Jinsol sighed before looking at her watch for the nth time in the last ten minutes. She'd been standing in the hallway for a while now. Waiting for an assistant who just didn't seem to want to show up. The editor-in-chief was questioned if entrusting Miss Kim was the right idea. The video and photography crew urgently needed new batteries stuck at the office. Since her secretary had stayed behind, Jinsol had called her to get them to the venue, but half an hour had passed, and still no trace of her. Jinsol was considering going back inside the fitting room when- "Jinsol-unnie, is that you?"
Dread filled her as she turned around to face who'd called her. Sure enough, there stood the happy little family: the twins and their exasperating mother. "What are you guys doing here?" She'd asked before she could think otherwise. Now that she'd spoken up, she wouldn't be able to just walk away.
"It's the last day of the fashion week, and this show was a headline. So, of course, we were invited." The boy twin answered.
"Although we didn't respect to see you here, unnie." The girl twin added. "But I'm happy to see you here. It's been a while."
A while it'd been indeed. Last time Jinsol saw them, they'd been like, what, six years old? They'd grown up to look more and more like their mother. Speaking of her. "I'm surprised to see you here, Jinsol. You didn't show up to my showing."
As if she would ever. Jinsol mustered her best fake smile and looked her stepmother in the eye. "I was swarmed with work. Another time, I guess." She answered diplomatically. Jinsol was looking for an opening to get out of this conversation altogether.
"When are you coming back home? You've been in Seoul for a while but haven't paid us a visit yet." Mini-Sora chimed in. Jinsol had no intention of ever entertaining the idea whatsoever. However, she guessed saying 'never' wasn't really an option. Fortunately, she didn't have to come up with something as their conversation got interrupted by the entrance of her secretary.
"Miss Han!" All four turned to see Jinsol's assistant run towards her. She stopped a few feet away from them, panting as she slowly regained her breath. "Sorry... my....bus... was.... a bit..." Miss Kim tried to speak in between gasps. However, she stopped abruptly once her eyes met Yoon Sora. "Is that..." Miss Kim seemed entirely in shock, as if she couldn't believe what, or rather who, stood before her. Her attention was now entirely on the older woman. "Oh my god!!!" The young secretary practically squealed so loud that Jinsol had to put her hands on her ears. "You...I..."
It was as if the mere sight of her had broken the redhead. Jinsol sighed once more. If she let things play out, she'd never get out of this. So, she did what she thought best: grabbed her buffering secretary by the shoulder and walked to where the rest were waiting on them. "I'll be in touch." She threw over her shoulder as she dragged the younger woman to another corridor.
Only once they were alone did her secretary seem to get back to her senses. "What was that?" Jinsol chastised her. "You made a complete fool of yourself and, by extension, me."
"Sorry," Miss Kim apologized. "It's just...I've been a fan of Yoon Sora all my life. She's kinda like a role model for me." She answered truthfully, blushing all the way.
"That woman? Really? You should find better role models. "
"Hey!" Miss Kim exclaimed, sounding every bit offended. "Yoon Sora is one of the most acclaimed actresses in the country. She's a legend. But then again, I doubt someone as uncultured as you know about talent."
"Uncultured? Me?" It was Jinsol's turn to feel offended.
"All I ever see you read are economist papers or Animal Planet magazine. I don't think I've ever caught you interested in anything else. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't know what K-drama is in vogue." Miss Kim kept on.
"What's so bad about Animal Planets? Besides, I know that woman better than you. She's my stepmother."
"Your stepmother?" That seemed to throw Miss Kim in for a loop as she repeated the phrase a few times.
Jinsol was confused at her reaction. "Don't tell me you didn't know. Her and my dad's wedding was all over the tabloid back then."
"I didn't. I was still young, and it never occurred to me to look who she was married to." Then, it was as if the redhead got a sudden realization. "Wait, so those two people that were with her. They're her...."
Jinsol nodded, already having figured out the other woman's train of thought. "They're her kids, my half-siblings."
"Half siblings? So you're, like, the oldest."
For a second, Jinsol didn't know how to respond. But she quickly regained her composure. "Yes. I'm my father's oldest child." Even after all these years, it still didn't feel any easier to say that.
"Weird." She turned back to the shorter woman, raising an eyebrow at her, ironically, weird statement. Miss Kim noticed the look she was giving her and quickly explained herself. "It's just.. you don't really give off oldest sister energy. I always thought you were more of a younger sister, if not the youngest." Jinsol stared up at her, not sure how to answer to that. The redhead seemed to interpret her silence negatively as she kept on in her word vomit. "Ah, don't take it the wrong way. I'm not an expert or anything. It's just...I'm an older sister myself. I have three younger brothers, so I kinda recognize the signs, I guess."
Jinsol just kept on staring at the younger woman as she dug herself further into a hole. All thought of seeing her stepmother or of being reminded of- She shook her head. It didn't matter. "You did it again." She finally said, cutting in the redhead's blabber. Miss Kim stopped, leaning her head to the side in confusion. "You spoke to me informally again." She elucidated.
While her secretary was damn good at her job, to the editor's misfortune, she still slipped into informal speech from time to time. Worst, Jinsol found that she didn't mind as much. It'd gotten to the point that she herself failed at times to notice that the younger woman was speaking so loosely with her.
"Sorry, I forgot, I guess."
"Whatever." Jinsol looked at her watch. "We should hurry up. They're waiting for us." Unconsciously, she grabbed the other woman and dragged her to one of the fitting rooms.