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Flabbergasted.
That was an understatement. Bewilderment, perhaps, apprehension, for all that matters. Go Yeongeun willed herself to hold her smile steady. Letting the grip of her hands tighten ever so slightly over the coffee she had yet to draw a sip. It acted as reassurance, an anchor, the moral ground she could afford between the masses of ridicule staining the tips of her tongue. She had to hold back, she reasons, she's now a spy, and a spy was meant to be spying—not disrespecting, especially not before her superior.
But how could she keep her silence?
"The world, the faintest glint of hope, rests between your shoulders."
How could she stop herself from asking anyway, "My throat?"
"Hm, that is quite an insightful observation. It is your heart, sweetheart."
"Please refrain from such a nickname, Director Ho."
The man, a gentleman, for what patience Go Yeongeun could have left would refer to, only responded with a smile. Wide, joyful, reaching his eyes in familiarity of subtle wrinkles and a bright row of teeth. He tilted his head in askance, paltry reenactment of oblivion, while Go Yeongeun had to pour in a generous amount of self-restraint to not deliver a punch straight to this man's cervix right there and then.
"You are the lantern of my vision, how could I bear the sight of your presence being held lower than the sweetheart that you are? Surely, sweetheart, you have done nothing but brilliance—and as fitting, it should not go unpaid."
Director Ho Yuwon placed a solemn hand on his chest, eyes brimming with pity and conviction she could not care less the source of. "This world, despite the useless skunks littering and shitting the earth in filth, is reliant on your role as their hope. Only then, we could retain any last shred of humanity and preserve our glory."
Okay, but why?
Is what Go Yeongeun would have asked if she were not in her right mind. Truly, she could not comprehend her superior's motivation and reason for conduct, at all. So in the end, she let it go by smiling wider, unsuspecting, like she's glad to have a director who goes so far as to shower her in nonsense and bullshit.
"I am graced with your expectations, Director Ho, but may I inquire you on what you could require of me for this summons?"
That. At last. Finally, for all the good and the bad, did he shut his mouth after rambling about world peace for two hours. He pulled something from his chest pocket, and for a brief moment Go Yeongeun fears whatever problem it would posed on her. A small, rectangular silver casing, with golden ribbons and sparkling glitter. He handed it over to her all too naturally, a smile never leaving his face.
"Your birthday present. A token of my will."
He said simply. As if he's not the same man who holds power over her life—and her goal— as if she would not be set aflame had she taken a misstep in her approach. She's not surprised to see he's aware of her birthday, no, what surprised her was why he cares enough to indulge in these otherwise superficial sentiments. Her coffee had gone cold, and she, stiffly seated and high alert, took a deep breath. She placed it down, and in the end did not take a single sip, resorting to swallowing her own saliva in hope for replacement.
Go Yeongeun accepted the supposedly gift for her birthday. Wary, and weary, imagining what would happen to her after this meeting. What else could she reply with aside from deep bows and thank you? She excuses herself with an uneasy heart, hand clamped closed around the small gift.
She opened the gift only deep at night that day in the privacy of her room, doubtful, but determined to bring this ordeal to an end. And she—
"… Why?"
It was beautiful earrings, of course, she could see it was made with great materials. She could not make sense of why it was the way it was.
Fluffy pom poms, little ears peeking through, all pink and sparkling. The earrings were cutiful. And to know it was gifted by the man who's anything but, only made her frown grow deeper.
What the hell.