Epilogue

January 8, 2018

“Hey, great job today. As always.” Kris said, placing a hand on my shoulder easily, due to his towering height. His eyes bent down to quickly scan the neat piles of transcripts, drafts, and manuscripts tattered all over my desk in approval.

“Thanks boss.” I quickly gathered all my personal things into my little black bag as my computer worked to shut itself off after a long day of work.

“So…”

I looked up to find a flustered Kris rubbing the back of his neck, looking uncharacteristically nervous. Kris was naturally not an awkward guy. He looked intimidating and cold due to his thick eyebrows and impressive height. His deep voice was filled with authority and finality. But all of that meant nothing when it came to asking girls out to dinner.

“Yes?” I sighed, already knowing what was coming. It was not the first or second time.

“It’s only six-thirty; would you care to accompany me for dinner or for a drink perhaps?” His right arm reached up to rub his left arm, gaze on the floor. I amusingly and sympathetically smiled and shook my head lightly.

“I’ve got somewhere to be.” I felt bad for shooting him down once again. Don’t get me wrong, Kris is a nice, polite, and handsome fellow, but it didn’t seem right for me to date my boss (or anyone for that matter).

“That’s no problem,” His expression faltered slightly, “See you tomorrow then.” He lifted a hand up to give me a half-hearted wave as he left the building.

I pushed my chair in and grabbed my trench coat and scarf, immediately putting it on over my fitted black sweater dress. Grabbing the keys out of my bag, I stepped out of the office and locked up for the night.

The winter wind immediately struck my face, causing me to crinkle my nose. I rubbed my hands together before stuffing them into my pockets and walking back home to my little apartment, alone, just like any day.

So, where has life taken me, you ask?

I was twenty-three, employed, and you guessed it, single.

Finally graduating from college (with honors I must add), with a degree in both English literature and journalism; I had the world at my fingertips. I proudly made my way across the stage (ignoring the embarrassing cat-calls from Chanyeol from the crowd) and accepted my diploma. As I headed off the stage, I caught a glimpse of my mother, adorning the proudest smile. And that’s when I knew all my hard work was worth it.

And I must mention, Kai was no where to be seen.

But that’s okay, I haven’t seen him since the night we broke up, or took a break so I liked to call it. I often found myself wondering, where was he? Has he succeeded in achieving his dream? When will we see each other again?

Almost quite obviously, I distracted myself by pouring myself into my studies and various internships. (Resulting in gaining two bachelor degrees in four years) The amount of free time I now had was something that took a little too long to get used to. After getting out of college I had many job offerings at different places, big editorial companies, newspaper presses, and little publishing companies.

But as I’ve always believed, if you’re going to be somewhere for eight hours a day, five times a week, it’s better be at a place you wanted to be at.

And so I was picky, I wanted to find a place where I would fit in well, help publish things that I would be proud to, and a place with a good working atmosphere.

And that’s why I was extremely blessed to had finally found Kris’s moderately sized publishing house. Aside from the occasional and awkward dinner invites from Kris, I was completely comfortable and happy where I was. He paid his employees fairly and provided good benefits for us all. He was a good boss, always trying to make us feel at home. And my coworkers were nice as well, they were all very cheerful people, making the day go by smoothly.

And I was able to edit and publish works that I fell in love with. I believe that everyone should do things they are passionate about, and that’s how you’d get the best re