This was a mistake. 

Ji Won replayed those words in her head until her mind went numb, until they had put her to sleep for the past several nights. It’s been almost two weeks since they’ve returned to Seoul, and she hadn’t seen or heard from Je Hoon after he took a direct flight from Jeju to China for an emergency business trip. During this time, she had thrown herself into studying for the internship exams to distract herself from thoughts of him. Although occasionally, she would fall helpless to them when they sneakily trickled into her consciousness. 

She absentmindedly stared at her reflection in the mirror as those words unwelcomingly visited her once more, then shook her head to snap out of it and continued to ready herself for work. She pulled on a turquoise t-shirt which she tucked into a pair of white wide-leg cropped pants, slipped on an old pair of silver flats then grabbed her bag and headed out the door.  

Today was exam D-Day, so comfort was her top priority, as opposed to outwardly appearances. When she arrived at IAI, there were ten minutes to spare before the commencement of the first of three written exams. She switched to exam mode. That meant absolute concentration, no distractions, no Je Hoon. Because of this, she was completely oblivious when Je Hoon had stepped out of his office and had immediately taken a glimpse at her. She simply turned into the exam hall and took her allocated seat. It was as though her mind had transformed into steel machinery, one that had a single objective to process: to pass the internship exams.  

*** 

"It's been a long day, but congratulations for finishing," the Chairman of IAI began, addressing the assembly of interns from various language departments: French, Chinese, English, Japanese, etc. "You've all ought to be very proud of yourself. However, one important assessment still remains, because we’ll also be testing your ability for simultaneous interpretation." 

Ji Won's head shot up from the word 'simultaneous'. She was already frightened by the mere thought of entering those cage-like simultaneous interpreter booths, where she knew her claustrophobia will work like a witch's curse.    

"But Sir, you've never mentioned anything about simultaneous interpretation before!" One of the panicked interns chimed in.  

"And that is precisely why we are going to give you a generous three weeks to practise with your assigned mentors. Most interpreters would choose to specialise in either consecutive or simultaneous interpretation. However, we aim to train you up to become elitists, and thus you will be learning the skills of both. Only those who meet our standards will be accepted to IAI." He paused for emphasis. "This final assessment will require you to translate a ten minute voice audio of random, and it’ll officially mark the end of your probationary internship until further notice. Feel free to use the simultaneous interpreter booths in theatre five. In fact, I’d highly recommend that you do."    

Three weeks was barely enough time for Ji Won to overcome her fear of simultaneous interpreter booths. It wouldn't be anything short of a miracle if she did, but she knew that that was mission impossible. So instead, her goal was to tolerate her fear, to desensitize herself through constant exposure to small, enclosed spaces. After all, claustrophobia was innate within her, and she just had to somehow learn to live with it.      

She waited for night to approach, when all the interns had left IAI, and for the cleaners to finish their evening routine. Finally, when the coast was clear, she headed to theatre five where the booths were situated. As she battled each hesitant step of the way, she scolded herself: you have no time for this. She had to start training immediately, and even if every being inside her fought against the idea, she was going to force it upon them. As she was about to enter the booth, her unmoving hand on the door knob, she had to remind herself once more: this is your dream. 

*** 

It was 9PM. After two business trips, Je Hoon's workload seemed to have piled up exponentially. Not to mention, his lawyer-turned-politician father needed his help at the Blue House next week, and he has yet to prepare for that. He loosened his tie as he stared at the leather couch inside his office – his bed for the next several nights. Then he reminisced how Ji Won would study there while he was working at his desk, how she would occasionally steal glances at him thinking they would go unnoticed. He chuckled. How was she, he wondered. He allowed thoughts of her to distract him momentarily, touching his lips when their kiss revisited his mind, now for the hundredth time.  

This was a mistake. 

Was it? Did he mean it? He rubbed his temples as he struggled to figure himself out. Why did he say that? When the answer stubbornly refused to show itself, he threw his thoughts aside and returned his attention to work. It was when he headed to the kitchen for some much-needed caffeine that he noticed the lamp in one of the simultaneous interpreter booths still lit. 

He opened the door to the booth, only to have the tormenting sight before him rip apart the muscle fibres of his heart. There Ji Won was, curled up in the corner, her sweat-stained face stripped of any colour, her terror-stricken eyes begging him to save her.