Fire & Silk

3. Senior Associate Myoui

"Good morning Miss Myoui."

   These words hung in the air in front of Jeongyeon as she stood inside of the training prosecutor's office. She couldn't believe that Mina was working here. She knew that J.Y. Park Law was one of the biggest law firms in Seoul, but there were others as well. SM Inc. seemed to be a better fit for Mina. Even Cube LLC or Pledis Law would have worked.

   "Miss Yoo? Did you hear what I said?" Nayeon tapped Jeongyeon on the shoulder and raised an eyebrow, looking at her a bit confused.

   Jeongyeon shook her head and apologized. "I'm sorry. I was a little lost in thought. The woman that we saw getting on the elevator earlier was someone I was close friends with at Yonsei University. I didn't think I'd see her again once we took the bar exam." Jeongyeon weakly smiled and turned towards what Nayeon was showing her, trying to forget the brief and unpleasant encounter she just had.

   Nayeon just shrugged it off and kept moving forward with their discussion, making sure that Jeongyeon knew how to properly use their paper and digital systems. Although it was 2023, President Park still liked to keep several things physically on file as well digitally.

   The day was filled with new information and by the end of it, Jeongyeon was afraid her head might explode if she was told anything else. She packed away her things and headed for the elevator with Nayeon, making casual conversation as they rode down together. The doors opened and the women got out, parting ways as they exited the building. It was 8pm and Seoul was busy. Jeongyeon always loved the city best at night. She felt bad that she'd kept Nayeon so long but she was happy that she was able to cover most of her first two days of training in one day.

   Jeongyeon stood at the bus stop and watched as people walked by, either going home to their loved ones or going out to enjoy the city. The bus eventually pulled up and Jeongyeon got on, securing a seat by the window. As the bus started to pull away, she saw Mina walking out of the building. Jeongyeon grimaced and closed her eyes, leaning her head back to rest against the seat. She almost forgot about Mina also working at J.Y. Park Law, but there she was again to remind her.

   The ride home always felt shorter so Jeongyeon made sure to keep a close eye out for her stop. She got off the bus and dragged herself into her apartment building, opting to take the elevator since she was even more exhausted from sitting on the bus. As she waited for the elevator, she checked her phone for any messages she missed while she was at work.

10:07 am | Jihyo: ㅠㅠ my manager's so mean
4:15 pm | Jihyo: I hope your day was better than mine. I can't wait to get home so I can take a bath
6:45 pm | Jihyo: you're still not home?? you better hurry up before I eat dinner without you!
6:46 pm | Jihyo: I'm just kidding. I would never do that.
8:45 | Jihyo: Yoo Jeongyeon you better have a good reason for your tardiness -_-+

   Jeongyeon read through all of Jihyo's text messages and slipped her phone back into her pocket, laughing to herself as she rode the elevator up to their floor. She unlocked the door and took her shoes off, finally putting a comfortable pair of slippers on. "Jihyo! I'm home from work!" She turned the corner to see Jihyo asleep at their kitchen table with cold ramen and pork belly. Now Jeongyeon felt really bad. Jihyo always took such good care of her even when she had a bad day. She gently shook the other woman's shoulder and jumped back when Jihyo woke with a start.

"You! Why are you so late! It's almost 9:15 pm!" Jihyo pouted and crossed her arms. Jeongyeon just looked at her and laughed a little. She tried to grab the food but Jihyo swatted her hands away. "No. You can't have any until I heat it up and you tell me how your day was." She got up suddenly and turned the stove on again, warming the food up for her friend.