Work Text:
minjeong prides herself on being calm and respected. she’s a reliable person who remains logical and confident in the face of challenges. in kindergarten, she was crowned as busan’s spelling bee champion. in middle school, she was appointed class chairperson. in high school, she was appointed class chairperson again and was voted ‘most likely to succeed’, which is a huge honour. her parents display her graduation photo proudly on the mantel and she’s the topic of conversation whenever relatives come over. minjeong’s basically the golden child (well, she only has one brother and he’s enlisting so…)
anyway, after going to college and getting her degree, minjeong immediately found a job. it’s just a common office job that accepts interns and offers training, so she happily agrees to work. then, after a while, she becomes a full-time employee and gets promoted to assistant team manager. her co-workers often come to her for help, either it be their newly implemented software or “minjeong, how do i turn this on again?”
she likes her job. it’s the only one she’s had long-term, other than the ice cream parlour she worked in middle school, so perhaps minjeong feels a little protective over her title. every morning, when she slings the lanyard around her neck, minjeong preens with pride as she reads her identity card. kim minjeong, assistant team manager . it’s an ego boost that she desperately needs. she’s worked so hard for this job; staying up late to do overtime, bringing her laptop home just to work, minjeong’s never even used her sick days before.
grinning at her own reflection, minjeong fixes her square frames that her mother got for her, as a christmas gift coupled with an early birthday gift. she had previously complained about her degree worsening and it was a pleasant surprise to find the glasses case under the christmas tree last year. her dad got her a tie with clouds on them.
(“minjeong, it’s cute! like you!” her dad had defended.
“they won’t take me seriously! i mean, i look like a fool!”)
still, she appreciates the thought nonetheless and has it stored neatly in the gift box. today was just going to be a simple monday as always. minjeong loves mondays. it’s the day when she gets back to work, so why wouldn’t she love mondays? not to mention, she’s extra excited for the presentation she has to give later. minjeong’s basically trembling in her shoes thinking about it!
breathing in the morning air, minjeong begins her fifteen minute walk to the office. she doesn’t believe in public transport. it’s a weird thing that others have commented on but minjeong cannot bother to wait for a bus that would stop every five minutes. she’s done the mathematics and riding the bus would cost her an extra three minutes. she could get a lot done in three minutes. plus the morning walk means that minjeong doesn’t have to move from her seat for four hours and thirty two minutes before her back and neck starts getting sore.
taking quick strides, she manages to reach the building in record time. thirteen minutes and twenty seconds. mentally patting herself on the back, she stalks through the revolving doors. today, she doesn’t stop by the house around the corner to pet their dog. no, minjeong has more important things to deal with. even if kaya was the cutest dog she’s ever had the pleasure of meeting. there’s no one in the office yet, minjeong’s always the first to arrive and she always will be. actually, yizhuo did beat her that one time, but that’s because she was already in the office prior. (yizhuo got stupidly drunk and told her taxi driver to drop her off here).
after a rather lengthy lift ride, which minjeong will bring up with management (she thinks it’s due for a maintenance check), she reaches her desk. there’s barely any personal items on it, minjeong likes to separate work and personal life. the only photo frame she has pinned on her corkboard that’s not smothered by post-it notes of reminders, is a family photo of when she was young. minjeong swipes her thumb over her baby self, smiling at the military costume she wore. next to her corkboard was her calendar, littered with various deadlines and events. she usually updates her online one but the physical copy helps too. other than a succulent plant, her table is basically empty. she can’t say the same for others though. uchinaga aeri, her acquaintance, who’s more of yizhuo’s friend than hers, has filled her cubicle with clutter. minjeong can’t even look at her table without feeling disgusted.
apparently aeri has plans to start her own music career and thus, an explanation for the random microphone situated in the corner. minjeong frowns at the newly placed minuscule keyboard. does the team manager allow this? well, aeri’s a good employee who does what she needs to do but minjeong thinks there’s always improvement to be made. like how maybe aeri shouldn’t take half an hour bathroom breaks or how she spends too much time online shopping and too little time actually doing work. minjeong hates how she somehow still manages to finish everything on time.
whatever, she doesn’t care enough about her co-workers to worry unnecessarily on their work ethics. minjeong still has about five minutes before everyone starts piling in. every time, the second person to arrive is chief executive officer bae joohyun. minjeong looks up to her fondly. she admires how much effort ms. bae puts into work. how she commands everyone’s attention so easily. sighing, minjeong slumps in her chair, knowing she’ll never be able to outperform her ceo.
just like clockwork, the lift dings and ms. bae emerges, chin up high and checking her watch. she gives minjeong a sidelong glance before smiling slightly. maybe smiling was an overstatement, more like her lips moved? minjeong squints.
“good morning, assistant manager kim,” ms. bae greets just as minjeong springs to her feet, bowing ninety degrees. eyes focused on the grey carpet, minjeong says loudly, “good morning, ms. bae.” ew , she thinks, the carpet’s looking a little dirty. did beomgyu forget to tell the janitor again? she can still spot the lingering stain that one of their office parties left behind. it was a whole story— aeri got too comfortable with a bottle of vodka and ended up puking her guts next to minjeong’s desk. not a very fun night for minjeong.
when ms. bae enters her own office, minjeong sits down, a little chirpy at how ms. bae seems happier today. maybe she might give minjeong a promotion? or a recommendation letter? wow, minjeong can’t contain her excitement at moving up the ranks.
her elation overshadows her perception since she doesn’t even notice yizhuo coming out of the elevator, grinning widely while holding two cups of coffee, one for her and one for minjeong.
“hey minjeong,” yizhuo says, almost a metre away. last time she had crept up on minjeong, the girl used her keyboard to whack her straight across her face. so, yeah, as a precaution, yizhuo stays a good distance from minjeong’s desk.
“hi. thank you for the coffee,” minjeong says gratefully, accepting the iced americano. she prefers it iced over hot in winter. sometimes yizhuo forgets and brings her a hot cup because “ who drinks iced americano in winter ?”
minjeong owes her life to yizhuo. she doesn’t know what she would do without the morning goodness that yizhuo brings. last time she didn’t have her coffee, the office almost went up in flames. intern lee anton is still on break for unforeseen circumstances. technically, it wasn’t her fault that he put aluminium foil in the office microwave. like, who does that? and it’s totally not her fault that she screamed at him afterwards for nearly burning down the building. minjeong might have some temper issues, so what? she’s already brought it up during the department mandated counselling sessions.
“how are you feeling? nervous?” yizhuo asks, referring to her anticipated presentation. minjeong has never felt an ounce of anxiety when it comes to her work performance. she’s at the top of her game. even if yizhuo’s question is a little stupid, minjeong still answers smoothly, “i’ll do well.”
yizhuo smiles and it brings out the sisterly comfort minjeong has always felt for the younger girl. “of course you will, unnie.”
just as the younger girl leaves, the lift dings open again. soon, minjeong stops counting everyone coming in since the day has officially started. throwing herself in work, she only notices when uchinaga aeri strolls out, five minutes past seven. frowning, minjeong feels the urge to tell her off.
“good morning, peasants!” aeri greets, throwing around sweets that all employees scramble to pick up. minjeong’s frown deepens as one smacks her squarely in the face. “did anyone miss me?”
“no,” minjeong states, “you’re late.”
aeri whips around, grinning brightly, “aw, you noticed? i didn’t know you kept tabs on me, assistant manager.”
minjeong’s only reminded of why she carries such disdain for aeri. her laments don’t last since ms. bae pokes her head out of her office and demands for everyone to gather in the meeting room, as they always do every monday morning. minjeong stumbles as she gets up, rushing to be the first to make it in while aeri lazily follows behind.
when everyone’s settled, ms. bae clears her throat and pulls down the projector screen, displaying a powerpoint slide with the word, ‘welcome!’ minjeong gets this eerie sensation of dread.
“good morning, everyone. today is a special day, well, because it’s the first day of the month and it’s monday, what a coincidence,” ms. kang, the actual team manager, chuckles. ms. bae gives her a sidelong glance before interrupting, “before we move onto anything, i would just like to commend all employees for last month’s performance. do continue to strive for success.”
ms. kang nods fervently, “we have had an increase in clients and sales overall the past month, so good job!” before the meeting room erupts in cheers, ms. kang raises her palm, smiling widely, “and because of this improvement, we have decided to hire a new assistant manager!”
minjeong’s jaw drops instantly. she hears a chorus of surprised gasps, no doubt concerning her reaction. faintly, yizhuo mumbles out a feeble, “oh no.” from the back of her head, she knows that aeri is sporting a smug smile.
ms. kang clicks to the next slide, exclaiming, “welcome team assistant manager yu!” minjeong knows exactly what she’s done in her life to deserve this. there was this wednesday last year when she went to the grocery store. at the counter, the cashier asked if she wanted to donate ten thousand won to a rescue centre for dogs. minjeong took one glance at the pitiful dog and her pitiful wallet before sliding in two one thousand won bills into the plastic box. gah! she should have just gave up eating beef for a week! those poor puppies deserved more than two thousand won! this is her karma, minjeong can’t believe it.
she can only stare, horror-stricken as a picture of their newest employee appears on the screen in a bounce animation. the picture is flattering to say the least. there’s another chorus of gasps, presumably from how gorgeous this girl is. she has jet black hair, reaching way past her shoulders, rosy cheeks that definitely do not make her look appealing and bright glimmering eyes that makes minjeong wonder if she photoshopped the stars into her pupils. but the cherry on top, is definitely the way her red lips curl into a smirk, and below those enticing lips, lays a beauty mark.
underneath the photo, the words, which appeared in a slide animation, read, ‘ addition to the family, yu jimin !’ and then, minjeong decides that she hates this girl and she will forever go down in history as the girl who ruined kim minjeong’s life.
“hey, uh, jimin-ssi, you have to come in now,” ms. kang awkwardly yells out the door of the break room. the first thing minjeong sets her eyes on are the pale long legs that go on for miles before she finally reaches jimin’s waist. immediately, minjeong scrunches her nose at the girl’s attire, a white, seemingly knitted blouse that extends until her knees. she’s not even wearing a tie! minjeong thinks indignantly, turning around to see if anyone else is as offended as she is. surprisingly, everyone seems enchanted by her beauty! which, minjeong understands, the girl is aesthetically pleasing, but she’s not following the dress code! no one else is, but minjeong thinks a rookie should still adhere to the rules.
“sorry!” jimin laughs deeply, “i wasn’t sure when to come in…” minjeong narrows her eyes. unsure? she can’t have employees that are unsure! they have to be proud and proactive!
“no worries,” ms. bae says, “you can just take a seat beside assistant manager kim,” she gestures to minjeong who’s fuming, “you’ll be working alongside each other closely, after all.”
minjeong hates how jimin’s face lights up as she slides into the chair next to minjeong. subconsciously, minjeong shifts away while jimin moves closer. she can smell a hint of the girl’s scent, not in a weird way! jimin smells like chocolate and fresh laundry. minjeong huffs. what a strange combination.
“hey, nice to meet you,” jimin smiles warmly, “i’m yu jimin.”
“kim minjeong,” minjeong replies, not bothering to even look at jimin. she will just have to ignore the girl. if she can’t see her, she doesn’t exist! perfect idea, kim minjeong, what a genius!
if jimin’s disheartened by minjeong’s cold reaction, she doesn’t show it, choosing to hum happily as ms. bae goes over their agenda for the week. like a good and hardworking employee, minjeong mentally takes down a few notes. and like a useless, good for nothing employee, jimin makes a comment about how “isn’t it quite dark for seven in the morning?” well, minjeong wants to say, “because we’re in winter and sunrises are usually later,” but she holds her tongue.
finally, ms. kang wraps everything up quickly and minjeong can finally get back to the comfort of her cubicle. and not three inches away from her new assistant manager who enjoys touching elbows with her. unfortunately, her wrist gets tugged by ms. kang who sends her a weary smile and, “you’ll help assistant manager yu to adjust, won’t you?” minjeong can’t help but nod. ugh, she really needs to stop pleasing authority figures.
when she walks out, jimin’s waiting by the door, staring at her intently.
“uhm, what are you looking at?” minjeong asks, a little harshly before she swallows and repeats, “yes? do you need something?” jimin shakes her head, that stupid smile still on her face and she shrugs, “just waiting for you. ms. kang said our desks are right next to each other, so i wanted to walk there together.”
minjeong can’t help but furrow her eyebrows at this because why? jimin could have saved two minutes walking back alone. wow. this girl had no concern for her work. minjeong nods instead of scoffing. she can’t believe her luck; getting stuck with yu jimin next to her? potentially for the rest of her working career? minjeong really needs to get promoted now.
“anyway, so, how long have you been working here? quite a while?” jimin asks, or weakly attempts to start a conversation as minjeong paces back to her desk.
“a few years,” minjeong answers vaguely. jimin’s question only serves as a sharp reminder to how quickly she was appointed assistant manager while minjeong had to work her way up the ladder.
“oh, how old are you— i mean, not to be offensive, i’m just asking, but uhm, you look young!” minjeong just wants jimin to keep quiet, so she replies, “i’m twenty three.”
jimin nudges her with her shoulder, exclaiming gleefully, “i’m twenty four! hey, when’s your birthday?”
“jimin-ssi,” minjeong can’t take this anymore and she can see her desk metres away from her, “i really have to work now.”
the girl’s face falls slightly before morphing into one of resignation, “oh yeah, totally. catch you later?”
no, minjeong will not catch her later but she does nod anyway. anything to get yu jimin off her back and on her computer instead. she watches as jimin prances to her desk, right opposite hers, sends a cheery wink to minjeong and then flops down. there’s silence for a second before jimin perks up again, “hey, you’re aeri right?”
god, minjeong allows her head to fall onto her keyboard with a thud, smashing out a chain of random letters. she hates mondays. she can’t even look forward to her presentation later, knowing that jimin would be staring at her with that stupid smile.
—
minjeong likes tuesdays. or liked. she used to like them because it was the second day of the week and she goes to work on tuesdays. now, she sees jimin on tuesdays, so ugh. she straightens her beige plaid tie in the lift interior’s reflection before striding out. to her surprise, the lights are already on and the office isn’t freezing. who would reach here before her? and turn the heater on too? choi soobin from marketing still asked where the light switches are sometimes.
she gets her answer soon enough since the bane of existence greets cheerfully, “good morning, minjeong!” and minjeong thinks, who the hell told her to drop the honorifics? they’ve only had one single conversation! one too many, minjeong thinks.
jimin waves her hand around, acting as if minjeong can’t see that she’s the only one there. gripping her tote bag a little tighter, minjeong grimaces.
“good morning, jimin-ssi.” what on earth! why is jimin doing this? is she trying to replace minjeong? the realisation drives a sharp knife through her chest, no way was she trying to take minjeong’s spot. she wouldn’t allow it! she’s worked her butt off for this job and she will not let a random girl ruin her life like this.
when minjeong sits down, jimin leans on the wall of her cubicle, smiling, “we didn’t get to talk much yesterday, so i asked around during break and aeri-chan said that you always come in early. do you actually come in so early every day?” minjeong groans internally. of course aeri would sell her out. she only lives to see the younger suffer.
“i do,” minjeong says tersely.
“great! i don’t mind coming early to keep you company. i really want to get to know you better,” jimin admits bashfully, leaning her head onto her arms. minjeong resists the urge to guffaw. get to know her? to do what? steal her spot? jimin should at least try to be a better liar.
she should humour her a little though, especially now that she knows what trickery jimin is planning. maybe when jimin finally admits her master plan, minjeong will reveal that she outplayed her and she just knows that the look of disbelief and admonishment on jimin’s face will make her whole year. or the last of it anyway.
“oh, good morning to both of you,” ms. bae greets, “i didn’t expect assistant manager yu to be here so early.”
minjeong springs up, bowing like she always has while jimin nods at the ceo (she nods! what the hell, where is the respect?).
“just catching up with minjeong,” she explains. minjeong wants to protest, say that she has better things than to ‘catch up’ with yu jimin. but when ms. bae looks at her confirmation, minjeong smiles weakly, “yes… haha…”
“oh, interesting,” ms. bae says while a part of minjeong dies inside to admit such a lie. it isn’t like her to lie so blatantly to her boss, especially ms. bae out of all people. well, not like the lie was bad, it was simply a white lie. yes , minjeong nods to herself, a white lie.
ms. bae’s departure doesn’t deter jimin from her quest of annoying minjeong, however. the girl continues to stay at minjeong’s cubicle and she only leaves when aeri arrives, which means that minjeong deals with her presence for another ten minutes! she asks minjeong about her family, pets, and love life. all which minjeong barely answered. jimin finally leaves, exclaiming to aeri how much she enjoyed the newest episode of ‘when the phone rings’. minjeong breathes a huge sigh of relief just as she sips her iced americano. her doctor had said maybe she shouldn’t be drinking coffee at such a rapid pace since she gets one cup in the morning, one during break to avoid conversations with her co-workers, and another at night when she’s finishing up. but with the people she has to deal with daily? no way.
her apple watch has indicated a spike in blood pressure recently but minjeong can’t tell if it’s from the caffeine she consumes or jimin’s presence. she would gladly eliminate the latter if that’s the case. or maybe she should lay off the coffee a little. killing jimin seems like a better option.
“so, you and jimin unnie are getting close, huh?” yizhuo grins playfully. minjeong rolls her eyes as she taps away on her keyboard. she ignores yizhuo’s usage of ‘unnie’ with jimin, insinuating a form of closeness between the two of them which she does not appreciate at all. yizhuo is meant to be her friend, not jimin unnie’s . “we are not,” she says tensely, “jimin-ssi is being overtly friendly.”
uncontrollably, minjeong questions without glancing at yizhuo, “and since when do you call her unnie?”
yizhuo giggles and then explains, “during break yesterday, we all hung out together when you were slaving away. jimin unnie brought us to eat galbi, scrumptious might i add. and then unnie started asking us about you and saying how she wants to get closer to you. in exchange for some information, she paid fully for our lunch.” minjeong doesn’t even resist to palm her face, burying her entire head in her hands, “you sold me out for some beef? i can’t believe you– well, actually i can. oh my god, ning yizhuo!”
when she does lift her head, she glances around to make sure no one’s listening in their private conversation. regrettably, the moment she does, minjeong catches jimin’s eyes on her. slowly, jimin brings her hands up awkwardly to form two thumbs up. groaning, minjeong diverts her gaze and glares at yizhuo, “i love you but next time if you plan to exchange my information for food, at least bring me some.”
grinning proudly, yizhuo pats her head and tramples away with yell, “sure thing!” as soon as she leaves, minjeong makes a promise to not deal with any other distractions. she’s two minutes behind her usual timing because of her extended conversation with yizhuo. with the year ending soon, minjeong stands a chance to gain a pay raise. she can’t afford to slack now.
her eyes narrow slightly as she takes in the sight of jimin setting up a mini basketball hoop on aeri’s already cluttered desk. as the makeshift paper basketball swoops into the net, minjeong turns back to her computer screen.
minjeong, just as she said she would, throws herself into work. by lunchtime, she doesn’t even get up from her chair despite her need to ten minutes ago (she has to constantly monitor herself or else she’ll get a sprain in her neck). it’s only when yizhuo taps her on the shoulder, exclaiming, “we’re going to eat soybean noodles. that’s your favourite right?”
she can’t help but agree to join since the rumbling noise her stomach keeps making isn’t very conducive for her work environment. and also because she loves soybean noodles.
jimin instantly appears beside her, grinning widely and stupidly again, “hey minjeong! heard you’re getting lunch with us!”
minjeong mumbles, “yes.” her confirmation only brightens jimin’s grin as she cheers elatedly. minjeong does a little headcount of seven people other than herself. jimin, yizhuo, aeri, chaewon, beomgyu, taehyun and soobin. geez. so many people. jimin can’t be treating everyone again, right?
as she sits in the booth, too close for comfort with jimin, minjeong realises that she isn’t treating everyone to a meal. she’s just treating minjeong.
“i mean, well, you didn’t come with us yesterday and i felt like it would be unfair if everyone else got a free lunch and you didn’t,” jimin explains hastily at minjeong’s glare.
she breathes in sharply, trying to control herself since they are still in public after all, “i don’t need you to pay for me.” i’m not poor , she wants to add but it feels like an insult to the rest of her co-workers.
jimin pouts.
minjeong nearly throws up.
“minjeongie, just accept it!” aeri says, slurping up her noodles disgustingly.
“oh, minjeongie? can i call you that?” jimin asks immediately.
“no,” she replies, a little flabbergasted at how jimin thinks it’s okay to start calling her a nickname even though they’re sworn enemies. aeri gets a pass because minjeong’s simply too tired to deal with the girl’s shenanigans but this is her assistant manager! her co-worker! basically her partner too even if minjeong would rather die than admit it.
jimin frowns, “w-why not?”
“i’m not…” she scrambles to make up an excuse since everyone else is looking at her now. she can’t just say, “ oh, because i hate you for trying to steal my spot ,” so she instead lies again, “not comfortable with new people. sorry .” she added that apology reluctantly.
when she does meet jimin’s eyes, her gaze softens, “oh, it’s okay. i’ll just have to work harder to gain your trust.”
sure , minjeong wants to scoff.
“hey, but you warmed up to kim chaehyun from design pretty fine,” chaewon calls out. minjeong likes chaewon, she’s smart and good at her job. chaewon isn’t afraid of challenges and minjeong finds her to be extremely reliable as well. but right now, she wants to strangle the girl.
“that’s because she’s from busan and i was new!” shit, she just revealed something about her. minjeong’s definitely killing chaewon now. and jimin, while she’s at it.
jimin raises her eyebrows, surprised, “who’s kim chaehyun?”
soobin interrupts with a mouthful of noodles, “she’s from the design department. very pretty too.” he didn’t have to add that last bit, but minjeong should have expected it from a guy whose favourite anime is bunny girl senpai .
nodding understandingly, jimin doesn’t raise any more questions. minjeong can’t help but think if this is the way she’s trying to get dirt on her. it’s not working super well, in her humble opinion.
“when i first joined, i thought minjeong and chaehyun were dating. i mean, you used to bring her to our trivia nights,” beomgyu says. jimin’s face falls drastically but minjeong’s too concerned with stamping out these lies to even take note of the girl’s expression.
“uh— no, well! that’s because you said i could bring someone!” minjeong defends. beomgyu rolls his eyes, “someone not from the office, you dumbo.”
aeri, god bless her for once, adds on, “hey guys, did i tell you about the time i saw kim chaehyun kissing someone at her car? the girl was really gorgeous too. maybe one day, chaehyun will introduce her to us.”
immediately, the table focuses on chaehyun’s mystery partner, to minjeong’s relief. she barely survived the last time they had questioned her about her love life when she was a newbie. and in front of jimin too! airing out her business like the girl wasn’t scheming anything! do they even care if minjeong’s about to lose her job?
the rest of the lunch break goes by quickly. jimin’s attention is diverted to the weekly office gossip that taehyun provides ( “it’s because everyone thinks i’m not listening, but i am,” he had said proudly ). minjeong focuses on her meal rather than the way jimin’s bare thigh touches hers, which, why was she wearing a skirt above her knees? minjeong will bring this up to her later. sometimes, their elbows touch, reminding her of yesterday in the meeting room. the dingy booth doesn’t offer much space, especially not with eight people squeezed into it. minjeong stares at the space between chaewon and yizhuo, wishing she had just slid there rather than right to the corner. her idea was that she would only have to be next to one person rather than squished between two. she just didn’t expect jimin to be the one next to her.
one thing minjeong does like about this shabby diner is that it’s extremely close to the office. she first discovered it when she was a rookie, along with yizhuo. tired and lifeless, they rushed to find a suitable establishment to appease their hunger from working overtime. since then, minjeong has frequented the diner various times, introducing it to all her co-workers before it eventually became one of their periodic lunch spot (and dinner, if anyone stays back with minjeong to work).
hence, when jimin lets out a satisfied sigh, proclaiming that she had never eaten anything as delicious as that meal, yizhuo gladly informs her, “minjeong and i found this place! it’s so good, right?” minjeong feels smug at the way jimin gasps, “really?! yeah, it’s really good.”
jimin turns to her just as she’s swiping her keycard along the scanner, “so, do you have anymore suggestions? i moved here recently and like, y’know, i’m not super familiar with the area.”
the rest of the group had already walked through the open glass doors. minjeong halts in her steps, gaze narrowing as she questions, “do you live around here?”
the girl smiles brilliantly, “yeah! i live five minutes away from the office. that’s why i said i didn’t mind coming in early.”
she lives nearby?! closer than i do?! minjeong’s mind screeches. no wonder jimin was so confident in saying that coming early wouldn’t be a problem for her! minjeong has to work on her walking pace now. she’s been putting it off for a few weeks now and jimin’s sudden admission will definitely put it back onto the top of her priorities.
“speaking of which, how far do you live? not in a creepy way— uhm, just curious! since you come in super duper early,” jimin asks sheepishly, holding the door open for minjeong to enter.
minjeong feels inferior as she says, “fifteen minutes away.”
“oh wow!” jimin exclaims, surprised, following closely behind her, “how do you find the time to come in early every day? isn’t it tiring?”
“no,” because it’s her job, “i like coming in early.”
jimin, naively, chooses to chase minjeong into the lift, “really? i’ve never met anyone who likes coming early. you’re the first, that’s actually pretty—”
minjeong cuts in, “strange? weird? like a teacher’s pet?” most of her co-workers have commented on her bizarre behaviour when it comes to work, even a client remarked that he had never encountered someone as peculiar as minjeong.
a frown overtakes jimin’s face, “no, i was gonna say admirable. i think it’s cool that you’re devoted to your work.”
oh. no one has ever said that to her. minjeong feels an incoming surge of warmth in her cheeks and she internally scowls at herself for being so vulnerable to praise. perks of growing up being an overachiever, she guesses. and jimin’s still staring at her, concerned.
“t-thank you…” minjeong stutters out, clearing her throat and almost sprints back to her desk, leaving jimin behind in the dust.
how could she let her guard down so easily? now jimin will know what her weakness is! she can’t believe how effortless it was for jimin to penetrate through her defences.
god, get yourself together, kim minjeong! she glares at her reflection on the blank monitor screen.
—
minjeong, unknowingly, gets used to jimin soon enough. the first week after jimin’s abrupt compliment had made minjeong avoid her thoroughly. yet, there’s only so much you can do before being forced together. she constantly finds herself in the other girl’s presence. in the elevator, it’s almost like jimin waits for her to arrive before making her existence known, pouncing out of nowhere to gleefully yell, “wait for me, minjeong!” in the meeting room, minjeong’s permitted to sit next to jimin, as per ms. kang’s wish of helping her adjust to the new environment. so yes, their elbows touch and minjeong flinches away every time, ignoring the look of disappointment on jimin’s face. in the break room, when minjeong finally takes a breather, jimin’s already inside, eating from a shinchan lunchbox. she offers her sandwiches every time and without fail, minjeong declines (except that one time when she was super hungry).
but anyway, she does get accustomed to having jimin around. and as much as she hates to admit it, jimin’s a good employee. minjeong doesn’t even need to help her with anything. she just does it! some part of her, buried deep down, truly believes that the older girl is deserving of being an assistant manager. however, her pride overwhelms that portion greatly. jimin still hangs out with aeri a lot, their favourite past time being to annoy minjeong because her reactions are cute. minjeong thinks she’s anything but cute. she’s a firm and strong leader. imagine if all her subordinates heard jimin calling her a puppy! she would never live it down.
it’s been a few weeks since jimin first arrived and truthfully, minjeong doesn’t believe that she’s here to steal her spot anymore. jimin seems to enjoy talking to her, unless she was a great actor, then minjeong was clearly fooled. that , she couldn’t blame anyone but herself.
since she’s let her guard down, jimin becomes a frequent regular at minjeong’s lunch spots. she had offhandedly mentioned one of her favourite restaurants and jimin jumped to try it out. so now, they spend their breaks together along with yizhuo and sometimes aeri. minjeong finds jimin rather funny to talk to. the girl, like yizhuo, barely had a filter when talking and it was incredibly amusing to watch her blurt out nonsense. and minjeong learns that jimin’s a supposed fan of girls’ generation which she applauds for the great taste. they talk about taeyeon’s comeback and hyoyeon’s latest variety show. despite the preconceived notion that minjeong is a workaholic, she actually enjoys listening to girls’ generation’s music in her free time. like any regular normal human being, she has interests other than work.
when jimin reveals that she’s a taeyeon biased, minjeong can’t resist comparing herself to taeyeon. she brings this up to yizhuo who naturally calls her crazy before squinting at a printed out photo of taeyeon (using the office printer, of course) and minjeong’s face.
“ yeah, you do look alike. but only from some angles, don’t get a big head ,” yizhuo had said. so yeah, there’s that too.
during jimin’s third week of work, minjeong decides to change her life drastically.
she dyes her hair blonde (keeping her bob, obviously). the first time she shows her parents, they ask if she’s been dumped, which no, and minjeong would never be the dumped , she would be the dumpeé . but whatever. yizhuo thinks she looks cute and so does aeri, surprisingly. minjeong doesn’t bother telling jimin since she doesn’t even have her number and it would be strange emailing the girl’s work email. dear assistant manager yu, i would just like to inform you that i have dyed my hair blonde. i have attached a picture below for reference. like, no.
minjeong musters up her courage to walk through the glass doors, knowing jimin was eagerly waiting for her arrival. like a dog for its owner. no, that’s kind of weird. kim minjeong stop it! inhaling sharply, she breezes past the doors, pretending to be engrossed with something on her phone. she hopes jimin doesn’t remember the time she went on a rant about how her phone ruins her walking pace.
“morning, minjeong— oh my gosh, your hair is not black—” she lifts her head up. jimin stares at her, jaw dropped that minjeong can see every individual tooth of hers. slowly, jimin blinks, taking in the sight of the blonde locks that rest on top of minjeong’s head, like christmas had come early this year.
“good morning, and uh, yeah. i thought it would look nice,” minjeong blushes, feeling a little self-conscious with the gawking.
jimin shuts her mouth close, stammering out, “ye-yes! it looks nice. great even. it looks amazing .”
wow, minjeong was expecting jimin to start raving about how nice the colour is but all she’s doing is beaming brightly at the change. shrugging (and pretending to be unaffected), minjeong pushes past jimin, who hasn’t stopped peering, to sit down.
“are you okay?” minjeong decides to ask. jimin squeezes her eyes shut, as if willing herself to do something, and laughs awkwardly, “yeah, i’m fine.”
“okay. whatever you say.”
jimin leans on her cubicle wall, like she always does, and like the first time. “it’s just— well, you look even more handsome now? what brought this on?”
minjeong ignores the way her heart leaps at jimin’s compliment, “just wanted a change in life. nothing big.”
“change in life, huh? maybe i need a change in life too,” jimin smirks lazily. minjeong gulps at the intensity of her gaze, “i think you would look good in cherry red, or blonde too. you would suit most colours. i think it’s your face.”
“my face? what about it?”
flushing a furious red now, minjeong croaks out, “like… i guess, uhm, it’s aesthetically pleasing? okay to look at?”
if jimin didn’t know any better, she would have taken minjeong’s words as an insult. thankfully, she’s well aware of how emotionally stunted the girl is, so she takes the praise in stride.
“you’re okay to look at too,” jimin admits, smiling widely as if she’s just won the lottery.
“oh. okay.” wow, minjeong should become an actor. she’s really good at pretending jimin doesn’t make her heart thump in her chest. she’s always been bad at accepting compliments.
“i can see your red ears,” the older girl giggles just as ms. bae exits the lift.
damn it , minjeong thinks, her hands flying up to cover the evidence. aeri points it out when she arrives and minjeong glares at jimin, trying to stifle her chuckle.
other than minjeong’s blonde hair, there’s another new development. with jimin’s insistence, she has now started talking to the older girl informally. jimin-ssi had transformed into jimin unnie . it felt foreign coming out of her mouth the first few times but soon after, minjeong’s voice could be heard shrieking from miles away. she used to only call jimin ‘unnie’ when it was just the two of them and only outside of work, to keep up a professional front of course. the first time minjeong let it slip, aeri and yizhuo hounded on her, demanding to know when she started calling their assistant manager with such intimacy. minjeong could only mutter out a feeble, “help me, jimin unnie!”
with her new title as minjeong’s saviour, jimin seems to always hover around. when minjeong gets up to go to the washroom, jimin follows along under the guise of needing to go as well even though minjeong saw her go ten minutes ago. she would have lectured jimin on missing out on work if she didn’t enjoy jimin’s presence so much, which is something minjeong never thought of admitting. jimin has proclaimed herself to be minjeong’s knight in shining armor. she doesn’t think jimin could ever be a knight due to her fear of pigeons, but whatever, as long as the girl’s happy.
jimin especially likes to hover around when minjeong works overtime. she’s not very sure why since jimin used to shriek happily whenever the clock struck six but it’s not as if jimin is the worst person to spend an extra hour with. especially after the whole blonde hair ordeal, jimin had explained that she needed to walk minjeong home in case someone saw her bright hair and kidnapped her. minjeong’s not very sure about the logic behind that but jimin had stared at her with that hopeful look in her eyes.
“mindoongie, are you working late again?” jimin would chide, rolling her chair next to minjeong’s desk. after some complaints, jimin would eventually give in and join minjeong for the night. if minjeong was a workaholic, jimin would be the opposite. a restaholic? that doesn’t sound right. she would constantly ask minjeong to take breaks, sometimes forcefully! it doesn’t work, unfortunately, because jimin’s too scared to actually inflict pain on minjeong. she, on the other hand, has no problem shoving jimin around, especially when she says those horrid pick-up lines.
her most recent had been during the office’s monthly get together party, or team bonding, as ms. bae declared. one singular deck of cards, surrounded by everyone. beomgyu had read out, “when is minjeong most cute?” she really should have seen the question coming since it was aeri who made the deck this time. last month, yizhuo made it and it consisted of questiond soley about aeri’s love life. needless to say, minjeong had a blast. anyway, jimin had replied, confidently and swiftly before anyone else answered, “when she’s breathing!”
(minjeong gagged a little but the smile on her face was telling of her true emotions.)
the night ended with a flushed minjeong and a smug jimin as the crowd egged them on. minjeong couldn’t look at jimin in the eyes the day after but she immediately did so when jimin said her shyness was due to her heart actually fluttering.
“watch your words, jimin unnie, you’re soon to be demoted to assistant manager yu,” minjeong threatened and jimin backed down.
so, yes, she and jimin are close. they work well during office hours and have insane chemistry together, as dubbed by aeri. yizhuo had agreed but minjeong thinks yizhuo would agree to anything aeri said. she takes her words with a pinch of salt and chooses to ignore the blaring heart eyes jimin sends her way.
she needs to be professional after all! minjeong is not a team assistant manager for nothing.
yizhuo had asked her in the break room, stirring her cold porridge around, “are you and unnie dating?”
choking on her water, minjeong gurgles, “wha— ah, what do you mean?!”
the younger girl only narrows her eyes, smiling wryly, “you’ve been extra clingy to her recently. the old minjeong would never be like this.”
“uhm, i am the old minjeong and if anything, jimin unnie is the clingy one!”
“i didn’t even say which unnie it is—” and because the universe loves minjeong, jimin shows up right as yizhuo completes her sentence, poking her head through tne door, “i heard my name. are you gossiping?”
minjeong sends yizhuo a glare as she wipes the lingering water droplets away with a napkin. yizhuo rolls her eyes but relents, “we were just talking about who’s the most attractive person in the office.”
that’s worse! minjeong widens her eyes.
yizhuo raises an eyebrow, is it?
“oh, am i the top contender?” jimin asks enthusiastically.
“no actually, you’re in last place,” minjeong retorts.
jimin pouts, “that’s so mean. who’s first place then?”
“obviously me,” yizhuo laughs, saving minjeong from answering. minjeong can feel her sweat beading on her forehead. jimin only giggles, “of course our dearest ningie!”
then, after their lunch break ends, jimin corners minjeong in the washroom, grinning widely, “that’s not what yizhuo and you were talking about, right?”
minjeong can only ask helplessly, “how much did you hear?”
jimin shrugs as she approaches minjeong, whose back collides with the sink, “maybe the first part too? about whether we’re dating or not?”
“oh— uhm…” she can barely get a word out with how jimin is gazing at her. unsteadily, minjeong grips the marbled sink counter behind.
“well, i can’t blame her for asking, right? it’s a bit ambiguous.”
minjeong blanches, feeling jimin’s hot breath against her cheek, “what?”
the other girl merely smirks, her lips curling beautifully as she leans down to whisper, “i don’t mind if people think we’re dating, minjeong.”
the thing about minjeong is that she doesn’t have much romantic experience. her whole life growing up had been about academics and then work, so really, she has no time for dating. the bare minimum was going on arranged dates by her mother and even that resulted to nothing.
hence, her only reaction is to blurt out, “dating co-workers is prohibited. i read it in the rule book.”
and then the moment is shattered as chaewon enters, looking aghast at their position. instantly, minjeong pushes at jimin’s chest, forcing some distance between them.
“uhm, see you later, i guess.” minjeong scurries out, hearing the tail end of chaewon questioning jimin, “what was that?! what were you guys doing?!” she just knows that this will be the topic of discussion for everyone tomorrow and not the client that they desperately need to settle.
—
it is a little tense between them after that. minjeong can only afford glances when jimin isn’t looking. however, jimin is always looking, staring with those pitiful brown eyes of hers like a kicked puppy. during lunch break, she stays a respectable distance away from jimin who only purses her lips. minjeong doesn’t even do overtime anymore, afraid that jimin might be staying back as well. minjeong can’t lie and say she doesn’t miss the girl. she misses the way jimin made jokes just to make her laugh. she misses jimin’s smug smirk when she does laugh. call her schizophrenic but she might even miss jimin’s teasing.
like the woman she is, minjeong doesn’t tell anyone. but everyone can see how miserable she is without jimin. they would no longer hear her shrieks or shrill laughter. and every time someone would cross paths with minjeong, they would remark that the girl looked lifeless. like jimin’s her lifeline, what a joke.
after a gruelling week of ignoring jimin (yes, gruelling), minjeong finally relents. most of her decision was forced by yizhuo and aeri who said that she looks like her dog got run over.
(“what if jimin unnie moves on? what if she stops giving you attention?” yizhuo asks frantically, shaking minjeong’s shoulders. aeri merely snaps in front of her face, clapping at every word, “wake. up. you. dumb. ass.”
“i guess i’ll just cry and die alone!”
“minjeong, no —”)
also because her father asked if she got dumped, again. technically, she dumped jimin but they weren’t even dating in the first place. and the tiniest fraction of her decision was influenced by the longing she had for jimin. if you told her a month ago that she would be in this situation, minjeong would have said that you’re crazy. now, future minjeong can’t even deny the hold jimin has over her.
and her last inch of hesitation disappears when ms. bae calls them to her office. at first, minjeong’s worried about being found out (not that ms. bae had enough time on her hands to care about minjeong’s lacklustre love life). maybe ms. bae finally realised that jimin was a way better worker than her and she was getting fired. jimin sends her a reassuring smile, noticing minjeong’s anxiety. she only feels worse about their distance. but when they enter, the first thing minjeong notices is ms. bae’s bright smile, revealing every tooth.
“congratulations on finishing this first month strong together,” ms. bae praises, “i was hesitant at first when seulgi suggested hiring another assistant manager but it seems that she does know what’s best for the team after all. i’m glad that you’ve managed to warm up to assistant manager yu,” she says the last part looking at minjeong.
sheepish, minjeong rubs the back of her neck.
“i’ve never met two people with so much understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. i hope the team will be able to develop such teamwork as well.”
jimin gives minjeong a sidelong glance that definitely has more meaning than what ms. bae thinks.
“that’s not all,” ms. bae adds, “assistant manager kim, i’m extending an opportunity for you to become a manager. the design department has recently let go of their own and i’m thinking about recommending your name to management. based on what i’ve observed, you are able to work well with new people, such as assistant manager yu. hence, i know you will be well-suited for this role.”
minjeong widens her eyes. she faintly hears jimin gasp but all she can focus on is the prospect of finally being promoted. if she accepts the offer, she would be a manager. not an assistant manager.
“i do hope that you will accept this opportunity. i am sure that someone of your caliber deserves such a position.”
between ms. bae’s compliments and the chance of moving up the ladder, minjeong grows dizzy. she can’t believe it. she can’t believe that jimin’s arrival actually helped her.
“do get back to me by tomorrow. i will give you some time to consider.”
and after that, everything goes by like a blur. the moment they exit, minjeong gets pulled into an embrace by jimin. she gives the shorter girl a tight squeeze, mumbling, “i knew you were meant for better.” even though minjeong knows jimin is talking about work, she can’t help but wonder if there’s any malice in jimin’s words.
“you’ll do great there,” jimin pulls away, smiling softly. minjeong blinks, staring at her finally. jimin’s expressive eyes, her gentle words, the warmth she emits. minjeong thinks that when jimin walks into a room, even the sun bows its head in shame. jimin isn’t any assistant manager. she’s her silly, clumsy and sweet assistant manager. she’s hers.
and there’s finally a weight lifted off minjeong’s chest. she breathes in jimin’s chocolate and fresh laundry scent. minjeong has never known to miss a smell, but weirdly enough, she misses jimin’s. sometimes, even before jimin appears, minjeong can smell her. borderline creepy, she knows. but somehow, it’s comforting knowing that the girl is nearby. maybe jimin really is her knight in shining armour. minjeong makes her decision then.
“i’m not accepting it,” minjeong states firmly, “i can’t.”
perplexed, jimin blurts out, “why?! you’re the most suitable person for the job! and— and ms. bae wants you to!” what a silly girl, minjeong thinks, that jimin expects her to leave so easily.
“jimin— i-i can’t ,” she says, offering no explanation.
jimin frowns, “why? is something wrong?”
minjeong inhales sharply, breathing out deeply, “because i can’t leave you.”
the older girl’s expression instantly softens into one of sympathy before she sighs, “i don’t want you to leave either.”
they stare at each other in silence. minjeong leans her head against jimin’s shoulder, feeling every beat of her heart. she wonders if jimin can hear her heart racing too.
“minjeong, you should really accept it though,” jimin admits. rolling her eyes, minjeong digs fingernails into jimin’s other shoulder. the girl yelps but she doesn’t swat minjeong’s hand away.
“i told you i’m not accepting the offer.”
“but it’s all you’ve ever wanted,” jimin says, confused, as if she isn’t more important than a stupid job. minjeong resists the urge to sink her teeth straight into jimin’s skin.
you’re all i’ve ever wanted , minjeong thinks pitifully, feeling tears at the brink of falling. she shoves her head deeper into jimin’s neck.
“i don’t want it anymore,” she chooses to say instead. jimin looks down at her, “why not?”
a beat passes (four beats of minjeong’s heart).
she shyly turns up to face jimin, admiring the sharpness of her jawline for a second.
“jimin, are you kidding me? i only want you.”
instantly, jimin’s eyes turn into saucers as she gazes at minjeong. her previous motion of running her fingers through minjeong’s blonde hair stills.
“are you— you’re serious?” she whispers in disbelief. minjeong doesn’t bother hiding her smile of adoration, “of course, you idiot.”
“oh my gosh, minjeong— i… i can’t believe you— what the fuck?” jimin laughs tearily, “you feel the same?”
it seems that jimin’s always going to be her stupid assistant manager who has a listening problem. minjeong grasps jimin’s hand, directing it to her racing heart.
“can you feel it? can you feel how much i like you?” minjeong questions desperately. jimin nods fervently, smiling so wide all her pearly whites show, “i can.”
“don’t doubt my feelings for you, unnie.”
“sorry, it’s just, you did a whole one eighty. i mean, when i first arrived you barely looked at me. it’s giving me whiplash.”
minjeong winces at her past self, wondering how she still managed to capture jimin’s attention. she should apologise for that.
“i’m sorry for how i treated you when you first arrived,” minjeong groans, “i thought you were trying to steal my spot. that’s why i was such an asshole.”
jimin grins playfully, “can i tell you something? i think i fell for you the moment you scowled at me in the meeting room.”
“what? but i was so rude…”
shrugging, jimin laughs, “what can i say? i like a good challenge. and i told you i would gain your trust.”
minjeong nods, feeling a blush rise to her cheekbones.
“anyway… so, what are we now?” she asks.
“hm,” jimin hums thoughtfully, “we’re partners , aren’t we? well, we’ve always been partners.”
squinting her eyes, minjeong punches jimin’s collarbone gently, “you’re lame.”
jimin lets out another laugh before pulling minjeong closer to her body, whispering softly, “we can be whatever you want us to be, mindoongie.”
minjeong lifts her head up, wiping away the remnants of tears on jimin’s right cheek, “so we’re girlfriends?”
“of course, assistant manager kim.”
“i’ll beat your ass if you call me that again.”
“sorry, minjeong.”
—
from: [email protected]
subject: decision of design manager
dear ms. bae,
i would like to firstly thank you for the opportunity and all the kind words you have offered. i have grown under your mentorship and progressed greatly as a leader due to your guidance. however, i would like to stay as an assistant manager. throughout this year, i realised i still have much room for improvement in my current position. hence, i am deciding to remain as an assistant manager to learn more from others. again, thank you for the opportunity.
sincerely,
assistant manager kim