Corporate Strangers

The Hyun Thing

Seung Jun smirked. One thing he could do to her that the world couldn't, was reading her face. As invulnerable as she is to the public, he could read her thoughts at just a glimpse of her face. It must've been those ten years, he wondered.

He kept looking intently at her, amused that she was actually daydreaming in front of him. That workaholic, he thought again. Seri finally managed to move her eyes and look at him, back again at her usual, aware self. Seung Jun mimicked her move and hang his mouth, pointing a finger to her, exaggerating his fake surprised face.

"Ah, yes. That's right my friend. Pretty cool dream right? So..." He still continued with that face of his, indirectly mocking her suppressed expression.

She could only close her mouth, defeated. Seri hated that he could just do this to her and she felt frustrated about it. She wasn't even able to speak and he just spilled out all of her thoughts. Dammit.

Seung Jun smiled triumphantly and started to head to the door. He waved a hand and added, "Call me if you made up your mind, I'll talk to him."

Excited and overwhelmed, Seri tried to keep herself down. This always happens every time she gets these kind of offers.

Over the years, she had her fair amount of disappointment when these projects didn't go according to her plan. Still, her inner self couldn't help but look forward to it or at least feel giddy for a short while.

After the long hours of endless phone calls and proposals to review on her desk, she finally caught her window dimming, the smooth orange light of the sunset fading before her eyes. One more hour and she's out of the office and finally, she could think of the real deal.

The clicking of her heels echoed through the hallways, her pace faster than usual. She entered the elevator alone and pressed the ground floor button. Seri was from the 20th floor while Seung Jun's office was at the 18th and she thought for a while if she should stop by and ask for some details, the curiosity getting the best of her at the moment.

Just as she reached Seung Jun's floor, the door opened and she flinched at the sudden presence but still retained her composure. A tall man walked in. He had his coat hanging on his arm and his suit fits him well. I haven't seen him around here, she thought. His strong, fragrant perfume filled the air, overpowering Seri's feminine scent.

The man stood beside her, their space wide and alone. He ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to fix it. Seri, with nothing to do, let herself stare at him, thinking he wasn't even probably aware of her presence there. Strangely, she finds herself comfortable in watching him arrange his strands. The side profile of his was also, undeniably, breath-taking.

He snapped his head and turned to look at her. Caught off guard, Seri looked away and glued her eyes to the screen showing 12th floor. She felt stiff and realized how she found this interaction somehow weird and funny. And by weird, why was she like that because of a random stranger?

She scoffed. Did I just? It wasn't time for business anymore but the persona seemed to get into her as she felt vulnerable with the situation they are in right now. Not meeting his eyes, Seri fixed her sight to the elevator buttons and firmly, confidently asked, "Are you just going to keep on doing that?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?"

His deep and awfully alluring voice had her there for a second and Seri found herself turning her head to meet his. Bold. He had this calm yet intriguing demeanor that made him somewhat interesting.

It seemed like an inside challenge of who's more of this and that. They were silently competing for pathetic dominance of who's more sharp. If that's the most describable case you could think of.