"a little ridiculous is nice sometimes."
OPHELIA CHAN WAS REFRESHING .
ever since the late night email exchange , jumin and her exchanged texts often . texts that were not 'strictly work' enough to be qualified as professional . they talked about the most mundane things , and somehow ― much to jumin's surprise ― ophelia could make the simplest things sound exciting . it was as if she lived in a romanticized movie , where everything was fun and beautiful . and despite being so , she was by no means a girl who saw the world with rose - tinted lenses , which was what made jumin look forward to talking with her .
even during office hours , the corporate heir sneaked a glance every five minutes ; for some unknown reason , jumin pretended his best to be subtle about his enthusiasm . it was almost as if a teenage boy hiding his secret rendezvous from his school friends ― in other words ― plainly ridiculous . but that didn't mean he could stop himself either .
this went on for a week , until he was informed in one of his chats with ophelia that shizuka had planned a meeting to explain the ad strategy they'd come up with for the plan and discuss it with jumin . will you be coming too ?― he'd asked immediately , somehow feeling embarrassed after the text was sent―and she'd replied with a cheeky 'would you like me to ?'. something , he wouldn't deny , he would like very much .
the meeting was set on the coming friday , and jumin could swear the thursday prior was the longest day he'd ever had to bear in his life . even office didn't have much work that day , as if to mock him further . however , once he'd entered his penthouse , it was as if the dullness in his movements vanished immediately when he realized : tomorrow .
he spent more time picking his outfit for the next day than he had in years , and found himself absently whistling as he went on with his night time routine , checking emails , eating dinner , brushing elizabeth the third's fur . perhaps he was catching the 'ophelia' syndrome , too .
the morning next he was especially cheery , wishing his employees good morning as he so often did , but this time with a smile . there was a slight jump in his step too . not just that , he'd even dressed differently this time , switching to a red tie instead of his usual black one , and a crisp white shirt underneath the three piece . everyone in the building was curious about the sudden change in the director's demeanor―jaehee kang most of all . he was almost pleasant today , and that simply gave her anxiety : please don't let this be another cat project idea , she prayed in her head .
surprisingly , she waited the whole day for another of his cat related ideas to pop it's ugly head up her files , but it didn't . what didn't change though , was jumin's newfound energy which seemed to only grow more as the time passed . and on it's set time , a reminder for the meeting scheduled for today rang on her phone .
but it seemed jumin didn't need to be informed , for just as she rose from her seat to inform him , the director skipped out of his office on his own , surprising jaehee once again . seeing her standing , he looked surprised for a moment , then knowing .
" ah .. asisstant kang . " he addressed her , to which jaehee replied with a tentative " yes , mr. han ? "
" i was thinking , how about you sit this one down ? i think i can handle the meeting on my own , you can stay back in the office to catch up on anything , or take a leave if you want to . " he said coolly . jaehee stared at him with incredulous eyes , as if waiting for him to say 'sike' and then throw another pile of paperwork on her desk . but instead jumin stared back at her , waiting for a reply .
" i .. i guess i can do that . " she replied without wasting a second , were he to change his mind , and instantly fled from the desk to collect her stuff .
jumin proceeded to stride out of the building , and headed over to the limo that was waiting for him . the headquarters of edgar internationals weren't too far from the C&R's building , so it didn't take much time for jumin to reach the building .
unlike C&R , the headquarters of edgar internationals were less sleek and more modern , with their abstract blocks and the colour combination of white , black and beige giving the onlookers a clear hint of the creativity of the work they did .
however as soon as he was about to step in , he saw mr. shizuka storming out of the building with ophelia in tow , holding his bag . she called for him and nervously he made a u turn to collect the bag before skipping over to his car with quick steps and zooming off . everything seemed to have happened in a blink of an eye , and jumin just stood there , still stunned .
it was the sweet voice of ophelia that pulled him back to reality , as she snapped her fingers in front of his face , " hey ! earth to jumin ! " jumin looked down at her when she called him by his name ( perhaps for the first time―in person . )
" what was up with him ? " he asked , face confused . ophelia gave him a dazzling smile , " he and his wife's been expecting , the call was from his wife . apparently she's due . " jumin replied with an understanding nod , finding it hard to cloak the disappointment as he spoke , " so .. shall we reschedule the meeting some other day ? "
ophelia nodded , giving him a shrug with a look on her face that said 'seems like we've got to' ― however , the light bulb ahead her head moment was far too apparent on her face the next second , as she questioned .
" on a side note , are you free today ? "