Heaven's Demon - Purinz

II. Hajoon's (a) Headache

"No, Mom, that's not what I said."

Yunjin grits her teeth and holds back a sigh that hangs in her throat as her words go unacknowledged, quickly switching the phone from one shoulder to the other to instead focus on pulling open the door of the breakroom microwave. The rich smell of spices and sweet chilis greet her nose, filling her chest with a soothing kind of warmth on her midday break.

Is she a bit of a dick for heating up something so fragrant at work? Yes. But considering the kind of day she's been having along with everything going on in the office at any given moment, she decides her perfectly normal, if not slightly pungent smelling lunch is more than acceptable.

People will just have to get over it.

Half-listening to the words filtering in through the speaker pressed to her ear, Yunjin mindlessly stirs her food without retaining a single word as she waits for her turn to speak again.

She lets her thoughts drift to that morning, absently licking at her lips and tasting the memory of sugary sweet frosting with just a bite of bitter chocolate.

A bubble of familiar unease rises in her chest, a cloying sort of wariness mixed with a tingling sensation of want. It's these quiet moments of reflection that always leave Yunjin feeling weaker, these lingering seconds of solitude from the prying eyes of her coworkers when hastily repressed thoughts once again flash through her head.

There's just something about the new layer that doesn't sit right in her chest. An indefinable something that causes the hairs on Yunjin's neck to stand at attention.

She's too charming. Too smooth, and entirely too sure of herself, Yunjin having seen her fair share of unwarrantedly inflated egos and self-confidence to notice the difference. Chaewon never, not once, ever seems to falter in her stride. Not a word or a single step that's anything short of perfection in the eyes of her coworkers.

At least that's what Yunjin has been forced to file in Chaewon's quarter year employee evaluation earlier that day, having slammed the filing cabinet shut just a little more violently than necessary after reading it.

But it's also in these quiet little moments that Yunjin's mind wanders towards some of its most dangerous recesses. Thoughts she resolutely railed against with every ounce of her better judgment.

Because so what if Chaewon always smells like some sort of rich spicy incense? Or the fact that, when she concentrates, her lips annoyingly fall into a perfect bee-stung sort of pout?

So what if Chaewon's skin always has a slight glow to it, the kind that makes her seem young and bright, yet effortlessly timeless all at once? Who cares if the pencil skirts she wears hug the curve of her hips in ways that make Yunjin rethink every item in her wardrobe? Or if suits look just as sinfully good on her trim frame?

None of that matters.

Chaewon can't be trusted.

Sucking in a quick breath, Yunjin blinks out of the haze of her mind at that sobering thought as the voice in her ear grows louder.

"Yunjin!"

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm here, Mom. Calm down."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Of course I am," she lies seamlessly.

"This is exactly what I said would happen. You never listen. If you're having problems-"

"What? I'm not having problems," she hurriedly corrects with as little annoyance as possible, stomach feeling in knots at where her thoughts had treacherously been heading. "That's not what I said. I said things are just weird right now at work. I'm busy and getting used to the bigger office. I can handle it."