Chapter Four: 

[ the new beginnings ]

credits going out to the enchanted graphic shop

 ( present ) 

The meeting has ended.

Everybody in the presentation room flocks around the exit, leaving in a single file. I don't know if my folio is a success or not. I haven't received much comments. There were a few compliments, but more critics at what I had presented.

I'm expecting that it didn't go too well, mainly because I had come to work late. Even now I can still feel my cheeks burning in embarrassment. If Jonghoon hadn't decided to crash my house last night, I wouldn't have had to deal with the situation and my work would have been judged fairly. He had made an impact on my presentation as much as I don't like to admit it.

However, if I hadn't been able to win everybody's approval for the new shopping mall design, that had nothing to do with Jonghoon. I couldn't solely put the blame on him because if my design had been good enough, they would be commending me without reluctancy.

“It's because of the manager. He praises her too much.”

“That's true. I'm certain Chaeri wouldn't get this type of recognition if she wasn't sleeping with him-”

Before I could catch the people badmouthing me to give them a piece of my mind, they had already disappeared from the room.

Anyway, that could have been another reason to why my folio presentation hadn’t gone too well. I always worked extra harder than my colleagues because I had to deal with this assumption, this uncalled for stereotyping that I loathe so much with me being one of the rare females in the industry.

“Ignore what they say.” One of my colleagues speaks up. “They're just jealous.”

Lee Taewoon has the natural ability to make me feel better. With a charming and kind personality I would have fallen for him in an instant...if he wasn't rooting for the same .

Like my manager, he had also went to my university. We had studied architecture together and he knew how much I worked hard, despite being a female. What I like about him is that he never judges my work based on my gender. After all, Taewoon's probably dealt with more judgemental people in his life time than I ever have, so I almost feel guilty complaining around him.

“Don't let them get to you, Chaeri. Your presentation was spectacular,” He flatters me. “From the pristine-white marble flooring to that abstract water feature at the entrance. Your ideas never cease to amaze me.”

“At least critique me on something. I know it's not perfect,” I reply.

“To me it's perfect, but I guess you’re never going to accept that comment since you are a stubborn  perfectionist. However, I'm sure Mr. Kang will have something to tell you to improve on. He's the bigger perfectionist than you are, after all.” Taewoon cracks a smile. “Talking about Mr. Kang, he wanted to talk to you. He told me to relay a message to drop by his office this morning, but you got here late.”

“Daehyun will kill you if keep calling him Mr. Kang,” I tell him, rolling my eyes.

“The more the merrier.”

I grin, tip-toeing on my feet and planting a kiss on his cheeks. “Thanks, Tae.”

Before I make it to the manager's office, I make sure to stop-over by the company's coffee shop. I grab a mocha for me and, for the manager, a double-shot espresso. I don't bother knocking the door when I enter his office.

As usual, he's sitting behind the desk. His right elbow is propping his head up as he broodingly listens on the phone to some, I assume, business call. When he sees me, his eyes spark up and his free hand waves at me. He sits straighter and he mimes for me to sit opposite him, which I do.

He's listening to the conversation with the usual 'yes' and 'no's, but continues to look at me.

I kick him under the table, willing him to concentrate, but he simpers brightly in return. Whenever he smiles, wrinkles form around his eyes and he looks even more handsome. He’s attired in his usual grey business suit with the deep navy blue tie that I had bought him last Christmas.

When the call ends, he almost slams down the phone onto the desk.

“What's wrong?” He starts.

From merely reading my facial expression, he knows that something has been bothering me ever since I had set foot into his office.

I respond by placing the folio onto his desk. “The presentation didn't go well. But I think it's because I wandered in late to work...”

Daehyun's focuses on the folio before him.

He goes through each page and intimately evaluates the structure and design of my draft. I can tell that he is genuinely pleased with it, but as Taewoon had mentioned earlier, I knew that Daehyun had found some faults in it. He spends a good five minutes debriefing me over the folio from the colour schemes to how I should swap one material for the other.

He has a knack for finding mistakes.

Many people talk how Daehyun only got his position because of his family connections, but it isn't true. Daehyun is a hard worker and is simply great at what he does. He's a natural.  Daehyun always gives his best which makes him even more admirable. People see him as the strict manager, endlessly overworking his employees to exhaustion, but there is much more to Daehyun than meets the eye.

He is always aiming higher, giving all of his time for the best results. His attention to detail is amazing and behind the scenes, he tries to make the office a supportive environment for everybody. It's not often you get a boss who pays for lunch or dinner twice a week. I despise it when people don't give him the credit he actually deserves because I see him staying back at work during deathly hours in the morning, while everybody had retired home.

“Overall, the design works. Right now it's between your work and Mr. Park,” Daehyun mutters, thoughtfully. “We might have to do a poll to find the better.”

“Thanks,” I say, pushing over his espresso over the table's surface as an award for his honest opinion. At least I now know that my design isn't a complete dud.

Daehyun takes the styrofoam cup in his hand and swigs down the beverage as if it were liquor. A second later, he gets out of his chair and throws the cup into the trash can.

As I watch him, I can’t help but remember our university days. Taewoon, Daehyun and I would always work together to accomplish something. We’d do numerous all-nighters, making sure our designs were flawless. We’d bounce ideas off each other, being each other’s working muse. We’d all be determined and even now, I always see the attractive determination in my partner’s eyes.

When Daehyun had asked me out, I had been completely caught off guard. His affection towards me, that I had been friendship, had been actually a crush. Daehyun is one of those guys you take home to your mother. He’s a good guy, and the type that everybody loves in an instant. Genuine, loving, caring, handsome, successful. I just would have never thought that somebody like him would like somebody like me.

Instead of making his way back towards his desk, he slowly strides towards the door and locks it. He makes his way back towards me and before I can ask what he’s doing, he leans over me, arms draping around my shoulders and giving me a back hug. It's not often he likes to display affection towards me when we’re working. We had made a deal to only be like this when it was during our private time.

“Daehyun,” I warn him, but I can't help but laugh.

I turn to face him and just as I do, his smiling lips touch mine. I laugh again, deepening the kiss. He smells of aftershave and caffeine. Intoxicating and completely Daehyun.

I’m lucky to be with him.

I wasn't exactly one of those girls who paid attention to my image. I worked my off, I laughed and went out of beers with friends. I disliked dancing or getting my hair done. In other words, I literally was one of the boys.

So when Daehyun had asked me at the graduation party, I was beyond surprised.

It had taken a while for it all to sink in, but when it had, I did say yes. I had known him long enough to know that he wouldn't be the type of guy to play with my feelings. I, of course, had truthfully told him that I was fond of him, and that I didn't know if I liked him that way...but I did agree to go on a couple of dates first.

I had to give Daehyun a chance. I'm not the type of person to dismiss something or someone completely without trying first. And, I'm glad I did. Because it's been almost three years now and look at where we are now...we're engaged!

Daehyun says, in a grumpy voice. “Where is the ring?”

I swear, sometimes he reads my mind.

Rolling my eyes, I the first button on my top and take out the necklace. I show him the diamond pendent, grinning. “Happy?”

“I'd be happier if you put it on your finger,” he complains. It's cute when he sulks.

He unclips the chain from around my neck, letting the engagement ring fall into the palm of his hands. He mockingly kneels on one knee, and places the ring on my engagement finger as if he's proposing to me for the second time.

I laugh at him again. Daehyun can be such a dork like that.

“Everybody will find out,” I point out to him. “You know I can't wear this in the office.”

“Who cares,” Daehyun says. “I'm tired of this secrecy. Everybody knows we're dating and it's no big deal if people find out that you're my fiancé."

“To you it isn't a big deal, but to me I hate it. The idea of people making a commotion, congratulating me and then suspecting I'm a gold-digger makes me cringe.”

“Oh, be quiet darling. Sometimes you can be so negative,” Daehyun smirks at me, jeeringly petting my head before I manage to swat him away.

I stand up from the chair, smoothing the creases on my skirt. “I'm going.”

“What? No goodbye kiss-?”

Pulling his tie, I force his head towards me and our lips crash together. I close my eyes, savouring the kiss and I stop when I feel his hands begin to slip up my top. I step away from him, smirking and leaving him breathless before I leave the office.

“Damn it, Chaeri. You're driving me crazy,” Daehyun calls out after me.

I shut the door behind me and I giggle. I really love him, I really do. I'll be starting my life with him soon. It'll be a new beginning and I wouldn't want to share my new life with anybody else but him.

Daehyun makes me feel like a different person; a special person and nothing else makes me more elated than knowing that somebody like him loves me too.

•••••••••••••••

( past )

Chicken; I used to love it.

In all honesty, this is the main reason why I applied for the part-time job. My love for chicken used to go beyond obsession. The soft meat digging in between my teeth, the juicy tenderness, the bursts of flavour....it used to be damn ic for me.

Too bad it isn't anymore...

With the back of my hand, I wipe my forehead. I grimace when I feel grease. I wipe my hand onto my apron as I contemplate why I used to love chicken so much. If anything, working here has almost converted me to becoming a vegetarian. The smell of fried chicken on my clothes, the oil sticking to my hair, the spontaneous breakouts of acne...everything about chicken disgusts me lately.

Perhaps I need a career change?

Who am I to say this? I should be lucky I even have a part-time job on the side. Many people my age have trouble finding a position so I shouldn't be complaining; I should be grateful. But, as I say this, I'm leering down at the frying chicken and thinking whether this is even worth it.

Somebody bursts into a fit of laughter.

I stare across the counter and almost immediately scowl at the sight.

Since there are no other customers in the restaurant, it's easy to spot the table right in front of the window that's occupied for two. While one person's back is facing me, the other person is gazing at me straight in the eye.

When he catches me staring, he raises a hand and begins to wave vigorously.

“Chaeri!”

The sound of his voice is even irritating. Enough that I see him enough at school, but now he's made the unwanted effort to stalk me at work? Really?

I walk towards him and hiss in a low voice. “What are you doing here, Jonghoon?”

He grins when I speak to him, leaning further back into his chair. It's like he's relishing every word of irritation that comes out of my mouth. Jonghoon's still wearing his uniform and there's a guitar case next to him. It's already seven in the evening so he mustn't have gone home yet.

“Why are you here?” I bristle, putting my hands on each side of my hips.

He hands me an envelope. “My contribution to the yearbook.”

“Er...thanks?” I put the envelope into the apron pocket.

“I could have given it to you at school, but you've been avoiding me. The yearbook committee want you to also attend the meetings. You're the designer and we're a collaborative team, meaning that we need to work together.”

“If you're here to tell me off, you can go now. I get it,” I grumble. However, I see where he is coming from. “I'll make an appearance every now and again. I don't even know why I have to since you're the one who forced me to join.”

“My bad,” Jonghoon replies, but there's not an ounce of regret in his tone.

Seeing that he's given me the photos and is still lingering around, I sigh, “If you're not buying anything, I suggest that you leave.”

“But I don't want to. I'm still here because it's the closest place that can accommodate heat. It's freezing outside and my friend and I are having a serious conversation-”

“Then can't you at least buy something? It's rude to walk into a restaurant, sit inside it, and have no intention of buying something.”

“It's not like you don't have any other customers. You should provide for the needy,” Jonghoon replies. “Besides, you didn't have any problems giving me food the other night-”

I glare at him. It's a good thing that my manager's gone out for his dinner break because if he had heard Jonghoon, he might've misunderstood and fired me on the spot.

“Sorry he's like this, Chaeri. Don't mind him.”

It's only then that I pay attention to the person who has kept Jonghoon company.

“Wonbin-ssi?” I stammer.

Out of all people I hadn't expected that somebody like Wonbin to be with Jonghoon. In fact, I hadn't even known they were friends.

Asides from the interaction with Jonghoon lately, I don’t speak to anybody else at school. Not because people are scared of me, it’s just that I choose not to talk to anybody. However, outside of the school grounds I have made some friends at my work and a few acquaintances at the local cram school. One of these students happen to be Wonbin. We get along well and he studies at a neighbouring school a suburb away.

I remember the times when I hadn’t had the time to do my homework, Wonbin would save me by letting me copy his answers. And, now that I think about it, there have been occasions when I’d have coffee or dinner with him after class. I can’t refuse him because Wonbin’s generally a nice guy. He’s easy to talk to and there are quirks about him that I find really amusing. I think the only reason why Wonbin's parents enrolled him to cram school was because he loses concentration easily. Wonbin's pretty smart when it comes down to solving equations, but the only problem is that he daydreams a lot.

“I didn't know you were friends.” Wonbin looks thoughtfully up at me and then at Jonghoon.

“I wouldn't exactly call Jonghoon and I friends.” I clarify, smirking, “He's just somebody I go to school with.”

“Great. Thanks,” Jonghoon mutters, but I see the corners of his lips tugging upwards. “And here I thought you didn't have any friends...”

“Wonbin and I go to the same tutoring place.” I question them, “And how do you both know each other?”

“We work together. Well, I should say we train together.” Wonbin scratches the back of his head. “We got accepted to the company around the same time last month.”

“Company?” I raise an eyebrow at them. This is definitely new news to my ears. I didn't know that they both had a job. And I can't even picture somebody like Jonghoon working for an employer. “What type of company?”

“A music one. We auditioned and they accepted us, putting us in the same group.” Wonbin mutters, “It's a bit risky because the company is new, but I've always liked music, so I couldn't let this opportunity slip.”

I nod, taking in Wonbin's answer. However, I'm studying Jonghoon who has kept oddly quiet. I wonder why Jonghoon joined the music company. At school he takes the class clown persona, but nobody really knows what he's actually good academically (I’ve seen his grades when the teacher would put his tests back on his desk) and there had been not a single trace of him being involved in music. If I hadn't seen him busking the other week, I wouldn’t have known he even knew to play the guitar.

It's strange because by now you would think that somebody like Jonghoon, would have bragged to everybody at school  about his acceptance to a music company...but he hasn't.

Does that mean he's really interested in pursuing a musical career?

Wonbin proceeds to tell me, “You should have heard Jonghoon's audition. It was amazing. I swear the staff almost walked out in tears by how well he was playing and-”

“Because of my beautiful looks,” Jonghoon finally speaks up. He winks at me, earning a chuckle from Wonbin instead. Jonghoon may like bragging about other things, but his talent for music is something he actually seems shy about.

“And there's this guy with such an amazing voice.” Wonbin says. “It's husky, yet he can reach such high pitches. I was shocked. When you meet him, he's such a brat and a prankster. But his voice is really good. It's not fair that somebody like him possesses such an ability."

“Ignore Wonbin, Chaeri. Wonbin’s just sore because Hongki, he’s the singer we’re talking about, replaced Wonbin’s cola with black coffee,” Jonghoon guffaws. “You should have seen Wonbin's face, Chaeri!”

I give a tiny smile as I listen to them talk more about their music company and the other trainees. I've never seen Jonghoon speak this enthusiastically before. It was like he had transformed into a different person when he talked about music so passionately. And, although Jonghoon and Wonbin had only befriended each other recently, it was like they had known each other for years.

“Even though we're not officially debuted, you should check us out sometime,” Wonbin smiles. “We value any sort of input.”

I hesitate. Although Wonbin and I are on friendly terms, I don't like going further into friendships more than coffee or dinner. Even though Wonbin was an exception, since it was prior or after tutoring we'd hang out...to go somewhere with him, or anybody, on my own time is different altogether.

“There's no point asking her,” Jonghoon says. “She doesn't go anywhere. All she does it work and go to school.”

Frowning, I counter-attack him, “I'll check you guy out then.”

“How sweet of you,” Jonghoon replies, knowing that I had stupidly fallen for his bait. I can't help but innately argue back whenever Jonghoon says something.

“Bands are hard work, aren't they?” I respond. “Our country doesn't really cater to bands. Do you reckon you guys can break into the pop culture battling against all the idols?”

“Perhaps Korea needs a change. A new beginning,” Jonghoon smirks.

After a few minutes Wonbin tells us he needs to go. As soon as he's out of the door, I mutter to myself, “He's nice.”

And cute, and friendly, and handsome, and charming and...

“Nice?” Jonghoon gawks.

I almost forgot he's there for a second. I reword, “I mean interesting-”

“You said he was nice,” Jonghoon points out. I can feel my cheeks warming up. Damn it.

“I need to get back to work,” I say. Jonghoon knows I don't really need to since there are no customers, but I use the excuse still. “Why aren't you going home yet? Wonbin's left now. Besides, you've already exceeded the time limit of receiving free heat.”

Jonghoon gets up from his seat and when I think he's about to leave, he walks the opposite direction and into the male toilets. I curse at him. Before I go back behind the counter, wind chimes sound and a new customer enters the chicken joint.

The first things that registers in my mind is how pretty she is.

She's possibly a year or two younger than me, but it's evident that she'll be stunning in her later years. Skin white as snow, rosy pink cheeks, kind innocent eyes and long wavy dark brown tresses cascade over her shoulders. She's not even smiling, yet she carries an eccentric calm atmosphere around her.

“Good evening,” I greet her. “What would you like today?”

She looks at me, then upwards at the menu on the wall behind me. She's carefully deducting what she wants. It shouldn't be too challenging since the menu is small, yet she's taking everything into consideration.

The girl finally speaks up, “I'll let my oppa decide. He usually orders take-away from here and should be here in any minute-”

In timing, Jonghoon waltzes out of the toilets. When he sees the girl standing in front of me, he ambles towards her with a grin on his face.

I scowl. Really, Jonghoon? If he's hitting on this young girl I will kick him out of this restaurant. When will he stop with his flirtatious ways? It's horrible and she seems too innocent for him. Grimacing, I watch as Jonghoon puts an arm around the girl's waist, drawing her closer to him. Jonghoon then tenderly laces his fingers with hers.

“You're cold,” Jonghoon scolds. “Didn't I tell you to wear gloves?”

Jonghoon takes out a pair of red woollen gloves out of blazer pocket and puts them over the girl's hands. He even adjusts her scarf. When he's about to intimately brush her hair away from her face, I realise that I can't take this innocent girl's corruption any longer-

“That's it, Jonghoon. Make your order now...quick! I don't have time to deal with your philandering ways!” I bark out.

The girl looks at me and blinks up at Jonghoon. “Do you know her? What is she talking about, oppa?”

Jonghoon looks amused as he gazes at both me and the girl. He holds the girl's hand and raises it up. “This is my sister.”

“Your sister?” I gasp.

“Jinri, this is my classmate,” Jonghoon introduces. “Her name is Yoon Chaeri.”

•••••••••••••••

( present )

It's been a long day. I stretch my hands above my head before leaning forward to zip up my bag. As I'm about to leave the company, my phone buzzes. I glance at the caller ID.

Choi Jinri?

Sliding my finger across the screen to accept the call, I place the phone between my neck and ear as I pick up both my folio and bag.

“Hello?” I use my hip and somehow manage to press the button for the elevator.

When she doesn't reply, I say, “Jinri? Are you there?”

Still no reply...

“Jinri, this isn't funny,” I mutter. I'm beginning to get worried. “If you don't reply right now I'm hanging up-”

“Unnie...”

I freeze on the spot. Her soft voice sounds shaky and distressed. I've known her too long to know that something isn't right. She's trying to sound calm, but there's something in her tone that sounds peculiar.

“What's wrong?” I breathe out.

There’s a pause for a few seconds and then she cries out words I would have never thought would come out of .

“Unnie, I think I'm pregnant.”

Well, I'll be damned.

•••••••••••••••

Last Edited: 22.03.16

o3.05.14

(a/n)

 A long chapter to make up for the long wait, and because I (for some reason) wanted to lump this all together. I really enjoyed writing this chapter because it's slowly opening/getting to the plot. Sort of. Haha. New characters introduced in this chapter too :) I don't know what else to say. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing this chapter ^^ Thanks for reviewing!