Hyejin sat uncomfortably on the pristine white leather sofa. Strangely, the leather didn't seem as soft as it boasted to be, although Hyejin could tell that it was made of the most exquisite material she had ever seen. After all, it was WS Group she was working in — not just a random enterprise, but the company that managed WS Supermarket, the biggest mart chain in Korea. It would be weird if she didn't feel nervous, or if the sofa wasn't made of leather, as a matter of fact. 

This is it, Hyejin thought as she took in a deep breath. My new workplace. Fresh out of college, she didn't know what to expect. Sure, her grades were high above average and she was not an outcast in university, which meant she probably had enough life-skills to do okay in her job, but that fact wasn't enough to assuage those worries and nerves she had in her mind. 

She glanced around, tugging at her black pencil skirt. Most of the other trainees were making conversation with each other already, talking and laughing away as if they've been friends all their life. Hyejin, on the other hand, had transfixed herself onto the sofa since she arrived early in the morning. She knew she had to go talk to the other trainees, her new colleagues, but somehow every time she willed herself to walk over to them to initiate a conversation, her legs seemed to freeze under the sofa. 

Hyejin wasn't the type to take the initiative to say hello to new people. That was probably the main reason why she felt a little afraid because she was doing it for the first time. Come on, Hyejin, she told herself. They won't bite. felt dry, and she fumbled for the water bottle she put inside her bag — only to realise it wasn't there. 

"Oh gosh, today isn't the day to forget to bring stuff," Hyejin groaned, before attempting to clear . Swallowing hard, she looked around again and decided to go to the water cooler she had seen somewhere near the toilets. Hyejin left her seat for the first time that morning and wobbled unsteadily on her high heels, making her way towards the water cooler. 

Today was a day of first-times for Hyejin. First time wearing high heels, first time initiating conversation with people, first time taking the subway to Hak-dong station from the one near her home at Sangdo, and first time going to an office as an employee. It sure was hectic, and Hyejin couldn't wait for his day to end. At least tomorrow she would feel some kind of familiarity and it wouldn't be so bad. 

Hyejin filled a triangular paper cup with water before taking a sip out of it. She glanced at the clock on the wall nearby and counted down the minutes before work officially started and their senior would come down to show them around the building and lead them to their new desks. It was already 8:16am. She took another deep breath and sighed. 

"Hey. Here to get a drink? Or just to escape the tension?" 

Slightly surprised, Hyejin turned around and saw a guy standing there, cocking his head to one side and staring at her. She scanned him subconsciously. He had auburn hair which was swept to one side, and he donned a black collared dress shirt. The guy had a friendly smile plastered on his face — the kind that made you comfortable with them almost immediately. 

"Hello," she returned the smile. "I guess you can say it's little bit of both." Hyejin held out one hand to shake. She figured that since she was now a working adult, she had to greet people differently — especially her new colleagues. After all, weren't they supposed to be professional business people now? 

However, the handshake wasn't returned. "I don't do formalities," the guy said, and put both his hands into his pocket. Hyejin retracted her outstretched hand awkwardly and felt her heart thump fast from her nerves. She realised the guy was talking to her in informal language, which she thought was a little strange of him since it was their first meeting, but she didn't dare to ask him about it. 

"Oh. Okay. Sorry," she sheepishly replied. What was she supposed to say? 

"Nah, it's fine. You're a trainee, right?" He asked, and Hyejin nodded slowly. 

"What's your name?" He asked, now smiling a crooked smile at Hyejin. 

"Hwang Hyejin. What's yours?" 

"I'm Chen," he beamed. 

"Chen?" 

"Yeah, actually I –" 

"Are you of Chinese ancestry?" She asked, cutting him off subconsciously. Chen did sound like a Chinese name to her. 

"Well, I'm not –" 

"Which part of China do you come from? Your Korean is really good!" She continued. 

Chen stopped speaking, and so did Hyejin. Then he grinned. "My Korean is really good, isn't it?" 

Hyejin nodded. "How old were you when you came to Korea?" 

Chen looked up as if he was thinking for a while, then replied, "September 21 1992. I was… 0." 

She blinked. "Sorry?" 

He stifled a laugh and looked down at the floor, then glanced up again at Hyejin, hands still in his pockets. "Okay, I'm sorry, I was just trolling you. My name is Kim Jongdae and full Korean. You can still call me Chen though." 

Hyejin blinked once more. 

Chen then extended his hand for a handshake, grinning. "Okay, I'll shake your hand if it makes you happier or appeases your —" Chen stopped midway and squinted at Hyejin. "You're not by any chance angry at me, are you?" 

"What? No, I'm not," Hyejin replied, her senses hitting her head like a baseball home-run. She raised up her hand to shake his in a short movement. Some people are really… she tried to find a word to fill in that blank space. Then it clicked, but not really at the same time. Informal, she tried. She didn't know how to describe him. 

"Well, now you'll always remember our first meeting. Since it's funny and all," Chen laughed, and Hyejin tried to laugh along. "I'll remember it too, don't worry," he continued, and once again Hyejin forced out a laugh. 

Chen fished his phone out of his pocket and smiled at Hyejin. "It's about time. Let's go back to where the other trainees are." She nodded okay, then let Chen leave first before following him about five steps behind. A safe distance. 

Hyejin stared at Chen's back while he walked. He had a confident aura surrounding him, and… was it mischief she sensed? Her eyes slowly followed at his feet, but suddenly those black sneakers disappeared into the mass of high heels and patent shoes. 

It was then that she realised she had just unconsciously walked into the middle of the other trainees' conversation circle. Glancing up slowly, she tucked her hair behind her ear and chuckled nervously. The trainees stared at Hyejin without saying anything, and their initial animated conversation hung oddly quiet on the line. She knew she had just ruined the other trainees' impression of her, and already dreaded her next meeting with them. 

"Sorry," Hyejin blurted hastily, then fast-walked out of the crowd red-faced, eyes scanning for Chen subconsciously — the only 'familiar' person there was. 

"Wait!" Someone called from the crowd. Hyejin grimaced in embarrassment before turning around with a what-she-thought-looked-friendly grin plastered on her face. 

"You're a trainee too, right?" The lady asked. Hyejin nodded her head reticently, and the lady strode over to her with a cordial smile. She had a graceful, yet confident gait, and anyone could tell from the way she talked she was a Seoul native — not only that, probably a Seoul University graduate too, or probably one that studied at some prestigious university overseas. The lady was attractive: she not exactly followed the typical standards of beauty, but had her own shine nevertheless. 

Better than Hyejin in every single way already. 

"Nice to meet you. I'm Shin Jinkyung," she smiled, extending her hand for a shake. Now this is the right way to do it, Hyejin thought to herself as she recalled her awkwardness with Chen. 

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Hwang Hyejin," Hyejin beamed back. Jinkyung seemed friendly. 

Jinkyung turned back around at the group of other trainees, raised her eyebrows and nodded her head, gesturing for the other trainees to introduce themselves too. They hustled among themselves for a second and came forward to shake hands with Hyejin. 

As Hyejin made acquaintances with the other trainees, she couldn't help but be amazed at Jinkyung's quick authority over them. It was as if she was the mother hen of them all, the one that led them to do everything. 

Still, Hyejin smiled at Jinkyung gratefully and mouthed a word of thanks to her. At least now she knew most of the trainees' names, and most of the trainees knew her. She wouldn't be the office loner — or at least she hoped. 

"So… which university do you come from?" Jinkyung asked after a while. 

"Dongguk University. You?" 

"Oh, I studied overseas, at the Imperial College of London, you know the one with the cool dormitories?" Jinkyung replied. Hyejin was amazed, but she also secretly praised herself for guessing it right in her head, then realised her right guess was no big deal. It was obvious that Jinkyung was the talented, smart kind. 

"Woah! That's really —" Hyejin began, but was cut off by someone clapping his hands to get the trainees' attention. 

"Right, everyone look here!" The person clapped some more. "Okay, hello, I'm the senior that will be bringing you all around today." 

Hyejin's raised her head to look. Her eyes widened and she rubbed them to ascertain if what she was seeing was real. The boy that stood up there had auburn hair and familiar black sneakers. Not forgetting a pair of scintillating, bright eyes and that playful smile. Chen's smile. 

"Nice to meet all of you! My name is Kim Jongdae." 

Hyejin stared as she tried to recollect the incidents from this morning. It wasn't clicking right, but it seemed right at the same time. Right, he did say his name was Kim Jongdae, but why would he do that in the first place if he was a senior? She thought to herself. Wasn't he the one that… trolled her? 

"Oh my gosh," she blurted out, then covered with her hand. A thought suddenly struck her. Hyejin realized that she had dropped formal speech with Chen since he wasn't talking formally to her too. She had just assumed he was another trainee. No wonder he was talking informally to her — he was a senior and had the right to! She should've known. 

Honorifics had just ruined her life. 

Jongdae thought he had heard a gasp of some sort. Turning in the direction of the sound, he saw a trainee covering , her eyes wide. 

"Ah, it's that Hwang Hyejin from this morning," he said under his breath, then raised his voice back so that the trainees could hear him. 

"Is there something you want to say?" Jongdae looked straight at Hyejin and gestured at her to speak, amused. 

Just when he thought that those eyes of Hyejin couldn't open any wider, they did. She shook her head vigorously, then very formally told him that there was nothing she had wanted to say. Jongdae remembered that Hyejin spoke informally to him in the morning, what was up with all the formal language now? He would ask her about it later, he decided. 

"Okay, then," he nodded at her before turning back to the other trainees. "Before we start, shall I introduce myself? I've been in the company for two years now, and just like most of you I started working when I graduated from university, so I should be about two years older than most of you. Oh, and those of you who have met me this morning —" He paused and glanced at Hyejin, looking for a reaction. 

Jongdae wasn't disappointed with the reaction he got. Hyejin bit her lip and made an expression full of dread, and as she looked back up and made eye contact with Jongdae, she flinched and her face reddened rapidly. 

"— know that I'm very friendly," he continued, smirking. "So there's no need to be scared of me. Tell you guys what, you all can treat me like a friend and not a senior, okay?" Jongdae smiled and glanced at Hyejin once again. She covered her face with a piece of paper, obviously not wanting to make eye contact with Jongdae again. What he said was for all the trainees, of course, but mostly aimed at Hyejin. Why was she even this scared of him, anyway? 

Jongdae stopped and pulled out a piece of paper from his bag. "Alright, you'll be split into teams based on how the company evaluated you all during the selection interview and tests. Each team will have one senior the same rank as I am, plus about four or five trainees. These teams are only until your training period is over, and if you don't quit or screw up halfway you have almost a full chance of becoming an official employee. You'll be placed in the major teams then," he explained. The trainees nodded. 

"Is everyone here yet?" Jongdae asked, looking around the crowd. 

Hyejin scanned the number of trainees. If everyone was here, there should be about twenty of them. As bad as this first morning had been so far, she was happy to be part of the twenty-odd people chosen for the job. 

"Everyone is here, senior," Jinkyung's clear voice suddenly rang through. Most of the people, including Hyejin, turned to look at her. 

Chen looked in Jinkyung's direction, seeming impressed. "You know how many trainees there are?" 

"I read through the list of names and memorized them before I came, senior," Jinkyung answered confidently. 

Chen nodded and gave her a thumbs-up. "Good for you. Oh, what's your name?" 

"It's Shin Jinkyung." 

"Jinkyung? Okay, thanks for helping me, Jinkyung." Chen raised his eyebrows and smiled at her approvingly before going back to the piece of paper. Jinkyung let out a small smile. 

"Back to the separation of teams, then. Team A will be with me. We'll mostly be handling a bit of things in terms of food products. So, the trainees in Team A are Lee Taehwan, Shin Jinkyung, Son Chaeyoung and…" He stared at the list as if he had difficultly reading out the last name, and Hyejin thought she saw him let out a small smirk. Then he raised his eyebrows and stared straight at Hyejin.

"Hwang Hyejin," he breathed. Hyejin felt her heart drop. Me? She pointed at herself in a spur of the moment, blinking in disbelief at Chen. Chen raised his eyebrows further in amusement and nodded slightly at her. "You," he mouthed, grinning. Hyejin thought that grin was the creepiest thing she had seen this morning — she didn't know if Chen was being intentionally scary or if it was just her nerves at work.