The company cafeteria was buzzing with people which made it difficult for Miss Lee and her entourage to find a vacant table at first. Delighted at the possibility of skipping the lunch altogether, Min Hyun was about to excuse himself and get back to the office, when Mr. Woo grabbed him lightly by the shoulder and gestured to his right.
"Oh, people are leaving that one! Let's go before someone else sits there."
He waved at Miss Lee, then almost pushed Min Hyun down onto the chair, and said,
"Miss Lee and I will get the food and you just sit here and make sure no one steals it from us, okay?"
The intern nodded and let out a loud sigh when Mr. Woo joined the line next to the counter.
'I don't feel like eating this crap... This is so fucking annoying.'
"Excuse me, are you alone at this table?"
Min Hyun raised his head to the sound of an unfamiliar female voice and saw a rather young-looking woman standing next to him with a cafeteria tray that only had a green salad and a bottle of sparkling water on it. He did not recognize her but he also did not really care if he did. The girl kept staring at him with big questioning eyes as if she had no intention to leave before she heard at least some kind of a reply from him, thus, Min Hyun had no other choice but to humor her.
"No, I'm here with my colleagues, they're waiting in line."
He threw a quick gesture that was supposed to indicate his colleagues' location and looked at the girl again. She looked at the moving line next to the counter and suddenly brightened up.
"Oh, are you here with Miss Lee from the Account Management department?"
"Yes."
"I know her! We're good friends. I guess I can join you then, she won't mind."
She fell onto the chair on the opposite side of the table and smiled both with her lips and her eyes. The guy watched her pour the dressing into her salad and could not help but feel even more annoyed.
'What the fuck is this fascination with Miss Lee in this company? Is she the office pimp or something?'
And just when he finished that thought, a tray full of food was placed right in front of him, and Miss Lee almost shrieked right next to his ear,
"Hwang Na Ra! Long time no see! Have you just returned from your vacation?"
Na Ra nodded her head at both Miss Lee and Mr. Woo who were now sitting next to Min Hyun and smiled.
"Yeah, I visited my parents on Jeju Island, brought a lot of tangerines with me so you should expect a delivery soon."
Miss Lee clasped her hands in an obviously staged excitement and turned her face to the intern.
"Na Ra's parents have a farm on Jeju Island, every time she visits them, they pack her suitcase with fruit, they belong to the group of people who don't believe in long-distance delivery."
She then widened her eyes and let out an awkward laugh.
"Oh my! Lee Min Hyun, this is Hwang Na Ra from the Marketing department, we went to college together. Na Ra, this is Lee Min Hyun, our new intern."
Na Ra smiled and bowed her head slightly, fixing her shoulder-length brown hair as it fell past her face. She was pretty, that kind of pretty that was no longer extraordinary - smooth ivory skin with an artificial hint of pink on her cheeks, professionally dyed and styled hair that never grew past tender shoulders, thin, elegant but always starving body, wrapped in a pastel dress. Subtle movements, fake, polite smiles that never show one's teeth, a gentle hand that covers a mouth when it opens to laugh... Those women were everywhere, if one were to blur out their faces, one might say they're just one person dressed in different outfits. Miss Yoon was one of those women with one huge difference - while those women did their best to mix that disguise with their real selves, Miss Yoon used it merely as armor. And she hated putting it on.
Having noticed Min Hyun's indifference toward her friend, Miss Lee cleared her throat with a slight cough, then looked right into his face, and smiled again.
"Min Hyun! You know how people in our company love to gather for mixer parties, right?"
The intern nodded, barely paying any attention to her words. She continued,
"Well, I was thinking... Would you like to join us for the next one?"
She narrowed her eyes like a curious cat while watching his reaction. Min Hyun fidgeted with his fork for a few seconds then raised his head and noticed three pairs of eyes observing him with utmost curiosity. The answer was obvious - he did not want to join Miss Lee's matchmaking party, just thinking about mingling and trying to catch somebody's attention made him sick, thus, he brushed his hair back with a rather tired gesture and sighed.
"I don't know, Miss Lee. Is there a reason I should go?"
Those coincidences are rather hard to predict - perhaps it has something to do with the timing, or maybe with the natural flow of events, but it really felt like Miss Lee had planned everything beforehand like some kind of a perverted diety.
"I thought it would be good for you, after all, you're still new to this company and it looks like the only person you're socializing with is Miss Yoon Se Ah. Speaking of which!"
She leaned forward and asked unexpectedly loudly,
"Miss Yoon! Are you joining our next mixer?"
As if hit in the head with something cold and heavy, Min Hyun turned his head to his left and noticed Miss Yoon standing next to their table with a black cafeteria tray in her hands. Se Ah threw a quick look at him but then swiftly moved her gaze to Miss Lee, and nodded.
"Yeah, I have already responded to your e-vite. I thought you knew."
Miss Lee looked sideways trying to catch Min Hyun's reaction, then smiled back at Miss Yoon and waved her right hand.
"I did, just confirming! Okay, Yoon Se Ah's first company mixer, how exciting!"
Lee Min Hyun glued his eyes on Se Ah's expressionless face while Miss Lee kept spewing some nonsense about booking a place and ordering drinks, the couple of seconds the two of them spent looking into each other's eyes felt like an eternity. He clenched his fists under the table and felt unpleasant trembling spreading all the way up to his shoulders.
'Whys is she going? Is it over?'
He could not help thinking the worst, at that very moment he could not help loathing her, and when the swift wave of rage that washed his heart like acid finally died down, Min Hyun looked right into Na Ra's face and proclaimed in a clear voice,
"I'll... be there too."