Office Diaries

"See you tomorrow, Yanee. Good night…"

The soft and gentle baritone partnered with that easygoing smile, made Yanee's brain cells and heart stop working. She stood there frozen on the spot in front of the elevators as the man turned around and walked away towards his own suite. She remained watching his broad back until he disappeared behind the door.

Er…

Yanee snapped out of her trance as soon as the door made a cl.i.c.k.i.n.g noise when it shut, and she involuntarily shivered.

"What are you doing, Yanee Lee?" she grumbled as she semi-ran towards her own suite.

As soon as she entered her room, she closed the door and leaned against it. Her heart still beat fast, most especially when she remembered her boss' smile, and she forced herself to calm down.

"I'm not having a crush on the potato, right?" she asked herself suspiciously before quickly shaking her head.

Nah, it couldn't be.

A few minutes after, Yanee was calm enough to trudge towards the bathroom to take a shower and switch into her pajamas. She reckoned the reason why she found her boss extra attractive tonight was because of the event – the clothes, the lighting, the atmosphere at the party earlier, and the extra misleading words her boss told her tonight.

If she was an airhead, she'd quickly misunderstand and form unwarranted romantic thoughts again.

Just as she did years ago.

But, Yanee was no longer the naïve romantic fool from so long ago. She had been burned so badly, and she had vowed to never let it happen to herself again.  

And it wouldn't…

As she lay herself down on the bed, Yanee's stared up at the ceiling, and an image of a smiling young man appeared in her mind. Almost instantly after she conjured the image of the man, her eyes clouded over, turning defiant as her heart flooded with hate.

She was very vulnerable at this moment, showing raw emotions when no one was looking. She hadn't bared herself like this since she came to Tokyo, and she was surprised to realize that she was still angry – not at the man because he broke her heart, but at herself, because she was too naïve.

The shame, the pain, they were still raw and alive in her heart. She would never go through that again. She couldn't afford to. It took her a very long time to pick up the pieces of herself before she could hold her head up high again. It would be stupid to let herself fall once more.

Cynical laughter escaped her lips.

It's really ironic that in the end, she'd end up working around the thing that she had no penchant with.

Romance.

Oh well.

It was a good thing that she's working with very kind people – oh, and she had to applaud her ability to be professional as well. Yanee reckoned, she'd need to keep her feet on the ground and be conscious or else she'd be swept away and let unnecessary feelings get to her.

With her resolve revived, Yanee's eyes closed and let herself be lulled into a dreamless sleep.

In another room, not far from Yanee, a handsome young potato – er, man was busy with his phone, unaware of the stormy thoughts of the woman down the hall.

[TJ: Big Sisters, Big Brothers, thank you so much for tonight!]

He sent the message to their group chat and was not surprised to see all the members immediately read it. It was as if they were all waiting news form him even if it's already a bit late. A huge grin spread on his face upon seeing so many bubbles on the chat area indicating that many people were trying to type at the same time. Of course, only the ladies would do that. The men didn't b.u.t.t in in the chat although they read them.

[Jisoo: You're welcome little brother! Did you have fun?]

[Anjee: What did Yanee say?]

[Marian: You should keep your promise and visit me!]

[Yunjae:  Marian, pregnant ladies should go to sleep!]

[Ash: Marian, go to rest. Yanee will be with me next. Fall in line.]

[Ria: Go have your interview tomorrow already Ash so I can have mine next.]

[Jena: Whose idea was it to draw lots? I want my interview asap too!]

[Nixie: Jenna, behave. If we didn't draw lots it's will be chaotic like right now.]  

[Jae: I'm third to the last. I have to wait for a looooong time! I need patience.]

[Kim: Are you guys kids? Who cares about the interview? Ask about the date tomorrow! This big sister is more interested in that!]

Tohru James let out a delighted laugh. He was so sure that the big sisters would quiz him about his schedule for the next day. The way they stopped Jisoo from being almost a light bulb tomorrow told him that they all knew what he wanted to do.

[TJ: I will go to Namdaemun Market with Yanee tomorrow.]

[Kim: Oh? Why there?]

Tohru could imagine Kim's face as she typed the question. There were other good places for a date, but he and Yanee would rather be at an ancient market place tomorrow.

[TJ: Food. I can't bring her out otherwise.]

And it was true…

If Tohru said he wanted Yanee to accompany him to tourists place instead, he doubted that she would go with him or that she'd be comfortable with him. Yanee was like a scared animal that was always wary of him. During the times that they interacted, the girl he liked didn't even look like she was interested in getting closer to him.

It was actually the opposite.

Each time he tried to approach her, she'd shy away from him as if he was an unwanted diversion in her life. She only seemed to tolerate dealing with him because he was her boss, and she didn't have any choice. For sure, if she had other options, he doubted that Yanee would want to work with him, and this fact depressed him a bit, and he sighed.