Collection of TaeNy Oneshots (TheDonkatsu Collection)

Old Fashioned - 1

  Posted on December 27, 2017 by thedonaktsu  

"Here you go. Your very own tiny corner office."

Taeyeon stops behind her tall friend who turns around and spreads her arms, presenting the office space.

"Awesome view, right?" continues Sooyoung as she points at the large window. "You're so lucky. I wish this was my working area."

"Why isn't it?" asks Taeyeon.

"Because I have to be near the bosses and admins," replies the taller woman with a sigh. "The downside of being in HR..." she mumbles as she steps closer to the window, crossing her arms. "What a view. You can even see the snack stall," she adds, looking down at the busy square down below—the center of the office complex.

After setting her bag on the empty desk, Taeyeon approaches the window, standing next to her friend. "And what's so great about seeing the snack stall?"

"Calculated snack runs."

She looks at her friend with raised eyebrows, silently asking her to explain.

"I can make calculated snack runs based on the length of the queue," says Sooyoung, lowering her voice. "All I have to do is text Ryu oppa, tell him to prepare my order, then go downstairs to pick it up. I'll be back in less than ten minutes if there's no queue. The bosses will be none the wiser. They'll think that I went to the toilet."

"Ryu oppa?" asks Taeyeon. "Who's Ryu oppa?"

"The snack stall manager. He's from Japan and quite cute though I have no romantic interest in him whatsoever. I'll introduce you to him later." The tall young woman then turns around to leave. "Come on. Time for a quick intro-slash-office tour."

"You have the number of the snack stall manager?" says Taeyeon in disbelief as she follows her friend, quickening her pace to walk alongside her. "You actually asked for his number?"

"He asked for mine first."

"Not because you're his best customer, I'm sure," remarks the shorter of the two women. "So you gave him your number only for the sake of your snack breaks? Knowing that he was interested in you and probably wanted to ask you out... you're stringing him along? Wow. Never knew you were that mean, Choi Sooyoung."

"All's fair in love and food, my friend. Besides, I never promised him anything so I'm not stringing him along," remarks Sooyoung nonchalantly before she strolls towards the nearest desk and starts introducing Taeyeon to their coworkers.

——

Taeyeon takes a deep breath and stretches as quietly as she can, leaning back in her chair.

She has expected her first day of work to be relaxed but it's been the opposite so far. Apparently, the previous copy writer quit suddenly without finishing his tasks so the creative directors and project managers didn't waste any time before flooding her with requests.

So far, she's been in meeting after meeting, trying to catch up with ongoing projects. It's exhausting but a nice change after months of barely doing anything productive.

She has secretly missed this kind of quick, frantic pace of working even though she has once sworn to never go back to a 9-to-5 office job. Alas, times have been tough and her freelance jobs dwindled down steadily, leaving her with no choice but to seek permanent employment again—with a reliable, monthly income.

When Sooyoung told her of an urgent opening at the company she's working at, Taeyeon jumped at the chance and thankfully got the job.

The company itself isn't big but it's part of one of the largest and most powerful media groups in the country. In short, it's the financial security she desperately needs right now.