elevator | michaeng

001

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chaeyoung tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the elevator to arrive. her job interview wasn't for a little while, but she wanted to show up early to give a good impression.

finally, after what felt like hours, the elevator door opened after chaeyoung must've pressed the button atleast 10 times. when she stepped inside, that's when she noticed there was another woman in the elevator with her. the woman was dressed in a fancy suit, her dark hair tied in a neat low ponytail. chaeyoung pressed the "20" button once inside, as the boss's office was on the 20th floor.

that's when the woman spoke up, "are you here for the job interview?"

"o-oh, yeah, i am... are you?" chaeyoung replied, a bit startled by the sudden small talk. usually, in places like these, people don't do that. most of them walk around with an 'idgaf-leave-me-alone' attitude as it's a fast-paced, busy environment. half the time, the people you would meet inside elevators would be busy on the phone or literally completing paperwork right there. it was a refreshing change.

the woman only nodded with a small smile.

as the elevator got closer to their destination, chaeyoung started to feel a bit nervous. it was difficult to actually get jobs in this environment. the one she was applying for, is usually granted to people with lots of experience, not a newbie like her.

but suddenly, the elevator began to lose speed, soon slowing to a stop. "shit.." chaeyoung mumbled, frantically looking around as if she would find something to make the elevator go again. however, she didn't notice how the woman next to her remained calm— which was probably the best thing to do in this situation.

the woman pressed the emergency button. "hey... why are you so worried? the elevator will get fixed soon, it happens sometimes." she said reassuringly. "b-but.. i-i'll be late if-"

"no? the-"

"and you too! a-aren't you here for the interview aswell? so— oh my god this is so bad..." chaeyoung abruptly cut the woman off, though unintentionally. her rambling was cut short by the gentle placement of the woman's hand on chaeyoung's shoulder.

with wide eyes, she stared up at the woman, who she now noticed was quite a bit taller than her. "the interviews don't start for another 30 minutes... and that's just if you're first in line. don't worry so much." the woman stated with a light smile.

"oh..." chaeyoung let out a nervous giggle, placing her hand on the back of her neck, a little bit embarrassed at her unnecessary panic. "...sorry."

after about 2 minutes of silence, chaeyoung spoke again. "so... what's your name?" she asked hesitantly, not sure of how else to start a conversation— if the woman was even interested in having one...

well, it's worth a try, right?

the woman didn't respond right away, and just looked to chaeyoung. chaeyoung immediately got worried by the lack of an answer, even though it had really been a normal amount of time before someone might respond to a question. oh no.. did i offend her?! she internally panicked. within half a second of asking for the woman's name, she backpedaled, "i- i mean- you don't have to tell me... i was just wondering!" she blurted out in an attempt to save herself.

"sharon."

chaeyoung let out a small sigh of relief, knowing that the woman—

knowing that sharon wasn't mad at her.

"are you american?" she asked after a moment, finally processing the information and realizing that sharon was a foreign name.

"i was born there." sharon said after nodding. "i'm son chaeyoung, by the way." chaeyoung said as she crouched down to get more comfortable, being mindful to not ruin her clothing.

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