I wait outside of the office, cursing my brother that he had to bring me there three hours before my actual interview. My interview is not until 11. What am I going to do for three hours? I’m nervous as hell. I start to fidget on the sleeve of my long-sleeved top and stare at the white tiles while I wait.

I didn’t bother making eye contact with the lady guard that has her own desk in between the two doors of the office because she gave me that intimidating look. Yes, even the security guard intimidates me now. I’m just so nervous. Employees passed by me and I see them scanning their I.D’s at the small scanner by the door, enabling them to open it. I imagine myself lifting my own I.D and working here, too. Keep dreaming, Haerin.

Two Moons Productions is my dream company. I’ve watched films and dramas produced by this company since I was a kid. I always wondered what it’s like to work with them, to work for them. And today I plan on making that dream come true by nailing that interview.

I will be graduating college after the coming school year and the entire summer is allotted for our internship. I’m stressing out about it to be honest. I should have begun when the second semester of my 3rd year ended, but because there were too many things to take care of like the green slip interview in campus, which is an interview needed for the university to give a recommendations letter if the student passes, I didn't have that much time to prepare other paper works ahead. Thankfully, I got my green slip with a 5.5 excellent mark by the first week of summer. However, the companies I applied to have not called me back yet. Nobody seems to be taking interns for the summer because they’re already full of interns from other universities.

Other applicants waited with me, too. Soon the couch on both ends of the waiting hall was occupied. I couldn’t help but observe them all in a not-so-judgmental-way. I couldn’t tell whether they’re applying for an actual occupation or for the internship, too. But the younger looking ones, the one that looks only around my age, are my guess that are applying as interns and they were very intimidating. Looking at them now, I regret not wearing a pencil skirt, high heels and a proper blouse. I’m only wearing my black jeans, my red vans and white long-sleeved top. Why was I made to dress like I gave up on life?

The clock ticked and I noticed that more employees started getting in at 10am. Most of them looked like they had this rich lifestyle considering that they wore branded clothes and shoes. I’m a little thankful that they also weren’t in very formal office attires with the coat and the slacks or pencil skirts and blouses; they were wearing branded jeans and branded shoes. But still, I couldn’t help but feel any smaller than I’ve already been feeling.

I felt my phone vibrate and hear it ring loudly inside my bag. . Panicking, I fish through my stuff and get a hold of my phone.

“What?” I answer in a whisper, avoiding the gazes I was getting from everyone in the waiting hall.

“Just checking in on you, sis. How’s it going there?” My brother asks from the other end of the line.

“My interview doesn’t start until 11 and I’m already hungry,” I whisper as I look up, catching eyes on me from the guys standing by the door. They look like they’re employees, considering that they were scanning their I.D’s one by one. The last guy holding his Starbucks coffee kept his gaze on me and I gulp as I look down embarrassed, “I’ll call you later when the interview is over,”

“Alright. I’ll be expecting that call, Kim Haerin. Don’t make me wait for nothing,”

“Yes, oppa. Bye,” I hang up and kept my phone.

“Are you here for the internship?” The guy sitting next to me asked. I nod in response, “For what department?”

“I’m looking forward to work with productions, more on hands-on work. What about you? Are you here for the internship?” I ask.

“Yeah. But as a sound engineer,” He answered back as I nod upon his answer, “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but from what I heard, they rarely hire girls for production. Most girls in there got desk jobs,”

Well way to go blow the dream. I’m disappointed to hear that. In campus, I’m very active in—if not all then most—of my production-related subjects. I’m an all-around person in our section. They ask me if I can do a particular job done and if I say I can, they give me the task and they let me work with it. I’m usually the head of the tech team for events; I handle the set and the production proper. It’s a lot of pressure just knowing the amount of work to do and the fact that the event has to be successful, but it’s also a lot of fun. I’m not used to desk jobs unless I’m assigned to edit something, which requires hours and hours of sitting and tinkling with the computer, also a gallon of coffee.

A guy wearing a white polo under his grey hoodie and a pair of ripped jeans and slick silver shoes went out and we immediately eye at him. He was chewing as he looks on the paper on his hand while he holds a slice of bread on the other, “Son Jiyoung?” He looks at us and a girl raised her hand. He smiles at her, “Let’s go,”

Son Jiyoung walks inside the office, gleeful and giddy. I grow even more nervous I think I’m going to die. The same guy was calling everyone, one applicant after the other and it’s taking them roughly an hour inside. Son Jiyoung left opposite the mood when she went in. The other applicants didn’t look so happy after their turn either. . Are they all denied?

“What happened inside?” A girl’s friend asked after her turn, “What did they ask you? What did they say to you?” But the more her friend asks, the sadder she becomes. We’re all technically eaves dropping because she’s the 12th dejected looking applicant who went out.

“They said I’m alright but they prefer guys because guys handle productions better,” I frown hearing her statement. Talk about gender discrimination. I sigh. Just then, the guy came out.

“Kim Haerin,” He calls, I stand up and gulped. This is it. Get your together, Haerin. Don’t this up. Prove to them you can handle the prod life. He looks at me from head to toe and lets out a small chuckle, “Let’s go,”

I fidget on the strap of my bag as we walk further inside the office. There were cubicles in the color of black and white. The floor was of white marble and I’m thankful I’m not wearing heels; otherwise it would have made that annoying clacking sound. As he leads me further, I see movie posters framed and displayed on the elegant white wall. I see a number of employees staring at me like they’re judging my entire life based on how I’m dressed. I bite my lower lip and try not to get any smaller than I already feel. The journey from the entrance to the conference room felt like I was sinking to the floor because of the stares I’ve gotten.

We stop in an office. I look up and see ‘conference room’ labeled on top. The guy opens the translucent glass door and he lets me inside first. My eyes widened upon seeing five men seated in the blue office chairs inside the room. And even though they weren’t in suits, they were hella intimidating. The guy with me sat beside them as he gestures his hand at the seat across them, “Please take a seat,”

I gulp as I walk shyly to the blue office chair and do as told. I look at them and they all seem to be bored and tired already. Great. I just had to catch them in this mood. There’s no turning back now. It’s now or never, Haerin. Nail this interview. I look at the guy at the other end. He's the same guy with the Starbucks coffee earlier who looked at me while I was on my phone. I didn't know he was an executive.

“I’m Mr. Byun,” The guy who