Start-Up

Fired

"I'm not going to the US. You can have that idiot manage the US branch if you want."

In-jae turned on her heel and stalked out of the boardroom, the door slamming behind her.

She heard her mother hurrying after her, calling out, "How could you throw a tantrum like that?! You worked so hard to grow the company! How could you? Do you feel free now?"

In-jae didn't turn back as she felt tears spring to her eyes. "No. I feel shitty," she wiped at her tears as she entered the elevator.

She walked out of the building and into the sunshine, and kept walking down the street aimlessly. She walked into a salon and got her hair chopped off, but she still didn't feel better. So she walked around again and soon found herself outside a bar, so she went in and ordered herself a drink.

One drink became two, then three, then four, until In-jae lost count of how much she'd had. All she knew was she felt shitty. And there was one thing she found herself doing when she felt bad.

In-jae reached for her phone and opened her email. "Got fired," she typed then sent to a familiar email address.

The email alert pinged on Ji-pyeong's computer. He was in the middle of typing a work email when the alert from his personal email came in. His eyes widened at the message, and he reached for his phone to dial her number.

"Hello--" Ji-pyeong checked his screen to make sure he dialed In-jae's number. Why was a man talking?

He put the phone back to his ear, "-- bartender. Is this your girlfriend? She passed out."

Ji-pyeong closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Where is she?"

He grabbed a pen and paper to write down the address, then shut down his computer and grabbed his things. "I need to step out," he told Park Dong-Chun before leaving.

Ji-pyeong peeled out of the parking lot and drove quickly to the bar, then found In-jae passed out at a table. "In-jae," he shook her gently, to no avail. Sighing, he took her things then carried her on his back and got her into his car.

As he drove, he realized he had no idea where she lived. So he had only one place where he could bring her.

He sighed as he drove home. For the entire drive and even as he carried her on his back up to his apartment, In-jae remained passed out. He carefully set her down on his bed, removed her shoes, then tucked her under the blanket. He smoothed her hair away from her face, and noticed for the first time that her hair was shorter. It looked good on her.

Ji-pyeong went to the window and began to draw the blinds, then paused to look at In-jae's sleeping figure. What the hell had happened that she ended up drinking in the middle of the day? How could she get fired when she was the CEO?

And why had she told him?

He shook his head. Of course he knew the answer to that. They had been doing it all these years, emailing each other about all their frustrations and misfortunes. But this time was different. This time, he wasn't just hunkering down in front of his computer to type out a reply. This time, he could actually be here to physically comfort her.

The idea scared him, but also strangely excited him. He'd had a taste of what it felt like to comfort her, to make her smile, and he liked it.

He took one last look at her before leaving the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

He might as well start making some hangover soup. In-jae was going to need it when she woke up.