Epilogue
Tutor WarsWhen Suyeon walks into the company building the next day, she is greeted by a pissed off Jihae.
“There you are!” Jihae angrily stomps over to Suyeon. “Of all the things in the world, all the possible design choices and all the potential outfits, guess what the PR department suggested for our next advertising concept?”
“What?” Suyeon asks quizzically. “And can you tone it down? People are looking.”
“Schoolgirls!” Jihae shrieks, ignoring Suyeon’s plea. “They want to dress up a bunch of teenagers as some froshy e-looking girls in short plaid skirts and stick them on our advertising posters! What kind of parent would hire a tutoring service for their children with that kind of concept?”
Suyeon furrows her eyebrows. “You’re right. That’s rather inappropriate. Here.” She grabs a sticky note from her bag and scrawls a note on it. “Give that to the head of the PR department.”
She steps into the sleek glass elevator at the end of the lobby and presses the number 10. Suyeon enjoys a few moments of solitude before the doors slide open on level 5. In steps a harried looking Mirae, laden with thick binders and sheafs of paper.
“Hey,” Suyeon says, surprised. “You’re here early.”
“I had to be,” Mirae responds, completely out of breath. “Our Busan location launches in 3 days. And Jihae’s going crazy about the PR department’s new-,”
“-advertising campaign.” Suyeon nods. “Yeah, I was on the end of her rant the first thing in the morning.”
Mirae pats her friend on the back sympathetically. “Yeesh. Tough luck.”
The doors finally slide open to Level 10. Although this floor is usually deserted, with only a few people walking around, it is bustling with activity today. Secretaries scurry around from printers to desks to coffee rooms, while stressed executives speak with clients on the phone.
“The deal for the Busan opening is supposed to be a discount rate, not a ‘buy 1 hour, get 1 hour free deal,” one man argues into a phone. “Our charts show that our clients’ needs drop drastically after 1 hour of tutoring!”
“Suyeon! Mirae!” Jongin rushes over to the two. “One of our tutors for the Busan location suddenly quit. We need to find a replacement within 3 days.”
“That’s easy,” Suyeon replies. “There are several universities in Busan. Just hold a recruitment fair or something in or near a university. How’s our online site doing? No bandwidth crashes, right?”
Jongin clears his throat. “Actually, Sehun has the information on the status of our website. I haven’t been briefed on that today.”
“Got it.” Suyeon races to Sehun’s office.
“Weren’t you the one in charge of our website?” Mirae asks Jongin suspiciously.
He gives her a cheeky grin. “Maybe. But I just wanted a moment alone with you.”
“A moment alone with me.” Mirae exaggeratedly looks around her. There are people bustling everywhere. “Wow. Perfect place for seclusion.”
“I just wanted to tell you that I’ve booked the restaurant for Suyeon and Sehun’s engagement party,” he whispers. Mirae’s eyes light up in excitement.
“Perfect!” she exclaims, and gives Jongin a small peck on the lips. “It’s still a surprise for Suyeon, right?”
“Right. Which is why I needed some alone time with you.”
Mirae smiles. “Mhm. I see.”
Jongin squeezes her hands and says, “I better go get back to work, okay? Lunch is on me.”
“If we have time for lunch,” Mirae snorts.
Suyeon raps on Sehun’s door.
“Come in,” he says coolly.
“Am I interrupting anything?” Suyeon asks, striding into his office. Sehun’s eyes dart up from his MacBook Pro. His lips curl up into a smirk.
“Not at all, CEO Lee,” Sehun responds, leaning back in his chair. “What do you need?”
“Well, Mr. Oh, I was wondering why Jongin told me that you had the information about our website, when it was him in charge of it.”
“Did he now.”
“I feel like something suspicious is going on.” Suyeon tilts her head. “Care to enlighten me?”
Sehun pretends to ponder the question for a moment, and then shakes his head. “Nope. I don’t care to at all.”
“Tell me, or I’ll make you.” Suyeon crosses her arms challengingly. Sehun chuckles.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Fine.” Suyeon rolls her eyes. “It better be good, though.”
“In exchange for not revealing this particular secret, may I tell you another one?”
“Of course.”
Sehun whispers in her ear, “Jongin’s planning on proposing soon.”
“Really?” Suyeon shrieks, jumping up. “Oh my god! Yes! That’s awesome!”
“I know, I know, but shhh!” Sehun hisses. “Don’t tell her. Don’t even hint it. Don’t even-,”
“I get it, I get it.” Suyeon rolls her eyes. “Sheesh. I can keep a secret.”
Sehun smiles smugly. “I know that.”
Suyeon is about to beam at him for his compliment, but she detects the suggestive undertone in Sehun’s voice and groans instead. “Jesus, Sehun. Stop.”
“What?” Sehun murmurs, creeping up closer and closer to his fiancee. “I don’t remember you telling me to stop-,”
“I’m leaving,” Suyeon huffs, laughing nonetheless. Before she closes the door, however, she adds, “And if you’re talking about last night, I do believe that you were the one telling me not to stop.”
This time, Sehun is the one blushing.
“Okay, we’re finally done,” Jihae exhales, brandishing a thumb drive. Suyeon, Mirae, Sehun, Jongin, and several other executives sit at a long oval table, facing Jihae. “The PR department has finished its advertisements for the Busan campaign. First, we will show you the TV commercial.”
She pops the thumb drive into her laptop and clicks a file titled Comm1. A bright, colorful video fills the projector screen. Everyone watches in anticipation.
Images of children being taught by kindly-looking tutors and stacks of paper with A+s on them flit across the screen. Skyline Tutoring Co., a voiceover says. Founded by 4 students with a common goal: the goal of helping children excel in academics. With 11 different locations, we’re always available to accommodate your student. And with an online tutoring service with more than 30 tutors online, we can help your child even if you can’t make it in person. Visit our new Busan location opening on April 1.
“Awesome,” Mirae claps. “I liked it!”
“Same.” Sehun nods. “Great job, Jihae.”
“It’s a yes for me,” Jongin states, and the other executives murmur in agreement.
“How about you, CEO Lee?” Jihae asks.
“You know my answer.” Suyeon grins. “Skyline Tutoring is ready to launch this advertising campaign.”
"And kick at our 12th location," Mirae adds, and Suyeon gives her a rather unprofessional high-five.
"We're gonna rock this," Suyeon grins. "Just like we have in the past. Together."
A/N: Aaaand that's a wrap! Thanks for reading, guys! heheh follow me on twitter @nutellarubi
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