Chapter Seven #2
Timira is shocked to hear her own voice.
Why did I say it out loud? Argh, not again!
Taken aback, the visitor smiles nervously.
‘ Gamsahamnida ! Sorry, I mean, thank you,’ she stammers before continuing. ‘Are you sure there’s nothing I can do? They said I should help with whatever you need.’
Timira is still looking for her cigarettes.
‘Fine. Get me my cigarettes!’
‘Cigarettes?!’
The ponytailed girl seems a little unsure.
‘Um …’
‘FOUND THEM!’ Timira screams in delight from under the table where she’d crawled into during her emergency search mission.
The girl looks on curiously as Timira breaks into a little jig, looking lovingly at the cigarettes and caressing them like they were the object of her affection while humming Enrique’s ‘Escape’.
You can run
You can hide
But you can’t escape …
Timira picks up her tote and chucks the cigarette pack in. Walking up to the girl, she puts an arm around her shoulders.
‘Now, shall we get some coffee and get to know each other before I take you up on your offer?’
The young girl blushes a little. She tightens her hair tie and pats her skirt down.
‘There’s a café just a few blocks from here.’ It’s an international chain famous for its sugary, decadent iced frappes.
‘Ugh, no. There are too many of them back home. I’d like to try local roasters. There must be indie cafes here, no?’ Timira butts in before she can finish.
‘Yes, yes. Of course!’
‘That’s what I thought. I’ve heard so much about Korean coffee culture. In fact, there’s this café I kept seeing in a really popular drama my best friend got me hooked on to, Descendants of the Sun . Have you seen it?’
‘You mean the drama? Or the café?’
‘Both!’ Timira giggles.
Hanee isn’t the biggest K-drama fan and for the life of her, cannot seem to recall which café her boss is referring to.
‘Er, Seonbaenim . I saw the drama many years ago. I can’t quite recall the name of the coffee shop …’ Hanee speaks apologetically in a feeble voice.
‘Oh, chill, bubba! What do we have the Internet for? There’s got to be a Reddit thread on this! The world is full of K-dramaholics, I have come to realize.’
‘Dalkomm,’ Timira announces triumphantly after a quick search.
Hanee’s eyes light up almost immediately.
‘Ooh, they’re one of my favourite coffee chains. Excellent frappes, too. Seonbaenim, do you have a sweet tooth? They make terrific desserts!’
‘Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go! Vamos !’
Timira holds the girl’s arm and nearly pulls her along as she attempts to skip down the hallway, pinched feet notwithstanding, before halting abruptly. She turns towards her arm candy and announces innocently, ‘But I don’t even know your name!’
Flushed, the girl quickly shakes her arm free of Timira’s and bows nearly as low as they do in Korean telly dramas, Timira observes.
‘Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kim Hanee. I interned here at SecondSkin right after graduating from management school and have just been accepted as a permanent employee. Assisting you is my first proper job.’
Hanee speaks breathlessly, without pausing, in perfect, but the adorably accented English that Timira has already decided is the cutest she has ever heard.
‘I hope I can be useful to you. Please look after me and teach me,Seonbaenim!’
Whoa! This is exactly like in the dramas. Less introduction, more presentation. Wow!
Thrilled to have a cute-as-a-button and seemingly kind ally after her most recent brush with workplace toxicity, Timira looks at Hanee with mother-like adoration and taps her head lightly.
What a relief! These three months are going to be a breeze. I will not let Handsome Haneul win. No way!
Timira starts to walk again, a little absent-mindedly and half-wobbling because of the painful blisters. No surprise that she suddenly twists her ankle, loses her balance, and is only a split second away from losing to gravity when a pair of strong arms catches her.
Bracing for impact, Timira had shut her eyes. She can hear Hanee’s voice in the background and can still feel the strong arms around her. She opens her eyes slowly to look up at the person holding her.
She can’t see much because of the baseball hat hiding most of his face. His face is turned away from her as he asks someone for a chair.
She cranes her neck for a better look. The baseball hat now turns towards her and speaks in a familiar, low-pitched voice.
‘You okay?’
I know this voice. I know it! Wait, NO! I know this chin strap! NOOOOOOO!
She struggles to break free from the strong arms that are still holding on to her tightly and not showing any willingness to let go.
She grits her teeth and grunts into his ears.
‘LET. ME.GO. NOW!’
Timira’s saviour-turned-tormentor looks to be enjoying this and smiles wickedly before going dangerously close to her face and whispering.
‘Fancy seeing you here, clumsy clown!’
‘Don’t touch me!’
‘Okay okay, calm down. Not touching …’
With that, his arms give up their claim over Timira, who refuses his help to get up.
‘Are you all right,Seonbae? Are you hurt? Shall we go back in?’ Hanee asks her breathlessly after helping her up.
Timira doesn’t say a word. She grabs Hanee’s hand and drags her out.
Hanee turns to look at the unusually well-built man with a familiar face she tries hard but is unable to place.
He’s now surrounded by some of the office folks but is looking at Timira with a mischievous glint in his eyes and a wicked smile lurking around the corners of his mouth.
‘Hanee … can I call you Honey? Will that be okay? Or will your boyfriend mind? Oh, well, too bad if he does. Tell him you will be my Honey for the next three months.’
Looking and feeling confused, Hanee lets Timira lead the way down a street the latter has never before been on.
Lost in thought, she doesn’t realize that they aren’t walking anymore until she feels a tug. They are standing outside a bar/cafe and Timira is dragging her in.
But, this isn’t Dalkomm … Hanee thinks to herself.
‘Sorry, Honey. You will have to forget today’s lesson. Or not. Every experience is a lesson!’ Timira is surprised at her own wisdom and chuckles like only a father would at his dad joke.
Ordering a double cognac for herself, and an iced Americano for Hanee, Timira sighs deeply and wonders …
WHAT IS THAT CHEATING, LYING, DOUBLE-TIMING RODRIGO DOING AT MY WORKPLACE AGAIN?