16 times it took her, 16 times of crawling up and down those wicked stairs for Ji Won to finally conclude on the number 171. Each flight of stairs did indeed consist of 24 steps, but the 4 extra steps from ground to level 1 had wanted to destroy her reputation at the IAI. 

It’s been almost a month since she had started her internship. Her days were scheduled with daily interpretation exercises, oral and written tests, lectures given by international guest speakers, and private interview practice with the director. And when she had time to spare, which was seldom, she would simultaneously count steps and translate recorded voice audio into different languages.  

Ji Won had already become accustomed to the director’s stubborn strictness. Although she had detested this at first, she did notice a considerable improvement to her interpretation speed and accuracy, and of course, to her attentiveness. Thus, she was grateful for the director’s rigorous training method. In fact, she no longer harboured any resentment towards him, even to the point of occasionally feeling at ease around him.

“1.7.1.” She said, articulating each number slowly and clearly, then proceeded to place his sugarless Americano, teriyaki chicken wrap with sweet chilli sauce and kimbap roll onto his desk. Her calf muscles ached, but she hid any sign of pain away from him.    

“You’ll no longer be running any errands,” Je Hoon ordered. “We’re not training waitresses here. Although you’re an expert on that, aren’t you?” Ji Won clenched her teeth at his spiteful remark, which was accompanied by a cheeky smirk plastered on his usually stern face. But she wasn’t going to allow anything ruin her cheerful mood today, so she simply thought of it as cute. Because describing him as ‘cute’ probably wouldn’t sit very comfortably with him, and the thought of that only pleased her.

“Tomorrow evening,” he continued, “we’ll be sending you interns out into the field. A cocktail party hosted by Korea's Chamber of Commerce will be held at the Grand Hyatt hotel with international guests there who’ll be sure to engage you. We mentors will be assessing yours and the other interns' performance from the sidelines. It starts at six, do not be late.”

***

The function room on the top level of Grand Hyatt was dimly illuminated by a warm light. Large crystal chandeliers drooped from the ceiling, casting shimmery reflections onto the glass windows that looked out onto Seoul’s bustling nightlife. The mid-sized interior of the room was furnished with neutral-toned pieces, which added a slight coziness to the room’s classy feel. And the final touch of jazzy instrumentals graced the room with a soothing, almost romantic ambience.

Je Hoon sat by the bar, one foot planted firmly on the carpet while he placed the other upon the barstool’s footrest. He wore an all-black Dior suit, which had a soft sheen to it; and he left his blazer ed, revealing a slim-fit dress shirt paired with an elegant black tie.

He shuffled his glance around the room, now filled with people who stood in little cliques chatting amongst each other, cocktails in hand. His eyes automatically landed on Ji Won, who was conversing with two American men. He observed her from his seat; how she donned a black bodycon dress with long lace sleeves which flawlessly contoured her slender figure, and how she finished her alluring look with a pair of black strappy heels. Her silky dark hair was loosely done up into a low bun, baring her neck to him. He lifted a wine glass to his lips as he took in the full sight of her, taking a sip of the luscious red liquor. She was stunning he thought, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.  

Je Hoon’s close friend, Gwang Soo, approached him. “I see that the quality of interns this year has definitely reached a new peak.”

“Who are you specifically referring to?” Je Hoon asked, his eyes still on Ji Won. Gwang Soo traced the direction of Je Hoon’s line of sight and pointed to her.

“Your outfits even match.” Gwang Soo teased, but when Je Hoon displayed no signs of discomfort, his friend took this as permission to continue joking around. “Well…if you don’t like her, how about you introduce me? I’ve been having bad luck with women lately.” He said, exaggerating a disgruntled frown.

“Like that’s new.” Je Hoon remarked nonchalantly, then took another sip of wine. “I’ll introduce you to her later.”

***

“Look, I’d love to hire you if you’re willing to work for my company. I’ll even triple the pay you currently receive from IAI.” Bernard offered to Ji Won in his heavily American-accented Korean.  

“Thanks for the offer Bernard, but I’m not planning on leaving IAI anytime soon. Although I think I can recommend you to a few of my juniors, who’d be more than happy to work for you.”

“Come with me. I’ll give you the recruitment documents.” Bernard led her outside the hotel where his car was parked. He reached through the driver's window to grab some documents then continued to discuss the job vacancy.

"I know someone who majored in French, she'd be perfect since you deal with a lot of business in France." Ji Won suggested. 

"Look Ji Won, I'm more interested in y-"

“What’s going on here?” The abrupt sound of Je Hoon's voice took Ji Won by surprise.

“Je Hoon, my friend!” Bernard greeted. “I’m offering Ji Won a position at my company, tripling her current pay at IAI, and guess what? She has gladly accepted.” Je Hoon tried to control his temper upon hearing this, but he couldn’t prevent the look of outrage that began to emerge on his face.

“No, I never. Wha-”

“Come with me.” Je Hoon indignantly ordered her. Why did the news of her wanting to leave him enrage him so? In his mind, he insisted that her absence wouldn't mean a thing to him, and yet he couldn't make sense of the anger that bubbled within. He grabbed her wrist, as though immaturely snatching her back from her attempt to escape, and dragged her to his Audi car. He opened the door to the front passenger seat and led her in. Then after having gotten into the car himself, he sped off, the tyres screeching against the asphalt ground.