You know how as kids, we’ve had really cool and wild imaginations? Having cool, sometimes really random superpowers, playing heroes and villains, meeting princes and princesses, ruling a kingdom and befriending magical creatures? At some point in our young lives, we’ve all created worlds that we had full control of, a world so beautiful we wished was true. Well, this story is quite similar to those that we imagined as kids. But somehow along the way, fantasy really did turn into reality.

---

“Hey, freak. Hey. Freak. I’m talking to you.”

You turned to see two kids passing by. A young girl, probably a grade-schooler, gripped the straps of her backpack tight as the young boy danced around her, a mischievous grin on his face.

“Are you walking to school with your invisible friend again?”

“Leave me alone,” she squeaked.

“What if I don’t want to? Will your friend beat me up?”

“Stop it.”

“Make me. Or ask your friend. Ask him now!”

“I said stop it!”

“Hey,” you stood up from your seat, taking a few steps towards the children. “Leave her alone.”

The young boy stared at you before making a face and running away. You looked down on the child and saw her on the verge of tears, her eyes glassy, her lips quivered.

“It’s okay. The big bully is gone.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Let’s go Red,” she said to her right and walked away.

You stared at the kid, watching her as she walked down the sidewalk. All of a sudden, her hair was tied in a ponytail, her bag a light shade of yellow with pretty flowers and birds painted on them, the very same bag you liked as a kid.

“Let’s go,” the kid says, her voice just like yours when you were young.

---

Mornings, afternoons, and evenings don’t make much of a difference to you. Whatever time you leave whether it’s your house or the office, everyone somehow leaves at the same time as you. It was quite annoying considering that you had no fixed schedule at all.

A decent number of people have gathered at the bus stop just as the bus slowed to a stop and your phone started ringing in your pocket. How timely, you thought as you answered your phone. “Yes, the bus just came. I’ll be there in an hour – 30 minutes? No there’s no problem. Yes, I’ll see what I can do–” and the line went off.

You sighed, placing your phone back in your pocket and got on the bus, choosing a seat right in front of the middle doors. The bus was slowly filled with both students and employees, all just minding their own business with their phones or their music players. Not like you were any different.

You shifted on your seat as a soft ‘excuse me’ reached your earphone-plugged ears, creating space for the stranger to sit beside you.

The engine rumbled and the bus came to life. Finally. They were taking ages to load passengers. It’s only been a few hours since your day has officially started and your boss has already phoned you twice, all because of the stupid delay for the photo shoot.

Working at a fashion magazine, there’s just no time for rest at all as everyone should be keeping up with the trend at all times. For this Spring season, they chose a theme that you weren’t completely excited about: blooming love in spring. Pastel colors of pink, orange, yellow and green covered every single area in the office from decors to what employees wore to somehow ‘get everyone in the spirit of things’ like your boss said.

As photo director, your task is to translate all these blooming feelings into the magazine’s photos and like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. But with the job requiring constant deadlines, phone calls, and meetups, you weren’t exactly in the mood to swoon about love.

Being photo director means endless connections with photographers, stylists, and models, taking care of all legal processes needed with photo shoots, not to mention being an idea bank and supervising everything from start to finish. Done right, you get to keep your job. Done wrong, you try not to imagine it.

Besides this, you were also sub-editor. Making sure the magazine was free from punctuation mistakes, bad grammar, outdated facts and sourcing-gone-wrong was also your responsibility. You also have to make sure the magazine does not turn into an encyclopedia.

And that’s only your main job. With the current lack of staffing (no thanks to your boss and her highly, sometimes unachievable standards), the position for print journalist is still empty. Jae, the former journalist, got fired 2 weeks ago. You weren’t entirely sure why but you have a feeling it’s because of his conflicting interests with the boss.  Since then, your boss has entrusted you temporarily for the spot.

But while being photo director helped you get into the feel for writing the content, going from place to place with all these dates and time constantly seeking your attention is just about to drive you nuts. Supervising photo shoots all day then meeting clients for interviews the next? What even is sleep anymore?

If it weren’t for the good pay and your (slowly dying) love for the job, you would’ve ditched it already. Fashion and art have always been an interest but as a job, it was slowly becoming tiresome; it was becoming a chore.

You waited for the others to get off the bus before getting off yourself. You looked down on your watch. Good. Still have enough time for a quick breakfast.

You made your way to your office building, stopping by at the coffee shop on the first floor, packed as always with robot-like employees waiting for their daily fuel.

“The usual?” the barista behind the counter asked with a smile prompting you to smile back.

“The usual,” you confirmed. “And throw in a chicken sandwich for me, thanks.” You moved to the side, checking your phone for emails. Again, work hasn’t started officially and you were swamped. Great.

“Here you go,” the barista smiled, handing you your drink and sandwich. “Have a great day!”

“Hope so,” you whispered, turning back before nearly colliding with someone.

“Ah! Sorry!”

You jumped back just in time, taking a quick glance at your clothes making sure nothing was spilled. It’s bad enough that your boss has been requiring your presence since you opened your eyes this morning. It’ll be a bigger disaster once she sees anything not fashion worthy on you. You sent a quick glare to the person who bumped you before walking around him. “What a great day I’m having,” you grumbled.

“Sorry!” the voice called out again.

---

You walked out of the elevator and into the office headquarters right ahead. The place was swamped with racks of pastel-colored clothes being moved around, small offices filled with photos of all sizes, some with mannequins and old props. Past these confined rooms was an open space with small workstations all over, also known as your sweet ol’ office.

The guy seated at the station to your left looked up from his screen as you passed by, a bright smile making its way on his tan face.

“She swoops in and saves the day!”

“Oh shut up.” You tossed your bag on the desk and sat on your chair, waking your computer up from its slumber.

“If you’ve come any later, she probably would’ve filed a missing person ad on all our social media accounts. She’s already asked for you four times!”

You glanced at the biggest room in the office a few feet from your small workstation. Not a shadow moved behind its shade-covered glass divisors but you knew better.

“Hey, Mingyu. How long has she been there?”

“Dunno. The shades were already drawn down when I got here.”

As though sensing someone’s talking about her behind her back, a shadow crossed behind the shades, momentarily making you and Mingyu freeze in your seats before finally moving away.

“I swear she has secret microphones and cameras all over here,” you breathed. “What time did you get here?”

Mingyu smiled sheepishly, shrinking in his seat. “10 minutes ago?”

You shook your head, getting your attention back towards your computer screen. Like you saw before, your email was flooded varying from delivery statuses, venue permissions to interview schedules.

As part of the creative team, being the second to the last step of the whole process doesn’t really mean that there’s less pressure on deadlines or fewer mishaps that could happen. Take the clothes and props needed for the shoot for example. The delivery was supposed to arrive last week but got delayed due to the weather. Not a valid reason according to your boss, of course.

Mingyu whistled. “Heads up. Interviewee at 11 o’clock.”

You looked up from your screen in time to see the back of the receptionist, guiding someone in your boss’s office before closing the door and walking past your spot.

“Hey Hana!” you called her attention. “Journalist?”

She nodded. “I heard he passed the initial interviews easily. I saw his résumé and it was pretty impressive. He’s here for the final interview with her.”

“Great,” you muttered as Hana walked away. “We’re probably going to lose another potential co-worker.”

Mingyu smiled sympathetically. “Don’t say that. I think the search will be ending today.”

“I hope so,” you sighed, your eyes studying your memo-filled calendar. “I’m dying over here.”

The phone next to your computer rang, the red notification light on it blinking furiously as if to prove a point. “What did I say?” you muttered before picking it up.

“Good morning, this is Y/N speaki–it is? That’s great! I’ll head over there now. Alright. Thank you.”

You ended the phone call, pressing the number two for Hana’s line. “Hey. Can you send someone from the beauty department to go with me today? I’ll be needing him at Insa-dong while I check Inhwa. Yeah, the shipment just arrived so I’ll be starting with the preparations. Yes, that’ll help me a lot. I’ll handle the photography team. Thanks!”

You closed the computer and leafed through the folders and found the one you needed. You grabbed your stuff, putting them all back into your bag when a low voice spoke.

“Uhm excuse me?”

“Well that was fast,” you said, checking your desk for anything else you might’ve forgotten. “Let me just take care of something before we go. Mingyu, if she looks for me, tell her I’m doing my job.”

You walked through the halls as fast as you could in 4-inch heels. The shipment wasn’t expected to arrive soon based from the last update. If you’ve known, you would’ve worn something less painful. You felt a rush in your body, your steps getting faster as you passed by busy rooms. Finally, you thought. You can finally get some productive work done.

“Alright, so I need you to phone 4 people for hair and 4 for makeup and give me the list as soon as possible. You’ve all been oriented before about the theme right?”

“Uh–”

“Please tell me you all still remember. We don’t have time to re-orient everyone. Just make those phone calls and give me a list of who’s available. And clothing stylists. Ask Jin who and how many he can lend for us for this week. I’ll be sending the call sheet as soon as the team gets finalized. Everything’s prepared in Insa-dong. Just do a double check later. Also, I need every single detail about the clothes and make-up we’ll be using to be accurate. The last one got the price for the retailer’s and consumer’s mixed up. Are you writing this down?”

You continued to drone on until you came to a big clear room and went in. Photos of all sizes covered the walls and tables, some posters and stands placed at the side. “Hey, Mina. Can you phone some photographers for me?”

“For the shoot?” she answered, walking towards a desk. “I got some names for you. Hana called me a while ago,” she smiled giving you the list.

A smile made its way on your face. What’s with everything suddenly turning around for you? “Thanks. The mood board?”

“I’ve sent samples already. Those on the list confirmed with the theme and schedules. We just need your decision.”

You smiled at her only to notice her cheeks turning red. “Hey. Are you okay?”

“Ah. Y-yeah.”

You knit your brows and went back on the list. “Well, I’ll call you later. Thank you lots!”

You turned in time for the assistant to get out of your way. “Now that that’s done, we can now go and do some more work.” You felt your pockets for your phone before realizing you left it charging in your station. With a groan, you walked back to the office with the assistant right behind you.

“Back so soon?” Mingyu asked looking up from his computer screen.

“Forgot my phone,” you said checking your battery. Last night’s editing was too tedious you just went to bed without charging your phone.

“I’m guessing that you’re in a hurry? The tour was pretty interesting though,” the low voice spoke.

You looked up and instantly your mind went blank. Working in the fashion industry, beautiful people surrounded you all the time. Models, bosses, even the family members of those bosses… But the thing was, they were mostly all dolled up. High fashion clothes, branded makeup, lots of things decorated those people. But this person, this guy standing right in front of you…

His hair was a messy dark brown, his fringe just a little past his eyebrows. His eyes were rich brown and held so much soul in them you can’t help but stare. One second, they shone with wonder and excitement in them. The next, they’re piercing, seeing through you with so much seriousness and mystery. His nose…like it was carved by angels themselves and his cheeks looked so soft and smooth you had to stop your hand from touching them. And accented by the cute little mole on the upper right corner, his lips looked so full and…inviting.

He cleared his throat, shifting his weight from one foot to another. “Is this still part of the new-employee test thing?”

Your focus darted back to the bigger picture, your eyes turning round once you realized how close your face was to him.

“I mean, this is not the first time this happened,” you managed to catch the words he muttered to himself.

“Sorry!” you blurted, leaning away from him. “I was…I thought you were…” You glanced at the side to see a snickering Mingyu behind his computer before turning back to the stranger. “I’m sorry. Who are you?”

“I’m the new journalist. I just got hired,” he said with a smile.

“Oh. Uh,” your eyes went back to scan his face, a faint sense of recognition dawning over you. “Haven’t I seen you before?”

The small smile on his face fell, his face knitted in concentration. God. How can a person look so beautiful? He mused a bit more before his eyes lightened up. “Ah! The bus! I sat next to you on the bus on the way here. I remember now. You were wearing earphones, right?”

“That long ago? I was thinking more like an hour ago. Downstairs at the coffee shop? I almost spilled my coffee because of you.”

“Well, I did apologize. Twice, actually.”

“Right. You did.” You studied him some more, taking in his appearance in detail. He was tall and slim and had insanely good proportions. The way he posed in his clothes can easily fool anyone into thinking that he was a model instead of a journalist. How could a person look so good in simple black pants and a plain dress shirt?

His face was obviously beautiful too. It’s not something you would forget easily. So why does it feel like you’ve seen him before?

Was it from your old place? There were quite a few with all the moving you and your family did. Or maybe from school? But no. You would’ve remembered. You would’ve definitely remembered.

“Huh.”

He raised an eyebrow, a small arrogant smile forming on his lips. “Had a good look yet? I was told I had lots to do so…”

You frowned. You would’ve totally remembered someone like him. “I’ll welcome you but I have lots more to do. Have you been assigned on anything yet?”

He shook his head. “The boss said she’ll leave it up to you.”

“Of course, she did,” you rolled your eyes. There she goes again, deciding things by herself. “Well, you can sit there,” you motioned at the cluttered station at your right. “You could just put them at the side. I needed the space so that happened.” You eyed him a bit more as he studied his new workstation before deciding he was probably no one. “The shoot will most likely be this week. I’ll let you work on that. For now, Mingyu will orient you on the basics and get you used to things here until I get back later.”

He looked up at you and smiled so nonchalantly it was slightly unnerving.

“Excuse me? Y/n? Sorry, I just arrived. It was a mess on our side,” a voice behind you spoke.

You turned to see one of the girls from the beauty department, panting and fixing her hair. Oh. It’s the real one, you thought. You turned back at the two before giving the new journalist a last look.

“I’ll be going then.” You your heel with the assistant following right behind you and out of the office.

“Sup,” Mingyu greets him with a nod, earning him a simple smile back.

The new guy stood up from his seat and hovered in front of your desk. It was quite full with folders stacked on one side, a huge calendar pinned on your wall, and a couple of photos here and there. Some, he recognized, were probably for other projects with a checklist resting on top. The others rested just behind your computer monitor. One was you, Mingyu, and some other people he’s seen from today’s tour. The other was a simple photo of a scenery from the countryside with, what he assumed was, a young you smiling for the camera.

“Found it!” Mingyu announced holding a folder. “I’ve got the old handbook they made me read before. Let’s start?”

---

You stepped out of the elevator, your shoulders slumped as you dragged yourself inside the office, greeting Hana a little unenthusiastically. You were met by good nights and goodbyes by some of the employees as they headed out from their offices.

You sat down on your chair, waiting for your computer to turn on before looking around. No one was there. You sighed as you focused your attention back to your emails. There were lots of new ones, though not as much as you received this morning (which to be honest was such a huge relief).

You answered them, typing away updates quickly before Mingyu walked into the room.

“How was it?”

“Tiring. Productive but tiring.” You looked around him before going back to your emails. “The new journalist. He’s gone home?”

“Nah. He’s in the toilet. Hey, I was thinking.”

“Uh oh,” you teased with a slight smile.

Mingyu sighed before going around your station, standing right in front of you. “Let’s go out on a drink. Kind of a welcoming party for him. Aaaand as a celebration for the project finally progressing. What do you say?” he smiles. “Come on. We deserve a little break.”

You pressed your lips into a thin line before breaking into a smile mirroring his. “Sounds fun!”

 

“Wait. So you’re the photo director and the sub-editor?”

You nodded lazily, your eyes feeling heavier by the moment. After making sure your boss already went home, you decided to go to a nearby bar with Hana, Mina, Mingyu and the new journalist for a light dinner and to have some fun.

Resting your chin on your palm, your eyes went to the line of bottles in front of you. Just how many have you been drinking for the past hour now, you can’t exactly remember. It didn’t really matter anyway. You deserved some time off from all the pressures of the world. Anyway, the purpose of this was to celebrate, right?

The new journalist sat beside you at the bar, his fingers turning the bottle in his hand absentmindedly. “Wait. Isn’t that supposed to be a job for two separate people?”

“You see,” you willed your eyes not to close, “we’re kinda…short with staffing.”

He frowned or at least a blurred image of him did. “That’s not fair to you.”

“Yeah? Well, welcome to the real world,” you sighed, taking a swig of your drink.

His lips were tugged into a small smile before he took a drink from his own bottle, sitting comfortably as he looked at the surroundings.

“Hey,” you started. “We haven’t introduced ourselves properly yet.  I’ll be needing your name if we’ll be working together. My name is –”

“Y/n.”
“Right,” you said, suppressing a smile. The way he said your name…it was almost like it belonged there. “Right. Mingyu probably told you,” you said laying your eyes on him, trying to steady his image in front of you. “And you are?”

He tilted his head slightly, his eyes glinting with amusement. “You can call me anything you like.”

“You know,” you scoffed, folding your arms, “that pick up line is sooo last yea–”

You caught yourself, your eyes going back to him as though someone just shook you awake from your sleep. It was like one of those scenes in movies where everything seems to slow down to a stop while the surroundings get rewound fast. A frighteningly clear image of a younger you playing by yourself formed right before your eyes. And right next to you was something – someone else.

“What do I name you?” you asked looking at your right.

“You made me,” a voice said. A shimmering image of another child cleared up, slowly taking a physical form. It was a boy, crouched next to you, watching as you played with the sand. “You can call me anything you like.”

“Y/n? What is it?”

You opened your mouth but found no words. It can’t be.

“Hmmm,” the young you mused.

“So? What will my name be?”

“I know!” You turned to him with a wide smile on your face.

“Hey, you two! Come on!” Mingyu called from a table a few feet from where you two were sitting.

“Coming!” He called back before turning to you and smiled. “Let’s go.”

You watched him walk back towards the table and cheered with Mingyu. Finally, you spoke, your voice barely audible.

“Junhui?”