Hyemi rushed through the halls of the mortuary holding the funeral of a beloved Creative Director Yoon, who was her mentor and the person she had looked up to from the company. 

She had gotten the call early Sunday morning, apologizing to her family that she couldn’t stay any longer before rushing back to Seoul that very same day.

The halls were bustling with people from the company, coworkers, and family when she got there. 

“I heard it was after the shoot”

“She always stayed up all night…”

“She’s always tired. People said it was an accident and she wasn’t looking”

Hyemi placed a white flower on the table, closing her eyes to pay her respects. She glanced at the picture of the director as she thought back to one of their past conversations. 

-Flashback-

“In the future, I want to be just like you Director Yoon” said Hyemi smiling.

“What are you saying? Just don’t feel sorry for me in the future, haven’t you heard people saying that I work too much and that I can’t meet men” said Director Yoon. 

“Me? Feel sorry for you? Why?” Asked Hyemi with her eyes widened. “I really do think you are the best.”

“Thanks” said Director Yoon smiling at the young girl standing in front of her. “I have a meeting now, so I'll see you later.”

-end of flashback-

Hyemi left the room and found a seat at a table where they served food in mortuaries.

“It’s been so long!”

Hyemi was sitting with two coworkers, Donghyun and  Eunchan who worked at a different floor in the company. Hyemi looked up to find Soojin, who use to work at their company, holding a baby. 

“Hyemi! What a surprise, I see that you’re here too” said Soojin smiling, taking a seat next to her.

“Oh! Soojin-“ Hyemi glanced at the baby in her arms with questioning eyes.

“Ah, I had no one to watch her” Soojin said putting down her bag. “I heard that our Director Yoon passed away, so of course I had to be here.”

“No, it’s not that…” Hyemi said shaking her head. “I was just…didn’t you just get married last summer?”

“To be honest, I was already pregnant with the baby when I was in my wedding dress…” Soojin said shyly covering her baby’s ears as if the baby could understand.

“Geez, you move rather quickly…” said Donghyun surprised. “You sure are impatient.”

I’m not surprised that she brought a baby to a funeral… I’m surprised that a girl 2 years younger than me is a mother…

“Oh yeah!” Said Soojin breaking Hyemi out of her thoughts, “Weren’t you planning on getting married too? You had a boyfriend right? Didn’t you guys date for 3 years?”

“Right! I heard he was handsome and wealthy too” Added Eunchan before Hyemi could respond.

“I remember the girls in the company saying they were envious of you” said Donghyun. Hyemi slammed her spoon down onto the table.

“We broke up.”

“What…why?” Asked Soojin. “What a waste, seriously… he was both handsome and wealthy… Didn’t the creative director not get married too?”

“She was always focused on work and she was great at her job” said Eunchan remembering their director. “Look at how many awards she won last year…”

“Yeah, I wonder why she didn’t get married.” Said Donghyun. “being alone is lonely, plus you leave nothing behind.”

“What do you mean she left nothing behind? She left her work behind!” Said Hyemi raising her voice slightly. “She was great at it too, so why did she have to get married?”

“Still…you should get married…” Said Donghyun. 

“why?! Do us girls have to live by society’s rules and get married?” Asked Hyemi. 

“Here you go with your temper again! No wonder your boyfriend broke up with you. Because you lose your temper all the time, it’s no wonder you aren’t married yet!” Argued Donghyun suddenly.

“Donghyun… hey stop man” said Eunchan pushing Donghyun back. “Hyemi he didn’t mean-“

Hyemi glared at Donghyun as she slammed her chopsticks on the table before getting up, leaving the room. She stood in the hallway looking at her mentor’s picture, tears welding up in her eyes not noticing that her team leader had just walked in. She ran out of the building and into an alleyway before breaking down, not knowing how long she had stayed there crying.

After 30 minutes, Sehun walked out of the mortuary after paying his respects to the director. He walked to his parked car and got in. Looking up from his seat, he noticed Hyemi crouched down in an alley with her hands covering her face. 

Hyemi suddenly got up and wiped her tears before running back into the mortuary. Taking off her black blazer and heels, she walked into the eating area to help serve food throughout the night. Oh Sehun followed after he into the mortuary and hid behind a wall, gazing over to see what Hyemi was doing. 

“What good did it do for her to be at work all the time?” Said Donghyun loudly, purposely making sure Hyemi had heard. “She died while working. Did she have anything besides work?”

Hyemi ignored his comment and continued to help out in the cafeteria until late that night.

She didn’t know when, but by the time everyone had left, she was crouched down in front of the kitchen counter, and had fallen asleep with her knees pulled to her chest. Sehun crouched down besides her, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. He gazed at her with a small smile before taking his leave