Home | Kim Namjoon

Five

Talia sat in the outer office, looking up numbers for other entertainment agencies in Seoul. If she could manage to at least keep her home base in Seoul, she would get to see Namjoon more often. If she had to go to another country, it meant having a long distance relationship. Not an ideal situation, but still she'd rather do that than lose him. She was scribbling down the numbers on a piece of paper she pulled from her bag, when the assistant came to escort her into the office.

Talia walked in, greeted Mr. Bang, and sat in the chair next to Namjoon. He reached over and gave her thigh a squeeze. Namjoon reached to take her hand and she dropped the small piece of paper she was clutching. He reached down to pick it up and saw the list she had been making. Nmajoon looked at her questioningly and set the paper on the desk.

"It's ok," Talia said, "I was just preparing for the inevitable. I would like to thank you, Bang PD-nim, for the opportunity of a lifetime. I learned a lot about the entertainment industry in South Korea and I made friends I hope will last a lifetime."

Namjoon tried to reassure her, "Talia, I don't think you..."

But Talia cut him off, "It really is ok. There's no hard feelings and if you find your company in need of an interpreter in the future again, I hope you'll give me a call."

Namjoon could tell that Talia was losing it. The more she talked, the closer she came to having a complete meltdown. As soon as he saw the first tear leak out, he knew a disaster was about to happen.

He took her hand and tried to help, "Sweetheart, please stop and take a breath..."

"Please don't patronize me, Joon. I'm sorry that things didn't work out, Mr. Bang. I apologize for wasting your time, sir," mumbled Talia.

She stood up, excused herself, and quickly exited the office. Namjoon just sat there and smiled at Mr. Bang.

"What just happened, Namjoon?"

Namjoon said, "You're right about her; she is full of confidence 99.9% of the time. But then there is that .1% of the time when her confidence fails her completely. That's why she always goes over and above what is asked of her. She never thinks she's done quite enough. She was positive she was being let go and she's never been fired before.

"This paper I set on your desk, she was making a list of other agencies in Seoul that might need an interpreter. She could literally make a few phone calls and have another job anywhere in the world. But she loves Korea and she loves me; she was looking forward to having a home here. She hasn't had a home anywhere since she was eighteen years old, so I think she just got overwhelmed."

"Why didn't you stop her from leaving?" asked Mr. Bang.

Namjoon chuckled, "Oh, I'm pretty sure she was sprinting by the time she hit your lobby. I'm not that fast."

"Namjoon, get her back here, please."

"Yes sir, let me give her a call."

Namjoon dialed Talia's number and waited for her to answer. He could hear her sniffling before she even said hello.

"I'm so sorry, Joon. It's just that I've never wanted a job so badly before. But I'm sorry I embarrassed you in front of your boss. I just couldn't stop my mouth from talking. I've never acted so unprofessionally before," Talia cried.

Namjoon spoke English to keep the call private, since he hadn't stepped out of the office.

"Talia, stop talking! You have never embarrassed me. Bang wants you to come back here. You didn't even let him speak."

"No, I can't come back there after the way I just behaved," Talia said.

"He wasn't going to fire you, sweetheart," Namjoon told her, "You just assumed he was going to. I know it's embarrassing, but you need to come back. How soon can you be here?"