The cases piled up. More and more were handed to him and Joonmyun, but as always, Kyungsoo was the more stressed one.

“You okay, there?” Joonmyun asked as he entered the room.

“I’ve got five ongoing cases and three hearings to go today.” He looked at Joonmyun with wild eyes, “Just the life of a lawyer, right?”

“Well good news to you, we have someone joining the team.” Joonmyun opened the door.

“The name’s Kang Jen,” the woman introduced as her eyes were locked on Kyungsoo’s, “and it is a pleasure to work with two of Seoul’s finest.”

Kyungsoo scanned her. Her attire was very professional but it was also y–tight fitting, especially around the bust area, and her pencil skirt was perhaps a size too small, practically suffocated her . Like most Korean woman, she was very pale and had fair skin. However she was curvy; an hourglass figure almost. Her eyes were large, almond shaped with brown make-up done perfectly on her lids. Nudeish pink lip gloss shimmered her lips and her face was well-done with foundation. She was young, perhaps twenty-eight, and no doubt y.

He continued with his files, “Hello, Kang Jen-sh, I’m Do Kyungsoo.”

Joonmyun didn’t like Kyungsoo unflattering behavior around their new co-worker. “Jen, here, graduated from Harvard Law School and she’s had a conviction rate of...” he paused, trying to remember.

“93%,” she said, “but who’s counting.” she chuckled. “After working in America for a good five years, I thought why not come over here?”

“American judicial system is different from Korea’s,” Kyungsoo looked at the boasting woman, “You do know that right?”

Jen lightly chuckled, sensing that the man was acting quite snobbish. “Of course I do, why wouldn’t I? How irresponsible do I look to you, Do Kyungsoo-sshi?”

“I’ll let your work prove that to me.” He got up from his seat and loudly put the stack of files on her designated desk. “Welcome to the team, Jen.” he said with a smile.

Like they did with their interns, Kyungsoo and Joonmyun took Jen out to celebrate her addition to the team. It was nine o’clock and the streets were packed with people. Street vendors were full and finding a place to dine at seemed impossible.

“It’s official,” Kyungsoo sighed as they finally found a place, “South Korea has reached a dangerously annoying over capacity of people. A purge needs to start now.”

“Yeah and we’ll begin with you.” Joonmyun poured some soju in his shot glass, “Calm down man. All these cases are getting to you.”

“I’m guessing he doesn’t do well with stress,” Jen joked as Joonmyun poured her some soju.

The whole day today, all this woman has been doing was talking about herself and all that cocky bull. As if that wasn't annoying enough, she had the profound audacity to press his buttons. “I’d like to see you stressed out, Jen-sshi.” Kyungsoo said with a fake smile. “A woman like you would probably be worst than a lion.”

“Hey you two, no need heads now. We’re here to celebrate Jen.” Joonmyun held up his shot glass. “To Kang Jen,” he looked at her, “good luck and welcome to South Korea.” All three of them gulped their soju.

Jen hissed, “Dang that is some spicy alcohol.”

“If you can’t take it, maybe you should stop here.” Kyungsoo poked his chopsticks in the pork then popped it in his mouth.

She scoffed and put her utensils down, “What is your problem with me?”

“Don’t mind him, he’s just blunt like that.” Joonmyun looked at him, “All of this stress that you have, you need to let it go now.”

“No, Joonmyun, I know the difference of being honest and being a first class .” She turned to Kyungsoo, “So what is it? Let’s clear things up now. What’s your problem, huh? I’m sure this isn’t how you treat a newbie, so what is it?”

Kyungsoo smirked and poured another shot of soju for himself. “You know your skimpy outfit and superiority is not a ual distraction.” he took the shot, “It’s, quite frankly, cheap.”

“Seriously, Kyungsoo!” Joonmyun shouted, “Were you drunk beforehand or what?”

“No, no it’s okay.” Jen smiled, “Thank you, Kyungsoo, for your brute honesty. I like how honest we can be here.” She stacked two pieces of pork belly on top of each other and put it in . She chewed on it then spat it on his face, “How’s this for y?” She stood up and grabbed her bag, “This was fun, honestly.” She turned to Joonmyun, “We should do this again.” Jen looked at Kyungsoo, “See you guys at the office tomorrow.” She walked out of the place and Joonmyun groaned.

“We haven’t even been here for five minutes and already you stirred up.”

“Here,” Kyungsoo stood up and put on his coat, “I’ll go apologize or sweet talk to her.”

“Well you better say something nice!” Joonmyun put a piece of meat in his mouth, “We’re gonna be working with her and I don’t want to be in an awkward office.”

Kyungsoo stepped out and saw her head to her car. “Jen, wait!” he called then jogged to her.

She turned around, “Oh hello,” she greeted sarcastically. “Came back for some more chewed up in your face? Cos I’m positive I’ve got gum in here somewhere.”

He scoffed, “Please, Joonmyun’s a saint and wanted me to come apologize for nothing.”

“Oh no, don’t apologize.” She chuckled and walked towards him. “But it seemed like someone was jealous back there.” He laughed; this woman has completely lost it. “Do you feel threatened by me, Do Kyungsoo? Are you afraid that you can’t handle your urges for me?”

“Urges?” he laughed even louder, “What urges, I’m married.”

“Congratulations, but all men are the same.” She looked at his tie and flirtatiously twirled it in her hands, “Leashed or not, you all want a nice piece of when you see it.”

Kyungsoo took his tie back, “Well I guess I’m well-trained then.” He walked away, “Don’t get confused about the traffic on your way home, .”

Minrin heard the front door open then shut quietly. A pair of legs trut up the stairs and a body plopped next to her on the bed. Minrin the lights, “Kyungsoo, you smell. Go shower.”

He sat up and kissed her. “Where’s Wookyung?”

“She’s sleeping, she has her play tomorrow. Don’t forget.”

Kyungsoo kissed his wife, “You know I love you, right?”

Minrin looked at him, “Kyungsoo what happened?”

“Nothing,” he held her, “I just wanted to tell you that I love you.”

Minrin tiredly chuckled, “I’ll love you even more if your breath didn’t smell so bad.” She turned to her husband, “Go shower and brush your teeth.”

He kissed the top of her forehead, “For you, I will.” he said with a grin.

Wookyung paced around backstage. She was given the role of Little Red Riding Hood in their play and she was more nervous than ever. This wasn’t the first time she’s done a play. The entire first grade did a play earlier this year–everyone was an animal and had to talk about their animal–but it was nothing compared to this.

“Hey Tiny!”

Wookyung turned around and saw Chijin approach her in his wolf costume. “I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Well I’m not going to call you noona so get used to Tiny.” He looked at her and saw how she was picking on her thumb nail. “Are you nervous, Tiny?”

Lying to Chijin was no use because he was like a lie detector–he knew when one was lying. The little girl nodded, “Yes.”

“Don’t be. Just go out there and be great.”

“How can I when I’m nervous?” she looked down, “I don’t think I can do this. I should just tell Ms. Jung to have Bang Jooshil play Little Red Riding Hood.”

“No!” he stopped her from going. “Little Red Riding Hood is the lead and the leads are always pretty. Bang Jooshil is not pretty. She’s ugly, mean, and has bad breath. If she wasn’t a girl, I bet she will have my role as the wolf.” Wookyung giggled and he smiled. “Here, let me tell you my secret.” he held her by the shoulder and they peaked out the see the audience. “Just imagine everyone as ants and you are bigger and taller than all of them. Speak with a loud, confident voice and you will do great.” He pulled them away and he looked at her, “Got that?” he pulled her red hood over her head.

“Chijin~” she whined as she pulled it behind her. “My braids,” she whined.

“Kim Chijin, Do Wookyung, it’s time.” their teacher called.

They both nodded and before he left, Chijin pinched her cheek, “Just do what I told you and you will do great.”

She smiled and rubbed her cheek. “Thank you, Chijin.”

“You were so great, sweetie.” Minrin said as they walked out of the cafeteria.

“My daughter is such a great actress,” Kyungsoo complimented.

Wookyung blushed and looked down, “Thank you,” she shyly thanked.

She saw a huge bouquet of flowers walk towards her with two legs. “We have a special delivery for the most beautiful and extremely talented, Do Wookyung.” a funny voice behind the bouquet said. Wookyung smiled, already knowing who the person was. A head poked out and a dimpled man smiled back at her.

“Uncle Myungie!” the girl jumped in enjoy, “You came to see me!”

Myungsoo put the bouquet down and hugged her. “Of course I did. We would never miss your performance.”

“Kim Myungsoo, why would you just drop it on the floor like this?” Taegi picked it up and handed it to Wookyung.

Wookyung looked at her little cousin next to Taegi. “Hi Taehwan.” The baby boy smiled back then hid behind his mother’s leg, blushing.

“Say hi to your cousin, Taehwan.” his mother said.

“Hi,” the two year-old said shyly. Like a beautiful mixture of both of his parents, Taehwan looked like his father but had his mother's deep eyes. Taehwan had Myungsoo's soft lips with his warm dimple. Just one look and anyone could tell that Kim Taehwan was the child of Hwang Taegi and Kim Myungsoo.

“Did you have fun?” her auntie asked. “You were awesome out there.”

Wookyung nodded, “I had a lot of fun and Chijin really helped me.” she gasped, “Daddy, can we go find them?”

“Hey Tiny!”

She looked at saw Chijin standing behind her with his hands on his hips, standing tall and proud. Wookyung ran to him and hugged him, “Your secret worked!”

“See, what did I tell you? Kim Chijin is always right, you know?”

“Wookyung!” a small voice called.

Wookyung looked up and saw Nayoung in Joonmyun’s arms. “Nayoung-ah,” she smiled and ran to her aunt and uncle. “Hi Aunti Yiyi, hi Uncle Joonie.”

“Hi Wookyung. You did a wonderful job.” Yirin said to the child as she pinched her cheeks.

“Wookyung was the best!” Nayoung exclaimed.

“Hey,” Chijin shouted, “what about your brother, you traitor!”

Joonmyun laughed, “You both were great.” he assured. He looked past the kids and saw Minrin and Kyungsoo talking to a woman. He wondered who the person was, but shrugged it off.

“Hello. Sorry to bother you but are you two the parents of Do Wookyung, the girl who played Little Red Riding Hood?”

“Yes, yes we are.” Kyungsoo confirmed.

She bowed, “Hello, my name is Jeon Namyoo and I am a talent scout of SMC&C. I think your daughter has much potential to becoming an actress and, with your approval, I’d to schedule an appointment with her to get her headshot and a recorded audition.”

Minrin looked at her husband, feeling skeptical about this woman. She turned to Jeon Namyoo, “How do I know if you are not trying to scam us.”

The woman smiled, “Here’s my card. It has all of my work information including my and the company’s website.” she handed them her card. “Look I’m just going to be honest here. Wookyung is an adorable child and from just looking at her, I can tell she has a passion for acting. I can’t even tell you how long it’s been since I’ve seen a child like her.” She took out a pen from her bag and wrote a date and time on the back of the card. “Think about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you do decide to show up, marvelous. If not, I completely understand.” She bow at the couple then retrieved to her own family.

Minrin looked at the card, “Honey, this looks legit. I mean SMC&C is a really popular I don’t think she would lie about being from such a well-known company.”

Kyungsoo looked at his daughter playing with Chijin. “I’m not sure I want her to deal with that yet.”

Why did it seem like as the week progressed, more and more files were shoved in his face? “What the hell is going on out there?” He stopped with his paperwork and raked his hands through his hair. “Why is there so much happening?”

“I don’t know but if you need to step out and take a break,” Joonmyun stood up to get some water, “Do it. I don’t want to scrub your brains off the floor if your head explodes.”

Kyungsoo ed the sleeves of his dress shirt and rolled it up. “I’ll take five.”

“Maybe fifteen,” Joonmyun shouted, “I want you cleansed before you step back in here.”

Kyungsoo walked out to the floor balcony. He sat down on the deck and took a deep breath. He shut his eyes and relaxed his mind. It felt nice not looking at words. The morning air was cool, crisp, and...smoky? Kyungsoo remembered that scent: the scent of cigarettes. He opened his eyes and saw Jen smoking.

“Excuse me,” Kyungsoo made himself known.

“Oh, didn’t see you there.” She handed him her box, “Want one?”

“No thank you.” he rudely declined.

“Don’t smoke, I see? How typical.” she said the last under her breath.

“What do you mean ‘how typical’?”

“Hey, I’m trying to make amends here.” Jen handed him the box again, “Do you want a cigarette or not?”

He’s been clean for seven years now. Never has he ever been pressure to smoke. Kyungsoo has never found himself in this position before. He turned the other cheek, “I quit years ago.”

“Oh come on.” She sat next to him, “Accept my white flag. Just one. And you’ve been doing good. Just a little won’t hurt, right? Plus you’ve been extremely stressed. One roll could really ease the tension.”

Kyungsoo looked at the box then the woman behind it. “You conniving bastard,” he said as he took a cigarette.

She smiled, “Thank you, that’s such an honor to hear from you.” She lit it for him and puff hers. “See, isn’t that great?”

Kyungsoo inhaled the cigarette and let the smoke curl on his lips, allowing the nicotine back in his clean lungs. Minrin would have been so upset to see him right now, but it just felt so good. Joonmyun saw from the window and shook his head. “Idiot.”

For some reason I imagined Kang Jen to look like Min Hyorin. Anyway, Wookyung got scouted! Chijin is such a nice buddy and Nayoung is now three! And it seems that Taegi and Myungsoo has their own kiddo now: Kim Taehwan. Oh no! Kyungsoo smoked! D:

Comments are love!