Hyewon closed her desktop and leaned back at her swivel chair with a sigh. It was 7:08 in the evening, and she just finished writing up her article for the presidential survey held by several universities. Hyewon looked at her desk - three mugs of coffee, a half-eaten donut, tons of paper scattered. And it's just a Monday. Nevertheless, it was still her last work for the day, and she thought of just napping in their workplace before going home until a loud tap on her desk surprised the hell out of her.

"Meeting at the conference room in 10."

Hyewon let out a groan. Being one of the few staff writers of their small mass media company, a female at that, her work has doubled since the start of their country's campaign period, which added at least three hours in her usual working hours per day. And now, a meeting. Getting up from her seat, Hyewon threw the donut in the trash bin and grabbed the used mugs on her desk, bringing them to their common wash area to clean it. It was during these moments that Hyewon tried to envision what would have happened had she not taken this path, had she followed her parents' wishes to be a doctor instead, not this "cheap, ungrateful hell of a job," whatever they mean. But she understood that after the long hours of no sleep, disrupted eating patterns, no time for herself, and low salary; she understood her parents' wishes as both were from the medical field, enjoying their money. Almost the same grievances, but at least they've got money; Hyewon doesn't. She chuckled to herself, wondering why is she still in this field for about a year now.

After washing the mugs, she took one and made herself yet another coffee. A meeting to end her day is for sure a headache, Hyewon thought. Bringing her coffee with her, she headed towards the conference room, hoping that the meeting would flow smoothly.

-----

It did not.

Instead, the conference room was a mess, journalists arguing with each other, editors shouting at whatever papers are in their hands, interns picking up any papers being thrown around. Hyewon could only sigh at the sight; all these men willing to kill each other for the slightest exposure there can be. She could not blame them, though; she also craved exposure to help her boost her career. But not like this - literal chaos asking for the better stories, better angles about the upcoming election, hanging on every gossip that might be fed into the general public's minds.

Ah, Politics.

Of course, these men knew how much traction politics could help them gain exposure. Hyewon did not bother volunteering herself, knowing how her coworkers will kill just to get their name under the politics section. How can she when threatening looks bore on her the last meeting, and she was assigned to the piece about various universities' presidential surveys, the one she finished earlier? Since that meeting, she was met by cold stares and dry conversations. Hyewon was used to these treatments, but she dreaded the tense atmosphere whenever she's in the same room with co-writers. Just as she was disgustingly glaring at these men in the room, their editor-in-chief, who was busy smoking even in the midst of a meeting while letting his subordinates fight like animals in front of him, finally spoke.

"Enough," he commanded, putting out his cigar and instantly reaching out for a new one. Hyewon stared in disgust at their chief editor, then looked around to see these men promptly behave and looked seemingly approving of their chief's actions. Hyewon could only roll her eyes at her superiors, what asses they are to encourage a man to smoke in a closed room with poor ventilation, a room with "no smoking" signs on.

"Enough of politics," the chief said as he puffed his cigar. "There's an incoming storm that will hit the province tomorrow. I need someone to be there. I need a live broadcast or any live footage. Any volunteers?"

Funny how almost everyone who was fighting over some stories become quiet all of a sudden. The once chaotic conference room stilled, allowing the sounds of some clearing their throats or turning papers to be heard. Hyewon almost scoffed at what she is witnessing, questioning these people who chose this profession of delivering news and whatnot but did not budge at the mention of a storm.

"I need someone to stay there for at least a day or two to monitor the situation. Kang already wrote about it, but now we need live updates." With the mention of her surname, all eyes suddenly glared at Hyewon, and how she wished she has never written about it because she knew these people would only treat her with contempt more.

"Well, she wrote about it, then it's better if she's the one to cover it too, right?" the man on her right suggested, followed by a murmur of agreements.

"Take note that the person to be deployed is alone. Meaning they'll be in charge of everything, from writing the story to covering it live. I mean everything. I can't spare a crew to go there."

"She's fine. She can do that. Let us do the harder works like you know the election," another one seconded—another round of agreeing murmurs. Hyewon can feel the smirk of these men as they continually push the story away from them. Her nerves are slowly getting to her, but she mustered with all her will the need to control herself.

"She's a girl," their chief retorted, waving his hand dismissing the suggestion. "She can't do that alone."

And that was the last straw. Hyewon could not take it anymore, not when they're referring to her in the third person, not when her chief's downplaying her gender, not when her colleagues are pushing her over.

"I will do it," Hyewon affirmed, albeit a bit shaky, which made their chief frown while her peers smiled in victory. But seeing the smiles of these vicious men, or Hyewon would like to call them hyenas, she finalized her resolve at once.

Their chief was about to say another word, but she beat him to it. "I will do it," she repeated, this time much firmer. "I will leave today. I got some contact from there anyway. I can do it."

Silence.

"Okay. Meeting adjourned then."

While other people scrambled to get off their seats, Hyewon finally released her breath she didn't even know she was holding in. And when she thought everything's over, she heard his chief speak in his low voice, with a tone she hated with all her heart.

"If you need help, I'm just a call away. You know that, right? I can accompany you, and we'll book the best hotel there is."

Her fists curled, her jaws clenched, and her whole body shivered in disgust with what she heard. Her vision narrowed, and her mind was clouded not until she felt a touch on her shoulders - that's when she flinched and pulled away from their chief.

"No, thank you. I can manage myself very well. If you may excuse me." With that, Hyewon left the conference room and made her way back into her desk. She could already hear gossips being passed on throughout her peers, something she has heard the moment she step foot on this company. Gossips saying that she's just a pretty face, she's just a decoy that the chief wants in his sight. She knew a new gossip would float again, but after being in the company for a year, she learned to just put it all behind her and focus on her work. And that is what she'll do.

What Hyewon thought to be a good end of a workday turned out to be yet another horrifying experience, something to be added to her list of horrible experiences in the company.  Thoughts of why she chose to continue her profession resurfaced in her mind, and she knew with each experience, her will and passion wavers. Collecting her things and heading for the elevator, she sighed as she remembered a game night with her friends. Hyewon would gladly ditch her work if not for all the things that happened today, if not for these men crushing her ego. Of course, she would not back down on self-centered and obnoxious colleagues. Powering her way through the crowd of other co-workers hanging out in the hallway, she walked with her head held high, never softening her gaze. All eyes were on her, and the crowd hushed, and only the sound of Hyewon's heels clicking on the floor can be heard. It was almost like a movie scene, where everyone from work hated the protagonist, but they don't care about them at all. Almost like a movie, because the moment she entered the elevator alone, all those stares got her defenseless, all those gossips got her feeling ashamed, all her hard work felt like a punishment. Almost like a movie, she shed a tear no one would know about.

But the moment she elevator dinged, Hyewon pulled herself together at once, not letting anyone see her in that state. She got into her car and immediately pulled out her phone from her bag, calling her friend. 

"Hey, guys, change of plans. I'll be going out of town tonight. Duty calls," Hyewon shouted over the phone as she slowly sank herself into the driver's seat. Leather seats were really a good investment.

"What why? We've planned our game night for weeks!" a loud and raspy voice resonated throughout the car. Hyewon frowns at her phone upon hearing the voice, and confusion was etched on her face.

"Yena," Hyewon started. "Put Kkura on please, I called her, not you."

Hyewon heard some resisting noise and some scuffle from the other side, and as she started to drive, she finally heard Sakura's voice.

"Hi there, Hye. What's with the change of plans?"

Hyewon then continued to rant about her monotonous day that ended in a sour night. She recounted how she was about to end her day in peace when suddenly a meeting ruined it, a meeting that exposed how macho these men portray themselves, how these men look down on her, how even their chief disrespects her as a person. Hyewon was boiling mad she had to slow down and stop her car. It is ironic to her how high her respect is for the said profession, but how low her respect is for the people professing to be practicing it. So much for their oath and pledge to serve the people to their utmost capacity when they only serve themselves.

" 'em men! Don't listen to them scumbags. They're worthless anyway. They're not worthy of you!" Hyewon heard Yena from the background. She could not help but chuckle at how Yena passionately hates men. But she understood, she understood very well. Sakura then cleared after shushing Yena, probably with more than a shush but also with a kick, Hyewon thought.

"Well, yes, I agree with Yena. But, are you okay?" Sakura asked, emphasizing the okay. Hyewon stopped for a second before speaking. She talked about her work, her colleagues, her chief - she talked about everything except herself. She spared what happened at the elevator, her screaming thoughts and all. Hyewon exhaled. "Yes, I'm okay."

Although it did not sound like she was answering Sakura, it sounded more like convincing herself that she was okay. And so, Sakura just accepted her answer, albeit skeptical.

"Anyway, let's have a quick dinner. So where am I headed?"

-----

Their dinner was short yet full of stories shared. They had their dinner in Sakura's apartment, not far from Hyewon's, so the latter decided to spend a little more time with her two buddies. Hyewon felt revived being with her friends, and there is just something about their presence that made her feel so warm, a contrast to her daily work life. Just hearing Yena and Sakura banter, Yena making a fool of herself for some good laugh, and Sakura just straight up shutting down Yena's jokes is already making Hyewon feel at home. And sometimes she wonders, is this her only source of happiness?

After their dinner, Yena opted to stay overnight at Sakura's apartment as Hyewon headed back to her own. Back to her own cold apartment where she barely stays. Her working hours stretched too long for her to enjoy the comforts of her apartment anymore. She scanned her room and missed her friends at once. Oh, how she imagined her friends at her apartment right now, playing some games or drinking some wine, but all that welcomed her is a cold, pitch black, almost empty apartment of hers. Quickly shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts, she immediately went to her bedroom to pack for her things. Thinking that she could stay in the province for more than two days, she packed her stuff good for three days. And she's ready.

She opted to nap for an hour before taking off since it was just 10 in the evening. Hyewon planned to arrive at her destination at least before 7 in the morning since it was an 8-hour drive. With thoughts of tomorrow floating in her head, she closed her eyes as she lay on the bed, finally able to nap after a grueling day. She just hoped that things would be smooth and better than her day today. She wished.