I-DLE LTD. 

COMPANY LOG NO.002 

18 JUNE 2020 

7:05 PM 

She sat motionless on the pavement, dazed from the fall and the events of the past hour. “Did I make a mistake working here?” Shuhua asked herself, “I get in trouble even when I’m doing what I’m told to; I don’t know what I’m doing wrong”, the thoughts raced through her mind, what little confidence she had was dwindling. Shuhua watched with deadened, tear-filled eyes as the evening crowd passed her by. The bustling mass of people seemed oblivious to her presence, it reminded her that the world kept on turning; whether she was there or not was of no consequence to it. 

The office at night was Soojin’s favorite place, it was quiet and it gave her a space to be alone and organize her thoughts; however, now it felt suffocating. She chided herself for being too harsh on Shuhua; the girl looked broken as she left for the evening. Her heart ached everytime she would scold new hires; Shuhua was a hard worker, sloppy at times but she did her job with enthusiasm, that much Soojin admitted. She always arrived at the office early, even if she had worked late into the previous night; She always wore a smile and was kind to everyone, even to Soojin, albeit she approached her more warily than she did the others. Soojin buried her face in her hands and let out a deep sigh, “God, what’s wrong with me?” She wondered aloud, “I want to be nicer but I can’t seem to do anything right…” Shuhua’s face flashed in her mind, her pained expression was heart wrenching. “I’m the worst boss in the world…” She sighed, “...It was like this with the others too.” Soojin sat in silence for a little while longer before getting up to leave; as she found her bearings, she glanced out the window at the night scene. Amidst the activity from the evening crowd she spotted Shuhua as she walked out the building, and then—Soojin’s heart stopped dead in its tracks, or at least it seemed to. 

The Seoul branch, I-dle’s Headquarters, was a rather modest structure: it was a 3-storey building that boasted a single elevator and one flight of stairs. Soojin usually took the elevator whenever she arrived at or left the office as it was the fastest way up or down. As fate would have it, the shaft was closed for maintenance that day. Soojin rushed down the stairs, she had watched Shuhua fall, and before she knew it, she was halfway down the second floor. Panic, worry, and fear permeated her mind and body, “How badly is she hurt?”, “What if it’s serious?” Countless questions crowded her head as she descended. 

Soojin reached the ground floor and was about to rush to Shuhua’s side but she stopped herself. “I can’t act like this in front of her; not after what I just did, it might just make the distance between us even more uncomfortable,” she thought as she slowed her gait to a walk. She hesitated because of how it might feel to have your boss act all soft and worried after they yell your ear off, how repulsive it must be. 

Shuhua snapped out of her haze as a hand tapped her shoulder ever so lightly, “Ms. Yeh can you stand?” She turned around and her gaze was met by Chief Seo’s worried look; She flinched, this was the first time she had seen her with such a soft expression. “I- I’m okay I think” she stuttered as she tried to mask her surprise. Soojin’s forehead creased further, “Does it hurt anywhere? come, I’ll help you up”, “how gentle” Shuhua thought as she attempted to pull herself up with Soojin’s help. 

“Does it hurt anywh—” Shuhua winced in pain before Soojin could finish her question, “I should be fine…” Shuhua answered shakily, she looked down to see scrapes on both her knees and that her left ankle had begun to swell, “I think I just twisted it, nothing serious” she said, her lips curling into a wry smile. 

An obvious lie, while Shuhua was appreciative of the concern, the way Soojin was acting unnerved her. 

“I can help you walk to the station, or I could call a taxi to pick you up or some—” 

“Chief Seo, it’s okay,” Shuhua cut her off, “I appreciate the concern, but you don’t need to do anything, I'm fine.” her voice no longer quivering, she met Soojin’s worried face with a look of her own, one of subtle disgust. Soojin flinched, taken aback by the sudden change in her demeanor, but she was no fool, she understood why. “O-Okay, I’m sorry, I also apologize for how I acted earlier, I do it to push you to improve, I hope you can understand…” the words left a sour taste in Soojin’s mouth, they didn’t fit the situation and only served to make it more awkward.  

The few minutes they had until the arrival of Shuhua’s ride were spent in a pregnant silence, Shuhua did not even so  much as look in Soojin’s general direction after the conversation had ended. The air around her felt cold, so much so that Soojin found herself shivering out in the warm summer night. “Thank you for waiting with me chief, good night”, Shuhua turned to look at her one last time as she got into the taxi: Soojin seemed smaller than she did in the office; away from the business, the stress, and the shouting of the work day, she looked vulnerable. She tried to find the words to respond, but before she could, Shuhua shut the door and the taxi drove away. Left alone yet again, Soojin sighed and started on her way home. 

“Uncle, can you change the station? I want to listen to a ballad,” Shuhua asked as she nursed the scrapes on her knees. “Sure thing” the driver responded as he turned the stations. Shuhua closed her eyes; she thought about Soojin, the things she said, what she sought to gain from acting that way just now, and if there was more to her than just being a mean boss. “Young people these days don’t really ask to listen to ballads  anymore, something must have happened, no?” The driver aksed questioningly, peering at her through the rear view mirror. “No, nothing happened… I think…” she replied, briefly snapping out of deep thought before trailing off into silence as the song on the radio played:

~If you've been waitin' for fallin' in love

Babe, you don't have to wait on me ~

“ ‘Fine’ huh?” Shuhua muttered as she sank deeper into the back seat, it was warm. 

I-DLE LTD. 

COMPANY LOG NO.002 [END] 

18 JUNE 2020 

7:50 PM