Apparently, Seulgi-unnie got scolded the day Miss Kim asked to meet with the programmer team. The day she let me in the garden.

I still keep the secret she wanted me to keep. Though I didn’t make use of the opportunity to go to the garden because of so much work.

But! Seulgi-unnie got scolded and she has been feeling down lately. The secret as to how I survived the garden visit faded away when we found out about this news. And knowing how a very bright person like Seulgi-unnie was so despondent, we just wanted to know what happened to cheer her up.

We tried cheering her up. We gave her her favorite sweets and sent her funny videos and cute animals. I showed her a video of Luther going in circles as he chases his tail. It was one of my personal favorites but they weren’t effective.

“Was it really that bad?” I asked the other programmers during one of our breaks.

“Yeah…” Yeri answered with a sigh. Even she got affected by Seulgi-unnie’s mood too.

“Miss Kim said that even a rookie programmer can make the project Seulgi-unnie proposed. That it lacks fundamentals of programming and it’s a common sense” Dosie said.

“I think the worst part is when Miss Kim told Seulgi-unnie that she can never be successful if that was the only thing she can come up with” Ireh added and they sighed heavily all together.

“But you said that Seulgi-unnie’s proposal was brilliant, right?”

“I think it is brilliant!” Yeri exclaimed. “Home assistant for elderly people. Fit for the rising population of middle-aged people here in Korea. I even think it’s the best among all our proposals”

I pouted at them as I chewed on my food, thinking why Miss Kim would scold Seulgi-unnie for that. I even thought it’s a good project. Seulgi-unnie should be complimented for thinking of it but Miss Kim thinks otherwise.

Is she really like that?

It’s still hard to believe the stories I’ve heard of Miss Kim from my colleagues. At first, it’s hard not to believe because of how her simple stare would bring shivers down to my bones. But after the welcome party and the garden, she’s been acting opposite of these things. Well, at least to me.

Is it because I’m new?

Back to Seulgi-unnie… I thought that she’d be fine over the weekend. Maybe just a little rest and then she’ll cheer up. But we’re wrong again. Even Miss Ahn has noticed Seulgi-unnie’s mood. She even asked me about it one morning, right at the very start of our day.

“Your friends with Seulgi. Right, Wheein?”

“Yes, Miss Ahn”

“Is she alright? She’s been a little down lately”

“I think she’s still a little sad” I answered, pouting a little as I glanced behind me and out of the glass walls in Miss Ahn’s office to Seulgi-unnie’s table. “We thought she’ll be fine after some rest over the weekend but I guess we’re wrong”

“Do you know what happened?”

I looked at Miss Ahn again and saw the genuine concern over her face.

“She got scolded by Miss Kim last week”

Upon hearing that, Miss Ahn rolled her eyes and shook her head. She said something in English under her breath. I heard it. I just don’t understand it. Then she chuckled before handing back to me the papers she had signed.

“Thanks, Miss Ahn. Do you need anything else?”

“Just get that done. I’ll call you when I need something else” she said and dismissed me with her usual kind smile.

Before I completely left Miss Ahn’s office, I heard her say something that made me smile.

“Yongyong-unnie such a meanie meanie” she whispered in a singsong voice.

The nickname Miss Ahn has for Miss Kim is such a huge contrast to how Miss Kim is, especially with what happened with Seulgi-unnie. It sounds so cute.

One thing that we noticed too is the lack of Miss Kim. Normally, she arrives together with Miss Ahn or she’s earlier than Miss Ahn. Right now, we’re already nearing our break in the morning but she hasn’t arrived yet. Miss Ahn also hasn’t mentioned that she’s not coming. She doesn’t have a work schedule outside today that I know of.

Right when I was about to ask Nayeon if she knew where Miss Kim was, the office doors opened and Miss Kim marched inside with hurried steps.

She’s only wearing a cropped shirt and a pair of white sweatpants. Her hair is tied in a messy bun and her glasses are perched on her nose. She’s carrying one of the many laptops she owns and she’s heading straight to Seulgi-unnie.

We were all surprised that all of our heads turned to whoever it was, only to sit straight on our seats when we found it was Miss Kim. Everyone held their breaths and waited in anticipation as we watched Miss Kim take big strides towards Seulgi-unnie. We all got scared for her. Seulgi-unnie looked so lost and wasn’t able to react.

“Miss Kang” Miss Kim uttered.

Seulgi-unnie hurriedly stood up, almost stumbling back on her chair. “Yes, Miss Kim,” she answered, a little too loud.

But I totally understand. I’d panic. I’m actually panicking right now for her.

Miss Kim stood beside Seulgi-unnie and balanced her laptop on the corner of the walls that separated each booth. Her attention was on the screen of her laptop as she said, “Can someone call Miss Son for me?”

Seulgi-unnie was the first one to react.

“On it, Miss Kim”

“No. Stay, Miss Kang”

My table is diagonally to Seulgi-unnie’s table and Miss Kim’s body is directly facing me. It was no use to hide, also it was too late, when she looked up from her laptop. Our eyes instantly made contact.

“Miss Jung”

I scrambled to my feet, exactly like how Seulgi-unnie did, and headed out of the office room before she could even say something. “On my way out now, Miss Kim,” I said in a rush. I ran out of the office like my life depended on it.

Thankfully, Wendy-unnie sensed my urgency and didn’t ask why I dragged her from her table to the office. I just said her name and didn’t explain. I just panicked.

Miss Kim said something in English and Wendy-unnie automatically translated it into Korean.

Nayeon, who’s right next to my table, told me that this happens often. Wendy-unnie will translate for Miss Kim if she’s having troubles speaking in Korean. And this commonly happens when Miss Kim is excited about a project or is eager to explain a program that she can only speak in her mother tongue.

Miss Ahn probably sensed the commotion and decided to head out of her office to witness what’s happening. Her arms are crossed in front of her as she leaned on the doorframe, watching Miss Kim with an amused smile.

“Your project was terrible, Miss Kang” Miss Kim said, her focus was on her laptop. She was typing so fast while speaking to Seulgi-unnie.

Learning from Wendy-unnie is starting to pay off now. I’m getting the words but I still don’t know what they mean all together.

“She said your project was terrible,” Wendy-unnie translated.

She whispered it to Seulgi-unnie but the room was so quiet that all of us could still hear her.

“Though it has potential”

“But it has potential”

“If your users are middle-aged people, you have to create it for middle-aged people, which is something that your proposal lacks—”

“Your proposal is for middle-aged people but you didn’t create it for middle-aged people” Wendy-unnie hurriedly translated when it seems that Miss Kim has no plans of stopping.

“—the components are commonly available to other home assistants—”

“Components are the same with other home assistants”

“—but you mentioned one aspect of the assistant that I found interesting though you pushed it back and prioritized enhancing other features, which are totally unnecessary. I’ve been working on it this weekend”

“She found one aspect in your assistant that she thinks is interesting but you didn’t prioritize it. She’s been working on it all weekend”

“What?” Seulgi-unnie asked, totally surprised.

Miss Ahn chuckled softly as she watched Miss Kim, her head shaking slowly.

“Here” Miss Kim said, speaking in Korean this time.

Wendy-unnie stepped back and let Seulgi-unnie move closer to Miss Kim.

Miss Kim was pointing something at the screen and was explaining it to Seulgi-unnie. I wasn’t able to understand what they were talking about anymore. It is in Korean but there are a lot of programming jargons they use and I think I understand more English than that kind of language.

Seulgi-unnie was paying attention to every word that Miss Kim said. She’d ask questions that Miss Kim would answer and sometimes gave suggestions that Miss Kim would also listen to.

It’s a wonderful picture of a student and a mentor.

Somewhere in the middle of it all, Miss Ahn went back to her office with a fond expression on her face for Miss Kim. And I think she whispered the same words she said as I was heading out of her office this morning.

“Try to code that your way and let’s assess where we can still improve” Miss Kim ended, reaching over her laptop to close it.

“Yes, Miss Kim,” Seulgi-unnie responded, face lighting up with her bear-like smile.

She’s not in a bad mood anymore!

Miss Kim nodded again, shoulders relaxing as she let out a yawn. “If you forget your fundamentals, it will never bring you anywhere. But unfortunately, technology develops at a fast pace. If we keep getting stuck with mediocre methods, we won’t be able to catch up. Move forward but never forget your fundamentals. They’re still important”

“Yes, Miss Kim,” Seulgi-unnie answered with a firm nod, having a newfound determination.

Miss Kim nodded back. “Alright. Good job, Miss Kang”

That made Seulgi-unnie smile so wide. “Thank you, Miss Kim”

I was also smiling and silently clapping for Seulgi-unnie.

“Miss Jung?” Miss Kim suddenly called, looking at me now.

“Yes, Miss Kim”

There’s her eyebrows twitching again. She doesn’t look as intimidating now that she has relaxed. She looks sleepy instead.

“If Hyejin needs something from me, tell her I won’t be available until in the afternoon”

“Okay, Miss Kim” I said, raising my thumbs up.

She nodded before removing her glasses and rubbing her palms on her eyes. She headed to her office, yawning and mumbling something in English.

When her office door closed, Wendy-unnie translated for us what Miss Kim said.

“She said she’s taking back her weekend.” Wendy-unnie then patted Seulgi-unnie on her shoulder, offering her a bright smile. “Congrats! I ho