Chapter Text
She looked at herself in the mirror one more time, smoothing out the blazer hugging her body before tightening her ponytail. She glanced at the window, watching as a crowd begin to swarm around a small stage that has been set up just for her. Mina loved her job, loved the success she gained after years of hard work building her company from the ground up. Ended up being one of the youngest to lead a leading architecture firm in South Korea, helping a lot of other businesses build the empire of their dreams. Her firm became so popular among other businesses due to the effectiveness of her relations with her clients, always asking straightforward questions, taking into account the clients’ preferences, and take off from there, finishing the job much faster than most firms. This quality is what leads Myoui Studio into success, attracting more clients while expanding the market.
Much like how she expected her staffs to work, Mina herself is straightforward. She expected things to be done effectively, avoiding small talks as much as possible to be able to get the job done. So it was only natural for her to hate this part, the one where she has to put on a practiced smile in front of the press while giving out answers as practiced as those smiles, given by her PR team beforehand. She had no choice, though, as the press already expected even the tiniest bit of speech from the woman who was able to lead a firm into such success, especially in the early age of 3 years. Not to mention that her PR team thought that it was a good publicity, which could mean attracting more clients and investors. With an anniversary party coming, she should aim to have people with power to come.
She rubbed at her temple, feeling drained already from seeing the amount of people gathered to see her. Her hand moved to take the pile of cards lying on the table, shuffling through it to jog her memory on what she was supposed to say, before a knock on the door caught her attention.
“Miss Myoui?” a blonde head peeked into the room. It was Chaeyoung, a senior manager in her company. Her eyes landed on the cards in her hands, before her eyes moved back up and a soft, reassuring smile graced her face. “Everyone’s ready for you.”
“Chaeng, you know you don’t have to refer to me as Miss Myoui,” Mina frowned, gently placing the cards down back down on the table. She reached for the yellow shades Chaeyoung gifted for her, putting it on as she walked past the younger girl.
“I know,” she heard Chaeyoung said, could hear the cheeky smile in her voice. “But it’s fun to watch you blush every time.”
“Asshole,” Mina muttered, shooting a glare at her best friend.
“Hey! What if the press hears that the ever-composed Myoui Mina curse? Wouldn’t want bad press now, would we?” Chaeyoung teased, elbowing Mina’s side as she finally matched her pace.
“Shut up, you’re the senior manager for a reason. I don’t need your input on what’s good or bad press, Miss Son .” Mina said, ignoring the cackle Chaeyoung let out at Mina’s attempt to refer to her professionally. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have South Korea to charm.”
Chaeyoung grinned at her, holding the door open for her before Mina was able to reach it herself. Two security guards appeared then, making way for Mina to reach the stage safely. “Good luck, Miss Myoui ,” she concluded with a wink, letting go of the door just as Mina stepped out of the building, leaving her alone in the frenzy of flashes as reporters started shouting for her to look their way, or even trying to push through the guards on duty.
Just as anxiety started to pool at the pit of her stomach, she spotted Nayeon, the head of her PR team, near the stage as she waved at Mina to get her attention. She shoved her hands into the pocket of her pants then, in an attempt to hide her shaking hands, before striding past the press until she reached Nayeon. The girl had a clipboard in her hand, the other holding a walkie talkie with the in-ear plugged in. She took one look of Mina as the girl arrived, scanning her from head-to-toe before flashing her signature smirk complete with that playful glint in her eyes.
“So, you come here often?”
“Cut it out, Miss Im. I own the company.”
“Aw, come on boss, try to loosen up a bit!” Nayeon said, nudging the girl gently. Mina could only shake her head at that, a small smile playing on her lips despite her effort in feigning annoyance. She did have a soft spot for the older girl, the one who seemed to have always been able to say the right things to loosen her up. She didn’t become the head of her PR team for nothing, after all.
Upon noticing the smile, Nayeon chuckled, evidently satisfied with herself, “Okay, okay, enough teasing for now. We’re getting into business.”
Mina hummed,“I’m listening.”
“I’ve reviewed the list of questions the press is going to ask you and I’ve made clear the list of questions they cannot ask you,” Nayeon started, “Those questions include questions about your private life, so as long as you read the cards I gave you, it should be fine.”
“Got it.”
“Remember, you know your company best. The sentences in the card were merely my take on how to best phrase it so I believe you won’t screw up,” Nayeon winked, stepping back to make way for Mina to reach the stage. “Good luck, Miss Myoui.”
Mina smiled, grabbing her hand for comfort. Nayeon squeezed back briefly, allowing her to take a deep breath before finally stepping into the stage, camera flashes greeting her.
They have nearly reached the end of the question and answer portion of the press conference, with Mina sitting on a chair set up on the stage and Nayeon sitting on the other side of the stage, acting as the moderator. Mina was drinking out of her bottle when she heard Nayeon spoke up, pointing at a reporter and prompting her to ask a question. She set down her bottle then, averting her gaze to be able to properly address the person Nayeon just gave the floor to. Her breath hitched when she laid eyes on the girl, now holding a mic the staff gave her.
She was young, around her age, maybe. Her hair was down, in a hime cut that framed her face perfectly. She had round glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, sliding down as she looked down to the note in her hand. She had her camera hung around her neck, one of those cameras with unnecessarily long lenses that Mina would never know how to operate. When she looked up, Mina couldn’t help but think that the girl looked adorable as she pushed her glasses back into place, her note knocking into the mic as she struggled to properly put it in front of her mouth.
“It’s okay, take your time.” Mina said into her mic, fighting back a smile as she watched the girl gave her a sheepish grin, putting the note back into her pocket before finally holding the mic with both her hands.
“Miss Myoui,” she started, her expression hardened into a more professional one. “What do you think is the quality that defines you as a leader and what sets you apart from other leaders in other leading companies in South Korea?”
Mina glanced at Nayeon, not at all expecting such question. Nayeon looked back at her, subtly nodding as if encouraging her to answer the question truthfully. Mina shifted her gaze back at the girl then, leaning back into her chair before holding the mic close to her mouth.
“I think it’s my persistence. I’m strong-willed, even when I know that it would be hard for me to lead a company in a male-dominated industry. But I carried on, never letting those who look down on me have the satisfaction of seeing me give up. With it, I learn how to also be straightforward in my work, to get the job done effectively but with great quality. So, my persistence has brought me a lot of things, including the ways of making my company different from other companies.”
The girl nodded at that, saying a thank you before giving the mic back to a staff. The press then erupted into incoherent chattering, as Nayeon stated that they will only be taking one last question before concluding the press conference. Mina tried to hold onto the sight of the girl, satisfied when she spotted her raising her camera up to where Mina was seated. She looked straight into the lens then, mouthing thank you before smiling long enough for a picture to be taken and shifting back her gaze to Nayeon, pretending as if nothing ever happened. Nayeon had pointed at another reporter, who asked what she planned for the company in the future. She gave him a practiced answer, one Nayeon provided, before closing the press conference quickly in hope that she could spot the girl back in the crowd.
But as she looked back to where she stood, the girl wasn’t there anymore.
(She felt a dull ache in her chest.)