" 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 "
❝ In the elevator? ❞
"YOU SHOULD BE THANKING GOD FOR having such an awesome friend." Hyejin said, adjusting Hari's face once more.
"Can you just help me without needing to boost your own ego?" The girl in plaid remarked, fighting the urge to roll her eyes as the elevator began to rise, resulting in Hyejin almost poking her eye out with the pink beauty blender.
"What other friend would leave work just to come help you hide that awful bruise on your eye because you went on a stupid date with their brother?"
"You know I couldn't say no!"
"Actually you could, it's pretty easy."
"You really want to go there?"
"What do you mean?" Hyejin asked with furrowed eyebrows as she backed away to make sure the bruising wasn't showing as much.
"How was your date with the man you've been crushing on since you were a kid?" Hari shot back, raising a challenging brow at her.
"It was fine." Hyejin shrugged, feigning nonchalance as she handed Hari an eyepatch.
"If it was just fine, why'd you get home so late last night?"
Hyejin's head shot up as her jaw dropped and her eyes squinted in offense. "You and Yeonmi need to stop gossiping about my love life!"
"I thought your relationship was fake?" Hari asked with a small smile. But before she could hear Hyejin's reply, her eyes went wide as the doors began opening.
"Don't-" All of a sudden, Hyejin let out a gasp as she was being dragged to stand guard in front of her friend and it was only then did she notice Taemoo on the other side of the open doors.
"Hyejin?"
"Hey Taemoo." Hyejin chuckled nervously, ignoring the way Hari was panting in distress.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, his eyes darting back and forth between Hyejin, the eye patch on the floor, and Hari.
"Oh you know, I just wanted to stop by and... uh admire the architecture of the walls?" The girl in the green skirt smiled, running a finger over the wall to her right.
"In the elevator?"
Before Hyejin could reply, Sunghoon made his way towards the group. "We're delaying your meeting by an hour." Seeing as Taemoo was momentarily distracted, Hyejin nudged Hari and they quickly made their way to the other side of the elevator, picking up the eyepatch before either of the men could notice their movement.
"Director Go got into a minor car accident." Sunghoon explained as they entered the elevator, ignoring the two women who were standing back to back. Hari facing the corner with Hyejin facing the other two in the small box.
"He did? Okay then." Taemoo replied just as the elevator doors closed.
"Oh hey Ms. Choi. What're you doing here?" Sunghoon smiled only just noticing Hyejin, before waving politely at the clearly anxious women.
"Hey Sunghoon. I was just here to...uh.." Fumbling over her words, Hyejin wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt nervously as her eyes jumped around. "...to-to let Taemoo know that my parents want to um..."
"Meet him!" Hari said, covering up her whisper with a cough.
"Meet him! Yeah, they wanted to meet him." She exclaimed, ignoring the weird looks she was receiving from the taller man.
"Did you tell them about our relationship?" Taemoo asked, slightly leaning forward to get a look of who she was so desperately trying to hide.
Quickly blocking his line of view, Hyejin gave him a small smile. "No, but you know how fast news spreads. Some news outlet probably got a photo of us together and they saw it."
"I've got a sty on my eye, yeah." Hari randomly exclaimed, clearly bothered by the silence as she turned to the other three in the elevator, covering one eye with the eye patch and the other with her hand.
Taemoo furrowed his eyebrows. "Well, aren't you gonna press the floor?" Hyejin let out a small chuckle that turned into a noise of pain when instead of feeling Hari move, she felt a harsh nudge to her back. Letting a pained smile grace her perfectly painted lips, Hyejin moved to the side and pressed the first button before shuffling to her previous spot.
"Since the meeting has been delayed, I might as well attend the tasting event." Taemoo said, turning to look at Sunghoon before his eyes met Hyejin's. "I think you should join me since our relationship has already been exposed. It might help convince my grandfather some more."
Her previous guilty smile was replaced with a genuine one that was gone just as soon as it appeared when Hari nudged her. "I'm so sorry, I would love to but I have to actually get back to work."
"Oh okay." Taemoo said, clearing his throat just as the elevators opened.
"Thanks again for the offer. Enjoy Minwoo's white kimchi ravioli, it's definitely a favorite of mine." Hyejin smiled, bowing politely as she and Hari awkwardly made their way out of the elevator with their backs touching.
✧༺♥༻✧
Biting the tip of her pen, Hyejin scrunched her eyebrows in deep contemplation as she stared at the few models strutting up and down the catwalk located inside the empty theater. She let out a few deep sighs, occasionally taking notes in the messy notepad in her hand before standing up once the diverse group of models stood lined up in front of her.
"I like the bubble skirt on the short white dress and the cropped matching jacket. And the black and pink dress with the Jean jacket. I also like the black sheer blouse with the black dress pants, as well as the long trench coat paired with the black dress pants, so make sure those outfits are prepared and sent over to the photo shoot site." She explained as she taped the photos of the outfits onto the white poster for the staff to take with them. After discussing the outfits a few more with the seamstresses and the models, she dismissed them, wishing them all a goodnight.
"Ready to go?" Yeonmi asked, pulling out her phone to dial the driver's number only to see a message from Youngseo pop up. "Looks like Youngseo is here to pick us up."
"Okay." Hyejin shrugged, hiking up her white Burberry shoulder bag which matched her white Burberry leather sandals. The girls made their way outside of the luxurious old money theater, the usual air of elegance surrounding them as they effortlessly turned heads.
"Stop being so beautiful and hurry up!" Youngseo whisper-shouted outside of her rolled down window as she saw the two girls walking over to her car which caused them to speed up at her words.
"Why are we in such a rush?" Hyejin huffed, plopping down in the backseat oh Youngseo's blue car.
"We have to go pick up Hari before she's caught. She was at Minwoo's restaurant when Mr. Kang decided to show up so she has to sneak out quickly." The girl explained, not wasting any time before she began to drive.
"That girl is always getting herself into trouble." Yeonmi hummed, tapping away on the keyboard attached to her iPad.
✧༺♥༻✧
"Wait, let me get this straight." Hari began as she placed her coat on her chair. "Okay, so this handsome guy you saw at the convenience store is Secretary Cha, is that correct?"
"Yeah." Youngseo mumbled, not looking away from the floor.
"I'm still very surprised at that." Hyejin hummed, closing the small portable mirror in her hand after reapplying her lip gloss.
"And he's the same Mr. Cha, who lives right next door?"
"Yeah, yeah." She replied, nodding her head quickly.
"All the more reason to let us come over." Yeonmi shrugged.
Dramatically, Hari's hands made their way over her mouth at what Youngseo just shared with them. "Just how do you meet someone like that?"
"That's what I'm saying!" Youngseo exclaimed before her eyes widened slightly. "Hey, you don't think I'll run into him here again, right?" All four girls paused at this, looking around with wide eyes. Their heads all turned to the door when the noise of the bell ringing announced someone's entrance.
"This is driving me crazy." Youngseo sighed deeply. "You know what? Hari, don't even think about coming to my apartment in the meantime. Or if you really have to, dress up as Shin Geumhi."
"We're allowed to come over right?"
"Yeah, but it might still be a little risky."
"You're the one to watch out." Hari said. "Don't get all friendly with him and then end up babbling all about how Shin Hari is actually Shin Geumhi and how Hyejin has known all along."
"Or do end up getting friendly with him, just don't babble." The girl in beige shrugged, making Hyejin chuckle.
Turning her head away in sorrow, Youngseo let a pout grace her lips. "I don't think I'll be able to talk to him again. So there's no way I'll end up babbling."
"Why?"
"You know that I messed up the blind date, so my family is on bad terms with Hyejin's family who are close with Kang Taemoo's family."
Hyejin couldn't help but snort at this. "Youngseo I think you're overthinking a little bit. My family is on good terms with your's. So you're on good terms with Sunghoon."
"So is that why he told me he doesn't want anything to do with me?"
"He said what?" Yeonmi questioned with furrowed eyebrows.
"Did he really say that?"
"Seriously! You know I definitely could have sworn he liked me at first." Youngseo began but let a smile grace her face when the girls all gave her teasing smiles in return. "No, really! I'm serious here! What the...you three don't believe me."
Hyejin let out a small laugh but immediately went quiet when Youngseo quickly turned her head towards her, grabbing her hand in the process. "Hey, is he talking bad about me?"
"You know actually," she began, attempting to ignore how Youngseo's grip got tighter. "Sunghoon actually told me that he didn't like you at all."
"What?" The other three girls exclaimed, staring at Hyejin with wide eyes.
"He said he didn't like you because you were just too pretty to avoid." Hyejin said seriously before a big smile graced her lips as Youngseo let out a small whine, pushing the girl away slightly.
"Hyejin! Don't mess around like that. But do you think Mr. Kang told Mr. Cha to avoid me cause I might be nuts? Jeez, that petty archeopteryx."
"I don't think so, Taemoo really does keep to himself, he wouldn't speak about you like that." Hyejin shook her head. "I know he seems intimidating but he really is thoughtful."
"Hey, what is this?" Yeonmi and Youngseo said in unison, although in completely different tones.
Turning to face her boss, Yeonmi's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. "I thought nothing happened on your last date?"
"That's what she told me this morning as well!" Hari exclaimed with wide curious eyes.
"Right! Why are you siding with Kang Taemoo? That's suspicious." Youngseo added.
"What are you guys talking about?" Hyejin chuckled, cursing the blush that was kissing her cheeks.
"You gave him your high school journal that you wouldn't let anyone touch. Not even any of us!" The girl with the black bob exclaimed.
"And he just accepts your affection without saying anything." Hari added excitedly.
"You've fallen for him?" Youngseo gasped excitedly.
Chuckling slightly, Yeonmi patted Hyejin's back 'comfortingly.' "She fell for him a long time ago. Look, just the thought of him is turning her red."
"Okay guys that's enough." Hyejin groaned. "Yes, he is an attractive, successful man who knows what he wants! What's so wrong about being able to appreciate that?"
"Is that really all there is to it?" Youngseo asked, clearly not believing her.
Slamming her hands onto the table lightly, Hyejin's eyes zeroed in on Hari. "How about we talk about how the reason why Hari is wearing an eyepatch is because yesterday, she went on a voluntary date with my brother."
"You just told me someone hit you by accident!" Youngseo gasped, turning her head to stare at her best friend in shock.
"Seriously Hyejin?" The girl groaned, hitting a laughing Yeonmi with her elbow. "Technically someone did hit me by accident. I was just on a date with Jihoon when it happened."
"Wow, first name bases, that's pretty serious." Yeonmi instigated, tucking her hair behind her ear, clearly unbothered by Hari's annoyance.
"Now it makes so much sense why you were texting him all day."
"First name bases, texting him all day..." Hyejin said, tapping her chin like she was in deep thought. "Should I make sure I'm over at the family house so I'm there when you meet my parents or am I about to find out you already met them?"
"I didn't meet your parents. The most we did was he held my hand and that's it!" The girl with the eye patch sighed in annoyance at all the teasing.
"Woah, you better be careful because one thing leads to another and BANG, he knows your real name." Hyejin exclaimed dramatically before quieting down, ignoring Youngseo and Yeonmi's laughter. "I don't even know why you're still hiding your real name from him. I feel like you and him could actually be a genuine couple if you just tell him."
"I just don't have time to be dating." Hari sighed.
Frowning at her friend's words, Hyejin furrowed her brows in confusion. "You said that a while ago but you made time to go on not one, but two dates with him, you just lied about your name. Just think about actually telling him who you are, I don't know what you're scared of."
"Okay, let's not get too serious." Youngseo interrupted.
"She's right, enough of that! Let's order."
authors note;
❣️not edited but I just rlly wanted to post this quick chapter ALSO, thanks you guys for 19k reads it's actually so bizarre🫶🏼
Also question: do you guys prefer longer or shorter chapters? Anywaysss, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!