Lip Balm | Wooyoung

1

Saturday

The buzzing of lights.

The humming of a printer.

The clicking of a mouse.

The ticking of a clock.

Park Hyunmi chews her mint gum in a bored manner, eyelids drooping while staring at the giant computer screen. 

Become a secretary they said, the money will make it worth the work they said.

Tired out of her mind, she swiftly slides her coat off. Her office is warm and cozy with a jasmine scented candle constantly alit, one spare one in her drawer. Her boss knows how much she loves the scent and gifts one to her for her birthday every year.

Today will mark her fourth birthday spent working at this computer manufacturing company. Over the years, she has learnt to numb herself of the excitement that birthdays used to bring. After starting a job that demands her to work six days a week, she is used to never celebrating anything anymore.

A yawn escapes her and she stares at the clock longingly. It's barely halfway through the day and she already wants to lie down. While others are spending their Saturday with their families or their partners at home, she's in an office typing up a report.

She takes a deep breath and soaks in the soothing scent of the jasmine. At least she'll have tomorrow off, though she needs to tutor some kids instead.

A break is something that Hyunmi is now unfamiliar with.

Her mind travels back to her only motivation: her sixteen year old sister, Somi. Even though she's eleven years older than her sister, her sister is the one who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. The treatment took a huge hit on her family's savings, and now what was once a well-off family is struggling financially. If their father didn't cheat on their mother and leave, then maybe things would be easier.

Hyunmi had been working for years already, but she started tutoring some school kids and managed to get more hours at work to provide for her family with even more. Hyunmi can't deny that she's constantly exhausted now and desperately needs a good rest but hey, at least her sister's treatment is going well and the doctors have said she'll be cured very soon.

Honestly her sister is a sensitive topic for her and she tries her best not to worry excessively about her, but it's difficult sometimes.

She shakes the thoughts off and continues to type. She's way too busy to be making herself sad again.

Hyunmi nearly jumps in her seat when the door to her office flies open and her boss walks in. He has got to stop doing that before she gets a heart attack one day.

"Is there something wrong, Mr. Kim?" she asks in a weary voice. She lifts her heavy eyes to his face and judging by his bright smile, she won't be hearing bad news anyway at least.

"I tell you this every time, call me Hongjoong!" he exclaims, shaking his head jokingly. Hyunmi giggles softly, still feeling too tired to engage with his jokes.

He excitedly pulls his arms from behind his back, revealing a small gift bag. Hyunmi widens her eyes despite knowing exactly what it is. In fact, she was just waiting for Hongjoong to come waltzing in.

"What is this?" She tries to force a surprised voice. Her gullible boss falls for it.

"I can't believe you can't guess already! Happy Birthday!" He reveals the jasmine scented candle from inside the bag. Although it's no surprise, Hyunmi happily takes it from his hands with a smile.