A New Lunchtime Friend

"One espresso and one iced cappuccino, please."

"I love meeting you at this hour." I smile at Seo-yoon. "So you pay for the coffee."

Seo-yoon shakes her head, a little annoyed. Whenever she is in a good mood or senses that I'm feeling down, she buys me a coffee or even a dessert. Good points about her.

While we wait for the coffee, she turns to me.

"How was yesterday?"

"It was-"

Seo-yoon cuts me off with a surprised look.

"Oh, isn't that the singer... what was his name again?" Seo-yoon points with her chin toward the front door.

There, on the bench near the door, is a blond guy looking at his phone, also watching the door. Seo-yoon pushes me lightly with a small mischievous smile on her face.

"Go talk to him!"

"Stop it! Why would-..."

Before I know it, I'm a few steps away from him. Won-shik notices us and our eyes meet. Not to make things more awkward, I greet him with a shy smile while cursing Seo-yoong internally. He blinks a few times and then responds to my smile. Won-shik stands up and bows slightly showing respect.

"It's so good to see you again." He says.

"Don't tell me you were waiting for her?" Seo-yoon jumps between us and jokes.

Anyone who knows Seo-yoon for real knows that she jokes like that, but Won-shik doesn't, he might not see it as a joke. I look at him and know that I hit the bull's-eye. Won-shik opens his eyes wide and turns his head to the side, not responding. I was about to explain when he changed the subject.

"Did you listen to the CD?"

"Yes!" This change makes me relieved, but also curious as to why he didn't deny it. "I really loved the songs, especially 'Forever with You'."

"Oh, I'm glad to hear that. I've actually started writing songs too, well, just helping out for now." He puts a hand behind his neck, clearly shy.

I can see that he is not bragging but showing that he is a little proud. Maybe because they are not so famous, he looks down to earth, and I hope he stays this way.

"By the way..." He pauses. "May I ask your name?"

"Of course! Even her phone number if you want it!" Seo-yoon butts in again all excited.

Surprised by her move, he takes a step back. One might think she tried to attack him like a wolf, and even if she noticed, she doesn't care.

"I'll kill you," I whisper to her and push her back. Smiling, I think what the best move is now....

"I'm Hyun-joo, and this is my friend Seo-yoon. Don't mind her, she's crazy."

Then he nods and continues to stare at me. This is so awkward... I try to think of an excuse to get out of this situation, and one thing comes to my mind.

"Ah." I pick up my phone and pretend I am reading something. "They're calling me, I'd better go..."

Seo-yoon sighs in frustration. Her next step is worrisome, but I can't afford to fall for it. I smile again at Won-shik.

"You're going to record today too, right? Good luck."

"Yes, that's right! I'd better go too."

Won-shik shows a weak smile and bows to us.

I can only calm down when his figure disappears into the crowd. Of course Seo-yoon wouldn't let it go. She holds one of my arms with a big smile and bright eyes.

"He's totally into you!"

"You want me to cheat on my boyfriend?"

"Just hanging out is not cheating. Come on, you deserve better."

I don't know how to answer her, so I stay silent. Lucky for me, it's time for work and she won't be around talking about it. We say goodbye and I go to the room of my department, well, the new one.

"Good morning." As everyone greets me, some with a smile, some just saying, Kyung-soo acted like he didn't hear me, or see me.

This is so uncomfortable... in my original department, even when we disagree or argue, the mood isn't heavy like this. Maybe after working with them for a while, we will know each other and get along. But again, I am not sure if I will stay in this department for too long....

Yesterday, after the meeting, we started to design a base for MV. My ideas were "average" and "cliché", Kyung-soo's words. Somehow they managed to do a demo at the end of the day and separate the parts so that everyone could draw.

Hours went by when my neck started to hurt. I had completely forgotten how much harder and tiring the animations are... and to think that this is just the beginning...

I was stretching my neck and arms when a voice called out, almost making me jump out of my chair.

"It's not good." Kyung-soo says, standing behind me.

"Oh, I'll fix it..." Wait, what part is he talking about? "Er, where...?"

"Start all over again."

"From the beginning?" I widened my eyes.

"Yes. The scenes are too fast, the movements are not connected."

To check, I play the scene. He is right... I missed some important points, and it doesn't look natural, but amateurish.

Unfortunately, it was not a one-time thing. Kyung-soo kept watching me and pointing out mistakes. Even a small wrong line was a reason to criticize me. He didn't think his presence behind me was making me nervous, he just kept sighing and looking at me frustrated.

"You've worked here for five years and you can't even do that?"

I haven't worked with animation, in case you don't know. I answer him in my mind with a forced smile.

"What?"

"Sorry, I'll try my best."

A little annoyed, he finally leaves my side and I thank God. My head is spinning and I just want to run away.

As soon as he has left the room, the girl, Na-ra, approaches me with a troubled face.

"He's always like that in the beginning. Yes, we've been through that too."

"When will it end?" I ask.

"In a year...?"

"What...?"

I loved seeing someone being nice after this whole rough morning, but her answer just knocked me down.

"Why don't you go to lunch? You're going to need strength."

"Sure..."

A year... how can anyone put up with that? Anyway, I'll be out of here soon! I keep praying for time to pass quickly. Really, everything was so peaceful... maybe it was too good…

At the refectory, I managed to find a seat, but… Lunch alone is terrible. With Seo-yoon we talk and it distracts me, relieves the stress, but she's busy right now.

I stare at my plate and even though the food looks great, I don't feel like eating. Maybe I've gotten too used to eating with someone else.

"Hyun-joo!". A deep and excited voice calls out to me.

As if heaven hears me, a now-familiar face stops in front of me with a smile.

"Won-shik." But he didn't send the right person.... "We met again."

"I just finished the recording, now it's done."

"How was it?" I ask with an honest smile.

"Not bad, I guess..." He looks at nowhere, then turns back to me. "The others are much better, so I felt a little small..."

Wah, that's exactly what's happening to me. The difference is that Won-shik isn't bad at all.

"Sure, they are more famous, but that doesn't mean they are better." I tried to make him feel confident. "Your voice is quite unique, it has a charm that draws people's attention."

"Do you like it?" Won-shik asks me, unsure.

"Of course I do! This collaboration is an opportunity for more people to get to know you."

He tries to control his excitement and hide his smile with his hand. How cute.

"Have you had lunch yet?" I ask.

"Not yet. I'm quite hungry, to be honest..."

"So, do you want to eat with me?"

He opens his eyes wide, he certainly wasn't expecting this. I wasn't either, it just slipped out of my mouth. Still, I wanted to eat with someone, and Won-shik has a light feeling, I can easily forget about my work while talking to him.