Rose Garden

Making my way to the back entrance of Fatale Magazine’s office building with my eyes barely open, I despised myself for not getting enough sleep last Sunday night. Only the repetitive sound of my shoes tapping against the pavement surrounded the half-empty parking lot. I covered my mouth with a hand and let out a long and drawn yawn.

A finger poked my cheek. “Boss, wake up.”

I side-eyed Luhan who continued to pester me with pokes even as we already stepped into the building. He was apparently ignoring my glare. “Luhan, I love you, but if you keep doing that—”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry.” Chuckling, Luhan took hold of my hand and dragged us faster toward the elevators. My sluggish walk must have made him feel like we were strolling snails. Luhan glanced at the watch that was strapped on his wrist. “I’ll meet you upstairs in less than half an hour, alright?”

I yawned again before comprehending a second too long what he had just said. “What? Wait, where are you going?”

“To get your coffee. You look like you’re going to faint, honestly.” He cheekily grinned. “Besides, I need to get these signed by the warehouse guys.” Luhan shook the folder.

“Since when could you get signatures from the warehouse guys?” That job was usually done by one of the higher-up’s assistants. Otherwise, Luhan was trapped in the building as much as I was.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. The Chief asked me to.”

“I told her that you’re trustworthy. So you’re welcome.”

Luhan scoffed as we reached the elevators. He pressed the button that would alert the elevator of the two of us waiting at the main floor. “This is what’s going on today.” As he pressed his thumb on my forehead, he smoothed out a neon yellow sticky-note on my skin that obscured half of my upper vision. “Conference room meeting in an hour, but I’ll be back by then, I promise.”

“Can’t I just go with you? We’re kinda early anyway,” I whined, gesturing around the practically-empty lobby.

“The Chief probably wants to talk to you though.” There was an edge to his voice that I couldn’t put a finger on and decipher what it meant. “I’ll see you later.”

Before I could retort something back and ask why the Chief would want to see me, he bent to press a sweet quick kiss on my lips as his proper goodbye-for-now. I watched him walk away toward the parking lot innocently. Luhan glanced behind his shoulder to give me a final look and a small wave before he rounded the corner. His smile was contagious and I was dumbly grinning to myself for a while. I removed the sticky-note from my forehead and quickly read over the list.

My train of thought was interrupted when I heard the sound of my name being called. “Ms. Lee.”

Turning, I met gazes with the receptionist who was usually stationed at the main desk five feet from the front entrance. She carried a rectangular box in her hands and looked to be frozen mid-stride like she was hesitating to come nearer. Her eyes were round and surprised. My insides back-flipped when I figured she must have seen Luhan’s little goodbye.

The receptionist spoke timidly. “This delivery came for you yesterday, but you weren’t working.”

I took it from her as she handed it to me. “Thank you.”

“Have a good day.”

“You too.” I stepped inside the elevator as the doors slid open. Holding the box in my hand I wondered who it might have been from. There was no name or tag that indicated the sender. The box was abstractly patterned with pink, white and silver glitter. It screamed ‘Expensive’ at me, the box not something someone would find at a cheap value store.

Catching my reflection on the elevator’s doors, my eyes immediately landed on the little stone that hung as a necklace on my chest. The necklace was a heirloom from Luhan’s mother. Luhan had brought me with him to his parents and before they could scream in any more outrage, he explained his plans of marrying me. For real this time. There were no lies, no nothing—just honesty. I said that I had sincerely loved their son and with their little to no knowledge of Korean, they must have at least understood what I had said because they broke out in glee.

Luhan’s mother gave the necklace as a present and an apology for—by Luhan’s translation—coming off with a bad first impression and the wish to start over as anew because she was willing to accept me as her daughter-in-law. As long as Luhan and I loved each other. Which we did. I smiled to myself, realizing my life was finally all coming together with the puzzle pieces just falling where they were supposed to.

Upon reaching my floor, I passed through the usual greetings and good-mornings before rounding off to my office. The woman who worked in front of Heesun has gotten a shorter haircut, I noticed. Changmin was still playing catch with an eraser like always. I made a beeline for my seat, dropping my bag from my shoulders. Before my could make contact with the chair however, I heard the Chief’s voice.

“Sora? Did I just see you come in?”

Turning, I returned to my door to stick my head out and witness the Chief coming my way. “Yes m’am, I’m here.”

As the Chief approached closer, I could have sworn I saw a tiny spec of hesitance in her expression. “Did a Mr. Kim Jongin talk to you about a promotion to work with Lifestyle Magazine like he told me about?”

“He spoke to me about it, yes.” I leaned against the doorframe. I didn’t know that Jongin had mentioned that piece of information to the Chief. I guess he was discussing other things with her besides funding the event.

She raised a neatly groomed brow. “Well are you thinking about accepting the promotion and transferring to Lifestyle, because…?” The Chief trailed off.

I shook my head. “No, I declined.”

“Good. I respect your loyalty.” She grabbed my shoulder and squeezed it lightly. “To be honest, I was shocked when Mr. Kim informed me of that. It would have been a loss to see you leave.”

A smile I couldn’t hold down crept to my face. “Thank you. I’m always proud to work here.”

"I was going to tell you something if you accepted the job or not, but..." She acknowledged a co-worker's good morning, who had passed by, with a nod. "I'll see you at my office after the conference meeting." Wearing a small grin, the Chief winked. "Luhan probably already told you, but it's just a reminder. That project you sent in was outstanding."

"Thank you so much." Part of me had thought that she discarded that project. "And yes, I'll be there." We exchanged a few more words before she departed. I had my head down in a bow before she completely disappeared. All the while I tried to control my sudden enthusiasm.

Checking the sticky note at my hand, written in Luhan's handwriting was a meeting scheduled with the Chief as soon as the conference meeting was finished. Could it be what I was expecting? The one thing that I had