It was only her name, but enough to make her a blushing mess. "H-hi," Jiwoo answered, her voice suddenly in a higher pitch.
Hearing the familiar quiver in her friend's voice, which only happened with a certain someone, Gahyeon finally looked up from her phone. Sure enough, Park Sooyoung, Jiwoo's biggest crush, was before them. This was an opportunity to tease Jiwoo. One Gahyeon would never pass on. "Oh, hi, Sooyoung-unnie. We haven't seen you in a while."
Sooyoung switched her gaze from Jiwoo's to the part-timer and greeted her too. The trainee noted that her greeting was way less charming than when she'd directed it to Jiwoo's. "Hi, Gahyeon. You're right. It's been indeed a long time. Things have been really hectic lately."
Sooyoung was a regular customer of the restaurant. She'd discovered the place one day by pure chance. And It'd turned out she and Jiwoo had met prior, a chance encounter on one random night. Since then, Sooyoung just kept coming, and with each new visit, they grew closer.
More than just a crush, Jiwoo saw her as a true friend. Sooyoung was everything one could want in a friend. She was caring. Bringing small gifts for Jiwoo here and there and always asking if she'd eaten or slept enough.
She was also attentive. Listening carefully to whatever Jiwoo rambled about. She made an offhand comment about lacking a good coat for the winter once. The next day, Sooyoung showed up with a brand-new jacket for her, an expensive one at that. Jiwoo had been reluctant to accept at first but relented at Sooyoung's insistence. It remained Jiwoo's favorite clothing item.
Besides all that, Jiwoo just loved the way she made her feel; whenever Sooyoung was around, she always managed to make her smile and had that way of making her feel all warm inside. How could she not have a massive crush on her?
She, too, had noticed how, during the latest month, she'd shown up less and less to the restaurant. Going entire months without an appearance. "Oh right, you guys are going through the acquisition."
Jiwoo looked at Gahyeon, confused. "Acquisition?" While Gahyeon was always on top of rumors and the news, Jiwoo was more of the type to discover things last.
The youngest looked at her friend, not even surprised that she hadn't heard of the news despite it trending for weeks. Jiwoo was that type of person. "You haven't heard? Han Media and Entertainment bought Atypical. The acquisition was all over the news for a good month."
"Wait, what, when? Why didn't I hear about it."
Jiwoo saw Sooyoung's smile dip at the mention of the acquisition. The older woman furrowed her eyebrow as if thinking of something deeply unpleasant. Worried, Jiwoo asked her if everything was alright.
Sooyoung was quick to reassure her. "Everything is fine. Gahyeon is right. The magazine was acquired recently. We just recently moved to our new headquarters. That's why I wasn't able to come." For some reason, Jiwoo got the impression that Sooyoung wasn't too happy about the whole thing.
"So?" Gahyeon started, now that everyone was on the same page. "How is it working with Han Jinsol? I've heard that she's like cold and snobbish."
"Well-"
"You shouldn't talk behind someone's back. I'm certain that Miss. Han is a very pleasant woman." Before Sooyoung could respond, she was interrupted by Mrs. Seo, who had just joined them. She'd secretly been overhearing the conversation from the very beginning, unsurprisingly.
Mrs. Seo had been a fan of Han Jaehyung, ever since his news presenter days. She loved everything involving HM&E. She bought and read every article about them and almost exclusively consumed the content they produced. From their news channel to cooking shows, to dramas and artist signed under their subsidiaries.
Feeling absolutely clueless about the whole conversation, Jiwoo found herself, once again, asking for context. "Who is Han Jinsol? And why would she be snobbish?" But she figured it was a big deal when 3 pairs of eyes turned in her direction. The thing was that no matter how hard she tried, Jiwoo couldn't remember having ever heard of her.
Gahyeon, who really was reconsidering why she was still friends with someone as clueless as Jiwoo, was the one to pull her out of the dark. "The new editor-in-chief, and seemingly the daughter of HM&E's president. You've never heard of her?"
Jiwoo shook her head. She knew HM&E. Of course, she knew. Jiwoo watched most of their program and was a die-hard fan of Yoon Sora. She just never bothered checking their executive branch.
"She used to work for internationally well-known newspapers and magazines. And has been back in Korea since a few months ago. I didn't know she was set to work for Atypical." Mrs. Seo added.
The mention of the magazine brought them back to the original conversation, and both, Gahyeon and Mrs Seo's attention turned back to Sooyoung.
Sooyoung, for her part, didn't seem keen to broach the subject. Jiwoo noted that she looked uncomfortable more than anything.
"I would love to tell you all, but I was hoping to have a night where I didn't have to think about it." Sooyoung cut through their conversation, confirming Jiwoo's earlier hunch.
"Of course, of course." Jiwoo took that opportunity. Getting ahead of Gahyeong, who seemed to have even more inquiries about Sooyoung's situation. "We already annoyed you enough. I'm sure you're starving. Do you want the usual?"
Sooyoung shot her a grateful look and nodded. "Yes, thank you." Jiwoo was about to turn around to the kitchen when she felt a soft hand grab her wrist. She turned back to look at Sooyoung, her heart beating like it was on a bouncy castle. "And I don't mind you annoying me. Just seeing you already made my night so much better.
Jiwoo's face turned bright red. She was convinced her heart would burst right out of her chest, seeing how fast it went. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed Gahyeon making kissing gestures. Her friend was her biggest bully when it came to her love life.
Sooyoung retracted her hand, and the redhead felt like she could breathe again, although she missed the contact. Once her heart had calmed down and the order was passed, Sooyoung asked Jiwoo how her day went. The redhead used the opportunity to lament about her lack of luck with employment.
"I'm sure you nailed that interview. They'll definitely hire you." Sooyoung tried to cheer her up. For once, Jiwoo didn't think that Sooyoung was right. The day had been all-around a mess, so much that her hopes were crushed. But by then, she should have known that even the unluckiest of all sometimes hit the jackpot.