I sat at the left of Stan as Rachel was sitting at his right. The feeling of discomfort was at the base of my throat and no matter how many coughs or gulps of salvia I had, it wouldn’t help. However, looking across me, Rachel seemed to be at complete ease. Her head was held up high and the appearance of a sick woman was nowhere to be found. Even without much color on her face, Rachel’s powerful class overflowed.

            As one of the newer employees set all the teacups in front of us, I took notice of everyone else as well. At my left, Stan’s intimidating aura was still present; though I noticed to be slightly weaker than normal. At my right sat Bobby, seemingly excited to see Rachel though I could tell by the constant shifting by his hands and feet that he was trying hard to contain all the excitement. At the left of Rachel, Brian had a smile on his face but it had barely reached his eyes. And at the left of Brian sat BoYoung. By the look of her eyes and the downward tilt of her head, I could tell she couldn’t look at me nor Rachel; though I caught her glimpsing at Rachel.

            “So BoYoung,” Rachel started after making small talk with Stan. “I hear you’re a designer here.”

            “Yes ma’am,” BoYoung quickly sat upright.

            “How nice,” Rachel smiled with such a classy pose, I felt like it was fake. “I remember you when you were such a little girl. You must work with my daughter then.”

            BoYoung glanced at me, then Bobby, then back at me, “Yes ma’am.”

            “It must be weird to find out that your designing junior is actually Stella Yoon.”

            “Um…,” BoYoung smiled awkwardly. “Yes ma’am.”

            “Rachel,” Brian spoke out. “Would you like to tour around the designing sector? It changed an awful lot.”

            “Oh that would be great,” Rachel replied. “Lead the way.”

            I somehow managed to escape the tour. The twenty other Yoon Designs employees seemed to want to be in my position and took no time in getting her everything she could possible want and much more. One man even tried to carry her around, princess-style, because Rachel might be “bored” of waiting for the elevator.

            I turned the corner to find Cindy, Jessi, and Heather; I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed those girls when they squealed on top of their lungs and threw their bodies at me.

            “HyunA!” Heather shrieked, hugging me so tightly I thought my head would burst off.

            “I can’t believe you’re here!” Jessi kissed my cheek.

            “Seriously, I thought you would never come back!” Cindy said, going in for her hug.

            “Why wouldn’t I come back?”

            “Um… HELLO?” Cindy gave me a look that said are-you-stupid. “You’re Stella Yoon; your family is one of the top fifty wealthiest in the world. You don’t need to come back to be an average ghost designer.”

            “But!” Heather interrupted with her finger held up high. “We are thrilled to have you back. It’s only been a week but it feels like forever!”

            “Yeah, I guess it really does,” I laughed.

            “Oh,” Jessi’s face turned serious. “I know this may be a stupid question… but what do we call you by? HyunA… or Stella?”

            I pursed my lips together and smiled, “HyunA.”

            “Oh… okay,” Jessi said with a reassuring smile. “It’s easier for everyone anyway.”

            “ANYWAY,” Heather interrupted again. “We need to catch the up! How’s the mansion!”

            “Oh my gosh,” I raised my hand up and acted like I had so much juicy gossip to spill. “This mansion—”

__________________________________________

            The familiar lips massaged against mine and I felt as if my body had lost control. His hand gently placed against my neck, bringing me closer. I placed my hand onto his knee closest to me, somewhat supporting myself as I tried to go even closer if that was possible.

            It was weird, we were at such a public place: the company’s sitting area, right outside where the glass windows behind us, letting everyone at the cafeteria see us. Luckily, no one was really there, except the two lunch ladies who couldn’t stop peeking. The lust conquered my brain as the sanity left. If I had any, I would’ve stopped kissing Bobby before a second could go by.

            “Bobby…,” I mumbled into his lips.

            “Please,” Bobby mumbled back, hugging my waist closer.

            I knew I had to say something, but not before I could the life out of his lips. I could feel myself getting hot and bothered, so then I quickly pulled away.

            Bobby looked at me without anger, but sadness, “I’m… I’m sorry.”

            I kept biting at my lip, “No… Don’t be.”

            We sat in silence, staring