Jung Yerin was already at her desk when Hwang Eunbi walked by, coffee in one hand and a gift bag in the other. She had only been working as Eunbi's PA for three months, but she had never seen her antisocial boss with a gift before. She didn’t have a clue who the gift could be for in the office. Or maybe Eunbi was trying to persuade a business partner to agree to something.

“Who’s the gift for?” Yerin asked curiously, not thinking her boss would answer.

“You.” Eunbi dropped it onto Yerin’s desk without much ceremony. She stood in front of Yerin’s desk, obviously waiting for Yerin to open it.

Yerin raised a brow, and slid over to where Eunbi had dropped the bag. She peeked inside.

Eunbi smiled, but covered her amusement by drinking her coffee. Yerin looked back and forth between the gift and Eunbi.

“No need to thank me.” Eunbi looked far too pleased, but contained her smile once more.

It was a stapler. It was gray, but that wasn’t the odd part about it. The stapler was shaped like a dragon head.

“Remember to staple my reports.” Eunbi said, a hint of a smile on her lips, before walking past Yerin’s desk and into her office. Yerin stared at the office door, even after she couldn’t see Eunbi anymore.

It was an odd gift to say the least, but the odd part was that Eunbi had never been the type of boss to tease. No, in fact, she was the type of boss to sack someone who didn’t do their job correctly. Like Yerin. She still wasn’t sure why she still had this job, especially since Yerin wasn’t very good at her job and she tended to tease Eunbi too much.

Yerin hadn’t been stapling Eunbi’s reports since she started this job. Or Eunbi’s financial statements, or her letters, or really anything Eunbi needed stapling. At first it was because Yerin didn’t have a stapler and she hadn’t a clue how to staple correlated papers on the copy machine. Later though, about a month into her new job with HEB’s CEO, it was just because of Eunbi’s face when she received an unstapled report. She stared at it, one eye twitching and lips tight, and then she looked up at Yerin like she was a heathen. It was quite funny. Two months later Yerin had actually forgotten that she needed to staple reports.

Yerin looked at the dragon head stapler and smiled a bit, because instead of sacking Yerin , Eunbi had decided to fight fire with fire. It was unexpected and Yerin had half expected a pink slip in the bag. Yerin opened the stapler and filled it with staples, extremely happy that Eunbi could tease back.

With a pile of papers in her hand, Yerin walked into Eunbi’s office. She looked up at Yerin with a raised brow when Yerin stood in front of her desk wordlessly. Yerin held up the papers, then the stapler, making a show of stapling them. Then she put the report on Eunbi’s desk with a cheeky smile.

“Thank you, Yerin unnie.” Eunbi said, looking very pleased with herself.

“You’re welcome.” Yerin said.

Yerin went back to her desk and waited. It only took ten minutes before she heard Eunbi’s curse from inside her office. She must have seen the papers were stapled upside down.

***

“Unnie? What in the world are you doing here?” Eunbi asked.

“Um…” Yerin looked down at herself, her pressed slacks and blue button up. Then at Eunbi’s desk and Eunbi, her white shirt rolled to her elbows. It was afternoon, and Yerin was fairly sure she had seen Eunbi that morning. She tried to think if she needed to be anywhere, but couldn’t think of anything. “I work here?” Yerin answered dumbly.

“Yes, I know that, thank you. ” Eunbi rolled her eyes. “Why are you still here? Don’t you have a half day?”

“I do?” Yerin asked again, wondering if Eunbi was messing with her. Eunbi always asked Yerin to stay late. She never actually had to stay late, but Eunbi offered her over-time compensation and Eunbi always looked so desperate when she asked. Besides, after working for Eunbi for the last couple months, she was more like a friend than a boss. It was a favor more than anything else.

“Of course, you do. I thought I sent you that email…” Eunbi turned to her laptop, skimmed through something and then made a grimacing face. “I forgot to send it. I’m sorry, and I suppose it's too late to make plans now.”

“Plans?” Yerin asked, looking down at the reports. She forgot what she was going to tell Eunbi about them.

“It’s your birthday, is it not?” Eunbi asked.

“Oh.” Yerin said, as if she had forgotten. She hadn’t, but she was surprised that Eunbi knew. “Yeah, but I was going to wait until the weekend to go out. Can’t really celebrate on a Wednesday night.”

Eunbi laughed, “True. But you can have a half-day.” Eunbi stood up and took the reports from Yerin’s hand, “I can handle myself for the rest of today.” After being Eunbi’s PA for this long, Yerin didn’t really think she could. But a half-day sounded nice...

“I don’t even have anything to do.” Yerin said, wondering if she had time to pick up the potted plant soil she needed for her houseplants. She could go home and read a book, which was always relaxing. Maybe she would call her mum and thank her for birthing her. That was a good idea.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Eunbi said, already thumbing through the reports.

Yerin looked at Eunbi and then thought about the rest of her evening. Yerin cleared . “Would you like to get dinner? I don’t have plans tonight for my birthday. It might be nice to spend it with a friend.”

Eunbi looked up, surprised. Yerin wondered if she had gone too far by calling hdr boss her friend. Except, Eunbi didn’t look offended. She was smiling and maybe looking shy, which was oddly endearing.

“In that case, I’ll treat you to dinner. As a birthday present. For a friend.” Eunbi said, almost sounding like she was trying out the words herself.

Later that night, Eunbi bought Yerin a very nice dinner and ridiculous expensive wine. Yerin got drunk off the wine, and Eunbi questioned her alcohol tolerance. Then Eunbi half-walked, half-carried Yerin home. At her doorstep she wished Yerin a happy birthday. Yerin hugged Eunbi, because she always ended up being a tactile drunk, and said that she had a good birthday because of Eunbi. Yerin thought that the blush on her face afterwards wasn’t because of the wine.

***

Apparently Yerin had been the first PA to last more than five months, which just proved Yerin’s skill. Either that or Eunbi’s desperation for any PA who was willing to put up with her quirks. Probably the later, since Yerin was actually quite fond of Eunbi’s quirks.  On the five-month-marker,  Eunbi declared that Yerin was a miracle and she was taking Yerin out to lunch.

Going to lunch and then dinner after work had become a common affair. No longer employer and employee, or even coworkers, Eunbi and Yerin had become friends. Eunbi was still a bit of a workaholic, and Yerin took more overtime than normal, but they saw it as a favor between friends rather than a burden. Plus, Eunbi always made sure to pay Yerin for over time, and buy her food while they slaved over reports.

So when Christmas came around, it made perfect sense that they had dinner plans before their week-long holiday. Eunbi put the restaurant expenses on the business and they enjoyed the evening together.

At the end of the night, Yerin pulled out Eunbi’s Christmas present and slid it across the table. “Happy Christmas” Yerin said, smiling widely. Eunbi gave her a dubious look, but still took the present.

After pulling out the tissue paper, Eunbi simply said “It's a plain coffee mug.”

Yerin grinned, “Nope.”

Eunbi narrowed her eyes at Yerin and then examined the cup, turning it upside down. Eunbi laughed and Yerin felt butterflies flutter in her stomach.

“So when you drink everyone can see.” Yerin said proudly. It had taken her two hours of searching on the Internet to find the mug. On the bottom of the mug, which could be read when Eunbi drank, it proudly proclaimed ‘I'm a prat!’

“Honestly, Unnie?”

“Yes.” Yerin said. “Come on, I thought you'd like. It's practical. You're always telling me to be practical .” Which was true. Eunbi was still trying to make Yerin be a reasonable good PA, which was a losing battle. Yerin admired Eunbi’s determination though.

“Yes, of course. I'll bring it to board meetings, shall I?” Eunbi snorted out a laugh.

“Perfect. I think the board should get some too. Like ‘I'm a .’ And ‘I'm old and not willing to change my mind.’” Yerin suggested. The board of the company really was a pain in Eunbi’s , a bunch of old men from Uther’s Old Guard, but Yerin was confident that Eunbi would sort them out when the time came.

“That will be hard to fit on a mug.” Eunbi commented.Yerin shrugged and then leaned forward with excitement. “So what did you get me?”

“Who said I got you anything?” Eunbi asked, “Maybe I don't want to give it to you now.” She gestured to her mug.

“ Please ” Yerin whined, making it eyes wide and clasped her hands in front of her. Eunbi always fell for it when Yerin pretended to play nice.

Eunbi laughed as she pulled out the bag, falling for it easily. She slid it over to Yerin, “Happy Christmas. You're still the worst assistant I have ever had.”

“Uh-huh.” Yerin rolled her eyes as she grabbed the bag. “That's why you haven't sacked me yet.”

Yerin opened the present and pulled out what appeared to be a lump of red and white fabric. She unfolded it, to reveal a Christmas sweater with white reindeer and pine trees, which was covered in gold glitter. There were sequins and beads adorning the holiday patterns, falling all over Yerin’s lap. It was glittering in its festivity.

“Dear god I'm going to be covered in glitter.” Yerin said, already looking at her glitter covered hands.

“It's perfect then.” Eunbi said, “To match your glittering personality.”

Yerin laughed, looking at the sweater. She wished she hated it, but it was just the thing she would wear on Christmas morning when Eunha and her Mum opened presents. Eunha would hate it, and scoff at Yerin’s glitter. Her mother would love it, but would ask her to clean up the couch where she sat because it would be covered in glitter.

Eunbi coughed when Yerin didn't say anything. Yerin realized she had been smiling down at the sweater, probably looking all too pleased about a gag-gift. Eunbi made an awkward gesture with her hands, “You also have an extra week off after Christmas. I'm sure your mum will appreciate having you an extra week.”

“You're giving me a week off to spend time with my mum?” Yerin asked, a little dumbfounded.

“Well, you can do anything you want. It's your week off.” Eunbi said, looking down with a shrug. “I just figured you'd be with your family.”

Yerin looked down to her sweater, thinking again of Christmas morning. She wondered what she would do with an extra week after Christmas.

“Are you taking an extra week?” Yerin asked.

“No, but I rather not spend more time with my father and Sojung unnie than I already do.” Eunbi said. Yerin understood that, since Eunbi worked with her family. Yerin only saw her mum when they Skyped or she had a free weekend to drive to Hyoseong-dong.

“Would you want to come to Hyoseong-dong?” Yerin asked, suddenly wanting Eunbi to be there with her. Her mother would love Eunbi. “New Year's is always rather boring at home. You might be entertaining enough for that small town.”

“Dear God you live in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, don't you?” Eunbi laughed. “Would I know the whole town by the end of one visit?”

“No, but everyone would know you. It's Hyoseong-dong, everyone knows everyone.” Yerin said with a smile, “When I came out, the whole town knew within two days.”

Eunbi paused in the middle of taking her drink. She looked at Yerin oddly.

“You did know I was bi, right?” Yerin paused, wondering if it had ever come up. She usually didn't bring it up when she was at work, just because she considered her private and work lives separate. She wondered if her uality would be a problem with Eunbi. 

Eunbi drank and then continued the conversation. “No, you never mentioned it. In that case, you probably didn't know I was gay.”

“You're what ?” Yerin’s fear of Eunbi’s disapproval quickly turned to shock. She watched Eunbi’s face for a sign of a joke, but she appeared to be serious.

Eunbi laughed at Yerin's wide-eyed surprise. “I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing that reaction.”

“Well you're just-” Yerin gestured helplessly to Eunbi’s appearing straight-ness.

Eunbi raised a brow, waiting expectantly for Yerin to put her foot in .

“Okay, yeah. That's fair.” Yerin shrugged. “I suppose I thought if you were gay you would be the type of bloke to have a girlfriend. Unless you do?”

“I’m a straight-looking workaholic who’s only been on one date with a man. No, I don't think I'm the type of bloke to have a girfriend.” Eunbi said, grumbling a bit to herself.

Yerin made a sympathetic noise, knowing how she too had had to prove her queerness to some people. “If it makes you feel better, my last girlfriend dumped me because she thought all biuals cheat on their partners.”

Eunbi scrunched up her face, “God, what a loser.”

“Tell me about it.” Yerin said, “Anyways, you should make the trip to Hyesoeng-dong. I'll take you ice skating on the pond outside my mum’s house. You can watch me fall on my , I’m sure you’d love that.”

Eunbi smiled, “Sounds perfect.”

Yerin smiled and lifted her glass in toast “Happy Christmas?”

Eunbi clinked her glass against Yerin’s “Happy Christmas, Yerin unnie.”

***

In the new year, Eunbi and the company were hitting the ground running. Yerin and Eunbi’s holiday was fun, but only a week back into work and Eunbi was scheduling a large scale board meeting. Yerin was organizing the boardroom before Eunbi’s meeting, when a woman in a business suit walked in. She stopped in the doorway and stared at Yerin without a greeting.

“Erm… May I help you?” Yerin asked, looking at the table with freshly printed out reports and then back at the woman. “The meeting is in an hour.”

She waved a hand, as if to push away the meeting. “I’m here to see you. You are Jung Yerin, are you not?”

“Erm, yes? Who are you?” Yerin asked.

“I’m Hwang Sojung.”

“Oh, Jesus, does Eunbi know you’re early?” Yerin gaped, probably not making a good first impression. Sojung was beautiful and terrifying, just as Eunbi had described.

Yerin had never met Sojung, despite the fact that she was a representative of the company. She worked out of country, and Yerin hadn’t recognized the woman in front of her from the the picture Eunbi had on her desk, from when she was eight and Eunbi was five.

Sojung smiled, “My reputation precedes me. And no, my baby sister doesn’t know I’m here. Yet.” She walked up to Yerin and extended a hand of greeting. “I heard you’re the PA that lasted longer than anyone else. I had to meet you. Eunbi seems oddly fond of you.”

“We’re friends.” Yerin answered, “And I seem to be the only PA willing to put up with her.”

Sojung snorted out a laugh, “In that case, I’ll pray for you.”

Before Yerin could answer, Sojung was suddenly very close and eyeing her. Yerin looked down, wondering if she had spilled something on herself.

Sojung tugged at her scarf. “Where did you get this?”

Yerin looked down at the scarf. It had woodland creatures frolicking around it: orange foxes, cotton-tailed bunnies, and spotted deer. Eunbi had given it to her as a joke last week because she said she saw the scarf and thought of all the weird scarves Yerin wore to work. It was actually very nice of Eunbi, even if she meant it as a joke. Yerin wore it half to annoy Eunbi and half because she honestly liked the scarf, not that she would tell Eunbi that.

“Eunbi gave it to me.” Yerin said, looking down at the prancing foxes. She wasn’t sure how to explain their sort-of prank war. Mostly Yerin teased and Eunbi got her weird things in return. It worked for them.

“She... gave it...to you?” Sojung repeated, staring at Yerin. She was dumbfounded, and though Yerin did not know her, she was aware that this was a sight to behold.

“Yeah.” Yerin clarified. “We have this ongoing joke, in a way. It’s hard to explain.” Now that she thought about it, Eunbi giving her gifts was a very odd joke to explain.

Sojung eyed Yerin like she was from outer space.

“What?” Yerin squeaked.

“Hwang Eunbi gave you a gift .” Sojung said, as if that was odd. “And you’re still here?”

Yerin looked down at the scarf. “It’s not that weird. I like it.” Yerin felt the need to defend the scarf. She actually liked the woodland creatures a lot.

“No.” Sojung shook her head, “No, see you don’t understand.” Sojung took Yerin by the shoulder and pulled her close as if to divulge a secret. “Hwang Eunbi does not give good gifts. She is actually the worst gift-giver in all of Korea.”

“Oh come on, the scarf isn’t that bad.” Yerin said, now kind of insulted for the piece of fabric.

“Yerin, the scarf is perfect for you. It’s a good gift. Eunbi doesn’t give good gifts. ”

“What do you mean? Of course she does! Who’s bad at giving gifts? That’s absurd.”

“Oh she can give gifts just fine, but they’re not particularly nice or perfect for the person. She gives fruit baskets to her business partners. Her father receives a tie every Christmas. I am almost always guaranteed the same fragrance body lotion on my birthday.” Sojung explained.

Yerin eyed Sojung as if she was the crazy one now. “There’s nothing wrong with that. It's a bit… organized but Eunbi’s, you know...bad with people.” An understatement, but Yerin let it stand.

“Oh, believe me Yerin. After twenty-two years with her, I’m well aware of how bad she is with people.” Sojung said plainly. “Which is why I don’t understand how she gave you a perfect gift without even thinking about it.”

“She’s had to have given one good gift!” Yerin said, trying to defend Eunbi, though Sojung’s description was starting to add up with Eunbi’s personality more than the odd gifts that Yerin had been receiving. Yerin had never won