Noelle was sitting on her small couch, in her tiny apartment. She wore her pajamas and drank a cup of hot chocolate. The weather was warm, but she needed a little bit of comfort.
Why did you have to react like that?
Ye-Jun was very protective of his career and his privacy, Chloe had explained. She never considered an intern as someone who could get involved with either, but he had a different opinion.
"Will I be dismissed?" she had asked Chloe. She was worried she couldn't finish her final thesis. She could change the subject, but she was sure she would excel in this one.
She knew everything about him. He was her obsession, even if she wouldn't admit it to herself.
Chloe had reassured her that that was out of the question.
But her bigger concern was something else.
Will I be able to know you? Will I be able to be close to you?
She never knew exactly what she expected to get out of meeting him. She was attracted to him, but for God's sake! They were two strangers. He didn't know her, and she didn't know the real him. She was smart enough to know a public figure isn't always genuine.
Yeong Ye-Jun had something special about him. She wasn't sure what it was and she wanted to find out.
Noelle got up and started preparing with one percent of the excitement she'd had the day before. She didn't pay much attention to what she wore. She brushed her long hair into a low ponytail, just to be done with it. She put on some make-up, just to look a little less wrecked. Dragging her feet, she crawled out of her apartment door.
She was the first to arrive at the office and sat at her assigned desk, next to Mi-Suk and facing Chloe's office. She opened her laptop, needing a distraction, and pulled up her thesis plan. Noelle was checking paragraph 2.1. 'Celebrity as a Brand: Exploring existing theories on celebrity endorsements, brand identity, and brand personality' when Chloe entered the room.
"Eager to start writing already? Good morning!" she said, seeing the screen.
"Oh, hello! Yeah, I should be quick, in case I'm asked to leave early" Noelle responded.
"I told you yesterday! You are spending three months here, and you are writing the best paper" Chloe reassured her. "We have a lot of work to do, as I will be leaving for a couple of days". Noelle smiled as Chloe walked to her office. She was her rock.
"Hi Noelle!" Mi-Suk said cheerfully, waving at Chloe. The flat hello Noelle mumbled didn't satisfy Mi-Suk. "Still concerned?" she asked.
Noelle just nodded.
"Well, let's focus your mind on something else! Let me settle in, and we will start training!" Mi-Suk suggested. Noelle relaxed a bit. Everybody seemed to be on her side.
Time passed quickly during her training, and soon it was lunch break. "Mi-Suk, can I take a cup of instant ramen from the cupboard? The one you showed me yesterday?" Noelle asked.
"Of course, honey! Take as many as you like. If you wait fifteen minutes, I can join you" Mi-Suk answered.
"No, don't worry. Take your time. I want to check my messages" Noelle lied. Everyone who would send her messages was still asleep thousands of kilometers away. She just wanted to be alone, to clear her mind and recharge.
Mi-Suk smiled. "Ok then. Remember where the rest room is?" she asked.
Noelle reassured her that she did and went to take a cup. There were five different flavours; she picked the plainest one. She wasn't looking for anything spicy.
She left the office and reached the floor's rest room. It was early, and the room was empty. Great! It wasn't very big, just three small tables and a counter facing a bright window with high stools. She prepared her instant meal, took her cup, and sat on a stool, waiting for it to cool.
The view was not exceptional, unlike the view from Chloe's office. The kitchen was on the back, and all she could see were the buildings opposite. A small opening on the left side of the window frame showed the avenue. She moved forward to watch the cars passing. It was more interesting than the shut windows of the buildings across from her.
"Anything interesting down there?" a voice asked in English.
She shivered. She wished she could command her heart and the rhythm that it was beating. That particular voice was a melody...
It can't be. I have to be mistaken…
Noelle wasn't wrong. When she turned around, there he was.
The K-pop star who had captivated her seven years ago.
The actor whose every series and movie she'd watched over and over.
The celebrity whose social media feeds she craved.
The artist in whose office she was an intern.
The man she had met by accident the previous day.
Yeong Ye-Jun shouldn't be there. He shouldn't be walking into this rest room. And he certainly shouldn't be talking to her.
There is hope after all...
"Hello" she said, the moment she regained control of her voice.
"Sorry. Did I scare you? Again?" Yeong Ye-Jun asked.
"No. I was just... waiting" she replied.
"Waiting for... someone?" he pressed.
She blinked, feeling her face heat with a flush. "Um... Mi-Suk? She said she would come?" she said, sounding more like a question.
"Are you asking me? I haven't seen her yet" he replied, a flat note in his voice.
She found herself blinking again. "No! It was a statement" she clarified, forcing a smile.
"I see. I was passing by and dropped in for a glass of water. I saw you here and thought it was a good opportunity to explain a few things" he explained.
Oh! He wants to talk with me?
Had he calmed down? A fragile flicker of hope sparked within her. She couldn't stop admiring his flawless English accent. He was born and raised in the US, after all. Was now the time to reveal she could speak Korean? She decided not to complicate things. "Sure" she responded.
"I guess Chloe explained why I was... surprised yesterday. I treasure my work and my personal life, and I want to be around people I know and trust. I don't know you, and that is why you make me uncomfortable" he said, his tone serious.
"I understand" she replied. And she did. Noelle could completely understand his anxiety. Balancing being a celebrity and being oneself cannot be easy.
"Good. So you will also understand my next request. I'll cut right to the chase. To keep everything functioning the way it has for years, you should... leave" Yeong Ye-Jun said.
That wasn't a request. It was an order.
And it was the one thing Noelle could not do.
She had planned for over three years.
It was the one and only target she had ever set.
She could let down her professor.
She was out of time.
But most of all, this was her only opportunity to be close to him.
Her mind buzzed with a million reasons, freezing her in place, rendering her unable to form a meaningful response. "Why...?" was all she could manage.
"You said you understood. I don't trust you, so you need to get out" he explained, as if to a child.
Noelle should have been prepared for this, but she had ignored all the signs. In a moment, her entire plan was crumbling, and the one holding the wrecking ball was the very person she was here for.
Of course, there was a huge gap in his understanding. He had no idea. Nobody did. Absolutely no-one.
Maybe that was why this desperation felt so suffocating. Until now, everything had gone smoothly. But she was facing her first major obstacle—one she hadn't foreseen—with no one to turn to.
"Of course I understand, but if you got to know me..." she suggested, in a last, desperate attempt.
"No. I don't want to know you. I don't care a bit" Yeong Ye-Jun said.
The words felt like a stab to her heart. A complete rejection. Her eyebrows furrowed and she bit her lower lip before she could stop herself.
Where was the kind, polite, carefree man from yesterday? The one with the bright smile?
Hurt but struggling to make a sense out of it, she tried another idea. "Then don't get to know me. I just work with Chloe. There's no reason to worry" she said, trying to sound reassuring.
But the glint in his eyes told her she wasn't getting through.
"It doesn't matter who you work with. Since you have the nerve to deal with me directly, you are unwanted" he said.
That sounded like an insult. It was official. The man she met yesterday was a persona. Here stood the true Yeong Ye-Jun: arrogant, crude, and determined to make her feel small.
If this is who he really is, then I have nothing left to hope for.
"That's not fair. I have an arrangement" Noelle said, a hot sense of injustice rising in her chest.
"Why should I care about your arrangements? Mine are far more important. I'm doing you a favor by asking you politely to remove yourself. I could just go to the president and have you kicked out" he continued, openly know threatening her.
Noelle had had enough. The man whom she came here to meet was nowhere to be found. She had her dignity and that she would defend to the end.
"Then why don't you?" she shot back, not hiding her annoyance. "Go upstairs, knock on the CEO's door, and get me fired."
Yeong Ye-Jun blinked, anger flashing in his eyes. "Don't test me. I will do it" he said.
"I'm not testing you. Go ahead. Right now". She felt her narrowed eyes spark with a fire she hadn't known she possessed.
He was surprised, but hid it well, covering it with a low chuckle. "You've got spirit, I'll give you that. But are you sure you know what you're doing? I am the biggest hit in this company. Maybe the biggest in the country. I could squeeze you like an ant".
"You can't squeeze an ant" she retorted without thinking, saying something that she normally shouldn't know.
Shit, I shouldn't have said that...
She quickly regained control over her expression. "And you can't ask any favors from the CEO. He's been quite pissed at you for the past two years for rejecting those international tours. So, I think I'm safe from your threats!".
She couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. A flame had sparked in her heart, and she was ready to burn down anything that stood in her way. She had hoped for a treasure but found a disappointment. Fine. She would, at the very least, save her thesis.
He gasped. "I see you know some things after all. Should I blame Chloe for that, or have you already done your homework? You took some wrong decisions today. You must have also heard that I'm stubborn and resourceful. I am about to unleash a weapon that you can't imagine. Are you sure you can handle it?" he asked, squinting his eyes, trying to intimidate her further.
"Bring it on. I'm not going anywhere". Noelle said, the defiance now flowing freely.
"Wait and see. You'll regret going up against me. You should have run when you had the chance". With that final threat, Yeong Ye-Jun turned and walked away.
She watched him until he disappeared from the rest area. Her heart was pounding frantically, her breathing heavy. She had just quarreled with and openly challenged Yeong Ye-Jun.
Let's see who will be the last one standing...