Look At Me Now [jinsoo | rosekook]

七

     The tall, powerful-looking woman strode out of her office-- earning a wave of bows from employees all around. She stiffly bowed back, out of courtesy of course, and gave a reluctant yet, firm nod to her secretary, who had an unpleasant smirk upon his face.

     "Park-ssi, where are you going?" He pointed to his desktop and the smirk grew. "You have a meeting in ten."

     The woman refrained from rolling her eyes into the back of her head. The man was always criticizing her and on her tail for the most trivial things possible. One time she couldn't even drink her god damn water without his annoying commentary.

     She peered at him with a blank face and gripped the strap of her handbag.

     "Then, cancel it." The woman ordered calmly.

     Sun Ki frowned.

     "You have a lot of things to do today, so you can't just prance about like a little girl. I suggest you go back to your office and act like a proper CEO--"

     "Clear my schedule." She stated simply and his lips pressed into a thin line. Without even waiting for him to recover from his state of dismay, Chaeyoung pivoted her foot and entered the elevator without turning back.

     He may not say it explicitly but, actions always spoke for itself. And his were loud and clear.

     That man despised her.

     The male secretary grumbled and threw his metal pen against the marble counter, resulting in a loud bang to echo throughout the room. A string of inaudible curses left his mouth, his hands crumpling the sheet of useless document between his palms.

     "That bitch..." He grumbled, underneath his breath, and hurled the paper at his computer screen.

*

     Chaeyoung entered the quiet building, adjusting the black mask that adorned her structured face. Looking around, the place seemed more furnished than she had remembered, with more plants and fancy paintings decorating the newly-renovated lobby. Maybe she was too busy and bombarded with work to ever realize how quickly things had changed around her.

     It felt like she had switched lives with someone-- someone who she didn't want to be.

     Now, she was the Park Chaeyoung-ssi when before she was just Rosie. No one would know who she was or what she did, but she was living a better life than whatever-- or whoever-- she was pretending to be right now.

     She was always tired and always revolving around the idea of work. One day, it was marketing, the next day its meeting after meeting after meeting. How could one have so many meetings all about money? How could she not feel bored or unsatisfied?

     Her minutes went by like hours-- even the elevator ride to the room felt like an eternity. After what seemed like forever, a ding resonated and the metal doors opened, revealing the familiar patterned carpet. It was embroidered with black and pink designs, that lingered fondly within her memory.

     They had made the carpet together and it almost made her smile.

     As she walked, her hand drew closer to the wall and she grazed the pink walls with her slender fingertips-- walking slowly to the room that brought her an incomprehensible amount of comfort. Though, she stopped as a slew of familiar scribbles caught her eye.

     There, in the very corner of the wall next to the room, was four names written in bright, bold colors. Her very heart clenched at the sight of it and she had to force herself to look away. She just wanted to relive her days but, it seemed like she couldn't even get to her safe place without dealing with a mix of guilt and pain.