new seat, setting down his bag with a graceful thump.
His first words to Sam were delivered with a warm, sing-song tone, "Hiii~ I'm Luc… and you are?"
Sam straightened up, meeting him with a serious glare. "I'm Sam."
Luc's lips curled into a playful smile. "Saaam~" he repeated, drawing out the name like a love
song. Then, leaning just a little closer, he added, "Mmm… nice to meet you." He gave Sam an
exaggerated wink.
Sam instantly stiffened. Bro… wth…
Luc turned to Alia first, tilting his head with a sparkly smile. "Hii~ Alia, right? Oh my gosh, you're so pretty up close."
Alia chuckled, shaking her head. "You're too much."
Then Luc's gaze slid to Cyan. "And you must be… hmm, let me guess—Cyan?"
Cyan gave a small nod.
Luc's eyes lit up. "Knew it! Nice name." He tossed in a quick, playful wink before moving on.
Alia grinned at Cyan's faintly puzzled look, clearly enjoying the awkwardness.
They both gave polite greetings back, and Luc clasped his hands together like he'd just made
two new best friends.
In seconds, the earlier chaos melted away, replaced by that usual office rhythm—laughter in one
corner, light chatter in another—only now, it had a faint sparkle of Luc's theatrical presence in
the mix.