Ye-Jun was in the meeting room with that nasty girlfriend of his. He could see steam and smoke coming out of Mi-Ok's nostrils—like a trapped dragon ready to burn the office down.
At least she was silent.
His plan had backfired. He had underestimated how crazy Mi-Ok was. Ye-Jun knew she would get jealous and confront the intern. He had calculated that she would threaten her.
Mi-Ok never hesitated to use her connections to solve problems. The CEO of their Group was a close acquaintance of hers and was always trying to take her aboard. One call from her and the intern would be gone.
But no.
That stupid girl decided to take matters into her own hands—literally.
First, she started swearing, after he had told her countless times not to do that in front of him. He had no tolerance for vulgarities — maybe 'fuck' was an exception.
He credited that to his mother, who was always correcting him when he'd let a bad word or two slip out, words he'd picked up at school. While growing up he had many reasons to swear, but he tried to keep everything in his mind. He had manners; he was raised like that.
Mi-Ok's nature was so aggressive, she couldn't control her actions or her mouth. And here they were. She said the wrong words and the intern responded.
She turned out to be quite feisty and wasn't going to let Mi-Ok treat her like that. He couldn't blame her, but that also blew up his plan.
Oh! And the fact that the girl actually spoke Korean. It was a shock. And totally his mistake.
But the fact itself was strange. Why did she speak the language? And quite well, in fact. That wasn't medium-level fluency. She must have been studying for years. Ending up in Seoul wasn't random. He made a mental note to add this detail to his list of evidence against her.
His master plan had turned into a disaster, and now he was picking up his phone, dialing Chloe to come and pick up the mess they made.
"Yes, Ye-Jun?" Chloe said when she picked up.
He kept his voice even' "Hey Chloe. There was an incident at the office".
"Please explain" Chloe said. She sounded calm, but her voice was just a half-octave higher than usual.
"Mi-Ok got in a fight with that intern you brought us" he said shortly.
There was a short silence. "How bad was it?" she finally asked.
"Bad. I had to... break them up" he replied.
"We'll be right there" Chloe said, and the line went dead.
Both their managers were on their way. Mi-Ok was silently looking at her hands. He opted to stare at the wall. After just a few minutes, Mr. Chung stormed into the meeting room.
"Miss Ha! Are you ok?" he asked.
You should be worrying about the rest of us, not her.
"Oooooh... No! I am not ok! EVERYBODY here wants to hurt me!" Mi-Ok whined, being unnecessarily dramatic.
"My dear Miss Ha. I am here now. Everything will be ok" Mr. Chung reassured her.
And that is the joke of the day!
"What can YOU do for me? You are a powerless old man!" Mi-Ok protested.
Ye-Jun felt bad for the guy. He was indeed powerless, a senior manager a couple of years away from retirement. Being the only one who could keep up with Mi-Ok was his last chance to create a star. But he didn't deserve this.
Ye-Jun wasn't sure if he felt bad for him because he accepted that behavior, or because Mr. Chung underestimated himself so much.
"Miss Ha, nobody here wants to hurt you. We are all friends" Mr. Chung tried again to calm her.
"No! I am telling you! Nobody respects me! Him included!" Mi-Ok said, pointing at Ye-Jun.
It was time to start yelling at him. He struggled to keep silent. He was already in trouble; he would try to minimize the upcoming chastisement.
"Mr. Yeong cares very much about the two of you. He is genuinely taking care of you all the time" Mr. Chung explained.
I am, of course I am!
But that comment only made Mi-Ok begin faking sobs, hiding her face in her palms. She had told him she wanted to try acting. She was still far from that goal.
The door opened again, and luckily, Chloe was finally there.
"Mi-Ok? Honey? Why are you crying?" Chloe asked, simultaneously casting an examining look at Ye-Jun.
Always ready to judge. Don't you know judging isn't productive?
"Chloe... Why..? Is it true? You brought her here?" she asked, raising her eyes. They were red and watery.
What has she dropped in them?
"Who, dear?" Chloe pretended not to understand.
"The intern!" Mi-Ok clarified.
"Noelle? Yes, I did. Why?" Chloe asked.
"Why? Why bring another girl close to him? A girl that will study him? Why don't you think of me?" Mi-Ok complained.
"Honey, this has nothing to do with you or him. It is strictly my business, and please respect my decisions. Both of you" Chloe said strictly.
"But..." Mi-Ok started.
"No buts. I think what is more important is to let us know what happened" Chloe said, looking at both of them.
Who would be the one to spit everything out? They both seemed reluctant. But Ye-Jun knew the first one to talk would be more easily forgiven.
"She told the intern to leave. Then she swore. Then… she grabbed her, and... I had to stop it" he said, telling the long story short.
Chloe shook her head. "Details. Please" she commanded.
Ye-Jun had to narrate everything. Mi-Ok didn't bother to intervene.
"And all that in broad daylight through the glass walls of this office. Mr. Chung, I hope there's no leak" Chloe said when he was done.
Mi-Ok started shifting in her chair. "I was provoked. I am not crazy! He lied to me! And she claimed that she would do whatever she wanted with him without asking me!" she yelled.
"Mi-Ok, you need to relax, darling. Ye-Jun is your boyfriend, period. Everyone knows that and that only. Who comes into this office and what they do with Ye-Jun is not your concern. Don't misinterpret things" Chloe explained.
"I am not misinterpreting anything! There is something wrong with her!" Mi-Ok insisted.
"Listen. You are upset. Please go home and relax. Then reflect on what you should be worrying about. Afterwards, start preparing for that surprise appearance you're working on. All right?" Chloe said, leaving little room for a reaction.
Mi-Ok lowered her eyes but kept her head high. "Mr. Chung, it's time for us to go" she said. Mr. Chung rushed to her side and extended his arm to help her up. "Chloe, Ye-Jun" she said without looking at them and walked out.
"Good afternoon..." Mr. Chung said, running after her.
Chloe stood by the door and ensured that they left the office. Then, the smile on her face vanished. She closed the door and looked at him menacingly.
"And now… The two of us".