When Jisoo walked into the Embrace offices the following day, she cleared off her work station and straightened out her computer monitor. Then, she smoothed out her blouse and skirt then sat and waited patiently for Julie to call her into her office. Whenever Dara or another coworker walked by, she would open up her email inbox and try to look busy, but she didn’t want to start a task in case Julie suddenly asked her into her office.

After about an hour of this, she started to feel bad about sitting around and not doing any work, so she cautiously turned to the task list Dara had given her. It included more meaningless chores like going through her inbox and sending regretful replies to people emailing in their submissions and sending out a memo to staff that the parking lot on the east side of the building was going to be blocked off for construction next week. 

Another hour passed, and Julie had even walked by to talk to someone working in the same office, but she didn’t even so much as look at Jisoo. She started to wonder: had Julie forgotten that she wanted to discuss something with Jisoo? Or worse, what if she had changed her mind?

Jisoo tried to take her mind off of it by going back to her task list. She picked up the phone and arranged for a caterer to bring food to the upcoming redesign and summer issue lock-in meeting with the Jeon & Sky editor-in-chief. Apparently, this was going to be a big deal, as they would finalize which stories would be printed. Nothing ever saw the light of day at Jeon & Sky Publishers without the express approval of Editor Jeon himself. 

In an uncharacteristic twist, Dara had given Jisoo free reign on which caterer would provide food at the meeting. Jisoo was torn between ordering Chinese food, which she thought was a pretty safe option, or something with a bit more class, like a catering company that did hors d’oeuvres and little finger sandwiches. She ended up choosing a classier option. 

Lunch came around after what seemed like an eternity, and Julie Kiyoko still had not called Jisoo into her office. As she headed down to the employee cafeteria, Jisoo’s phone lit up with a phone call from Jinyoung.

A phone call from my boyfriend? 

She crinkled her brows. Not counting the fake dates she’d arranged to take pictures for their fake online account, the double-date with Jackson and Jennie, and not counting the gala or the publication party, she and Jinyoung had been on a grand total of one date. Two if you counted the walk they took on the hillside park which ended with a hot, breathless make-out session in front of her apartment. 

That was over a week and a half ago. He had called her nearly every day since then, though, and they spent hours on the phone, talking about anything and everything. Somehow, though, they never managed to talk about what this all meant. They hadn’t even managed to talk about their feelings for each other yet. 

So, what now? Did this mean she was his girlfriend?

“Hello?” Jisoo said, answering his phone call. 

“Hey,” he said, gasping a little.

“Why are you out of breath?” Jisoo asked. She heard him scoff on the other end.

“I went for a run,” he said. “I’m studying—or I was studying, but I started getting restless, so I took a couple laps around campus.”

“When are your exams?” Jisoo asked, grabbing a tray at the cafeteria. “I feel like you’re always studying.”

“I have one later this afternoon,” Jinyoung said. “Microbiology.”

“I don’t know the first thing about microbiology, but that sounds like a tough one,” Jisoo said. “How do you feel?”

She couldn’t see, but she was sure from his silence that he must have shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve been studying all week, this is as prepared as I’ll ever be. I figured I should do something to calm my nerves.”

Jisoo smirked flirtatiously. “Is that why you called me?” she asked in a low voice. 

Jinyoung laughed on the other end, realizing he’d walked straight into that one. 

“Maybe,” he said. “Actually, I called to ask if you wanted to meet me for dinner tonight. After my exam. You get off work at six don’t you?”

Date #3, Jisoo thought. Do people typically settle on relationship labels after a handful of dates? She thought of asking him now but then decided that it was too early.

She liked Jinyoung. She liked spending time with him, liked talking to him, liked going on dates with him, walking by his side, hearing his stories, she liked kissing him. And if her reaction to their steamy kissing in front of her apartment was any indication, she couldn’t be sure just how far she’d go with him if she let go of her inhibitions.

But it was hard to really know, especially since she belonged to a generation of people who date serially and kiss casually and sleep around carelessly. When and how would she know if this was something more than a fling?

“Jisoo?” Jinyoung asked, prompting her. Jisoo cleared .

“Dinner tonight sounds perfect,” she said.

She could practically hear him smiling over the phone. “Go on home after work, then, I’ll pick you up at your apartment.”

Jisoo agreed to the arrangement. She took her food tray and sat at a table by the window that was quieter and more private, and they continued talking until the end of her lunch break. Jisoo told Jinyoung about how long it was taking Julie to call her into her office to discuss her promotion, and Jinyoung talked about an incident at work involving someone who came in with a dog bite. 

The rest of the day unfolded much like any other. Dara came out of her office after her lunch break and gave Jisoo a whole new task list, putting her in charge of things like typing in more data from surveys into spreadsheets and various kinds of business research. In a way, her work at Embrace was starting to resemble her old job at Vector Marketing, and it was disheartening. 

At least I have dinner tonight to look forward to, she thought. She locked in an order to catering on the day of the meeting with Editor Jeon, and after doing a quick scan through her checklist to make sure she had finished it all, she looked at the clock.

It was five minutes to six. Dara was still in her office, agonizing over a draft, but Jisoo was sure that Julie had already left her office. Jisoo sighed. She guessed it wasn’t going to happen today after all. 

She started to pack her things, which included a portfolio containing some of her old stories. She had been hoping to bring it up again and possibly get Julie’s feedback at the meeting she had promised the other day, to discuss her future at Embrace. But she supposed that would have to wait for another time. 

Jisoo bade Dara a quick goodbye that went practically unnoticed. She took the elevator down to the ground level and started heading for the exit. But when she stepped out into the warm evening, Jisoo was surprised to see Julie Kiyoko waiting there for her. 

“I thought your shift ended at six,” Julie said, beaming at Jisoo. The editorial assistant wasn’t sure how to reply. Julie Kiyoko took a few steps toward her.

“I know you’re off the clock already,” Kiyoko said. “But I was wondering if you had a minute to speak with me?”

Jisoo stuttered when she replied: “Y—Sur—Yes, sure,” she said. She thought for sure that Julie was going to lead her back into the building and up to her office, where all official business was supposed to take place. But instead, she crossed the street and left Jisoo to follow her.

While trailing behind her managing editor, Jisoo plucked her phone out of her pocket and remembered that Jinyoung was expecting her. As regretful as she felt, she was sure he would understand that something important had popped up. She sent a quick text message letting him know that she didn’t think she’d be back in time for their date. 

Julie ended up leading Jisoo over to the cafe across the street from the offices, the very same one she had met Jinyoung at when Dara shouted at her. She followed her boss’ lead, paying for a cup of coffee and then sitting down at a table in the corner. 

Jisoo radiated with eagerness, but she sat down quietly and waited for Ms. Kiyoko to begin the conversation herself. Julie began to arrange her napkin and cup on the table, folding the napkin into a rectangle and then angling it so that it lined up with the edge of the table. It took Jisoo all her strength not to tell her to just spit out what she wanted to say.

But Julie Kiyoko began her talk with a question that Jisoo didn’t expect to be able to answer so easily:

“Have you ever read Malice by Keigo Higashino, Jisoo?” She adjusted her napkin again.

Jisoo widened her eyes at her boss and then laughed lightly.

“Actually, I have,” Jisoo said, amused at the coincidence. “My… boyfriend lent it to me recently.”

It felt awkward saying that, only because she wasn’t sure how true it was. She didn’t have a problem saying it before since she knew it was false, but now she wasn’t sure. 

“Oh, Jinyoung? Yes, I remember him,” Ms. Kiyoko said, taking a sip of her tea and putting on that sugary smile that she always