Shout out (or should I say: HOLLER? hehehehehe) to soshima & darkpluto1 for the upvotes!!!! Appreciate it a lot. thank youuuu :) 

Tiffany’s

            Another month had passed and slowly I got used to my colleagues. The awkwardness was still there, but with the addition of Juhyun made it easier.

            I worked over time for 3 nights this month. Every time, Mr. Dong would go home before me and he nodded his head in acknowledgement with a small smile when he saw me still working on my desk.

            Every time, Taeyeon would whine and sulk whenever I got home late. But despite all the complaints, she would still wait up for me. Which made me love her even more.

            All in all, I loved doing my job. My supervisor also praised me a lot, which made me want to work harder.

            I just got back from a peaceful lunch with Juhyun when the CEO’s secretary came up and told me I was needed in the CEO’s office.

            I wondered what does he want this time?

            I stepped inside his room office to find my supervisor also there, sitting in front of his desk.

            “Ms. Hwang, please have a seat.” Mr. Dong smiled and gestured for me to sit on the other chair beside my supervisor.

            “We have something to talk about with you.” He spoke again and looked at my supervisor.

            She turned to me and said with all seriousness on her face, “Tiffany-ssi, I assume you’ve heard about my retirement from this company?”

            I nodded slowly. Where would this lead to?

            “Well, Youngbae-ssi and I are looking for someone who’s capable enough to take my position.”

            O-kay? And?

            “And both of us agreed that you’re the right person to take it.”

            WHAT?! My eyes widen. What the? 

            Were they asking me to be the head of marketing department?!

            “We want you to be the head of marketing department, Ms. Hwang.”

            They were. I froze on my seat. The head of department. Not just the assistant, but the head of department.

            Was this a joke? Or maybe a prank for the new staff? I looked at him, then at her. Both were looking very serious, no hint of ‘you’ve-got-punk’d’ expression on their faces.  

            “What do you say, Ms. Hwang?” Mr. Dong asked me with a glint of expectation in his eyes.

            “Bu-but I just work here for... two months.”

            “From that two months, I could see your dedication to this company.” My supervisor said with a smile, “Maybe the others who’s been working here longer, knew about this company better than you. But I’ve never seen them put so much passion into their jobs like you do.”

            My mind was still trying to process this new information, that it didn’t really register what my supervisor just said.

            I looked back and forth at the two with disbelief.

            Mr. Dong let out a sigh and said, “Mrs. Shin, I think I need to talk with Ms. Hwang.”

            My supervisor stood up understandingly and patted my shoulder, “I believe you’ll do great, Tiffany-ssi.”

            She went out from the office, leaving me with the CEO.

            “Ms. Hwang, I know it seems to be too fast for a promotion, but I need someone who has the same way of thinking with me to improve this company. We’re not doing badly, but we’re not moving anywhere either.”

            I blinked, trying to understand what he’s saying.

            “My employees are great, they did their job well done. But they’re afraid of changes. Looking at their range of age and how long they’ve been working for this company, they don’t want changes. They’re satisfied enough with what they have now.”

            He leaned back on his chair and continued, “I don’t want this company to stand still. I want this company to fly higher, I want to take this company to another level.” He said this with so much conviction.

            “That’s why I need someone who can make the change with me. You’re young and full of new ideas, Ms. Hwang. That’s one of the reason why we hire you. Why I hire you.”

            The room was silent and finally I get a grasp of everything.

            “So, how about it, Ms. Hwang?”  

Taeyeon’s

            I was watching this show on TV when I heard the front door open, “I’m home! Taeyeon-ah!”

            I diverted my gaze from the TV when she came into the living room with a wide grin.

            “Hi there.” I gave her a smile and went back to watch the TV again.

            But she went to stand right in front of me, blocking my view of the TV.

            “Yah! I’m watching the TV!” I tried to shove her but she sat astride on my lap instead.

            “I have a good news to tell.”

            I wanted to protest, since I still wanted to watch the show on TV, but she held me by my shoulder and swooped in to give me a passionate kiss. My hands went to her back almost like a reflex. Her hand went to the back of my head, giving it a message and her other hand was on my nape, pushing gently to kiss me deeper.

            I didn’t even remember what the show was about on the TV anymore when she broke the kiss.

            “Woah.” I said in a daze and opened my eyes slowly. 

            “Guess what happen at the office today?” she let her arms hang loosely on my shoulder. 

            “They hire a bunch of young people to be your friends?”

            She giggled, “No, silly.”

            I smiled, wait, no I was smiling ever since she gave me that kiss, “What happened then?”

            “Well.... you’re looking at their new head of marketing department.” She beamed.

            “What?” I tried to decipher her answer, “You got promoted?!”

            She nodded her head eagerly.

            “To be the head of department?”

            “Yep.”

            “You’re not kidding, are you?”

            “Nope.” She began to tell me about the CEO’s plan to renewed their company and why she was offer the position.

            “Wow. Seriously, my girlfriend is amazing. Congratulations!” I gave her a peck.

            “Thank you.” Her eyes turned into a crescent shape.

            I kissed her again. And again. And again.

            “Tae, with the income I have now,” she said in between our kisses, “you could just stay at home and be a housewife, you know.”

            I stopped and pulled back, “Hwang Miyoung, are you asking me to be your wife right now?”  

            She opened her eyes in an instant, flustered. “Wh-what? No.. I was just saying.”

            I laughed, “Just kidding, Fany-ah.”

            We had talked about the future and marriage was one of the things we’re looking forward to. But somehow the idea of being married to this woman in my hold still made me feel giddy and fluttery. I guessed it’s the same with her, judging at her reaction now.

            She smiled sheepishly and grabs my shoulder, slowly kneading it. 

            “So how’s your day? What happened at your office today?” she asked.

            “Same old, same old.” My hands started to go lower and I encircled my arms around her waist.

            I leaned forward and started to drop kisses on her jaws to her neck.

            She tilted her head to give me better access.

            “Oh, Kibum said the new kid on his department has a crush on me.” I mumbled.

            “What?!” she pushed me away abruptly.

            “What?”

            “Someone has a crush on you?”

            “Yeah, so?”

            “So?!” Her eyes widen and she pushed me even further, adding distance between our bodies that wasn’t there before just a second ago.

            I chuckled seeing her worked up over this, “So what? Everybody can have a crush on me, but yours is the only one matters.”

            She grinned and pulled me close again, “Good.”

            I laughed, “Good?”

            “Yes, good to know that. Since you’re mine and all that.”

            “I’m always yours.”

            She kissed me again and I gladly reciprocated.     

            “Want to have a celebratory dinner?” I asked her with ragged breathing once we parted for air, “I’ll make anything you want.”

            She shook her head and rubbed my upper arms with her hands, “I’d rather celebrate in a different way.” She said in a husky voice.

            I gulped, knowing where this would go, “O-kay then.”  

Tiffany’s

            Everybody hated me.

            The next day, the CEO himself and my supervisor broke out the news to everybody on our office and most of them were shocked. Especially the staff of marketing department.

            The only sincere congratulation I got was from Juhyun.

            The whole ordeal would be effective on Monday. The next two days, my supervisor would brief me on everything and helped me eased in to the position.

            On Monday and the following days, my subordinates no longer asking me to join them for lunch. They gave me the cold shoulders and only spoke to me regarding work. They didn’t even spare me a smile.

            I guessed I kind of expect this to happen. But even though I expected it, didn’t mean it was less awful.

            It resulted in me having lunch only with Juhyun on my office room. Yes, one of the good things about the position was I got my own room now.

            “They hate me, Juhyun-ah.” I sighed.

            “No, they don’t, Unnie.”

            I looked at her skeptically.

            “They’re just surprised. They thought the assistant manager who would take the position, not the ‘young staff’ who just got hired a couple of months.” 

            I poked around the food in front of me, “You’re not really helping here.”

            “What I mean is, they don’t hate you. They’re just surprised that you could get promoted this fast.”

            “So they don’t think I’m capable, huh?”

            “You just need to show them that you are, Unnie.” Juhyun gave me a smile.

            I looked up at her, stared to be exact. Well what did you know? She’s younger, but nevertheless, wiser than me. That’s exactly what I needed to show to my subordinate, right? I was capable being the head of marketing department.

            “You’re right. Thanks, Juhyun-ah.” I smiled back at her.

            “You’re welcome, Unnie.”  

             We ate our meal in silence before Juhyun spoke again.

            “Actually, Unnie, you inspired me.”

            I gave her a questioning look.

            “You became the head of department in just two months. Eventhough I know the CEO motive, but he wouldn’t just pick a random person based on their age. He must’ve analyze you first and make sure you could give your best to this company. You inspired me to work harder.”

            Her words warmth my heart.

            “You’re great, Unnie. Don’t let anyone told you otherwise.”  

            I told you Juhyun and I were going to be great friends, didn’t I?

            Thus, I began to work until late night and the appearance of whiny Taeyeon became more frequent.

            No matter how annoying her whining and scolding about how dangerous it was to go home at night for a woman, I still found it endearing. She would also still wait for me, just like now.

            I got home just before midnight and I found her asleep on the couch, in a sitting position, with the TV remote on her hand, and the TV was still on.

            I felt a little bit guilty because she also had work and I bet she’s tired too. But there she was, still trying to wait up for me.

            I went to stand in front of her, smiling to myself. I brushed her bangs back and kissed her forehead.

            “Taeyeon-ah, wake up.” I whispered and placed my hand on her cheek. I rubbed her soft cheek slowly with my thumb.   

            She opened her eyes, “You’re home.” And a smile.

            “I am. Thanks for waiting up for me, but you really shouldn’t.”

            “Have you eaten?” she ignored what I said.           

            “Just entered the apartment.” I showed her the bag on my other hand.

            She stood up and went to the kitchen. I put my bag on the couch and followed her.

            She was putting rice on a bowl & I raised my eyebrows, “You haven’t eaten either?”

            She looked at me sheepishly, “I have. Sorry I didn’t wait for you. I was hungry.”

            The rice was for me. She was preparing dinner for me.

            “Tae, you really shouldn’t. I know you’re tired too.” I tried to take the bowl out from her hand, but she held it away from me.

            “You’re more tired than me.”

            “But-”

            “No buts. Just let me do this for you, Hwang Miyoung.”

            I relented at that and resulted in giving her a back hug while she scooped more rice on the bowl. “Thank you.” I mumbled on her shoulder.

            She chuckled, “You know, you could heat up the side dishes rather than hugging me like this.”

            I let go of her, “Oh, right.”

            After my dinner’s ready, I sat down and ready to eat while Taeyeon sat across from me.

            “You can go to sleep, Tae. I’m fine eating by myself.”

            She shook her head, once again dismissing what I said, “So what happened at the office today? Does everybody realize that you’re an amazing boss yet?”

            I told Taeyeon about my problem at the office & she said the exact same thing Juhyun said. She told me to show them that I was more than capable to do the job.

            “They’re still the same. Someone even purposely did a mistake on his work and when I asked him to revise it, he told me to do it myself.”

            “What?! For people their age, they surely act very childish!”

            I didn’t respond and continued to eat.

            “You could report them to the CEO, you know.”

            “I don’t want to do that. He’s busy enough already. I should be able to handle this kind of things myself.”

            She let out a sigh, “I hope they would stop giving you such a hard time and things will get better.”

            I hoped for the same things too.