Jisoo arrived at the Jeon & Sky Publishing offices at exactly 10:30 in the morning, meaning that if she didn’t get to the third floor in exactly one minute, she would be officially late. Served her right, trusting the buses to be on time instead of calling a car. The Embrace offices were on the third floor. She ran over to the elevator after obtaining a guest pass from reception. Once inside, she smoothed down her hair and fanned herself, trying not to look as winded and sweaty as she was. 

Great, she thought. The most important interview of her life and here she was, walking in late and looking like she’d come back from a marathon. Evidently, her lucky flower wasn’t in its element today.

She straightened out her blouse and her blazer, and when the elevator bell signaled her arrival, she walked onto the third floor with as much dignity as she could muster. Jisoo walked into a hallway and was first greeted by a girl sitting at a reception table. The words “EMBRACE” was written out on the wall above her head in the slick font she had come to love and recognize over many years as a loyal subscriber. 

“You need some help?” the girl at the counter asked. Jisoo jogged over and told the girl that she was supposed to be seeing Julie Kiyoko, who was interviewing her for a position as an editorial assistant. 

“Oh, another one,” the girl offhandedly said as she gestured toward an iPad that Jisoo was supposed to sign in on. “Ms. Kiyoko is taking interviewees in that conference room down the corridor. It’s a group interview. You’re just a little bit late, but they’ll have just started, so you can go right in.”

“Thanks!” Jisoo said after tapping her name into the sign-in sheet. Then she grabbed her briefcase and tried her hardest not to sprint to the conference room. Once there, she pushed the door open slowly. 

At the head of the table stood a short Japanese woman in a crisp white pantsuit. Her hair was cropped sharply to the same sloping angle as her jawline, and a pair of vintage blue glasses rested on her nose bridge. This intimidating woman could only be Ms. Kiyoko herself, Managing Editor of Embrace. Jisoo felt the saliva in go dry.

The other two girl who were sitting to Ms. Kiyoko’s left looked up at the tardy third interviewee. They were both tall, even when sitting, and slender. One wore a sweet pink office dress and had her hair in a bun atop her head. The other had slick brown hair and a floral, textured blazer. 

, Jioo hadn’t gotten the colorful outfits memo. She looked like she’d been to a funeral. 

“You must Kim Jisoo,” said Julie Kiyoko cheerfully. Jisoo apologized for her tardiness, shook her hand, and laughed nervously as she took the last empty seat to her left. 

“Sorry I’m late,” Jisoo said, still laughing nervously. “I took the bus, and there were too many delays, all these tourists and… anyway, it doesn’t matter, I’m sorry I interrupted!”

“Oh, it’s not problem,” Ms. Kiyoko said. “Meet Krystal Jung and Suzy Bae. I hope you don’t mind that I changed this to a group interview, I have to meet with our sponsors over lunch so this time worked best.”

“Oh, it’s no problem!”

Jisoo turned to the other girls and greeted them. They smiled and gave her a cold greeting in turn. The interview continued normally afterward, and Jisoo was glad her late entrance didn’t put her too far behind the other girls. Through Ms. Kiyoko’s questioning, Jisoo learned that both Krystal and Suzy were recent grads with degrees in Literature, and Suzy in particular had a concentration in writing. Krystal was the editor-in-chief of a student-run publication of creative writing at her college, and Suzy had four short stories published in Thread, another literary journal that specialized in publishing original works of fiction and poetry. 

“And you, Jisoo?” Ms. Kiyoko said, turning her bespectacled smile to Jisoo. “I see on your resume that you’re on the staff of your college newspaper. Can you tell me a bit more about that experience?”

Krystal and Suzy turned to her with expectant looks on their faces. Jisoo cleared , hearing Jennie saying be yourself in her head.

“Of course!” Jisoo said. “I’m a writer for the Opinion section, and I specialize in writing editorials about pop cultural moments. I submitted two pieces a week, my latest one was about the sudden popularity of zombie films.”

“Zombie films?” asked Krystal, tilting her head a bit. 

“Yeah, like The Walking Dead and stuff,” Jisoo said. “The piece was about how society’s new fascination with the undead mirrors weakening social ties brought on by over-dependence on technology.”

“Fascinating,” Ms. Kiyoko said. “I think I saw that piece in the online portfolio you sent. I saw you also had a few pieces about…” she dug into the folder in front of her and read the title from the printed page: “Why Shin Ramen is a Branding Specialist’s Wet Dream… and you also sent in a short blog post you wrote about your dog… Dalgom?”

“It was for an assignment,” Jisoo explained, growing nervous under Julie Kiyoko, Suzy, and Ksytral’s gazes. “In my Marketing course, we did a lesson on branding, and my group decided we wanted to try branding a pet owner’s blog. They needed some copy, so I wrote that.”

“I see,” Ms. Kiyoko said, putting the papers down. “Your other samples were also very strong. I actually really enjoyed reading all of them, you’ve a real way with words. And what did you say your major was, again? Literature, correct?”

Jisoo’s heart sank. “Business, actually.”

She didn’t need to read minds to know that Suzy and Krystal were secretly feeling smug. One lesson competitor, they were probably thinking. Jisoo saw Julie Kiyoko scribble something on her resume, but the woman just looked up, smiled pleasantly and said: “Let’s move on, shall we?”

And move on, they did. Ms. Kiyoko asked them all typical interview questions such as some more information about their backgrounds, how they handled difficult situations, their ideal work environment. The work they spoke, the more discouraged Jisoo felt. 

“Now, are you all familiar with the work we do at Embrace?” Ms. Kiyoko said, folding her hand neatly in her lap. Jisoo smiled. Finally, something she could answer.

“Hell yeah,” she said too enthusiastically. “I mean, yes, ma’am.” 

The editor smiled. Krystal and Suzy nodded dutifully.

“Perfect,” Ms. Kiyoko said. “So, then, you all know that we are a literary magazine with a focus on love and romance. Love, of course, being the… well, the most important thing on this earth. You might find this next question a little unorthodox, but it’s an Embrace tradition, so please just indulge me.”

Jisoo and the other two girls leaned forward, anticipating this unorthodox question. Ms. Kiyoko continued:

“We are all storytellers here at Embrace,” she said. “Telling stories about the force that drives life. So, I want you to tell me your personal love story.”

Jisoo’s mind drew an instant blank.

“Huh?” she said in her Scooby Doo voice again. Krsytal and Suzy looked at her in surprised and Ms. Kiyoko tiled her head.

“Are you confused, Jisoo?” asked Julie Kiyoko.

Jisoo, still frozen, stammered: “Oh. No, uh. Sorry, can you just rep