Prompt By: @SHINeeMe08

-Title: Will You Say Yes?

-Ship: BLACKPINK’s Jisoo x Red Velvet’s Irene

Characters: [MAIN] Irene/Bae Joohyun (Red Velvet), Kim Jisoo (BLACKPINK) [SIDE] Jennie Kim (BLACKPINK), Yoo Jeongyeon (TWICE), Soyee/Jang Sojin (gugudan), Bae Woohee (DalShabet), Kim Hyoyeon (SNSD), Yang Wooyoung (Purfles), Jeon Heejin (LOONA), Choi Siwon (Super Junior), Han Seungyeon (KARA), Lee Seungah (Sunny Hill), Park Sungjin (Day6)

Word Count: 7156

Warnings: Strong language

Summary: In which Bae Joohyun’s life is no after no, and she knows what will happen when she finally confronts Kim Jisoo.

 

---

 

Bae Joohyun was used to hearing “no”.

 

Whether it was toys she wanted as a child, project topics in elementary, classes she wanted to take in high school, programs and scholarships she wanted in university, the answer was always “no”. 

 

And so here was twenty-eight year old Bae Joohyun, working a dead end nine-to-five job for a company she wished she could perform for rather than file for, living in a small apartment on the seventh floor of a complex, even though she was afraid of heights. 

 

The good news about her situation was that for once, she didn’t feel inferior to her co-workers, but rather included and one of them. She didn’t feel bad about not being able to afford high designer brands like them, as they often couldn’t either. She didn’t feel bad about her living situation, as they were in the same situation as her, too. She didn’t feel bad about not having the greatest university degree, or even her grades and courses in high school, as they had the same as her or less than.

 

She liked to go out drinking with three of her co-workers, now considered practically friends, on Friday nights after work - Kim Jennie, Yoo Jeongyeon, and Jang Sojin. 

 

They liked to attend concerts of the artists they helped manage and prepare when the opportunity arose, and Joohyun was always the biggest advocate of seeing Kim Jisoo, a solo artist under their company. 

 

Joohyun not only thought that Jisoo was crazy talented, and that she was mesmerizing to watch perform, but she liked the girl for who she was as well. Joohyun often worked closely with Jisoo, and quickly discovered that she was one of the only people who would consistently say yes to her.

 

“I think that wearing red for this song will be a good idea.” Joohyun would say, and Jisoo would agree, even pulling up a dress she had her eye on on her phone.

 

“I think we should switch up your concept for this next comeback.” Joohyun would suggest, and Jisoo would agree, saying she wanted to do so, and even named a male singer from their rival company she would like to collaborate with. 

 

“I think we should avoid that program, I don’t have a good feeling about it.” Joohyun would say, out of concern, and Jisoo would agree, saying there’s other programs she would fit better. 

 

Despite feeling supported by her friends and accepted by her colleagues, especially Jisoo, Joohyun had a secret which made her feel out of place, made her feel like she was sneaking behind everyone’s backs and that when they found out she surely be expelled and shunned.

 

Bae Joohyun had a crush on Kim Jisoo.

 

Bae Joohyun was in love with the girl she worked for, the girl she was to be there for constantly and the girl she was meant to always support and promote.

 

Her problem was that it was a work relationship. She never met with Jisoo outside of work hours, unlike her friends. They rarely ever talked about personal lives, and if they did it revolved around Jisoo’s career, how her having a boyfriend would take a hit in her career and popularity. Never about Joohyun’s living situation, never about how her mother passed away but she refused to take time off, never about how some man Joohyun couldn’t even remember meeting frequently sent her messages she didn’t want and didn’t care for.

 

Was she in love with the work version of Kim Jisoo? The stage persona, the persona so many people globally were also convinced they were in love with? Did she even truly know the real Kim Jisoo?

 

This plagued Bae Joohyun every day, bothering when she got up in the morning to when she went to sleep at night, even following her in her dreams.

 

She had a dream about Kim Jisoo once. She couldn’t remember many of the details, but they were in a city, a big, rustic city - Paris, perhaps? Albeit, Joohyun had never visited Paris, let alone left South Korea - and they were in a crowd, with a group of people, and they were holding hands.

 

Such a small, simple act, but still so comforting and familiar. It relaxed Joohyun, and she made sure Jisoo was still holding her hand.

 

She didn’t want to wake up that morning, rather go back to sleep, see more of Kim Jisoo, the Kim Jisoo that loved her and wanted to be with her, instead of the Kim Jisoo that relied on her that day for bringing her outfits and food and telling her what was on her schedule next.

 

Perhaps Bae Joohyun underestimated the relationship between her and Kim Jisoo.

 

Jisoo had travelled to Japan for some new schedules, accompanied by her Japan team, meaning Joohyun didn’t have to dote on her for a week or so, and rather got to prepare schedules for her for when she returned and focus on some other artists she worked for.

 

Needless to say, Joohyun was surprised when her phone rang as she braided her hair in the mirror of the hand-me-down vanity that was once her mother’s that was in her bedroom, the caller ID stating it was Jisoo.

 

It was nearing eleven at night, which was strange for both girls as they usually went to sleep earlier in the night, as they often had to be up early in the morning.

 

“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a woman happy, healthy, and wise.” Joohyun told Jisoo once as a makeup artist dabbed under her eyes, trying to cover up the bags that had formed there due to lack of sleep. 

 

“Hello?” Joohyun wondered into the phone, trying not to let any amount of concern or worry leak into her voice.

 

“Joo?” Jisoo’s voice was weak, on the verge of breaking, especially compared to how strong Joohyun was used to hearing it. 

 

“It’s Joohyun,” she reassured, trying to replicate the same soothing tone her mother would use with her. “Is everything alright?”

 

“Not exactly,” Jisoo confessed, and Joohyun’s worry skyrocketed. A million scenarios raced through her head, each and every one of them with their own gruesome end. “I’m just... I...”

 

“Take your time. But do you need me to do something? Call someone?”

 

“No, no, I don’t think so.”

 

“Can you tell me what happened?”

 

Jisoo was quiet a moment, as if mulling something over, considering her options. “It’s small, really. Not that big of a deal.”

 

“Tell me anyways. It can’t be that small if it has you that worked up about it.”

 

Both Joohyun and Jisoo were alike in that sense - they didn’t let small things bother them, and easily shrugged off problems and negativities that plagued them, wanting to rather overcome them rather than let them get the best of them. 

 

Again, Jisoo was silent, and Joohyun swore she heard a sigh, as if giving in. “I just...” 

 

“I want to help you.” Joohyun cut in again. “But I can’t if you don’t tell me what happened.” 

 

“I’m just a little homesick, is all.” 

 

Joohyun felt a strange sense of relief with this. She feared something bad had happened to her, something that would mess her up, something that would cause a scandal and media backlash. 

 

“That’s fine. That’s normal.” Joohyun tried to soothe her, but wasn’t really sure of what to say.

 

“I don’t like the people I’m with. I didn’t realize how horrible my Japanese is. I’m struggling to even get coffee to my room.” 

 

“You’re only with those people for a few more days, and then you’ll be back with us. We’ll get you better Japanese lessons when you return, why don’t you ask the translator for now?”

 

“She’s sleeping and I don’t want to bother her. During the day she’s so busy translating everything around me, I don’t even get the chance to ask her for things.”

 

“Try an online translator.”

 

“I tried. My pronunciation is so horrible they can’t understand me. And online translators aren’t really to be trusted, anyways.”

 

“I get that,” Joohyun sighed. “There’s not much else I can tell you right now except for just stick it out. When you get back, I’ll take you out for a nice dinner, okay? Everything you love and missed from home.”

 

Joohyun could feel Jisoo’s smile from the other end of the line. “I like the sounds of that. I want bibimbap.” 

 

“I’ll get you tons of bibimbap, then,” Joohyun laughed. “All the bibimbap you can eat. Now, try and get some sleep. You have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow. I know how tiring pre-recordings are for you.”

 

“Can I call you tomorrow?” Jisoo sounded like a small child, asking for a new toy from her parents.

 

“Yes, you can call me anytime. I’ll leave my phone on for you.”

 

“Okay. Good night.”

 

She could tell that Jisoo made to hung up, but Joohyun stopped her before she could. “Wait!” Joohyun called out, and she heard the phone get pushed up against Jisoo’s ear again. “If you’re homesick, why did you call me? And not your parents or something?”

 

Jisoo was quiet a moment, and Joohyun feared she would just hang up on her and she would get a notice saying she’d been replaced the next day. “I don’t know,” Jisoo said quietly, as if she had reflected on her answer for quite some time but still could not come up with a deserving answer. “I just found myself dialling your number.”

 

Joohyun was happy with this answer, and it made her heart leap. Jisoo needed her, whether she knew so or not. 

 

“You can call me anytime, you know that, right?”

 

“Yeah, I do. Good night.”

 

“Good night.”

 

And then Joohyun was met with the click as Jisoo hung up.

 

~

 

It was three days before Kim Jisoo returned to Korea. Joohyun found out by the way the Internet lost its mind by the way Jisoo looked at the airport, and how her fansites (and even some fansites that weren’t hers) got such beautiful photos of her. Joohyun was one of the few people that could attest to the fact that she looked just as pretty, if not more, in real life. The camera couldn’t capture exactly how bright her smile was, or the way it was like an infectious disease. There were so many instances where Joohyun was to be serious, get her job done as quick as she could, but ended up taking longer as she’d have to collect herself from laughing fits after Jisoo would give even the smallest of laughs at something so trivial or stupid. It was impossible for the camera to capture Jisoo’s sense of humor - how she found dumb jokes and phrases to be the funniest, but could always keep a straight face if she wanted to. Her favourite joke was, “What did the worker at the rubber band factory say when he lost his job? Oh, snap!” and that never failed to make her laugh like an idiot. It was always like it was her first time hearing the joke, and always got more laughs than it deserved, not just from her but from everyone around her, because when Kim Jisoo laughed, others couldn’t help but laugh as well.

 

When Kim Jisoo was happy, you were happy as well. 

 

It was another three days before Joohyun was outside Jisoo’s home, adjusting the AC in her car to how Jisoo liked it, because Joohyun knew Jisoo was cold a lot of the time and couldn’t stand the AC.

 

Joohyun text Jisoo that she was outside, and waited for the other girl. It was dark out, although it wasn’t terribly late out. It was always better to go out later in the night; easier to not be recognized. Proved for an easier, more private night. 

 

Joohyun kept the lights in her car off. Her car was older, as she couldn’t really afford any of the cool, newer, fancy ones, unlike the one that sat in Jisoo’s driveway, which Joohyun knew was so expensive and new and fancy that the car doors opened upwards instead of outwards, and the dash lit up automatically, unlike Joohyun’s. She only ever managed to see her dash by the light of the streetlights, which crept in only if she had the window down, which the driver’s side window permanently stayed down not only so she could see at night, but because the crank had gotten jammed and refused to move. 

 

Jisoo didn’t say anything about the state of Joohyun’s car as she opened the passenger’s side door, almost hitting herself with it, as if she forgot that it opened normally. She didn’t make comments about how the radio only played one Italian channel because, like the window crank, the buttons were jammed. If they were lucky, they could get Britney Spears’ In The Zone album to play, as that was also permanently stuck in the CD player, but Touch Of My Hand and Brave New Girl would skip.

 

“At least it’s not Toxic.” Yoo Jeongyeon would say when Joohyun drove her friends around, and Jennie Kim would yell from the back for them to shut up during the song so she could hear, but would end up singing the loudest, even over Jang Sojin’s complaining about how the torn seat jabbed into her thigh; another grotesque feature Jisoo saw, but didn’t comment on.

 

“Good evening!” Jisoo chirped happily as Joohyun rolled out of the driver, having to hit the brakes aggressively to actually get the car to stop. 

 

“Good evening,” Joohyun returned the greeting, laughing a bit as they moved forward. “Are you hungry?”

 

“Starving!” Jisoo exclaimed, laughing. “I haven’t had good food in like, twenty years.”

 

As always, Jisoo’s laugh was infectious, and she had Joohyun laughing, too. “Well, you’re in luck, I happen to know the best bibimbap place in Seoul.”

 

“Ugh, now you’ve got me all hungry and excited.”

 

Truthfully, it may not be the best bibimbap place in Seoul, but Joohyun was definitely biased. The place was run by family of hers, and so she definitely thought it was the best. Her friends thought so too, but Jennie will eat anything and say it’s amazing, so again, probably biased. 

 

The place was in a small, run-down area of the city, and if it wasn’t for the flashing neon sign mounted to the wall and a pop-up street sign, people would’ve thought it was abandoned years ago. Actually, they still think that, despite all the lights and signs; many neighbouring ‘shops’ are in that boat, and so Bae’s BiBimBap is often ignored.

 

“Are you sure this place is, like… normal?” Jisoo asked as Joohyun parked against the curb. Normally, she wasn’t the best with parallel parking (it made her nervous), but there wasn’t any other vehicles on the street. 

 

“Normal?” Joohyun questioned, prompting Jisoo to elaborate. She knew what she meant - was it safe? It seemed like the best place in town to not get noticed by Dispatch, but also the best place in town for a saesang fan to make their move. ‘Normal’ was Jisoo’s way of testing the waters without taking an accidentally jab at Joohyun. After all, she had taken the time to find a good bibimbap place where she wouldn’t be attacked, and also drove her all the way out there…

 

“You know, like… normal.” Jisoo waved her hand in a circular motion, as if that made it make more sense.

 

“Yes, it’s safe. A hundred percent, on my life.”

 

“Okay,” Jisoo complied, clambering out of the car. “I trust you.”

 

Joohyun’s heart skipped a beat. It wasn’t something that should’ve made her feel like that, of course Kim Jisoo should trust her, that was her job, but it still made her feel some type of way. “As you should.” Joohyun said, recovering, and offered her arm for Jisoo, who jokingly took it, allowing Joohyun to lead her into the place.

 

The small bell above the door dinged as it opened and they stepped in. The AC was on high, as Bae Ajussi always felt like he was overheating in the back kitchen, and so the crisp air hit Joohyun and Jisoo like the wind in autumn.

 

I should’ve reminded her to bring a sweater, Joohyun thought, forgetting how cold it was. It had been awhile since she had been here, which was proven further when she barely recognized the girl who sat on the counter, flipping through a book with an old walkman beside her, earbuds threaded through her shirt. Her hair was lightened since the last time Joohyun saw her, a ginger-y auburn almost.

 

At the sound of the bell, the girl looked up, removing the earbuds from her ears. She looked startled, confused, as if she wasn’t expecting anyone to actually enter the store, despite the effort to stress that they were indeed open. The recognition set in when she realized who Bae Joohyun was, and her face lit up as she swung her legs over the side and jumped off.

 

“Joojoo!” she cried, flinging her arms around her. “My gosh, it’s been a hot while! How are you holding up?” she cocked her head and pouted her lip a little at the end, and Joohyun knew she meant her mom.

 

“I’m fine,” Joohyun reassured her, trying to switch off the topic of her mother as quickly as she could. She didn’t want to speak about her mother, reopen that wound, especially with Jisoo there. “But I’ll be better with some of Samchon’s bibimbap.”

 

“Aren’t we all?” the girl chirped. “What do you want to eat? Still your usual?” Joohyun nodded. “And for the lady?”

 

“Kim Jisoo.” Jisoo stepped forward and introduced herself.

 

“Bae Woohee. I’m Joohyun’s cousin.”

 

Jisoo turned and shot Joohyun a look. Not a venomous one, not a threatening one, not a ‘you better fix this right now, Bae Joohyun’ type look. Moreso a ‘I see why you picked this place of all places and were so confident about it’ type look. A ‘this bibimbap better be good’ type look.

 

“Pleasure to meet you. I’ll have shrimp bibimbap, if you don’t mind.” Jisoo smiled, the almost-fake look-pretty-for-the-cameras smile she always wore at airports, live stages, fanmeets, events, anywhere where she was interacting with people, anywhere that affected her image. Joohyun was one of the few people who had the privilege of seeing her raw, genuine smile, of hearing her authentic laugh, where her sides and cheeks hurt. 

 

“Not at all. You ladies can sit wherever you’d like.” Woohee gestured to the sitting area in the small place, all the empty chairs and clean tables, as Jisoo and Joohyun were the only customers the Baes had had in awhile.

 

Joohyun gestured for Jisoo to pick a table while Woohee turned back to the counter, hoisting herself up to it and sliding over it to lean into the window in the back, where steam from the kitchen waved.

 

Jisoo picked a seat near the far wall, so when she sat, she could sit askew in the chair, leaning against the wall and her feet out. If the place was busy, someone surely would have tripped over the small heels.

 

“I can see why you chose the place now,” Jisoo said, playing with a napkin set out on the table. “I wondered how you found such a sketchy place.” 

 

“I know this seems terribly biased now,” Joohyun replied. “But I swear, this really is some of the best bibimbap in the city. Samchon is such an amazing cook. The place is only rundown because this is all they can afford to keep open, with such low business.”

 

“Should I promote it?” Jisoo looked up at Joohyun, tilting her head. “A quick snapshot of my bibimbap bowl and a geotag will have this place sold out in seconds.”

 

Joohyun hated that Jisoo was right, and she hated that Jisoo was aware of it. Jisoo was usually so humble, and as pure as her intents were, Joohyun felt as if it was a pity tactic. Look at poor Bae Joohyun. A dead mom and family members she can rarely see from working so much can barely afford to keep a small, sketchy bibimbap place open. 

 

“I’m not sure.” Joohyun sighed. “That’s not really up to me. I don’t work here. I’m sure Samchon and Woohee will appreciate the extra business, but I don’t know if they’ll be able to keep up with the overflow of people that will come. It’s Samchon all by himself, you know, with Hyunjin away for school.”

 

“Hyunjin? Like, Hwang Hyunjin? Stray Kids?”

 

“No. Not at all.” Joohyun said. It wasn’t intentional, but she used a mocking tone, as if Jisoo was stupid for suggesting such a thing, but if Jisoo picked up on it, she didn’t show it. “Bae Hyunjin.”

 

“The news anchor?”

 

“My cousin. Woohee’s older brother.”

 

“Oh.” Jisoo frowned. 

 

Joohyun couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed with Jisoo. She seemed so vain tonight, as if trying to rub it in Joohyun’s face that she was better off than her, more liked than her, didn’t really care for her. This was probably just another business dinner to her. Jisoo’s behaviour concerned Joohyun; it was so out of character for her.

 

“Are you feeling better now?” Joohyun asked, trying to push the conversation forward. Jisoo gave Joohyun a questioning look, tilting her head. “Compared to the other night when you called me.” 

 

“Oh.” Jisoo muttered. “Yes, yes I am, thank you.” 

 

“You were just homesick was all? There was nothing else?” Joohyun had this underlying feeling that there was something else, something else that Jisoo wasn’t letting Joohyun in on. 

 

“No. Just homesickness. I was tired; jetlag, long work hours, culture shock… the likes.”

 

Joohyun nodded in understanding, but before she could press another topic upon Jisoo, Woohee came up to their table, a bowl of bibimbap in each hand.

 

“Comin’ in hot!” she announced, setting them down. “Shrimp bibimbap for Miss Jisoo here, and seaweed bibimbap for Miss Joohyun. Enjoy your meal.”

 

“We’ll eat well.” Joohyun told her, and Woohee left, leaving the girls to their meals. Joohyun watched Jisoo as she held her phone near her face, quickly snapping a photo of her bowl before picking at it, finding the best way to eat it. 

 

There was little conversation over dinner, the only notable part being when Joohyun asked Jisoo if she was enjoying her meal, and Jisoo said she was and left it at that.

 

When they were finished, Joohyun went to ask Woohee their total. Jisoo had dug out her wallet, wanting to offer Joohyun some bills to pay, but Joohyun promptly refused, despite knowing that this meal was hardly a dent in Jisoo’s bank account, and that for Joohyun, it would mean skipping lunch tomorrow, at least. 

 

“No worries,” Woohee leaned on the till, waving the girls away. “It’s on the house. Appa and I were just happy to see you two.”

 

The drive home to Jisoo’s was also a quiet one. After a night like this, Joohyun would usually be invited in, but Jisoo made no such efforts, and instead said that she still felt a little jet lagged and was going to try and sleep it off. 

 

And so Bae Joohyun returned to her lonely apartment, where even the lone cactus on the window sill felt parched and overdone. Joohyun tossed her keys and bag on the table, and, as Jisoo said she was doing in her own home, promptly fell asleep.

 

Joohyun dreamed of a replay of their night, a night that worked better in Joohyun’s favour. She had a nicer car, and was able to take Jisoo out somewhere nicer, but she still chose her family’s place, mainly for the same reasons - it was quiet and private, for their night together to be uninterrupted not only but surrounding people, but by the media as well. Woohee was just as 

warm towards her, and she had a chance to see Samchon, and even Hyunjin, who were equally as warm not only towards her, but Jisoo, as well.

 

There was more sustenance to the conversations she had with Kim Jisoo, no longer one-sided or simple small talk. They were deeper, more in depth, and more fulfilling, as both girls felt that they learned more about the other and that they brought themselves closer to each other. It was enjoyable conversation, full of laughs and giggles, and made them wish the night would never end, made them feel as if they had known each other forever, made them feel as if they weren;t just workmates, as if Joohyun didn’t just work for Jisoo, but they were more than such.

 

The conversation almost never lulled, and the liveliness between them continued into the night, while they drove about the city, not worrying about possible media outlets and stalker fans dying to catch a glimpse of them, but instead focused just on each other, the two of them together, enjoying themselves and the night. 

 

When it came time for Jisoo to leave, she invited Joohyun inside her home, but Joohyun refused, saying that Jisoo must still feel jet lagged and it’s getting late, she should get some sleep on one of her rare days off. But Joohyun would walk her up the steps anyways, and they would share a brief kiss on the front steps, a kiss full of excitement and surprise. It would be quick, almost as if it never happened, and the two girls would take a moment to register what they had just shared before kissing again, longer this time, but with the same excitement as last time, and Jisoo would lay her hand on Joohyun’s cheek, and Joohyun could feel the softness of Jisoo’s hand, and Joohyun would- 

 

She awoke the next morning to Kim Jisoo on her mind, which was no surprise. It was normal, and Joohyun tried to convince herself it was because of last night, or because her job and way of supporting herself surrounded Kim Jisoo, but she knew she was lying to herself. The fact that she had a crush on Kim Jisoo and the fact that Kim Jisoo often crowded her thoughts was because of that, and there was nothing that Joohyun could do to rid herself of it.

 

She didn’t want to have a crush on Kim Jisoo. She didn’t want her heart to flutter everytime she merely brushed against her, which happened a lot with their work. 

 

She also didn’t want to have her heart crushed by Kim Jisoo. She didn’t want to hear another ‘no’ and feel her heart plummet to her feet, which was always expected when to came to Bae Joohyun.

 

But it did, and there was no changing that, Joohyun had quickly come to learn.

 

And even though she felt that she had done so well in keeping her secret, her secret crush secret, from not only Kim Jisoo but from everybody else around her, even her close friends, who she refused to tell in fear of letting them onto her trail, into her secrets, she woke up the next morning to not only Kim Jisoo on her mind, but a missed call that had went to voicemail from Joohyun’s higher up; her boss, the overall manager of the company.

 

“Good morning, Miss Bae Joohyun.” the voice of her boss, Kim Hyoyeon, said through the speaker of Joohyun’s phone. Her voice was tinny and robotic, and played out as Joohyun fixed herself some breakfast, as her phone sat on the counter near her. “I hope you slept well. My apologies for bothering you so early in the morning, but I wanted to make sure you received this before you prepared to leave for your work. Although, you’re not expected in today, and this is an urgent message. I regret to inform you that you have been released from your position with Miss Kim Jisoo. We will have a board meeting with you at nine thirty in the morning on Thursday, June twenty-seventh to discuss possible future positions and a possible future with the company. Thank you for your work.”

 

Bae Joohyun’s heart plummeted to her feet, and she felt dizzy, but for an entirely different reason that she would usually expect. 

 

Did she do something wrong? Oh God, was it because of the dinner? Or is it just routine? Yes, yes, it had to be just routine - Yoo Jeongyeon was reassigned to work with Yang Wooyoung, and so it had to be just routine. Perhaps this meant better for Jisoo - better opportunities, more global expansion. A debut in the Americas, even Europe perhaps. Maybe this meant better for her and Jisoo - now that they were no longer coworkers, Jisoo would be more willing to say yes than crush her with a no.

 

Joohyun never heard from Jisoo in the few days between the phone call and her meeting. She didn’t hear much from anyone, really, but Jang Sojin text her briefly, saying that she was missing doughnuts brought into the office by Jeon Heejin. 

 

Joohyun was beyond nervous when she finally stepped foot in the company building. Her hands shook and her knees felt like jelly, but with much fumbling, she managed to take the elevator up to the fifth floor, where she sat in the boardroom, at the end of a long table, filled with people higher up than her in the company. Filled with people that ultimately decided her fate, whether she got to keep or lose her job, whether or not she’d be able to pay rent next month. 

 

“Miss Bae Joohyun,” Kim Hyoyeon started. She sat a few seats away from Joohyun, and she had a file in front of her. If she squinted, Joohyun could see her name written carefully at the top. “Do you have any clue why we are meeting here today?”

 

“To discuss my future with the company.” Joohyun replied. She wasn’t sure if she should hang her head or raise it high; make eye contact or avoid it as much as possible. Should she be confident or cautious?

 

Kim Hyoyeon was usually so warm towards Joohyun, but today she seemed icy; a genuine, solid poker face. She was hard to read, and wasn’t going to be showing her cards anytime soon. Whether that was a response she wanted to hear or not, Joohyun wasn’t sure. “Very well.” she said, opening the file and thumbing through a few papers before drawing one to the front. “I’m sure you want to know why you’ve been released from your position with Miss Kim Jisoo, which you are aware of as of now.” She looked up, giving a side glance to Joohyun, who nodded in agreement. “Miss Kim herself requested to relieve you of your position, stating personal matters and affairs. She gave no direct reason besides that. Do you have any idea, Miss Bae?”

 

If Joohyun didn’t feel all the stares and pressure from the surrounding table members before, she sure as hell did now. They turned to her expectantly, and she wiped the palms of her hands on the thighs of her pants in an attempt to stop the sweating. 

 

“An argument, perhaps?” another member, Choi Siwon, spoke up. “You’ve worked closely with her for awhile now. Perhaps you’ve learned something personal about her she’s scared of getting let out to the public?”

 

So this is about Jisoo’s affairs, Joohyun found herself thinking. She wasn’t sure whether this calmed her, made her less anxious, or just set her further on edge. They care about Jisoo’s wellbeing, not mine.

 

“No, sir.” Joohyun replied confidently. The phone call and the dinner popped up in her mind, but she refused to bring light to the dinner. What if that was Jisoo’s tipping point, for whatever reason? Surely, that would have consequences on her, repercussions that would ultimately lead to her expulsion from the company, and that wasn’t something she could have. The phone call, maybe she’d bring up if conversation found it, but as far as these people needed to know, she and Jisoo were in their own respective homes all night the other night. No messages, no communication between the two of them.

 

Siwon exchanged a glance with Hyoyeon, who continued speaking for the both of them. “If there is anything,” she said, her tone pointed and worried, “You must speak up now. Anything at all, no matter how big or small it may seem, no matter how recent or distant it may be.”

 

“May I ask why?” Joohyun found the words slipping out of before she realized they were dangling in the air.

 

“We express concern for Miss Kim,” Siwon said. “She’s letting go of staff personnel potentially close to her - like yourself - and has pulled out of numerous events and schedules. Her lack of reasoning arises questions of concern for us. We fear it may be something mental health related, but we have nothing to base that off of besides her odd behaviour.

 

“It could always be a mid-life crisis of sorts, or a breakdown, but we wish to provide help to all of our staff and workers as much as we can. Normally, when an artist relieves their staff of their position, the artist provides more specific reasoning, which usually results in consequences for the staff, as it usually involves mistreatment of some kind. But, due to Miss Kim’s lack of thus, we’re interviewing the personnel she let go of to try and find out why, simply for the benefit of not only hers, but the company's, wellbeing.” 

 

Joohyun drew in a breath and released it before she spoke. She stayed true to her vow to not speak of her dinner with Jisoo, but figured that perhaps the Japan phone call truly was worth mentioning. Joohyun did have that underlying feeling that perhaps there was more to it than just homesickness; Jisoo sounded too worked up about it to be just that.

 

“Well,” Joohyun started, frowning. “When she was in Japan; on the third day, maybe? she called me later in the night, which was already out of character for her. She seemed very worried, quite shaken up. She told me she was just homesick, but I feel like there was more to it than just that.”

 

“Any idea on what else may be bothering her?”

 

Joohyun shook her head.

 

“Very well,” Hyoyeon took over. “As Miss Kim Jisoo no longer wishes to work with you, we have assigned you to head stylist of Han Seungyeon. Her schedules and measurements have been sent to your email. Lee Seungah will show you to her inventory. Do you have any concerns?”

 

Again, Joohyun shook her head, and the party rose, including Joohyun, who was quickly whisked away by Lee Seungah and shown the new inventory she would be working with.

 

It was a little strange; Joohyun had never met Seungyeon, and her inventory was much larger and expansive compared to that of Jisoo’s. The job of working with Seungyeon was more daunting than working with Jisoo ever was; Seungyeon as a senior idol who had been in the game for quite some time, whereas Joohyun had been with Jisoo since she had debuted.

 

Seungah radiated a regal air; she stood taller than not only her, but Jisoo and Seungyeon as well, and the fact that she wore two inch heels made her seem so much more in charge. There was an alluring aspect to her, something that drew in Joohyun’s curiosity. Her perfume was mature (and dare she y) and it clung to her, and Joohyun felt engulfed in it when Seungah leaned in to speak. She stood closer to her than when she spoke with other people, and if not for Joohyun’s newfound infatuation with Seungah, she would have thought it strange and perhaps even creepy, but this just drew Joohyun in even further.

 

What is up with me and co-workers? Joohyun thought as she walked home, turning her keys over in her hands. First Jisoo, now Seungah…

 

Perhaps Seungah was more attainable, at least.

 

~

 

Saturday night, at 7:28pm, Joohyun’s phone rang, but she was too busy cleaning up from dinner to answer it.

 

At 7:43pm, she listened to the voicemail. 

 

“JooJoo.” Like Kim Hyoyeon’s a week ago, Kim Jisoo’s voice was tinny and robotic as it played. Like Jisoo’s own now almost two weeks ago, Jisoo’s voice was weak and and on the verge of breaking. “I don’t know where you are, what you’re doing, who you’re with… but I can only hope you’re alone. I think this is something you need to hear alone. Something for your ears only. I owe you an explanation. I didn’t let go of you because I hate you or anything. If anything, it’s the exact opposite.

 

“I know this is totally inappropriate, but seeing as how we're not technically co-workers anymore, I’ll tell you this. I think… no, I know… I think I know? that I like you, Bae Joohyun. Not in an amicable way, but in a romantic way. Every time I saw you I got this… feeling, and I knew my suspicions of my feelings towards you were truer and truer the more we met. I guess after dinner - such a great night I completely ed up - I overwhelmed and worried myself, and I acted out and cut you out. Sorry I blocked your number; that was an overreaction. But…” she sighed, trailing off. There was a moment of silence, longer than normal, longer than comfortable but long enough for tenderness, before she started again. “You don’t have to say anything. Block my number in return if you wish. I’m not sure how you feel. I think I was never as attentive to you as I should’ve been, and I think that was in an attempt to cover up and deny my feelings for you. 

 

“You once told me all your life, all you’ve heard is no after no, and that you always found confidence in me, because I almost always told you yes. For now, in this instance, I hope that you will say yes. Yes to at least meeting with me. In person. Yes to being open to the idea of a restart in our relationship, a new you and I.”

 

Joohyun called Jisoo back, leaving a voicemail saying yes, she’d meet with her. She hoped her voice didn’t shake the way her hands did, and told her to meet her at Bae’s BiBimBap for eight on Thursday.

 

Joohyun waited anxiously all week. She couldn’t focus on Seungyeon, who quickly grew dissatisfied with her work, but agreed to keep her on for a little while later. “A grace period,” sheb had described it as. Joohyun knew her work would be better after she met with Jisoo. Or, if the meeting went horrible, she would never work again, as surely Jisoo had the power to permanently expel her from the company, and Joohyun knew Hyoyeon and Siwon would do so if it was in Jisoo’s best interest. 

 

All week, Joohyun rehearsed and practiced what she was going to say, even writing it down in an attempt to get it more solid. Twenty-four/seven, she fretted over it, and Jisoo still clouded her thoughts, but in such a different manner than usual.

 

Eventually, Thursday came, and Joohyun’s anxiety worsened throughout the course of the day. She shook more so than usual, to the point where she asked Park Sungjin to finish cinching the waist a new skirt for Seungyeon. 

 

When eight pm rolled around, Joohyun met Jisoo waiting for her outside the bibimbap place. The lights were on in the place, but the door was locked and a paper that explained they were away for the day and they apologized for the inconvenience was taped to the glass of the door. Of course, Joohyun knew this, and that’s why she chose today to meet her - what was about what was meant for Joohyun’s ears only deserved to be only for Jisoo as well, and Joohyun knew that Bae Woohee and her father would be absent that day for Bae Hyunjin’s birthday and return to town.

 

“Good evening.” Jisoo said as Joohyun approached. 

 

“Good evening,” Joohyun returned the greeting. “Thanks for seeing me.”

 

“Thanks for agreeing to. You know the place is closed, right?”

 

Joohyun nodded, trying to keep her composure. Could Jisoo tell how fast her heart raced, how her knees shook, how her palms sweated? “It’s Hyunjin’s birthday today. They’ve gone to see him and have closed the place for today.”

 

“Smart.” Jisoo said, sinking to the pavement. “Sit next to me.”

 

Joohyun did so, and they were silent a moment before Joohyun spoke. Was Jisoo waiting for her to speak? Or still composing herself, too? Was she as nervous; did she shake and sweat and race as much as she did?

 

“About your message,” Joohyun tried to picture the cue cards in her mind, recite what she had refined perfectly. “I feared you did hate me. That perhaps asking you to dinner was a line crossed, or perhaps my situation was horrible for you or you just realized how much you actually hated me - so many reasons I imagined. A part of me hoped that it was because you felt something for me, but I never would have thought that would be your actual reasoning.

 

“I thought that I had done a good job of hiding my own feelings for you all this time. Perhaps I let that guard slip in the past little bit, and I thought that could be why you let me go. I’ve liked you for such a time now, Jisoo, that when I heard your message, I thought I was dreaming. What fever induced fantasy was this? I tried to hide what I felt for you because I too, thought the same - feeling such a way for a co-worker was inappropriate. I would face so much backlash, not only from you if it went over horribly, but from the media if it ever got out - God forbid - the company and our other co-workers… literally everybody I had ever talked to. 

 

“I know I told you my life has been no after no after no. That still stands true. I only wish I could hear another yes from you, when I ask you if you would like to go on a proper date with me.”

 

Jisoo was silent a moment before speaking. She picked her words carefully, which made Joohyun shake and nervousness increase once again. Did Jisoo lie about her feelings, in an attempt to catch Joohyun in the act? Or did she misunderstand Jisoo’s words? Was it really some sort of fever dream?

 

“I only wish I could hear a yes from you when I ask you if you would like to be my girlfriend.”

 

“Yes.”