Hyewon nervously drummed her fingers on the armrest of her chair as she waited in the meeting room of the extravagant office. She was confused as to why she was the only one called in; from past experiences, she was often one of many girls gathered in a small room, where whoever was in charge that day would make them try different poses, or catwalk, or worse, hold a spontaneous interview. But today… Today felt different since she rolled out of bed at seven-thirty.

For starts, she didn't have breakfast, which was the most ridiculous thing to ever happen to her. Kang Hyewon was never not hungry. Then, checking her inbox, she noticed two new emails - one was from her online friend in Japan, and the other was from her modelling agency. To her surprise, her Japanese friend, a fellow Fortnite player, was planning to move to Korea to "expand her horizons". Of course, this was very good news to Hyewon, but it was also very unexpected, especially since her friend had never mentioned relocating. 

The other email was to confirm that she, Hyewon, would be attending an interview today at nine a.m. sharp. She had immediately freaked out after reading the name and address of the brand; it was a very famous fashion brand that had risen to fame in the last year. Although she knew this interview offer was a good thing, she couldn’t help but be nervous. Hyewon hadn’t attended a meeting with a highly reputable brand in a while, as most of her income had come from her modelling for small online brands.

Hyewon had rushed to change and prep for the interview, applying makeup properly for the first time in days. Her pre-interview anxiety drained her of any hunger for the next few hours, and although she was tempted to drop by the bakery that Nako worked at just to ease her nerves, the headquarters of the fashion brand was too far away for her to hang out with Nako, even for a brief moment.

So here she was now, an awkward twenty-one year old Kang Hyewon sitting in the empty meeting room of Woolimz.

She perked up when the door creaked open, and scrambling to her feet, she immediately bowed to the person entering the room. She kept her eyes on the floor as she stood, waiting for the person to speak.

“Wow, Kang Hyewon, this is the first time I’ve seen you wear something that’s not a T-shirt and jeans,” a familiar voice quipped.

Hyewon’s eyes widened at the sound of the amused voice, and she slowly dragged her gaze up from the floor. In front of her stood Eunbi in a sharp suit with a slim black tie. The tailored suit hugged and accentuated her curves - curves that Hyewon could not keep her eyes off. Eunbi waited a few beats before clearing , smirking when Hyewon’s gaze flicked up to meet her eyes.

“Uh, hi,” Hyewon managed to eke out. Wow, Hyewon, very smooth, much confidence, she internally berated herself. “You’re- I didn’t- you- design-”

Eunbi’s grin grew wider and wider as Hyewon stumbled over her words. She decided to help the clearly flustered woman out. “Relax, Hyewon. Sit down,” she said before sitting down in the large chair at the head of the table.

“I-” Taking a seat, Hyewon fumbled around with her words. “I didn’t know you were a fashion designer.”

“And I didn’t realise you were a model, especially since all I’ve ever seen you do is stare at food, buy food, and eat food,” Eunbi replied teasingly.

She watched as Hyewon fidgeted in her seat, picking at her nails and glancing anywhere but up at her. Eunbi wasn’t used to this Hyewon; what happened to the relaxed woman, the one with all the confidence in the world around Nako, the Hyewon with the flirty smile? Her -eating grin dimmed as Hyewon’s hand flitted up to clutch at her collar, her chest rapidly heaving. All thoughts of interrogating Hyewon about Nako immediately flew out of Eunbi’s head.

Getting up from her seat, Eunbi approached Hyewon and knelt before her. Hyewon didn’t notice Eunbi’s movement, and jolted a bit when Eunbi placed a hand on her knee. “Hey, you alright?” Eunbi asked, concerned.

Hyewon didn’t respond, couldn’t respond. Her mind went blank, her vision blurring as she started to hyperventilate.