Joon Soo
The tall, reflective skyscraper loomed above me, as I stood on the side walk, briefcase in hand, staring up at the building. My first real job.
I walked inside and approached the reception desk.
"Annyeonghaseyo. I'm just starting today and I was told to go straight to Jang Young Chul for my directions," I said.
"Go straight up to the top floor. His office is right at the end of the hall."
"Gamsahamnida."
I took the elevator up, pushed the button, and as the doors were about to close, I heard someone yell, "Hold the elevator!"
I put my hand out, stopping the doors from closing. A woman sporting sunglasses, dressed in what I assumed was very high brand clothing, and adorned in the most sparkly, diamond-encrusted gold jewellery walked through the doors.
"Thank you so much," she said. She pulled off her sunglasses and tucked them into her bag.
Her eyes, initially to the front, glanced at me as I stared at her, mesmerised by the amount of money she'd be wearing at this moment. "I haven't seen you before," she commented.
I held my hand out to her, and she slipped hers in mine. We shook. "Park Joon Soo. I'm starting today."
"Are you a lawyer?"
I shook my head. "Journalist."
"Oh... is that so?" Her eyebrows raised and a smile slipped on her face. "It's a..." she glanced up and down, "pleasure to meet you."
"It's a pleasure to meet you too. Oh, sorry, what floor were you going to?"
"Same as you."
We stood there in silence the rest of the way. I weaved my fingers together as I stared at the changing numbers. For some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that her eyes were still on me, but I didn't check. I didn't want to start more conversation.
The elevator came to a stop, two floors from the top. A man walked into the elevator, his eyes widening as he looked at the luxurious woman.
"Miss Jang Eun Young!" the man said, bowing slightly.
"Who were you again?" she asked.
"Your family lawyer."
"Was that you? I swear it was some old, bald ajusshi."
"I'm training to replace him."
"Oh. Why waste my time telling me then?"
My lip twitched. For some reason a bout of anger welled inside me, but I stopped myself instantly from showing any annoyance. I could tell already that this woman was not to be messed with.
The elevator came to a halt again, this time at the last floor. All three of us walked out. The woman and ajusshi ahead of me, walking down the hall. Our footsteps echoed. The corridor was silent. Reaching the end, the ajusshi held the door open for the woman, and she stepped inside. He went to let the door go, but I grabbed it just in time, walking in behind him. I was beginning to worry that I was in the wrong place, or that there had been a mistake.
"Park Joon Soo!" a man said as I entered the room. "Have you met Jang Eun Young yet?" His hand waved over to the woman.
"Briefly in the elevator, sir."
"Good, good. Get acquainted. Please, all of you, take a seat."
There were an array of chairs lined up in a U shape, presumably for small meetings. The man sat down in the head chair, I to his left, the woman and ajusshi to his right.
"I'm Jang Young Chul," he said to me. "This woman is my daughter, Jang Eun Young, editor-in-chief of Q Journal, and this is Kim Sung Min. He's our new family lawyer and will also be handling the legal affairs of the magazine. I invited them both here because I thought it would be best for everyone to be acquainted whilst we discuss."
"Jal bootak deurimnida," I said, bowing my head.
"So this is my new assistant?" Jang Eun Young asked. "My my... how will I get any work done with someone so handsome?"
My eyes widened as I looked back up, meeting her gaze. A smirk had spread across her face.
"You've got the company name to uphold, Jang Eun Young. Stay focused. I picked Park Joon Soo here because he's done some great work with SNU magazine for free. He's a work partner, not another one of your play toys."
Play toys? Just who is this woman? I thought. I could feel my throat getting tight.
"Such a shame... what if I play with him just a bit?"
"You can't. He has an important role too. He's not just an assistant to boss around, he's your deputy editor. Don't make him your errand boy."
I felt like I was intruding on a family fued.
Kim Sung Min cleared his throat and slipped a paper across the table. "If you could just sign at the bottom of the page, Park Joon Soo. This is just a contract confirming your employment and that any internal affairs you hear about Jang Young Chul or Jang Eun Young will be kept to yourself. You aren't even to repeat private family affairs to your pet."
I nodded. "Understood." I grabbed the pen from his hand and signed the sheet.
"Great! Let's get going," Jang Eun Young said, getting up from her seat.
"We're not done yet, Eun Young. Sit down," said Jang Young Chul.
With a sigh, she fell back into the chair.
"Despite my daughter's... unprofessional manner right now, Park Joon So, she is your boss. Keep in mind that I gave her the newspaper because I knew she could run it. Please do obey her. But if she crosses any lines... come see me. Okay?"
"Yes sir."
"Great. Now that is all."
The three of us stood up to go.
"Not you, Kim Sung Min. We still have some talking to do."
I followed Jang Eun Young out of the office and down the hall, back to the elevator. We walked in and she pressed a number to take us down.
"How old are you?" she asked.
"Twenty-six in a couple of months."
She grimaced slightly, but shook her head. "Four years isn't too bad, I guess."
I wanted so badly to tell her I have a girlfriend, but I didn't want to be rude in case the things she was saying were only in jest, so I held my tongue.
"When did you graduate university?"
"Over three years ago."
"And you still haven't had a job?"
"I went to the army for two years, then I was searching for a job for a year until I was recommended to SNU magazine."
She nodded slowly. "Do you live at home?"
"Ah... no..."
"Hmm... hesitation. Did you move out recently?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Personal reasons."
"Don't want to talk about it?"
"Please don't be offended Sa Jang—"
"Sa Jang? Please, call me Eun Young or noona. Sa Jang makes me sound old coming from you. Only the other staff can call me that."
I took a deep breath. Hold it in, Joon Soo. Don't say anything too rude. "Please don't be offended, Jang Eun Young-ssi, but I'd like my personal matters to stay personal. We don't know each other, so I'd rather not discuss that type of information. I don't mean to suggest you're trying to get really personal, you probably mean it in a kind way, but I just don't want to answer personal questions."
She cocked her head to the side. "Then maybe we should go out for a drink after work? Get on a more... personal... level."
"I'm sorry, Jang Eun Young-ssi, but I have someone I'm meeting after work."
"Is it a girlfriend?"
The elevator doors opened.
"Ah! Sa Jang!" a man said, rushing over to the elevator.
We stepped out as Jang Eun Young became engaged by this man.
"I need your approval of this piece. The author only has time between 12 and 12:30pm, and we need to confirm now. Do you think..."
They discussed for a while, and I stood there awkwardly, unsure where to go.
The room was large, and mostly open. Slowly, the busy news room came to a stop as people stopped writing and turned to stare at me.
Jang Eun Young and the man finally stopped talking and he ran off to the phone, the only one talking in the room. Quite quickly, his call was finished and he glanced around at everyone, confused by the silence. He turned around to look at me.
"Everyone, this is Park Joon Soo, the new deputy editor," Jang Eun Young said. "Do you want to introduce yourself?"
I gave a small bow to everyone. "Annyeonghaseyo. As Jang Eun Young-ssi said, my name is Park Joon Soo. I've just come from being the editor at SNU Magazine. I haven't worked for a newspaper before, but hopefully we can get along together. I look forward to working with you all."
They continued to stare in silence.
"Well, get back to work everyone," Jang Eun Young said. "Come with me," she said to me.
I followed her past the news desks, to a cut-off room with a glass wall looking out over the newsroom, and blinds to cover it.
"This is your office. Mine is just next door." She closed the door behind her, her back to the newsroom as she stared at me in silence.
"So what is the first thing you want me to do?"
She shrugged. "Just get acquainted. Set yourself up. Come see me after lunch though and I will give you your first task. Or... if you prefer, we could talk over lunch?"
I shook my head. "That will be fine. I'll meet you in your office over lunch."
She heaved a sigh. "You're difficult, Joon Soo." She exited the room, leaving me alone, finally.
I set my briefcase on my desk and shrugged off my jacket.
A nervous young woman knocked at my door, opened it, and popped their head in.
"Annyeonghaseyo," she said in small voice.
"Come in," I said.
"Um..." she glanced behind her as if to check she wasn't being heard, "I was just wondering if I could get you anything?"
I shook my head.
"Do you want a coffee?"
"What's your position here?"
"I'm a reporter."
"Not an intern reporter?"
"No... I've worked here for a few years already."
"Then why would you be getting me coffee?"
"I just... want to make sure you're settled in okay."
"Why?"
"The last deputy editor... didn't."
My eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I mean... he enjoyed himself quite a lot, and so did Sa Jang but... then she got bored of him and... they had a bit of a feud in the office and created a bit of scandle about the Jang name."
"Oh... so that's why there is a lawyer then assigned to the newspaper?"
She nodded.
"Thank you for the heads up. So it wasn't my imagination. It's her thing to flirt around with men?"
She nodded again.
I let out a sigh. "Okay. Any tips on how to deal with her?"
"Don't make her mad."
"And how do you suggest I avoid that?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
I nodded.
"Don't tell her."
"Why not? Won't that stop her in her tracks?"
"That's what the guy before the last guy thought."
"Why do they keep hiring men?"
"Sa Jang won't even work with a woman. She refuses to even let them step into the building."
"So I just endure it?"
"It's the best way. And try to keep your meetings with her as brief as possible. And bring others as much as you can."
I nodded, taking mental notes. "Why are you telling me all this? Aren't you scared you will get fired?"
She looked at her shoes for a bit before looking up at me. "I used to work at SNU. I guess I have a soft spot for you automatically. Not in a weird way... The other guys kind of deserved it. They were jerks. You seem... nice. Anyway, what's your favourite drink? Do you like coffee? I will make sure I prepare one whenever she's coming to your room... if you'd like that is."
"Anything would be great. Please do, I really appreciate the help. But, you're not the intern. You shouldn't have to."
She shook her head. "I'd like one deputy editor to stay. It's giving us a lot more work to not have one, trust me. Sa Jang is really good, but she doesn't edit our work. She does everything else but that. So the quality has gone down a bit."
"Okay. Well, I will try to stay for as long as I can if she doesn't scare me away."
"Great. I'll let you get back to it then." She turned to leave.
"What's your name?"
"Oh Na Ree."
A smile slipped across my face.
"What?"
"Nothing... your name just reminds me of someone."
"Girlfriend?"
I nodded.
"Does she have the same name?"
"No, but I pronounced it very similar. She's Hoju."
"Oh, okay. That's funny. Well, let me know if you need something. I better go before she notices."
"Don't get in trouble on my behalf."
"I'll try."
"Gamsahamnida, Oh Na Ree."
*
I put my belongings into my briefcase and put my jacket back on, ready to leave for dinner with Audrey when suddenly Jang Eun Young poked her head around the door.
"Going already?" she asked.
"I have to meet someone."
"Is it someone important?"
"Kind of..." I felt bad saying it, because Audrey was really important, but Oh Na Ree's words rang in my head. Don't tell her.
"Say... Joon Soo—"
"Park Joon Soo," I corrected her.
She smiled and walked further into the room. "Park Joon Soo..." Her eyes looked me up and down. "Do you have a girlfriend?"
Don't tell her. "No." I'm sorry Audrey.
A grin spread across her face. "Great. I still have some things to go through with you. Can you come to my office?"
"Can we do it tomorrow?"
She placed her hands on her hips, her mouth slightly agape. "Joon Soo—"
"Park Joon Soo."
"Don't be naughty on your first day. Don't forget I'm your boss."
She left the room and headed back to her office. I set my briefcase back down on the desk and pulled out my phone.
I'm so sorry Audrey, I wrote. I'm going to be late. I'm caught up at work.
She replied just as I was entering Jang Eun Young's office.
Audrey: :(
Audrey: I understand.
Audrey: Don't work too hard.
Audrey: Bogoshipoyo.
I put my phone back in my pocket and begrudgingly walked into Jang Eun Young's office.
_____________
Jal bootak deurimnida.- please look after me.
Boseu- Boss
Jang Eun Young-ssi- Miss Jang Eun Young (Joon Soo's way of enforcing a full-name basis, refusing to be friendly.)
Sa Jang-Boss/company president