Word of the day: Wǒ kào (我靠)
Literal translation: I rely on.
Definition: A Chinese slang and curse word that's equivalent to "Crap!" or "Shit!".
Warning: Should be used with caution as it can be seen as offensive or rude.
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Just when Yiwen thought things couldn't get any worse, life showed her there was a lower level to rock bottom.
"Faster!" Yiwen pressed on the horn of her car, but just as she was about to make the turn to her office building, the lights turned red.
An accident that blocked half of the street aggravated the traffic situation further. What was usually a fifteen-minute drive extended into what felt like an eternity. She was now thirty minutes late for work. With a frustrated sigh, Yiwen waited.
And waited.
Ring. Ring.
A call interrupted the song she was playing. When she saw her boss' secretary's name on the dashboard screen, the traffic light turned green. Yiwen stepped on the accelerator then pressed answer.
"Hello, Li Ying."
"Hello, Wang Yiwen, what time are you arriving at the office?" A sharp female voice filled the car. Yiwen cringed and lowered the volume.
"I need ten more minutes. I'm parking my car now." In truth, she was just about to enter the parking lot.
"Hurry because Manager Shang is looking for you."
"Did he say what for?" It was only half-past nine, but Yiwen's whole body creaked with exhaustion. Her period was due soon so that was probably the reason. That and her frequent bouts of insomnia.
"Nothing specific, but he's not happy so you better hurry."
A quiet sigh escaped Yiwen's lips while she pulled into an empty spot. "All right. I'm downstairs now. I'll be there soon."
"Okay, bye bye!"
"Bye bye!" After quickly checking her reflection and grabbing her bag, Yiwen sprinted towards the elevators and went straight to the twentieth floor, where her boss' office was located
Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door to his office. "Manager Shang? Li Ying said you were looking for me?"
A man in his mid-forties glanced up from his laptop and gave her a frown. "Wang Yiwen, you're thirty minutes late."
Closing the door behind her, Yiwen stepped in. "I'm sorry. There was a car accident. The traffic was very serious."
"Hmph!" That single syllable was sharp enough to cut into her thin layer of positivity.
Yiwen's shoulders drooped a little as she sat on a chair in front of his desk. "Again, I'm very sorry. This will not happen again."
He dismissed her apology with a click of his tongue. "It better not, because at the moment, I don't need to add tardiness to your growing list of faults."
A wrinkle of confusion appeared between Yiwen's brows. "Growing list of faults?"
The question launched a long tirade about her team's recent mediocre performance, particularly how they botched up a scheduled photo shoot for a magazine.
"While I understand that things have been rough for you at the moment," her boss continued, "you shouldn't let personal matters affect your work."
Yiwen's eyes widened. The only people at the office who knew about her broken engagement were Vira and Yu Lili. Between the two of them, there was only one with enough motive to ruin her reputation.
Clenching her jaw, Yiwen replied, "You're right, boss. I'll do better."
"If this continues, then you might want to take a break. Understood?"
Yiwen nodded. Even though he didn't say it directly, the meaning was clear: Get a grip or get fired. "Understood."
"Good." Satisfied that his message had been delivered, he went back to typing at his laptop.
By the time Yiwen left his office, her eyes were moist. A series of deep breaths held the tears in place.
Wǒ kào! she screamed the curse in her head.
With heavy feet, Yiwen trudged back to her own desk on the eighth floor. Accompanying her was the looming shadow of failure. It was a foreign presence, one she rarely encountered. Where its dark fingers touched, a physical ache bloomed. It aggravated the pain that already throbbed in her chest.
Heartache.
How she wished for it to end.
---
Back in her office, Yiwen sat down and dropped her head against her hands.
"Boss?" Her assistant's soft voice pulled her back to the present.
"Come in," Yiwen replied.
"I brought you coffee." She placed the steaming mug on Yiwen's desk.
Yiwen forced out a smile. "Thank you."
"Boss, the others have asked me to tell you that we're sorry. We'll do better next time."
Yiwen glanced up and saw the members of her team casting worried glances her way through the glass separating her office from their cubicles. She gave them all a reassuring smile and addressed her assistant. "It's my fault as well. I should have double-checked."
Her assistant looked at the floor and twiddled her thumbs. "I don't want to add to your stress, but the magazine editor says we need to reschedule the shoot within this week or the article won't make it in time for this month's issue."
"All right. I'll negotiate with Jing Boran's manager and make sure the shoot happens this week."
"Thanks, boss."
A quick knock interrupted the conversation. Vira sauntered inside. "Yiwen, dear, are you okay?"
"Good morning, Manager Hunt," her assistant said. "Shall I get you some coffee?"
"No, thank you, Xia Lan."
"No problem. Then, I'll excuse myself."
Once Xia Lan closed the door, Yiwen replied, "The office grapevine sure works fast."
"You know how it is. My assistant, who heard it from someone in the admin department, told me you got chewed on by Manager Shang this morning."
"Yeah, Old Shang's in a bad mood again."
"About that—" Vira sat across from Yiwen and leaned against the desk. "Shang' s going to be replaced by some young hotshot from the New York office. That's probably why he's in a temper."
"Really? How did you know?"
"My husband happens to be friends with our soon-to-be-boss. Small world, eh?"
As Yiwen processed the news, a small smile lifted a corner of her lips. She and Manager Shang rarely saw eye to eye as she found the latter too old-fashioned. In turn, her boss thought she was too outspoken. This piece of news had the potential to be good. "When will the transition happen?"
"After the October holiday, I think? Not sure."
"I hope the new boss won't be as conservative as Manager Shang."
"I doubt it. According to Daniel, Kang Jihoon -- that's the new boss' name, by the way -- quickly made his way up the corporate ladder by successfully reinventing the brand image in the US to appeal to a younger audience and doubling the sales after. That's what we've been trying to do here, too, but Shang still thinks luxury goods are only for mature customers."
"Kang Jihoon? So he's Korean American?"
"His father is Korean, but apparently, his mother's from Shanghai, so he speaks some Mandarin, too."
"Impressive..." Typing on her laptop, Yiwen opened LinkedIn and typed the name in the search bar. The first result showed a certain Kang Jihoon working as Marketing Director at YXL New York. Yiwen clicked on his profile. "Great credentials, too."
"What? You're already stalking him?"
"Excuse me, this is research. Not stalking. Besides, didn't you ask your husband about him, too? Were you stalking then?"
Vira chuckled. "Fine, fine, research it is! Let me see, too."
Yiwen turned her laptop around so Vira could see the screen.
"The University of Pennsylvania, then Harvard Business School, and now on his way to becoming a country manager? Impressive, indeed. And good-looking, too." She gave Yiwen a sly smile. "This dude seems to tick all your boxes. Fancy an office romance to get over your ex?"
Yiwen rolled her eyes. "You know I'm not the type to mix business with pleasure. Too messy."
"True, besides, we don't know what kind of person he is yet. He could be a terrible boss."
"Right, this time, I'm choosing character over looks."
Vira gave her a doubtful look.
"What?" Yiwen asked.
Vira shook her head. "You're a sucker for hot men."
"Am not!"
"Shall I then remind you the number of times you've raved about some hot Korean actor?"
Yiwen made a face. "Okay fine, but work is different. Gotta be professional at work."
"All right, all right..." Vira stood up and stretched her hands towards the ceiling, "Since you're such a professional, I'll let you get back to work. Anyway, just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Don't worry. It'll take more than a few blows from old Shang to knock me down."
"Good."
Vira smiled then made her way out. Meanwhile, Yiwen gave her soon-to-be boss' profile another look. Vira was right. On paper, this Kang Jihoon was exactly her type, but that was neither here nor there. At the moment, all she cared about was the pile of work on her desk and the magazine shoot she needed to save. Closing the LinkedIn tab, she picked up her phone and worked on the most urgent thing on her list. By the time lunch rolled in, Yiwen had managed to reschedule the magazine shoot and reply to a couple of emails. She was planning to work through lunch, but her stomach growled in protest. Getting up, she went to the pantry in search of fast food. As she drew closer to the small alcove, Yiwen heard a familiar saccharine voice. She paused, briefly closed her eyes, then went inside.
"Wu Chen bought me this bracelet from Europe," Lili said, holding her arm up. A yellow gold bangle glinted in the fluorescent light.
"That's the love bracelet, right?" asked a girl from the marketing department.
"Yes! Chen's so romantic. He bought one for himself, too. My name is engraved in his and his in mine."
That asshole, Yiwen thought, making her way to the vending machine.
"Wah, I wish my boyfriend was like that," gushed another girl. "My boyfriend thinks it's useless to spend money on luxury goods. For my birthday, he got me a fake Gucci belt. I was so angry, but he doesn't think there's anything wrong. So clueless!"
"Dump him," said Lili. "If he doesn't spend money on you now, can you imagine how stingy he'll be after you get married? It'll be unbearable."
"What a bitch," Yiwen muttered under her breath as she paid for her instant noodles. Yet even as she said it, she was reminded of the way she treated Li Zi'an during their blind date. Hadn't she been the same? Hadn't she dismissed him then because she didn't think he was wealthy?
I'm a hypocrite.
Her payment completed, the vending machine whirled and her cup noodles fell down the shaft. Yiwen picked it up.
"Oh, Miss Wang, you're here!"
Ugh.
Slowly, Yiwen got up and turned around. Three pairs of eyes were aimed her way. She gave the trio a polished smile. "Yes, I am. I work on this floor after all. What about you? What brings you here?"
Lili's companions gave each other nervous glances.
"Just having lunch with my friends," Lili said. "Am I not allowed on your floor?"
Yiwen lifted a shoulder and walked towards the water dispenser. "Oh feel free. Apparently, what's mine is also yours. So why hesitate now?"
A small frown settled on Lili's smooth forehead, but as she flipped her hair back, it disappeared. "What do you think of my bracelet, Miss Wang? Isn't it beautiful?"
Yiwen peeled away the lid of her instant noodles and filled the cup with scalding water. After sealing the lid again, she replied, "It is. In fact, I had the exact same one, too. My ex-fiancé gave it to me for my birthday last year. Funny enough, he also had my name engraved. I guess men like to recycle their gift ideas."
"You're lying!"
"Why would I do that?"
"Because you're a jealous old hag?"
"Lili..." the girl from the marketing department said.
"Manager Wang, I don't think Lili meant what she said," added the other woman placing a hand on Lili's shoulder.
Lili shook her off. "Of course I meant it. She's a hag. An arrogant one at that."
It took a lot of Yiwen's willpower not to throw the cup of piping hot noodles in Lili's face, but she held back. Instead, she stared at Lili's face. Li Zi'an was right. Insecurity oozed from her pores. Yiwen gave her a pitying look. "Sure, call me a hag, but why would I be jealous of you? You see, darling, everyone gets old. In a few years, your looks will fade, too. But whereas I'm rich enough to support myself and buy whatever I want without a man, what will you do when he eventually cheats on you, too?"
*******
Author's notes:
I'm still out and about so time is really tight at the moment. I promised to post two chapters last week, but I decided to heavily revise the story flow so it took time. This week, I should be able to deliver two chapters. Thanks for your patience!