Interns

HERSHE
February finally arrived. Hearts and cupid designs filled their office now.
 
"What are you girls bringing on the 14th?" asked Taemin, cutting his cupid as neatly as he can. Krystal and Irene are helping him design their bays.
 
"Chocolates." Krystal dropped her scissor to look at the finished cupid she'd made.
 
"Chocolates? Whom are you gonna give it to?" asked Taemin. "To be honest, there are no guys here worthy of chocolates except for Eric."
 
"You have a point, Taemin. But I will still give chocolates to all my male friends here in the office, especially you." Krystal shot Taemin a seductive look.
 
"Ew, Krys! Gross! I wouldn't do that to you! Yuck!"
 
Krystal laughed. "What do you want me to give to you then, flowers?"
 
"No need. I have a boyfriend who will buy me flowers," said Taemin proudly.
 
"Well, FYI, I'm no single myself so I would surely have one too."
 
Krystal and Taemin then realized that there's still another person in the area who's listening to them while busy cutting her cupid.
 
"What?" Irene stopped cutting when she felt that Krystal and Taemin were looking at her.
 
"You still don't have a boyfriend, Irene, do you?" Taemin dragged his swivel chair closer to Irene.
 
"Nope. Is there a problem with that?"
 
"Mmm. None. But I'm worried about you, sweetie."
 
"I'm not lonely, Taemin, if that's what you want to know."
 
"Why are you still single, anyway?"
 
Irene sighed. This is the time of the year when everyone is always asking her about her status. "It's a choice."
 
"We're just wondering..." Taemin glanced at Krystal and went back to Irene. "I've known you for over two years now and you never had a date in any of those Valentine's before."
 
"Taemin, you know Irene isn't the type of person who'll say yes to any suitor. It's not like no one has invited her," said Krystal.
 
"Why is it that none of your past suitors were good enough for you?" asked Taemin.
 
"I just haven't found the right one yet. I don't want to rush into things." Irene went back to cutting her cupid.
 
"What if the right one already passed, but you missed your chance because you're too naïve?"
 
Irene dropped her hands on her lap. "Naïve? I don't think so."
 
"Or what if the right one is already there but you just won't admit it to yourself?" said Krystal, reminding Irene of the conversation they had last time.
 
Taemin turned to Krystal, surprised. "Wow! Is it true? There is someone special?"
 
Irene glared at Krystal while Taemin wasn't looking.
 
"It's nothing. I was just teasing her." Krystal chuckled. "By the way, who do you think is gonna get the most chocolates and flowers this time?"
 
"For the girls, I'd still root for Irene," said Taemin. "Everyone knows she's still single. That adds up to the excitement."
 
"Why are you two talking like it's some kind of competition?" asked Irene. "It doesn't matter who gets more. It's all about the expression of care or appreciation towards another, right?"
 
"Point taken. But you have to admit, girl, you got quite a lot of attention last year," said Taemin.
 
"Yeah, her secret admirers are suddenly popping out of nowhere during Valentine's. I think she got the most flowers last year." Krystal looked up at the ceiling to mentally count the flowers Irene got.
 
"I got a few, okay? But it's not as many as you were saying. You guys are exaggerating," said Irene.
 
"How 'bout the chocolates, who do you think will receive the most?" asked Taemin. "Last year, if I'm correct, Eric got like 15 chocolate bars on his table when he came."
 
"And 4 of them were yours, right?" said Krystal.
 
Taemin raised both his hands, palms opened. "I'm over him, Krystal. I'm so over him. I'm not giving chocolates to anyone now except my love."
 
"Besides, I think the one that will get the most chocolates today is not a man," said Krystal, making Taemin and Irene look at her. She gestured her chin towards the hallway where Seulgi and Luna are walking, holding their tumbler in their hands.
 
"Ooh." Taemin shook his head. "I must admit, that Seulgi had really shaken this office when she came. A lot of ovaries had exploded."
 
"Well, I'm preparing something for her too," said Krystal.
 
Taemin turned to Krystal. "Yah! You're a cheater!"
 
"Why is it cheating? Seulgi is just my friend!"
 
Irene was not in the mood to listen to the two anymore. She is busy watching Seulgi and Luna. It looks like they were talking about something funny.
 
Irene followed the two with her eyes until they entered the pantry. After the pantry door latched, she raised the cupid design she's been cutting. Then she smiled.
 
---
 
"Good morning, Ms. Bae!"
 
Irene was busy with a task when a female HR personnel, whom she always forgets the name, called her.
 
"Hey. How may I help you... um... wait, who are these lovely people?" Irene noticed two new faces with the HR personnel.
 
"They are our new interns. I'd like you to meet Yeri," said the woman, gesturing to the girl on her left. She then turned to the man on her right. "And this is Taeyong. They'd be staying with us for one month."
 
They greeted each other with a bow.
 
"I'll leave Yeri on your hands, Irene," said the HR personnel. "I'm bringing Taeyong to Eric's team."
 
"Oh, graphics..." Irene glanced over to the said department.
 
"We'll go ahead now. Take care of Yeri."
 
Irene smiled, showing a thumb up. She turned to the newest member of her team. "So... where should I put you?" Her eyes wandered to the nearest bays. The only available terminal is beside her. "You could take that seat."
 
"Thank you, Ms. Irene." Yeri bowed.
 
---
 
Irene is thankful that Yeri is a fast learner. Aside from the pretty petite image she has, her attitude is also satisfactory.
 
As the days went by, Irene noticed how Taeyong kept appearing around their area literally every hour, just to say hi and talk to Yeri quickly. These new interns always arrive at the office together, eat lunch together, and go home together. This gave Irene the impression that something special going on with them.
 
It was a little past five in the afternoon when Irene noticed Taeyong roaming around their area again. He couldn't come near because Irene is still teaching Yeri something. He just signaled Yeri something, animatedly telling her he'll be waiting in the lobby. Yeri nodded.
 
"What a clingy boyfriend you have there," said Irene, admiring the sweetness of the two.
 
"Taeyong?" asked Yeri.
 
"Yeah. Who else? He's your boyfriend, right?"
 
Yeri shook her head. "No. We're not together."
 
"What?"
 
"We're just friends, Ms. Irene."
 
"Friends? How come you guys are always together?"
 
"Taeyong and I practically grew up together," said Yeri. "He lives a few blocks from my house. We were classmates since elementary. We even went to the same university. He's like a brother to me."
 
Irene blinked at that. "I just thought you two are... Well. Never mind."
 
"We get that a lot, Ms. Irene. It's not new. Taeyong is protective of me. He doesn't have a sister."
 
"Do you think he likes you?" asked Irene, getting more interested this time.
 
"I don't know. But he's in love with another girl so us is impossible, miss."
 
"So, you're crushing on him?"
 
Yeri shook her head again. "He's just like a big brother to me. Besides, he's not really my type."
 
"What is your type then?"
 
"Boo!"
 
Before Yeri could answer, Seulgi suddenly popped up in front of Irene's terminal, like she crawled silently to surprise them. The two girls were startled.
 
"Hey, it's already five o'clock. Stop that and go home now," said Seulgi, tapping her hands in a drumbeat.
 
Irene felt something warming up her chest. It's been over two weeks now since they've actually talked. She has been trying to act normal around Seulgi lately to stop Krystal from getting suspicious again.
 
But the smell of Seulgi's cologne made Irene realize how she missed that scent. Irene got used to smelling it because of the act they did. The cologne itself does not captivate her. What she loves about it is the way it smells when it's mixed with Seulgi's body fragrance. That's one reason she enjoyed snuggling with Seulgi, the scent is too irresistible for her.
 
"We're just wrapping up. Why are you here?" said Irene.
 
Seulgi scratched her nape. "Uh, well... I just... I just happen to pass by the area and noticed that you two are still here. You don't want to force the interns to render overtime, do you?" She turned to the intern. "Hello. I haven't formally introduced myself yet. I'm Seulgi."
 
Yeri shyly shook Seulgi's hand. "I'm Yeri..."
 
"Aha! So, you're 'the Yeri'? Taeyong's Yeri?" said Seulgi, surprised.
 
"No. We're not together. Taeyong is like a brother to me."
 
"Huh? Really?" Seulgi scratched her head. "Well, Taeyong keeps on talking about you. I thought you're his girlfriend."
 
"I don't have a boyfriend right now..." Yeri shyly admitted.
 
"Are you looking for one?" Seulgi flashed out her lopsided smile, leaning closer to Yeri.
 
Irene's not sure, but she thinks Yeri blushed a little.
 
"What about Taeyong then? Don't you like him?" Seulgi followed up, pulling her body back.
 
"Seulgi, stop that. She's about to go home with Taeyong now so stop interrogating her, okay?" said Irene.
 
"Yes, boss," said Seulgi lazily, only to cover when she realized what she said. Good thing Krystal has already gone home.
 
Irene chuckled.
 
"I better go now, girls. I still have tennis practice." Seulgi fixed her bag on her shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow, Irene."
 
"Take care," said Irene, feeling a little disappointed because Seulgi didn't ask her out.
 
"You too."
 
Irene felt her heartbeat rose when Seulgi patted her head before leaving the area. She missed being treated like that, like a princess.
 
The two girls followed Seulgi with their eyes until she's gone from their sight.
 
"So, where are we again?" Irene composed herself. "Ahh. Yeah. We were talking about guys. What's your type of guy then?"
 
Yeri looked like she was spacing out. "Seulgi..." she mumbled under her breath.
 
"Huh?"
 
"Seulgi..." said Yeri, her eyes staring at nothing. "She's totally my type."
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Comments

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cutieeexd #1
Chapter 52: can’t wait for your next story, author :((( i miss u and ur works huhu i hope you’re doing well 💗
Seul_rene14 #2
Oh I'm so back to read this again!!!! Author-nim are we getting any new seulrene fic?
rilakchaerin91
#3
Chapter 51: Love it!🫶🏻
serene09
#4
Chapter 51: rereading 10x already ..
please comeback authornim
railtracer08
357 streak #5
Chapter 52: That was a ride alright. Really felt like locking them together in a room at times just so they could actually talk 😂. At least everything worked out in the end
Oct_13_wen_03 35 streak #6
Chapter 51: 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
sseulrene23 #7
Chapter 52: I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR NEXT STORIESSS🥹🤩
sseulrene23 #8
Chapter 52: I fricking reread all your stories like 10 times
sseulrene23 #9
Chapter 52: thanks for the shoutout?
sseulrene23 #10
Chapter 52: LOVE YOUR STORIES