Cramped at a corner of Twosome Place on a Wednesday noon, was a busy looking lady, profusely looking through a list of job listings on her laptop screen.

It was a hot, hot summer in July. Crowds were coming in for some cool air con and cold beverage.

Ignoring the peak lunch crowd in the cafe, her eyes were scanning through possible job titles of interest to her. She spotted an interesting description and clicked to read more...

She smiled as she keyed in her details while attaching her CV & cover letter. As soon as she finished typing, she clicked submit with a sigh of relief.

Her smart phone vibrated with one message received. She unlocked her phone and read the message by someone named ❤ seonbae:

“Sorry, Jin Yee. Was held up by a meeting.

Will try my best to be there as soon as I can.

Wait for me! Drinks on me! Cya later.”

Jin Yee smiled warmly and replied back:

“It’s ok. Take your time. I’m not in a hurry.

But if you’re the one who’s in a hurry to get back office in time,

then you better be prepared to sprint over here.”

Jin Yee then placed her phone back and sipped on her cold matcha latte before going back on surfing more job-related stuff.

-

At Comfo Publishing Company, a boardroom meeting has just ended. And a tall man had just left the boardroom. With quickened pace, he headed toward the Marketing Dept.

A middle-aged male staff, Mr Oh saw that man entered and asked politely, “Seo menaejeo, would you like to have lunch together today?”

Marketing Manager Seo In Guk smiled at him and said politely, “I’m sorry Mr Oh, I have to rush off for a lunch appointment. Next time, ok?”

Mr Oh, who’s actually the Assistant Marketing Manager smiled and replied politely, “Sure, alright. Oh, by the way, did you say you have someone to recommend to join our team as executive?”

In Guk nodded and said, “Yes! It’s my hoobae from uni! She recently graduated and returned to Korea seeking jobs. Matter of fact, I’m meeting her now and am running late!”

In Guk quickly entered into his office room and took off his coat jacket before heading out to the cubicles. Stopping by the Mr Oh’s desk then turned to his team of staff, In Guk said to them in high spirits, “I’m heading to Twosome Place now, you guys want anything? My treat!”

The marketing team is made up of 4 staff. Besides Asst Manager Mr Oh who has been there for 8 years, there’s Miss Yang, a senior marketing executive who has been around for 5 years, and also a junior staff, Johnson Kim, who has joined the company 2 years ago. The 3 of them all report to Manager Seo In Guk.

“Wow! Treat from Manager Seo!” Miss Yang was elated, “I would like an Americano, please."

In Guk smiled and asked the two gentleman, "What about you, Mr Oh and you maknae?"

Mr Oh replied, "It's ok. You youngsters go ahead. Those drinks are too sweet for my liking."

Johnson replied meekly, "Uh, Cappuccino for me please. Thank you very much, Manager Seo."

In Guk smiled brightly and said to them, "Alright, I'll be back again later with your order. See you."

With that he looked at the time on his watch and quickly rushed off across the street to meet his hoobae whom he haven’t seen in 2 years!

-

In Guk walked through the automatic sliding door entrance at Twosome Place and looked around for Jin Yee.

It wasn’t exactly a huge place and every corner could be seen. He scanned across the room and found Jin Yee engrossed in her laptop screen at a table beside one of the glass panel at a corner.

In Guk walked over and was extremely delighted to see her. “Jin-Yee-ya!”

As Jin Yee was on a dedicated mission to get hired by the end of the month, she was working hard on going through tons of job descriptions advertised on various job portals. Therefore she didn’t notice In Guk popped up at her table.

“Oh! Seonbae, you’re here!” Jin Yee exclaimed and stopped what she was doing and smiled widely at him. If only she could give him a big hug but she didn’t want to be judged hugging another male in the middle of a busy cafe and could only imagine it.

In Guk was curious about her progress and asked, “How was it? Gotten any interviews yet?”

Jin Yee was positive and said, “Well, I’m still waiting. After all, I had only been back for 3 days. But I have already sent out about 40 resumes? It takes time I guess. Do you have any business contacts or recommendations I could take up?”

In Guk grinned and said, “With regards to that... Actually, I’m here to inform you, our department has an opening for a Marketing Executive to maintain our social presence and online traffic. Something that should be a piece of cake for you.”

Jin Yee was elated and exclaimed, “What?? Really? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

In Guk shrugged and said, “Well, I only got to know about it like an hour ago during the board meeting that the position would be opened. The job ad has just been processed also. This news is practically just fresh from the oven!”

Jin Yee laughed at her seonbae’s animated expressions & descriptions, “Do you think I have what it takes?”

In Guk looked satisfied and said proudly, “All Business InfoTech students definitely fit the bill of what marketing strategies work. I think you’re innovative & creative enough to execute online campaigns. Come on, we’re from the same alma mater! I’m definitely sure my hoobae can excel at this job.”

Jin Yee felt great being encouraged, “It will be a good opportunity to work in Comfo as it’s one of the leading publishing companies.”

In Guk nodded exaggeratedly & dramatically, “Yep, and I, your seonbae, will also be your boss. And you-” pointing at her “will have to do my bidding.” He finished with a curl up the corners of his lips.

Jin Yee felt her heart race again, as it always have been since uni days. She was thrilled by the idea of having to work with him and being able to see him everyday. Playing along with him, she replied, “Yep, I’m pretty sure there will not be a difference to being a slave, basically.”

Jokes aside, In Guk then told Jin Yee, “Why don’t you send me your resume and I will forward it to the HR dept and specifically mentioned that this hoobae of mine is highly recommended and it will be the company’s lost not to hire you.” He winked at her.

Oh stop it, Jin Yee cursed silently. “Ok, I will do it. In fact, I can do it now.” She quickly switched to her laptop and was typing away while telling him, “Go grab something to eat or drink.”

In Guk noticed Jin Yee’s empty cup and asked, “You want some more matcha latte?”

Jin Yee was touched that he still remembered her favourite drink and said, “Yes, please.”

While Jin Yee was busy composing an email message & attaching her resume to send to In Guk, and while In Guk was queueing up at the counter, another tall, slender male figure with very fair complexion and chiselled looks walked passed the glass pane outside Jin Yee’s table and entered the cafe...

-

Author’s note: This is more of an opening scene as to how our 3 main characters meet one another and how they will all be interacting as the story develops. I guess it’s quite obvious the tall, slender male figure with very fair complexion and chiselled looks in fact Lee Soo Hyuk lol The opening is kind of short but I promise the upcoming chapters would be longer. I hope fans of Lee Soo Hyuk & Seo In Guk would like this :)