Kihyun rang the doorbell to Sera’s apartment. It felt like decades ago since the last time he was there although he liked the cozy small apartment Sera shared with her friend Jiwoo. It was always neat, warm and you could find plenty of snacks and food there. Therefore, Kihyun used the excuse that Sera left her phone charger in his room to come to visit. Sera had to come back to Seoul a day earlier than Kihyun due to the phone call from her work telling her that she was needed back in Seoul. She left Ilsan in such a hurry that she didn’t notice her lost charger.

After some moments, Jiwoo opened the door.

“Hey, superstar.” She smirked, greeting him in her own way. She had always been a lively energetic person.

Kihyun chuckled while entering. “How are you, Jiwoo?”

“Fabulous as always.” She laughed entering the kitchen. “Beer?”

“Yeah, thanks. I just came by to give Sera her charger, she left it at my place.” Kihyun stopped searching around. “Where is she?”

Jiwoo paused after giving him a can. After Kihyun, she was Sera’s second best friend. They’d grown close since college and then become roommates so basically she knew secrets about today’s Sera that her old best friend didn’t know.

“She’s at work.” Jiwoo took a long sip of her beer.

Kihyun frowned. “At this time?” It was nine at night and Kihyun was pretty sure that she’d be home so he came without calling in advance.

“Yeah...”

“You’re hiding something, like Sera…” He couldn’t take it anymore. He needed to know what was bothering Sera these days.

Jiwoo sighed and put his can away. “Look Kihyun, I don’t know if it’s right to tell you this…” She paused and he felt anxiety filling up his heart. “She told me not to tell you this but I think she needs your help… I’m seriously concerned about her…”

Jiwoo started to tell him things she knew and Kihyun couldn’t believe the next words he heard.

Sera had enough. At this point, she started hating the Korean restaurants with seats on the floor. She really wanted to slap the guy’s hand from her thigh and knock her resignation letter on her boss’s table the next morning. However, she didn’t have the courage. Instead, she distanced herself a little from the guy and filled up the glasses of her boss and their business partners’ with more alcohol.

This is not what I imagined to become after studying hard… She stopped herself from crying and humiliating herself in the middle of the business dinner.

At first, she felt at the top world when she found this job. It was a big famous company, she had her own business card and everyone was happy that she had finally succeeded. But reality showed its ugly face to her in the dinners after work. It was always supervisors and girls like her. On the name of being close, having fun and building teamwork, they were harassing her and others. If she didn’t show up, they would treat her badly the next day and that affected her work.

She talked about it to other women at work but she gained nothing. People who could skip after work dinners were higher ranks or had husbands and children waiting for them at home. A young girl like her who had no one to support her and needed the money had to tolerate and that was how the world spins.

So she tried to tolerate it. She needed a job, she needed a payment, she needed to stand on her own feet. But when she came home she couldn’t sleep well. Sometimes she washed her skin so roughly that it bled. That was how Jiwoo found out.

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