Remembrance of a fiasco

While Su-Jin was finally getting on a first-name basis with her rooftop friend, Ji-Won was pacing his office. The scene from the archive room kept replaying in his mind, over and over again.

In truth, he felt very angry at having his entire work destroyed just like that. However, deep down, he knew there was something else that irked him besides that.

Thinking back on the incident, Ji-Won noted a few things. Yet, among everything he could think of, he was most especially baffled by the way his body responded when he saw Su-Jin on the floor, merely seconds away from being hit by that rack.

He also remembered with amazement the hot panic he had felt deep inside his chest.

At the sight of Su-Jin's trembling form, Ji-Won's heart suddenly beat faster. The storm of emotions took over his body, making him act before his mind was able to process what was happening. Thus, before he could stop himself, Ji-Won had jumped inside the room, saving Su-Jin from getting injured.

Using his mind's eye, Ji-Won easily envisioned Su-Jin's own wide and startled eyes, looking up at him in fright.

With that image in mind, Ji-Won's stomach churned strangely and he condemned himself for acting so improperly. He shouldn't have these thoughts about Su-Jin.

There was no denying of the fact that he had saved her. Nevertheless, whatever he was currently feeling towards her was both wrong and improper.

Just as he had reached that conclusion, Ji-Won's body unexpectedly betrayed him. His muscles spasmed, reminding him of the way Su-Jin's waist had felt in his hold. His arms twitched, as though he could still feel a lingering warmth coming from her body.

Somehow, holding her in his arms felt... right. It also felt… good.

For a split second he wished he could have held her longer and tighter.

With this last thought, Ji-Won's entire being froze. His own thoughts and feelings took him completely by surprise.

In order to try and calm down, Ji-Won sucked in a breath, letting it out in a long, shaky sigh.

"Blasted fool!" Ji-Won ultimately cursed under his breath.

Reaching out an arm towards his desk, he slammed a hand on top of it. The movement caused a loud bang to reverberate inside the office and a few small objects rolled close to the edge of the desk.

"What in heaven's name got you all riled up like this?" Seo-Jun's startled voice came from the door.

He had just entered Ji-Won's office when he heard the loud noise. He almost flinched, thinking something heavy had fallen inside.

After closing the door quietly, Seo-Jun took a seat at the meeting table. Then, he leaned back into the chair, using a knowing gaze to analyze his friend's expression.

Based on Ji-Won's turbulent eyes and his flustered appearance, Seo-Jun was absolutely sure that something must be wrong with him. But what could have caused his friend's complexion to become so dark and terrifying?

Seeing how Ji-Won kept silent, Seo-Jun continued to prob.

"Did something happen?"

"A fiasco happened." Ji-Won finally replied through gritted teeth.

At his words, Seo-Jun's face suddenly broke into a smile. He instantly realized who his friend was referring to. It wasn't even a difficult guess. After all, the only person who, so far, had been able to annoy Ji-Won into such a state was none other than Park Su-Jin.

So, she either did or said something in order to bring Ji-Won's usual cold demeanor up to fuming temperature.

Thinking about this, Seo-Jun found it very difficult to keep the teasing hint out of his voice.

"Don't tell me Miss Park has done something to you again?" Seo-Jun inquired.

"Don't even get me started." Ji-Won groaned, pressing both hands over his face.

His next words came out muffled from behind his palms.

"I've never seen such a person like her before. She is a walking, talking public menace. Whatever she's asked to do, it's impossible to predict what will come of it."

"Oh, come now, I'm sure it's not that serious." Seo-Jun said, waving a hand nonchalantly.

"The archive room is currently a disaster because of her. Who knows how long it will take her to put everything back in its place." Ji-Won retorted from behind his hands.

Seo-Jun nodded repeatedly, while silently listening to his friend's frustrated rant. At the same time, he kept his steady gaze on Ji-Won's mannerism. Under his careful inspection, the Director's embarrassment was quickly discovered.

As a consequence, Seo-Jun quickly became suspicious, thinking there had to be more to the situation than what the other man was saying. Otherwise, the aura of annoyance emanated by Ji-Won's persona wouldn't have been so intense.

Yet, for the sake of saving Ji-Won's thin face from exposure, as well as the desire to live a little longer, Seo-Jun decided not to push the matter further. For the time being, at least, he will remain quiet and observe the situation.

~~~

In the end, it took Su-Jin almost two days to clean up the archive room. By Thursday evening she had finally managed to sort the entire scattered paperwork.

Despite the trouble she had caused, as well as the effort she had to put into the work, Su-Jin realized that she had gained quite a huge advantage. Having done all that reorganizing, ultimately helped Su-Jin refine her ideas for the event. That, and she also sorted the contents of the boxes based on completely different criteria than before, making them easier to be found.

The former system was based on month and year, but Su-Jin decided to add another criteria. She sorted every report of past events or offers based on a certain hobby and location.

There were historical trips, excursions that centered around the river and lakes. She also found some tours that offered mountain hikes or seaside visits.

Looking at the company's products from that perspective, she could get a better sense of what their clients might enjoy. Each person was different, after all, making it difficult to please everyone with a single offer.

However, if the company was willing to create more personalized products, she believed their packages would be sold at a higher rate than they currently were.

Feeling proud with her achievement, Su-Jin went into the Director's office Thursday at half past eight. She wanted to let him know she had finished in the archive room and to talk about the new sorting system.

When she got there, Ji-Won was sitting at his desk, entirely focused on reading something on his monitor. His eyes were narrowed and his lips were set into a firm line, making his expression appear slightly annoyed.

"Director Kang." Su-Jin called out after knocking on the frame of the door.

Before he could look up at her and ask what she wanted, Su-Jin quickly continued to speak in a quiet voice.

"I… I finished organizing the paperwork in the archive room, sir."