"Have you heard?" Irene said, a bit too excitedly, as she approached Taeyeon's desk abruptly and sat on it, making the latter jump in her seat.

"Jesus!" The blonde woman exclaimed in surprise. "Heard what?"

"The boss is here. I mean, not exactly here, not right now, you know. I mean he is in town and it sounds like he will be around for a week or two and will visit the office to check on everyone."

"Who told you that?"

"Michelle!" Irene answered, referring to her colleague. "She said Mr. Hwang gave the editor-in-chief a bell and told him so. You know how quickly the news spread around an office, particularly when there are women working in it." She giggled.

"Oh..." Taeyeon's voice dwindled. And how am I supposed to feel about this, exactly? she thought.

"It's your chance to ask for a promotion. You know you deserve a way higher position here. I live for the day they'll promote you to editor-in-chief. The one we have currently is way too square and grumpy for my taste. Or anyone else's," Irene complained, contorting her face into a dissatisfied expression.

"Promoting a woman? Right," Taeyeon scoffed. "Besides, I'm perfectly satisfied with my position. I love to write. It's liberating."

"Mmm," Irene mumbled. "I see you love it so much you didn't even notice it's our lunch break and 99% of the people in the office have already left," she mocked.

Taeyeon looked around, confirming what the younger woman had just told her before she chuckled embarrassedly. "All right."

***

In the office's bathroom, after having just returned from the lunch break, Taeyeon was washing her hands and tidying her silky, long-sleeved turquoise dress when the door cracked open. She eyed the tall woman strutting towards the counter, but averted the gaze quickly, not wanting to make it seem like she was available for any conversation or interaction. 

"Taeyeon," the woman cooed, approaching her.

Taeyeon's lips curved into a kind, but small smile. "Bonnie," she greeted

"It's been a while since we've been by ourselves like this," Bonnie said, approximating Taeyeon a bit more.

"Yes, indeed. And I'd like to keep it that way," Taeyeon cut her off and walked away abruptly, halting the rust-haired woman from any other advance.

She tried to reach the door and leave the place, but Bonnie was faster and cut her in, holding the door's knob before Taeyeon could reach it.

She smiled cockily. "Playing hard to get? Why?"

"Nobody's playing hard to get!" Taeyeon hissed annoyedly. "Let me pass now. I need to work."

"'I need to work, I need to work...'" Bonnie repeated Taeyeon's words disdainfully as she walked away from the door and started to saunter in circles around the bathroom. "That's all you've been telling me whenever I try to approach you."

"Has it ever occured to you that maybe it's because I really need to?"

"No! It hasn't!" Bonnie fired back. "Because when we were together you had time for both me and your work!"

"We weren't exactly together--"

"You know what I meant," the other woman cut Taeyeon in. 

A brief moment of silence stretched between the two.

"Look, I've never promised you anything, I...  Can we please just go back? Almost everyone is already back there, our time is almost up. I've never been absent at work nor late for it and I don't intent to start being reckless about it now."

Bonnie looked at Taeyeon with a small glimpse of hurt in her eyes. She approached the blonde woman with gentle steps, careful not the scare her away. The latter stood still, not exactly knowing what to expect. She thought Bonnie was going to leave, but the taller woman placed her hands on Taeyeon's shoulders and caressed her smoothly, drawing their faces closer. "I miss you," she whispered. "I can't move on."

As promising as Bonnie had seemed to Taeyeon when they had their fling, virtually a year ago, it didn't turn out as the blonde expected it to. Bonnie had grown overwhelmingly attached to her, greedy for her attention, whilst Taeyeon herself didn't feel any kind of connection towards the woman, and couldn't give her what she wanted. When Taeyeon entered a very comfortable and productive phase at workㅡher texts improved, which made her receive great praise from the readers of her column and her own co-workersㅡshe decided the correct thing to do was to entirely focus on her job, and hence she told Bonnie she though it would be best that they stopped seeing each other. That was a little over a month after they had started their affair. From then onwards, it was uncomfortable for Taeyeon to see the woman, who worked as the editor-in-chief's personal secretary, around the officeㅡespecially when the latter had tried so many times to approach her again. She didn't find it hard to move on, however; there were no feelings involved from her part. Bonnie never made her truly happy, and in reality, she was just another woman Taeyeon had brought into her life in a pathetic and fruitless attempt to fill a whole in her heart and soul that, no matter what she did, she was certain would be always there. It was all just about the pleasure and having some company to work as a distraction on the lonely, needy, difficult nights. Bonnie, on the other hand, continued to nurture her feelings for Taeyeon, and would occasionally get caught by the latter stealing longing glances, which would make the blonde feel slightly unsettled.

"Bonnie... No. No. I don't want it. Especially here, for Pete's sake!" Taeyeon said, declining Bonnie's advances, trying to push her away. But before she could protest again, the ginger held her arms and shushed her with a forthright kiss. As she and nibbled on Taeyeon's lips, the latter resistantly tried to break free from the grip, but she gave in in the moment Bonnie's wet, hungry lips touched the exposed skin of her neck, making her eyes roll back. Bonnie had caught her off guard, making her vulnerable by on her neck. Taeyeon was unable to fight her body's demans when she felt herself be led to the bathroom's counter and placed on top of it, as Bonnie's able hands slid up her legs under her skirt, towards her hips.

Irene was right. Taeyeon needed someone. It had been too long since she had last touched a woman, or been touched by one. It was best for her to repress her needs, lest an affair with another woman be discovered. It could get her fired. "Have you never thought about giving men a chance?" Irene asked. She had. She didn't want to. Her life was miserable enough as it was.

Taeyeon tried her best to keep quiet. Her lower lip was nearly bruised from how hard she bit on it as she tried to subdue her heavy breathing at times. But despite her carefulness and self-consciousness, she did not notice the bathroom's door was mistakenly left ajar.

***

3 Days Later.

Taeyeon was focusedly typing, diligently watching out not to mistype anything. Her surroundings were primarily nonexistent for her in that moment due to her ability to expertly emerge herself completely whenever she writes. She did notice, however, that the office was eerily quieter than it usually is, but she attributed that to the fact that Mr. Hwang was present and everyone wanted to look like the perfect employee.

The day before had been the first day everyone in the office had seen Mr. Hwang in a couple of months. He made his appearance in a good mood, with a relaxed countenance and an elegant, yet reserved smile on his lips, and stayed around the office for the whole morning and half of the afternoon, catching up with the other superiors on the office and monitoring everyone's work. The man was quite demanding, but he always tried to keep the atmosphere pleasant and comfortable in his presence. He was convinced that people don't work as well and efficiently when they are under pressure or stress, and he definitely didn't want to be the one to spoil his own newspaper's good content.

Today, Taeyeon was making sure to work even more meticulously than the usual, especially after being complimented by the boss himself the other day on her articles and the way they had attracted a greater variety of readers: Taeyeon's broad range of topics and easy prose made it easy and pleasant for people of all ages and genders to appreciate her articlesㅡwhich, of course, would naturally make the sales increase. But it's not that she wanted to impress him; she was just really afraid to accidentally blunder and make the respectable man change his mind about her competence. Her job was everything she had in life, and it was singularly special because it was the exact sort of job she had always dreamed of. Even if her position in it were stagnant forever, as longs as the odds were in favor of her keeping her job, that was enough. How could she lose her only purpose in life, after all?

The blonde suddenly jumped on her seat and withdrew her fingers from the keys, jolted by the sound of a door bursting open, followed by quick, hasty, and nervous steps coming out of it. She angled her head and face, curious to know what was the commotion about. When her eyes fell on the woman running away from the quiet room she had left, which she had now recognized as Mr. Hwang's, she froze on her spot.

No. Did he...? No, please, God, no... A rush of anxiety ran through her body, and the latter responded to it through the sweaty, clammy palms she tried to wipe on her skirt. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she breathed in and out a few times to calm herself down. Showing any hint of desperation or nervousness would certainly indicate guilt. 

"Ms. Kim," Mr. Hwang called, calmly leaning with his shoulder against the wall and his hands inside his pockets. Taeyeon looked up at him, gulping discreetly. "Can we have a word, please?" His words were cold and stern, as they should be, but not in any way ruthless or threatening. If anything, they were rather laced with some kind of tranquility. Not that it made any great difference for Taeyeon: she continued to feel as though her nerves would make her body would collapse at any minute.

The woman nodded uneasily, getting up from her seat and making her way to the man with trembling steps and wobbly knees, walking as if she were heading towards her very execution. She mentally cursed Bonnieㅡand she probably invented new bad words along the way, because those she knew didn't seem sufficient to express her rage, then cursed herself, and prayed to everything that was holy that whatever Mr. Hwang had to tell her wasn't about what she believed it was. And she prayed once more, asking for every single deity she could recall that, in case it were, that this wretched talk would end up well, contrary to what she expected. In brief words, the word 'desperate,' or any variant or synonym of it, would be a tremendous understatement as to describe how Taeyeon felt in that moment.

She finally stepped inside the room, which she thought rather small to be the boss's, and the man politely offered her a seat by signaling at a fancy black chair placed in front of his deskㅡaround which he walked coolly with his hands on the pocked of his gray pants before he sat comfortably on his own chair. He laid his elbows on the desk and wrung his hands together, pursing his lips, pondering how to begin the conversation.

Taeyeon just sat down quietly, and tried not to express any kind of emotion, good or bad.

The man eyed her for a moment and then smiled uncomfortably. A sharp intake of breath was drawn in before he began, "Ms. Kim, I'm aware of the good reputation you have among your colleagues, as well as our very readers. I also know you have been a very diligent and competent employee, particularly for a woman. My colleagues tried to dissuade me when I hired you, saying I should only hire women to be secretaries, but you've shown me multiple times I made the right choice when I gave you the freedom to write for our paper. In view of that, I take it would be unbecoming of you to compromise your job in any way, am I right?"

"Yes, sir," answered Taeyeon. 

"Then, I wonder, why did you do it?"

Taeyeon froze in her spot, unable to find words good enough to formulate any sentence or apology. She parted her lips to speak a few times, but nothing would come out.

"Let me get straight to the point, Ms. Kim: I know what happened between you and Ms. Lee in the ladies' room three days prior. You two were seen and your... actions were reported to me this morning. By whom, I cannot tell."

The woman's breath was caught in , her blood running cold in her veins. She couldn't move. A state of pure panic had taken over her whole body. It took her a few seconds until she could move her lips enough to breath out an indistinguishable word that was originally meant to be an apology, but before she could try again, the man interrupted her, continuing, "I could start speaking about how atrocious and revolting what you two did was, and I would like to do that and shame you into repenting, but I have more important matters to discuss with you. Hadn't I, you would be fired by now already. You are aware I can fire you for that, aren't you? In fact, that would be the right thing to do. Just like I just did to Ms. Lee."

Taeyeon immediately snapped out of her intern panic attack and shifted her position on the chair, nervously running one of her hands through her hair. "No, sir, please, don't do that, I can't explain, I can do whatever you want me to, I just--"

"I won't fire you," the man cut in on her speech once more.

"No?" Taeyeon questioned, bewilderment showing on her face.

"It's true that the news disgusted me, Ms. Kim. But I am a business man, and hence I must think about the sake of my business before I can give relevance to personal matters or opinions. I want to make clear that I absolutely despise unprofessionalism, and that I find your attitude beyond unprofessional, but I believe that withdrawing you from the journal would also be very unprofessional. More than that, I'd fancy it unwise," the man said calmly, albeit his eyes were judgmental and piercing into Taeyeon, so painfully they seemed to be needles entering her skin and injecting poison into her veins.

"I... I apologize, sir, I think I don't understand."

"Your articles have done wonders to our newspaper since you stared working with us three years ago. Believe it or not, it's one of our most popular and commented sections. Even if I found a columnist as good as you, no one could write those articles the way you do. You are a natural, and the way you manage to make your texts appeal to such a large and diverse audience is commendable. I can't ignore that and, sincerely, I can't lose that. It would be damaging to the paper."

Taeyeon nodded timidly, feeling a bit of hope spark in her heart and, wasn't she in such dire situation, she would have allowed herself to take pride in the compliments she received. "I see."

"However," the man continued as he got up from his chair and pocketed his hands once again, ambling around the room, "I don't think it would be appropriate for you to continue working in the office, exactly. I've kindly asked the person who witnessed the two of you to remain quiet regarding this issue, which actually cost me more than I expected, but I'm sure you know how things work around here. It's unavoidable that more people in the office will hear about it sooner or later. And if this scandal spreads, for the sake of the good reputation of this office and paper, I'll have no option but to let you go, which I have expressed my wish not to do," Mr. Hwang looked at Taeyeon sternly. "So I have an offer for you, Ms. Kim. Something that will benefit us both."

Taeyeon cocked an eyebrow, and there was an almost imperceptible tilt of her head, involuntarily exposing her puzzled thoughts, as she wondered how could the man possibly profit from her in any way other than that of which he had just spoke about. In the end, she just smiled briefly and nodded her head timidly. "Do say."

Mr. Hwang leaned on the desk. "I've been a widower for 16 years now. My wife was the love of my life and the only one, I'm not ashamed to state that. I haven't maintained a serious commitment with any other women since her passing. But a marriage and a wife happen to be important for a business man like me, even though I have spent years trying to ignore that." He looked at Taeyeon. "I've been looking for a woman to wed for a while now. I admit it has been very hardㅡmy peers have introduced me to different and beautiful women all the time, but they are all the same. They are all either looking for loving husbands or for men that will shower them with gold and diamonds, and I am unwilling to do either or. Most of them are airheads, as well. Marrying any of them would just add more stress and trouble to my life. But, you," he said, pointing his finger at her, "that wouldn't happen with you."

"Sir, I..." Taeyeon gulped, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "I'm afraid I'm confused again. What do you mean?"

"I want you to become my wife, Ms. Kim," he stated, matter-of-factly. 

Taeyeon was absolutely taken aback, and her eyes grew slightly wider in shock. Wasn't she so self-concious of every breath she took, at that moment, her jaw would've dropped as well, but she contained herself. She eyes the man as perplexity rearranged her ever-soft features; the latter, however, remained quiet, waiting for her respond. 

"I'm sorry," she said, and then stammered and tottered a few times with her words before she continued, "I am really baffled, I just don't understand what is going on. Are you asking me to marry you?"

Mr. Hwang nodded nonchalantly. "Allow me enlighten you: I need a wife for the sake of my social status, as well as of making good business. You, on the other hand, need a solution and a safe exit to your problem, which could cost you many things, and you know it. Your marrying me would solve everything for the both of us. You would be my partner, and I assure you I would give you a very comfortable life. Besides, your reputation would be secured. Even though that unfortunate event might eventually come to the knowledge of other people, they would take it as a groundless and malicious rumor, because you would be, in their eyes, a happily married woman."

"Mr. Hwang, I..." Taeyeon shook her head trying to clear her hazy mind and sighed heavily. "I appreciate your offer, I genuinely do, but... Oh, this is so strange," she breathed out, almost in exasperation. "How would this even work? I just can't really understand how could I bring you anything truly good. I couldn't be a wife to you. I couldn't be a wife to anybody, even if I tried."

"Don't take my proposal as anything but professional. Think of it as business, because that is exactly what I want you for. I couldn't be a husband to you either, Ms. Kim. I'm rarely home, and my loving feelings have long been frozen and lost. I certainly wouldn't expect you to be a wife, either. It would be like a business deal. Conceive it as a new job: marry me, play the role of a happy wife when I need you to, and I will pay you with a home and all the comfort you would like and beyond. You will have everything you need, and you may continue to write for the paper as you please, only I'll ask you to do it from home," the man spoke, sitting on his desk and adjusting his tie. "All I'll need from you is company on important events, cocktails, and such."

"You mean I could continue working? Writing?" Taeyeon murmured, unsure whether she could inquire or not. She lifted her eyes and gazed at the man with a glint of hope in her orbs. "This is all I have."

"Yes. But, as I said, I would like you to do it from home. I don't think it would be appropriate or convenient for you to keep coming to the office after our union. Besides, I've already demonstrated my wish to maintain your work on this paper. I'm sure we can make this work, somehow. You must have friends here, you could hand them new material, say, ten or fifteen texts, to them once a week, and we would continue to publish your articles. It would be a good way to occupy yourself, as well."

Taeyeon's countenance darkened and turned into an anguished frown. None of the courses her life could possibly take from now onwards were satisfactory. There were to paths, both equally miserable, or so she fancied: she could either accede to Mr. Hwang's proposal, which would be the wiser and more comfortable decision to make, or she could refuse it, and then she would walk out of that door straight into her imminent doom. In a way or another, her life would darken unimaginably, and she would watch everything she had built and achieved thus far crumble right before her eyes. The blonde took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she massaged her temples, shaking her head meanwhile. "Why are you being kind to me? Why are you doing this?" 

"I'm being practical and objective, but I think it is fortunate that you take it as kindness." He paused for a while, and then continued, with a quiet sight, "I don't approve of your actions, but I am still a decent man. This offer I'm making you might sound cold, frightening, and strange, but it is also the only chance you have to clean up your mess and cover up your tracks so that spiteful people won't make hell out of your life. Despite of your... lifestyle, I'm sure you are not an ill-willed person. I will reinforce what I said before, that I do not expect you to be a real wife to me. I do not expect your passion, your devotion, or your love, and I know you don't expect mine, either. Feelings won't be brought into this, and I won't lay a finger on you. I strongly believe you will find a way to feel comfortable with this situation sooner than you expect, should you agreed to it."

Though her uneasiness hadn't been eased, Taeyeon felt a tad calmer upon hearing the man's assuring words. She flinched on her seat and nodded faintly, indicating she was ready to give her answer, but still unsure of what to say and absorbing all the information. Everything felt way too surreal.

"Will I truly be able to continue writing? And do I have your word that you will refrain from making any advances at me?" she asked, timorously.

The man merely nodded. "That you do."

She nodded and inhaled sharply and, with some difficulty, mustered up every once of courage she could find within herself at that moment. "All right."