What never should've happened.

Monday

Monday…

You woke up at six a.m. even when you didn't have to be at work until nine. You decided to blow dry your hair, which wasn't something you usually did, but the stakes were higher here. Korean women always looked their best, and you weren't used to that.

So, in order to make a good first impression now that you were here for more than a month, you decided to at least make an effort. Blow dried hair, a tiny bit of mascara and tinted lip balm, just enough that you would look put up but not so much that you would lose your essence. The days when you would get dolled up for someone other than yourself were long gone.

Huang picked you up at a quarter past eight, and you headed for the office.

"Remind me to leave earlier tomorrow. I couldn't find a coffee grinder at the store yesterday and so I have no way to brew coffee at home. I'm going to need to buy coffee at the shop around the corner from the building for a few days;" you said as you unbuckled your seatbelt after Huang parked in what would eventually be your assigned spot.

"I can go get you whatever you want, though if things haven't changed, you're up for two shots of espresso in the morning and the occasional mocha in the afternoon. I have to admit, even I have fallen prey to those." You sighed and put a hand to your chest, smirking while you looked at him as you walked, "a man after my own heart!"

"Don't worry, Huangssi, I really don't want to be late today. I'll just come down and get it on my break. I already know that a/c will be in full blast up there, and I'll be freezing by eleven."  By then, you had reached the lobby and were headed towards the automated doors. You put your badge to the reader, and they opened.

"You just want to increase the chances of seeing one of your idols, don't you?" You laughed. You couldn't deny that the fact that your office building was three buildings down from the new Hybe building was one of the most exciting things about the job, but you had learned not to hope. In the five years you had been taking work trips here, you had only ever crossed paths with Hoshi, once, when he had been taking a walk down to a convenience store the previous year. So you weren't hoping for anything.

The click of heels and the sight of suits and ties brought you back to your senses. This was nothing like Silicon Valley, where you used to work in jeans and a nice top with comfortable shoes. The "business in jeans" concept hadn't really reached Korea yet. "I'm definitely not in Kansas anymore, hu?" You asked quietly.

"Kansas? When did you ever live in Kansas?" A confused Huang said, "Ah, my little millennial padawan, you have much to learn." That earned you a glare, and you both headed up to the 14th floor.

The office they assigned you this time around was definitely an upgrade from the one you got when you came for short periods of time. It had a huge mahogany desk with the latest laptop on it, your own mini fridge stocked with your favorite soft drinks and water, a small sitting area with two couches and a chair, a cute plant, a water fountain, a big glass board with a complete stash of dry-erase markers (someone had definitely remembered you preferred to work out your ideas on a board), but the best part was…the view. The view from your office was amazing.

You snapped a picture and sent it to Lena with the caption, "I'd say I'm missing S.V. …but not really. Miss you, though, " and you finished it with a winky emoji as you sat on your plush leather chair.

Before having gone to your office you went to your boss's office where he essentially hammered out some details, you had already been briefed before leaving the States and you knew what you had to do and what was expected of you: nothing but the best.

What you definitely didn't expect was to be told that, for some unforeseen circumstances, your assistant hadn't been hired yet. This struck you as odd, but you put a pin on it as something you definitely needed to tackle here, the HR department. While yes, you were in charge of logistics, logistics applied to every single area of the company and if this branch hadn't been able to summon one assistant for you in the three months it took for you to finally arrive? Boy, were they in trouble.

After booting up your computer, you began to work. A new schedule, a list of managers you needed to meet with, a thorough comprehensive tour of the marketing department and most importantly, a due diligence of the shipping department.

Before you knew it, eleven thirty rolled around - together with a cracking of your spine after sitting almost completely still for two hours-. You took a swig from your two liter water bottle and decided to go use the bathroom and then head down to the cafe next door to get your espresso.

Little did you know, your life in Korea was just about to start.

A.N.: I know this has been slow, but I needed to build up the background. Hopefully, things will start picking up from here.