It was the tenth time Sonnie had bowed; apologies flowing from like a waterfall. Surely, she was wasting valuable time that could be spent eating a much needed lunch, but if she didn't meet Jooheon's good graces, the young woman would never be able to eat again. If you don't have a job, you cannot eat, and if you can't eat, you starve. 

    And Sonnie enjoyed eating.

    "You're new, yes?"

    Halting mid-bow, Sonnie straightened her back out; brushing the hair from her face as she nodded, "I am, sir."

    Jooheon studied her for a moment - ignoring the ding of the elevators before them. Contemplating the situation, he sighed, "I can tell. I assume you're my brother's new assistant, yes?"

    "Well, secretary, yes," she mildly corrected him, earning a chuckle from his plump lips.

    "A glorified assistant then, yes," he rolled his eyes a bit before scanning them up and down her body. "Where were you going to just now? You know, before you were rude to not only me, but the clientele as well."

    Sonnie hesitated for a moment, her eyes catching a glimpse of the large clock hanging as decor on a nearby wall. 12:20 - dammit. Biting her lip slightly, she shook her head, "I was heading to lunch, but I'm afraid I've run out of time."

    "Nonsense," he retorted, "have lunch with me."

    This caught the young woman off guard. Have lunch with him? Is he crazy? Literally five seconds ago he was acting as though her first day on the job was going to be her last and now he's asking her to lunch?  

    "I appreciate the offer, but I have to get back to paperwork."

    Jooheon raised a brow, "Strange, I viewed it as a demand more so than an offer."

    Finding herself speechless, Sonnie gulped rather hard. Was he going to fire her? Is that it? Telling her to go to lunch with him so he could not only deliver the bad news, but leave her with the check as well?

    "I'm only kidding," a light laugh left his lips, "I just wanted to see what you'd say."

    Pushing the button again, he slid his hands into the pockets of his trousers, "I do expect you to show a better sense of professionalism around here, but I don't expect you to eat lunch with me. That'd be rather weird."

    Sonnie remained speechless as the doors slid open; his toned body waltzing inside as he shot her a sweet smile, "See you around, new girl."

    As if reminiscent of a movie, the elevator doors shut on cue; Sonnie blinking rapidly as she tried to figure out what the hell just happened. The deep growling of her stomach brought her back to reality as she looked at the time.

    "Thirty minutes isn't nearly enough time."

    Grumbling, she grudgingly walked back to her work space; counting down the hours until she'd be able to go home.

-

    The once blue sky was now tinged with a deep orange, pink dusted type of haze. Sonnie had stayed longer than she anticipated - not because she wanted to, but rather due to the fact the paperwork Minhyuk had assigned her wasn't finished.

    Almost, but not quite.

    "I just want to go home," she mumbled to herself as she started in on the last packet. "There's so much - why is there so much?"

    "Because it's a job."

    Upon hearing the presence of someone else, Sonnie's head shot up; her eyes meeting Jooheon's. The corners of his mouth twisted up slightly as his well-built figure leaned against the frame of her cubicle.

    "Nice to see you again, Sophia."

    Immediately, Sonnie rose to her feet; bowing deeply as locks of black curls bounced off of her shoulders, "Hello, Mr. Lee."

    "That's my father and brother," he chuckled slightly, "just call me Jooheon to cut the confusion."

    "How many times must I tell you that you have to be formal?" Minhyuk strode into the room, hands in pockets, as he scolded his brother, "You're the President of this company, so act like it."

    The younger of the two brothers heaved a sigh, eyes rolling to the back of his head, "Don't you think it would get confusing for her, or anyone, to refer to us both as Mr. Lee?"

    Minhyuk contemplated Jooheon's words, eyes trailing to the floor as a sign of thought. Shrugging slightly, he kept his cheery yet smooth composure.

    "Perhaps, but that's why our employees should, at the very least, refer to you as President Lee," he explained, shooting a slight smirk, "you know, to maintain your authority, but avoid confusion."

    The younger male waved his hand in the air s he dismissed his brother's statement, "It's after work hours, so that doesn't apply right now."

    Minhyuk his heels to peer at Sonnie who had been standing there motionless this entire time. Raising his brow, he peeked over the walls of her cubicle, "Not for Ms. White - it appears she's still working."

    "I know you said you wanted these by the end of the day," she began explaining, "and I'm extremely sorry - I just need five more minutes."

    Squinting a bit at the papers, he raised a brow, "Ah, why are you working on tomorrow's paperwork?"

    "Tomorrow's?"

    He nodded, walking around the walls to stand beside her, "Yes, tomorrow's - see?" His index finger slid up the page to the upper right hand corner where a mix of numbers were printed in bold font. Leaning forward, Sonnie blinked a bit as she read them aloud, "September 3, 201 - oh my God." 

    Tomorrow was September 3, 2018 - not today.

    "Didn't Ms. Choi tell you?" He queried, clearly confused. 

    "Ms. Choi?"

    "Bomi," he explained, "I saw her speaking to you earlier, so I assumed she was relaying my message. I asked her to explain how the workloads function because everyone is assigned two day's worth of work."

    "I told you that you shouldn't have operated the work like that," Jooheon cut in, "it confuses new employees - as you can clearly see."

    Minhyuk ignored his younger brother's remark as he sighed, "I apologize on Ms. Choi's behalf, Ms. White."

    "Oh, it's not your fault!" Sonnie rose to her feet as she began gathering her belongings. "I should have paid better attention to the details."

    Mind racing, the sweet girl felt her blood boil slightly. Why didn't Bomi inform her earlier? Could she be correct about her co-worker disliking her for no apparent reason? These thoughts ran through her head;  occupying the space for a few moments before fingertips tapped her hand.

    "My brother mentioned something about Bomi talking to you earlier - what was it about if not to relay the message?"

    Sonnie had been so mentally pre-occupied that she hadn't even noticed that Minhyuk had left; leaving her and Jooheon alone yet again. 

    "She asked me to lunch," she explained, "but never mentioned anything about Mr. Lee or the workload."

    Running a hand through his taupe tinted hair, Jooheon shrugged. "Maybe she just doesn't like you," he deadpanned.

    Taken aback by his bluntness, Sonnie blinked rapidly, "E-excuse me?"

    Her reaction coaxed a sweet smile from his lips as he chuckled lightly, "I'm only kidding - somewhat. Between you and I, Ms. Choi is known to be the 'mean girl' of the office. She acts that way towards all of the new female employees she feels threatened by, so honestly, don't let it get to you." He paused for a moment before adding, "And don't trust her, either."

    "I'll keep it mind, thanks," she sighed as she stretched her back, "I'm just happy I get to go home."

    "Have you eaten yet?" He asked, slight smirk on his face.

    She shook her head, patting her tummy as shrugged, "Not yet. I'm going to stop by the store on my way home."

    Jooheon stared at her for a moment; his eyes fixated upon her smooth skin and plump lips. Chest tightening a bit, he cleared his throat and quickly looked away once he noticed her confused stare.

    "I see," he nodded, "well, be careful and have a good rest of your evening."

    He his heel as he began leaving with quick steps; slowing down a moment as he called out to her, "See you around, new girl!"

    For some reason, this made Sonnie laugh - something she hadn't done for who knows how long. Shaking her a head a bit, she slung her purse over her shoulder as she headed towards the door; flipping the light switch that controlled the main bank of lights. She stood there for a moment as she felt the familiar darkness wash over her body like a polluted wave upon the beach.

    What a terrible day, she thought.