I-DLE LTD. 

COMPANY LOG NO. 001 

18 JUNE 2020

5:45 PM

There are things that have their place in life; sights, sounds, smells, these inanimate things that populate the world, while they aren’t necessarily living, make the world feel alive. Some of these things are the droning sounds in an office: the hum of the air conditioning units, whirring of the printers and fax machines, as they produce documents and move them from place to place; the jamming of the photocopying machine followed by a disgruntled worker’s muttered curses; the thrumming of computers, and the endless clicking of keys on a keyboard. 

Work at the I-dle office was drawing to a close, the clock struck 6 and employees began punching their timecards, eager to end the day and go elsewhere, the sounds that once populated the space died down. The receptionist desk fell silent, the various machines put to rest. Usually at this time of day not a sound would be heard within the company walls; however, one computer still hummed, one chair squeaked as a faulty wheel refused to move along with the others, and a keyboard still clicked furiously. Beneath the various lone office sounds was a tapping, followed by a sharp snap, a pencil had been snapped in two, so quietly that only god would’ve heard it. 

“YEH SHUHUA ARE YOU STILL NOT DONE WITH THAT REPORT?!” A voice roared from the head desk, echoing louder in the empty office than it would have in the middle of the day. Shuhua recoiled in her seat, it was her third week working for I-dle, a friend had recommended that she apply for a position at the startup company, which began making waves in the local business scene, and she did. Shuhua was nervous but excited, since this would be her first real job since graduating from university. She wondered with starry eyes what laid in store for her here. 

Whatever it is that she wished for, she did not receive it. 

Yeh Shuhua had been accepted for the position of secretary, she found it odd that she would be, since she did not apply for that specific position and was rather hoping for something like a receptionist, or even an errand runner. She shuddered at the thought of being a secretary, what would she have to do? Make schedules?  She could barely get her own plans together; write letters? Sure she took a typing class but that was about it. 

“Yuqi-ah I don’t think I’ll do well working there, I don’t even know what I’ll be doing!” Shuhua voiced her worries to her friend, the same one who pointed her towards I-dle. “It’ll be fine!” Yuqi assured her, “I have friends that work there, they’ll show you the ropes so don’t worry Shu, you know worrying gives you wrinkles, those would ruin Yeh goddess’ face!” She chuckled, she always found Shuhua contradicting herself, worrying about her “goddess image” and well, worrying. Shuhua relaxed a little, “So you acknowledge that I’m a goddess hm?” She smirked, she always knew how to cheer her up, “fine, I’ll work but you’ll have to buy next time we get dinner”,  “You’re on” Yuqi said with a smile. 

Shuhua cursed Yuqi for convincing her to go through with the job. The first week had been fine, she was given a tour of the office and got to meet people from other departments. In her memory there was: Soyeon from logistics, they met briefly at the vending machines on the 2nd floor, Shuhua finds her rather intimidating; there’s Miyeon from the Daegu branch’s finance division, she didn’t really understand why she was all the way out in Seoul but she seemed nice enough, and Miyeon would often bring Shuhua treats from local shops; and there's Minnie, the friend that Yuqi had mentioned, she works reception and would only see Shuhua twice a day, they’d make small talk as they got to work and as they left but aside from that and Minnie redirecting calls towards the Chief’s phone, they hardly interacted; Last, but not least, there was Soojin, or "Chief Seo", depending on who you asked, the head of the I-dle’s Seoul branch, that’s all she knew about Soojin, other than the fact that she had quite the temper. 

The rose tinted glasses came off rather quickly, and Shuhua realized that the reason this company was making the news so soon after its founding is it’s hellish work routine. She found herself struggling to keep up with organizing company timetables, taking hundreds of calls, setting up multiple same-day meetings, and writing company reports for the section chief to go over at the next meeting. Things came at her at a dizzying speed with which she could not keep up, and it began to show. Shuhua was constantly being reprimanded by Soojin for her incompetence, and was often questioned as to how she even managed to pass the interview with HR, let alone get the job; Shuhua got scolded so much that now employees often call her "Seo’s Sandbag", in hushed voices of course. 

Today was no different. Chief Seo yelled at her even louder it seemed, now that the others had left, “HURRY UP AND FINISH ALREADY!” she called out across the room.

clack-clack-clack-clack

drip. 

“YEH SHUHUA, I NEED THIS REPORT FOR THE NEXT BOARD MEETING, I SERIOUSLY CAN’T AFFORD TO BABYSIT YOU LIKE THIS!” 

clack-clack

drip.

“GOD YOU’RE SO USELESS! WHY DON’T YOU JUST QUIT AND ENROLL YOURSELF IN A DAYCARE IF YOU NEED TO BE CODDLED SO MUCH HUH?”

clack-

drip.

Shuhua sobbed silently at her desk, her teardrops falling in tandem with each keystroke.

At first, she didn’t mind the reprimands, she told herself that she would be able to handle it; however, time wore down on her and when at first it felt like the prick of a needle, each passing day made every word Soojin spat feel like a dagger through her heart. The tirade was over now but the silence echoed louder than the shouting, and it was deafening. “Yes Chief…” Shuhua answered meekly, she had just finished the last of the bi-monthly status report. A lone printer’s whirring pierced the heavy atmosphere, passing off the papers to Shuhua. She placed a gentle hand on the printer, her only ally in the dungeon-like office. The walk from the document  station at the back of the room to Soojin’s desk at the front was an eternity, each step made the room seem even longer than it was. Her feet felt like iron blocks, each labored step made her heart sting. Though in reality the ordeal only lasted a few minutes, Shuhua felt like she had aged decades. She stapled the report, placed it on Chief Seo’s desk, nodded her goodbye and left. The last computer shut down, and Soojin sat alone in the dark.

Shuhua stumbled out into the night, her eyesight blurred by the tears; she failed to notice the extra step at the bottom of the building’s entrance, and she fell. While they had spent part of the evening together, she had also failed to notice Soojin, the split on her lip, her hands clenching so hard that her nails broke the skin on her palms, her pained expression as she watched Shuhua leave, and her heart that cracked with every tear that fell. 

I-DLE LTD. 

COMPANY LOG NO.001 [END] 

18 JUNE 2020 

7:05 PM