Jiwoo

In a sleepy stupor, Jiwoo could hear muffled sounds in the background. She tried to ignore them at first, but when the buzzing wouldn't stop, she finally realized it was the unmistakable sound of her ringtone. Sighing, she raised her head from the couch enough to locate the origin of the nuisance. 

After some blind tasting, she finally found the device. She then answered the call, not bothering to check the caller ID. Jiwoo responded with a lazy voice only to be met by that of her one and only, Ha Sooyoung. The girl sat up straight when she finally registered who it was and what that could mean.

The sun was shining outside. She barely remembered making it home a few hours earlier and collapsing on the couch. She checked the time on her phone and almost had a heart attack. Jiwoo had slept through all her alarms and was incredibly late. Worst, she hadn't multiple missed calls and messages, some from Sooyoung and others from an unknown number. Opening one, she just knew the sender could only be her boss. 

Jiwoo ended the call and got ready at the speed of light. She bumped her head against the bathroom door and slipped several times. She had to run to catch her bus on time. Traffic wasn't on her side that day, forcing her to do the last bit of the way on foot. Jiwoo was exhausted when she made it to HM&E premises, only to discover she'd forgotten her badge at home. She tried explaining at the reception that she'd forgotten her badge, but seeing as they couldn't find her in the system, they were reluctant to let her in. 

Jiwoo was about to fall into despair when she noticed a small crowd forming. After looking closely, she figured out they were all standing around a man. He wore sunglasses and a baseball cap. Watching security bow to him, it finally dawned on Jiwoo that whoever he was, he must've been famous. Seeing it as her entry ticket.

As he neared closer to where she stood, Jiwoo made an impulsive decision. She clung to him as he walked inside. The man tried to get rid of himself, but Jiwoo's hold was far too strong. She inwardly thanked her many taekwondo classes.

Once inside, she finally let go of him. The man used his freedom to get as far away from her as possible, calling her crazy once he felt at a safe enough distance. Jiwoo didn't pay him much mind, being already on her way to block B.

There was hardly anyone in the open space when she finally entered. Sooyoung's office was also empty. Even Minhyunk was not present. Gulping, she knocked at Jinsol's, hoping the woman hadn't noticed her absence, but even hers was bare.

Where the hell was everyone? One of the writers seemed to notice her lost expression and sympathetically explained that Jinsol was probably in one of the conference rooms. 

Thanking him profusely, she walked to where MJ had shown her the conference rooms the day before. She caught a glimpse of Jinsol in one of them and burst into it without thinking. If she'd taken a second or two to observe before running in, she would have seen that her boss hadn't been alone in the room. Instead, Jiwoo found herself standing at the entrance with several pairs of eyes trained on her and a particularly irritated Jinsol. 

She didn't recognize a single soul inside and felt like curling in a ball out of embarrassment and shame. Jiwoo apologized for the intrusion and basically fled the scene. 

Jiwoo went back to her desk and slumped down on her chair. She gently bonked her head against the wooden surface of her desk and groaned. It was only her second day, and she'd already made a fool of herself.

"Why the long face?" Jiwoo perked up at the familiar voice, and sure enough, there stood Choi MyungJun. Jiwoo sprang upright, relieved to finally see a friendly face. Her reaction startled MJ a bit. "Oh, wow, happy to see me?"

"You have no idea. I had a terrible morning."

"Tell me all about it." 

The following five minutes consisted of Jiwoo explaining to him everything from her and Jinsol's first meeting to them meeting again at the office and that fateful morning. "And then I just barged inside. It was so embarrassing. Everyone was looking at me."

Looking back at him, she could see that he was trying not to laugh and gave him a friendly shove. "Sorry, sorry. But it is kinda funny. I just wished I could be inside to see her face when you ruined her meeting with possible investors."

Jiwoo paled at the little tidbit. Investisors? She put her head in her hand. "Fuck, I'm fucked. Am I? Help me MyungJun-sunbae." She looked at him pleadingly.

"You know that we're kinda friends now? Just call me MJ."

"Hoh, then, help me MJ-oppa."

"Stop it! You're so cute. I'm starting to feel threatened. Being cute is my brand."

"Nope." Jiwoo retorted. "Being cute is my brand."

"I've been doing it for longer."

"And I better." She accompanied with an aegyo, which prompted MJ to respond with one of his own. This turned into an aegyo battle between the two of them. It ended with the both of them in laughter. 

"You know what," MJ exclaimed between laughs. "I guess we can both be the cute one." Jiwoo agreed with that. The photographer had a big smile on his face. He radiated positive energy. She never thought she would find someone as cheerful as herself. 

"Why do I see MJ and his female version bickering?" A woman with pink hair approached the duo. Jiwoo was directly captivated by her beauty. From her walk and posture, one could easily guess that she was or had been modeling. More than her beauty, the woman radiated confidence.

Jiwoo felt slightly intimidated. MJ, on the other hand, did not seem to be affected. "Ah, Lucy-nim let me introduce you to my long-lost little sister."

"You know what, I could easily believe that. You two have the same vibe. I hope that she isn't as annoying as you. Don't think I can handle two MJs."

MJ gasped dramatically, putting a hand on his chest. The woman, Lucy, rolled her eyes and ignored him, turning her attention to Jiwoo. "Aren't the one from earlier? The one who crashed that meeting?'

Jiwoo's cheeks flared red from embarrassment. She would never live that day down. She could feel it. "Huh- I didn't... I didn't mean to."

Lucy gazed soften slightly at the display of nerves. "Don't be nervous, I don't bite. Besides, I found your entrance quite entertaining. I was dying of boredom in there, to be honest. Although I doubt Jinsol shares my opinion." Jiwoo let out a nervous chuckle. Lucy then extended her hand. "Wang Lifen, but you can call me Lucy."

Feeling already less nervous, Jiwoo grabbed her extended hand with both of hers and shook it enthusiastically. "Kim Jiwoo, I'm Jinsol's new assistant."

Lucy sported an amused crinkle. "That explains why we haven't met before." But her expression turned pensive for a moment before recognition took its place. "Wait, Kim jiwoo, as in Sooyoung'Jiwoo? The one she keeps talking about?" 

Jiwoo furrowed her brows in confusion. "Does Sooyoung-unnie talk about about me?"

"Shit, you weren't supposed to know that. Sooyoung's going to kill me. You know what, forget about that." After saying it Lucy went away, leaving a very confused Jiwoo behind. The redhead's thoughts went at a hundred an hour. If her crush apparently talked about her, could it mean that Sooyoung-Jiwoo shook the thought away. She didn't need false hopes. She probably told them they were friends, Jiwoo rationalized.

"Isn't she cool? " MJ's voice broke through her stupor.

"Huh?"

"I said, 'Don't you find her cool'."

"Oh yeah, totally."

"Lucy is the managing editor. You know she founded the magazine."

Jiwoo turned to look at him, stunned. "Really?" MJ nodded. "Wah, she's impressing. But why sell the rights to HM&E?"

"Honestly, no one knows. She just announced it one day. Everyone was shocked. But the one who really took the news badly was Sooyoung. "

"Sooyoung-unnie? Why?"

He shrugged and wanted to say something more when they were both interrupted by someone calling to her. "Miss Kim, my office, now."