Chapter Text
The Space Across the Room
Chapter 4. Collaboration
By Moonlit Apothecary
No.
Absolutely not.
"There has to be another option," you said.
Gyokuyou looked entirely unbothered.
"There isn't."
You turned toward Jinshi.
Surely he had something to say.
Anything.
Instead, he simply glanced between you and Gyokuyou before shrugging.
"Seems reasonable," he said.
You stared at him.
"Reasonable?"
"You wanted Belladonna to take more risks."
"Not like this."
A pause.
"...Actually, yes. Exactly like this."
You hated that he had a point.
You hated it even more because he looked vaguely pleased with himself.
Gyokuyou stood.
"Wonderful."
You opened your mouth.
Closed it.
Gyokuyou gathered her tablet.
"I expect your first collection proposal by the end of next week."
You blinked.
"...Next week?"
"Yes."
"Just checking."
"And I'd like to see something neither of you could have designed alone."
Silence.
That...
Actually sounded impossible.
Gyokuyou smiled pleasantly.
Then she walked out.
The office door clicked shut.
Neither of you spoke.
Finally
"This is your fault," you said.
Jinshi looked up from where he'd been absentmindedly straightening a stack of fabric samples.
"My fault?"
"You encouraged her."
"I answered a question."
"You encouraged her."
"I did both."
You folded your arms.
"I hope you're happy."
"I am."
"Of course you are."
"I've been trying to work with you since before you were hired," Jinshi said.
That caught you completely off guard.
"...What?"
He looked mildly confused.
"I told you that already."
"You said you hoped they'd hire me."
"Yes."
"That's different."
"It wasn't meant to be."
You stared at him.
That...
Explained absolutely nothing.
Again.
"You are incredibly bad at explaining yourself."
"I've never received that complaint before," he said.
"Then everyone around you is lying."
His mouth twitched yet again.
Interesting.
No.
You were not doing that again.
You pointed toward the door.
"Congratulations."
"For what?" he asked.
"You've successfully ruined my week."
"My week was ruined the moment Gyokuyou walked in."
"So we're blaming her now?"
"I'm blaming everyone."
"That's fair."
The room fell quiet.
You glanced toward the mood boards covering one wall.
Then toward the sketches scattered across your desk.
Then toward Jinshi's desk.
It was still a disaster.
Sketchbooks.
Coffee cups.
Fabric swatches.
Several pencils that had somehow lost the battle against gravity.
Your eyes narrowed.
"You know..."
He looked up.
"I think the first thing we should collaborate on..."
"Hm?"
"...is cleaning your desk."
He looked down.
Back up.
"I know where everything is."
"You absolutely do not."
"I do."
"You have three rulers."
"They're different rulers."
"You have four identical black pens."
Wait, why did you know that?
Why were you paying attention?
Annoying.
"They're emotionally different."
You stared at him.
"...Emotionally?"
"I've grown attached."
"You are impossible."
"So I've been told."
Somewhere outside the office, Xiaolan burst into laughter.
She had absolutely been eavesdropping.
Xiaolan poked her head into the office a moment later.
"So..."
"No," you said immediately.
"I didn't even ask anything."
"You were going to."
"I absolutely was."
She stepped inside anyway, her eyes darting between you and Jinshi.
"So..."
"No."
"...Congratulations?"
"We're coworkers," you deadpanned.
"We were coworkers yesterday."
"We're different coworkers now."
"You're collaborative coworkers."
"That's because you're one of the kidnappers."
Xiaolan pressed a hand over her mouth, clearly trying not to laugh.
Gaoshun appeared in the doorway carrying a folder.
He took one look at the four of you.
Paused.
Then sighed.
"I was hoping this would be less dramatic."
"It isn't," Xiaolan informed him cheerfully.
"I can see that."
He handed a folder to Jinshi.
"The collection brief."
Jinshi accepted it before tossing it onto the space between your desks.
It slid to a stop directly in front of you.
You frowned.
"...Are you sharing?"
"I'm collaborating."
"There is a difference."
"We'll discover it together."
You didn't trust that answer.
Not even a little.
Still...
You pulled the folder closer.
The Belladonna logo was embossed across the front.
Beneath it:
Autumn Collection 2027
You opened it.
Mood boards.
Target demographics.
Sales reports.
Customer surveys.
Trend forecasts.
You blinked.
"...This is a lot."
"It usually is."
You glanced sideways at Jinshi.
He was already halfway through the packet.
"Have you memorized this?"
"No."
He turned another page.
"I've simply read it before."
"...How many times?"
He thought for a second.
"I'm not sure."
That was somehow a more concerning answer.
You looked back down.
For several minutes, the only sounds in the room were pages turning.
Eventually—
"You disagree with something."
You looked up.
"What?"
"You've made that face three times."
"I have a face?"
"You have several."
"...I don't know how to respond to that."
"You'll think of something."
Unfortunately...
He was probably right.
You looked back at the page.
"They're targeting women between twenty-eight and forty."
"Yes."
"They're treating them like one person."
Jinshi looked at you properly for the first time since opening the brief.
"Explain."
You flipped the packet around and pointed toward the market research.
"They've grouped everyone together."
"So?"
"So a twenty-eight-year-old architect living in Manhattan doesn't buy clothes for the same reasons as a forty-year-old mother of three in Chicago."
He didn't answer.
You continued.
"They're both women."
"But they're different customers."
"They solve different problems."
Silence.
You waited for him to disagree.
Instead—
"Hm."
That was it.
Just—
"Hm."
You narrowed your eyes.
"...Is that agreement?"
"It's consideration."
"That's suspiciously close."
"It isn't."
"It sounded close."
"It wasn't intended to."
You folded your arms.
"I'll take it."
For a brief moment...
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Not quite a smile.
But close enough to count.
You looked back down at the brief.
"So..." you said slowly.
"We need to design an entire collection together."
"That appears to be the assignment," Jinshi replied.
"You sound strangely okay with this."
"I've accepted that arguing with Gyokuyou is generally unproductive. Plus, I already said I wanted to work with you"
"You accepted that remarkably quickly."
"I've had more practice."
That...
It made sense.
Unfortunately.
You sighed and flipped another page.
"The theme is 'Movement.'"
"Hm."
"'Modern women navigating modern life,'" you read aloud. "'Versatility, confidence, refinement...'"
You looked up.
"That's incredibly vague." You say
"It's intentionally vague."
"So they don't know what they want."
"So they can see what we want."
You frowned.
"I hate when you make sense."
"I've noticed."
You ignored him.
For several moments, the two of you read in silence.
Eventually, you grabbed a pen.
"I think they're asking the wrong question."
Jinshi looked up.
"What question should they be asking?"
"Not 'What will women wear this fall?'"
You circled a sentence in the brief.
"They should be asking..." You hesitated for a moment. "'What does a woman need from her clothes to make her day easier?'"
Jinshi didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he leaned forward slightly.
"Go on."
You blinked.
He wasn't arguing.
He actually wanted you to continue.
"The clothes shouldn't just look expensive," you said. "They should earn their place in someone's closet."
You found yourself gesturing as you spoke.
"If someone reaches for the same coat every morning because it makes them feel confident..."
"Or the same dress because she never has to think about whether it works," Jinshi added quietly.
You stopped.
He looked just as surprised as you felt.
"...Yes," you admitted.
Silence settled between you.
For the first time since meeting him...
Neither of you was trying to win.
Then Jinshi reached for a pencil.
Without saying a word, he pulled a sheet of paper toward him and began sketching.
You watched the first few lines appear.
"What are you doing?"
"Thinking."
"Out loud?"
"Visually."
"...That's actually a little pretentious."
"I know."
"...I respect it."
"I know."
You rolled your eyes so hard they nearly fell out.
"You are unbelievable."
"So I've heard."
Before you could respond, he rotated the sketch toward you.
"I think you're right about function."
Your eyes widened slightly.
That...
Was not what you expected him to say.
"But," he continued, tapping the page, "I think you're limiting yourself."
You looked up.
"If the clothing only solves problems..."
He met your eyes.
"...why would anyone fall in love with it?"
For several minutes, neither of you spoke.
Sketches slowly accumulated across both desks.
Some ended up in the trash.
Some survived.
Most didn't.
You tapped your pencil against the desk.
"I still think we're starting in the wrong place."
Jinshi didn't look up.
"Probably."
You blinked.
"...Probably?"
"We're designing from a brief."
"Isn't that the point?"
"Not yet."
That got your attention.
He closed his sketchbook and stood.
"Come with me."
You immediately frowned.
"I don't like the sound of that."
"I'm aware."
"Where are we going?"
"You'll complain less if I tell you afterward."
"I sincerely doubt that."
"We'll find out."
Without another word, he walked toward the door.
You stared after him.
"...Was that an invitation?"
"No."
"A request?"
"No."
"A demand?"
He paused in the doorway.
"I assumed curiosity would do most of the work."
...
Unfortunately...
It did.
With a sigh, you grabbed your sketchbook and followed him.
The elevator carried you several floors below the design department.
You expected another office.
Another conference room.
Maybe another executive meeting.
Instead, the doors opened to something entirely different.
You stopped walking.
"Oh."
Rows upon rows of shelving stretched across the enormous room.
Thousands of neatly organized fabric bolts filled the space from floor to ceiling.
Silks.
Wools.
Linens.
Cottons.
Velvets.
Materials in every imaginable color and texture surrounded you.
Large worktables occupied the center of the room, covered in swatches, measuring tapes, and partially assembled garments.
Natural light poured through massive skylights overhead.
For a moment...
You forgot to breathe.
Jinshi noticed.
"The first time is overwhelming."
You slowly turned in a circle.
"I think overwhelming is underselling it."
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"This is Belladonna's archive."
You stepped toward one of the shelves almost automatically.
Carefully, you ran your fingertips across a bolt of deep emerald silk.
"...Can employees just come down here?"
"Lead designers can."
"You mean I've had access to this since yesterday?"
"Technically."
You looked at him in disbelief.
"And nobody told me?"
"You didn't ask."
You let out an exaggerated sigh.
"I am surrounded by deeply unhelpful people."
"So I've heard."
You ignored him.
Mostly because you were already distracted again.
You wandered farther into the archive, your eyes darting from shelf to shelf.
It felt less like a storage room...
And more like a museum where touching the exhibits was somehow encouraged.
"This is incredible."
"It is."
You looked back at him.
For once...
He wasn't watching you.
He was looking at the fabrics.
Not casually.
Carefully.
Like each one carried a story only he knew.
He reached toward a shelf without hesitation and pulled out a charcoal wool blend.
Then a cream-colored cotton.
Then another fabric you didn't recognize.
"You already know exactly where everything is."
"I spend a lot of time here."
"I can tell."
He set the fabrics on one of the worktables.
"You said clothes should solve problems."
"I did."
"Show me."
You blinked.
"...What?"
"You've spent two days explaining your philosophy."
He slid the fabrics toward you.
"I'd like to see it."
Silence.
No teasing.
No smug smile.
No challenge hidden behind clever wording.
Just...
Curiosity.
Real curiosity.
You looked down at the fabrics.
Then back at him.
"...Fine."
You reached for the charcoal wool.
"First of all..."
You held it up.
"This wrinkles less."
Jinshi nodded once.
You continued.
"And this weave stretches just enough that someone can actually move in it without destroying the silhouette."
You spoke almost without thinking now.
"A designer can make something beautiful."
You picked up another fabric.
"But if the sleeves are restrictive..."
Another.
"If it overheats after twenty minutes..."
Another.
"If someone spends all day wishing they could change clothes..."
You placed them back onto the table.
"...then we've failed."
For a long moment...
Jinshi said nothing.
Then...
Without a word...
He reached past you and picked up a fabric you hadn't noticed.
A rich navy wool with an impossibly soft finish.
He draped it beside yours.
"It solves the same problems."
You looked at it.
"It also catches light differently."
He ran a hand lightly across the fabric.
"If someone feels confident every time they see themselves in a mirror..."
He met your eyes.
"...isn't that solving a problem too?"
Well this was one thing you would definitely agree on.
For a long moment, neither of you moved.
Then, without another word, you reached for a fresh sheet of paper.
"Move."
Jinshi looked up.
"...Excuse me?"
"Your elbow."
He glanced down.
"...Oh."
He shifted a few inches.
"Barely."
"It was enough."
"It wasn't."
"It was."
You sighed dramatically and nudged him farther down the table.
He didn't protest.
Mostly because he seemed more interested in the sketch beginning to take shape between you.
You drew the silhouette first.
Long.
Clean.
Structured without feeling stiff.
Jinshi watched quietly before reaching across the table and adjusting one line with his pencil.
You frowned.
"I liked mine."
"It was asymmetrical."
"It was intentionally asymmetrical."
"So was my correction."
"...That's annoyingly clever."
"I know."
You rolled your eyes.
For the next twenty minutes, conversation became almost unnecessary.
You sketched.
He erased.
He added details.
You crossed out half of them.
He looked offended.
You ignored him.
Somehow...
The drawing kept getting better.
You leaned back first.
"...Huh."
Jinshi studied the page.
"...Hm."
You narrowed your eyes.
"That sounded like approval."
"It sounded like thinking."
"It sounded suspiciously approving."
"I'll be more careful next time."
You laughed.
Actually laughed.
The sound surprised both of you.
Jinshi looked over.
"...What?"
"Nothing."
"You laughed."
"I did not."
"You definitely did."
"I exhaled enthusiastically."
"I see."
"It happens."
"I've heard."
You pointed your pencil at him.
"Don't."
"I'm not doing anything."
"You always say that right before you're doing something."
"I don't believe that's true."
"It absolutely is."
A familiar voice interrupted you.
"I agree."
You both looked up.
Xiaolan stood in the doorway.
Gaoshun beside her.
Both carrying folders.
Both looking directly at the sketch spread across the table.
Neither said anything for several seconds.
Then Xiaolan looked between you.
Then back at the drawing.
"...You already started?"
You blinked.
"Well..."
Jinshi answered before you could.
"We accidentally made progress."
Xiaolan gasped dramatically.
"Oh no."
Gaoshun looked at the sketch.
Looked at both of you.
Then quietly said,
"...That's faster than I expected."
You and Jinshi spoke at exactly the same time.
"It was mostly me."
Silence.
You slowly turned toward each other.
"...Excuse me?"
"...Interesting."
"You are unbelievable."
"So I've heard."
Gaoshun sighed.
Xiaolan looked positively delighted.
"Oh, this is going to be so much fun."
As Xiaolan happily gathered the abandoned fabric samples and Gaoshun began discussing scheduling, your eyes drifted back to the sketch lying between you and Jinshi.
It wasn't finished.
Not even close.
There were notes scribbled in every direction.
Half the details still needed work.
The silhouette would probably change tomorrow.
Maybe even tonight.
But...
It was the first thing either of you had created together.
And, annoyingly...
It was good.
You glanced toward Jinshi.
He was already studying the sketch again, completely absorbed, as though the rest of the room had disappeared.
For the first time since arriving at Belladonna...
You found yourself looking forward to tomorrow.
Just a little.
As Xiaolan and Gaoshun disappeared back toward the elevator, you carefully gathered the sketches into a neat stack.
Jinshi did not.
He simply tucked a pencil behind his ear and picked up the collection brief.
"Tomorrow."
You looked up.
"What about tomorrow?"
"We'll start over."
You blinked.
"...Excuse me?"
"This won't be our final direction."
You looked down at the sketch.
"But we literally just—"
"We proved something."
He tapped the drawing once.
"Not solved it."
That...
Was irritatingly reasonable.
Again.
You hated how often that seemed to happen.
"You really don't get attached to ideas, do you?"
He considered the question.
"Only good ones."
"...That's a terrifying answer."
"I've found it useful."
You couldn't argue with that.
Unfortunately.
The two of you walked back toward the elevator in comfortable silence.
Comfortable.
...
Wait.
Comfortable?
No.
Absolutely not.
You had known this man for barely two days.
He was still infuriating.
Still arrogant.
Still far too calm.
Still—
"...What?"
You realized he was looking at you.
"What?"
"You've been frowning at me for almost a minute."
"I was thinking."
"About?"
"You."
His eyebrows lifted ever so slightly.
"...Should I be concerned?"
"Probably."
"Hm."
"I've decided you're much stranger than everyone made you sound."
For a moment...
He actually laughed.
Not the small amused exhale you'd heard before.
An actual laugh.
It caught you completely off guard.
"You say that," he replied, "like it's a bad thing."
"...I haven't decided yet."
The elevator doors opened.
The two of you stepped inside.
Just before they closed...
Xiaolan poked her head around the corner.
"There you are!"
You blinked.
"Were you looking for us?"
"No."
"...Yes."
She grinned.
"The CEO wants both of you in Conference Room Three tomorrow morning."
You and Jinshi exchanged a look.
"Why?" you asked.
Xiaolan shrugged.
"No idea."
She started walking away.
Then paused.
"Oh!"
She turned back.
"She also said to come hungry."
...
Silence.
You looked at Jinshi.
He looked at you.
"What does that mean?" you asked.
"I don't know."
"You've worked here for years."
"I have."
"So?"
"So..."
For the first time all day...
He looked genuinely puzzled.
"...I have no idea."