The alarm came to life as the exhausted girl rolled halfway across the matress, letting out a fustrated grunt. She pulled her duvet further upwards as she clasped a sleepy hand onto her phone, swiping across the screen. She blinked, and adjusted her pillow, staring at the ceiling. The off white ceiling and the plain sheets looked so strangely familiar yet foreign. It took her a few moments to realize that, she, Emile Stanley, was in Korea. 'Woah,' she breathed, 'I gotta wake up then.' A pang of enthusiasm plunged her chest as she punched a fist into the air. She hummed, shaking her head as she realized that she still couldn't get over the beautiful miracle. Marching across the room, she boiled the water in the kettle and went for a quick shower. She was way too excited to be tired, and she decided that she was going to make her day perfect. She stepped out of the shower, swung the towel across her neck, and wore her hair into a ponytail.

Five minutes later she was opening the door of her new office, sitting down into her new cubicle. She sat the cup of coffee on her desk, poking a straw through the lid. A cup of coffee always made her day better. She stacked up the files and set them upside, sipping the warm, dark liquid as she inhaled its strong fragrance, when she noticed someone standing behind her. ‘Mornings are not for you to enjoy your coffee, Ms Stanley. It is Korea here, and the rules of our company are very clear, and you shall obey.’

She opened to protest, glancing towards the clock, ‘Good morning, madam. I’m terribly sorry, do excuse me. It’s not exactly my working shift yet, I’m rather early, I believe.’

Her boss took a deep breath, lips pressed into a thin line. ‘You are in no position to cut me off, listen and keep quiet. Excuses are not what I want. Do as I say and keep yourself in track. I like things effective.’

Emile felt a certain dislike towards this woman, whom she had found undesirable to speak with. ‘Yes, madam. This will never happen again.’ She stood up and bowed. She watched as the two legs clad in black heels strode away. Click, clack, click. There was no introduction, no salutations, no ‘call me Louise’ or whatever her name was, no friendliness whatsoever. She watched until the woman behind the glass door disappeared around the corner. ‘Fine, fine,’ she said to herself, raising a hand running her hand through her hair. She had been to work for only 10 minutes, and she was already exhausted. Technically, work hadn’t even started yet. She sank into her seat and took out her ring binder with her documents. The thought of fashion designing sparked something back in her and her eyes sprang to life.

‘ You have to read through the requirements today and listen to their new album. Then you shall begin your design plans.’ Emile inhaled sharply and turned around – the woman had popped out of nowhere. She felt disturbed. She was just about to open to greet her boss and tell her she understood when the cold lady beat her to it. ‘Now.’ It was a short order, strict and direct. Emile didn’t dare to delay it anymore and turned back to her file, quickly turning on the computer. From the corner of her eye she saw the bony finger pointed at her screen monitor. She couldn’t help but notice the ring on her ring finger and her neatly trimmed nails. There was neither sign of nail polish nor accessories of any sort. Her boss wore a plain blue blouse and a pencil skirt, her lanky torso covered with a brown cardigan. ‘So she’s no fun,’ Emile thought to herself, rolling her eyes mentally in her head. ‘She’s a neat person who wants things 200% efficient.’

‘I’m the management executive officer you have to listen to me. I don’t care if you graduated from Cambridge or how the clerks around the office say that you must be a woman of excellence to sit at so high a position in our company at such a young age, with your own office and secretary. Your opinion or suggestion is not needed. I don’t care what you think about me, your job or the things I tell you to do.’ Her boss gave one last command before she strode off again. Emile felt an instinct to pour an imaginary cup of water at her back. She didn’t even give any comments in the first place, nor did she disobey her boss in the slightest manner. Despite her dissatisfactions, Emile decided that listening to the albums as her boss had said, at once, would be the best choice. Genesis was a powerful album, also the third Japanese album the group had released, the songs were full of emotion and despite not knowing what the lyrics meant, Emile had to admit that she was impressed by the group, in general. After finishing the album it had been half past nine and Emile had dropped down some notes on her computer. She pressed the button to summon her secretary and asked her to print out some information she had found on the internet. The management executive officer had given her no background idea at all. She sent her notes to her boss, in hope of some guidance, and within a minute the familiar sound of the executive manager had echoed in her office again, the menacing lady glaring at her with her arms crossed, just in time to catch a glimpse of the yawning Emile. ‘Another rest, young lady! Have I permitted you to do so?’

‘Well sorry, but I still haven’t shaken off my jet lag yet, mrs …?’

Her boss slammed a hand to her desk, breathing heavily in slight anger, ‘Call me Ms Jung.’

Emile struggled inside her head, she should have known better to judge one’s status by their appearance. She couldn’t be blamed anyways, the woman who was now Ms Jung was apparently, quite old. And if that was what Ms Jung regarded as ‘a break’, Emile was sure she’d have to work 24/7.

By lunch Emile was exhausted and utterly weary, she had spent the entire morning being ordered around by the titan Jung, who had, apparently, told her off in the most unreasonable way yet. She staggered out of the building and the wind that greeted her seemed so friendly, in comparison with the harsh boss at work that Emile wanted to cry. She rushed across the street and grabbed a sandwich and a milkshake, hoping to lift her spirits up. The container of the drink felt cool against the palm of her hand and for the first time since 8 o’clock in the morning, she smiled.

She turned the key and rushed into her room with a ‘phew’. She didn’t realize how hungry she had been that she finished her lunch within what seemed seconds. She stood up and brushed the crumbs off, pacing around the room when her doorbell rang. She opened the door and greeted the man with black glasses. ‘You are..?’ She asked, flashing a smile.

‘I’m their manager.’ The man said, bowing again. Emile returned the act of courtesy and her lips formed a small o. ‘I’m Mr Lee and I thought I could introduce myself. I’ve been watching the kids since their debut and since you’re new around here, I thought I could aid you with some info.’ He nodded knowingly, as his eyes peeked around the room. ‘Sure,’ Emile said, ‘shall we proceed to my office?’ She felt both annoyed and excited, annoyed because her lunchtime had been cut and eventually developed to worktime, and the latter, simply because she felt her passion spring to life again.

‘May I assume that you have met the group?’ Mr Lee asked. Emile gave a graceful nod and gestured towards the black chair, ‘do have a seat.’ Mr Lee thanked her and gave her another more detailed profile, not only about the group but also regarding their crew. Emile sighed in relief, ‘thanks for your help, this is so useful.’

‘Gladly,’ the manager took off his imaginary hat. Emile liked him at once, he was the only friendly staff around here, and he was experienced and funny. ‘So, how have you found your second day at work?’

‘ Exhausting yet challenging,’ she cocked her head to one side, ‘it’s very different from the UK.’

‘I see what you mean, but believe me, the managing executive officer can be really nice and helpful once you get to know her,’ he gave a chuckle.

‘I hold little faith in that, honestly, she’s been making me work my socks off.’ Emile studied her nails, grinning at the manager, Ms Jung was not exactly what we would describe as ‘nice’.

‘ I understand,’ Mr Lee said, he looked around and rolled his eyes slightly, ‘she can be harsh.’

He left shortly and Emile sat back into the chair, reading the profile while wondering if her boss was going through menopause.