The Cordial Agreement

Hana sighed, frustrated. She had been waiting for the CEO’s reply all day but to no avail. She had already planned on going to the company prior to the message that she sent yesterday, but the fact that there had been no feedback coming from the other made her think otherwise; she didn’t want to go back in that company without a purpose after all. She was already tired of going there and leaving without any result.

Rolling on her bed, she sighed and stared at the message that she received a few minutes ago. It was a very suspicious message, telling her to go to Starbucks to apparently “talk.” She doubted that it was the CEO, not only because it was from a different number, but mostly because it was too much of an informal message which contradicts Park Chanyeol’s personality.

Thud.

Cursing, Hana stood up and kicked the wall, knowing what that thud was.

“Keep it down, people. You’re not the only people breathing in this apartment!” She hollered, irritated.

Apparently, Jiyeon had become worse, bringing men to their apartment even in broad daylight. She would have to have a talk with her seemingly lost friend, soon. They were running out of food in the apartment as well. It was Hana who had been supplying the apartment with food all the while, but with her problems at the moment – being unemployed and indebted – she couldn’t really shop for food. She couldn’t bear to spend her savings either.

She sighed and headed towards the bathroom, knowing that it would probably best to get ready and meet the person who had texted her.

It might be important as well – more so, it might be an interview for a company or something, though she highly doubted that as a company wouldn’t normally interview their applicants at a local café, much less in Starbucks.

After washing up, she headed towards her closet, deciding that it would be best to go with casual clothes, especially since there wasn’t any reassurance that she would be meeting someone professional. The text had been quite informal in the first place, too. After wearing her black jeans and white, long-sleeved shirt, she took her phone and wallet and wore her Converse shoes before finally exiting the apartment, leaving Jiyeon and whomever the man she was with, alone.

She puffed her cheeks as she walked towards Starbucks which was thankfully located near her apartment building – much to her relief.

She was about to order a frap when she realized that she would be spending her money with it, so she put her wallet on her pocket and brought her phone out instead, typing a message back to the person who sent the message earlier. The sender replied eventually, informing her that he was close the Starbucks and that he would be arriving at the shop. Soon enough, a man had entered the shop, his eyes automatically landing on her.

He walked gracefully and approached her table, grinning as he sat.

“Good afternoon, Miss Choi. I’m glad that you accepted my invitation,” the man said.

Hana scrutinized the man, examining whether he looked like an extortionist of some sort. The man had chubby cheeks, though he was rather thin and a bit short. He wore a business attire, telling her that he was somehow professional. He had a big smile on his face, though his eyes told her that he was hiding something – something that she couldn't seem to read.

Sighing when she noticed nothing abnormal, she began to speak. “It’s not an invitation if I happen to be the first one to arrive,” she said, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Ah. I apologize for that. I had… businesses to attend to,” the man said, his eyes glinting something.

Her eyebrows rose, scoffing, “Whatever. So what is this ‘talk’ all about, and how did you get my number?”

The man leaned back to his seat, smirking, “Well, for starters, my name is Kim Minseok. It’s nice to meet you,” he said incredulously, his smirk not leaving his face, “To answer your first question, well let’s just say that this has something to do with your previous job at PCY Corporation. As for your other question, I have my ways."

“You mean to say that you’re stalking me?” Hana trailed off, confused.

“Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not,” the man said, making the latter even more confused yet pissed off at the same time.

“Listen here, mister. You so happen to be wasting my time right now, so if you don’t have anything better to say and cut to the chase, then I think it’s probably time for me to go and waste my time on something more productive rather than talking nonsense with you,” Hana said, glaring.

“Feisty. No wonder that monster hired you,” Kim Minseok said, his lips as he looked at Hana’s face down to her chest area. "Now, let's get back to business, shall we? Let's talk about your ex-boss, Park Chanyeol." Hana squinted her eyes, wondering why the man wanted to talk about her ex-boss. Minseok continued, "Say, what did you feel when he fired you?"

Hana scoffed, having enough. Was he mocking her? For getting fired? Why was he so interested? It wasn't like he was offering her a job, either. She couldn't understand what the man had wanted from her in the first place. He had only gone through circles, not getting straight to the point like she wanted him to be.

She had to meet up with the CEO, too, and she had wanted to arrive at the company before it gets too late, seeing as how the CEO normally was in a bad mood mostly during late afternoons.

Then again, when was he never in a bad mood?

She stood up and said, “You're wasting my time, you erted freak.”

With her words, Minseok’s smirk had immediately been wiped off, his face whipping to glare at the woman who stood at the table and walk away. He glared, standing up himself and walking towards Hana. “What did you call me?” He asked, his face fuming red from anger.

Hana was the one to smirk now, “What do you mean?” She asked with an innocent face. Her face then flashed with fake recognition, smirking once again at the man in front of her. She was glad that they were standing outside the shop then; she wouldn’t want to cause a scene inside Starbucks, though fighting off outside the shop didn’t serve as a better choice either as they were arguing more publicly.

“Ah. You mean freak? That actually struck a nerve? Wow. I didn’t know that you are indeed a freak,” she paused, wanting to strike more nerves out of the man she found utterly annoying, "Wait. Seeing as how you keep on asking about my boss, I presume that you like Park Chanyeol, then? Is that the reason you wanted to talk to me?" She said incredulously, laughing. “Wow! I can’t believe this. You know, you can learn more information if you ask actual employees from his company. If you don’t happen to know, which I doubt you don’t, I had already been fired by the CEO himself, hence I can’t tell you anything.”

Minseok’s face by now was fuming in anger. You can literally see steam coming out of his ears. Not only were his ears red, but his entire face as well. His fists were clenched on his sides, his teeth clashing together as he glared distastefully at the smirking woman in front of him.

Hana decided to ontinue, “Here’s a piece of advice,” she leaned closer until she was two inches away from his ear, “Try not to when you meet. Angry men always like it straight and rough. He’ll love to do it over and over again until his anger subsides. Make sure to bring a long of protection. You’ll need it.” With a final smirk, she flashed Minseok her middle finger and stalked off, laughing, leaving the man fuming by himself on the sidewalk.

Truth to be told, she didn't know where all her confidence came from, not to mention that she was really really bold to about uality like that. Perhaps it was because she was feeling fumed as well from being unemployed that she was easily ticked off. Nevertheless, she didn't really care. Plus, she figured th