Coincidence | Taeyong

1: The Offer

"Excuse me? Could you direct me to the editor in chief? I'm supposed to have a meeting with him at 1 o'clock" the stout girl in front of you awaits your eye contact eagerly, leaving a sympathetic expression on her face.

You recall back to when you felt those same nerves when you interviewed for this company. Of course, working in the busy environment at JCC magazine wasn't quite what you imagined it would be, it was often grueling work that kept you awake until 3 am trying to submit edits before your deadline, and before the editor in chief would intervene. Luckily, Johnny was a pretty relaxed head of the magazine, but he often ran a tight ship if there was an opportunity that couldn't be missed. But, none of this would be appropriate to tell the girl, waiting to be told where her interview with the charismatic editor in chief would be.

"Down the hall and when you get to the glass doors, turn left. You can't miss his office" you offer a polite smile her direction, and she rushes off in the direction you gave her.

"Well, she looked like a real lost puppy" your cubicle neighbor, Somi, comments.

You laugh softly and turn to face her, "It's okay, we all were when we first came here"

Somi places her heart on her chest dramatically, "Wow, Adelaide, you're such a kind soul. What would I do without you? No! What would this company do without you? Your understanding nature, your –"

"Your verbose dramatics?" You interject and Somi flashes you a smirk. You're about to stick out your tongue, when you notice a presence lingering above your cubicle. Turning back to your desk, you look up to meet the soft eyes of Johnny Suh, Editor in Chief of JCC.

"Adelaide, would you mind chatting with me for a quick minute? It won't take too long and you can get back to..." he looks quickly toward Somi and back at you, "...whatever you were doing"

You begin to follow Johnny to his office at a brisk pace, passing by a few of your other friends in your department. As you whiz by their desks, Haechan pokes his head up and teases "Oooh, Adelaide's in trouuubleeee" and quickly ceases after you give him a look of disdain.

Johnny motions for you to take a seat, and you perch yourself in the chair with your legs crossed, noticing the chair is still warm, most likely from the recent interviewee. You chat often with Johnny; having a decent rapport means you spend time in this room a lot. Johnny overall has an open-door policy where anyone is welcome to stop and talk to him, but you're one of the only ones that actually shares ideas with him, hoping to further the magazine. For that, you think he respects you, but you aren't sure.

"Don't worry you're not in trouble, despite what Donghyuck says" Johnny chuckles lowly. His laugh has the tendency to sound devious, even when his intentions are as pure as a baby.

"I hope not, but what did you want to talk to me about?" You ask, getting right to the point.

He sits up straighter, taking your tone as a sign that you mean business.

"Well, I just wanted to talk to you about Maddie leaving the company. I know a lot of the staff know about this already, but she has not found a replacement to fill the position for fashion editor and," Johnny takes a deep breath. One of his closest advisors leaving right in the middle of the fall, where magazines are setting up for so many activities: Fall fashion, cuffing season, winter holidays, you name it, we are prepping for it. You sit on the edge of your seat, fingers clenching the leather backing. While it might be premature as you've only worked here for 2 years, you believe you would strongly quality to fill Maddie's position. Fashion editor is all you've ever wanted, and here the opportunity is, right in your face.

Johnny continues, "In her absence, I thought I should talk to someone from the fashion department that I trust to give feedback on who might be most suited to be the next fashion editor"