Office Diaries

"How is it? It's stupid, right?" 

Yanee giggled. She agreed that the story was funny, but not entirely stupid. Well, as Yanee noticed with all the stories she had gathered so far, having stupid moments were very common in romance. Sometimes even people with high IQ did stupid impulsive things when emotions got in the way. 

In Jae's case, it was a "lost in translation" kind of thing. After all, depending on the country, expressions of love differed, and there in Japan, it's not really common to say "I love you". Instead, people say "I like you". But since Jae was not really proficient in Japanese, she totally messed up her confession letter. 

In the end, Yunho didn't want to be her closest friend, but her boyfriend, but she did not understand. She thought she got dumped. 

"No, it's not. It's a good thing Big Brother Yunho found you again," Yanee answered and Jae chuckled. 

"Well, he never really left my side ever since. He's like a shadow always following me around," Jae complained, but it was obvious that she loved her husband following her everywhere. 

"So Big Brother didn't need to go to the office?" 

"He has Tachibana manning the office. He owns a group of companies. Aside from socializing, he controlled everything at home on his computer. It's why he's able to pretend to be my secretary for a while." 

Yanee giggled. Well Tohru and his group of friends sure had quirks. 

"Well, I cannot think of lessons from my story except that it's important to clarify everything to prevent unnecessary heartache." Jae scratched the side of her head as if she had difficulty thinking. 

"Actually Big Sis, even if Big Bro Yunho has a Korean name, he was born and raised here in Japan." 

Yunho Jung's mother was a Kirishima, and so making Yunho half Japanese. 

"Definitely he has characteristics unique to the Japanese. But you Big Sis did not grow up here and was unfamiliar with their culture and not proficient in their language. It's very easy for misunderstandings to occur. So if we think about this, it's also a lesson of awareness. People from different countries have different expressions of love. People who are from different cultures should be aware of this glaring fact."

Not just about making friends, being in a relationship with someone with different language, culture, and traditions than one's own needed more work and flexibility. Misunderstandings very easily occur in intercultural relationships. People from different cultures should give more effort into communication. 

"You're right!" 

Jae looked happy and satisfied. Yanee looked relaxed as well. At last, all her interviews were done! She only needed to focus on writing after the stint in Nagoya. 

"So, when are you and little bro getting married? I heard he already proposed?" Jae asked in her gossipy voice, her eyes sparkling as she waited for her answer. 

Yanee smiled and blushed but answered truthfully. 

"We're engaged. But I don't want to discuss marriage yet. I want to finish the book first before worrying about that." 

Jae nodded. "Well, I heard from Little Brother you're taking over this book and he won't check it."

Yanee nodded and leaned over to softly tell her why Tohru had been kicked out of the project. 

"Oh!" Jae's eyes widened and Yanee grinned. 

"I'm not a real literary type of writer," Yanee confessed. She's good at writing features but not novels. "So I decided to write this story like this," she continued but Jae patted her knee and gave her the thumb's up. 

"It's good the way you're planning to write it. It's much better if the romance you write is something you've experienced yourself. Big Sis supports you. Let me know when you finish it. I'll get all the girls to buy a copy." 

"But I plan to send you copies," Yanee refused. She did not pay them for the interview and so the least she could do was give them  copies. 

Jae shook her head. "No way. It's fine if you give us copies. We'll still buy some. One for reading, one for collection," she continued and Yanee thanked her. 

She knew it's how Tohru's group of friends supported her. They're really a touching group of people. She was glad to have met them. 

"Are you going to Nagoya tomorrow?" Jae asked and Yanee nodded. 

The Wedding Expo opened in Nagoya the other day. This time, Ami drew the lot and got the show ender which would be tomorrow. Unlike in Tokyo, the show in Nagoya would start in the evening. Yanee and Tohru planned to go there tomorrow morning via bullet train which would take close to two hours.  They would arrive around lunchtime where they agreed to have a meal with their parents and Marian who went there with Ami. 

"Yes. The show will be in the evening. Will you come?" she asked, and Jae's eyes sparkled again. 

"We will!" she answered readily, making Yanee laugh. 

"I'll let Tohru know then," Yanee said as she and Jae both stood up. 

Since they had to leave in the morning tomorrow, they could not stay up too late. Yanee still had notes to write, so she was grateful that Jae was kicking them out early. 

"Do you have everything you need for the book?" Tohru asked when he took her back to the apartment, and Yanee nodded. 

"I just need to jot down notes from this interview and integrate it to the plot list," Yanee said with a secretive grin that made Tohru chuckle. 

"You will really not let me take a peek at the plot outline?" Tohru asked and Yanee shook her head. 

"Wait like a good boy. It's going to be a surprise, okay?" Yanee said, and Tohru relented. 

Aside from Chummy, there's another editor who would be ȧssisting Yanee with the creation of the book so he was not really worried.  He was just curious— very curious. 

Still, he was glad. Yanee started working on the project with a heavy heart. But now, not only was she happily working on it, she had also entrusted her heart to him. 

"See you tomorrow," Yanee said as she tried to get in the apartment, but was stopped even before she stepped in. "What's wrong?" she asked and Tohru pouted like a forgotten child. 

"You forgot something," he said, and Yanee laughed at his childishness and leaned over to give him a peck on the lips. "That's it?" 

"Behave. No complaining," Yanee warned, but she was not mad, and Tohru finally relented again. "Good night, future hubby." 

As if granted with his wish, the pout on his face vanished replaced with a huge, stupid smile.. "Good night future wifey."