"So, you're the Ara Rivera." The woman remarked and without introducing herself, I already recognized her.
"I'm Lee Seo hyun, PR and Media director at Nam-do, pleasure to finally meet you", she gave me a hug, which totally surprises me. She is pretty. Come to think of it, I remembered watching and liking her drama once, hmmm. Funny, how much I like her as an actress.
"Nice to meet you," I smiled. Of course, I know you, I mumbled at myself.
"And of course, you know Jae-woo…" Nan-do teases.
"Nice seeing you here…" I greeted. I can't understand why there's an animosity between us. His excited and warm welcome from last week is a total opposite of the apathetic and cold reception he's giving me right now.
"So, she's the Ara Rivera, we all know?" Nan-do started the conversation. But I'm still a bit confused.
As if they can read what I'm thinking.
"We apologize about what happened 3 years ago, we never get the chance to talk. We invited Jae-woo since he is still a partner in Namdo and he got curious about your proposal." Seo-hyun is the one who cleared the air.
I looked at Jae-woo with a smirk on his face. He's probably enjoying my awakward moment right now.
"That was water under the bridge now. No worries." I dismissed. They don't seem convince. "It's actually nice that he's here, so I can take advantage of the opportunity to talk to him about attending some NamEsis events," I answered nonchalantly.
I looked at him in recognition and also to start a conversation. "Your PR team cannot give a definite answer and I haven't heard from them yet." I informed. He doesn't look a bit concerned about what I'm talking though.
"They probably didn't hear any reply from my office yet…" stressing on the word reply. So, he has a problem with me.
"There's only 2 events I was interested, and it won't be until May, so I can wait for the reply. I'm looking for other opportunities as well if it's not suitable in your company to take me in." I answered offhandedly like it doesn't really matter.
"We invited you here to talk about the proposal. We have discussed about it," started Nan-do. He looked at Jae-woo, probably to ask if he still has something to say.
"Go on…" he signaled to Nan-do. I felt left out. This group have been friends long before they had that rough patch, and it shows how comfortable they are.
"Namdo is celebrating it's 15 years in 2 months. It will be a good start for you to get to know the company and to also observe firsthand how media and entertainment covers this sort of events," Nan-do continued.
"But I reviewed the proposal you made, isn't the purpose of an in-house researcher to be 'in-house'? My impression on your schedule is not really being in-house though, it's more like visiting, you just attend the events that you deem necessary on your research and not really staying in?" he butted in.
Whoa. He started talking like a businessman now, I don't know if I have to laugh or to take him seriously, I observe his reaction and he seems serious. They all look serious now. So, this is how serious discussion is with them.
"I put that clause in the proposal, since I am expecting to do most of the research in the company. In-house is not really the physical sense of staying in but rather of doing most of the research with Namdo. If you read the sub-section of that clause it also says about the duration of time that I will spend with the company." I explained.
"Anyway. We have prepared a weekly schedule for you at Namdo's and outlined the activities and events that you might try to attend. Seo-hyun will be your guide for those events and in the office, there are team leaders from each department who will discuss the weekly updates. Just check it if you have any suggestions or comments then we can forward the finalize copy later." Nan-do tried to break the awkwardness.
"Ok. So, you're not exclusively staying here but to attend events and activities that is connected with Namdo's?" he is still asking.
"That is the main point." I replied. I rummage through the documents in my bag to hand them the NDA that I have notarized with my lawyers.
"What's this?" Nan-do seemed surprise.
"That's for the NDA we talked about on our first meeting. I meant it when I said it," I smiled. The three of them look at each other.
"You really mean business. We never really thought about it," he smiled.
"That's all for this meeting… I will just brief Ara, she'll be with the PR team right after", Seo-hyun declared.
"Ok then, I'm also leaving, I have a meeting at 10", Jae-woo stood up first. He really seemed cold and distant. He just left without any other word to me.
"Let's go, Ara…someone must have woken up at the wrong side of the bed" Seo-hyun also noticed, she ushered me out of Nan-do's office.
"I already briefed the PR team about you, so they will be expecting you today…"
I was handed over to the PR department's Team Leader. Team Leader Lee Ki-jon is probably the same age as Nan-do and Jae-woo.
"You can ask me if you have anything in mind, also Chona, my assistant can understand basic English, you can also talk to her. We are told that you'll observe for now," the team Manager walk beside me as he is giving the information, he seems very friendly.
I was given the guidelines for the office. When they started the meeting and the team manager introduced me, everyone stared at me like a frog to be dissected on the lab table. They seem too interested to know me. I learned from Soo-ah that Koreans are very friendly towards foreigners because they are eager to learn about different cultures.
"But you don't look like Scandinavian…" someone remarked.
"I'm Asian, my family is from the Philippines. I am not Danish, just naturalized." I smiled; I don't want to go into details.
"Are you really a professor? Because you don't look like one…" another one asked. So, it's going to be about me today. I was warned that Korean are not shy into digging personal details
"I'm not. I'm a lecturer, a PhD fellow." I keep my answer short.
"How old are you? Aren't you young to be a PhD?" One guy seemed like he had developed a crush on me already. Korean's and their fascination of age.
"Probably older than you..." Most of them left out a gasped of surprise. Even the Team Manager seemed to be shock.
"It's very nice to meet you Miss Ara," everyone are all smiles.
"Thanks. Nice to meet all of you too."
"Since you are now part of the team, you are invited to the team dinner later. It will also be your welcome party." The team manager announced.
I agreed out of courtesy. I know that I might have to drink soju and beer but this Hweshik culture is also part of the research that I'm interested to dive-in. My PR experience today included gossiping about which celebrity the company is trying to sign, and which one is leaving the company, who is dating who and everything that an office atmosphere looks like.
I am relieved that today was just a casual meeting. I received a surprise message from him before we head out for the company dinner.