Dear Chapter 6

Jung SoMi~

“Wow! Congrats SoMi unni!”

“Wow. Lucky.”

“The department probably pitied her since she’s an orphan. That’s why she got the internship.”

“It could be nepotism.”

“She doesn’t have anyone. That’s why she’s an orphan. How would she know someone working at the NIS?”

I heard everything my classmates were saying about me as my feet scrambled to leave the lecture hall in a hurry with Yeri and JooHyun. They had their arms hooked with mine as I was slightly pulling them away from the doors.

“Don’t mind them. They’re just jealous. It’s an incredible internship and you deserve it!” JooHyun’s words were comforting. I felt inclined to tell them the truth but then knew that it wouldn’t make a single difference.

“They called me to say that I can come in on Thursday. What do you wear to a federal agency?” I wondered as my friends and I went to the cafeteria to grab lunch together. WooHyun took the seat next to me, kissing my lips briefly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw SooHyun rolling her eyes at my boyfriend. I was telling Yeri, JooHyun, WooHyun, and SooHyun about how the interview for the internship went with the polygraph interview, background check, and what kind of questions that were asked when I was interrupted.

“Oh! Did you seduce the interviewer into giving you the position? It must have been easy for you, so you’re so skilled at it.” WooHyun’s ex, HaYoung remarked as she smirked at me. This girl was really testing my patience. WooHyun’s eyes shifted from me to his ex-girlfriend and then he abruptly stood up.

“Hey! That’s enough, Ryu HaYoung!” He shouted, dragging her away by the wrist. Sometimes I swear WooHyun was a prominent source of my stress as I felt drained in his presence.

After wrapping up my shift at the café, I dropped by my apartment to get the side dishes to bring to Ahjussi. I opened our mailbox to see a package sent to me. Rushing toward the kitchen, I dropped my bag and opened the manila file with a pair of scissors. A letter of congratulations for my internship and my official I.D. badge was contained inside. A wide grin appeared on my lips as I marveled as the shiny badge.

“It’s just a cut.” Ahjussi said to me after he noticed me staring at his right hand. The bright red line crossed the surface of his hand, however the fresh cut wasn’t the only thing that caught my attention. It was his scars. A deep slash crossed below his knuckle on his ring finger, while another thin scar was in the center of his middle finger. I remember when I first saw them and he asked hesitantly if I thought he was a bad person. His unkempt hair, prison like pawnshop, and the scars on his hands deceived me into saying something so frank, yet childish. Now I knew. And there weren’t enough words to even describe how good of a person he was to me.

“How did you get it?” I inquired with a low voice. His fingers carelessly brushed against mine as I handed him the glass containers filled with side dishes I made for him.

“I’m working again as the drill instructor for the Special Forces.” He said, placing the glass containers into the shelves of his refrigerator. He got up from his crouched stance and then grabbed the back of the dining table chair. His smile fell when his eyes laid on the bouquet of white daises I brought him.

“I wondered who the flowers were for the last time I came over.” I told him; referring to the last time we had a meal together before my mom and I were kidnapped. I remember how he got upset with me when I placed the bouquet in a vase.

“They were for my late wife and child,” I nodded, understandingly as my heart sank at the words. He had lost his family too and because of me he couldn’t visit them for twelve years. Guilt was a constant emotion whenever I was with him. “Thank you, SoMi.” His gentle smile towards me was so peaceful. He had finally overcome his grief and pain, no longer imprisoning himself.

Sitting at his kitchen table, I was busy citing the resources Yeri found as our project was close to being completed. Our group was scheduled to present next week and I was confident that our group would do well. I found myself, smiling internally at the fact that he was here with me. Ahjussi sat on the sofa with a book in hand and the sight of him reminded me that I needed to show him something.

“Ahh. Look what I got?” I cheekily asked him in order to entice his curiosity while I grinned and sat down next to him.

“What is it?” He replied, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly. Excitedly, I pulled out my access card that the NIS mailed to me. With the lanyard wrapped around my hand, I showed him my official badge proudly.

“I got the internship thanks to you.” I said, biting my lower lip as I smiled at him with gratitude.

“Congratulations. But no, you got the position because you were a worthy candidate. Don’t discredit yourself.” His encouraging words induced a warm sensation within me.

My first day at the NIS headquarters was going extremely well. So far, I hadn’t messed up or been criticized by my superior. I was introduced to the Intelligenc