Season 1 chapter 1
The Terminal Beginning
The city was packed with massive concrete skyscrapers and tall glass buildings. Down in a small, paved park surrounded by the noisy traffic, two guys sat on a bench, completely bored out of their minds.
The first guy was slouching back against the seat, dressed comfortably in a loose t-shirt and dark sweatpants. He pulled a sleek smartphone out of his pocket, swiped the glass screen to check the local weather app, and casually popped a fresh piece of mint gum into his mouth. He looked up from the screen to the sky.
"Well, I have to say for sure," Kniya mumbled, chewing his gum. "Today's weather is so unique."
Sitting right next to him was the second guy, looking like he belonged in a boardroom instead of a public park. He sat up straight, wearing a crisp white shirt, perfectly tailored trousers, and polished shoes. Tied neatly around his collar was a dark, dragon-themed silk tie.
"Yeah, Kniya," Malesh replied, staring straight ahead with a flat, bored expression. "Today's weather is kind of weird. Same as before."
They just sat there, watching the cars go by.
Suddenly, the sound of heavy, frantic footsteps hit the pavement.
A guy in a cheap, sweat-soaked shirt was sprinting down the walkway directly toward them. He looked completely out of breath, his arms pumping wildly as he ran.
Kniya watched the guy approach and a small, sarcastic smirk crossed his face. He nudged his partner.
"Look at this guy," Kniya joked, his bored mood suddenly lifting into amusement. "Bro is sprinting like he just stole something."
Malesh actually let out a dry, quiet chuckle, watching the desperate man run. "Probably running from a loan shark."
The sweaty man finally reached their bench and skidded to a halt. He bent over, clutching his knees and panting heavily, desperately gasping for air.
Kniya leaned forward, still highly amused, waiting to see what this guy's problem was.
"Sir..." the panting man gasped out, looking up at them. "There is a request from my side... I want the leave for four days."
The amused smirk instantly vanished from Kniya's face. He blinked, staring at the guy in sheer disbelief. The joking mood was gone, immediately replaced by a highly sarcastic, bewildered irritation.
"What the fuck?" Kniya let out a dry, irritated laugh. "You want the leave for four days? Who even are you? You haven't told me your name, your position, or if you even work in my company. And you just ran directly up to my face and asked for a fucking leave?"
Malesh just slowly shook his head, looking back at the skyscrapers.
"What is this?" Kniya continued, his voice getting louder and more annoyed. "Do you just randomly sprint up to strangers on park benches to submit your vacation requests? Is there an HR suggestion box taped to my forehead? You don't even have a name tag, and you want four days off from a job I don't even know if you have! What the fuck do you want?"
The Chief Leave Granting Officer
The panting man frantically waved his hands, shaking his head as he tried to catch his breath.
"No, no, sir," the man gasped out, straightening up slightly. "I am Solvis Herthore. I am the Vice Chairman of the group."
Malesh slowly closed his eyes. A profound, exhausting annoyance washed over his deadpan face. He turned his head and glared coldly at his partner.
"Kniya," Malesh stated, his voice completely flat. "This is entirely because of you. Because of your stupid corporate restructuring, every single high-ranking executive in this fucking company bypasses HR and comes directly to me to beg for vacation days. You literally made me the Chief Leave Granting Officer."
Kniya didn't even look guilty. He just chewed his mint gum louder, crossing his arms.
"Oh, shut up, Malesh," Kniya fired back dismissively. "You weren't even doing your original work! You were literally just resting on the executive sofa all day long doing absolutely nothing! I had to assign you this task just so your brain wouldn't rot from boredom!"
The Dead Wife Defense
Malesh let out a long, highly irritated sigh. He turned his dead eyes back to the sweaty Vice Chairman standing in front of them.
"Well, why do you need the leave, Solvis?" Malesh asked mechanically. "Do you have an actual reason for this? Because if you don't have a documented reason, we are absolutely not granting you the leave."
Solvis took a deep breath. Suddenly, a massive, incredibly bright, and joyful smile spread across his face. He looked absolutely thrilled.
"Sir!" Solvis announced happily. "My wife is dead!"
Kniya froze mid-chew. He stared at Solvis, completely bewildered.
"Are you fucking crazy?" Kniya demanded, his voice cracking with sheer confusion. "Why the hell are you happy about that? You have this gigantic, idiotic smile on your face like you just won the lottery! Your wife is dead, you should be mourning! What the fuck is wrong with you?"
The Beach Vacation Confession
Malesh didn't even blink. He just stared at Solvis's incredibly happy face.
"I do not think you are telling us the true reason, Solvis," Malesh said in a flat monotone.
Solvis instantly dropped the cheerful smile. He cleared his throat, looking a little embarrassed.
"Yes, sir," Solvis admitted quickly. "The true reason is that I want the leave because I want to go on a vacation to the beach."
Kniya scoffed loudly, throwing his hands up in the air.
"Are you kidding me? A beach vacation?" Kniya snapped. "I am not granting you the leave. No. Never from my side."
"If Kniya says no," Malesh added smoothly, without missing a beat, "then it is also an absolute never from my side as well."
Solvis panicked. The casual attitude instantly vanished, replaced by sheer desperation.
"Sir, please!" Solvis begged, stepping closer to the bench. "Please, please, please, sir! I really need the beach! Please, please, please! I promise I will work really, really hard when I come back!"
The 300-Day Tourist
Kniya rolled his eyes, clearly getting a headache from the whining. He let out a loud groan.
"Okay, okay, shut the fuck up," Kniya grumbled. He nudged his partner. "Malesh. Pull out your phone. Check his official leave record and tell me how many days this guy actually took off this year."
Malesh silently pulled his sleek smartphone from his pocket. He unlocked the screen, tapped into the corporate administrative database, and typed in Solvis's name. The screen illuminated his entirely deadpan face.
Malesh stared at the digital ledger for a long, quiet moment.
"Kniya," Malesh said, his voice dropping an octave in pure, exhausted disbelief. "Out of the 365 days in the previous year... he took the leave for exactly 300 days."
Kniya's jaw practically hit the pavement.
He slowly turned his head to look at Solvis. The mild irritation completely vanished, instantly replaced by a highly comedic, explosive rage.
"Three hundred days?!" Kniya screamed, standing up from the bench. "Get the hell out of here! Get out of my fucking face, you absolute idiot! You basically took a ten-month vacation! Are you even an employee here, or are you just a tourist who sometimes visits our building?! I am not granting you a single fucking second of leave! Get out!"
The Ice Cream Revenge
Despite the explosion of rage, Solvis didn't move an inch. He stood his ground on the pavement, nervously wringing his hands together.
"Sir, the administrative data is entirely incorrect!" Solvis stammered, frantically trying to defend himself. "My corporate activity is not being acknowledged properly! The attendance manager and I have a highly toxic relationship. We fight constantly in the office. Last week, I took his ice cream out of the breakroom freezer, and as an act of sheer corporate revenge, he falsified my ledger and logged me for three hundred days of unapproved leave!"
Kniya's eye twitched. He stared at the Vice Chairman as if the man had just sprouted a second head.
"What the fuck is going on in this fucking company?" Kniya whispered, his voice trembling with a mix of absolute rage and profound confusion.
The Logic of Drama
Malesh didn't even look up from his phone screen.
"It is all because of you," Malesh stated flatly, his tone dripping with exhaustion. "You deliberately gave the attendance guy unchecked, unilateral power over the administrative database."
"Because if we just removed that guy, there would be no drama in the office!" Kniya fired back, aggressively waving his hands to justify his terrible management strategy. "By structuring the company this way, we get to enjoy some drama! You can see it right now! Look at this idiot, he's practically crying over an ice cream dispute!"
The Shadows of the Past
Fuming, Kniya aggressively unlocked his smartphone, fully intending to call the attendance manager and unleash a string of horrific threats. But as he raised the phone in his hand, his thumb suddenly froze over the glass screen.
His gaze drifted past the sweating Vice Chairman, looking past the paved walkway.
A few yards away, sitting on another concrete bench under the shadow of the skyscrapers, were two young kids. They were both wearing crisp, identical high school uniforms, entirely ignoring the massive city around them as they sat together, talking quietly.