Next, Haneul picked up Jiwoo's file and started reading through it. "Kim Ji-woo, 24 years old. I see that you're from Suncheon- oh?" Jiwoo looked nervous as Haneul seemed stuck on a certain part of her resume. While there hadn't been any specification on the need for a degree, she still couldn't help but feel like her lack of a high school one might be too much.
By then, the young woman was accustomed to people disregarding her candidature because of it. They'll often question her, if not outright assume that she might have been a delinquent who got herself kicked out of school. Jiwoo braced herself for Haneul's inevitable inquiry, but to her surprise, the woman didn't mention it.
"I also see that you don't have a car or a driver's license, for that matter." She said instead, grimacing as if Jiwoo's lack of a driving license was the most outrageous part of the resume. Jiwoo let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and explained why it was better for everyone that she stayed off the road.
She remembered crashing their old farm's tractor when she was twelve. Her father always said that the day she'd get her driver's license, the world would come to an end. He'd come to that realization after trying to teach her. It was best that she stuck to public transport.
That little fact about her made Haneul smile. "I get you. I was also a disaster in the beginning. Still, it's unfortunate. But I guess you could always get your license later." Jiwoo winced at the thought of ever getting back behind the wheel.
Haneul continued her exploration of Jiwoo's profile. The next thing she wanted to see was the younger woman's past experiences. What she hadn't foreseen was that there would be so many.
"Oh, wow, you weren't kidding when you said you worked in many different sectors. It's written here that you helped on your family farm and worked quite a lot, both in Suncheon and Seoul. You worked at a slew of coffee shops, a baking company, a supermarket, babysitting, a library, an animal shelter, and an aquarium. Why are they so many? Did you really get kicked out of them all?"
"Uhm, for the babysitting and library, I ended up quitting. Overall, both didn't pay that well so-" Maybe she shouldn't have said that, but Jiwoo was concentrated on recalling the reason for each job and how they ultimately ended. The thing was that not even every one of them was on the list.
"For the animal shelter, turns out I'm ironically allergic to animal fur. What else? Oh, yeah. I almost drowned at the aquarium." Jiwoo blushed while saying it. This one was a little bit embarrassing. Jiwoo was an animal lover and was devastated that her allergies made working at the animal shelter a risk hazard.
So, imagine how happy she was when she got the chance to work for the aquarium. Unfortunately, she'd almost met her creator one day when feeding the orcas. To that day, Jiwoo still didn't know how she did it, but she managed to fall into the water. Moreover, she didn't know how to swim. That day Jiwoo had scared the living shit out of her colleagues.
"I may or may not have almost put the bakery on fire, and for the supermarket one, the manager was a literal creep." That supermarket had been the first job she'd landed in Seoul. She still remembers how the manager had been insistent that she only wore skirts to work and was convinced that he'd put spycams in the staff bathroom.
Haneul, for her part, couldn't take it anymore. After listening, with a straight face, to Jiwoo's misfortune with employment, she burst out laughing. A few customers across them glared in their direction, but the woman couldn't help herself.
Jiwoo wanted to sink into her chair. Her cheeks were red from embarrassment. After some time, Haneul's laughter slowly quietened down. Soon enough, she'd regained her composure. "Sorry, I shouldn't have laughed, but you're amusing."
Haneul focused her attention back on her resume, looking at the most recent entry. "And what about your last job, the coffee shop? What happened with that one?" Quickly, Haneul saw Jiwoo's expression shift. She scowled as she recounted her altercation with a particularly haughty client.
Jiwoo still clearly remembered the scene despite it being already months later. A coffee stain was all it had taken to send that woman berserk. She'd apologized at first, but blondie kept on going.
Any other day, Jiwoo would have swallowed her pride, but that week hadn't been kind to her, so she'd gone off on the customer. She told Haneul as much. "I can see how I was in the wrong, but in the end, all I did was stand up for myself."
Jiwoo feared after her recounting that by being honest about what happened, Haneul would Judge her for her bad temper, but the woman didn't look judgemental at all. She mostly seemed to understand where Jiwoo was coming from.
However, Jiwoo could see something beyond that look of understanding, and as a knowing smile spread across the older woman's lips, she asked her about it. "Oh, it's nothing. I was thinking about a good friend of mine."
It picked Jiwoo's curiosity. "Actually, can I ask something?" She asked.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Why are we having the interview in a coffee shop? Now that I think about it, it was all really cryptic, all my friend told me was that it was for a position as secretary but I don't even know for what company I'll be working. Is it to be your assistant?"
Haneul shook her head. "You're actually the last candidate, and since you're referred to me by an acquaintance, I thought we could do it here instead of a more formal place. And, no, I'm only doing a favor for my friend. She's the one looking for someone."
Jiwoo had hoped that Haneul was the one she'd be working for. The woman was such a nice person; the younger woman could tell that working for someone like her would be amazing.
At Jiwoo's dejected expression, the older woman tried to reassure her. "Don't worry. My friend can come out a bit cold, but really she's not that bad. I'm sure you two would go along." Her words helped raise Jiwoo's mood. "Well, now that I've answered your question, should we continue with the interview?"