Chapter Eight #6
Look at those stupid bangs! Will it be weird if I were to tuck them behind her ears?
MUST STOP BEFORE I DO SOMETHING STUPID. Why is it so difficult to look into her eyes?
! Perhaps I ought to man up and spend some time with her.
After all, I am entirely responsible for her being here.
There’s nothing immoral about it—I’m only a boss trying to make a new employee feel at home.
Welcomed, yes! Geurae, I’ll get the team together for welcome drinks …
wonder why she hasn’t recognized me yet.
Should I confess instead? Won’t it be weird when she finds out?
And find out she definitely will. Gah, I’m such a creep!
No, no, I must tell her soon. Why am I even hiding it?
If anything at all, I’m a terrific scout!
Okay, yes, let me tell her at the welcome party …
or, maybe, right after … argh, why does it feel like I’m about to gobaek? !
Meanwhile, Timira has been passionately pushing for ambassadorship options other than Rodrigo.
She has mentioned an Olympic gold medallist archer and a star high-jumper.
There’s also a figure skater on her list. Everybody seems surprised at her level of preparation and her obvious disapproval of Rodrigo.
But not Haneul. Mesmerized by her small mouth and bewitched by her dimples, his gaze has been fixed on her and yet he hasn’t heard a word of what she has said so far.
‘… this is 2024, c’mon! Most assumptions and pre-conceived notions about women have been proven wrong.
Every day we learn something new. I’m the last person to believe in clichés—I mean, as a single woman in her late thirties, I should know a thing or two about clichés and how utterly untrue most are!
And, yet, there are some truths that are undeniable.
So, when I say that almost everything unsavoury we hear about popular male athletes is probably true, I really do mean it. ’
I REALLY don’t. There are lots of wonderful male athletes across the world, in every discipline.
It was just my sodding luck that I crossed paths with a rotten specimen.
And now he’s threatening to ruin whatever little peace that’s left in my life.
I will not let him! If that means having to come across as a man-hating loony, I don’t care!
Timira continues to speak breathlessly and passionately. ‘It’s unfortunate that even in this day and age, one should have to fight blatant misogyny, but it is the truth. And I speak from experience. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not a man-hater. I love men! I really do!’
Yeh kya bol rahi hoon? My mouth really IS going to be the end of me!
Hanee looks away, silently questioning her boss’s sanity yet again. Mr Choi shifts uncomfortably in his seat. Stephanie looks like she’s about to burst out laughing.
And Haneul is looking at her with adoring eyes, wearing an amused smile.
What a nutter! Every time she opens her mouth, some rubbish or the other comes out. And yet, why does it sound like music to my ears?
Taking a deep breath, Timira regains her composure and continues her tirade.
‘This isn’t a bra-burning, man-hating point of view, please don’t get me wrong.
But having worked with famous international athletes throughout my career, I can say this with some confidence that high levels of testosterone are, almost always, trouble.
In any case, there’s nothing more clichéd than a man endorsing a menswear brand.
Even from a marketing point of view, would it not be a lot more groundbreaking to have a woman be the face of the brand?
Aren’t we all moving towards a world that is becoming less binary with each passing day? ’
Timira looks at Hanee for support but she’s scribbling in her notepad with such concentration that it looks like she’s writing her A-levels.
‘Seems like you’ve been on the receiving end of their bad behaviour.
I feel bad for you, Ms Marak. Since you said that you speak from experience, I wonder if some of it might have been your fault?
Perhaps you got too involved? We all know that boundaries must be maintained at all times, even when working closely …
’ Stephanie Jung is in no mood to let some newbie ruin her pet project.
Aware that Timira and Rodrigo had worked together at the same club, she is now even more curious to learn what’s making Timira so desperately try to discard Rodrigo.
Especially since Rodrigo had specially mentioned her when they met.
Smart and qualified, Stephanie is known to be equally ruthless in the boardroom and the bedroom.
Born into a middle-class family of working parents and married into one of Korea’s richest jolbu families, it is an open secret that she had banished her husband—whom she had met during her modelling days and later quit the industry to go to business school with and eventually married—to the guest cottage of their home since finding out that he had cheated on her and tried to blame it on her busy career and his resulting loneliness.
There were whispers everywhere.
‘Why is she continuing to live with him?’
‘Why hasn’t she moved out?’
‘Why hasn’t she divorced him?’
‘Why is she working at a start-up?’
Questions that largely remained unanswered. Unaffected by people’s curiosity, Stephanie has continued to do what she’s good at. Working hard and helping SecondSkin grow since joining the company a year back.
Timira has by now heard enough about Stephanie from Hanee and Mr Choi to know that she isn’t going to back down.
Especially given the fact that she and Rodrigo are acquainted with each other.
In fact, it was she who Rodrigo had come to the office to meet when he and Timira had bumped into each other.
I wonder if Rod is into witchcraft. How does he charm all these strong women? Why is she going on a limb here trying to sign him? Aisa kya jadoo has he done on her? That’s how he charmed me also, pucca!
Sensing trouble, SecondSkin’s troubleshooter Nick Carter intervenes.
‘I understand your concern, Ms Jung, but I don’t appreciate the insinuation …
may I remind you this is a boardroom and not a ladies’ parlour?
Might be wise to take a break here. Let’s grab some coffee, take a walk, get a little fresh air in, and come back refreshed in about an hour?
Daepyonim, would that be all right? Haneul-ssi? ’
Haneul, although physically present, is mentally now elsewhere. Someplace familiar next to the sea. With a familiar face wearing her hair in familiar space buns.
Timira fishes out a pack of mints from her pants’ pocket and pops one inside her mouth. The familiar fragrance of Timira’s minty breath makes Haneul smile cheerfully.
So I have to contend with a little competition. What’s the big deal there?
Everybody is ready to leave and is waiting for Haneul’s response. But he can only smile giddily and bury his face inside his hands like little girls do when their oppa crushes catch them lurking at their baseball practice.
Sensing an opportunity, Hanee slips out quietly. Clutching her phone close to her chest, she makes a dash for the elevator as soon as she’s out of the room. The crisp autumn breeze pinches her cold face so she slaps it a few times.
‘ Michhyeosseo ! Michigesseo jinja ! Aaishh [This is crazy! I’m about to go crazy, really! Damn!] How could I let this happen?’
She continues to slap herself, alternating between her cheeks and forehead.
Once satisfied she’s punished herself enough, she walks towards the railing and sits next to it.
Taking her phone out, she switches it on.
Opening her photo gallery, she scrolls through and smiles at the screen.
A photo of Timira smiling absent-mindedly, twirling a lock of hair around her index finger, looking out of the window inside her cabin, glowing in the warmth of the soft September sun.
* * *
As the mercury has started to dip, Seoul’s infamous dry air is starting to gain in confidence. It takes special delight in troubling hapless visitors who have never before known anything quite like it.
Running her tongue over her mouth as the crisp breeze kisses her chapped lips, Timira shivers inside her stylish, oversized blazer that has been doing a rather shoddy job of keeping her warm.
In desperate need of lip balm, she pats her pockets again, this time to check if there’s some on her.
Not finding any, she settles for a hemp cigarette instead, plugging in her AirPods and putting a call through.
* * *
‘Uh, Mr Choi, dangshin ara Timira-ssi eodi issneunji [Do you know where Timira is]?’
Haneul has been looking for Timira everywhere. Finding her cabin vacant, he had lurked outside the ladies’ room for a few minutes before the wide-eyed stares finally got to him and he was forced to beat a hasty retreat. Panting, he has burst into Choi’s cabin to enquire about Timira’s whereabouts.
‘Why, I think I saw her walk towards the smoking zone. It’s strange, though. She never smells of cigarette smoke and yet I’ve seen her in the smoking area quite a few times. I wonder what she sm … Daepyonim!!!’
Before Mr Choi can finish his sentence expressing concern over what is inside Timira’s cigarettes, Haneul is out in a flash.
He’s now walking towards the smoking area, which is nothing but a little section of the sprawling balcony that opens up to the bustling neighbourhood of Cheongdam and entices (along with the most enticing CEO) nearly every hopeful job aspirant who visits the SecondSkin office.
Timira’s shoulders, accentuated by the pads in her blazer, are swinging wildly as her arms make circles in the air.
Her hair is scrunched up in a small, messy bun held together by a pen she has used like a binyeo .
Haneul smiles like an adoring new groom and hastens his pace.