The interns’ first day mostly composed of introductions, building tours, safety trainings and evacuation drills. Today – their second day – marks the official starting date of their interpretation training under the supervision of their newly-allocated mentors.

Ji Won knocked on the door to the director’s office.

“Come in,” Je Hoon’s voice sounded through.

She proceeded to enter and Je Hoon came into sight, dressed in a simple but elegant navy suit. He was sitting at his large mahogany desk, an arm resting on the desk’s surface while the other rested over his crossed legs. The superiority he exuded matched the expensive furniture that decorated the spacious interior of his office. Ji Won observed the numerous books that neatly lined a bookshelf, which took up the entire length of one wall. As she walked over to him, Je Hoon continued his discussion with the other two mentors who were standing in front of his desk.  

“Good morning Ms. Kang and Mr. Choi.” She brightly greeted and bowed her head. She then turned to face Je Hoon. “Good morning Director, I’m here to begin my training.”

Je Hoon dropped a mp3 player and a recorder onto his desk, “This is your first assignment. You will translate the Chinese audio into English while also recording yourself. I expect the recording to be submitted before lunch time.”

His assignment didn’t sound too difficult, Ji Won surprisingly thought, who had performed similar exercises at university.

“As you’re doing this, count the number of steps in the stairwell from ground to level 7. Any questions?” He added, as though his request was perfectly normal. Ji Won was puzzled as to what the point of this was, but she complied anyway and silently left the room.

“Why stairs?” Ms. Kang questioned, who was growing suspicious of his exact motives. “Don’t tell me you’re deliberately making things difficult for her just because you weren’t planning to take on any interns this year.”

“You’ll see.” Je Hoon simply replied, as though everything was going to play right to his plan. 

***

Ji Won stood on the top step of level 7’s flight of stairs. It didn’t matter what tasks the director threw at her, because she was determined to complete all of them. She wasn’t sure whether this strong sense of resolve stemmed from a newbie’s motivation or a desire to attain the director's acknowledgement. But she played the audio anyway and began translating as she climbed down the staircase, “The Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949…”

***

It was now noon, and Ji Won was back in the director’s office. She returned the mp3 player and recorder to Je Hoon, who didn’t even look up at her. “I’m done Director.”

Je Hoon handed her the company’s credit card, “Buy me two iced Americanos – one with and one without sugar – a chicken sandwich with extra lettuce and another one without cheese. Ms. Kang wants a soy chai latte with two teaspoons of brown sugar.”

Ji Won tried to type his request into her phone, her fingers clumsily stumbling across the screen’s keyboard. “Sorry, how many Americanos was that again?” She asked him, but Je Hoon showed no desire to answer her. “Ok, got it.” Thank goodness she was in a cheery mood today, otherwise she would’ve been tempted to spit into his coffee. Although she didn’t get the chance to record his entire list down, she was going to rely on her trustworthy short-term memory to successfully carry out his exact demands.  

“You’re not supposed to give out personal requests you know.” Ms. Kang reminded Je Hoon when Ji Won had disappeared. She sighed. “You really don’t like her, do you?”

“No. This is part of her training too.” Je Hoon explained briefly.

“What? Training her to run errands?”

“First of all, she was the one to accept my mentorship. And second of all, no, I’m training her attentiveness.”

“Wow, when Je Hoon becomes IAI’s chairman, I’m going to seek refuge elsewhere.” Mr. Choi teased.

***

Ji Won returned with a bag full of food and drinks. Her hair now messy from the strong wind outside. “An Americano without sugar and one with sugar, a chicken sandwich with extra lettuce and one without cheese, and a soy chai latte with two teaspoons of brown sugar.” She listed as she firmly placed each item onto Je Hoon’s desk, each making its own unique sound against the wooden surface. Then through clenched teeth she added, “Would you like anything else, Director?”  

Je Hoon nonchalantly sipped on his Americano. “How many steps from ground to level 7?”

“168.”

“Wrong. You counted 24 steps for one flight of stairs and multiplied that by 7. If it was that easy, I wouldn’t have assigned you to do that.” Although Ji Won didn’t want to admit it, he was right about her calculations. “Now summarize what the audio was about.”

Bloody hell, Ji Won thought. She had translated the audio and recorded herself just like he had assigned, but after having gone through everything, she couldn’t possibly remember what the audio was on about. She wracked through her short-term memory, willing it to rescue her, but all she got back was the list of food and drinks he had ordered.

Je Hoon heaved a heavy sigh, “Well?”

“It was about the Chinese umm…revolution...” She started off unconfidently, but couldn’t recall anything more.

“And?” He sternly urged her on.

She took a deep breath, followed by a moment of awkward silence. “I can’t recall, Director.” She finally admitted, mortified.  

He scoffed, “With your measly attention span, how do you expect to succeed as an interpreter? In a complex environment, you must be able to prioritize information in order of importance.” Je Hoon lectured her as she stood in front of him, feeling smaller than ever. “Imagine after lunch, some minister wants to discuss with you a prior meeting, but you tell him ‘I can’t recall’. How is IAI going to deal with the humiliation that you yourself was single-handedly responsible for?!” He infuriatingly questioned her, his voice rising towards the end.

She could feel tears starting to well up, but she wasn’t going to reveal them to him. Everything he said had been right, and because of that, she didn’t deserve to cry. She swore that if she cried then and there, she would never forgive herself and that she wouldn’t be the Kim Ji Won she had known from birth.

Ji Won inhaled deeply, her uneven breath audible to him. “Let me try again, Director.” She finally mustered, desperate to cling onto any hope he had in her, that is if there was any in the first place. Although he was certain not to express it, Je Hoon was at least pleased with her strength of character despite his harshness.

“There are five more recordings on that mp3 player, each lasting 90 minutes. Use those for the same assignment. Furthermore, you will write a 2-page summary in English for all of them. Report to me tomorrow morning, 8AM sharp.”  

“Yes Director.” She said, feeling a new wave of determination. She was going to succeed with her assignment, even if it was the last thing she’ll do.