Serial Flaker

Awkward Kisses and Manic Mondays

This Taylor Swift gif is here for a reason, I promise. Read on to find out more! 

It was a little slick from the fried chicken grease, dusted with a little leftover breading, with a hint of bitterness from the beer. In ordinary circumstances Josh would never so much as even consider kissing a beautiful girl he just met given such unromantic conditions, but at the time he felt he had no choice.

"The owner's daughter has this weird...infatuation with me," he blurts out when he and Mia are back in the elevator of their apartment building. It's the first words he's managed to say after the awkward, bordering-on-inappropriate kiss. "I haven't been to that place in months, because it's just weird to see her hovering around me all the time."

To his surprise, Mia looks more amused than angry. "That makes sense. But I guess I won't ever be allowed in there anymore huh? Because now I'm your accomplice?"

Before Josh could feel like a total jerk, Mia's already waving her hand, as if to dismiss his thoughts. "Don't worry about it. I'll think of something. Like maybe I'll tell her you broke up with me on a post-it the next time I order chicken and beer.

"Maybe I'll a cry a bit. Maybe I'll cry A LOT."

Josh can only look at her in disbelief as she visibly gets excited by her own scheme.

"MAYBE I'll put on a lot of makeup, then cry a lot. Any girl with some semblance of a soul will feel bad for another girl with runny mascara."

She glances at him and winks mischievously. Josh can't seem to think of anything to say, completely surprised at how this conversation is going. He was expecting to get a slap on his face, or at the very least the silent treatment. Has it been so long since he's spoken to a girl that they've somehow evolved to become these beings he completely doesn't recognize?

The elevator bell dings on his floor. As the doors open, he feels weird to just step out and leave without saying anything else, so he wracks his brain to try and think of something.

"I'm...really sorry."

Mia laughs that loud laugh again. "Don't worry about it! Now we're even." Her smiling eyes are almost teasing. "Actually, we're not even. Now I owe you dinner. I was supposed to pay, remember?"

After the kiss, Josh just wanted to get out of that restaurant as fast as he could, he swiftly paid for their meal and left.

"See you next time then? Maybe somewhere where the owner's daughter doesn't have the hots for you."

*****

Mia's Monday is manic beyond that 80's song. On top of her already massive to-do list, she's just been asked to join a meeting for a pitch their agency is preparing for.

Worse still, she realizes upon entering the boardroom that the meeting is being led by her colleague and almost-something Joon Kim.

Joon Kim is a Taylor Swift song personified: good melody, really popular, girls like it a lot, but those are all just nice gift wrapping around a really horrible – not to mention embarrassing – lapse in judgment. A lapse in judgment Mia has been unfortunately guilty of.

In her defense, it was an easy mistake to make. She caught Joon's eye after a brilliant presentation for a beer brand campaign, the tagline of which she came up with herself, much to her superiors' praise. In the same week she impressed everyone, Joon included, with her karaoke rendition of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" at the company party. "An incredible show of unfounded self-confidence", as described by one of her close colleagues, pretty much summed up her performance.

Joon was totally amused and somehow smitten. He didn't waste any time before trying to get Mia's attention. Of course, like a lot of girls at the office, Mia had always noticed him. It was hard not to – he dressed well, carried himself with confidence, had a mega-watt smile and perfect hair. Mia was not immune to his dashing good looks and debonair ways, but eventually, she kind of wished she was.

They flirted, then dated, then nothing. Like the illegal streaming of the latest Game of Thrones episode, the calls and messages just stopped. There were no more invites to lunch outs or to drinks at the pub after work. Mia had been preparing for the weekend trips to his country house and the Sunday brunches with their parents, instead she got zero replies to her messages and her calls went straight to voicemail.

Of course, because they did work in the same office, there were other, more straightforward ways to confront him, an idea her friends had been against ("it's already obvious he's ghosting you, do you really need to embarrass yourself further?"). She had prepped herself for the confrontation all day, but her plans were thwarted at the sight of Joon flirting with the week-old interns by the water cooler. Yes, interns. Plural.

So that was the end of the whole Joon Kim debacle. Thankfully Mia has not needed to work with him ever since, until today. She tries to go unnoticed as she slides into a chair while Joon briefs the team on their next steps. Joon had something else in mind entirely.

"Finally, our ace has decided to grace us with her presence!"

Mia should've known this would happen. She's one of the best copywriters at their agency, but she's junior enough that Joon can still bully her into doing as many all-nighters as it takes to get the job done and the presentation just perfect. And in as much as Joon gets easily distracted by the next new intern when it comes to his romantic pursuits, he's laser-focused and single-minded when it comes to his career. There's no one else he'd want on his team than Mia if he wants to win.

Mia tries to act nonchalant and listens with only muted interest throughout the entire meeting. The brand they'll be working on is exciting and right up her ally, and within a few minutes of the meeting she's already come up with a number of campaign ideas in her head. But she's not about to show her excitement only so that Joon can take advantage of it. Although of course, she's unable to stop Joon from attempting to get on her good side with his charm.

"I'm so thrilled I'll be working with you on this," he whispers, casually putting his arm around her as they walk out of the boardroom after the meeting. "It's the only reason I said yes to it. You know I already have a lot on my plate as it is, but when they said they were putting you in my team, I immediately said I'd do it."

"Good to know." Mia has to keep herself from rolling her eyes at him.

Joon walks her back to her desk. "But you seemed a little distracted at the meeting. Is there anything going on? Anyone on your mind?"

Here's another thing about Joon Kim – he has this way of smiling sweetly, looking into a girl's eyes and asking her a question about herself that makes it entirely convincing that he's genuinely interested in her and is willing to listen.

Mia knows it's a party trick, a tool, a weapon - and she knows better than to fall for it. "No one that should concern you," she answers as she settles on her desk. She swivels her chair around to face him, a sweet smile on her face. "I promise."

Joon Kim might have had the upper hand last time, but like Taylor Swift in all her songs, Mia plans to end up on top this time around.