Our Simple Story

Semi-Fluff

 

 

“And this is the floor you’ll be working on. Your desk and computer equipment are being setup as we speak. It will be ready for you tomorrow when you start.”

 

“That’s great. Thank you, Mr. Lee.”

 

Yuri curiously scooted backwards in her seat towards the desk behind her after seeing her boss with someone she didn’t recognize. “Hey, who’s that?”

 

Amber who was busily typing away on her computer didn’t take her eyes off the screen as she replied. “Who’s who?”

 

“That girl.” Yuri pointed at the girl across the room even though Amber couldn’t see.

 

Amber shrugged, still focused on her task. “Maybe she’s new.”

 

“But they didn’t tell us they were hiring anyone let alone looking.”

 

Amber shrugged again, switching over to the mouse as she saved and emailed the documents. “There. Done.”

 

“You finished?” Yuri asked in surprise, now scooting so she was next to Amber. “That’s fast.”

 

“Well, unlike a certain dark, tanned employee who likes to gossip and procrastinate until the last second, I happen to like finishing my stuff early and not getting yelled at.” Amber stretched her arms and cracked a few fingers. “Now then, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a coffee break.”

 

Amber stood up and walked away, nudging Yuri’s chair away from her desk in the process.

 

“Hey, wait up!” Yuri scrambled to her feet and followed after the girl.

 

The two pushed each other back and forth as they made their way towards the break room.

 

“Ah, Ms. Liu and Ms. Kwon, great timing!” A deep voice stopped their playfully banter.

 

Both girls straightened up and turned to the man near the elevators. They quickly made their way over.

 

“Good morning, Sir,” Amber and Yuri bowed politely.

 

The man chuckled and reached out to pat Amber’s shoulder since she was standing closer to him.

 

“I hope you ladies are doing well this morning. Since you’re here, I would like to introduce you to your newest team member. She will be joining you guys starting tomorrow.” The man gestured to the unfamiliar face standing slightly behind him. “Treat her nicely.”

 

The new girl stepped forward a little and bowed. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Krystal and I will be starting work tomorrow. Please take good care of me.”

 

Amber raised her eyebrows at the girl’s slight resemblance to her tanned friend.

 

“Hi, Krystal-ssi, I’m Yuri and this is Amber. It’s nice to meet you,” Yuri greeted the girl warmly and bowed her head in acknowledgment.

 

“Hi. Glad to have you join the team,” Amber also slightly bowed her head in acknowledgement.

 

The man nodded with a smile at the greetings. “I will officially introduce her to the entire team tomorrow during the morning meeting. I just thought it would be nice for her to meet some of you first and get acquainted.”

 

“Of course, Sir. Though I think she will fit in just fine,” replied Yuri with a playful smile.

 

“I would like to think so too since I personally selected her,” the man said.

 

“Don’t worry, Sir, everyone will love her.” Yuri made her way to stand next to Krystal. “After all, she kind of looks like me and we all know everyone loves me.”

 

The man chuckled and Amber rolled her eyes at her friend. Krystal politely laughed.

 

A few seconds later, the elevator dinged.

 

“Ah, the elevator's here. I’ll let you ladies get back to work. Krystal and I need to head downstairs to Human Resources to get some other paperwork done.”

 

Amber and Yuri bowed as their boss and Krystal stepped into the elevator.

 

“It was nice meeting you.” Krystal bowed from inside the elevator.

 

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Amber turned and resumed heading for the break room.

 

Yuri, who was once again left behind, quickly caught up with the tomboy. “So?”

 

“So what?” Amber yawned as she entered the break room and shuffled towards the coffee machine.

 

Upon seeing the empty coffee pot, Amber couldn’t help but grumble unhappily to herself. “Why do people never brew another pot when they finish it?”

 

“Here.” Yuri reached up and grabbed the fresh roasted whole bean coffee package from the shelf, handing it to Amber who thanked her.

 

Yuri quietly waited until Amber got the coffee maker going before she continued where she left off. “So what did you think?”

 

“About?”

 

“Krystal.”

 

Amber shrugged and went to sit down at one of the tables to wait for the coffee. “What about her?”

 

“Do you like her?”

 

“She seems nice.”

 

“She does, and pretty too. I like her.” Yuri nodded in agreement.

 

Amber scoffed. “Please, you’re just saying that because she looks a little bit like you. You need to deflate that ego of yours.”

 

“Hey, I’m just stating facts here. No need to be jealous of our natural beauty.”

 

This made Amber gag. “Oh my god, please excuse me while I go vomit.” The tomboy then got up as the coffee finished brewing.

 

“Want a cup?” Amber asked, her hand momentarily hovering over the cups on the shelf above her head.

 

“Please.” Yuri got up from her seat.

 

Amber grabbed two cups and proceeded to pour herself and Yuri some much needed morning coffee.

 

 

~~~

 

 

“See ya tomorrow, Amber!”

 

Amber looked up from her desktop and waved at the Yuri heading for the elevators. “Bye! Have fun tonight!”

 

“I will! Don’t stay too late!”

 

“I won’t.” Amber waved at the girl one final time before focusing back on her work.

 

It was around 6pm, which signaled the end of normal working hours, and everybody on the floor had packed up and gone home for the day.

 

Yuri, who usually waits for Amber, had a dinner appointment later tonight so she left first.

 

Luckily for Amber, she only had a few more sentences left to type out for her report so she didn’t have to stay behind for too long.

 

About another fifteen minutes or so later, Amber was finally done and packing her things, more than ready to get some dinner and go home. She has been feeling a bit under the weather the past few days and just wanted to rest.

 

Stretching a bit to loosen her stiff body, Amber grabbed her bag and headed for the elevators, riding it down to the lobby.

 

As Amber was walking out, she recognized someone heading her way.

 

“Hey Kris, on your rounds already?” Amber came to a stop in front of the night security guard.

 

“Hey Amber, you bet.” Kris greeted with a smile. “Not working overtime today?”

 

Amber shook her head. “No, finished everything early today.”

 

“That’s good to hear. Don’t work so much, okay? You’ll tire yourself out. Overtime once in a while is okay, but too much is just unhealthy.”

 

“Yes, Dad.”

 

“I’m serious!”

 

Amber laughed. “I know, I know. I’m just kidding.”

 

The man pouted and gave Amber a small push towards the exit. “Go on then, get out of here.”

 

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight,” Amber chuckled as she headed for the exit, turning around to give Kris a small wave.

 

The man grinned and waved back. “Night, Amber!”

 

As soon as Amber stepped out of the building, a cold gust of wind immediately made her shiver and shrink into her jacket. It was nearing the time of year again where snow would be the only thing covering the ground, and scarves and gloves needed to be worn to prevent frozen limbs. This year has been extra cold with temperatures frequently dropping below zero degrees. It’s going to be a brutal winter, it seems.

 

Stuffing her hands into her jacket pocket, Amber was about to make her way towards the employee’s parking lot when she noticed a bundle of black from the corner of her eyes.

 

Turning to take a look, Amber saw a female sitting by herself on one of the benches, slightly shivering. The girl’s face was hidden inside the tightly wrapped scarf around her neck and only her eyes up could be seen.

 

“Yuri?” Amber tilted her head when she could only see the familiar jet black hair since the girl’s head was down.

 

When no response came, Amber slowly approached the girl.

 

“Yuri?” Amber called out again, more hesitantly this time because she didn’t recognize the long overcoat the girl wore as Yuri’s.

 

“Huh?” The girl lifted her head up slightly when she heard Amber’s voice.

 

“Oh— Krystal-ssi.”

 

“Amber-ssi.”

 

Both girls said at the same time when they recognized the other person.

 

Krystal immediately got up to her feet and bowed.

 

Amber was a bit taken aback by the respectfulness and bowed her head a little as well. “What are you still doing here? Shouldn’t you be home by now? I didn’t think the paperwork would take this long?”

 

“Ah, it didn’t. I was chatting with some people Mr. Lee introduced  and now I’m waiting for a friend to pick me up since I didn’t drive today. She’s running late.”

 

“I see.” Amber nodded in understanding.

 

The atmosphere turned a bit awkward after as neither knew what to say next.

 

“Um...you know you could wait inside, right? It’s a lot warmer than out here,” Amber finally spoke up.

 

“Oh, okay. I didn’t know that. Thank you for letting me know.” Krystal bowed again and started heading for the entrance. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

“O-okay.” Amber watched as Krystal went through the revolving doors and stood next to the glass window, taking out her phone.

 

It took a gust of chilly wind to make Amber tear her eyes away from the girl behind the glass and shuffle quickly towards her parked car.

 

“Man it’s cold!” Amber shivered as she got into the driver’s seat of her car and threw her bag onto the back seat. She then started the car and waited until it was decently warm inside before backing out of the parking spot.

 

Driving by the front entrance, Amber saw Krystal still standing there, but now with her back leaning against the glass. She was about to drive away when her eyes briefly glanced over at the time on her dashboard.

 

It read 6:40pm.

 

It was getting darker and colder outside, and the lights in the multi-story building were mostly turned off by now.

 

Amber tapped her steering wheel in thought for a few seconds before finally relenting to the small voice in the back of her head.

 

“Why not. She’s going to be working with us from now on so might as well,” Amber said to herself as she pulled on the handbrake and left the car running as she got out.

 

Krystal heard the swooshing sound of the revolving glass door next to her and turned her head to look.

 

Upon seeing Amber stepping out, she straightened up in surprise. “Oh? I thought you left already?”

 

Amber smiled sheepishly and awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. “I did. Well, sort of. Actually, I didn’t. I mean, I was going to leave but then I saw you still standing here and I noticed it was getting kind of late and – Is your friend coming soon?” Amber decided it was best to stop rambling and get to the point. Smooth going, bro. Way to make a fool of yourself.

 

Krystal smiled at the cute reply. “She just left and is heading down this way.”

 

“Oh,” Amber nodded, secretly finding Krystal’s smile extremely pretty. “How long before she gets here?”

 

Krystal checked her phone before replying. “About an hour and a half? More or less.”

 

“Eh? An hour and a half?” Amber was a bit surprised by the response.

 

Krystal nodded. “Why? Is something wrong?”

 

“Well, no...it’s just, that’s not very soon.”

 

“Ah, that’s because she’s coming directly from a meeting she had down South.”

 

Amber furrowed her brows in thought. She was contemplating whether she should offer Krystal a ride home or not and whether it would be weird if she did.

 

After much deliberation, Amber finally threw caution to the wind and asked with a shy smile. “Well, since it’s late and all, if you want, I could give you a lift home. That is, if you want.”

 

Krystal was pleasantly surprised by the offer, especially since she and Amber had just met each other for the first time today. Amber’s boyish look was also a bit misleading. Is she...wait. It’s just a friendly offer, right? Since we’ll be working together from now on and all...

 

Amber noticed the hesitant look and her small smile unconsciously grew a bit disappointed. “Or if you want to wait for your friend, that’s fine too. I just thought since it’s late, the least I should do is offer you a ride. It’s okay if you don’t want to. I know we just met today so I totally understand if you feel uncomfortable.”

 

Krystal noticed the slight disappointment. “No no, it’s not that. I just don’t want to trouble you.”

 

“Oh! It’s no trouble at all, really! I wouldn’t have offered if I found it to be.”

 

“Well, I...” Krystal bit her lower lip. She really didn’t have any reason to refuse Amber’s kind offer and she definitely didn’t want to wait another hour and a half for her friend to pick her up. Krystal took a deep breath. “Sure, why not. I would love a ride home.”

 

Amber’s face immediately brightened. “Great! Let’s go then!”

 

 

~~~

 

 

“Hey Kris, you’re back!”

 

The night security guard looked up from behind the counter. “Oh hi Amber! Ms. Krystal,” the man greeted with a slight bow of the head.

 

“Evening Kris.” Krystal smiled at the man. “How are you? We haven’t seen you around these past few days.”

 

“Yeah, where’ve you been?” Amber walked up to the man and swung an arm around his shoulder despite the drastic height difference. “I missed you!”

 

Upon hearing Amber’s warm words, Kris blushed and quickly straightened back up, causing Amber to remove her arm. “I-I was down with a slight cold.”

 

“Ah, I see.” Amber nodded with a pout. “Are you all better now?”

 

The man nodded shyly.

 

“That’s good to hear. You always tell me to take better care of myself but you should really listen to your own words and take better care of yourself.”

 

“I will.”

 

“You better. Otherwise I’ll hunt you down and strap you to your bed so you can’t get up and go to work.”

 

The man chuckled.

 

Krystal, who was now slightly frowning at the seemingly semi-intimate interaction between the pair, reached out and gave Amber a light pat on the arm. “We should get going.”

 

“Oh, right!” Amber remembered their later appointment and quickly ended the conversation. “Sorry, Kris, we have a dinner reservation to catch so we’re going to get going now.”

 

“O-oh, yeah, of course!”

 

Krystal noticed a slight fall in the man’s expression.

 

“But I want you to take care of your health, okay? I don’t want to find you being sick again, got it?” Amber pointed a finger at the man threateningly before reaching behind and taking a hold of Krystal’s hand.

 

“You know that’s impossible. I can’t possibly go my whole life without getting sick sometime,” Kris replied and received a glare from the tomboy. “But I’ll try,” he quickly added.

 

With a satisfied smile, Amber turned her head around and waved at Kris as she pulled Krystal towards the exit. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kris! Goodnight!”

 

The security guard bowed and waved from his spot. “Night, Amber! Night, Ms. Krystal.”

 

Krystal politely returned a wave. “Goodnight, Kris.”

 

As the two stepped outside hand-in-hand, the chilly weather made Krystal shiver and snuggle up closer to Amber.

 

“Cold?” Amber tilted her head and released the younger girl’s hand so she could wrap her arm around her instead. “Better?”

 

Krystal nodded and Amber had to chuckle at the cute expression.

 

“Come on, let’s go. We don’t want to be late.”

 

The two then quickly made their way to the car and drove away towards the restaurant Amber made a reservation at about a week ago.

 

 

~~~

 

 

“It’s beautiful.” Krystal sighed at the glittering night view behind the glass window next to her seat.

 

“Yeah, you are.” Amber couldn’t help but make the most cliché comment as she stared at Krystal sitting across from her. “Simply breathtaking.”

 

Krystal shyly cringed at the statement. “So cheesy.”

 

“I can’t help it. You bring the cheesiness out in me.”

 

Krystal laughed and shook her head. “Oh my god.”

 

Amber grinned and gently her thumb over Krystal’s fingers. “You know, the first time I saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful person to ever exist on this planet.”

 

“Ha, don’t lie. You barely spared me a glance when we first met.”

 

“Okay, you’re right. I didn’t.”

 

“Yah!” Krystal was about to pull her hand away from Amber’s grasp but the tomboy held on tightly.

 

“I’m just kidding. I was really tired that day and my brain wasn’t working so I didn’t really pay anyone any attention. But I remember that night when you were waiting for your friend to come pick you up, that was the first time I saw you smile. Like, genuinely smile. Not the polite forced kind of smile. I remember thinking you were so pretty – prettier than any girl, or guy, I had ever seen. Honestly, you took my breath away.”

 

Krystal blushed and tightened her hold on Amber’s hand. “I thought you were cute that night when you started rambling. You kept shifting from one foot to the other. It was very adorable.”

 

“Well, of course. No one can ever deny my cute charms.” Amber laughed victoriously and Krystal rolled her eyes.

 

“Please, let’s not get too conceited now, okay? I only said that night. Besides, you didn’t let me finish. When you offered me a ride home, the words creeper and stalker momentarily crossed my mind.”

 

“Wha—hey!” 

 

“What? It’s the truth.” Krystal shrugged nonchalantly.

 

“Well, since you’re dating this creeper, that makes you one too by default,” retorted Amber.

 

Krystal laughed. “What? What kind of logic is that?”

 

“My kind. Besides, you should be glad I offered you a ride home, otherwise, there might not even be an us today.”

 

“Hm, I guess you’re right and I am. I’m also glad you decided to add dinner to what was only supposed to be a simple car ride home.”

 

Amber had to smile at the memory of her nervous self back then trying to subtly work up the courage to ask Krystal out to dinner after an awkward silent ten minutes into the drive.

 

At the time, her stomach was silently dying from starvation and since Krystal had been waiting for her friend, it was most likely the girl hadn’t had dinner yet either. And with them officially being coworkers the following day, it wouldn’t hurt to be friendly towards one another or have a casual dinner together.

 

Holding onto Krystal’s hand tightly on the table, Amber looked into the girl’s eyes and smiled. “Happy One Year Anniversary, Krys. I love you.”

 

Krystal blushed and shyly looked back at the tomboy with a soft gaze. “Happy One Year Anniversary, Amber. I love you too.”

 

 

~~~

 

 

“Hey, did you turn in the financial sheets to Mr. Lee yet?”

 

Amber lifted her head and looked up from her computer screen. “Yeah. Why? Is something wrong?”

 

Krystal shook her head. “No, just making sure in case you forgot.”

 

“I didn’t. I was able to finish them last night,” Amber said then suddenly smirked and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Before we...you know...”

 

Krystal was confused for a split second before she understood what Amber was talking about. Her cheeks immediately flushed a light shade of red.

 

Amber grinned at the reaction she got. “Still cute and shy even after all this time?”

 

“S-shut up, we’re at work.” Krystal slapped Amber’s shoulder but the older girl only laughed.

 

“Hey, what’s so funny?” Yuri scooted her chair backwards until she reached Amber’s desk.

 

“Nothing!” Krystal quickly replied. There was no need to disclose private affairs to others, no matter how close of a friend they are.

 

“I heard ‘Still cute and shy even after all this time’.” Taeyeon’s head popped up from behind the cubicle next to Amber’s.

 

“I heard ‘Shut up, we’re at work’.” Tiffany’s head suddenly appeared next to Taeyeon’s.

 

“I didn’t hear anything but I saw Amber wiggling her eyebrows. In a suggestive manner.”

 

Everyone shifted their eyes to see Sooyoung sitting in the cubicle across the aisle from Amber’s desk, the back of her chair facing the computer behind her and a bag of chips in her hand.

 

“Wha—” Amber didn’t get the chance to express her surprise when another voice cut in.

 

“She smirked first, then wiggled her eyebrows. Then Krystal blushed. They were talking about something from last night.”

 

Krystal turned her head and almost screamed when she saw Sunny standing behind her, holding a cup of coffee.

 

“Ah! Unnie! Where did you come from, you scared me!?”

 

Sunny laughed and patted the girl’s back. “I came from my mom’s belly and sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

 

One by one, everyone started to gather around Amber and Krystal, each of their faces sporting a devilish grin. From Amber and Krystal’s perspective – being the youngest on the team – it gave them a rather unsettling feeling in the pit of their stomachs.

 

“G-guys? What’re y—?” Amber tried to stand up from her seat but a hand pushed her back down.

 

Krystal glared at Amber for putting her in this position. Just the thought of her ‘Unnies’ finding out what they did last night embarrassed her to no end.

 

“So,” Yuri grinned mischievously and smirked when both Amber and Krystal swallowed nervously. “If we factor in what everyone said here, we can safely say... you guys did something together last night and it definitely wasn’t work related. Am I right?”

 

“And it most likely took place in a closed room,” Taeyeon added then smirked. “On something soft. A bed, perhaps?”

 

“Don’t forget lack of clothing,” chirped Sunny. “None to be exact.”

 

“Ooh~!” Taeyeon reached over and high-fived Sunny proudly. “I like the way you think!”

 

“Ah Unnie!” Krystal whined, her face now completely red. If looks could kill, Amber was sure she would be dead already.

 

Knowing there was no way to get out of the teasing, Amber sank lower in her seat and quietly prayed that she would survive the wrath that is Krystal Jung after work.

 

 

 

 

fin.