Distance Between Us

8.

Wonwoo stared up at the gigantic building in front of him, grey and dismal, with not a single glimmer of life exuding from it. He walked through the big glass front doors, towards the reception table where a woman with the name tag Nayeon was sitting behind it.

"Hi" Wonwoo said quietly.

"Hello!" Nayeon almost yelled but covered her mouth when she realised how loud she was being. "I'm so sorry it's my first day"

"Don't worry, it's mine too" Wonwoo smiled and Nayeon returned the gesture.

"How can I help?" She asked.

"I was told to come to reception to get an access pass to the floors that 'Atlantic' occupy in this building" Wonwoo responded, chewing on his lip nervously.

"Oh... okay!" Nayeon typed a few things into her computer quickly before her eyes widened in excitement. "Right here" she murmured to herself. "Name please?"

"Jeon Wonwoo"

"Okay Wonwoo, I just need ID and this access pass is all yours" she smiled up at him. Wonwoo fumbled, as he reached for his wallet in his back pocket, but he eventually pulled out his drivers license and handed it to her. Nayeon looked back and forth between him and the card, before she typed something in and gave it back. "Okay! Sorry... how many times have I said okay? Anyway, follow me Wonwoo"

Nayeon walked around her desk and towards the middle of the enormous lobby where all the elevators were situated. She pressed the up button and they patiently waited for one to come down.

Ding!

Nayeon held the door open.

"After you" She smiled and once Wonwoo was in she walked in too. "Okay so all you need to is tap the card on this black box and press whatever level you want, 'Atlantic' occupy floors 12 to 20, each one for a different department. Where do you need to go?"

"The Computer Science department please" Wonwoo watched as Nayeon hovered over each number, trying to remember which one it was. It seemed as if she had a sudden light bulb moment because she pressed 17 and sighed in relief.

"Thanks for being patient, most of the other office workers have been assholes" Nayeon said before slapping her mouth. "God that wasn't very professional" Wonwoo just chuckled in response.

"It's quite alright. Besides that has it been good?" Wonwoo asked.

"Yes there was this one guy who actually gave me coffee right before you came although he did have like 20 of them, I assume for some meeting?" Nayeon responded.

The doors opened to a large open floor plan with a modern style office look. The desks were close in a way where you could socialise yet not close enough where you would feel cramped, and there was a snack and coffee station around the corner. Floor to ceiling windows surrounded the entire level, showing off a picturesque view of the city and its skyline.

"The department head's office is on the left" Nayeon pointed and handed the access pass to Wonwoo. "Good luck" She smiled and waved at him before she stepped back into the elevator. Wonwoo nervously put the pass in his pocket and walked towards the manager's office. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and then brought his hand up to knock three times.

"Come in" a deep voice said. Wonwoo opened the door and was surprised to see a man who looked only a little bit older than him sitting behind a beautiful wooden desk with a computer, a pencil tin and picture frames. "Ah, you must be Jeon Wonwoo, I'm Hwang Minhyun, nice to meet you" He stood up and held his hand out with a small smile on his face. Wonwoo shook his hand and smiled back.