얼음꽃 (Frost Flower)

Chapter Sixteen

Sitting in her car in the parking lot, Yoona pulled down the vanity mirror swiftly, checking her features to make sure she looked okay.

Somehow she felt different that day, a little under the weather perhaps. There was a tiny prickle in her throat and her nose felt stuffy. The journey to work had not been smooth considering how she could barely keep her eyes open because her eyelids felt like they weighed ten times heavier.

All in all, she felt terrible. Patting her cheeks briefly, she tried to shake her head clear of that annoying throbbing before stepping out of the car.

The office seemed much colder that day, and the girl snuggled further into her quilted jacket as soon as she settled down at her desk. All of a sudden she felt a familiar tickle in her nostrils.

Knowing she was going to start sneezing, she reached for the tissue box and drew a couple of sheets to press against her nose. Sure enough, she soon doubled over in a sneezing fit so bad she hardly heard someone approaching. When the sneezes eventually stopped, her eyes were watery and she felt worse than before.

“Yoona-ssi! Are you alright?!”

“Hey, Hyomin… I’m fine… it’s just a little… ah, ah…” Burying her nose into the tissues once more, she expelled a couple more muffled sneezes.

“Oh my gosh, you’re ill!” The girl’s voice went up a few octaves in her anxiousness, “Are you sure you’ll be alright?! Do you want to go home and get some rest instead?” She rubbed a hand up and down Yoona’s back rapidly.

“Ahem,” A voice halted the two, “Is there a problem?”

“Miss Jung!” Hyomin executed a precise right-angled bow at the sight of the superior, who nodded in response.

“Morning, Miss Jung…” Yoona greeted weakly. Her nose had grown slightly pink from the intense sneezes. She had no idea what had caused the sudden sneeze attack but she did want it to stop.

“What’s wrong?” In a stern tone, the CEO questioned. It was evident she was not happy about the new girl having her hands all over Yoona. Still, she did her best to look as neutral as possible. After all, they were in a workplace and she was the boss. She had to be professional, like it or not.

“I think Yoona-ssi is coming down with something, Miss Jung…”

Leaning forward, the CEO rested the back of her hand against Yoona’s forehead. As she pulled away, a concerned frown formed on her face, “You’re running a temperature.”

“Nothing to worry about. Some aspirin and I’ll be fine before the day is over,” The girl sniffed, hugging the jacket a little tighter around her body. She never liked to make a big fuss about anything.

“Go home,” Jessica stated plainly.

“What? No. I told you I’m fine.”

“There is no way I’m allowing you to stay when the probability of you fainting in the middle of a meeting is this high. The fever is pretty bad. Go home.”

Unable to bear the slightly awkward and tense conversation, the intern hurriedly commented, “Um… I need the washroom… feel better, Yoona-ssi! Please take good care of yourself!” And she made her way off nimbly.

Jessica crossed her arms, an impatient look on her face.

“I’m. Not. Leaving.” Yoona managed a small smile before pulling out a folder between the bookends and flipping it open.

“Nor am I until you start packing up.”

“Wow. I’d like to see you try standing here the entire day.”