Chapter 8
The Romantic Idea
I came to work early today, excited about what the day had to offer, only to be surprised at finding my whole workstation empty, save for a desk phone and a chair. For a moment, I got confused and thought that I had gone to the wrong cubicle. When I looked around and realized I was in the right place and not dreaming, I got even more befuddled.
I walked over to Minjoo's cubicle to ask her about the mysterious disappearance of my things. I found her sitting on her chair, facing her computer, breathing in vapor from a white teacup she was holding. "Oh, good morning, Sunmi! You're early today... Do you want some mango black tea?"
I shook my head. "Minjoo, do you know what happened to my things?"
"No... why? What happened?"
"Everything's gone."
"What? What do you mean gone?"
"Like there's nothing in my workstation!"
"What???"
"Do you think I got fired?"
"Oh, gosh. I hope not."
Minjoo followed me as I walked back to my workstation. I was anxious and concerned. It's not easy to find jobs nowadays; it took me two months to find this one.
I let out a ponderous sigh as I slowly lowered myself to the chair, trying to think of who could have done this to me, if the whole thing was just a joke. It must have been that Lee Youngwoo. He probably couldn't stand competition. Dang, my idea backfired on me!
"Somebody should have told me beforehand, right? Like they wouldn't get rid of my things before telling me I'm axed..."
"I'm gonna ask around and see if anybody witnessed anything yesterday," Minjoo said, probably seeing that I had no idea what to do.
At exactly nine o'clock, the desk phone in front of me rang.
It was Lee Youngwoo, demanding that I run, (take note – run) into his office at once. Based on the urgency in his voice, you would think someone was dying in his office, and I was the only one who could perform CPR. "Be in my office in ten seconds!"
I did exactly just that, thinking maybe I could still salvage my job if I tried to abide by all of his rules and follow his commands from now on.
"Yah! I told you ten seconds!" he said in a not-so office-appropriate voice as soon as I stepped into his office. "You're three seconds late!"
I was scared of being fired, but I still showed him my composed self, unflurried by the inappropriate decibel of his voice. I walked over to the back of the black leather couch that stood near his table, perched on the back rest, crossed my arms over my chest, and said, "What's the emergency?"
A clearly triumphant smile crept across his face. "I got Minjoo something, and this time I'm pretty sure it will be points for me. It will surely knock your pathetic little plastic rose and your "get-well" fruits off the trophy shelf and send it straight into the garbage bin." He let out an evil laugh for efficacy. I put on a pout of defeat and pretended to mutter out irritation; little did he know that I was overjoyed inside. Finally, Minjoo would know of Youngwoo's real feelings. And I was not fired. At least not yet.
"What did you get her?" I asked, curious and excited for Minjoo.
"I got her seven dozen flowers, each dozen represents each of the seven characters in the word saranghae," he replied with a complacent look, twirling a pen in his fingers.
"FLOWERS?!?!?!"
He froze at the loudness of my voice.
I wanted to pull my hair off my head. The good news was now not-so-good anymore.
"You idiot! I told you not to give her flowers. She's allergic!" Gone was my premature excitement.
Youngwoo laughed and dismissed my comment. "I know you're just saying that so I won't give her flowers because you know that if I gave her flowers, it would be over for you. You will be the one crying at the end of the race."
"No, Youngwoo-ssi, it will be over for you... OVER. FOR. YOU..."
Youngwoo slowly turned pale and stared at me with unblinking eyes; the pen slipped off his now-static fingers and hit the table with a thump. "Are you serious?"
"As serious as an anaphylactic shock..."
Without saying another word to me, he scrambled for his desk phone and frantically dialed a number.
"Hello? Hi! This is Lee Youngwoo... I ordered seven dozen flowers to be delivered to a woman named Yoo Minjoo today... yes... I want you to abort... ABORT THE MISSION!"
Abort the mission? What does he think he's doing? A robbery gone bad?
"I mean... what am I saying? What I mean is that I want you to stop your delivery team... yes... don't deliver... DON'T DELIVER!!!" Youngwoo was running his hand through his hair in nervousness, and from time to time, he attempted to pull on them, and I cringed watching him do it because I didn't want him to lose a single strand of that beautiful mane of his. His hair was one of his best assets.
"WHAT???" He paused. "They're already here?" Youngwoo dropped the phone, which slid off to the table since he didn't bother to make sure it was snug against its cradle, and he ran out the door. I followed him. He was probably thinking of meeting the delivery people in the lobby to stop them from getting the flowers to Minjoo, but it was too late. Youngwoo stopped dead in his tracks as he saw three delivery men march toward Minjoo's cubicle, cradling the flowers in their arms.
I was actually just exaggerating about the anaphylactic part. Minjoo was allergic to pollen, but I didn't think her allergy was that severe to even cause anaphylaxis.
But Minjoo's facial expression upon seeing all the enormous bouquets of flowers before her conveyed an unmistakable fright.
Uh-oh...
Within seconds, she started sneezing and rubbing her eyes.
"Sunmi-ssi! What do I do? What do I do? Should I call 119?" Youngwoo asked, frenetic.
"Youngwoo-ssi," I whispered next to him. "Don't worry. I was just kidding about the anaphylactic shock part." I figured I needed to say this because he truly looked disquieted and concerned.
"Get those flowers away from me!" Minjoo yelled, wildly flailing her arms at the delivery men. "WHO IS THE MORON BEHIND THIS? Who's playing a joke on me?" Minjoo shouted and searched the crowd around her. I turned to my side to where Youngwoo was standing, but he mysteriously disappeared. Then I felt something brush against my ankle, and I looked down. There I saw Youngwoo crawling toward a potted plant where he crouched behind, trying to stay out of Minjoo's vision.
After the delivery men left, I approached Minjoo and asked her if she needed some kind of immediate medical assistance. Fortunately, she didn't. She just needed a lot of tissues.
I walked back to Youngwoo's office where I saw him slumped in his chair, his natural arrogance obscured by his sullen, long face. "I just can't get ahead of the game, can I?" he said.
I gasped with mock disbelief and went up to him. "Don't tell me you're giving up? And you're giving up to me? A girl? That's gotta be worth a lot in the shame-o-meter." I pretended to laugh.
"Yah! Yah! Who said anything about giving up?" Youngwoo yelled, suddenly straightening up in his chair.
"Oh, for a moment there, it sounded like you were," I said.
"What I've done today may be an advantage to you, but rest-assured, Sunmi-ssi, that the game is not over yet," he said, giving me a look that emphasized his infallible determination.
Oh, how I wanted to go pat his head and say, Good boy, Youngwoo-ssi. Don't give up. But of course, I was a rival and rivals are supposed to retaliate with an equally good statement. I walked over to his desk with smug confidence. "I don't know, Youngwoo-ssi... It seems to me that your chances are sliding their way to..." I paused and formed a circle with my fingers. "Zero," I continued with a voice slightly higher than my normal. "You should have done your research, my friend, or at least listened to me." I gave him a smirk of victory before turning on my heel and headed toward the door.
"You will see, Sunmi-ssi," he called after me. "This is Lee Youngwoo you are up against. Lee Youngwoo does not lose to anybody. Do you hear?"
I immediately went out of his office and eased the door shut behind me, giggling.
And then I realized something. Lee Youngwoo called me to his office to talk about Minjoo, not to fire me. So who's firing me? Who cleared out my cubicle? Or who played a joke on me?
I opened the door again and stuck my head inside. "By the way, Youngwoo-ssi, do you know what happened to my things? My workstation is empty."
"I shipped them to Iraq," he replied with ridicule.
"BAE SUNMI!" someone called before I could say something back to Youngwoo. I drew my head out of Youngwoo's office and turned to my left. Lee Jaewoong was at the end of the hallway, just outside his office, with his arms crossed in front of him. "Where's my coffee?"
"Huh? Coffee?"
"Yes! In my office. Now!"
What is up with Jaewoong and his PMS? He was friendly to me before, so what the hell happened? Does manic-depressive disorder run in this family too? Or is Jaewoong really a woman disguised as a man, and it's almost that time of the month?
I walked over to his office where I discovered the answer to my question earlier: Lee Jaewoong was the one who cleared up my workstation. All of my things were now in his office, in a small corner workstation opposite his. So, I'm not fired, but apparently...
"You're going to be working here with me from now on," Jaewoong said, probably sensing the confusion in my head.
"Huh?"
"You're my personal assistant now." He stood up and walked toward the door. "My coffee better be ready when I come back."
But I thought I was Youngwoo's assistant? Ah... maybe his assistant is already back from vacation... but I thought Jaewoong didn't want me as his assistant? Aissshhh... so confusing... but what the heck, at least I still have my job.
Trying to shake my mind off of the hovering confusion, I walked out of the office and headed to the break room to make coffee for my new cranky boss.
Jaewoong was still not in his office when I got back, thank goodness. I placed his coffee on his table and decided to arrange my workstation while I waited for him. A couple of minutes later, he came in and dropped a folder on my table.
"My grandfather is constructing a ski resort in Gangwon, and he's putting me in charge of purchasing necessary mechanical items as well as ski equipments and supplies. I want you to look into the manufacturers listed here and see which company can give us the best deal."
Jaewoong was all so business-like now to me now. I didn't like it one bit. I must admit I missed his warmth and friendliness.
"Uh, Jaewoong-ssi... I have one question..."
"Okay..."
"Am I an assistant or a secretary?"
"Both."
"When did this happen? Didn't you say you didn't want me to be your personal assistant anymore?"
"I thought you only have one question."
Don't get all smart with me, Lee Jaewoong. "I meant two... I have two questions..."
"Actually, you asked three..."
"Lee Jaewoong-ssi!"
He shrugged. "I just changed my mind. Didn't you get the email?"
"No.."
"I sent you one yesterday."
He stopped at that, plunked down on his black leather office chair, and went back to browsing the computer screen in front of him, occasionally taking sips of the coffee I prepared for him. No words of gratitude uttered for the coffee.
I hate it when people forget to say thank you. I mean, it's only two words and it doesn't take a lot of effort and air to say it, why not say it? I drew a deep breath, trying to keep my calm. "If I am going to be your personal assistant slash secretary, there are some things you need to keep in mind."
I think it was the firmness of my voice that arrested Jaewoong's attention at that moment. He looked up from behind his computer and kept his gaze on me.
I was truly tempted to tell him what kind of person I really was, but I felt that would just endanger this whole new, low-profile life I was trying to lead.
"Yes?" Jaewoong asked.
"First off, even though you're paying me to do this job, I would appreciate it if you say 'please' if you ask for something and say 'thank you' for everything I do for you. Please and thank you exist in my vocabulary even if the favors are trivial." I knew he was better than this new asshole persona he was trying to portray nowadays. He knew how to express gratitude before. Or was it just a sham?
He was attentive; probably intrigued by my steadfastness.
"Secondly, I won't tolerate PMSing from you..."
"Huh?"
"I'm a very patient person, but I have limits, too, and if you keep treating me like crap, I might turn Chuck Norris on you. You know what I can do."
A smirk appeared on Jaewoong's face, and then he let out a soft chuckle. "All noted."
When Jaewoong went back to attending to his work, I started researching about the manufacturers on the internet, starting with the ones from China. And then my desk phone rang.
"Hello?"
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
It was Lee Youngwoo.
"Did what on purpose?"
"You reverse-psychology me! You purposely told me not to give her flowers so I would do the opposite and buy her flowers. It's all in your plan to sabotage me."
"What? Lee Youngwoo-ssi... That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever..."
My sentence was interrupted when I saw Jaewoong standing in front of me with his arms crossed.
"Uh... I'll talk to you later," I whispered to Youngwoo on the phone and promptly dropped the phone back to its cradle.
"Bae Sunmi-ssi, I didn't ask you to be my personal assistant so you could chitchat on the phone. I will keep in mind the things that you demand of me, but also bear in mind that when you're in the office, you have to do office work. Leave personal businesses for after office hours."
I scoffed and felt my brows furrowing as I let my gaze follow him back to his chair. Oh, cut me some slack! I saved your life, you ungrateful prick! I wanted to shout but tried my best to refrain myself from doing so. He was right; I should do office work, but he was getting on my nerves. I felt like the initial attraction I felt toward him was slowly ebbing away. His true colors were showing, and they were not the palette I fancied. I could tell him right now that I wasn't gay because I could care less anymore if he wanted to be my friend or not, but then that would mean I'd lose this new higher-paying position. So, I decided to keep my "gay identity," more because of financial reasons rather than emotional ones.
The phone rang again, and this time Jaewoong insisted he answer it.
"Hyung, Sunmi is actually busy right now. Can I take a message? Uh... she's probably not going to be done until the end of the day... Yeah... Okay... Yeah, no problem."
"What did he say?"
"He said he'll meet you at lunch."
Being Jaewoong's secretary slash personal assistant was the most boring job ever. All he did was make phone calls, sign some stuff, read documents, then make phone calls again, do some things on his computer... And all I did was research some fifty companies on the internet, make phone calls to those manufacturers and research again.
So I couldn't have been more joyful to see the long hand on the wall clock tick and slide on number twelve, aligning itself with the short hand. Twelve o'clock.
"LUNCH TIME!" I declared with enthusiasm.
"I'll have lunch with you," Jaewoong said just as I was about to walk toward the door.
And I thought I would actually be rid of his presence for an hour. Dang!
I stopped by Minjoo's cubicle and told her what happened to my things and then asked her to join us for lunch. She was my backup rescuer just in case Youngwoo wouldn't show up, and Jaewoong and I would be forced to have a monk's meal (no talking, just eating). If Youngwoo showed up, then I would take this moment to help Youngwoo redeem himself from the unfortunate disaster that had befallen on him earlier. Luckily, Minjoo did not suspect any of my plans.
Shortly after Jaewoong, Minjoo, and I sat on one of the cafeteria tables by the window, Jungho, and Hyunki joined us, bringing take-out food for all of us to share. Their Men-in-Black personal assistants sat at the table next to ours. Before long, Youngwoo arrived and chose the seat next to me (I was now sitting in between Jaewoong and Youngwoo) and whispered, "You are going to pay! I'm not gonna let your craftiness go unpunished."
"I swear I didn't use reverse-psychology!" I whispered back.
"Tell it to the Marines!"
"I swear, Youngwoo-ssi, I was trying to help you!"
"Like I would believe that. Why would my rival try to help me, huh?"
Good point. I had to think fast before he would suspect something. "Because I... I just want to play fair. I'll prove to you that I did not do that to sabotage you..."
"Sunmi-ssi! Get me some napkins!" Jaewoong demanded next to me in an unusually loud voice, startling me out of my hushed conversation with Youngwoo.
I turned to him and raised an eyebrow. Has this boy already forgotten the terms of condition?
"Please?" he said in a softer voice, putting on a smile that was genuinely fake.
You're a personal assistant now, Sunmi, so you better act like one, I told myself. I returned his smile with an equally fake one and got up to get some napkins.
On my way back to the table, I saw Jaewoong moving over to the seat next to Youngwoo and moved my food tray to the space he vacated. I guessed discussion of personal matters was also forbidden in the cafeteria.
"We heard what happened this morning, Minjoo-ssi," Jungho said as I sat down. "We heard somebody tried to kill you by trying to give you anaphylaxis..."
At that instant, Youngwoo was suddenly under an uncontrollable coughing attack that made all of our heads jolt toward his direction. He was slapping his chest.
"What's wrong, Hyung? -
"Are you okay? –
"Did something go to the wrong pipe? –
Jaewoong handed Youngwoo a bottle of water, which he took a swig from immediately.
Seeing that he had just attracted all of our attention, including that of Minjoo's (who was now looking very suspicious by the way), Youngwoo had to say something.
"YAH! YAH!" he yelled, glaring at Hyunki and Jungho. "Who ordered these to be extra spicy, huh?" he asked, his voice still high, waving his hand above the take-out dishes in front of him.
Hyunki and Jungho exchanged bewildered looks. "Uh... It was you, Hyung," Hyunki said with a voice that sounded both alarmed and perplexed. "You specifically said you wanted them extra spicy..."
"Oh... I... d-did?" Youngwoo stammered, pointing to himself.
I looked down to hide a grin. Youngwoo-ssi, you're unbelievable! I wouldn't be surprised if Minjoo's suspicion that Youngwoo had something to do with the flowers was now proven.
Minjoo narrowed her eyes at Youngwoo for a moment, making Youngwoo shift in his seat uncomfortably.
"Jungho-ssi, who on earth told you such absurdity?" I asked in my attempt to save Youngwoo. His troubled expression was making me feel uneasy as well. Spending all this time with him made me feel like I was his guardian angel or something, and every time he was in trouble, I felt like I had to intervene.
"It was just what went around the office," Jungho replied.
"I could have been killed if my allergy was really bad," Minjoo said. "Thank God, it isn't."
"Well, although I think that whoever sent the flowers is a complete idiot for doing such a hasty job without trying to research about Minjoo first..." I glanced at Youngwoo who was none too pleased with what I said and raised an eyebrow at the words complete idiot, "... I honestly think the gift was out of good intention. He meant her no harm."
I glanced at Youngwoo again, and this time I noticed that he was staring at me with an expression I couldn't quite figure out. Maybe, just maybe, he was thankful I rescued him.
"I must admit the gesture was quite romantic," I continued. "I would be thrilled if a guy sent me beautiful flowers like that..." I added and then immediately (thankfully!) caught the fault of my statement, "...if I were into... you know... guys, which, of course, I'm not because... I'm gay." I pretended to laugh and kicked Minjoo's leg to signal her to join in on the fake laughter part.
Luckily, she understood what I meant and pretended to laugh as well. "Hahaha... Sunmi...You liking guys? That's hilarious! Hahaha." Minjoo was not the best actress, I must admit, and I could feel eyes, especially Jaewoong's next to me, study me with curiosity. Fortunately, we were both saved from that nearly-subverted act when someone approached our table.
It was Soonyoung, our officemate, who seemed to be really fond of the 80's trend, like the teased hair for voluminous effect and bright pink lipstick, to name a few. I found it really bizarre that she could nail the 80's look because she didn't even exist in the first three quarters of that decade.
She gazed longingly and lovingly at Jungho, who looked more and more ill-at-ease by the passing second, seemingly unnerved by Soonyoung's apparent and bold admiration.
"Uh... can we help you?" Youngwoo asked, and the tone of his voice, deep and authoritative, startled Soonyoung out of her enamored moment.
"Uh..." Soonyoung said then looked at Minjoo. "Minjoo-unnie, I just wanted to let you know that the room is no longer available. I just asked my sister just a while ago. Sorry." She bowed and gave Jungho an affectionate smile before leaving.
When Soonyoung left, Hyunki let out a loud snort and slapped Jungho on his back. "Hyung! Congratulations! I think you have managed to capture that girl's heart. Whoa... you truly are a Casanova!"
Jungho chuckled nervously and shook his head in amused disbelief. "Whatever," he said and took a sip of his drink.
"Jaewoong-hyung! Have you been giving Jungho-hyung pointers?" Hyunki asked, chuckling.
Pointers?
Jaewoong let out a soft laughter but didn't look up. He continued eating without giving any comments or looking at anyone.
I shifted my attention to Minjoo, curious. "What was Soonyoung talking about?"
"I'm actually looking for a place to move in to. My current landlady is going to renovate the apartment, and everybody has to move out..."
"Really?" I asked rather loudly. "Minjoo, why didn't you tell me? Remember I told you that Wonhee was renting out the extra rooms in her house?"
Minjoo's eyes brightened and a smile formed on her face. "Oh my God, I totally forgot about that!" she exclaimed. "I would need to move in three weeks from now. Is that okay?"
Minjoo's excited voice must have caught Youngwoo's attention. He furrowed his brows at me as our eyes met. I could imagine what was going on in his mind right now; he was probably thinking, Great, now Sunmi is really going to get ahead of the game. Minjoo will be living with her!
"Great! Wonhee would be glad to know this. I will tell her right away," I said and then deliberately extended a smile toward Youngwoo.
Before Minjoo could say something, Youngwoo abruptly slid his chair back, quaffed what was left of his soda, and stood up. "I need to get going," he announced and left without another word.
I looked at Youngwoo, jabbed with an iota of guilt for making him feel and look somewhat heavyhearted. I wanted to stop him and tell him things would be okay, but all I could do was watch him leave.
When I returned my gaze back to my food, I caught a glimpse of Jaewoong looking at me in a bizarre way.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing," he said and looked away.
I looked back to where Youngwoo walked off to, and I couldn't help but wonder what he was going to do next, how he was going to top this situation. For now, I could only wait and see.