“Number 56!" A woman shouted from the end of the hallway smiling softly before the applicant who just finished the interview, exited the conference room.

Upon hearing her application number called, Ahyoung stood up, fixing her clothes and hair as she did. She made sure that her applicant I.D card was fixed on her skirt's waistband before proceeding to grab the manila folder which contained her resume, and her bag. She walked towards the room at the end of the hallway and greeted the woman who was waiting for her by the door.

The woman gestured for her to enter before her. Before she entered the main room, she took a deep breath. "Goodluck on your interview." The woman said and flashed her a quick smile and slightly pushed her into the room before standing behind the man who was currently reviewing some papers which she assumed to be resumes of the other applicants. Once the man looked up, he smiled at her causing some of the wrinkles on his face to show and slightly nodded his head signaling for her to start.

"Good morning. I go by the name Park Ahyoung, 21 years of age. It's nice to meet you." She introduced herself and bowed.

"Take a seat. I'm Mr. Im." He said reaching out a hand for her to take which she gladly did.

"So, Ms. Park, you came here today for the Sales and Marketing Department secretary. Am I right?" He asked after looking through the list of applicants to which she responded to with a yes. "Do you perhaps have a resume with you?"

"Oh yes, of course." She replied handing her resume towards the older man.

The man read through her resume and inhaled.

"You got your Bachelor's Degree for Business Management at KAIST?"

"Yes. I graduated 3 years ago, sir."

"Do you think you've got enough knowledge about business management after graduating from a school that specializes in science and technology?"

"The school might specialize in Science and Technology, sir, but just because that's what the school focuses on, it doesn't mean that it's what I actually focus on. I don't believe that the name of your school actually helps. I did not go to KAIST just for bragging rights, sir. I came to KAIST to study about business management and although it might seem unusual for a KAIST graduate to be here, here I am in front of you, sir. I am here because I trust myself and I believe I have worked hard enough. Even if I didn't go to KAIST and just went to some other college, I believe I would still be here, because I know to myself that I worked for it and that I am worthy and deserving to be standing here right now, sir." She replied causing the middle aged man to raise an eyebrow and nod ever so slightly.

"What do you think can you offer our company that others can't." He said flipping the pages of her resume

She stayed silent for a moment and said "My presence, sir. I can offer you my presence and involvement." She smiled

The man slowly, turned his head towards her direction, intrigued by her answer and urged her to continue with a nod.

"I doubt that they can ever offer that to your company, sir. Other people tend to be ignorant, sir because it's their mentality to think that they should never get involved with other people's businesses. But for me, sir. I will make my presence known and speak my mind. I will never be afraid of getting involved or getting in trouble if it's for the mass. Everything that happens in a company, every letter typed, every photocopied document, every ring of the phone - it involves someone's job which means it's my business too and that I already am involved."

The man nodded and smiled at her answer before looking at the woman standing behind him who was doing the same thing.

"Well then Ms. Park, the company will contact you this week and you will be e-mailed too if by chance the call doesn't go through." Mr. Im said

"Noted, sir. Thank you for your time." She said and stood up, bowing one last time as the woman escorted her out.

After stepping out of the conference room, she quickly made her way to the restroom and calmed herself.

"That went too fast. My heart is about to jump off of my chest. What do I do. They'll never hire me." She said fanning her face rapidly. She then the faucet and wet her face. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. "Snap out of it Park Ahyoung. You'll be fine. Stay still."

Once she was calm enough, she wiped her face with a paper towel and headed out.

"Here you go Mr. Hwang." She said while she handed the visitors pass to the man over the counter after looking at his name tag.

The man grabbed the laminated piece of paper from her and signed a sheet of paper. Suddenly he looked up and stood rather abruptly before bowing and greeting someone else. Ahyoung turned around and saw another man clad in a well ironed suit with two people following behind him. The man returned Mr. Hwang's greeting and walked towards the elevators. 'Must be someone from the higher levels'  She thought and faced Mr. Hwang who was looking for the ID she gave when she arrived in the ID card slots that were on the wall. "Here. Have a nice day." He greeted, handing her the small card. Ahyoung bowed one last time before making her way towards the exit.

 

 

 

"Thank you so much!" She said through the phone and hung up.

She sighed a breath of relief and smiled to herself before dialing another number. The phone rang a couple side before the person picked up. "Mom" She said recieving a happy hum in reply. "Im Corp. hired me."

There was a short pause on the line before her mom spoke up. "Really? When will you start?" Her mom asked "On Monday."

"That's three days away. Do you need anything?" "No mom. It's alright. But I have to go now since I still have to cook my lunch. Bye!" She said "Okay, honey. Stay safe! Congratulations." Her mom said before hanging up.

She put her phone on the counter top and entered the kitchen.

Ahyoung hummed as she rummaged through her cabinets and her fridge. "Now what do I cook?" she asked herself. "Forget it. I'm ordering unhealthy food." Chuckling, she closed the fridge door and grabbed her phone.

After ordering, she lied down on the couch and the television holding the remote control with one hand and the other supporting her head. A few minutes later, her phone rang cutting off her laughter. "Hey Hyemi" She said picking up the phone.

"Did you get the call?" the girl asked from the other line

"Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you. It hasn't been too long since they called." Ahyoung smiled

"So you're Ms. Secretary now?"

"Hyemi! We've talked about this."

"Yeah. But I mean, why choose to be a secretary when your dad clearly offers you the 'Director' spot in his company? Don't you think it's too much of a waste?" ranted Hyemi

"Hyemi, you know my reasons. I don't want people to see me as 'the girl who got a high position just because of her father'. That seems unfair. I just want to prove first that I am worth something and work my way up just like they do." She paused and sat up. "My dad supports me in this anyway."

"Fine. It's up to you anyway. I have to go now. Call me if you need anything!" Hyemi said

"Alright, mom." She joked and chuckled before ending the call.

As if on cue, her doorbell rang. Ahyoung stood up from the couch, put on a sweater over her tank top, grabbed her wallet and made a bee line to the door.

"That'll be 15,000 won." The delivery guy said, staring at the beautiful lady before him

"Here you are." She said handing the money with one hand and grabbing the plastic bag with the other.

"Thank you. Have a nice day." The guy said

"You too. Have a safe trip." She replied and closed the gate before entering her house.

 

Ahyoung finished washing the plates she used and checked the time on the digital wall clock that hung above one of the cabinets in her kitchen and it read 'Friday, 2:07 pm'. She took a quick shower and dressed up, ready to go to the mall to get some more blouses and skirts to wear to work.

"Wallet, phone..." She mumbled checking her things "Keys!" She remembered and made her way to the counter where a bowl of keys were placed.

She walked over to her car and ignited the engine and off to the mall she went.

The mall wasn't too crowded and Ahyoung passed through several shops but none of them interested her. Soom. she came across a cafe and decidede to get coffee for herself. She entered the shop, got her order and was currently waiting for her drink at the claiming area, when a group of four professional- looking men entered the shop. 'Where did I see him before?' Ahyoung thought to herself, trying to recall where she encountered the man who was leading them. However, her thoughts were cut due to the barista calling for her attention.

"Thank you have a nice day." The barista said as she walked out of the shop.

7 paperbags later, she realized that the sun had set and decided to go home. Ahyoung threw the paper bags aside and changed into her sleep wear. She crawled into her sheets and almost immediately, she fell asleep.

 

The sound of Ahyoung's alarm clock echoed through the room, causing her to flutter her eyes open. Ahyoung pressed the snooze button and sat up on her bed. She squinted her eyes to adjust to the sunlight coming from the big windows beside her bed and looked at the alarm clock. '6