제8회 

It was comfortable. At least he felt it that way. He could not see anything, but the warm touch was soothing. 

His eyes slowly opened to a familiar surrounding; the pastel colored walls and dim lighting. He propped himself up before noticing another figure sleeping on the chair. 

Beautiful. Even in her sleep, she was beautiful. Despite being tired, her face was so serene like a baby in her cradle. He glanced at the side table. The soaked cloth in a bowl of warm water was there to prove that she has been staying up for him. Carefully, he used his fingers to reach for her. His gaze trailed on her long eyelashes, nose and down to her lips. 

Just this once. 

He leaned in little by little. Every second his heart was pumping, yet he could not ignore his curiosity. He wanted to know; what was it like to kiss her? 

Her movements caused him to pull back. He gathered his composure, averting his gaze to the painting instead. “Woohyun, you’re up?” He nodded subtly. Seolhee yawned, oblivious to what just happened. How long has it been? It’s already half past six, two hours before opening the shop. “You stayed here all night?” 

“I guess. How are you feeling?” Seolhee raised an eyebrow when he flinched by her action. “Relax. I’m not going to do anything.” Watching him getting all flustered amused her. At that point, she could not tell whether his face is turning red due to the fever or her teasing. She continued anyway, checking his temperature. 

“Thanks for taking care of me. What about Yejin? She must be worried about you.”

“I already let her know. Besides, you’re much more important now.” The last sentence made his heart pumping again, sending him butterflies. “I’m giving you a day off. Rest up and come back later. Okay?”

“Yes, Angel.” 

Seolhee paused. “What did you just call me?” 

“Angel.” He gave her a teasing smile. “Can I call you Angel? Be my angel. Please,” Seolhee crossed her arms, questioning him with a curious gaze. In the end, she let out a small chuckle. “You’re so cheesy, you know that?” He simply shrugged. He could never get tired of her smile. She paused for a thought or at least she pretended to, choosing to play along. 

“I’ll be your Angel.” 

= = = = = = =

Sometimes, it is fun to be random. For example, getting ice-cream in the middle of the night or going out for a movie on weekdays. Being spontaneous at times means taking a break from our daily routine. And I think a spontaneous person is cool. They say life is short, make it sweet. 

Her jaw dropped at the sudden announcement. Her eyes widened, the same reaction made by everyone else. Except for Kim Sungkyu. For him, it was his usual death glare. 

“The Hyun group decided to push their launching campaign next week.” 

But, applying the concept in my job means disaster. “What?” 

“Next week?” Manager Han nodded. “They got a tip that a rival company was copying their concept. So, they decided to redo the whole thing and launched it a week earlier.”  Kim Sungkyu let out a frustrated sigh. Yejin chose to groan mentally. All the time she spent to come up with her current work has gone to waste. 

For my job, it is important to keep track of your own schedule. Planning what to do today, tomorrow and the next is a big help when it comes to a project work. We know the deadlines; we prepare for it and set things one at a time. 

Companies that hire us only gave us a short deadline. Because if they like what we showed them, they’ll take it and bring it back to their company. Which means we have to prepare the materials way earlier than the actual given deadline. 

If Manager Han says one week, then…

“I’m sorry, guys. You have to submit your work tomorrow.” 

… this means I have to sleep in tonight. Literally. 

“Got it.” Kim Sungkyu rose from his seat and approached the door. As the faithful assistant, Yejin followed behind him quietly. First, I have to check the projects that I’m currently working on and sort them out. This one is a top priority. Next, organize my time to draft and compare. I still have two hours before lunch. There should be enough time- Her thoughts got interrupted when he stopped abruptly and made her hit his back. 

“Can’t you keep it to yourself?” Yejin gasped at his request. Did I say it out loud? Kim Sungkyu waited for her to speak, although it is hard to tell whether he was offended or not. She dropped her gaze to her feet. “Sorry.” 

It was never like this before. She already got used to him temper outburst and rigid working methods. Yet lately, she was easy offended whenever he made his usual snarky comments. Instead of finding a way to escape his wrath, she let him do as he pleases. “One hour is enough. Tell them to meet up at before lunch. We split the task and after lunch, we start immediately.” She nodded and quietly parted ways. 

Again, no quirky comments. 

What is wrong with her?

= = = = = = =

“Yejin,” 

“Hmm?” 

“Why do you look so down?” Nara scooted her chair closer to mine. The left side of my armrest sunk a bit resulting from her leaning towards me. “Did he scold you again?” I immediately shook my head. My eyes were glued to the screen, working on the draft and making necessary alterations. “Is it about the other day?” 

“What about the other day?” 

“I’ve noticed, you’re acting differently after returning his pen.” She started her interrogation, as she liked to call it. She continued to observe, as if she would find anything by reading me. From the corner of my eyes, I took notice when she suddenly gasped as if she discovers som