You were hoping that joining Team Magma would be easy work. Something to get you by while giving you a sense of purpose in life. But no matter how many times you told yourself “teamwork makes the dream work,” you were knocked down by your coworkers. It was painful and tiring. Unsatisfied with your current work life, you turned to a final resort, one you’ve been putting off out of fear: taking your woes to the leader, Maxie.

Maxie was unapproachable to say the least. Unless he favored you, talking to him was like talking to a brick wall. As a lowly grunt, you had no idea if he would bother listening to you.

The time had come to approach the door to his office. After a few quiet knocks, the door flew open, and you were greeted with a hard gaze.

“What do you want, you insolent brat?”

You couldn’t help but flinch at his tone. Clearly there was venom in his voice, the kind used to talk down to people. You felt so small compared to him, but there was another reason why you flinched. As much as you were scared, you felt flustered. Hot, even. Something about his words felt nice, but why? Did you like what he called you? You couldn’t tell, nor did you know how to proceed with this. Better answer him soon, least you want the door slammed in your face.