Beneath the Surface: Secrets of an Obsessed Heart-Chapter 81 - 80

Everyone in the office burst out laughing.

“Yes! Give it to her straight Yuna!” One of the men shouted.

"I can’t believe she rejected me for the Boss." Another one sneered. "Does she not realise that he is way out of her league?"

Miss Endo turned to the man who made the comment, glaring daggers at him but he just stared back at her, his lips pulled into a mocking smirk.

"What is going on here?" a familiar deep voice asked, startling everyone. They all turned to see their boss standing a few feet away, arms folded, and staring at each of them sternly.

Yuna, the office know-it-all, quickly bowed respectfully. "Good morning sir." She said then smiled as if they were not gossiping about him some minutes ago. "We were just giving Mina here -she gestured at a short co-worker wearing big round glasses- some advice on the presentation she’s giving this morning. She’s new here and she told us she was nervous. Right, Mina?"

Mina, who seemed quite timid, nodded nervously. "Y-Yes."

"Don’t worry, Mina. Everything will be fine," Yuna assured her with a light chuckle. "Now, let’s all get back to work, shall we?"

Everyone nodded anxiously then began to disperse.

"Wait." Raiden commanded, making them all freeze in their tracks, their hearts racing faster than a galloping horse.

Did their Boss hear everything they were saying?! But they watched him go into his office with his boyfriend! How did he get out so fast?

Yuna gritted her teeth, annoyed. If it weren’t for the meddling Miss Endo, they would not have been caught.

Slowly, they all turned back to face their Boss, fingers crossed. They really hoped they were not in trouble.

To their surprise, Raiden smiled. "Actually, I’m glad you’re all here. I want to introduce you to someone."

They all let out silent sighs of relief. So they weren’t in trouble. Yuna and some the workers shared knowing glances, teasing smiles already forming on their lips. Miss Endo’s face however, scrunched up like she had smelt something disgusting. She didn’t think she’d like to meet whoever it was for she had never seen Raiden smile so wide and it annoyed her because Raiden had never smiled at her.

"This is Watanabe Hiro." Raiden said. "He is my boyfriend. You’ll be seeing him around a lot so I want you all to treat him as you would treat me. He is very important to me."

They all became excited. Especially the ladies. They would get to see their Boss’s gorgeous boyfriend up close!

Hiro, who was hiding behind Raiden, felt extremely nervous as he held on to the edge of Raiden’s jacket. He never thought Raiden would introduce him to the workers. Their relationship was just for a year so he didn’t think Raiden would want anyone to know but here he was, proudly telling everyone like he had achieved something great.

Despite that, Hiro couldn’t help but feel warm and special. Especially when Raiden said the words; ’He is very important to me.’

The workers waited for a few seconds until a head of silky, sandy-brown hair peeked out from behind their boss’s shoulder. Beautiful champagne-colored eyes blinked at them, and a delicate hand emerged to give a small wave.

"Hi," he said softly and the females squealed at how adorable he was, while the males were captivated by his striking beauty. Gosh how did their boss get so lucky?

"Hello." Yuna said, smiling brightly. "My name is Hibino Yuna. I am the head of the Scientific and Research Department. Welcome to YM Reseach Facility." She then gave him a respectful bow and the other workers followed suit.

Hiro was quite surprised. He hadn’t expected everyone to be so nice.

Raiden, who was all smiles, gently pushed Hiro out so he could properly greet everyone. "Don’t be nervous. I’m here." He said, encouraging Hiro.

He had always known that Hiro was an introvert. Back in school, Hiro had a lot of friends, but it was mostly because they clung to him like glue, following him around and trying to take whatever he had like parasites. Despite the crowd, Hiro never truly opened up. He reserved his genuine self for the privacy of his home. It was there, surrounded by family, eating meals together, and playing with his siblings, that Hiro showed his true happiness. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Holding onto Raiden’s hand, Hiro bowed as well. "It is nice to meet you all," he said softly.

Miss Endo stared at Hiro for a moment, feeling a vague sense of recognition but unable to place where she had seen him before. Regardless, she didn’t like him. She was convinced that Raiden was merely using Hiro. After all, in her mind, Raiden would still need to marry a woman to continue the Yamato legacy.

After going around and introducing Hiro to a few more workers, Raiden glanced at his wristwatch then sighed dejectedly.

"What’s wrong?" Hiro asked concerned. "Are you tired?"

Raiden smiled, placing his hand on Hiro’s soft hair which he stroked gently. "I’m not tired. If it were up to me, I’d take you round the entire building and introduce you to every single person so that they’ll know who you are."

Hiro couldn’t help but roll his eyes. "You don’t have to do that you know. It’s not like I’ll remember everyone."

"Yes, but they’ll remember you." Raiden said. "And that’s what I want. Unfortunately, I have a meeting now and it’ll take a couple of hours. Would you like to join me? It may be boring for you though so if you do not want that, I can arrange for Miss Hibino to give you a tour of the place. She’ll show you the labs and explain the projects we’re working on."

Hiro lowered his gaze, feeling a little sad. "Can I just go back to your office and rest for a while?"

"Is something wrong?" Raiden asked, alarmed. "Did I say something?"

Hiro wanted to say no, but he found himself nodding. It had been bothering him since they entered the building, and he couldn’t keep it in any longer. "I don’t need a tour of this place," he said quietly. "I know it like the back of my hand. It belonged to my mother, you know. My sister and I used to play hide and seek here when we were little. We always got in trouble for disturbing the workers."

The memories brought tears to his eyes, and he struggled to keep them at bay, but he just couldn’t. Hiro was like that—if something bothered him, he couldn’t keep it in for too long.

"And I worked here some weeks ago, remember?" he sniffled, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. "I was washing the toilets. That’s how we met again."

Raiden was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt. How could he have forgotten that this facility used to belong to Hiro’s mother? The realization of how deeply this must be affecting Hiro hit him like a wave.

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