Work Text:
Yihak knew there were only so many ways to make money in the world. And by that, she meant that there were infinite amounts of ways, but only so many of them were worth her time and effort.
When she started working for Baekilmong, she could just work through Darknesses, scam her coworkers, and attempt to scam ghosts. She was fairly successful at it, but where was the fun in all of that?
Yihak didn't want to always work her ass off for chump change. She needed someone with big bucks. Someone with deep pockets.
Naturally, she looked to section chiefs. After digging up everything she could of them online, she gave up. All chiefs were insane or on the brink of a breakdown. Yihak wouldn't find anyone sustainable there.
She looked to the directors next. Well, after she attempted to make good with one of the researcher higher-ups, but he gave off perverted freak vibes, and Yihak needed someone who was more mellow.
Her only two options left after that were Ho Yuwon and Cheong Dallae, the directors for the company.
Yihak, as a small nobody in the company, knew it would be hard to meet them. They chose who they spoke to, not the other way around.
She had to create their own accidental meetings. Yihak scouted for a week, discovering where each of them liked to get their morning coffee.
Ho was a fickle man who actually got tea. How disgusting.
She bumped into him, made the man spill his drink down her abnormally translucent white shirt, and tried to charm him.
But Ho didn't react. He looked annoyed, didn't give her a second glance, and sent her off with a few bills to cover the cost of dry cleaning.
As if Yihak was ever going to wear this flimsy shirt again.
From that meeting, Yihak realized that Ho didn't like women—or at least, he didn't like Yihak, but she was generalizing it because meeting Ho up close really gave her closeted history teacher vibes—and decided to try to get Ho to buy an 'artisanal' tea that Yihak actually put together in the dorm.
Yihak had one final chance since Ho was a flop.
Cheong Dallae was the only one she could turn to. Yihak really needed a sugar mommy. She would do just about anything to have one.
Well.
Yihak did have standards. If Cheong didn't look nice or treated Yihak like shit, Yihak wasn't going to deal with it. She would find a new way to make money.
She was just a girl. A girl living in this harsh world out to get her. Have you fallen for her sob story yet?
Yihak strolled up to Cheong before the older woman paid for her coffee. Yihak wouldn't try the same trick twice. They stood in line together. Figured that Cheong liked a popular chain instead of a local shop.
Instead of dressing up in thin material, Yihak wore her standard clothes for work. It's just… they weren't put on her properly.
Yihak heard that Cheong was a bit of a hard ass and preferred neat appearances. Yihak hoped that wasn't true—she hoped Cheong liked making her partners worse or trying to make them better.
Maybe Cheong was a 'but I can fix them' kind of person.
Yihak couldn't be fixed, but she would enjoy watching Cheong try. As long as she got paid, she'd go along with it. She'd pretend to be the pampered, polite young woman that Cheong wanted by her side.
As soon as Yihak fell into line next to Cheong, the director glanced over at her.
Yihak pretended not to notice, adjusting her tie again for the nth time, grumbling about it under her breath, before concentrating and letting her tongue peek out through her lips.
She looked like a disaster. Her shirt was unbuttoned, her suit jacket was tucked over her arm, and her collar was misaligned and rumpled.
Yihak was practically screaming for a strong, patient older woman to take her under her wing to fix her up.
Cheong stared, and didn't turn away, so Yihak finally pretended to notice her.
"Ah, hello." Yihak bowed her head, pretending to be frazzled as she caught sight of the director's badge clipped to the pocket on Cheong's chest. "G– Good morning, director-nim!"
Cheong's lips pressed together. She seemed to be pushing back a smile.
Yihak smiled nervously, hurriedly brushing her hair back. Her hair was down, and she slipped a hair tie off of her wrist, and quickly pulled it back as if this is what she did every day.
Cheong's lips curled as Yihak did it all slowly yet quickly, accentuating certain moments while still appearing as if she was in a rush.
Once Yihak was done, she gave Cheong two thumbs up, and said, "It's amazing to meet you. Sorry that I'm– that I'm such a mess." Her voice squeaked, "I'm not normally like this!"
The director's lips spread into a calm smile. "I'm sure you're not," she agreed, but that twinkle in her eyes said otherwise.
Yihak patted down her shirt, and explained her disastrous morning to her boss. Cheong listened to it the entire time. Yihak got lost in her eyes just a little bit. They were such a pretty color.
By the time the line moved enough for them to reach the front, Cheong paid for Yihak's coffee as if it was the normal thing to do, and Yihak did what she had set out to do:
She blushed and stammered, and as they waited for their coffees to be ready, she said, "I– I don't really know how to repay you." Yihak brushed stray hairs behind her ear and looked up at Cheong innocently. "Sh– Should I— I'm just going to go for it."
Yihak stood up straight and pressed forward. Cheong's eyes didn't widen in surprise from the kiss. They creased further at the corners, like a cat who got the cream.