"I'm here! I'm here!"

He wasn't. In fact, he was barely through the door, running toward the conference table, where the rest of us had been sitting for a good eight minutes. I turned to my mother, who valued promptness above all else, but she wouldn't look at me. Nobody likes an I Told You So.

"Sorry," Sehun said as he basically threw himself, panting, into the seat beside me. A chair on wheels, it began rolling, putting him in motion as he added, "There was an accident on Main Street."

Wooyoung, across the table, followed his movement with his eyes, intrigued. He always loved a crappy show. I said, "Didn't you walk here, though?"

"Yes," Sehun answered, putting out a hand, finally, to  stop himself. Then he grabbed the side of the table and began trying to return the chair into position, one clumsy pull at a time. "But I had to stop and" - yank - "rubberneck. I'm only" - yank - "human."

I seriously thought my mom would just go ahead and fire him that second. He was late. Clearly inept. And still yanking. Instead she said, "Was everyone okay?"

"Looked like it. Airbag deployed, though, and there was an ambulance." Finally back where he'd begun at the table, he settled into his chair, then pulled a hand through his hair. That one strand tumbled, and a piece of pink boa, stringy and wavering, rose up above him. No one else seemed to notice. "I could've gotten more details, but it was important to me that I be on time."

I rolled my eyes. "You weren't, though."

"Well, we're all here now, so let's get started," my mom said. "Sehun, first thing each morning we go over that day's schedule. You'll find it on that wall. Suzy, give him a notebook for notes, would you?"

After the tape dispenser incident, I had my reservations about trusting him with any office supplies. But I did as I was told, reaching across the table to pick up one of the yellow notebooks stacked there, along with a black pen from the nearby cup. When I gave it to Sehun, he looked content, centering it in front of him, and uncapping the pen. I watched as he wrote his name at the top, like he was heading his paper, followed by a number one with a dot.

"all of our upcoming events and tasks will be listed here," my mom said, gesturing to the white board behind her, which was divided into two sections. On one side was a calendar of that month, with all our events represented in Wooyoung's block print. The other was the current week, with more detailed listings of every meeting, task, and errand that needed completing. I was grateful to see KIMMY'S at the top of that day, Friday, which meant a two-hour drive by myself to enjoy the scenery.

1. WHITEBOARD IS SCHEDULE, Sehun wrote. The pen was squeaking.

"As you can see," my mom continued, "our next event is the Tiffany Hwang Wedding. We'll be supervising the rehearsal dinner tonight at the Mujin Armory. Tomorrow we'll have what we call a double hander, which means a church ceremony followed by a reception at another location.

2. TWO HANDS THIS WEEKEND, Sehun added to his list.

"You'll see the locations are abbreviated next to the schedule," Wooyoung added. "VC and SJ: Village Church and Sooyoung Hilling."

3. CODES ARE INVOLVED.

Why was I reading this? I made a point of looking away.

"As you can see," my mom was saying, "Wooyoung and I have three meetings today, and there is a lot to be done out of the office, most importantly the pickup of flowers. I'll expect you and Suzy to get that done first, and follow up with the rest of the errands."

"Wait, what?" I said. "We don't have to go to Kimmy's. That's a one person job."

"It's Sehun's first day. He's shadowing you, learning something new."

The pen squeaked again. I couldn't help myself: I looked.

4. I'M A SHADOW!

"I don't need help." I pointed to the board. "Look, it says right there that programs need to be folded and place cards organized. That's all inside work you guys can supervise from your meetings."

"I think it's better if he goes along for the flowers," she said. "You'll never know when you'll need an extra hand."

"Never," I said. "That's when. I never have. Ever."

Wooyoung, a hand under his chin, looked amused. Sehun said, "You guys, Suzy's not my number one fan. Although I thought that might've changed, after last night."

Wooyoung raised his brows. I heard my mom's chair creak as she turned to look at me, saying, "Last night?"

"Well, this sounds interesting," Wooyoung smirked.

"It's not," I assured him. "And it has nothing to do with work, which is what I thought we were supposed to be talking about."

"This girl, she's all business," Sehun said. "That's what I love about her. Short version is I saved her from an elf r."

"A grouper?" Wooyoung asked, confused. "Like a fish?"

"r. As in, one who s. Was groping. Has d." Sehun clicked his pen open, then shut. "It was on the dance floor, at this party."

"You were dancing?" Wooyoung asked. From his expression, you would've thought Sehun had said I'd stripped as well. "At a party?"

"Why is that so shocking?" I demanded.

He looked at my mom, and they both burst out laughing. Sehun clicked his pen open again.

5.  SUZY DOESN'T GET OUT MUCH.

"I'm going to Kimmy's," I announced, pushing out my chair with too much force; now I had to grab the table from rolling away. "I'll call on my way for the lunch order."

With this, I grabbed my purse and walked out of the conference room, making it clear decisions Had Been Made. And I really did feel that way, all the way to the front door of the office. Then my mom called my name.

I turned around to see her standing by the reception area. Her voice was low, confidential, as she came closer, "I need you to take Sehun with you."

"Why?"

"Because we have a very high-strung bride coming in here in 5 minutes, follwed by a potential client whose wedding could make us a lot of money. We won't be able to supervise can't risk another tape explosion."

"I don't understand why you hired him."

"Because his mother asked me to and swore he could actually be a good worker if directed appropriately." I made a face, conveying my doubt about this. "Other than me and Wooyoung, you're the best director I know."

"Don't kiss up to me. It's embarrassing."

She smiled. "You know, you might find you actually enjoy having company."

"I don't dislike people," I said. "I'm just not fond of him."

This was an important distinction, I felt. But she barely seemed to hear me, already turning to call his name as she gestured him to join us. He brought the pen and the notebook with him. Of course.

"They're expecting you by ten sharp," she told me, handing over her copy of the invoice. "Make sure you get everything ."

I took the paper from her, not answering, and turned back to the door. Before I could push it open, though, he reached around and did it for me. "After you."

My first thought was to just stop in my tracks, right where I was. The next was how bad-tempered I was acting, like a child. Strange how you could barely know a person and they were still able to bring out the worst in you. I took a breath, nodded at him, then stepped through the door. Up close, I saw there was another tiny pink feather in his hair.