I-DLE LTD. 

COMPANY LOG NO.004

22 JUNE 2020 

9:50 AM 

Shuhua thought that Soojin’s email meant that she could go about her day like normal, but as lunch crept closer she felt her nerves bunching up; there were times where Soojin didn’t seem as intimidating as before but a boss is still a boss, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being scared. 

Her phone lit up; Minnie had finally responded to the text she sent almost 2 hours ago.

Yah! So sorry, I was in the middle of handling some inquiries :( Anyways, good luck! If you survive with Soojin we’ll all go out to celebrate on the weekend lol

She set her phone down and massaged her temples again, “This Kim Minnie…is that all you have to say? Your junior coworker is struggling here” she sighed to herself as she sat back. “I guess I’m on my own for this one” she let out another sigh of resignation as she stretched out in her chair before getting back to work. 

Past the morning tasks, work for Shuhua ran rather slowly: She filed documents, ran copies for Soojin and her coworkers, she watered the office plants a second time, she also refilled the coffee pot in the break room. Normally that’s where her errands would stop, however, today she would be making the occasional trip to the second floor to bring documents to the logistics department.

As much as Shuhua reminded herself to take the stairs, she enjoyed using the elevator; “It’s a waste if no one uses it right?” She said once to Miyeon when she asked why she took the elevator in a building with three floors. The doors opened on the second floor and in front of them was Soyeon, who was currently tuned into her phone while waiting. 

Soyeon was surprised to see Shuhua with the documents she needed for the next project; up until recently, she had been the one to make the trip upstairs to collect plans for each new project. “Thanks ShuShu,” Soyeon said as they walked to her desk, Shuhua handed over the folder, “N-no problem” Shuhua replied, she blinked in surprise, she had never called her that before. “Want to come hang out for a while?” Soyeon asked while looking over the files, “I’ll tell your boss we need you for a bit” she said as she winked at Shuhua. She gave it some thought but decided that she’d rather be upstairs. “Some other time maybe,” Shuhua politely declined, “anyways, please let Chief Seo know if there are any issues with the layout.” She bowed slightly before making her way back to the elevator. 

Shuhua could feel a knot forming in her stomach, the prospect of going to lunch with Soojin gave her a deep sinking feeling that she couldn’t shake. 

“What’s wrong? It’s just lunch!”

“Yeah but it’s lunch with Soojin, WITH SOOJIN! Don’t you remember how she yelled at you and how much you hated her???”

“Okay but she actually seems like a nice person, just a little prickly.”

“…a little?” 

“…okay point taken.”  

Shuhua sighed, she questioned what she was doing, and the validity of what she was feeling, going out to  lunch with one’s boss was a normal thing, and it shouldn’t have warranted such a reaction on her end. She bit her tongue, chiding herself for being panicked enough to have an out-loud argument with herself on an elevator. 

*ding!* 

She let out another deep sigh as she stepped off, Shuhua thought that she was handling the whole situation rather poorly (which she was) and resigned herself to what fate had in store. 

The office was mostly empty now, save for those who brought packed lunches from home, and those who bought simple meals from the vending machines. Shuhua shifted her gaze to the head desk, Soojin was staring at her screen as her finger glided across the keyboard, occasionally breaking her trance to look over documents that she had set aside. She thought she looked rather beautiful, so engrossed in her work, Shuhua stopped and stared for a little longer.

Soojin stared dead eyed at her monitor; typing out points to bring up during the next board meeting, drafting plans for the next project, the clients for this one had asked for a little more leeway in the infrastructure setup and she complied, it made her job easier. A notification popped up in the corner, it was from Soyeon. 

Chief, 

I reviewed the drafts you sent over, I think we can work with your ideas, although we would have to make accommodations  for HR in the new model. I haven’t found anything wrong with them otherwise; attached is a redrafted plan with the accommodations in place. 

-SY

*P.S you should let me borrow Shuhua from time to time

Soojin sighed as she finished reading the email. Soyeon was an amazing colleague; she worked quickly and efficiently and made little to no mistakes, she brought so much value to the company, and was a good friend, she chuckled at the little note at the end, Soyeon always had an attraction to cute things, and she admitted that Shuhua was cute. It clicked in her mind that if Soyeon had already received and revised the plans then she should be back. She looked up at the door and caught Shuhua staring at her. She watched as Shuhua snapped out of her haze and saw the realization tint her cheeks a light pink as she ran hurriedly to her desk. Soojin couldn’t help but smile at the adorable display that she just witnessed, Shuhua’s airheadedness was a sight to behold. She opened up the email app again and began drafting one for her.

Ms. Yeh, 

Are you ready to go to lunch? I’ve finished my work and won’t mind if you put off anything on your to-do until later. 

-Soojin 

She raised an eyebrow, it felt a little too formal for an email about lunch (it is unbelievably formal) so she cleared it and wrote a different one, similar (somewhat) to her last email to Shuhua. 

“That felt a little warmer” she thought to herself as she hit send. She looked over at her desk in time to watch Shuhua read it. 

Shuhua ducked behind her monitor and buried her face in her hands, she wanted the world to collapse on her; she had stared and gotten caught too, all she wanted to do was disappear. The wave of embarrassment hadn’t subsided when she heard a ping from her desktop. She sat up and opened it, it was from soojin. 

Shu, 

Ready to head to lunch? You can leave any work for later

 -Soo

Her face already felt warm from earlier but now it felt even hotter. 

I-DLE LTD. 

COMPANY LOG NO.004 [END]

22 JUNE 2020 

11:50 PM