Alekseij

Log 001

20xx

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As the young man stood in front of me, I was able to tell that there was something different about him. From the very moment I'd stepped inside that building, his eyes had studied me curiously, his lips had painted a pointed smirk across his face. His expression had resembled something feline in nature, sly, as though he'd sat there waiting to greet me for hours; perhaps more. 

This was but speculation, naturally.

«Ты рано.» He announced.

You're early.

Though it shouldn't have come as a surprise that he could speak my native language so well, it still caught me off guard. I fiddled with my hands and swallowed harshly, a knot in my throat soon following.

I wondered how early I truly was; it seemed strange to me that it'd be too much. I made sure to check every clock in my possession to the very best of my ability: phone, laptops, station timetables, tickets, call logs… whatever could have come to mind.

Not to mention the many, countless nights I had gone over the schedule, so that I'd be able to arrive just a few minutes shy of four. I pressed my shoes down, right onto the dark mahogany floor of the waiting room.

 The voice and tone the stranger had used had been warm and gentle, even inviting, to a certain extent; so much so that I would have gone as far as to deem it familiar. I hoped he hadn't meant to be condescending, and didn't think of him as such – though I worried still.

''Is he joking'' I thought, at first.

''I suppose so – but why would he? There would be no need to, no reason to, unless-''

The man stayed concealed, a painting hidden by the shadows of the stairway, as he observed me in newfound silence. Taking a single step forward, he kept his gaze on mine, and I studied him thoroughly, in the few bits of him that I could spot.

Him, with his hands kept in his pockets, composed and knowledgeable of what would come, and I, uncertain, with my hip pressed to the reception desk beside me, right by the entrance door.

''Is this even the right place at all…?'' I found myself wondering, blinking slowly.

«At last-» he spoke again, catching me off-guard. Hearing him in person was a completely different experience to the ones we had previously. Not only was the tone something to keep note of, his voice, too, was most peculiar.

Nice, one would brush it off as.

But it wasn't merely that; it wasn't high-pitched, but it wasn't low or gruff either. Warm, but not deep nor husk, joint to a slight twinge of hoarseness, as though he were recovering from a cold or a sore throat still.

Having set up the encounter we were having at that moment via phone, this man and I had never seen each other in person before; a work meeting, if you will. I had heard of him from a mutual acquaintance, and thought it'd be a good idea to apply for an offer.

The source was reliable, and I saw no issue with investigating it further; security—the label atop the webpage said. 

Rather, something along those lines; it was related to computing and cyber-security also, so part of me thought it wouldn't be too hard to get into, nor would it be too far-fetched from what I had been doing beforehand.

The common acquaintance and source had been my sister; and even though I mustn't lie and admit that the announcement hadn't been something I would have trusted in the blink of an eye, due to some vagueness within it, I was easily swayed by her influence. She seemed to have had contact with this man before, and found nothing notable enough to mention. 

He's reliable, she'd said. That, and not much else.

Not even his proper name.

Curiosity had become stronger by the day as I'd kept the announcement up at home and work both; the monotonous days and activities I felt so lost-in-doing, becoming morbid motivation to try to understand who truly hid behind such words.

The man's voice fit him perfectly, though, his demeanour being a consequence of that, almost. His motions and pauses painted an image that was both similar and completely detached from what I had envisioned during our call, if that could have even been possible.

It had to be comforting to know that I hadn't been tricked, and this hadn't been some sort of articulate joke that my sister had come up with.

«I am so happy you found your way.» The man added.

Found… my way-?

I felt my eyebrows arch in slight concern, unable to stop myself in time.

The man who stood on the stairs in front of me, Dae-hyun Min, took another step forward, allowing the sunlight coming down from the side windows to show more of him. I couldn't quite make out his face yet, but it was clear enough that he wasn't particularly muscular or built, rather he appeared the opposite of that. His footsteps barely made a sound as he approached me, and I gripped my bag strap in response, waiting.

Thoughts began to swarm me as I started to wonder if he'd talked to me like because my -- ï̷̝̳̆͑ṉ̸̤̩̝͆f̷̳͈̹̝̆a̸̲̱͑̀̕͝m̷̲̍̓͂ȳ̵͎̺̊͌ ̷͔̪̈́̽w̶̡͇͑̋̏͘ǐ̴̦̅̿t̶̛͕̲̊͠h̷̫̯̐͋̊̀ ̵̙̟̀̄̏̋d̵̤͗i̴̘̜͝r̸̹̱̾͑̉e̵̢̻̍c̵̡̘̈́͒̍t̷͚̑͠i̵͈̫̣͒o̷̟̹͋̅̿̆ñ̵̛͙̎͛͜ ̶̜͎̀͜͜͠h̸̥̜̼̔a̶̱͖̪̅̆͌ḑ̶̰͌́ ̷̨̼̋̏p̷̭͈̓̅̉́ṙ̵̳̯͂͂̓e̷͚̐c̷͉̀͌͝e̴̦̮̯͌d̶̢̥͔̺͑e̶̢͈̊d̶͇̝͇̑̓̒ ̵̢͝ṃ̶̥̑̃e̵̬͔̊̑̈.̸̧͖̎̋͜

Naturally, if that was the case, I shouldn't have grown too worried, considering it was accessible info he could have heard from my sister, also.

But I knew it wouldn't have been the case.

He would have got it elsewhere. 

She wouldn't know enough about it. 

At least, not to the extent that it could possibly concern anyone for my arrival in the first place.

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I hadn't talked to him on the phone about it, and it hadn't come up in any other conversation either, considering it wouldn't have made a good impression on my soon-to-be-employer.

I swallowed, so harshly I thought the ground would have swallowed me whole too, unable to brush it off and label it as mere overthinking.

''Everything is fine.''

Everything is fine.

Nothing is.

Dae-hyun Min stood there quietly; his posture relaxed, his demeanour calm. He waited a second before turning in my direction; despite the somewhat large distance between us, I could have sworn he smiled.

«It’s wonderful to see you» he said.

His head tilted, and the left corner of his mouth turned upwards as his lips curved and moved, to utter a single word.

My name.

«Lesa.»