Work Text:
Step 1: Analyze the Situation
You walk into the office building, one hand playing with your just slightly short of regulation pencil skirt. Company rules state that all skirts should reach below the knee, but yours is a solid 10 centimeters above the knee. To your disappointment, no one has noticed.
He hasn’t noticed.
Your boss is at his desk, as stoic as ever. Not even turning his head up at your arrival. Sigh. You barely even get a grunt of approval when you place his morning coffee at his desk. And yet, your heart still flutters (doki doki) at this bare acknowledgement.
You have it bad for your boss, and you know it.
You know office romances never work out like in the movies. You know he has never shown the slightest of interest in you. You know you're on two completely different ends of the socioeconomic spectrum. And yet, and yet, and yet— you want him to notice you. You want to see his face break out into that rare smile of his. You want to wrangle more than just a single syllable out of his mouth.
You admit, the challenge of the task is appealing to you. The more you can't have something, the more you want it. But at least your motives aren't completely shallow. You didn't fall in love with your boss because he was a rich CEO. No, you fell in love with him because you've followed the career of Pro Glory Player, God Killer Mo Fan since his debut. You fell in love with how his reputation completely changed the way players treated scrap pickers.
You just want to play Glory with him, you are sure he'll understand your feelings once he does. But unfortunately, your boss is woefully inattentive. He doesn't even notice the skirt you are wearing is an exclusive from the 10th All-Stars he debuted at! Hopeless!
You'll have to take more drastic measures.
Step 2: Flirt With Him
"Sir. . ."
You sit on your boss's desk.
Mo Fan takes one look at your bare thighs and visibly recoils as if the sight has burned him.
"Sir." You repeat.
He glances at the wall, at the desk, and finally settles for keeping his gaze to the ground before replying. "What?"
"Sir, may I. . .may I. . ."
He waits.
"May I have your Glory ID??"
Step 3: ???
Surprisingly, you get his glory ID for the 20th server and avoid getting fired. You even got to see your boss blush. It was a win on all fronts.
But you don't let the victory get to you. In the wise words of the Happy's Ghostblade, opportunity only smiles on those well prepared. And prepare you do.
You know when your boss plays (every afternoon on his lunch break). You even know his avatar's whereabouts at all times. Some may call it stalking, but you call it what it is — proper preparation. Mo Fan was an ex pro and you are just a nobody, you have to use every advantage you can get.
And sometimes that advantage involves hiring a team of back-up to surround your boss in a video game to get his attention. He struggles, but there is only so much one ninja can do when outnumbered twenty to one. It's a numbers game, and the odds are in your favor.
Your avatar stabs his in the heart. A Life-Risking Strike, a perfect metaphor for how you are willing to give your entire life to him.
"Boss~"
His ghost still lingers on the field, so you continue your confession.
"Boss, will you go out with me?"
The avatar logs out.
You are persistent, however. You find him again. You kill him again. And again. And again.
Sometimes, he switches accounts, but it is futile. You enter a new realm of shamelessness and peek at his screen during work. There is no escape.
Despite the deaths, your boss keeps logging in. His tenacity makes you fall in love with him a little more every time you kill him. A true glutton for punishment. You wonder if this trait also extends to other places.
You hope your feelings are reaching him. He hasn't said a word to you, but he now logs out immediately after he is killed.
He doesn't need words to understand anymore.
Step 4: Profit?
A hand slams onto your desk.
"You."
You smile and put your hand over his, trapping it. Slowly, you lace your fingers together with his. He tries to pull back, but you have him trapped.
He remembered you, recognized you, came to you. How could you ever let him go?
"Boss... you came to find me?" You asked.
"You play well."
You blush. It hasn't been easy, coming up with schemes to trap and kill a former pro player who specialized in escaping. But you're willing to do anything to get his attention. And now you have it.
"Well enough to date you?"
He leans over the desk, towering over you at a full 180 centimeters of height. Your heart is beating fast again. His face is so close to yours. Is he gong to kiss you?
Well, you didn't make it this far to just passively wait for that kiss! You lean forward and meet his lips. They were just as tender as you imagined. But the moment is short-lived, because Mo Fan quickly pulls back.
His free hand slides a business card onto your desk. You look down at it and see the Team Happy logo. It's a number to their recruitment office.
"I'm firing you. Go find a new job."
You tear up. Not because of heartbreak, but because of a well of emotion. You can read between the lines. Mo Fan dissolved your socially unacceptable employer-employee relationship, believed in your potential as a pro player, and challenged you to be good enough for him!
You grab the card firmly and hold it close to your bosom.
This was not an end, but a beginning.