SNOWFLAKES & MISTLETOE

Do Kyungsoo.

The most despicable, annoying, hate-worthy human in this world.

The person who’s been making the work at Daegu Publisher the most unpleasant job on earth. He’s now standing across the briefing room, staring out of the window down at the snowing streets, as if he’s not at all aware of how you have been glaring at him for the past eight minutes.

The Division Chief Kim Minseok enters the room, grabbing everyone’s attention with his usual charming wave. And leaning on a desk next to Kyungsoo, not bothering to take a seat, he starts to explain the reason for the meeting.

“It’s about the seasonal decorations.” He begins. “All the divisions are competing for the ‘Best Decoration of the Season’ prize as usual, and I’m not gonna lose it to the design team like last year. I need us, the Finance Division to grab the prize.”

“What’s the prize this year sir?” Mark raises his voice from behind you.

“A Christmas dinner in Hotel Elysion.” Minseok smirks, gaining gasps and exclaims from all the thirty two people in the room, except Do Kyungsoo, who was just listening in silence.

Annoying arrogant prick. You thought. Would it kill him if he showed some interest in the discussion?

“So we need people to do this. Since it’s the busy season of the year we can’t get everyone engaged in this. We’ll need a creative head…and maybe a good planner too…”

Your mind slips away from Minseok’s words as you stand there staring at the diamond pattern on Kyungsoo’s brown sweater.

It all started last spring.

Wondering how great it would have been to have someone to go on a date with, you had got off work one fine April evening. And you were walking out to the street in front of Daegu Publishers building which was half hidden behind the rows or fully bloomed cherry trees.

Swinging your messenger bag over the shoulder, you started heading towards the bus stop, only to come to an abrupt stop by the sight of two familiar figures.

It was two of your colleagues, but you barely knew them, and the two were standing by a taxi and the guy seemed to be stopping the girl from getting in.

The guy was Do Kyungsoo, a costing executive form your own division, and the girl was that very pretty face from the designs team, which you didn’t remember the name of.

“Kyungsoo-ssi please.” The girl shook her golden blonde head. “I already told you a numerous times that it’s not gonna work!”

“But-“ Kyungsoo’s voice was low, (as usual), yet you could hear what he was saying. “Isn’t just one dinner too early to say things won’t work out between us?”

Ah ha! Getting rejected aren’t we? You thought with a weird interest for the sudden gossip.

“It’s more than enough! I realized that you aren’t the guy I was looking for, so let’s not drag this further shall we?” the girl opened the door of the taxi in an impatient manner.

“But I’ll do better!” Kyungsoo held on the door, desperately. “Tell me what I have to fix and I will get better!”

Seriously Do Kyungsoo? Begging in front of a girl like a school kid?

“It’s not like anyone can change their nature can they?” The girl was almost scoffing with her hot pink lips. “I explained this earlier Kyungsoo-ssi. I find you boring. Being boring can’t be fixed okay? So let me go now.”

She got in the taxi, and it drove away.

And you realized that girls with pretty faces didn’t always speak pretty words.

Shaking your head in a ‘whatever’ manner, you started walking away, thinking what to have for dinner. And that’s when Do Kyungsoo turned around to return to the building, and saw you walking towards him.

It took you a few moments to register what his glare mean.

Oh, I just saw one of the most embarrassing moments in his history didn’t I?

You nodded in the usual way you did to every colleague at work, and casually walked past him.

“Nice gossip to run in the division for a several weeks isn’t it?”

You stopped and turned around at his words. “Were you talking to me?”

“Did you have fun? Eavesdropping our conversation and seeing me getting dumped?”

His tone wasn’t nice as the voice sounded.

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. “I- I just was on my way home…just saw you two here in a talk and, Kyungsoo-ssi that’s not at all my business!”

“Of course it’s not your business. But it’ll be your business if word about this spread at work tomorrow.”

He stormed into the building, leaving you frozen and your mouth agape.

And just like he said, next day Do Kyungsoo being dumped became your business, since it had become the talk of the town before you had finished your early morning sales report.

Even you would’ve been curious about how the story of Do Kyungsoo being dumped after ‘begging on his knees in front of hundreds of by passers in the street’ had spread in the entire office, if you hadn’t seen the very girl who dumped him giggling and explaining it to a few guys from the sales team.

But Kyungsoo didn’t seem to know the real culprit. Without further investigations, you had become the culprit in his eyes, and hell slowly started breaking into your life.

Each morning, tens and twenties of costing files were getting piled up on your desk, all the emails that needed attention were being forwarded to you instead of other accountants, and most annoying of everything, Kyungsoo had mentioned in a team dinner how you ‘absolutely loved’ taking photocopies, and every single person in the division were asking you to get photocopies for them with a pat on your shoulder.

Life was never the same since that April.

Screw Do Kyungsoo!

Screw that pretty girl and her designer high heels and screw the photocopy machine!

And screw Do Kyungsoo again!

“Then that’s our final decision, because everyone wants your creative spirit to help us, so will you help Kyungsoo-ssi to decorate the division?”

Minseok’s face right in front of yours snaps you back to the present.

When the hell did he walk towards me? And who the hell proposed me as the decorator? Creative? Me?? What the flying pineapple???

“Help- Kyung- Do Kyungsoo for what?”

“Everyone wants you two to take care of decorations this year.” Minseok rubs his palms and grins at you. And you shake your head with a nervous laugh. “I don’t think so.”

“Don’t be shy man!” Mark’s slap lands on your shoulder. “I saw you downloading tons of DIY Christmas décor this week.”

“That’s for my own house you stupid kid.” You mutter through gritted teeth.

“Then use some of it for your beloved work place too…can’t you? Hmm?” Minseok pouts, leaning down to your eye-level.

Okay. Fine. I just nodded stupidly because I totally fell for the aegyo of this division chief who’s turning thirty one next March.

“That’s it! These two kids will take care of the décor contest!” Minseok grins around the entire room in satisfaction. “Now everyone dismissed!”

The meeting is dissolved, and everyone starts following Minseok out of the briefing room, leaving only you and the almighty Do jerk inside.

“So let’s discuss.” He mutters, not taking his eyes off the snowy street. “We’ll do snowflakes. It’ll look pretty with everything white. And we can add a tinge of blue to it if needed. I’ll look for décor material suppliers, and you can start downloading some snowflake designs.”

“Was that a discussion?” you blink at him. “Weren’t you just declaring what you wanted to be done? What about my ideas? Aren’t this supposed to be done by both of us?”

He blinks back. “You don’t look like someone with any ideas.” He states blankly. “I thought that head of yours is only filled with gossip and rumours.”

“Look here Do Kyungsoo-ssi.” Starting to boil with rage that had piled up inside you for a several months, you stride across the room to him. “I’ve ne