~( ~´･_･`)~

People that send work emails before 9 AM should be ostracized from any company, ever. Seulgi haven't even put out her water bottle when the notification popped up on her computer screen.

It's Friday, and people should try to learn to relax.

To: [email protected] 

From: [email protected] 

CC:

Subject: IMPORTANT

I have a favor to ask, please contact me as soon as possible.

Best regards,

Choi Sooyoung

Head of Editorial Board

She stares at the screen, tempted to delete the email right away and pretend she didn't get it. After all, Choi Sooyoung had flat out rejected her latest opinion piece towards the Minister of Justice daughter fiasco and bitter isn't enough to describe what she's feeling. For Seulgi, it was her best piece of article to date, not to mention the most honest view out there as it should be, fresh and eye-opening for the people of South Korea. Instead, it ended up in Sooyoung's draft folder with no chances of seeing the daylight.

What she had to say about it again?

A small shudder ran through Seulgi, remembering it.

Seulgi, your opinion is too problematic.

It makes no sense. While writing the piece, Seulgi had considered the repercussions of her words but still making sure the message she's trying to convey was clear,  that a trusted person in the current cabinet is misusing his power. She thought with the country being democratic and all that jazz, opinion is a constant thing, so why the hell she was egged on just because the company she happens to work at did not share the same view?

She graduated with a journalism degree only to feel like a teenager stuck in a family dinner, being mocked for having different opinions.

Which is not her family. At all.

Opinion did matter in her household. Every Sunday, her family members always held a meeting to talk about the current family affairs. The topic range from what food the family wants to eat, what happens at school, and if she has disagreements with her brother, they will try to solve it that Sunday.

Her family had a transparent, concise system where the children are allowed to speak openly and criticize parents if they feel wronged. So, Seulgi can't help but be opinionated. She was taught to use it to negotiate for her interest to work out, to make people realize the problem that lies underneath the surface.

Seulgi's phone starts ringing, taking her off from her trance of thoughts.

Sooyoung.

Out of instincts, she ducked in her tiny cubicle. Maybe Sooyoung had spotted her coming in and wondering why she hasn't contacted her yet.

"Hello?" Seulgi answers her phone, quickly changing her voice to a polite one with a little bit of warmth.

"I have a favor to ask," she repeated as if her email didn't say exactly that. At Seulgi long pause, Sooyoung decides to continue, "I can't look at these writings any longer, I think I'm getting a migraine." Her voice clipped.

Seulgi can already picture a long night doing copy editing if she says yes.

Does it really have to happen when I have a date for the night?

She's been looking forward to tonight since the first date ended. They're going to meet at a batting center, and while she wasn't a hardcore fan of the sport, she appreciated the effort her date make into planning and suggesting a fun excursion.

Seulgi bit the bottom of her lip, craning her neck to look around. There's like four other people in the team that her boss can bother with, why her specifically?

Then again, this month's outlook for the subscriber count is sliding further downhill. She had heard the word 'innovation' more than a hundred times around the office. Make sense since the company is trying to do a digital subscription ever since printed newspaper is on the brink of extinction.

She understood that Sooyoung is scrambling around for articles to be published in hope it will attract new audiences but even more so advertising that will help make up the whole collapse.

The fallout of the company will cost her unemployment, which she absolutely can't afford, so Seulgi put on her big girl act, shoved down the bitterness and answer work like a damn adult.

"Sure, is there any way I can help?" Seulgi asks cheerfully but rightly cringed because nobody would sound this cheery when they have work handed to them.

She can hear the relieved sigh from the other line. "You're the best. I'm sending the files to you now."

Seulgi nodded, although Sooyoung can't see. "When do you need it?"

"Tomorrow."

Seulgi clicks on the new email that appeared. Six unsigned editorials in total and she needs to review all of it by tomorrow?

"Just highlight some mistakes but make sure to fix the piece on the inter-Korean summit, okay? It's very original, so prioritize that."

As if working on weekends wasn't bad already, to make it worse, she's revising an article written entirely by someone else when she longed to be featured herself. Seulgi always heard from Sooyoung that she wasn't quite ready yet to become a leading columnist or contribute to a monthly editorial. If doing a favor for her, could make her see what she made of, then so be it.

"In the morn–"

Seulgi stop halfway, stomach churned at the thought of bailing on her date, which is totally not an option. She quickly glances at the clock on her computer, 8:45. Maybe she could revise a couple of it by now and finish by seven and do the rest tomorrow.

And since Seulgi had done much favor for Sooyoung, she knows by heart that her boss won't check anything until Sunday. It's just a habit of her to ask results extra early because nothing infuriates her more than to find nothing on her mailbox on Sunday morning.

If she wants to have fun for the date tonight, she needs to buy time. "I'll make sure you receive it no later than dinner."

Fortunately, Sooyoung wasn't protesting. "I knew you're so nice. I was just telling everyone that you're the best person to deal with in the team," listening to her boss's sugary word, Seulgi resentment die a little.

"No problem, is there anything else?" Seulgi can't stop herself before realizing she's opening herself to more tasks, but it's such an autopilot response.

"Oh, will you please get me a bagel if you go out for lunch? The one from the store that I like–"

"Creamfields,"

"Bagel Lab," Sooyoung finished.

Seulgi let out an awkward laugh. "Of course, Bagel Lab, right on it."

Without any gratitude, Sooyoung hangs up the phone.

Seulgi put the task into her reminder when she realized she got two messages. One is from Mino, sending his usual game invitation link, and the other is from Kyungsoo, which puts the smile on her face.

kyungsoo: is tonight still on?

seulgi: sure, at 8?

kyungsoo: great. i'll see you then. 

Acting like a teenage girl in love isn't the best character one should portray in the middle of work, so she clear , take off her blazer and click on the email.

When she waits for the first editorial draft to load, she looks at the next cubicle that is currently empty because the person who had occupied it had quit. He barely passes the probation time, maybe because he didn't have enough grit to be the last one to sit down on company dinner and the first one to get up when the higher-ups want anything. Seulgi thought back to those six months that feel like hell. She has no idea how she survived that either.

Why didn't Seulgi quit her job too? She could go search for another media company, she's still 25 it's not too late. Maybe company out there didn't have their own version of Sooyoung. Unless, it's too much of a risk, the idea of sending resumes behind HR and go to interviews was enough to stop her from having funny ideas because she knew she couldn't be picky, she needed money.

Still, at least some aspect of her life is looking up because Kyungsoo is the best date she could ask for.

After Christmas, Mino introduced her to Jinwoo, a friend of his who's slightly older and said to be packed with charm. However, someone up there must hate Seulgi so much because dinner date with him officially . As far as looks went, it hadn't been terrible, and Seulgi had suffered far much worse date night with guys whose physical appearances did not live up to what she saw in the pictures. But Jinwoo is up there doing just fine. More than fine, actually. He would've been perfect if only Seulgi could understand his way of thinking.

She remembered complaining to Mino right away after the date.

"Don't be judgy," Mino encouraged.

"He said he's taking me for a surprise!" And foolishly, she had worn a dress that is fit for a party only to end up at a Sundae Pojangmacha.

Mino can't hold in his laughter. He knew Jinwoo for years and still hasn't been able to figure out how his brains work. Man might have face to brag but in terms of using his brain? He's worse than Mino. "You are surprised,"

"I look ridiculous!" She was exasperated, which is insanely gratifying for Mino.

Mino wipes the tears that are coming out of his eyes. "Don't you have something in common?"

"I don't know what he's talking about most of the time! He knows where I work, did you tell him that?"

"No, I just told him that I got a cute friend he might be interested in, then I guess he searched your name on Naver,"

Seulgi pursed her lips into a thin line. "Great, he's also a stalker. I could've been kidnapped and murdered."

"First of all, Jinwoo didn't have the energy to do that. Secondly, is that I'm sorry but admit it, it's funny," he cackles.

Seulgi pouted. "You need to stop matchmaking me with your friends,"

Mino raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you're just rusty."

She's not rusty – okay maybe a little – but it's because she knows that dating in Seoul is the worst, no matter what tactics she's using, she just lurched from one disappointment to another over and over again.

"Oh, a crushing criticism from one who's so good at dating. You still haven't pay me back for that money you spent on a date because you spent it on an electric scooter!" She stretches her hand with an open palm. Mino pushed it to the side, earning a mumble of protest from his friend. It was all the rave that time, renting an electric scooter for a walk around the city. Of course, Mino had fallen victim to the idea that strolling through Seoul with your scooter it's the best thing that human could think of.

The next guy Mino introduced wasn't any better. The guy had been wearing ripped jeans in the middle of a ing winter, and Seulgi was too distracted about the extra dry skin that keeps peeking from the jeans hole. Also, the guy only cares about his opinion. All night he was like 'enough about what I think about this topic, let's move on to what I think about another topic.'

When the guy asked for a second date, Seulgi didn't know she ever answers 'no' that fast in all her life.

From then on, she decided to stop taking recommendations from Mino. She should've known that birds with the same feather, flock together. What did she expect, honestly? A gentleman being friends with Mino? Him? Who's talent went as far as moving his eyebrows at his free will?

She's a lost cause in terms of dating but hope comes in the form of her friend, Joy, who visited Seulgi over the weekend. As far as dating life goes, Joy is unparalleled among her friends, so when Seulgi spilled about her lack of luck, she was comforted by the saying that there are plenty of fish in the sea. Seulgi crossly replied that there also plenty of trash in the sea. Even so, it didn't deterred Joy because she did deliver a blue marlin, namely Kyungsoo. Who was different, and she like different.

Seulgi wasn't known to be picky about her men but loves the fact that Kyungsoo is just the perfect height,