Third Person 

After an eventful day, Minju took a quick nap to regain her sanity and energy. It wasn’t until a couple of hours when she felt a soft nudge on her arm. It was Yuri, standing next to her bed with her doe eyes boring into the taller woman. Minju took a glance at the latter as she was still wearing her office outfit.  

“She had probably just arrived.” Minju thought as she sat up straight, resting her head on the soft headboard.  

“By the way, you should dress up in something casual. We’re eating samgyeopsal today as a celebration of you getting in.” Yuri patted Minju’s head then threw her a toothy smile.  

Truth to be told, Yuri didn’t have high expectations due to the low acceptance percentage and high standards the company has. It was an extreme shock for her when she heard the news Minju will be her boss’ new secretary. Nevertheless, Yuri was very happy for the lady.  

It didn’t take long for both to change their clothes as they were aiming for something simple yet presentable. The two happily blasted music in the car, sensing the night will be a blast for them.   

The two stood in front of a glass door that holds behind the mix of chaos and jubilation. From it, they could see and hear the chaotic combination of servers rushing throughout the area and drunk customers jumping up and down with glee. Yuri went in first, holding the shy girl’s wrist to guide her to their table. As they walked down, Minju analyzed the inside of the restaurant. The smell of meat and alcohol made its way to her. She noticed that ahead of her was a group of familiar faces. There were Hitomi, who was signaling them to hurry, and Nako, who was excitedly waving.  The shortest girl acted differently in the office compared to right now. She was serious and had a poker face, while now she’s livelier than ever and emphasizing her dimples.  
 

“Minju! Yuri” Hitomi yelled, she wore a pastel pink blouse, which made her blonde hair pop out even more. Plates of side dishes are scattered throughout their table. There was already meat on the grill, the two ladies must’ve been too impatient.  
 

“YAH! YOU COULDN’T EVEN WAIT FOR US?” The Busan native had her hands on her waist while neighboring tables jumped in surprise due to her loud voice.  
 

The two Japanese ladies were startled and put up a peace sign to Yuri who had daggers in her eyes. Minju remained unbothered since she was already used to this behavior. “You guys were taking too long hehe, plus don’t you like that? You guys are here and there is food ready.” Nako explained, gesturing for them to sit down.  

“By the way, I am so glad that we are bonding with you Minju! Yuri has told many great things about you. We think you’re fit for the position. Right Hiichan?”  
 

“Yep! We are also excited to work with you. Hopefully, you’ll like it there.” Hitomi smiled as she offered the shy lady a shot of soju. Minju happily accepted the drink and held the glass cup in the air.  

“Cheers?” 
 

“CHEERS!”  
 

Minju felt relieved, two new friends came into her life. The job she had recently acquired pays very well. Not to mention her boss was extremely attractive. She would’ve been perfect if it weren’t for her attitude, according to the newly hired secretary.  

The fun night went on, Minju eventually got comfortable enough to even tease the drunk Japanese girls. Yuri was slightly tipsy as she started singing random songs in between. The young staff was busy grilling the juicy, tender pork belly for the ladies as they nonstop ate.  
 

“There was this one time, Yuri was late to work and she came rushing down to the office when she bumped into COO Choi and almost fell until Ms. Yena caught her mid-air. You should’ve seen Yuri’s face! She was blushing like crazy and they stayed like that for minutes!” Hitomi laughed out loud, teasing the Busan native.  

“Yah that’s not what happened!” Yuri defended herself, smacking Hitomi’s arm along the way. The two physically hit each other back and forth while the rest were entertained by the scene. 

“Hiichan is right though Minju. She has this big fat crush on COO Choi. We would always catch her staring at the woman especially during presentation days.” Nako whispered, 

“Anyways Minju you’ve seen the three hot bosses right? Who out of them has caught your eye? Cause for me Chief Kim is to die for.” Hitomi fangirled, rolling her eyes back, and was in awe with the sudden thought of Chaewon.  

“I bet you it’s Ahn huh?” Yuri smirked, “I know she’s your type. Tall, handsome yet beautiful, and intimidating.”  

“Don’t forget arrogant!” The shorter girl piped in, clapping her hands out of nowhere as if she was a little girl. 

Minju stayed quiet knowing she would not be able to defend herself on this one. Yuri was right, she would’ve made a fool out of herself denying it. The three girls suddenly looked at each other with unreadable expressions.  

“I see potential in you Kim, maybe you’ll tame the boss.”  

“Don’t worry we got you bestie!” 

The fox-eyed lady was confused yet did not question their comments. She plainly nodded her head and took a bite of the meat she had on her plate, unknowing what to do.   

*********** 
 

It was another busy day in the heart of Seoul. Minju walked out of the warm, peaceful comfort of the coffee shop. Straight away, she was hit by the chilly wind that had been ringing throughout the city. The wind went through Minju’s fluffy, brunette hair.  

There were many people walking along both sides of the streets. The time was 7 o’clock in the morning and many workers were on their way to their job. Minju woke up earlier than Yuri, the reason being to impress the young CEO. She encountered fellow office workers along the way, some had suitcases, some were on the phone, while others were hurrying towards the tall buildings.  

The cars and motorcycles were moving at considerable speeds, as they pile up near the traffic lights. They halted behind the white line. Pedestrians patiently waited for their light to turn on, crossing the big road afterward.  
 

The smell of Minju’s delicate, floral perfume wafted around her. Bystanders stopped and stared at the beauty who was carrying a bag of freshly baked pastries. They simply smiled at the lady, fascinated with her goddess looks and her heavenly scent. Minju wore black dress pants partnered with a fitted, white collared shirt that beautifully shaped her petite body. She also had her hair up into a ponytail with a couple of loose wavy strands in front.  

After traversing the chilly streets of Seoul, the newly hired secretary had arrived in front of the company’s building. Her hands began to shake, the thought of starting a job she lacks experience in made her nervous.  
 

“Oh my god.” Minju thought as a familiar face had set a foot in the same elevator as her. Ahn Yujin. Her extremely attractive yet arrogant of a CEO.  

“What is she doing in here so early?” 

“Come again?” Yujin asked in which startled Minju as she thought she was speaking in her head. Must’ve slipped. 

“Oh! I meant good morning Ms. Ahn!” She plastered a smile at the taller one, though she only received silence.  
 

The ride was dead quiet. The CEO was disinterested in making a conversation while Minju was too embarrassed. However, Yujin’s puppy instincts kicked in as she smelt the food Minju was holding on her left hand. Trying hard to resist her temptations, the taller lady shook her head and opened up her phone to avert herself. She has not eaten anything this morning as she rushed to go to work.  
 

“Aish those smell so good. Ahn you must resist.” 

DING!  

At last, the elevator doors opened revealing a semi-empty office. Not many were present yet. The two walked out together side by side, some of the workers were nosy and gawked at the duo. Clearly, pissing Yujin off. 

“Go back to work will you?”  

The group of workers jumped at the authoritative voice of Yujin, hurriedly going back to their respective tables to continue finishing their assigned tasks. Surprisingly, Minju was calm, with no signs of being intimidated. This caught the CEO off guard, nevertheless brushed it off.  
 

Yujin led her new secretary to her office. She noticed that there was still a stack of paperwork from last time. The taller sighed. The company these days had not been in the greatest shape. Their sales weren’t as high, investors were not keen on the news, and some dropped their shares. The young CEO was troubled yet she did not show it to anyone, even Yena, and Chaewon. Like what her father had taught her, “You must keep your composure. Take charge of the huddle. Be a leader.” 

“Ms. Kim, I suppose you have read the introductory email and course I’ve sent you?” Yujin asked, making her way towards her table where her computer and the paperwork reside.  

“Yes I have Ms. Ahn.”  

 
“Oh, you may sit Ms. Kim.” The CEO pointed at the chair in front of her desk. 

  “Anyways, I expect you to at least know where you will be and the basics of the job. Your office will be right next door, it’s the room with a glass door. I will call you on the telephone whenever I need you. As of now, you are free to go to your space to get used to the environment. Also, check your working email for any tasks.” Yujin nodded as she dismissed the older lady. Minju bowed and exited the spacious office. She quickly found the room her boss was talking about. She noticed that it was cleaned well, there weren’t any decorations. It only contained a computer, an iPad, and an office chair. The office was relatively smaller than Yujin’s though they had the glass pane that displayed the city.  

“You must be Kim Minju!” A tall man stood by the opened door. He was handsome, he had catlike monolid eyes and plumped lips. The man brought his hands to his long, black hair as it fell smoothly right after.  
 

“Um yes I am. Who might you be?” The fox-eyed lady questioned, looking up from her computer.  

“Where are my manners? I am Hwang Hyunjin, the manager here. I came to meet the new secretary.” He smiled with his eyes, which charmed Minju a bit. “Anyhoo, I just wanted to drop by and see if you have adjusted perfectly in which you have.”  
 

“Yes, it’s a nice environment. I like it.” The lady nodded. 
 

“Well I’ll leave you to it. Ms. Ahn might scold me if she ever catches just chatting. If you need anything, I’ll be down the hallway with the other office workers. Nice meeting ya Ms. Kim!” Hyunjin bid as he threw a small wave to Minju. 

Right after the young man left, it became quiet, the secretary went through the computer to check if there were any emails. She softly hummed as one could only hear the faint background voices beyond the floor. Minju was focused. Learning and adapting as much as she could. So far, there weren’t any major plans, Ahn Yujin’s schedule this week wasn’t packed. The lady laid out the meetings and events in her calendar that are shared with the CEO and carefully organized them. While arranging, a certain name has caught the attention of Minju. It was highlighted and bolded. She furrowed her eyebrows and pouted her lips at the sight of the name.  

Oct 23- Meeting with investors. Visit one of the manufacturers.  

Oct. 24- Wonyoung <3  

Oct 25-  Meeting for new advertisements. Look for a new endorser. 

Minju assumed that it must’ve been her boss’ lover. She felt a pinch somewhere inside her. Maybe because Ahn Yujin was her type. But it was nice to know she’s happy. It wasn’t a big deal for the secretary anyways, she was only attracted to the CEO. Not the end of the world. 
 

“Interesting. I wonder who is this woman that made one narcissistic CEO fall for her?” Minju whispered,  

“Fall for who?” Yuri asked as she walked up to Minju’s desk. The secretary was startled, hissing right afterward.  
 

“Jo Yuri! Don’t scare me like that.” She uttered, displeased with the jumpscare.  
 

“Sorry, it’s just you said something and I couldn’t catch onto what you said.” 
 

“It was nothing.” 

Yuri pouted, wanting to ask her best friend for gossip. The latter remained oblivious to her friend’s childish antics. She went back to her computer for any recent updates. Unfortunately, nothing came in. The Busan native gave up and huffed at the secretary, crossing her arms and stomping as she made her way out of the room. Minju did not realize that her body was tense. For the next ten minutes, she did her best to relax. Thankfully, she loosened up and was able to go back to her work.  

Finally, she had finished the CEO’s schedule for the week. Throughout the work, Nako and Hitomi took a quick glance at her and smiled, welcoming Minju. Since it was a busy day in their department, conversing was impossible. She didn’t mind though. However, the secretary was dredging for more work, waiting for her boss’ call.   
 

Knock. Knock. 
 

“Good morning Ms. Kim! Welcome to Ahn Corporations.” Chaewon greeted with a big smile on her face.  

“Oh, Chief Kim! Good morning.” Minju respectfully bowed, “I should get used to this. What more when it comes to meetings.”  
 

“I came here to say that Yujin has been contacting you. Actually, she’s a bit impatient so when you go to her office, she’ll be a bit grumpy. Don’t worry she’s harmless.” The chief reassured.  

“Oh! I was not aware, the telephone was supposed to ring but I’ve received nothing. I apologize.” Minju explained, trying to gain her composure. Chaewon’s mouth gaped, nodding her head right after.  

“Ah, that must be it then. Don’t worry, I’ll get this fixed. Though you should head to Yujin’s office now. It seems like she needs you.”  

Minju quickly bowed to the chief and speed-walked towards the CEO. The aura coming from the room was serious, which made the secretary tremble in silence. Nevertheless, she shook her head and acted professionally.  

“And where were you? I have been contacting you for the last five minutes.” Ahn Yujin’s eyes followed Minju as she entered. The secretary bowed before politely standing in front of the CEO.  

“My apologies Ms. Ahn, the telephone was not working and no calls from you went through. Chief Kim visited not too long ago and is planning to get it fixed.”  

The CEO stayed quiet. Not knowing what to retort back. It must’ve been right since Chaewon was involved. She looked at the secretary who had her head down, waiting for a reply. It was too early for her to get mad. Plus, it was Minju’s first day, Yujin thought she should give her slack. Especially if she wants the lady to last for a month. Usually, her past secretaries could only handle a week of Ahn Yujin. 

“Hmm.” The CEO stopped and looked at the unfinished stack of paperwork in front of her. It would take her days to get through it alone. Though, she was unsure if a psychologist graduate would be a help or a headache.  

“Join me, Ms. Kim, Chief Kim and COO Choi are currently busy, I would like to speed things up. I suppose this is also a test to see how competent you are.”  

The secretary was brought back from spacing out and nervously nodded. She gulped as she gazed at the intimidating woman who was gesturing at one of the chairs in front of her, implying for Minju to sit.  

“We don’t have all day Ms. Kim, please have a seat. Preferably, in that one.” Yujin pointed at the chair that was touching her desk, the side where the paperwork was. The fox-eyed lady hastily nodded once again and then walked towards it, slightly tripping on the way. The CEO’s instinct was fast. She was about to stand up to catch the clumsy girl, however, Minju was able to save herself from falling – and from embarrassing herself.  

“Aish this girl will be a headache.”  

Kim Minju dusted her attire and sat down on the designated spot. She waited for her boss to say something as the lady was in a trance. The air between them was awkward. Though, she still patiently sat. 

“As you may know, the company specializes in distribution. We handle some of the biggest names in Korea and some countries in the world. For now, we are slowly losing some of the investors. The paperwork right in front of you consists of the current brands we have and their needs. We need to go through them one by one, check what we can do to up their sales.” The CEO meticulously explained while the secretary listened. Deep inside, Minju’s heart was erratic as Yujin listed things about business. Not that she was incapable, but the way her boss was passionately talking made her extra wary of herself. Just like Minju, the CEO was a perfectionist.  

“Well, that’s it for this pile. Many more will come in. Anyways, first, let me double-check the schedule I assigned you to do. Then, we can start with the paperwork.” Yujin said as the secretary nodded in return. She went back to the computer in front of her, steadily staring at it for a few minutes. “Hmm, seems like you’ve done what I’ve asked.” 

“Ah yes. I’ve sorted them out the best I could. Hopefully, you like it.” Minju replied. 

“Yeah, it’s not all over the place and it’s simple. I like it, Ms. Kim.”  

The secretary jumped in joy on the inside, happy with the boss’ satisfaction. Definitely boosted her confidence. Minju discretely smiled when she gazed at the CEO who grabbed the pile of paperwork and split it in half. 

“I divided this for the both of us. What I need you to do is to organize it from easiest to hardest to resolve. Since you’ve studied the course I sent you, you should know which are which correct?” 

“Yes ma’am.”  

“Good, this is yours.” She handed the pile and glanced at the secretary with no emotions, “Work well Kim.”