"Jieun, come here!"

You hurried over to your senior who was holding a few of your sketches and had been spending the last few hours studying the work for which you had sacrificed several hours of sleep. His eyebrows were tightly knitted together, and you feared the worst. He was known for being sarcastic and having high expectations that no one could ever meet, and definitely wasn't one of your favourite seniors in the label.

"Tell me, did you put in any effort?"

You already knew what was coming next, but you could only nod and hope for the best.

"So this is your best?" He smirked, and the stack of papers back to you, which you barely caught. Everyone else in the office turned to look at the commotion that was brewing, and you instantly felt embarrassed. It was typical of him to shame people openly, but you never thought that it would be your turn so soon.

"Do you know who's our target audience this season? Rich young ladies who would spare any amount in getting the most fashionable, most 'in' item that no one else can get. But look at this," he pointed at your sketch, "this, my dear, is something you can get in any departmental store. Did you get inspiration from a mere window shopping trip?"

You hung your head low as you heard a few sniggers behind you. Your colleagues were far from forgiving, and some always had a grudge against you ever since you entered, considering that you were a fresh college graduate with little experience, while the rest of them have had famous supermodels donning their designs on the runway more than once.

"If you want to make it big, try to have a little more creativity, please. Otherwise, just go sell your creations in any random store that no one would care about."

As he walked off and left you standing there alone like a fool, you couldn't suppress all the tears and emotions that were building up inside you any further, and immediately left the office as you dumped all your sketches on your desk, that seemingly felt as though you were leaving behind all the unwanted criticism and sarcasm.

"Mir?"

You whispered over the phone, and it felt comforting to hear a familiar voice that you wanted to hear, the only voice you ever wanted to hear in this city.

"Yeah?"

"Are you...are you free? Now?"

There was a pause, before he replied a definite 'yes', before adding "Is anything wrong? You wouldn't normally call me at this time."

"I..I'll tell you when you come."

"Okay, same place?"

"Same place."

You unwillingly hung up, and waited impatiently in the cafe as you stabbed at your favourite strawberry shortcake, as you relived the painful memory of what happened earlier that day. You had a huge inferiority complex even in the area which you were happiest in, and your ego was badly bruised that day, not to mention that you were starting to doubt your own abilities.

So what if a few people thought that you were good, if everyone else begged to differ?

So what if you enjoyed your job, if no one else appreciated your hard work?

Frustration grew in you, and you gave the cake a final stab as the chair in front of you scrapped lightly against the polished floor. You didn't look up as you continued to look at the badly mutilated cake, and a warm hand ruffled your hair.

"You don't look good when you're so angry. Come on, smile~" Mir tried to pinch your cheeks, but his efforts were not working. There was too much on your mind, and not even his teasing could make you feel any better. He realized that too, and sighed before taking out a photograph from a photo album that he always carried around in his bag. You took it over, and couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous it was.

"Is that...you?"

Mir nodded, and you smiled at his childhood photo. His facial features were mostly the same, but he was plump and resembled a tomato. With a cheesy grin and a victory sign, he simply looked hilarious.

"Yup! I usually don't show people this but," he gave you a grin, "for you, I guess it's okay. Look, you're smiling already!" Your smile disappeared, and Mir pouted at how quickly your happiness subsided.

"Okay, just spill everything out at one go, and I'll do what I can."

You went on and on for the next half an hour about everything that happened, and before you realized it, you were ranting on and on about your insecurities, your hopes and dreams, and everything that you had always wanted to say to a friend that you never did have in New York.

"And," you said as Mir ate your cake without you realizing it, "I'm now very very tempted to pack up and go back to Korea and just be a stylist for Hallyu stars or something, I don't know."

Mir's fork hung in mid-air, and he finally looked at you with a serious expression, as he wondered if you were joking, or simply just contemplating this simply because you were angry. He saw how you had your fist tightly clenched on the table, and decided that you were dead serious about it.

"Are you willing to let go of everything just like that, because of all those people's comments?" 

"That's easy for you to say, no one's-"

"You don't know."

Mir put down the fork on your now empty plate, "When I first started out, no one even bothered to take a glance at my photographs. They all said that my photographs lacked emotion, and had simply no focus nor subject. But I didn't give up. And so here I am in New York, chasing my dreams, doing what I love. And if you really want to know," he finally broke into another infectious smile of his, "I've been tasked to be the official photographer for My Lady's coverage of your label's upcoming showcase."

You nearly choked on your saliva, "My Lady? That famous fashion magazine targeted at the upper class?"

Mir nodded, and you continued to gape at him. 

"That's amazing! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" You were happy for your new friend, and without thinking, you grabbed his hand and shook it violently.

"Congratulations! We really need to find a way to celebrate this-"

"If it takes your mind off things, sure."

You didn't notice it, but Mir was starting to blush lightly from the sudden skinship. As you let go of his hand as suddenly as you had took it, he suddenly wished that you hadn't let go so soon. 

"Thank you Mir, thank you for giving me a bit more hope in whatever I'm doing," you grabbed your fork by instinct and tried to stab a piece of cake, but to no avail. You looked down at your plate, and realized that the cake was no more. 

"Wait, what-"

You looked back up at Mir, who was shrugging his shoulders but had a mischevious grin plastered to his face.

"BANG CHEOL YONG! SPIT MY CAKE OUT FOR ME RIGHT NOW!"