It was 2:57 p.m. when Yoo MiKyung arrived at the apartment.  She turned her gaze downward to the brass doorknob and then at the pale yellow ceiling above.  Today was the second Wednesday of the month, the mail hadn’t been dropped off yet, and the scent of burnt ramen lingered in the air.  With that in mind, MiKyung concluded that the lock on the door had once again been changed.  Taking out a heavy ring of keys from her purse, she flipped through each metal object before stopping on a certain one with “#128” scrawled on it in permanent ink.  Without knocking, MiKyung inserted the key into the keyhole, turning it clockwise, and jiggled the doorknob a little before she heard a satisfying “click.”  Rotating the doorknob, she used her shoulder to push the door open.  The hinges creaked in protest, but MiKyung was used to their cries and stepped onto the apartment’s polished wood flooring.  She shut the door, and her right eyebrow twitched at the sight of the kitchen on her left.

Pages of last week’s newspaper littered the floor (there was even one half-stuffed into a cupboard), and emptied microwaveable ramen cups piled up in the sink.  On the counter laid a watermelon half with a spoon jammed into it, and beside the giant fruit was a carton of expired milk.  There was a dirty sock pinned to the refrigerator by means of three colorful magnets, and all the chairs were lined up to face each other in some sort of distorted circle.  MiKyung closed her eyes and inhaled deeply to calm herself, but quickly exhaled at the scent of spoiled milk.  Opening her eyes again, she turned her head to the right (ignoring the rest of the mess in the vicinity) to glare at the figure hunched over in front of the television.

“Park ChanYeol,” MiKyung muttered darkly through gritted teeth.  The said male apparently didn’t hear her and proceeded to stare wide-eyed at the television, his mouth hanging open.

“Father..?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“But…I thought you were dead!”

MiKyung grimaced at the daytime sitcom and figured enough was enough.  She flipped the light switch on her right and was hardly surprised when more trash became visible.  Her fiery gaze still fixed on ChanYeol, she repeated his name once more, slowly enunciating each syllable.  Without looking away from the television screen, still mesmerized with the unfolding drama, ChanYeol murmured under his breath, “Yes, MiKyung-ah?”

“Today is your deadline,” the irritated editor whispered.  The author remained silent, staring at the television, but not quite watching the tearful reunion of the father and daughter anymore.  He pursed his lips before laughing unconvincingly and asked,

“Oh…that’s today?”

“The company already gave you an extra week.  I will not ask for any more.”

“…”

Grabbing a fleece blanket beside him, ChanYeol stood up and tightly wound it around himself.  For a moment, he stood completely still, MiKyung’s glare boring holes into the back of his head.  After about a minute, he dashed out of the room and into the hallway.  MiKyung’s right eye twitched slightly before she chased the long-legged man.  ChanYeol ran into the bathroom and attempted to shut the door, but his editor kicked it back open, effectively knocking the tall man backwards.  Backing away and hugging the blanket closer, ChanYeol stared at the close-approaching woman, stuttering, “M-MiKyung-ah, I…I was working on it.  I really was!  I just got…sidetracked.”

Not believing a word the man had spoken, MiKyung took a long stride forward and grabbed the blanket, pulling ChanYeol toward her so that he stooped over to her eye-level.  With her jaw tightly clenched, she whispered to the taller man, “Get me that manuscript now, or so help me—I will replace your brain with a computer and surgically remove all your fingers in exchange for normally functioning mechanic appendages.”

With a slow gulp, ChanYeol tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace.  Unable to look away from the younger’s penetrating gaze, he whispered just as softly as the other, but with less conviction, “It’s in my room, under the bottle of forks.”  After searching the author’s eyes, MiKyung concluded that he was telling the truth and released him from her grip, turning on her heel to exit the bathroom.  ChanYeol sighed in relief, standing back up at full height, and followed his editor.  Opening the door of the bedroom, MiKyung stepped over the rubber chicken and into the dimly lit room.  She maneuvered around a collection of toy cars, flamingo figurines, and thermometers before reaching ChanYeol’s cluttered desk.  Lifting the bottle of forks, there laid a manila folder with a few pages sticking out; she picked it up, making sure not to make contact with a half-eaten sandwich nearby. Straightening the contents, MiKyung put the folder into her purse and turned to leave, only to collide with ChanYeol’s chest.  She took a step to the right, but ChanYeol blocked her path.  She then stepped to the left, but again ChanYeol obstructed her escape.

“ChanYeol,” the female muttered.  “Get out of my way.”

The taller male was silent for a moment before replying, “I don’t want you to go.”

“I don’t have time to help you organize your shelf of miniature clay plants,” MiKyung retorted.  “Now move.”

“It’s not the plants—I threw those away.  I need you to help me find my coffee mug.  I lost it.”

“No, ChanYeol.”

“Please.”

“No.”

“MiKyung-ah…”

“No, ChanYeol.”

Crestfallen, the author (still wrapped in his blanket) pouted and looked down at his feet, shuffling out of the way.  Satisfied, MiKyung strode out of the room and down the hallway.  Soon, the lock on the door clicked, and the editor’s footsteps faded from ChanYeol’s range of hearing.  With a small sigh, ChanYeol picked up his mug from under the desk chair and teetered out of the room.

--------------------

“So you actually got it?”

“Yeah,” MiKyung replied, sitting down at her office desk.  The male in the desk to her right chuckled and rolled his chair over so that he was next to the female.  Kim JoonMyun glanced at the manila folder on the desk, then at his noticeably weary junior.

“How was he?”

“Same as always,” MiKyung answered, turning on her computer.  “Today he had a sock on the refrigerator.”

“Last time, it was a mitten, right?”

MiKyung hummed in response, shuffling the papers and pens on her desk so that they were in convenient positions.  The older editor shook his head, smiling, and returned to his own desk, resuming his work.  JoonMyun was one of the head editors of the firm despite his young age, and though he was direct and straightforward in his suggestions, he was well-liked by all the employees.  He made sure everyone ate breakfast and lunch, aided others when they had technical difficulties, and always had a smile on his face.   Some fellow editors joked about his height (especially since he and MiKyung stood at the same level), but everyone knew that was just it—a joke.  It was hard not to like the guy.

“How’s your guy?” MiKyung asked out of courtesy, typing rapidly on her keyboard.  JoonMyun answered,

“Just fine.  Turned in his manuscript early.  He’s much more cooperative than yours.”

MiKyung laughed dryly and retorted, “Well, you were lucky.”

“Or you were just unlucky,” JoonMyun continued the banter.  The younger rolled her eyes playfully and returned to her assignment.  She opened the manila folder and began thumbing through the pages, making sure there were no lizard carcasses dressed in origami clothes—that past experience had taught her a fantastic lesson in life.  Reassured that there were no such objects in the contents, MiKyung sighed in relief and started reading the first page. After the first line, she immediately pursed her lips.

“Once upon a time, there was a purple hippopotamus who enjoyed eating chocolate cakes and lemon cookies.”

“Park ChanYeol…”

JoonMyun glanced at the girl and stifled his laughter, casually asking, “Did he give you a fake manuscript again?”

Without answering her senior’s question, MiKyung grabbed her purse and stormed out of the office, mumbling incoherently under her breath.

So ChanYeol is interesting, yeah?  xP  At least, I hope he is.  If there's any confusion in this chapter, I'll make sure to explain later.  ^^

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