"Man, this party sucks."

Hmm, those are some pessimistic words.

'One should be grateful they can attend a party at all!' some might say. Well anyway, those words belong to me. A hard-working yet severely underpaid secretary.

My negative remark isn't for show, though. This party I'm attending, it really sucks.

A few weeks ago, the branch manager, my boss, got married. He informs me that he will be having a honeymoon in South Korea with his wife, leaving me with most of his workload, though he did dump a few onto others as well.

In celebration of his wedding, the boss is "generous" enough to let us throw a party funded by him personally. At first, I was ecstatic, thinking that perhaps, after getting married, he had become more kind-hearted than he usually was. But that hope was crushed as soon as I saw the party plan he handed to me. As his secretary, I'm basically his yes-man, so I reluctantly agreed with the party plan.

The party would be held in the seventh floor of our branch office, which is rather spacious, so there's no need to worry about the place being cramped. Problem is, the place barely gets any maintenance. The boss only bothered to order them on the lower floors for appearance's sake. The state of the seventh floor is... not ideal, to say the least. Me and a few others were forced to do emergency cleaning just to make sure we won't be partying with cockroaches and spiders.

The funds provided by the boss are a pitiable amount. It's barely enough to buy a few stacks of canned bear, some chips, and a few party decorations. Again, me and a few others were forced to chip in with our own wallets once the ridiculously small amount of funds we were given ran out.

It was a struggle just to ensure the party could run, but in the end, we somehow made it. And what do we get for such hard work? Well... as I said before, it sucks.

There's no entertainment besides loud speakers blaring music. We weren't allowed to purchase a disco ball so we could only use RGB LED strips for atmosphere, which is acceptable. We would dance around, but the floor itself is not fit for it at all. I accidentally cracked one of the ceramic tiles whilst cleaning the other day, and all I did was jump a little bit to reach a cobweb at the corner of the ceiling. If people danced here, they would be stepping on ceramic shards.

So, everyone who attended this party basically have no choice of entertainment besides talking with others while chugging their cheap canned beer. Most of them would usually gossip about the workplace and the boss specifically, venting out their understandable frustrations, but even that is out of the question. A few months ago, the boss wiretapped our workplace secretly to suss out anyone who talks bad about him. Ever since then, gossiping is a risky hobby.

One might ask, why attend such a dreadful party? Believe me, I would prefer to just stay home and watch TV all day. But unfortunately, fate hates us, as the boss informed that attending the party is mandatory.

I stare at the crew with dead eyes.

"...I want to quit..."

I chug the canned beer I hold in my hand. After making sure the can is empty, I threw it at a trash can with minimal accuracy.

"Hah... What to do now..."

"Boss!!"

"Hm?"

I turned my eyes to the one shouting. It was none other than Luke, a junior I had taken under my wing. Compared to the others here, his face was shining bright. He approached me with two unopened canned beer on both of his hands.

"Oi, what did I tell you about calling me 'boss'?"

"I just felt like it, is all!"

"If the boss hears you, he'll not only chew you out, I'll be in trouble too."

"Well, after working with you for so long, it just felt natural, y'know? Besides, it's not like he handles anything well around here."

"Luke, shut it."

"Fine, fine~"

"Seriously, it's for your own sake."

As unlikely as it is, the boss might have wiretapped this room like before. If not, surely some of his foot lickers, as few as it is, will keep an open ear. If word reaches the boss of what Luke is saying, he'll be in big trouble and I wouldn't be able to help him.

"By the way Luke, that beer's not for me, right?"

"Huh? O-Oh, right! Sorry! It's for my girlfriend!"

I let out a gentle smile as Luke proclaimed it so proudly. He had invited his new girlfriend as his plus one. This new blossoming love is probably the main reason why Luke is somehow enjoying the party. Actually, he's been way more positive ever since he got into this relationship, good for him.

"Ah, speaking of the angel."

Aaaaand, that's the con of the relationship. He's been strangely corny with his lines lately, it's somehow endearing to hear however. Kinda like seeing your little brother experiencing his first love.

Luke turned his head towards a woman approaching the two of us. She wears a modest dress, fitting for a party. Her face looks emotionless, but I have a feeling it's just how her face usually is.

"Luke, where were you?"

"Sorry Kloe! Just chatting with a friend!"

"Oh, is this your senior you keep talking about?"

The woman, Kloe, turned towards me and extended her hand, I extended my own and we shook hands.

"Nice to meet you, Luke talks about you a lot."

"Oh? Did he?"

Why though? Does he gossip about me a lot? Surely not, right?

"Don't worry, I assure you he admires you a lot."

"O-Oh, is that so?"

D-Did I let my tongue slip? No, I definitely kept that thought to myself. But the way she responds, it's as if she could read minds.

"Don't worry, it's a common concern for office workers after all, especially for the seniors."

"...Ms. Kloe, can you perhaps read minds?"

"Hm, I assure you that I'm a normal human."

We let go of each other's hands. After introducing myself to Kloe, I turned towards Luke, who's still holding the two beers.

"Well then, go on and hang out, don't let me stop you."

"A-Alright boss!"

"I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Haha!"

Geez, this kid is going to get me killed.

"It was nice meeting you. I hope you would take care of Luke whenever I'm not around."

Kloe bowed politely towards me, and I responded in kind.

"Nice meeting you too, Ms. Kloe."

"Just Kloe is fine."

"Very well. I'll do my best to teach Luke the ropes. Now, go on then, have fun."

"We will."

Luke handed the cold beer to Kloe as they began walking towards the balcony hand in hand. Luke turned towards me as they opened the balcony doors.

"Oh, right! I'll help with the cleaning later!"

"Don't worry about that, just enjoy your time with your girlfriend."

"Oh? Okay then, thanks boss!"

"Stop calling me boss!"

"Haha! Aye aye, Captain!"

Luke gave me a pirate salute before turning back towards Kloe. The two of them headed outside towards the balcony.

Well, time to give them some private time. I headed back towards where most of the attendees are. As I neared the "party", I can hear the music blaring loud. Hopefully we won't be getting any noise complaints from this, since the fine will be cut from our paycheck.

I reached the main room and... as expected, most of the attendees are just sitting there with dead eyes as they chug bear. It's a sad sight... Well, not like I'm any different. The only ones I've seen genuinely smiling here were Luke and Kloe. Those two are so in love, I doubt anything would disrupt them.

...Love, huh?

If I have someone, would I be able to enjoy a party as miserable as this?

Maybe, judging from Luke and Kloe at least. Those two doesn't seem to mind this party's state. As long as they have each other, they can have fun anywhere. How I envy them.

I headed to grab another can of beer from the cooling box. As soon as I grabbed one, I can feel my head feeling woozy.

Ah, of course, I'm a lightweight after all, maybe I should just stop here...

Nah, who cares? Everyone else is dead drunk anyway.

I grabbed one can, opened it and chugged it down my throat. I wiped my mouth with my arm and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Ahh~"

Maybe... just a few more...?~

...

......

.........

............

"Puehh~"

In the end, I couldn't stop myself. Thankfully we bought quite a lot of beer, so I have no worry about drinking it all up on my own.

"How much... time passed~?"

I looked at the clock on the wall showing 23:03. It's that late already, huh? I should start cleaning so we could go home early. I stood up from the floor but then stumbled a few steps forwards.

"Shit, I'm that drunk, huh? Cleaning will be a chore...~"

Where's Luke? I might need his help cleaning after all.

He should still be in the balcony, I walked there with my hand on my forehead, my body swaying with every step.

"Really? I feel the same~"

I hear Kloe's voice from across the hallway leading towards the balcony. As I approached, I can see Luke and Kloe leaning on the iron fence, chatting away under the moonlight with wide smiles on both of their faces.

...

Maybe I shouldn't bother them after all.

As I was about to head back down the hallway, I heard their conversation.

"It's kind of weird, right? The moment we met, it just felt like... fate or something."

"Hahah~ You need to work on your flirting."

Those damn lovebirds. They're so cute I can't help but hope for the best of them.

Hairs fluttering around due to wind, moonlight is shining down blue, and a couple laughing and blushing under the starry sky... The scene I'm seeing is so romantic, it's kind of heart melting, even for me.

I feel like I'm breaching their privacy, but I kinda wanna watch more. The iron fence they're leaning on... it's quite a bit rusty, no? That's probably the only thing that doesn't fit in this scene straight out of a visual novel, it's annoying. The fence is so rusty it looks like it might break any second now...

Looking from here... the fence's legs are slightly... angled? No, bent?

Wait no, it IS about to break!!

I need to warn them!!

"LUKE!! KLOE!!"

""Huh?""

Both of them turned towards me as I shouted at them, but due to their turning, they leaned against the fence from a different angle which finally caused the fence's legs to crumble. In an instant, both Luke and Kloe started falling backwards along with the fence.

"Shi--"

"K-KLOE--!!"

I rushed and jumped towards them, I managed to catch both of their arms, barely saving them from the fall.

"B-Boss?!"

I clenched my muscles, exerting every single energy I have into my arms and legs.

"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!"

After a few seconds, I managed to pull the both of them enough so they can climb back up to the balcony on their own. The both of them lay there gasping for air with their hands on their chest. The shock must be seeping in right now.

"Hah.. Hah.. W-We almost--!"

"Hah~ Hah~ Hah~"

Both of them seems to be fine, thank god...

As for me... well... Let's just say, I regret drinking that much beer now.

I can't move my body, it's stiff as a board.

And the wind, it's pushing me forward.

"Hah.. Hah... B-Boss?! BOSS!?!"

"Hah~ H-Hey! Wait a--"

Sorry guys, I... can't really do anything here... My body's... falling on it's own.

I closed my eyes as my consciousness starts to fade away.

"BOOOOOOOSSSS!!!"

I can feel Luke's scream growing smaller and smaller.

Ah, I'm falling down, aren't I?

This is it, isn't it?

...

......

.........

I woke up feeling disoriented, my vision splitting into two distinct perspectives.

In one view, I see a modest wooden house, while in the other, a luxurious home with gold decorations.

In the luxurious home, a person wearing a maid dress caught my attention. I couldn't quite place where I knew her from, but before I could figure it out, she rushed out of the room, yelling for someone.

What's happening here? The last thing I remember was Luke and his girlfriend falling.

In the modest wooden house, a man and a woman wearing plain clothes stood by my side.

The woman noticed I was awake and hugged me tightly, relieved that I was okay.

"Feeeeyt! Thank god you're okay!" said the woman hugging me.

"Good thing his injuries aren't bad, right?" said the muscular man standing behind her.

But, also at the same time, the door swung open in the luxurious house, there stood a man and woman, wearing what seemed to be a medieval noble's outfit at some set play.

"Carine! Are you okay!?" Screamed the man.

"Carine! I'm so glad you're okay!" The woman said with with worry while running towards me.

""...Huh?"" Both my bodies said at the same time.