The first few minutes after I woke up was dedicated to staring at the ceiling. It’s a bit blurry without my glasses, which makes it perfect for zoning out. So I did just that, yawning loudly while unconsciously scratching my neck.

Just one more day and I can visit the shelter again. Oh yeah! There’s still that mural me and my friends will be working on but after that, I’ll be able to visit the shelter.

“Wheein-ah!” Byulyi-unnie called from downstairs.

I cleared my throat first. “Yes!”

I directed my eyes from the blurry ceiling to the blurry stairs when I heard Byulyi-unnie making her way up to the bedroom. A blue figure emerged from the stairs. From the way that figure is standing, I don’t need my glasses to know it’s Byulyi-unnie.

“You have to get up now or else you’ll be late for work”

“Okay…”

Byulyi-unnie walked over to the closet while I climbed out of the bed and blindly made my way to the bathroom to wash up. I’ve memorized Byulyi-unnie’s apartment down to the smallest detail that even if I don’t have my glasses on, I am fairly sure I won’t bump onto something.

“I’ll be heading out first, okay?”

“Okay” I responded before I hit the shower.

Byulyi-unnie and I have been sharing her apartment since she found out I have nowhere else to stay. And this was supposed to be temporary but we sooner realized it was beneficial for us. Someone gets to clean the apartment, me, and someone is paying the rent, Byulyi-unnie.

She works as Miss Ahn’s driver and sometimes, she can’t come home because of finishing late. Most of the time, this place is empty. There are also times that she had to rush out due to Miss Ahn’s urgent meetings. And her things will be all over the place on those occasions.

Right now, we’re sharing rent because I finally have work.

I wrapped myself in a towel after I finished showering before I went to get dressed.

Byulyi-unnie was already back downstairs in the small kitchen area finishing her coffee when I got down for breakfast. Instead of going straight to the kitchen, I went to the glass sliding door that leads to a small patio in Byulyi-unnie’s apartment. And then I gave my master a salute.

“Ggomo, good morning” I greeted my lovely boy, who is also my boyfriend and my master. “Enjoying the sun early in the morning?” I leaned my face close to his and asked, “Can I give you a kiss?”

He was staring outside, never giving me a care at all, before he not so subtly moved his face away from mine.

I pouted at him and then changed it to a frown when I heard Byulyi-unnie laughing. I sighed in disappointment and went to fill Ggomo’s bowls.

“Will you be dressed like that for later?”

I stood up straight from bending over Ggomo’s bowls, pushing my glasses up when it slipped. I glanced at Byulyi-unnie and then to my cargo pants and sweatshirt before frowning at her. “Are you going to tell me to dress formally again?”

She laughed over the rim of her cup before taking a sip with a shake of her head. “We’re going to the club later. Didn’t you know that?”

“You never told me about going to a club”

I marched over to the kitchen and started fixing myself a cup of coffee and my breakfast.

“Didn’t the others tell you we’re going to the club?”

My eyebrows scrunched up while I scratched my head, confused. “What others? Who?”

Byulyi-unnie lightly smacked my head as she was placing her mug down the sink. “From the company. There’s a welcome dinner and party for you”

That instantly put a smile on my face, surprised to hear this news. “Really? No one told me”

Byulyi-unnie’s face, from having a goofy smile, slowly turned bewildered. bobbed from how hard she gulped.

I started laughing and hitting her arm and jumping up and down, unable to control myself. “You’re not supposed to tell me, aren’t you? Right? Right? Right, unnie?”

“Wheein-ah…”

I laughed louder and hit her arm harder before I hurried over to the pan when my eggs started to look burned. “Don’t worry, unnie. I’m not going to tell them. I’ll even act surprised for you”

There was a heavy sigh from her before she mumbled. “Thanks”

I let out a few more giggles just to .

“How’s your first week at work?” she asked, climbing back upstairs again probably to get her bag.

“It was nice. Seulgi-unnie was there so I was less nervous. They are approachable too, especially Wendy-unnie. They’re taking good care of me!” I made sure to raise my voice a little bit so she’d hear me.

“That’s nice! How about Miss Ahn and Miss Kim?”

I saw her coming down the stairs as I was transferring my plate and mug on the dining table.

“It is pleasant to work with Miss Ahn. She’s very approachable even though she’s a little unorganized but that’s why I am there. I am still learning her preferences for my notes but other than that, I’ve been receiving a lot of compliments from her”

Byulyi-unnie flashed me a smile and a thumbs up. She went to the shoe cabinet by the front door and sat on the floor to put on her shoes. “And what about Miss Kim?”

Brown eyes.

I chewed on my food first as I tried to arrange my thoughts about Miss Kim.

Among all the people in the company, she’s the only person I still can’t figure out. She’s not as vocal as Miss Ahn and I think she prefers to just watch and observe rather than talk. I’ve seen her do that a couple of times. Every time our eyes meet, it will always bring me shivers because she’s very intimidating. We have never talked apart from when she scolded me about breaks.

“Wheein?”

My head snapped to Byulyi-unnie’s worried face by the front door. I forgot to answer her when I tried to find the right words to describe Miss Kim.

“Something wrong?” she asked.

I shook my head immediately. “Nothing. It’s just that I don’t think Miss Kim likes me”

She glanced at her watch before she crossed her arms in front of her. “Still got time. Tell me about it”

“I don’t know…” I glanced at my remaining egg and decided to swallow everything as I continued to think some more. “She never talked to me apart from when she scolded me in day one”

“I still don’t think she was scolding you that time”

“And she doesn’t talk to me that much unlike Miss Ahn, which I probably get because she’s very hands-on with Seulgi-unnie and the rest of the programmers. Maybe she doesn’t talk unless it’s important. But she doesn’t acknowledge my greetings too, which might mean that she doesn’t want to deal with me”

I started pouting at the dishes I was washing, still wondering what I did wrong.

“And you’re so worked up about this because…?”

“I just want to last long in my job now. I don’t want to cause you more troubles”

Byulyi-unnie unexpectedly laughed, making me glance at her. “You’re fine, Whee. Besides, Miss Kim doesn’t also talk much with the others and yet they’ve been in the company for years. And you’re not giving me troubles, okay?”

I guess she’s right. About Miss Kim. As for the other one, I’ll let it slide for now.

I nodded at her. “Okay”

“Don’t get too worked up on Miss Kim. She will always be intimidating, even to me”

“Okay. Thanks, unnie”

She gave me a wave as she went to the front door. “I’ll get going now. See you at the company”

I waved back at her. “See you!”

When the door closed, I sighed as I nodded my head when I made a resolution to not get worked up just like Byulyi-unnie said. Not everyone is very vocal so maybe Miss Kim is just like that as a person.

A meow right by my right foot grabbed my attention. Ggomo was sitting close by with a pair of eyes that were clearly expecting more food.

“What? I already fed you some. I am washing the dishes not preparing food for you”

Another angry meow of protest came.

“No, sir. You are not to eat anymore except for your lunch later. Let me finish washing the dishes in peace”

There was a meow once more, probably to tell me that he hates me, before we walked back to his spot by the glass doors. He plopped down to enjoy the sun again.

“Spoiled master” I whispered under my breath, giggling softly because he’s still very cute despite that sour attitude of his.

“That would be all for this afternoon, Miss Ahn. I already rescheduled your meeting with Miss Kim and the team of programmers for next week”

Without glancing away from her computer screen, Miss Ahn answered, “Thank you. Anything else, Miss Jung?”

“No more, Miss Ahn. Is there anything else you want me to arrange?”

“Just the finalized marketing plans from Joy. I still have to consolidate it with Yongyong-unnie”

I wrote down her instructions, unable to not let out a smile every time I hear her call Miss Kim with the nickname she has for her. My co-workers have told me that the two always act like sisters. And in the one week that I’ve been working here, that has become more and more apparent.

“Okay, Miss Ahn. Will that be all?”

She finally glanced away from her screen to give me a smile and a nod. “Thank you, Miss Jung”

I gave her a small bow before I took my leave from her office. I was about to reach for the door when it was pushed open before I could, unable to stop myself from shrieking when I got startled.

Seeing Miss Kim on the other side of the door, I immediately took a bow and apologized to her.

“What happened?” Miss Ahn asked from her table.

I apologized to Miss Ahn next. “I just got startled, Miss Ahn. I’m sorry”

“Are you alright?” Miss Kim asked.

I could now figure out some of the words but it would still take me some time to understand English.

“Ah… yes” I shyly responded.

Miss Kim’s eyebrows twitched the slightest before she gave me a small nod. She then went inside Miss Ahn’s office without saying anything else but she left the door open for me.

That was my cue to leave.

I gently closed the door, hearing them talk, but to me it’s gibberish now since they talked so fast.

“Miss Jung?”

I pushed the door open again when Miss Ahn called me. “Yes, Miss Ahn?”

Both of them are looking at me and just like when I had the interview, Miss Ahn is always the approachable one while Miss Kim’s gaze is the intimidating one. I couldn’t look at her for more than two seconds if she’s looking at me.

“Right after work, all of us will head out for food and drinks to welcome you”

Act excited. Act excited. Act excited. In my head, I kept saying to act surprised and excited but because of how nervous I was, I think I failed.

“Okay, Miss Ahn. Thank you” I said, smiling at them as my attempt to act excited.

“We’ll go straight to Hongdae but if you want to change we can drop by to your apartment”

“Ah no, Miss Ahn. I don’t want to keep you all waiting. Thank you!”

I bowed at them and smiled a genuine one this time before leaving them in their office.

I went back to my table when Seulgi-unnie and the others invited me to the cafeteria for a break. I made a note first about the marketing plans Miss Ahn wanted before heading out with the rest of my colleagues.

We have a variety of snacks and drinks in the cafeteria. While most of them went for the macarons and chocolates, I went for bungeoppang. Coffee would be great at this time too but they only had the ones in bottles. For someone who has worked as a barista, I prefer the coffee I make myself.  And so I went for strawberry milk.

We gathered together at one table and started talking about random things about ourselves while eating our food. Since I’m still fairly new to everyone, I’ve been receiving a lot of curious questions from everyone.

“I heard that Miss Ahn has informed you about it later,” Seulgi-unnie said beside me.

“The one in Hongdae?” Yeri asked to clarify while Seulgi-unnie nodded at her.

“Yes. Actually Byulyi-unnie already mentioned it to me this morning. I tried to act cool and surprised earlier so she wouldn’t get scolded” I confessed, giggling along with everyone when I teased Byulyi-unnie. “Don’t tell Miss Ahn”

“Are you excited?” Nayeon asked me.

I nodded in response as Joy said, “I am!”

“Not you.” Nayeon playfully rolled her eyes while everyone laughed at Joy.

“Does Miss Ahn always treat everyone out when there’s a new employee?” I asked, curious.

“Not just when there’s a new employee,” Seulgi-unnie answered.

“She also treats us when it’s our birthdays and she’s always very generous at giving gifts for Christmas,” Ireh added.

“I think the best would be when the company treats us out on vacations. We’ve been to the beach several times. Miss Kim and Miss Ahn love the beach” Yeri said, talking while chewing food.

“That sounds fun!” I said while everyone nodded in agreement.

The conversation carried on with them sharing their experiences when the company would go out for vacation. There are also times that Miss Ahn wanted to go work somewhere just for a change of environment. With also a little bit of vacation on the side. 

I am also looking forward to the time I’ll get to join them in these activities. They all seem to be fun to be around with.

“That sounds fun! I can’t wait to join you by then”

Seulgi-unnie flashed me her adorable smile as she said, “It’ll be fun”

They talked some more about these vacations but the conversation circled back to me with Yeri’s question.

“Wheein-unnie, are you already in a relationship?”

I grinned at them instead of answering the question. I thought of a clever response just to keep them on their toes.

“You have!?” Seulgi-unnie was quite surprised having known me longer than anyone else in this room.

“Who?”

“Show us a picture”

“How long have you been together?”

And I was right that I kept them on the edges of their seats.

“Why don’t I know about this?” Seulgi-unnie asked, already upset at me while I just laughed at her.

The door to the cafeteria opened and Miss Ahn