She received an answer from Haneul a week later. So much time had passed that Jiwoo was certain she'd been ruled out, and the woman had simply forgotten to send her her rejection letter. So imagine her surprise when Haneul called her at midnight to inform her she'd been chosen.
At some point in their conversation, Jiwoo shared her worries and how she was sure she'd been rejected.
"Oh, no. You were my first choice from our first meeting."
"Then why the week-long wait? If can ask."
"I had to do a background check on you first." Haneul's answer caught Jiwoo off-guard. 'Backgtoundcheck?' what kind of company did she sign up for, where they do a background check on their employee? 'Was like in the movie where they hire detectives to spy on you?' Jiwoo thought as her mind unraveled at the information.
As if sensing her train of thought from the other end of the line, Haneul spoke again. "Don't worry, it was nothing too invasive. I just take the safety of my friend really at heart. Wouldn't want to hire a serial killer and get her killed."
Jiwoo let out an awkward laugh at the joke? Sometimes. Miss Im could have a really particular sense of humor. But at least the conversation was back to its original, more relaxed tone. And just like during their interview, they quickly fell into easy conversation.
******
Jiwoo stood outside Han Meia and Entertainment headquarters two weeks later, completely lost. She'd followed the instruction Haneul sent her, but she still couldn't believe her eyes. Armed with the badge, she took a deep breath and walked in. The place was gigantic.
Disoriented, she walked to the reception, hoping they would be able to show her the way to her destination. She was really starting to wonder what she got herself into when, out of nowhere, someone called her.
"Jiwoo?!" the red-headed turned around faster than humanly possible. She could recognize that melodious voice among a thousand.
"Sooyoung-unnie!" She stated, dumbfounded, having completely forgotten that Sooyoung now worked for HM&E.
"What are you doing here?" Sooyoung asked, but before Jiwoo could answer, the receptionist called for her.
"You have to head to block C, seventh floor." She wanted to ask for better instruction as she had no clue on where to even find block C. Fortunately, Sooyoung stepped in like the night in shining armor she was.
"Where are you headed? Maybe I can help you." Jiwoo relaid the location she'd been given, and If she wasn't so confused herself, she would have laughed. Sooyoung's face was almost comical. Her eyes almost doubled in size. "Are you sure you?" Jiwoo nodded, not fully understanding her reaction. "Jiwoo, this is where Atypical is."
Oh, she hadn't expected that. Nothing could have prepared her for that. Jiwoo was starting to wonder if it wasn't some kind of prank. After all, the whole high-paying job with no prerequisite looked too good to be true.
Realizing that staying in the main hall wouldn't help much, the two women decided it was better to head there and see if things would clear up.
Once the right block and floor reached, Sooyoung introduced her to the premises. Atypical occupied the floor alone. Compared to the other magazines of its caliber, the crew was pretty small. And so early in the morning, the place was mostly empty.
Sooyoung showed her where her office stood. The plaque in front of the office took Jiwoo's attention. 'senior editor' was marked in bold. She turned to Sooyoung, eyes beaming with pride. "I didn't know they made you executive editor."
Sooyoung looked a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, that was Lucy's idea. I'm still not used to it, to be honest."
"Well, I'm sure you're amazing at it." Jiwoo shared truthfully. Since knowing the older woman, she wasn't sure there was something Sooyoung couldn't do.
Sooyoung blushed at the onslaught of praise coming from the redhead and turned around as if to hide it. "Thank you. Do you want to peek inside?" Jiwoo was quick to agree.
Despite all the craziness of the day, the redhead was happy to see the brunette's work environment. It made her feel slightly closer to Sooyoung. Everything was neatly organized and labeled. It fitted her friend. She could almost imagine her sitting behind her desk and writing articles or whatever it was executive directors did.
They soon exited the place, and Jiwoo was so enraptured in their conversation she didn't notice someone walking behind them as she took a few steps back. The collision was inevitable.
Jiwoo lost her balance and hit the floor. She growled and put one hand behind her head, massaging the sore spot. It wasn't until she opened her eyes that she realized the position she was in. Somehow in her fall, she'd taken the stranger with her. Stranger who'd end up on top of her.
Jiwoo found herself staring at two worry-filled eyes of a woman. "Are you alright?" A soft voice asked her. And for a moment, Jiwoo couldn't help but think she was beautiful. Like Sooyoung level beautiful. The woman seemed weirdly familiar, but Jiwoo couldn't put her finger on it.
But soon, the stranger's expression shifted from worry to confusion, to her analyzing Jiwoo as if she'd had the same realization as the redhead. The answer hit them both simultaneously. "YOU!" They let out in unison, scurrying away from each other.
By then, Sooyoung was by Jiwoo's side, helping her upright. The woman's hair wasn't blonde anymore, but Jiwoo knew she was the one from the coffee shop. The one that got her fired. Looking at the aftermath of their collision, Jiwoo noticed that the blonde's beige coat had a big coffee stain. As for her phone, which she was seemingly holding before the collision, was on the floor, with a visible crack on the screen.
The not-so-stranger stood up and looked at the damage before turning her gaze back to Jiwoo. "Again? What the fuck are you doing here." At a loss for words, Jiwoo could only gape at the absurdity of it all. Why was this woman here?
"Jinsol, you could've waited for me." The three women turned to where the voice had come from.
"Miss. Im?!" Jiwoo called out. Somehow, seeing Haneul was the least surprising out of this entire day.
"Ho, Jiwoo. Glad to see that you made it."
The woman, apparently named Jinsol, looked from Jiwoo to Haneul, beyond confused. "What are you talking about?"
"I already informed you that your secretary was starting today."
Jinsol looked like she was going to have a stroke. "She's my what." As for Jiwoo, she thought her hearing was malfunctioning because there was no way.
Haneul sighed and stepped in between them. She pointed to Jinsol. "Han Jinsol," And then to Jiwoo. "Kim Jiwoo. From now on, Mss. Kim will be your secretary."