Hello Hyejin, I hope you are having a good day. I saw this place on my way to a meeting. I thought we could try it together since you said you wanted to eat some crab these days. Maybe we could make that work tomorrow? I am free in the evening. - Yongsun

 

There is a picture attached to the text message. Hyejin reads it for the second time today. It doesn’t fail to make her smile. She can hear Yongsun saying it, even see her already checking her calendar to find the best time to schedule it. It is adorable. Hyejin likes adorable things.

 

« I need coffee running through my body right now! »

 

Hyejin looks up, she follows her coffee deprived boss running toward the elevator to get her fix from the shop on the ground floor. Since some work will be done on the IT floor this afternoon, they have been asked to come a bit earlier to the office, and apparently Byulyi doesn’t do well when she doesn’t have all of her eight hours of sleep.

 

Fortunately, she isn’t the kind of boss to let it out on others. On the contrary, she stays hidden behind her computer and only checks that everyone is focusing on their work. Hyejin is grateful to have changed team; Hangwang was impossible.

 

Hyejin continues her coding, the archive system is soon to be set for a first run – it is quite thrilling if Hyejin is being honest. Seeing all her work take shape, and then going after all the things that aren’t working, she likes it a lot. This is her favorite part of the job.

 

She doesn’t hear Byulyi coming back, her earphones at full blast in her ears, but she notices the warm coffee cup left on her desk by the blonde woman. So, instead of going to her desk to thank her, she quickly writes her a message via the company system.

 

Thanks for the coffee. Don’t drink too much of it. It makes you tense.

 

Focus on your work.

 

No Alexandrine? You must be in a bad mood.

 

Focus.

 

Really bad mood.

 

How is your counseling going with lawyer Kim?

 

Suddenly? It is fine. Why do you worry about it?

 

I do worry I might get a mail from HR.

 

Do you know when will it end? Kinda don’t see the point of making it last so long.

 

Well I don’t know. How long has it been already?

 

Maybe a month? A month and a half? Something like that.

 

I’ll talk with them if you do your work correctly.

 

Hyejin looks toward Byulyi's desk, the woman makes her a sign, telling her she is watching her. Hyejin believes she is just a silly kid. And just like this, she is back on her work window. The coffee is lukewarm now, and it is Hyejin’s favorite way to enjoy it.

 

---

 

It is the first time they meet in the evening. As the sun setting far away on the horizon, Hyejin is waiting in front of the restaurant Yongsun chose – the one she wants to try with Hyejin. The lawyer doesn’t take long to come, only late by a couple of minutes. Hyejin isn’t sure but she feels like the woman tried harder than usual, her clothes are nice, and her make up is light, but there is something that isn’t here usually.

 

Still, they get inside, Yongsun asks for a quiet table. Even if she has never been here, Hyejin sees how she command the place naturally. People look at her, some even stare, and Hyejin wonders what is about the lawyer that makes people react this way.

 

« You look really pretty, Hyejin. »

 

« Only now that you realize? »

 

Yongsun chuckles. Some times with Hyejin, their conversations can be quite the ride. The woman knows what she wants, and has quite the peculiar way of expressing herself. Yongsun likes it, it keeps her on her toes.

 

« I am really sorry about the other day. I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings. »

 

Hyejin waves it off; she is more comfortable if they keep the topic of feelings off the table. After all, it isn’t why they are here.

 

Why are we here already?

 

No true answer comes to Hyejin. Until she sees the food coming. Yes they are here for the food. Hyejin digs in at the same time as Yongsun. She really enjoys eating with the woman, she likes everything, is never scared to try something new, and has a black hole for a stomach. Those are true qualities in Hyejin’s book.

 

« This reminds me of a dish I used to eat as a child. »

 

« Hum? What was it? »

 

« The taste, it is almost the same as a snack that my mom used to make. »

 

Hyejin naturally leans in, her eyes focusing on Yongsun as she explains how to cook the childhood snack. Hyejin has never heard of it, maybe it is something typical to Seoul people? Yongsun is firm: Hyejin should try it.

 

This is why they finish the night in Yongsun’s kitchen. They stopped by a convenience store before to get some well needed snack, and beers. Hyejin wanted to drink some to finish the night. Yongsun is mixing different ingredients together while Hyejin is inspecting her fridge.

 

Hyejin was reluctant to go to the lawyer place. It felt very weird to break into Yongsun’s bubble. Her place is very… clean. They aren’t a lot of furnitures around, and not a lot of colors either. Being a lawyer really breaks you down is what Hyejin thinks. Surprisingly, Yongsun’s fridge is full of containers, Hyejin deduces someone must love Yongsun despite her lawyer condition.

 

« Hyejin. Come. Taste it. »

 

Hyejin closes the fridge, she comes next to Yongsun and opens to the spoon presented to her. It tastes… sweet. A nice kind of sweet, the kind that she wants when she feels life is bitter. Maybe the kind she would enjoy if the weather is too gloomy.

 

« Sweet. »

 

« I know. It’s good to eat when you feel bitter. »

 

Hyejin wants to laugh. She can’t because Yongsun wipes some crumbs from the corner of , and the touch is too much. They aren’t that comfortable with each other. Hyejin steps back, but Yongsun doesn’t seem to notice. She is quickly wiping down the surface she used to cook, and makes everything clean again.

 

Maniac.

 

Hyejin watches, she steals another sweet snack from the plate while Yongsun is cleaning before venturing to the living room. Here, a large couch takes most of the space, but it looks very comfy so Hyejin throws herself in it.

 

« Your couch is comfortable. »

 

« You sound surprised. »

 

« I didn’t think you would like comfortable stuff. »

 

« Why that? »

 

« No particular reason. »

 

Yongsun comes in the living room as well. She sits down on the opposite side to Hyejin. Hyejin observes her; she looks tired yet determined. She wonders what Yongsun is thinking about when no one is watching.

 

« What are you thinking about? »

 

Yongsun looks up. She smiles at Hyejin, her two dimples visible, but Hyejin wants an answer not a smile. She asks again, more serious this time.

 

« I am wondering if it is okay to have you at my place. »

 

« Your idea. »

 

« Hum… »

 

« Why wouldn’t it be okay? »

 

« Well… You could use it against me. »

 

« For what exactly? What kind of person do you think I am, Yongsun? »

 

« That is the thing, Hyejin. I don’t know what kind of person you are. »

 

Hyejin frowns, her forehead is creasing, and she is very much disappointed to hear such words from the lawyer. She sits up, crosses her legs and takes a deep breath.

 

« I am… I am Hyejin. Ahn Hyejin. A girl from the countryside who moved to Seoul for university, and then got a job at a law firm. I like my job enough to come back each morning. I don’t like chocolate, but I love flowers. I buy some every time I feel like it. I like to eat more than breathing, and… and I like sharing meals with you. »

 

There are many more things to Ahn Hyejin. Except, right now those are the most important.

 

---

 

One day, Yongsun wakes up in her bed, and next to her… there is no one. It isn’t one day, it is every day of her life ever since she stopped sleeping with her sister. Some morning, it feels colder than others and even if she snuggles herself under the covers, the cold wind still gets to her. This morning, she falls down her bed directly into the shower.

 

She stays longer than usual under the warm water, she takes longer than usual to get herself ready, her mind somewhere else. Even the drive to her sister is longer than usual, she feels like she listened twice to her playlist when she barely got through four songs.

 

Her sister is kind enough to let her lie down on her couch all day long. She feels awfully neutral to everything happening around her. Until her sister orders some food, and then she can’t get it out of her head.

 

« I fought at work. »

 

« Someone actually fought back without peeing themselves? Damn. »

 

Yongsun drops her chopsticks in one of the containers. That’s right, everyone is usually so afraid of her when her tone starts to rise. Even CEOs who tried to diminish her capacities as a lawyer crumbled when she told them to listen to her for their case or else she will make sure no one ever come to help them.

 

« HR put me to counseling. »

 

« Wow. Law Gangnam isn’t kidding. »

 

« Well, it has been almost two months now. »

 

Yongsun’s sister raises a suspicious eyebrow. Two months? That’s a lot of counseling for a simple coworker situation.

 

« I feel like the problem has been settled. But the counselor disagrees. »

 

« Maybe you should talk to HR about it. That’s quite a long time for a fight. I mean… did you fight with someone important? »

 

« No… An IT junior. »

 

« Not even a lawyer? You should talk to HR. Do you want me to do it for you? That’s- »

 

« Thanks. Thank you. I can handle it on my own. Back off. »

 

Yongsun’s sister raises both her hand as a peace offering before pushing Yongsun further into the couch to sit next to her. They decide to put on a movie – horror their favorite genre. Yongsun can’t help thinking about the last time she saw a horror movie; it was with Hyejin and the woman kept screaming next to her.

 

In Yongsun’s book it is a good memory. Hyejin grabbed her hand nearly twenty minutes into the movie, and didn’t let go until the credits finished rolling. At some point she even hid her face in Yongsun’s shoulder. They didn’t talk much about the movie once they got out of the theater and Hyejin asked Yongsun to drive her home.

 

---

 

« Nope. I don’t want to. »

 

« But, didn’t you had a great time the other day? »

 

Hyejin rolls her eyes. Byulyi asked her if she wants to join her after work to the museum again. Apparently the temporary exhibition changed again, and she thought it would be nice to spend some time with her employee. Hyejin would rather do something else. The weather is great those days, and she prefers going outside. Sighting the city, walking along the river, not being jailed in a building.

 

« Fine. I will go alone. Since you don’t want to come. »

 

« I wish you a great afternoon, Byulyi. »

 

Byulyi waves off before crossing the street in direction of the museum. Hyejin takes the opposite direction, heading for the subway station. And exiting near the Han river. The days have gotten longer, the sun is warmly caressing her skin and the wind blows in her long hair.

 

The path along the water isn’t too crowded, and she lets the flow of energy around her guide her steps. The noise of the city is quickly fading off, the music present in her ears finishing to create a comfortable bubble around her. That’s why she doesn’t notice the familiar face sitting on the bench she just passed by.

 

« Hyejin! »

 

She continues, following her own beat, creating a new universe only she knows the secret of-

 

« What- »

 

« Hyejin! »

 

Yongsun? Will the world ever leave her in peace?

 

« I am so sorry I scared you. I called you a few times but you didn’t respond, I was scared you were ignoring me. »

 

« I was listening to music. And we had lunch together. Why would I suddenly ignore you? »

 

Yongsun smiles. Hyejin doesn’t return her smile, she waits, because if the lawyer stopped her she must have something to actually tell her. But Yongsun doesn’t say more.

 

« Well. Have a nice evening, Yongsun. »

 

« Wait! »

 

Hyejin stops again, her earphones halfway to her ears. Truly, she only wishes to enjoy the evening walking along the Han river before going home. Yet, the world makes her path difficult, and she doesn’t have much strength left after a full day at work. She ran everywhere, they had a major system failure and they still haven’t manage to get to the end of it. She just wants peace.

 

« I was going to get an ice cream before going home. Would you like to join me? »

 

Hyejin raises an eyebrow, waiting for more of the lawyer. Yongsun quickly understands when she sees the beginning of a smile on her face.

 

« My treat, obviously. »

 

« Okay. »

 

---

 

Yongsun doesn’t make any comment about the amount of flavor in Hyejin’s cup. She finds it cute, the child-like smile she wears as she puts the first spoon in . Once again, she meets with the long dimple on Hyejin’s cheek. Adorable.

 

They decide to stop at one of the benches facing the river. Hyejin crosses her legs the Indian way, enjoying each of the twelves flavor separately before deciding to match some together for experimental purposes.

 

« Oh! »

 

The IT junior turns to Yongsun, presenting a full spoon to the lawyer, her eyes are screaming “taste it” and Yongsun does so. It tastes… interesting? Still, she smiles to Hyejin who smiles back very excited about her new discovery.

 

« I don’t know if you heard, but we have our summer seminar soon. »

 

« What’s that? »

 

Yongsun is confused for a moment before Hyejin points out that she only got hired recently. That’s escaped Yongsun’s mind.

 

« Well, every summer Law Gangnam organizes a seminar for a weekend. Every employees are invited so we can meet people from other departments, and relax. »

 

« Like those university thingy at the beginning of the year? »

 

« Yes. A bit like that. »

 

Hyejin nods, she takes another spoon-full of ice cream. The flavor-mix is interesting enough for her to share it again with Yongsun who accepts it without complain.

 

« It is mandatory. »

 

« Hum… Well, I’ll see you there I guess. »

 

« You don’t seem very enthusiastic about it. »

 

« I like my peace. »

 

« It is only for a weekend. »

 

A weekend too many.

 

What kind of terrible news to have to hang out with your coworker for two full days. Hyejin finishes her ice cream, and Yongsun collects her cup to dispose it in the trash can. Maniac. Hyejin only smiles mockingly without letting Yongsun catch it.

 

In the end, they decide to share a walk, ending up watching the sunset together. Yongsun told Hyejin she would drive her home – turns out Hyejin got used to Yongsun’ driving skills even if she still believes them to be dangerous. It is a great sunset overlooking the city, Hyejin is grateful that Yongsun can keep quiet and enjoy the beauty of the moment.

 

---

 

Life is full of surprises. Yongsun likes to be prepared, so she doesn’t live by those words. Yet, life doesn’t care much about Yongsun’s mindset. Yongsun should know about it, she has been at this life thing for a while now, nearly twenty eight years; yet here she is.

 

Alone, in her kitchen, eating the food kindly made by Wheein’s mom. The woman gave her another round of containers, and if Yongsun is honest, she almost never cook for herself since the woman always makes sure she has something to eat in her fridge. Still, the food tastes… unsavory.

 

It is not the fault of the food, it is the fault of HR. They made a mistake, and now Yongsun is contemplating an unknown situation with a sense of lost. Turns out, HR booked the wrong counselor for her different with Hyejin. They booked a couple specialized counselor. No wonder last session was quite… unfit for two coworkers.

 

The woman had asked them to look at each other in the eyes for a full minute and to take in the other face like they were seeing each other for the first time. Yongsun looked at Hyejin’s eyes only at the beginning, she noticed every single shade of brown, the way the light reflected in those creating this golden lines in her iris. Then, she fell on her nose thinner than she had ever realized. She continued to her lips; Hyejin colors them above the line to give them a fuller impression.

 

Yongsun didn’t have the time to go further in her inspection of Hyejin, the other woman took a lock of hair out of Yongsun’ face. It brought Yongsun’s attention back on Hyejin’s eyes, it made her blush too. Hyejin’s touch is warm, light, identical to the time she put her collar back in place. It takes Yongsun by surprise every time.

 

Yongsun felt how Hyejin looked at her, took in every single details of her face to the point that she felt self-conscious. Yet she only had to look in Hyejin’s eyes again to feel comforted, those brown orbs are as warm as her fingers.

 

Their last session ended like this, with Yongsun blushing crazily. And then, the news from the HR. They apologized, and asked if she wanted some counseling with a work counselor this time. She refused. Hyejin has well. Yongsun sent a few text messages to Hyejin afterwards, but the younger girl hasn’t-

 

Hello, Yongsun. I saw your messages, and I believe you would like us to talk about it. Yet, I don’t believe there is much to talk about. It was all a big misunderstanding from HR, and it is even funny when I think about it. We don’t have to clear our schedule for each other anymore, and I believe you will have more time for your work. Lawyer stuff that I wouldn’t understand. Anyway, I sent you a mail with all your logins and passwords, this way you won’t have to lose time coming to the IT floor again. Take care. - Hyejin