𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 | (𝐆)𝐈-𝐃𝐋𝐄

𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬

The office was unusually quiet for a Monday morning-until Shuhua barged in, coffee sloshing over the rim of her takeout cup.

"Oops," she muttered, looking down at her wet boots before slipping into her desk. Her monitor flickered to life with unread messages, but one bold subject line made her stop cold:

Mandatory Meeting - 9:00 AM - Mr. Choi's Office

She glanced at the clock. 8:58.

"Shit."

Across the room, Soojin was already heading in that direction, heels clicking neatly with purpose. Crisp blazer. Color-coded planner. Hair like she walked out of a haircare ad.

Shuhua rolled her eyes but quickly followed, almost colliding with Soojin at the door.

"Figures it's you," Soojin muttered, not even looking back.

"Oh, please," Shuhua replied. "Let's just hope he's firing us both and saving the world."

"Not quite," Mr. Choi said, looking between them with a practiced neutral expression. "In fact, I'm pairing you two on this year's Christmas project."

There was silence. Then:

"Wait-together?" Shuhua blinked. "Like...teamwork?"

"Collaboration," Mr. Choi confirmed.

Soojin shifted in her seat, already tense. "Sir, with respect, our working styles are incompatible."

Shuhua chuckled under her breath. "That's one way to put it."

"I'm not asking," their boss said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Make it work."

The first day was...bad.

"No, no, no-this is too much glitter," Soojin scolded, frowning at the mock-up board.

Shuhua leaned on the table, unimpressed. "There's no such thing as too much glitter."

"We want elegant. Subtle. Not a preschool art project."

"Okay, Grinch."

They fought over everything-from the layout of the foyer to the color of the wreath ribbons. But even in the mess, there were glimpses-brief moments-when they almost seemed to work. Like when Shuhua accidentally dropped her sketchbook, and Soojin silently picked it up, flipping through a few pages.

"You drew all these?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," Shuhua said, caught off guard. "Why?"

"They're...really good."

And then the next minute, they were back to arguing over LED lights.

But something started to shift.

After one too many late nights, they learned how to meet halfway. Soojin's meticulous planning gave structure to Shuhua's wild creativity. Shuhua's quirky ideas softened the edges of Soojin's precision. They were still a mess-just a functional one.