“Chaeyoung Park.”

“Let her in.”

A 25 year old Chaeyoung Parks walks into the office of her boss at the Creative Firm she worked at. It was a small start up company but she was lucky to have been given a chance fresh out of college with them.

Bowning she takes a seat in front of her bosses desk. “Hello, chief. How are you?”

“I’m good, and you?”

Typical small talk, awfully necessary, awfully uncomfortable.

“Meh, I could be better.” She answers honestly. “But I’m good over all.”

“Chaeyoung, I’m worried.” Her boss tells her cutting straight to the chase.

“About what?”

Her boss shakes her head in disbelief. “How can you be some calm after the scene you made last week with Mr. Lee’s daughter.”

“A scene?” Chaeyoung asks confused. “Chief, I did nothing wrong, she was flirting with me you know giving me signals.”

In Chaeyoung’s defense they were at a club the firm had done and it was the opening night, people where going crazy and it was noisy. Mr. Lee’s daughter was there and she could swear they girl was flirting with her constantly plus Joy pushed her to approach the girl and well who was she to say no.

Her boss pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath before answering to the hopeless oblivious girl. “Dancing with her in front of her father who is an investor, are not signals. That’s just plain stupid.”

If Chaeyoung wasn’t a hopeless romantic and if she wasn’t as oblivious as she was, she would’ve known that no, the girl was not flirting with her, she was being nice and that no she was not the love of her life. And if she wasn’t as tipsy as she was she wouldn’t have tried to dance with her, in front of her dad no less. The now blonde looks down in shame realizing the error of her ways.

“I tried, Chae, because you are so good at what you do. But you left us no other choice.”

“Right.” She nods disappointed as she stands up. “Say no more.”

“I’m sorry, Chaeyoung. If you give it time I’m sure I can find a way to hire you again.”

• JENNIE -

“Hope.”

The brunette underlines the words on her chalkboard before turning around to continue her speech.

“It’s what gives life meaning. The constant planning of projects some of which we complete and others which stay unfinished, but it’s okay. Because they are just that, projects. It’s part of the road to happiness. We are… we are individuals, complete individuals that populate the universe in its entirety. So.. so that thing about having another other half, that’s dumb. Who wants a half when you can have the full thing and…”

“Okay.” Her friend grabs her by the arm with a fake smile plastered on her face. “Everyone say bye to Jennie who came here to talk to us about being a teacher.” Her eyes screaming at her friend to shut up. “At least that’s what she was here for.” She mumbled.

“No, listen kids.” She said while being pulled away . “Don’t settle, never let anyone tell you you are half of anything, you are not. You are full things.” She released her arm and went back to stand in front of the 10 year olds. “You have a destiny, go look for it, never let anyone tell you otherwise because…”

“Okay, that’s enough. Everybody say bye.”

Jennie gets dragged away and out of the classroom by her friend. “Seriously?”

“If you know how I get you shouldn’t have invited me.” She said as the two women walk down the school hallway.

“Well you told me you were adhering to the text. The text you wrote about being a college teacher, not about destiny and the things you are constantly rambling about.” Irene said frustrated, Jennie always ended up talking about the same things. “I mean do you even believe it yourself? Have you found it yet?”

“I don’t know.” She admits. “I really don’t know. All I know is I’ll get married to a really great guy because that’s what next right? Is what I’m supposed to do.”

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Irene asked her as the stopped before of the stairs.

Before either girl could say anything they were interrupted by another teacher who had a meeting with Irene. “Hey, Bae.”

“Wendy, Hi.”

Jennie put on her jacket started descending the stairs. “I’ll see you later.”

It’s not long before Jennie gets home, when she does she sits by the window on her designated reading nook and making herself comfortable she opens up her book and loses any sense of time while doing so.

It’s weird from someone like Jennie to believe in destiny. Because she does. When she was young she was never a big fan of magic or mythical stuff, but after meeting a super enthusiastic nine year old at a soccer game she changed. She doesn’t know why and the logical part of her knows is stupid to believe in destiny, in fate, in magic. It’s stupid to believe that a random meeting like that was the beginning of something. But she does.

After staring at the same book for what feels like hours she sighs and closes it leaving the book on her seat she stand up and walks towards her bookshelf where she opens a small wood treasure box. Smiling at it’s contents she reached inside and takes out an old pink spinning top…

“Here take it, all you have to do is look at it and be sure of what you want before you throw it.”

She smiles at the memory. It’s silly to believe that if she does throw it something magical will happen right? But she does.

Before she can do anything about it the doorbell rings signaling the arrival of her friend, she shakes her head out of her stupor and carefully places the spinning top back into the chest, she then makes sure to serve some wine into the empty glasses on her coffee table and proceeds to open the door.

“You are late.”

“It’s my fault I had a late meeting.” Her friend, Jisoo, explains. Waving her off Jennie invites them in to take a seat.

“Wine?” Irene asks, sitting down and taking a glass.

“Why so fancy? Normally we eat pizza and soda… I mean not that I mind.” Jisoo quickly rectifies, sitting next to Irene on the coach.

“Important news are not told over pizza and soda.” She tells them, taking a big gulp out of her glass.

“Big news?”

“You are pregnant.”

“You are coming out as heteroual.”

“Whoa!”

“Holy !”

Both girls are stunned and flabbergasted as Jennie holds a ring with a huge diamond on top, she’s holding it with her fingers with her arm extended in front of her.

Jisoo grabs the ring and looks at it. “Dr. Jongin gave it to you?”

Jennie nods taking another sip of her drink.

“Why aren’t you wearing it?” This time is Irene who speaks out.

Jennie shrugs refilling her glass.

Jisoo and Irene look at each other as Jisoo leaves the ring on the table. “Why are you not jumping up and down in excitement?”

Jennie looks up from the spot she was staring at in her carpet with a sigh. “You know how my relationship with Kai is. I get suffocated sometimes but like… I can’t lose him right?”

The two friends look at each other again before taking a sip of their glass.

“Okay.” Jisoo says seriously. “Life works like this, you are born, you date, you get married and then you're screwed.”

“I mean I guess you could get a divorce.” Irene mumbles. “But is too messy. Also you can say goodbye to the beach.”

“What? Why?” Jennie asks frowning. “I want a wedding at the beach what’s so wrong with that?”

“What’s wrong with that, Jendukie is that Kai doesn’t want one.”

Jennie shrugs for the nth time as if it was perfectly fine that she was not getting her dream wedding, the wedding she had dreamed off since she was a kid. “That’s fine, all I need to know is that Kai loves me. That we are not together out of habit, out of having been together for so long. All I need to know is that he loves me you know, the type of love where he would feed a tiger with his bare hand for me.” She tells them, mumbling that last part.

Both girls once again look at each other in disbelief. “Jennie.” Irene says quietly. “You need to snap of it, I say this with love. You are not nine anymore.”

“Or ten.”

“Or fifteen.”

“Okay, I get it!” Jennie exclaims effectively stopping them she was still young, thank you very much. “I know it was stupid and that we were kids but I still think is a beautiful description of what love is.”

Her friends looked at each other again.

“What’s so wrong with wanting a love like that?”

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe with them."