Sunday morning, Seungwan awoke to her phone buzzing with a text under her pillow. She reached blindly for it, covering a yawn with her hand. Retrieving her phone, she rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes and peered at the message on her screen. It was from Yerim, and it read:

Hey, wanna go get coffee?

Seungwan grinned at the screen. It had been a very long time since she’d had a real friend, and she really liked Yeri. She typed back a reply.

Time and place?

Yeri was quick to reply.

Starbucks at the edge of north and center around 11 sound good?

Seungwan knew which Starbucks Yeri meant, as it was the beginning of the transition from the northern city, which was filled with exclusively self started business and unknown chains, to the center city which held most of the normal chains found in bigger cities. She sent her reply.

Yep! See you then!!

She slipped out of bed, stretching to relieve her muscles of the stiffness that had formed from sleeping soundly. She hadn’t been sleeping very well as of late, what with her heat being shut off in the middle of October and the constant anxiety over her unpaid bills or empty fridge. For now at least, Seungwan no longer had to worry about those things. All her bills were paid, the fridge newly stocked with groceries, and she still had a small cache of money stored for personal use, like getting coffee with a friend. So she had slept soundly for the first time in awhile. It was nearly ten thirty, and the walk to Seungwan and Yeri’s destination would take about fifteen minutes, so Seungwan hurriedly got dressed into a pair of jeans and an old, oversized hoodie. She continued getting ready, humming to herself as she applied a bit of makeup.

At ten forty-five, Seungwan stepped out of her apartment into the brisk October air, purse slung over her shoulder. She walked down her street, putting her earbuds in and picking a song, her feet automatically walking to the beat. She looked around her as she walked, which she hardly ever did anymore in her own neighborhood. She wondered which parts of her neighborhood Joohyun had noticed on their drive the previous day. Had she seen the old laundromat, which was a popular spot for homeless people to sit and keep warm? Had she noticed the many grimy looking dive bars, or the small food trucks that lined the street? Had she realized nearly every door, businesses and apartments alike, were locked with padlocks? Seungwan walked, feet maneuvering the familiar sidewalks with ease, knowing when to step over a dip or crack without even looking down. She thought about Joohyun, who lived in the cleaner, nicer part of the city, who probably did not have to worry about locking her door every single time she left, who did not have to walk for half an hour to get to work, forty five minutes to get to the grocery store, an hour to get to the nearest decent medical center. Did she think of Seungwan differently now that she knew where the girl lived? It didn’t seem like she did, but Seungwan worried that the more times Joohyun drove into the north city to pick her up the more she would start to think of Seungwan differently than she would have before.

Seungwan reached the Starbucks at two minutes until eleven. She ordered herself a black coffee, as she wasn’t looking to spend so much of her left over money in one go. Glancing around as she waited for her drink, she concluded Yeri had yet to arrive. So, once she had gotten her coffee, she chose a small table by the window and sat to wait for her friend to arrive. She bounced her leg, hating to wait, and drummed mindlessly on the table. Six minutes past eleven, Yeri came rushing over to the table, coffee in hand, smiling apologetically.

“I’m sorry I’m a little late.” She said immediately, sitting down across from Seungwan. “My sisters were being a pain about me leaving.”

“That’s okay.” Seungwan assured, sipping from her black coffee. When she was younger, she would drink her coffee with at least creamer, something to make it a little sweet, but she had learned to like black coffee since she moved to the city, since creamer was an unnecessary expense Seungwan could not afford. “You have sisters?” She asked, curious to know more about Yeri.

“Two. Eleven and nine.” Yeri answered. “I love them, but they can be a little annoying sometimes. They hate when I go anywhere on the weekends, since I hardly see them during the week what with work and school.”

“You’re still in school?” Seungwan went on.

“Yeah, I’m in my last year of college.” Yeri explained. “I’m a communications and business double major, so working for Miss Kang has been my internship I need to graduate.”

“Does that mean you’ll stop working at the firm once you graduate?” Seungwan didn’t want Yeri to leave the firm, though she tried to remind herself that with Joohyun’s track record she would be fired by the time Yeri graduated in April.

Yeri sighed. “I don’t know. Miss Kang told me that once I graduate she would offer me a real position at the office, which would mean I would get paid seven dollars more an hour than I do now.” She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “My dream is to start my own business, but I doubt that’ll happen anytime soon. I might as well stay at the firm.”

“Well I’d miss you if you left the firm, but don’t let that sway you one way or the other.” Seungwan said, her tone lighthearted, making Yeri smile.

“Enough about me, tell me about yourself. You mentioned that you majored in music, so I’m very curious why you’re working as a secretary.” Yeri said, pushing her light hair behind her ears.

“Well, majoring in music is a dumb decision.” Seungwan started, laughing a little to herself. “I have a degree that I can’t do anything with. I got fired from my last job, and have been scraping by on my savings account ever since. So when I saw the position paid twenty dollars an hour I decided I didn’t care it was a desk job and applied. I’m surprised I even got hired.”

“Wow.” Yeri laughed. “Why did you get fired?”

“It’s a long story.” Seungwan said simply, not in the mood to get into it. Yeri took the hint, dropping the subject. “I do like the job, though. Miss Bae is a really good boss.”

“Yeah, she’s really nice.” Yeri agreed. “So are Miss Kang and Miss Park. For Miss Park’s birthday in September, Miss Kang, Miss Bae and I threw her a surprise party at the office. She was so shocked she almost cried.” Yeri grinned, the memory clearly a fond one. “I wish you had been there for it.”

“Me too, that sounds fun.” Seungwan said back, smiling at Yeri’s glee. The young girl’s smile seemed to be contagious. “Hey so, do you know why Miss Bae fired her previous secretaires? I’m not trying to pry, I just want to know what mistakes not to make.”

“I really don’t know, actually.” Yeri replied. “I’ve only been at the firm for two other secretaries before you. I caught the tail end of one when I came in at the end of August, and then the other one got fired at the beginning of October.” She went silent for a minute, as though pondering something. “It’s so weird, because to me it didn’t look like they’d done anything. One day everything is fine, and then the next they’re packing up their desk to leave. Miss Bae has never shown any signs of being angry or annoyed with them either, she takes them in her office quietly and sets them up with a new position somewhere else.”

“How do you know she sets them up somewhere else?” Seungwan pressed further.

“I asked Miss Kang what the protocol was for people getting fired, and she told me they always at least attempt to set you up with a new position, unless you’ve done something really bad.” Yeri explained. “I really want to know why Miss Bae fires people so fast, like I couldn’t imagine her firing anyone. She’s just too soft spoken.” With a laugh, she said, “If you get fired you have to tell me why.”

“I have no plans to get fired anytime soon, I like this job and I’d do anything to keep it.” Seungwan replied.

“Ooh, you’re determined, I like that.” Yeri said back, making Seungwan smile. “Well I’ll put a good word in for you with the bosses because out of all of Miss Bae’s secretaries you’ve been my favorite by far. The other ones were not nearly as interesting to talk to.”

“Thanks.” Seungwan said, chuckling a little. Yeri’s phone dinged three times in procession and she picked it up, her brow furrowing as she read her messages.

“Well .” She muttered to herself. “It’s my mom, she needs me to come watch my sisters while she goes to the store. I’m sorry to desert you so abruptly.”

“No it’s okay, I get it.” Seungwan said, smiling in a way she hoped was understanding. “We should do this again sometime.” Both girls stood to throw their cups away and began making their way towards the door. They stepped outside, the cold air hitting their faces instantly.

“Yeah, we should.” Yeri agreed. “I’ll see you tomorrow at work, Seungwan unnie.”

“See you tomorrow.” Seungwan said back, waving as Yeri turned and walked away, deeper into center city. Seungwan turned the opposite direction, back towards north city, and began walking home. Her questions about Joohyun had not been answered the way she had hoped they would be; if anything, she was more curious now than ever.