VOGUE

[Meeting room]

Gummy and the Mr. Jang, the Chief Operating Officer were sitting on the edge of the meeting table. Very rarely meetings involving all of the staffs were held like this.

“There must be something big going on here” Bom whispered to Dara. Normally the meetings were between same departments but now almost all the employees were present.

“I hope it’s nothing bad Bommie.”

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your presence. I’m sorry for the short notice but there’s an important announcement that I would like to make.” Gummy started to talk after her secretary closes the door signaling that everyone’s there.

“First of all congratulations to Miss Park Bom and her team for the success of this month’s VOGUE Issue. This is by far our hottest selling issue, which we can see 30% increase on sales for this issue. Good job girls.” Gummy applaud followed by all the other staffs. Bom and Dara stood up and bowed at them respectively.

“Thank you. We’ve couldn’t done it without you,” Bom said while signaling to the whole room. Indeed it was not solely the writer’s effort that made them being the top of the game.

Now Mr. Jang greeted them, “Good morning. Thank you once again for your time. I would just make it short and brief. I’m here to announce to all of you that I’m going for an early retirement and will be leaving VOGUE.” Silence filled the room as they couldn’t believe their ears. Mr. Jang is the most respected person in the industry and he is indeed the most hardworking one out there, bringing VOGUE from a humble beginning to the no. 1 spot where they are today. People literally labeled VOGUE as the fashion bible in Korea because of Mr. Jang’s effort.

Gummy slightly bowed. She also had the same reaction as them. When she first joined VOGUE, Mr. Jang has been her mentor and she learned so much from him. She felt it will be a big loss for the company when if he leaves.

Mr. Jang tried his best to hide his sadness. He had been working for the company for the longest time but he didn’t regret his decision.

“I have submitted my resignation letter and I hope that they will find someone suitable to fill in my position. But not to worry, I’ll still be here till the end of this month.”

“And I thank you each one of you from the bottom of my heart for all the good teamwork we had. I hope when I’m not around anymore you guys will still continue working harder and strive for the best.” Mr. Jang ended his speech now and his eyes began to tear up.

“Bom, Dara, would you stay for a while?” Gummy said to both girls sitting beside her. Now all the othe staffs were slowly leaving the meeting room. Bom and Dara nodded.

“I haven’t congratulated you girls personally on this month’s issue.  Very fresh and inspiring article you have there Dara,” “And also good job to you too Bom”

“We’re just doing our job unnie” They replied earnestly.

“The reason why you’re here is that, I want you to do a scoop about 2013 Paris Fashion Week. The most anticipated event in the fashion world for this year.” Gummy said.

“I think Dara is perfect for the job Unnie.” Bom said before Gummy even finished.

Gummy and Dara were both surprised, especially Dara who couldn’t believe what Bom just said. This event will be attended be the biggest name in fashion from all over the world, and Bom being the enthusiast for her job wouldn’t miss it for the world.

“We all know that she’s an amazing writer and has special eye for detail. Plus she could whip out an amazing story just like what she did in this issue. I surely believe you do think the same right unnie?” Bom explained.

“I mean if I would write, maybe it will be a boring article, not to mention similar to what other writers would write. But Dara, well since she doesn’t have big interest for fashion like me, could actually come out with something different that might actually stand out.”

“Interesting, but this is sort of unfair for you Bom. Usually it’s the Chief-Editor or Editor who gets to attend.” Gummy said to Bom.

“Yes Bom, I’m sure you would do just fine.” Dara finally spoke up.

“It’s really no big deal actually. I just want the best for our magazine. And that’s you Dara” as she replied sincerely.

“So Dara, you’ll be leaving in two days. I’ll have Jessi to get the schedules and passes ready.” Gummy said. “And have a good time in Paris”

Bom was smiling to Dara. She knew that she made the right move. She attended numerous fashion weeks before in New York, London, Milan, Berlin, Japan, but none were as prestigious and well known as in Paris. However she let Dara to go this time, part of it for her to gain more recognition. Bom had been praised many times for job well done but in fact Dara was also part of their huge success. Dara was nervous as she will be alone handling the job, so everyone had high expectation on her.

“I heard about the good news unnie, so when are you leaving?” Minzy approached Dara and Bom during lunch time.

“The day after tomorrow. I’ll be there for 4 days” Dara answered.

“Have fun ok, and don’t flirt around french guys. “ Minzy joked.

They all laughed and continue their lunch. “I’m not as tall and voluptuous as the European girls, so don’t worry about them hitting on me, they would even mistake me for a teenager” She replied.

“That’s what I’m more worried about, guys nowadays prefer younger looking women”

“Yah maknae, stop the nonsense. You should stop reading those useless dating tips and try doing something useful. You got too much time in your hands do you?” Bom stopped Minzy from scaring Dara further.

“It’s ok Bom. Minzy yah, Bom’s right, you should stop reading those stuff. Here why don’t you try help me find places to visit in Paris, I only have limited time to go around so can you help me with the list of places and the direction?” Dara mentioned to Minzy. She also promised to buy her souvenir which made Minzy leaped in joy and she headed straight to her desk to do the task.

“She’s such a kid, glad to have someone like her to work with, though sometime she could be a little annoying” Bom said to Dara.

“She does have so much energy in her.” Dara answered truthfully. How she wished she could be as carefree as Minzy. She remembered how in school she was the joke of the class as she said she has no parents. She was bullied and made fun of. She refused to go to school but the caretaker Mr. and Mrs. Park said they are her ‘parents’. They explained to her how they treated everyone at the orphanage like their own children, and she is different because she has a lot of ‘siblings’ compared to others. The other kids continue to make fun of her, but she ignored them. Secretly she cried at night but the next day would turn to be a cheerful person again.

“Dara, thank you so much. You got my as$ covered big time” CL said on the phone. She was holding the VOGUE issue in her hands and turned to the page that has her ‘interview’.

“Told you to trust me”

“I never imagined the response would be this way. Amazing how few arranged words could increase a person’s reputation and same time harsh words could immediately ruin a person.” CL realized that long ago but experiencing it herself is different story.

“I’m glad it helped you Chaerin. I hope you stay out of trouble now.”

“When was I ever in trouble, Dara-yah”

“Well maybe you need to fix that attitude of yours and appreciate people more”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Start by ditching that cold attitude then maybe people would stop saying you’re a diva”

“I’m not, you know my reasons Dara.” “I just can’t act like that to everyone, at least I still could be myself when I’m with you girls.”

“Just try to change a little bit, will you?”

“OK, I will try. Since now young girls see me as their role model. Way to go Dara. ‘I just want to be an inspiration to other young girls, to encourage them to never quit on their dreams’ That’s just heartwarming but I’m afraid I’ll disappoint them.” CL quoted what she ‘said’ in the interview.

“Now the world gets to see the sweet, kind side of you Chaerin.”

“Thanks to you. I heard from Bommie you’re leaving to Paris?” CL asked

“Good news spreads fast. Yeah, I’ll be on the afternoon flight tomorrow. I’m so excited and nervous, it’s my first time to a Fashion week.”

“Really? Your first time and they are sending you to cover Paris fashion Week? You must be doing well Dara.”

“Actually Bom should be the one going but she insisted that I go instead.”

“Well you deserve it Dara, just see this as a vacation reward for your hard work. Bom was always in the limelight and now it’s time for you to shine.”

“Haha, I don’t think so, she deserves to be where she is right now, and she worked really hard. I’ll just see this as another assignment” Dara said.

“Dara, urm, can I ask you for a favour?” CL asked hesitantly.

“Sure, what is it?”

“A white Birkin bag. Can you get me one of those?”

“Really? You do realize what’s on the pricetag right?” Dara wondered at CL’s request. No doubt she is doing quite well at the moment but spending a fortune on a handbag is out of her mind.

“Of course. They were sold out here in Korea, Japan, Hongkong, China. So since you’ll be heading to Paris perhaps you could check if it’s available there.” CL said. She actually planned to gift Dara the bag, in her favourite color. Ever since Chaerin started modelling and now slowly became the among the highest paid model in Korea, she never had the chance to give Dara something valuable as Dara would always refuse, saying it’s unnecessary. The only thing she accepted were her treats for meals, other than that, she would ask Chaerin to donate them to the orphanage.

“I’ll check for the stores there.” Dara agreed to Chaerin. She always had a soft spot for Chaerin ever since they were young. They both share the same double bung bed, with Chaerin on the top bed. Being the naughty and notorious girl, Chaerin would play with the boys. However at night she would turn into a cry baby, feeling lonely as night comes. Whenever Chaerin cried in her sleep, Dara would be the first one to comfort her, and same goes the other way round.

“Thanks Dara. And remember white one ok.”

“De. Anything for my Chaerin.”

“Have fun and take care. Dress warmly and let me know once you landed. Try to sleep in the flight so you won’t be jetlagged..” CL went on with her motherly advices.

“De.. De.. I’ll remember.. ok..” Dara replied.