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Day 3: Lunch Date With the Trio

Irene bounded off her parents car, eager to get a head start on her third day. She'd missed the company, surprisingly, a mere two days after the weekend break. Irene thought the normally too short two-day weekend dragged along for way too long: even meeting up with Seulgi didn't stop her building impatience. Her parents turned to each other in surprise.

"Yeo-bo, what a turnaround!" exclaimed Irene's mother.

His eyes glinted. "I always knew she had it in her. Our daughter. Who can resist her?"

Irene's mother giggled as she leaned against him. They drove back home hand in hand.

---

Irene jumped a little as she turned a corner saw Rin leaning over her table. "Morning! Something wrong?"

Rin turned back, startled, then relaxed when her eyes focused on Irene. “Mr. Cha made lunch reservations for you and three other coworkers- we thought it’d be nice to introduce you to each other. They're closest to your age in the company."

“Okay… with Mr. Cha?” said Irene, processing this load of information. She was planning on getting to know the others without forced arrangements, but this will do to.

“He’s a busy man,” chuckled Rin.

Irene low-key freaked out, wondering if she’d be capable sitting through a lunch with these oppas: sure, their ages were similar, but they are different. She’s still a student, they are experienced professionals. She caught Rin’s arms as she turned to leave. Rin gave her a sympathetic pat on her head. “You’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

Irene jotted down some notes. Okay, Chanyeol’s definitely one… who are the other two? Wait… three other coworkers? They only told me about two new recruits...

---

“Working hard, hnn?”

Irene raised her head to the deep voice, lips parting a little as she looked right into the face of Chanyeol, who had his hands set on the back of her chair. He gulped as her smooth, long hair slid onto and off his hands, then hurriedly continued, "I was thinking, maybe you wouldn't know where the place is. It's hidden in an unpopular section of the mall..." his voice trailed off as he looked at her.

Irene didn't notice his change in attitude. She heaved a sigh of relief and logged out of her computer, then stretched her sore body. She’d totally hug him in relief now if that were possible. Chanyeol grabbed her cards and purse for her, then rushed ahead to open the doors and let her through before stepping through himself, making Irene giggle and feel like she was an important royalty. As they waited alone for the elevator in the space outside of the office glass doors, she took the opportunity to ask him about his day's work.

"I can show you what I'm doing after lunch if you're interested," he offered, chuckling as he saw her light up with excitement. "Nothing fancy to show-off, though." A sheepish grin that formed a single dimple to the left of his face. Irene quickly looked away before her hands reach out uncontrollably and grab his soft-looking cheeks.

Irene bowed at Mr. Xiu as he joined the two waiting for the elevator. He grinned. “Yeollie, taking the intern out for lunch today?”

Chanyeol responds smoothly, “I’ll be sure to rejoin you guys tomorrow for lunch.”

Mr. Xiu tried again, “is this a little date I caught?” hands pointing at the two, wearing a knowing smile on his face.

“No, no, no. I wish. Mr. Cha organized a lunch meeting,” explained Chanyeol with a laugh. Irene managed to laugh along with a vehement shake of her head, then sunk into deep thought about whether Chanyeol was serious or cracked a terrible joke. She settled with the latter.

---

"Hi, V-oppa. Sehun-oppa," chirped Irene at the two who looked a little confused at seeing Irene and Chanyeol together. V soon wiped off his daze and grinned back at her, eyes disappearing. So cute… Chanyeol helped grab her seat, and Irene beamed as she thanked him and sat down.

Sehun gave a light nod of acknowledgement and shifted over to make room for the awkwardly big Chanyeol. Once again his chair looked like it couldn’t hold him comfortably, Irene noted sympathetically.

"Nice weather today," she tried, finding it hard to tear her eyes away from Sehun's near-perfect face.

"Bit too hot for May."

"Mmnnn."

The pause grew uncomfortably long. Chanyeol broke it, offering water to Irene. She accepted the glass, mouthing a quick thanks at him. V and Sehun looked completely comfortable with the silence, and Chanyeol busied himself with his phone that suddenly became the most captivating object in the world. Irene looked around awkwardly. Wish Mr. Cha would come faster... Jesus Christ.

---

"Hello, youngsters," a booming voice sounded from the entrance of the restaurant. Irene looked up in relief as she spotted Mr. Cha's face. He looked a lot more approachable now, wearing a large grin on his face. He nodded at the four to sit down.

"Your sunbaes here are some really good examples, Joohyun," he said to her sternly but kindly. "Your father has great hopes for you, and it makes me happy to see you trying your best and fitting in so well. Do watch and learn."

Irene started to answer, but Mr. Cha wasn't finished. "Now, enjoy your lunch, bill is on me. You order whatever you like." A pause, then a finger pointed at Chanyeol. "No alcohol." Chanyeol scratched his head in response.

Irene gaped at Mr. Cha's leaving figure, feeling like her only lifeboat was snatched away from her.

V began to laugh. Irene jumped when she realized he was looking straight at her. "You don't have to be so obviously petrified, Irene, we won't go too hard on you."

---

"Hmm, your qualifications are all really good, I'm impressed", Irene murmured as she admired her sunbaes with a newfound respect. They had just discussed their experience prior to getting into Cha Entreprise, and each graduated with at least a bachelor’s degree in a prestigious university. V particularly caught Irene’s interest: he was the youngest out of the three, though his work age actually trumps that of Chanyeol and Sehun’s. He's Chanyeol's department manager. Irene observed him closely, giving up as he didn’t let a single thing slide. An interesting one, this one… So open yet closed.

"Chanyeol had to struggle, his university isn't that prestigious," interrupted Sehun, marking his first contribution to the conversation and jerking Irene out from her thoughts.

Chanyeol winced a little, then shrugged. “Well, here I am now.”

"Are you suiting well to the internship your dad helped you find?" continued Sehun.

Irene raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to say more, but he stayed quiet. "Mmmmn. Perfectly well." She observed him closely, trying to discern if that was meant as a stab at her or a joke. His social skill doesn't top the list, she knew, so she figured this might just be awkwardness. He might not have meant anything by it. She let the not-so-subtle barb slide momentarily, directing her attention at the much easier Chanyeol.

"What you have are innate soft skills, even harder to acquire than technical skills-” a pause, as Irene looked at Sehun pointedly. “So don't rip yourself apart over that! I think you're great." Sehun narrowed his eyes as he turned towards Irene, looking at her fully for the first time. This time she stood her ground and held his gaze steadily.

---

The elevator could hold only one more person. Chanyeol, V, and Irene looked at each other, hesitating. Sehun stepped right in. "Bye," he said, making it clear that he didn't want to socialize any further. Chanyeol and Irene exchanged quicked glances, then he shrugged at her.

---

The next elevator took quite some time. The trio stood in silence, Irene shifting uncomfortably. She hurried in as the elevator finally arrived, and V followed closely to stand next to her. Eyes glinting, he commented, “hey, I’d thought you weren’t that bright-” Irene raised a single eyebrow. “I mean,” he continued, “thought you were the typical pretty girl sent out by rich parents to a prestigious university and come back with no gained knowledge.”

Irene’s other eyebrow joined in as she blushed a little. “Did you… just call me pretty?”

He pushed on, “but your comments are pretty insightful. And not even the seniors dared confronting Sehun like that.” He smiled at her again, eyes disappearing.

Irene frowned a little at V: she could only discern what he wanted to show. Deciding that his compliment was genuine, she managed a little smile back. “Just saying what I believe.”

---

Chanyeol led Irene to his cubicle, and the two waved goodbye at a surprised V. After a brief pause, V waved goodbye at Irene with a sullen face. “Well, have fun, not too much though. Going to take a nap." He trudged on to his office.

“How are you feeling?” Chanyeol began tentatively after he made sure Irene settled down comfortably.
“A little whiplashed, but I'm still hanging, I guess."

Again, a single-dimpled smile. He turned to his computer and tapped the “on” button. He managed to show Irene the basics of his daily job, explained to her a little part of his daily routine. Then the other coworkers he shared the room with started piling in, returning from the lunch break with tired yawns. Irene hurriedly took her leave before others started commenting. Good luck! She mouthed at him before turning and heading towards her own desk.

---

58,59,60... 5:00 P.M.

Irene almost shot out of her seat and grabbed her bag, waving a surprised Rin goodbye. She had to make it on the metro before it got incredibly stuffed from the evening peak. Just this morning she told her dad to stop picking her up from work; she knew he had to sacrifice time from his work to do that, and that her mom wasn’t comfortable driving alone. Metro’s fine. I’m a grown woman now. She regretted her decision just a little as she was jostled and squished by the crowd around her on the metro.